Category: ESTA News

A ship carrying Haitians and others trying to smuggle into the United States capsized in the Caribbean, killing at least 11 people.

The U.S. Coast Guard said 11 people were killed and 38 rescued in a capsize off the coast of Puerto Rico on the 12th. Thirty-six of the survivors are Haitians and two are citizens of the Dominican Republic. The Coast Guard said it was not known how many people were on board, adding that “illegal immigration voyages” were suspected.

In recent years, the number of dangerous voyages of immigrants, such as Haiti, to the United States in the Caribbean continues to increase. A total of 310 Haitians and 354 Dominicans were caught trying to travel to the United States from nearby waters, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, during fiscal 2021, the Associated Press reported.

Compared to the previous year’s 22 Haiti and 313 Dominican Republic, the number of Haitians increased significantly. Since October of last year, when the 2022 fiscal year began, the number of Haitians arrested by March this year reached 571. As Haiti continues to suffer from severe economic difficulties and political and social chaos, the number of people traveling to the United States by land or sea has increased.

With the number of attempts to travel to the United States has increased, so has the number of related accidents. In January, when a ship carrying immigrants capsized off the coast of Florida due to bad weather, only one was rescued and 38 people went missing. On the 7th, a Haitian woman died in the sea between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press reported.

US President Joe Biden has expressed his support for Finland and Sweden’s request of membership to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“We warmly welcome and strongly support the historic applications of Finland and Sweden,” Biden said in a statement.

“The two countries have long been faithful partners of the United States,” Biden said in a statement.

Finland and Sweden have maintained a neutral line following a policy of military non-alignmentism for 74 years and maintained cooperative relations without joining NATO however have now decided to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Biden has consistently expressed his support for the two countries’ membership in NATO, through phone calls, etc.

President Biden is expected to reaffirm his strong support in a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Saulini Nistö at the White House on the 19th.

According to NATO regulations, membership in a new member country requires unanimous approval from the existing 30 member countries, but Turkey’s opposition is a factor.

Turkey has taken a negative stance against the two countries’ membership in NATO, citing Finland and Sweden’s support of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group that is carrying out a separatist movement within the country.

As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) re-spreads in the United States, the average daily number of new confirmed cases has again exceeded 100,000.

It increased by 61% compared to two weeks ago, and tripled compared to early April.

If you look at the curve of the increase in the number of confirmed cases, it is not as steep as it was during the Omicron Great Proliferation, but the slope is getting steeper. Regionally, the number of confirmed cases is increasing across the United States.

In particular, as more and more people are testing at home with home self-test kits, which are not caught in the official count, the actual number of confirmed cases is expected to be larger than these statistics compiled by state governments, the US media believe.

Although this is more modest, the number of inpatients is also on the rise. As of the 17th, the average daily number of inpatients was 22,642, up 27% from two weeks ago.

However, the number of deaths, a lagging indicator that follows the increase and decrease of confirmed cases and hospitalized patients, is still on the decline

The White House Corona 19 Response Team, which had stopped briefing for six weeks, resumed the briefing today as the number of confirmed cases and hospitalized patients increased again.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Wallensky said at a briefing that one in three Americans lives in areas where people should consider wearing masks indoors in public because of the high risk of COVID-19.

Director Wollensky said counties with a “moderate” or “high” risk of transmission of COVID-19 rose to 32 percent from 24 percent a week ago, saying that local government leaders and individuals are either implementing quarantine measures, such as wearing indoor masks and testing more frequently, or At the very least, it should be reviewed.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Assisi Jah, who gave an official briefing for the first time since the new appointment, was concerned that the number of COVID-19 infections across the country was rising significantly.

He also urged Congress to approve the coronavirus budget so that the federal government can purchase the vaccine and treatment that Americans will need this fall.

“Without additional resources, we will find ourselves in a situation where there is no treatment available even if people become infected in the fall or winter,” he warned.

The U.S. government is also expected to extend the public health emergency, which was originally due to expire on July 15. If it is lifted, the state government and medical institutions will be notified 60 days in advance, but the deadline passed without any action on the 16th.

Health experts say the biggest question is whether the surge in cases will lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, the New York Times reported.

Rochelle Wallensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on the same day that it is also considering expanding the qualifications for a second COVID-19 booster shot, that is, a fourth vaccine.

As the number of confirmed cases continues to increase, the target of the second booster shot recommendation for those who are currently over 50 may be expanded to those below the age of 50.

Since last month, as the Korean government has completely exempted self-quarantine for overseas COVID-19 vaccine recipients upon arrival in Korea, complaints about passport and visa issuance for visiting Korea have increased rapidly at the Los Angeles Consulate General.

According to the Consulate General of Los Angeles on the 11th, there were 368 visa issuance complaints in April, which is a 100% increase from 184 in March. In particular, the application for a visa for overseas Koreans (F-4) was the driving force behind this.

