00:00Yuka Royer is bringing some travel-related news.
00:04First off, visiting the UK for visa-free travellers, including Europeans, is going to be a bit
00:09more complicated and costly now.
00:12They'll still be able to go to Britain without a visa, but will have to get permission prior
00:18to their visit for a fee of about 12 euros, though it will then be valid for multiple
00:22entries.
00:23It's part of the UK's Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme, or ETA.
00:28The Home Office began rolling it out last November for citizens of a handful of countries
00:32and will soon expand it to all other nationals.
00:35For French people crossing the Channel, it's another drawback of the post-Brexit world.
00:39Eliza Herbert and our colleagues at France Télévisions have this story.
00:45Be it at the airport or train station, a French passport will no longer be enough to enter
00:50the United Kingdom.
00:52Visitors from Europe will need permission through what's called an Electronic Travel
00:55Authorisation, or ETA.
00:59Already in place for some countries and soon to be expanded to most other visa-free travellers,
01:04the ETA will come into force for Europeans on April 2nd and cost 10 pounds, around 12
01:10euros.
01:11It will be able to be obtained online within three days and valid for two years.
01:16For travellers going to London on Thursday morning, the decision caused a stir.
01:21It won't stop me from going to the UK, but it's a shame to complicate the rules when
01:25they were so simple before.
01:28If you go there, it's to spend money.
01:30That should be enough for them.
01:32The UK government says the initiative is to ensure more robust security checks and to
01:37help prevent abuse of the immigration system through a more efficient process.
01:42Digitisation enables a smooth experience for the millions of people who pass through the
01:46border every year.
01:48Including the visitors we warmly welcome to the UK, who are predicted to contribute over
01:5232 billion pounds to our tourism economy this year.
01:56A similar move is in the pipeline for the European Union.
02:00In the first half of 2025, some 1.4 billion people from 60 visa-exempt countries will
02:06need to pay seven euros to enter most European countries.
02:10Aniko, in the latest news from the aviation sector, American Airlines cabin attendants
02:17will be paid for the time passengers are boarding planes as part of a new labor agreement they've
02:23ratified.
02:24That's right.
02:25The new contract covers about 28,000 employees and includes immediate pay raises of up to
02:3020.5 percent.
02:32It will also break with a U.S. civil aviation tradition and pay flight crews for boarding
02:37time.
02:38It's a win for workers as well as for the airline, bringing an end to a long-running
02:43labor dispute.
02:44American flight attendants hadn't received any pay raises since 2018 and threatened to
02:49strike, but never got the approval from the National Mediation Board that's required under
02:53federal law.
02:55In July, President Joe Biden said such a walkout would have been devastating for the sector.
03:00Meanwhile, Boeing is facing a possible strike at its key factories on the U.S. west coast.
03:07In the U.S. west coast, like Seattle, more than 30,000 workers who assemble some of Boeing's
03:12best-selling jets are voting on whether to accept a new labor contract or to go on strike.
03:18Polling will close in just less than six hours' time.
03:22The proposed deal, a first full contract in 16 years, includes a 25 percent pay raise.
03:28CEO Kelly Oldberg has pleaded with workers not to stage a walkout at a time the firm
03:33is struggling to turn its fortunes around.
03:35Brian Quinn has more.
03:38At Boeing's facility outside Seattle, its best-selling jet, the 737 Max, watches over
03:44as workers show up for their shifts.
03:47Those workers could be about to shut down the Max's production.
03:5133,000 of them across the U.S. Pacific Northwest will be voting Thursday to approve or reject
03:57a new contract with the threat of a strike as early as Friday.
04:02Boeing's new CEO says now is not the time.
04:06For Boeing, it's no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our
04:10own mistakes in the past.
04:12Working together, I know we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery
04:17in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine
04:21our future together.
04:23The company is offering a 25 percent wage hike over four years, improved health benefits,
04:29increased contributions to retirement savings accounts, and a promise that its next commercial
04:34airliner will be built in the Seattle area with union labor.
04:38The union had been seeking a 40 percent raise over three years and a return to traditional
04:44pensions.
04:45Still, its leaders have advised members to take the current deal.
04:49It's a tense moment for the company.
04:51Once the jewel of U.S. manufacturing prowess, its reputation has been badly damaged, as
04:56a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019 were followed by a series of quality control
05:02issues and safety incidents.
05:05Boeing posted a $1.4 billion net loss last quarter.
05:09Analysts say that an eventual strike could last until mid-November, costing the company
05:14some $3.5 billion in cash flow.
05:18I'm going to move on now, Yuka, because the European Central Bank has decided to cut interest
05:24rates again.
05:25For only the second time since 2019, ECB policymakers decided to lower the benchmark deposit rate
05:30by a quarter basis point to 3.5 percent, effective September 18th.
05:35The deposit rate, which is the interest banks receive for parking money at the ECB overnight,
05:40was negative until 2019 but was aggressively raised, as inflation surged to record levels
05:47post-COVID.
05:48It was then kept at 4 percent from September 2023 through June of this year.
05:54The central bank expects inflation to average 2.5 percent this year and gradually go down
05:58to 1.9 percent in 2026, but remains cautious as growth within the eurozone remains sluggish.
06:06And finally for business, it's the Olympics of the Tradespeople.
06:10An international competition for various skilled trades is underway near the French city of
06:14Lyon.
06:15The Olympics of the Tradespeople, what is it, around 1,400 people from nearly 70 countries
06:20are taking part in the 47th edition of the World Skills Competition.
06:25Team France were encouraged by President Macron on the opening day earlier in the week, and
06:30are now battening it out for gold medals.
06:32The biannual event dates back to 1946, when global economics needed to boost up after
06:39World War II.
06:40Competitions span across dozens of disciplines, ranging from construction, manufacturing,
06:45welding, computer design, and hairdressing, and many, many more.
06:49Let's hear from the French team's mental coach and last year's silver medalist for
06:53stonemasonry.
06:54We've had the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, and now I've said, it's you, it's you
07:00who are in the limelight today.
07:03This is a unique opportunity for the business world and the professionals to be here.
07:06You're the stars, the great champions.
07:11These competitions already serve to raise awareness of craft trades, which are not very
07:14well known.
07:15In stonemasonry, we're really struggling to recruit, to find young people who have potential.
07:21So there you go, it's not just sportsmanship that deserves a medal.
07:25Yeah, tradespeople, yeah, yeah.
07:28There's obviously competitions that you can do for any sector it seems.
07:32You can wear it from our business.
Comments