Cultural news

Italy: Snacking Banned at Rome’s Historic Sites

Date: July 23rd, 2008 |

Between now and the end of October, snacking near Rome’s historical sites is prohibited, to the tune of fines up to $80. The new law is an attempt to preserve the city’s treasures and crack down not just on picnickers but also on litterbugs and drunks. Precisely where and how strictly the law will be [read more]

Australia: Victoria Government Locks Out Melbourne Bar Patrons after 2 a.m.

Date: July 2nd, 2008 |

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Street violence outside Melbourne bars among drunken revelers and thugs got so bad that the Victoria state government imposed a three-month trial for 2 a.m. lockouts on June 3, “lockouts” meaning that patrons cannot enter or reenter a bar after 2 a.m. In 2003, a similar program imposed in Ballarat, about 70 miles northwest of [read more]

Balkan Region: UN Report Calls Balkans One of Europe’s Safest Places

Date: June 4th, 2008 |

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According to a UN report, the Balkan region is now one of the safest in Europe. The report found that this region that was wracked by violence and war in the 1990s now has lower rates of homicide, robbery and rape than Western Europe. Of the nine countries in the study—Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, [read more]

Italy: Naples Garbage Still Rots, Raises Health Concerns

Date: May 21st, 2008 |

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For months Naples has been living in a garbage heap because all dumps are full and there has been no place to haul away debris. Now the U.S. military is sampling tap water and soil for pesticides and other pollutants to gauge the health risks to its personnel of living in and around the city. [read more]

Cambodia: Flotilla of Beggars Troubles Officials in Chong Kneas

Date: April 23rd, 2008 |

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A visit to the floating village of Chong Kneas is a popular side trip from Siem Reap, the jumping off point for Angkor Wat, but its popularity has created perhaps predictable consequences. Local fishermen have found begging to be more lucrative than fishing and they now swarm around the tourist boats in vessels with outboard [read more]

Israel: Retirees Aid Tourists in Old City of Jerusalem

Date: July 16th, 2008 |

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Visitors who need assistance in the Old City of Jerusalem can now get it from retirees deployed to help tourists. Fifty multilingual volunteers ranging in age from 60 to 85 and versed in the city’s history started work July 13 in an effort to create a more secure environment for tourists. They wear vests adorned [read more]

Italy: Venice Promotes Refilling Water Bottles at Fountains

Date: June 11th, 2008 |

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With some 19 million visitors a year and the majority of them wandering the city during the hot summer months, Venice is left with millions of plastic water bottles to dispose of when the tourists leave. Authorities are combating the scourge with a campaign to persuade visitors to refill their bottles at the city’s 122 [read more]

Czech Republic: New Tourist Police in Prague

Date: June 4th, 2008 |

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A new tourist police squad is in place for the summer in Prague’s main tourist areas. In the stretch between Wenceslas Square and Prague Castle via Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge, at least seven special police are on patrol from 10 a.m. to midnight. Their mission is to combat street crime, especially pickpockets [read more]

Australia: Rocks Returned to Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Date: May 14th, 2008 |

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At least one package a day containing rocks taken from Uluru, or Ayers Rock, arrives by post at the landmark’s national park headquarters, in many cases because people feel they’d been cursed by the rocks in their possession. For years the Aboriginal people of the area have asked tourists to respect the site’s sacredness by [read more]

Laos: First Railroad Set to Open

Date: April 10th, 2008 |

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Laos is about to get its first railway, a humble 2.17-mile line crossing from the Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge toward the capital Vientiane. It may be short but it will connect landlocked Laos with seaports in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Many plans are afoot with France and China to expand the railway through central [read more]