Passports surged from March when the news that self-quarantine would be exempted began to spread, and this trend continued in April. According to the Consulate General of Los Angeles, passport issuance complaints increased 48.3% from 739 in February to 1,096 in March, and maintained the trend by recording 1,100 in April. The number of cases in April was 48.8% higher than in February.

On the 11th, Minwoo Park, Consul General of the Consulate General of Los Angeles, said, “This trend is still continuing even in May.”

This phenomenon appears to be due to the increase in demand for visits to Korea following the quarantine exemption measures. According to the travel industry, sales of Korean tickets and inquiries about travel to Korea have increased significantly since last March (reported on March 15 of this report). Also, from the first day when quarantine was exempted, Incheong Airport was crowded, and on April 1st, the number of passengers using Incheon Airport exceeded 20,000 for the first time in more than two years since the start of the Corona 19 crisis.

The Consulate General of Los Angeles expects that applications for passport and visa issuance will increase further from June, when the summer vacation and vacation season begins in earnest. The Korean travel and airline industry is also spurring preparations, expecting that the demand for Korean travel, which has been suppressed for the past two years, will materialize in earnest from this summer.

When applying for a passport at the Los Angeles Consulate General, you will need a passport issuance application form, an original (most recent) passport and a photocopy of the original passport, and two passport photos (taken within 6 months). In addition, required documents may differ depending on circumstances, such as minors under the age of 18, non-commissioned persons, or dual nationals. You can apply for an emergency passport in case of an emergency such as a funeral.

Visa application form, visa issuance application, color photo for visa (shown within 6 months), original passport and photocopy (if the remaining validity period is less than 6 months, application may be rejected). Required documents vary depending on the case. More information can also be found on the website of the Consulate General.

Those who have completed vaccination who wish to visit Korea are classified as subject to quarantine exemption by directly entering their vaccination history into the ‘Quarantine Information Advance Input System’ (cov19ent.kdca.go.kr/cpassportal/) and attaching a certificate. Consent to terms and conditions, email input, passport information input, entry and stay information input, quarantine information input, health status input, input information confirmation, QR code issuance, etc. A person who has been vaccinated is a person who has passed 14 days and has not passed 180 days since the second dose (one dose for Johnson & Johnson) or who received the booster shot (3rd dose).

An American couple in their 50s is a hot topic after retiring early and living a “travel life” by staying on a cruise ship instead of at home. Surprisingly, those who say their daily cost of living is cheaper than a home mortgage payment do not plan to live on land again in the future.

The main character of the topic is Angeline Burke and Richard Burke, both from Seattle. All in their 50s, they have always dreamed of a life of travel after retirement. The Burkes’ original plan was to spend the rest of their lives changing countries once a month, staying on a cruise ship after retirement.

Their dream, which seemed far away, became a reality one day in 2021, when Angeline, an accountant, made simple calculations ahead of schedule. Because it was calculated that if I had to pay 43 dollars a day for living expenses, I could live even if I quit my job. It was much cheaper than their daily living expenses at the time.

“We both love to travel, so we were looking for an economical way to continue traveling after retirement,” said Angeline. I can live.” The calculation came out.

After that, the couple quit their jobs and started traveling. I was also freed from bills that arrive home every month. They first toured Europe on a 50-day cruise on the Adriatic Sea. After that, I went on a 51-day cruise from Seattle to Sydney, Australia.

The most memorable travel destinations I have visited so far are Singapore, Italy, Canada, Iceland, and the Bahamas. I plan to travel all over the world in the future.

The couple, who have consistently saved and lived a frugal life to realize their dreams, said, “The material is not important, but the experience is the real asset. It is a relaxing trip that can be done.”

The couple, who said they slept on land only a handful of times in the past year, except when itinerary doesn’t match between cruises, say they have no plans to live on land in the future.

There is an indicator that never fails to know the tourist interest of a destination: Google. The more searches, the more trips. And Google, crossing data, has reported that Europe has become the preferred destination of Americans, who are massively taking out or renewing their passports to travel.

Remember, no one gets a passport in person, and no one knows the address where it is obtained: for this, everyone enters Google, which obtains this information. Google also knows what they are looking for. And these are the preferred destinations, in order: Paris, London, Rome, Athens and Lisbon. Google, which is not surprised at all because it has experience in these things, has nevertheless said that searches are “shocking” compared to other years. In 2021, for example, among the most searched cities there was only one non-American: Cancun, which is as if it were.

The same data from the number one search engine indicates that the appointments to obtain or renew the passport increased by 300 percent in these first three months of the year, clearly pointing to an increase in trips abroad. Likewise, the search for luxury hotels has doubled compared to what was searched for in 2019. Google also detects those searches for “girls travel destinations” increase three times. For singles 200 percent and something similar happens with cruises.

