Latest news with #Didaskalou
7NEWS
6 days ago
- 7NEWS
The Bag That Won't Go Missing
If you've ever stood at the carousel wondering if your bag even made the flight, you're not alone. Lost luggage is one of the biggest headaches in travel. Now a new Aussie partnership claims it's solved it, letting you track your suitcase live from check-in all the way to your hotel. What's new? From August 4, Qantas and homegrown luggage brand July are rolling out the first airline-branded smart suitcase with built-in global tracking. No AirTags to remember, no Bluetooth fobs you must charge, just a sleek, hard-shell case that can tell you exactly where it is, anywhere in the world, straight from your phone. There are two versions of the Qantas x July case: A standard Qantas Edition in midnight black with red leather accents. A Frequent Flyer Edition in dark blue with Napa leather and tan details, exclusive to Gold, Platinum, and Platinum One members. Both come in carry-on and checked luggage sizes, complete with a neat Qantas luggage tag holder built in. 'You never want to lose your suitcase. It's a sad thing that happens, not often, but when it does, you never know where it is, and you wish you'd put tracking in from Day One!' July co-founder Athan Didaskalou said. How does it work? Inside the TSA-approved lock sits a tiny chip that talks to millions of Apple and Android devices around the globe. Open Apple's Find My app on an iPhone, or Google's Find My Device on Android, and you can see your bag's live location — whether it's still at the gate, on the carousel, or accidentally loaded into the wrong taxi. The tech runs on a long-lasting, low-energy battery designed to keep tracking for months without a recharge. It's basically set-and-forget. The idea is simple: once your bag leaves your hands, you don't have to cross your fingers — you can actually see where it is. How's this different from what we've already got? Plenty of travellers already chuck an AirTag or a Bluetooth tracker in their bag, but those only work properly if you're in the Apple ecosystem or within short range. This is the first time a major airline has built dual-network tracking directly into a suitcase, meaning it works out of the box on both iPhone and Android, anywhere in the world. No extra setup, no separate gadgets to buy or forget. 'AirTags are great, but you don't always put them in your bag,' Didaskalou said. 'Sometimes you forget or swap them between bags. 'When it's built in, you set it and forget it.' Part of a bigger shift This launch is more than just about saving you from a missing suitcase nightmare. It's another step toward end-to-end digital travel, where the whole journey is trackable and stress-free. SmartGates now let you skip manual passport checks with facial recognition. Digital declarations are replacing the old paper arrival cards, with Brisbane leading the rollout and Sydney next. Soon, smart boarding passes on iPhone will give live updates, from gate changes to delays, without even opening an app. And now, with this July collaboration, your bag finally joins the digital chain too. PRICES: Black carry on: $375 Black checked: $425 Blue carry on: $425 Blue checked: $475
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Undocumented immigration fuels debate amid slow, costly path to citizenship
The Brief Legal immigration is slow, costly, and complex, often taking years and thousands in fees. Over 15 million undocumented immigrants live in the U.S. amid a broken, backlogged system. Without reform, the immigration issue will persist, says attorney Anastasia Didaskalou. CHICAGO - The number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States continues to fuel heated political debate. What we know It's a question that often floods social media comment sections whenever immigration makes headlines: "Why don't they just do it the right way?" "That's the ideology that we hear all the time, but in terms of immigration law, the right way is slow, complex and for most people, out of reach – simply like that," said immigration attorney with Kouklakis Law Anastasia Didaskalou said. On paper, the path to U.S. citizenship seems straightforward. In reality, it can take anywhere from three to 30 years, even for individuals already living, working and raising families in the U.S. "On top of attorney fees, you also have to pay money to the Dept. of Homeland Security. That is public information. Under the government's page, under USCIS, you're going to see that each application has a fee. For a petition for alien relative, we are around $600. And then for an adjustment of status, that is another fee and it's, I believe, $1,440 right now. So that's already $2,000 going to the government on top of the attorney fees as the attorney is going to be representing you," Didaskalou said. More than 15 million people are believed to be living in the U.S. without legal status, caught in a system that is outdated, costly and slow. Despite promises from both political parties, immigration reform remains stalled. Didaskalou experienced the system's challenges herself while in school. Now she fights for others as an immigration attorney. "The system is broken and it has been broken for years now. It is outdated, it is out of reach and it's extremely slow and backlogged. Unless we see change, we're gonna continue saying that this country has too many undocumented immigrants," Didaskalou said. What's next The U.S. Department of State releases monthly data on immigrant visas issued. According to the most recent report, just over 48,000 visas were granted in April. For more information, visit
