The Louvre, which houses the Mona Lisa and is the world's most visited museum, said in a statement on Friday that its entrance fee would go up in January to 22 euros (USD 23.70) from 17 euros. The Louvre said the higher tariff would help it deal with higher energy costs and fund free entry to certain people such as those aged under 18, teachers and journalists.
The carrier, one of the biggest in Africa, said the lack of parts, which is affecting the global supply chain, would disrupt flights for about two weeks. "These challenges are leading to extended ground time of our aircraft for maintenance," it said in a statement, adding, "This may also lead to grounding of one or more of our aircraft."
Regular flights would be another step towards restoring ties between the two Middle Eastern rivals. A Chinese-mediated agreement in March restored diplomatic relations after years of tension that threatened the security of the entire region and fuelled conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. There have been no regular direct flights between the two countries for years. Currently, only occasional direct flights take off from Iran carrying haj pilgrims.
Cyprus's economy is expected to expand by around 2.9% in 2024 from a forecast 2.4% this year, its finance minister said on Friday, despite facing headwinds in a "fluid" international environment. Its tourism sector quickly recovered, with central European markets filling the void. Arrivals were up 21 percent year-on-year until Oct. 2023, based on the latest available data.
"Both countries will work out the implementation details of the mutual 30-day visa exemption arrangement and implement it in early 2024," the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Thailand and Malaysia also have exempted visas for Chinese tourists. This year, China resumed 15-day visa-free entry for citizens of Singapore, more than three years after such visas were suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The equity round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, said Klook, which achieved profitability for the first time this year and also turned cash-flow positive. Klook, which was founded in 2014, provides various booking services to travellers across a range of locations globally and competes with other experience booking services providers such as TripAdvisor and Airbnb.
The upbeat comments lifted the shares of the carrier 5 per cent and fueled a 4 per cent gain in its rivals United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The Atlanta-based carrier also reaffirmed its forecast for the year and now expects profit in the range of USD 6 to USD 6.25 per share and total revenue to be up about 20 per cent.
Visitors to Israel slid to 39,000 last month versus 99,000 in October and 370,000 in November 2022. Prior to the war, that began on Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen rampaged through Israeli towns, monthly tourism numbers were typically above 300,000. Over the first 11 months of the year, there were 3.19 million visitors, up from 2.57 million a year earlier, the Central Bureau of Statistics said.
The policy came into effect Dec. 1 and the ministry, citing immigration data, said about 7,000 of nearly 18,000 travellers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia - the countries covered by the visa waiver - entered China in the first three days of the month. Daily average tourist numbers from those countries have risen by 39% on the first three days of December compared to on the last day of November.
High levels of legal migration have dominated Britain's political landscape for more than a decade and were a key factor in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Sunak has promised to gain more control after lawmakers in his Conservative Party criticised his record ahead of an election expected next year, with the opposition Labour P1arty far ahead in opinion polls.
PIF's purchase gives the hotel group an enterprise value of around 1.4 billion pounds ($1.8 billion), one source close to the matter said on Monday, confirming a report in the Financial Times. Founders Rocco Forte and his sister Olga Polizzi will remain as executive chairman and deputy chair, respectively, it said, adding that the Forte family would retain majority ownership and control of the group, which currently has 14 hotels.
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