The American company has just launched a seasonal link between the Côte d’Azur and the Big Apple as part of its deployment strategy which mainly targets Europe. This makes it the third player to choose Nice Côte d’Azur airport on this line, after La Compagnie and Delta.

Between Nice and New York there is only one step. A giant step of 6,500 kilometres that airlines are eager to take. Such as United Airlines which has just launched this April 30 a link between the Côte d’Azur and the Big Apple.

This makes it the third company to position itself on this line, after Delta Air Lines and La Compagnie. “This route confirms our ambition as much as our conviction that the future of air transport depends on the development of direct connections, in particular international ones, a guarantee of a better quality of service and better connectivity”, is satisfied Franck Goldnadel, Chairman of the Board of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur.

The airline announces the resumption of its flights to Houston from Munich and the opening of a new line to Denver. The deployment of links between Europe and the United States continues for United Airlines.

The airline has announced flights between Munich Airport, Germany and Houston, Texas are resuming. Suspended since March 13, 2020 due to the pandemic, the route will be flown aboard a Boeing 767-300 which will take off daily from Munich at 11:55 a.m.

At the same time, United is inaugurating a new link between the German city and the United States with its Munich-Denver line. This is the first time the Colorado city has been connected to Munich. The daily flight will take off at 4:05 p.m. aboard a Boeing 787-9. The company now offers 6 daily flights from Munich to the United States with services to Chicago, Washington, Newark or San Francisco.

While the Covid continues to kill more than 400 people a day in the United States, a judge considered that we could not impose the wearing of the mask in public transport. The airlines immediately lifted the restrictions.

The most total confusion reigns in the United States on the wearing of the mask. Since Monday evening, it is no longer mandatory to cover your nose and mouth on a plane on American territory… But it still is in most airports. Similarly, in most of the country, you can do without a mask in taxis and VTCs… but not in New York, where it also remains compulsory in the subway. Even more ubiquitous: the authorities continue to impose it in New York at LaGuardia and JFK airports, but not in Newark, located in New Jersey, a few kilometres away.

A Florida judge ruled earlier this week that wearing a mask could not be imposed at the federal level on public transport. Immediately, the airlines announced to their passengers that they were free to remove their masks. Some did it mid-flight. On social networks, videos are circulating showing scenes of joy, and pilots did not hesitate to shout their satisfaction… On Tuesday, on most flights, three quarters of passengers had already removed the mask.

 

 

A fragmented country

But the soap opera may not be over. As of Tuesday, the spokesperson for the White House, Jen Psaki, regretted a “disappointing decision”. “We believe that the obligation to wear a mask should continue and that it is safer for passengers to wear one in flight,” she explained. “Public health decisions should not be made in courts but by experts, by science and hard data.

On Wednesday it was announced that the Justice Department would appeal the decision of mandatory mask wearing on transport. This decision came about after the CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) ruled that it was necessary. Some experts noted, however, that an appeal would be heard by the reputedly conservative Eleventh Circuit, and therefore the federal bond was unlikely to be reinstated.

This situation is ultimately only the result of a completely fragmented policy. Since the start of the pandemic, under Donald Trump and then under Joe Biden, Washington did not wish, then did not manage to impose a united policy on the whole territory. The previous administration had left the decision-making power to the States, and Joe Biden never managed to change the situation.

The balance sheet is getting heavier

The court decision comes even as new Covid cases are on the rise in the United States. Over the past two weeks, they have jumped 47%, even if they remain at a modest level, far from the January peak (nearly 42,000 new cases for Tuesday, ten times less than during the busiest days). charged at the beginning of the year). While only 66% of the American population is fully vaccinated, more than 400 people continue to die from Covid every day across the Atlantic. The bar of one million victims could soon be reached.

Seating next to the driver is also available Uber, a ride-hailing service, also ‘shared’ the move to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in the United States. The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 19th that Uber has decided to end the requirement for drivers and passengers to wear masks. Uber has also decided to end measures to prevent passengers from riding in the seat next to the driver. However, in a statement, Uber said, “Many people think it is safe to wear a mask for quarantine purposes. Please respect other people’s choices.” Uber made it compulsory for passengers to wear a mask and use the back seat of a car immediately after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). It is also mandatory for drivers to wear masks. The decision was taken in consideration of the Florida federal court’s ruling the day before that the U.S. government’s decision to extend the mandatory wearing of masks when using public transportation such as buses and planes was invalidated. After the ruling, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) decided not to make it compulsory for passengers using public transportation to wear masks, and airlines such as United Airlines and Alaska Airlines also decided to leave it to passengers’ choice. However, Uber emphasized that the lifting of the mandatory mask applies only to the United States, and that Uber users from other countries must follow local quarantine regulations. In the UK and the Netherlands, the compulsory mask measures have already ended. Previously, the UK changed the wearing of masks voluntarily in public transportation facilities such as subways and buses in February of this year, and France and Germany respectively abolished the mandatory wearing of masks in public facilities last month.