Source: Lonely Planet
Security & Justice
State Action Signals Change in Tackling Longstanding Illegal Land Grabs in Jbeil District
For years, the serene villages of Jbeil's highlands have been far from peaceful. Ghabat, a Maronite village nestled between the predominantly Shiite towns of Afqa and Lassa, has become a focal point of growing tensions due to territorial disputes.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Mawlawi Ensures Strict Monitoring for Wanted Syrian Regime Figures at Beirut Airport
Caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, conducted an inspection tour of Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to review the security arrangements and measures implemented by the Airport Security Apparatus ahead of the holiday season.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Monday 30 August 2021 13:41:42
Visiting Venice? You May Need to Pay an Entry Fee Starting Next Summer
With travel picking up again in Italy, Venice is once more mulling ways to limit the number of tourists allowed inside the city by moving ahead with plans to introduce an entry fee for visitors next summer.
For a long time now, the lagoon city has been concerned with finding ways to reduce overcrowding while also making sure that both residents and tourists can enjoy all that Venice has to offer. The latest solution dates back to 2018 when the local administration decided that all visitors would be charged an entry fee ranging from €3 to €10—a scheme that was meant to be implemented last summer but was put on hold because of the pandemic.
According to local media, that scheme will now be introduced in summer 2022 and it would require visitors to book and pay their fee in advance. The fee would be paired to electronic turnstiles located at Venice's main access points to help regulate the access of tourists to the city. All residents, workers and students that need to enter Venice on a daily basis would have the virtual key to the turnstiles through an app on their smartphones, and tourists would fill the remaining spots each day by booking their entrance.
Prices will start from €3 in low season and could increase to €10 in high-season. Residents and their relatives, children under six and people staying in local hotels will not have to pay an entry fee. The move is aimed at day-trippers instead.
The Times reports that the council approved the plan last week and the administration is keen to move ahead after years of postponing it. It comes as visitor numbers increase again, with 80,000 people a day visiting in late summer, according to the newspaper.
And in what might just be a first step in the push to reinvent and regulate mass tourism, Venice formally banned cruise ships from the historic city center in April after UNESCO warned the city about the "damage caused by a steady stream of cruise ships."
