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☆ Greece shuts Acropolis and Adriatic Sea hits record-high temperature as extreme heat bakes Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Story Associated Press | Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Athens CNN —The Acropolis in Greece shut for hours, record-breaking ocean temperatures off Croatia and plans to feed zoo animals popsicles in Italy — southern Europe is baking under a “hellishly hot” heat wave. If you don’t come prepared, you’re going to sweat.”Tourists leave the Acropolis hill in Athens, on July 17, 2024. The site was shut at 12 p.m. for five hours to keep visitors out of the heat. Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe heat has come largely from hot air blowing in from Africa, which meteorologists forecast will continue through Sunday. The brutal heat wave hitting southern Europe has so far spared Paris, which is set to host the Olympics later this month.

Persons: ”, Toby Dunlap, Nikolas Kokovlis, Carmen Díaz, “, Patrizia Valerio, goer Mattia Rossi, ” Rossi Organizations: Athens CNN, Culture Ministry, Cross, Tourists, Aris Oikonomou, Getty Locations: Athens, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Europe, Pennsylvania, AFP, Africa, Basilicata, Palermo, Sicily, Verona, Rome, Madrid, Varese, Balkans, Dubrovnik, Serbia, Albania, Neighboring, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey, Paris

☆ Saudi Arabia says all NEOM megaprojects will go ahead as planned despite reports of scaling back
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia's economy minister rejected recent reports that the kingdom's $1.5 trillion NEOM megaproject, a futuristic desert development on the Red Sea coast, is scaling back some of its plans. "All projects are moving full steam ahead," Faisal Al Ibrahim told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Monday at the World Economic Forum's special meeting in Riyadh. "We set out to do something unprecedented and we're doing something unprecedented, and we will deliver something that's unprecedented." Al Ibrahim stressed that the projects would be delivered according to plan, but with the qualification that decisions were being made for "optimal economic impact." "We see feedback from the market, we see more interest from the investors and we'll always prioritize to where we can optimize for optimal economic impact," he said.

Persons: Faisal Al Ibrahim, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Al Ibrahim, we'll Organizations: Bloomberg, Saudi, NEOM, Public Investment Fund Locations: Saudi, Riyadh

☆ A French Castle Filled With a Collector’s Treasures
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Aimee Farrell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the French gallerist Yves Gastou bought the Ermitage de Douce-amie — or refuge of a sweet friend — a follylike crenelated castle on the outskirts of Biarritz in southwest France, in 1990, it had the air of a place frozen in time. Hidden within a forest of bamboo and pine, bay and oak trees, the 5,380-square-foot house was built in 1900 as a retirement home for a member of the imperial court of Napoleon III, or so Gastou believed. The house had changed hands only a few times since: The woman from whom he purchased it was among the last ladies in Biarritz to travel by horse and cart. The hermitage was his summer hideaway, a place for monthslong vacations with family and friends. And if his Paris home was an expression of his appetite for modernity — it epitomized his eclectic tastes, with Cubist midcentury furniture by the French sculptor Philippe Hiquily and acrylic 1980s-era pieces by the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata — the castle offered a retreat into the past.

Persons: Yves Gastou, Douce, amie —, —, Napoleon III, Gastou, Philippe Hiquily, Shiro Kuramata Locations: Biarritz, France, Carcassonne, Limoux, Paris, French

☆ Israel is looking to World War II in its Gaza fight, and it risks taking lessons from the wrong war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Sam Fellman | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's a critical question that will define whether Israel's war succeeds, experts on military strategy told Insider. Smoke and flame rise after Israeli air forces targeting a shopping center in Gaza Strip, Gaza on October 07, 2023. In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, Israel has abandoned "mowing the grass" in favor of a much more far-reaching and deadly strategy. Marcus Yam/Getty ImagesIn this war, Israeli leaders have used heated rhetoric while their forces maintain a deadly bombing campaign. Not the destruction of Israel of course, but a state on the West Bank and in Gaza," Mansoor said.

