Source: The National
Security & Justice
Captured Hezbollah Operative May Have Been Israeli Double Agent, Report Suggests
The alleged senior Hezbollah operative abducted by Israeli special forces last week in Batroun may have been operating as a double agent, according to a report by The Telegraph.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Lebanon’s Probe into Israeli Raid Expected to Take Days as Security Officials Weigh Theories
Lebanese authorities are ramping up investigations into an Israeli commando raid last week in the northern coastal city of Batroun, during which Imad Amhaz, a Hezbollah official, was snatched.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Tuesday 3 August 2021 15:52:44
Cyprus Opens Underwater Sculpture Museum in a Bid to Attract Diving Tourists
Cyprus's latest tourist attraction, the Museum of Underwater Sculpture of Ayia Napa (Musan), features a collection of 130 sculptures in a newly created Marine Protected Area.
The works at the museum, located in the resort town of Ayia Napa, range from botanical to figurative, including more than 90 sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor, a British artist known for his site-specific creations that turn into artificial coral reefs.
With more than 1,000 sculptures installed around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, deCaires Taylor specifically works with a type of cement that enables coral growth.
The site of the museum is in a marine protected area in Pernera, on the south-eastern coast of Cyprus and was selected specifically in order to emphasise its protected status. The works are installed all the way down to about 10 metres and spread out across more than 167 metres of sand.
Musan’s sculptures are made of sea materials, including stones, rocks and shells, and are meant to live harmoniously among the marine life. The museum has stated its intent to enrich the biodiversity of the area to allow the sculptures to turn into coral reefs and eventually an “underwater forest”.
Tourism is also a goal for the Cyprus government, which has backed the establishment of the museum. In 2014, the Ayia Napa municipal council proposed the idea and work began on Musan three years later. According to the Cyprus Mail, the cost of the museum has reached €1 million.
Visitors can dive or snorkel Musan for free, although reservations must be made ahead of time. The surrounding area will also have diving centres and schools for visitors.
Cyprus has included diving and snorkelling tourism as part of its national tourism strategy for 2030. Its diving sites include the ancient ruins of the Amathus harbour in Limassol, as well the wreck of the MS Zenobia ferry, which sank off the coast of Larnaca in 1980.
With the arrival of Musan, Ayia Napa’s local government hopes to tap into this market for their town too. By the local government’s predictions, Musan will be able to bring in 50,000 visitors annually.