Persons: it's, —, Israel, Raphel Cohen, Peter Mansoor, Israel —, — Israel, we've, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, " Cohen, Ashraf Amra, Cohen, Israel couldn't, Jalaa Marey, Colin Powell, George W, Bush, G.I.s, Aysar, Amer, Jawad Turki, Nasser Ishtayeh, David Petraeus, Mansoor, Mansoor —, They're, Marcus Yam, that's Organizations: RAND, Service, AIR FORCE, US Army, Israel Defense Forces, ABC News, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Hamas, Islamic State, of Health, Post, Manila . Ohio Army National Guard, Israel, US, Jihad, West Bank, National Force, Ohio State University, Royal Air Force Locations: Iraq, Afghanistan, United States, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Mosul, Iraqi, Fallujah, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines, Pearl, Jenin, Tel Aviv, al Qaeda, Geneva, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

☆ Anti-Semitic riot in Russia's Dagestan leaves some local Jews shaken
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A view of gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in the ancient city of Derbent on the Caspian Sea coast in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, Russia, November 2, 2023. With row after row of gravestones engraved with the Star of David or portraits and pictures of the dead, Derbent's Jewish cemetery gives an indication of how large this coastal city's Jewish population once was. One of a string of enclaves of so-called Mountain Jews that pepper both Russia's Caucasus and neighbouring Azerbaijan, Derbent's Jews still speak a dialect of Persian that evokes their hometown's rich history. Today there are barely 2,000 Jews still living in Dagestan, once home to 10 times that." Alexander Fedotov, who was visiting Derbent's Jewish cemetery with Zoya Solomonova, said he thought the airport riot had been planned by someone intent on spoiling ties between Russia and Israel.

Persons: Kazbek Basayev, Zoya Solomonova, Vladimir Putin, David, Derbent's, Derbent, Shneor Segal, Alexander Fedotov, Eduard Ilgiyaev, I've, I'm, Andrew Osborn, Felix Light, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, West, Star, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Derbent, Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia, St Petersburg, Makhachkala, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Israel, Moscow, Chechnya, Azerbaijan

☆ The culinary delights hidden inside Hong Kong’s markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Maggie Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Hong Kong CNN —Offering everything from Michelin-endorsed dim sum to juicy smoked goose served in a world-renowned restaurant, Hong Kong is home to some of the finest culinary experiences on the planet. But don’t fret – we have put together a list of eight top-quality Hong Kong markets along with some of the best dishes to try. Queen Street Cooked Food MarketQueen Street Market serves some of the most authentic Chiuchow -- a regional Cantonese cuisine -- dishes. Maggie Wong/CNNA foodie haven in the north of Hong Kong, Yuen Long is a hub for both modern and traditional eateries. The relatively run-down look of the Fa Yuen Street Cooked Food Market inside only adds to the charm.

Persons: ”, Lui Ka Chun, Kongers, Lui, “, Wai Kee, Maggie Wong, Kau Kee, ngau, jyu beng, Kan, Hong Kong’s, Lok Yuen, yuen yeung, Tsang Kee, Chan Chun Kee, suckling, Tai Po Hui, Lam Kee, Tung Kee, Ping Kee, Ng Zai Kee, Bon, Tsun, CNN Kwun, Long, Tim Kee, Yuen Long, it’s, Kee’s, Fa, Mui Kee Congee, Shau Kee Wan Organizations: CNN, Hong Kong CNN, Michelin, Lok, Market, Queen, Thai &, Thai & Vietnam Cuisine, ABC, Tai Po Hui, Food, hawker, Hong Kong’s, Fa Yuen, Kitchen Locations: Hong Kong, Hong, hawker, Kong’s, Kan Kee, Kowloon City, Kowloon Walled City, Lok, Beijing, Thai, Thai & Vietnam, Tai Po, New Territories, Shanghai, Kwun Tong, CNN Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Sichuan, Yuen, Mong Kok, Aldrich, Aldrich Bay, Shau

Jerusalem CNN —The United Nations World Heritage Committee voted Sunday to list the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site in Jericho as a “World Heritage Site in Palestine.”The decision was made at a conference held in Riyadh, UNESCO said on its official X account, formerly known as Twitter. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, while Israel expressed ire. The newly designated site, located in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, contains ruins dating back to the ninth millennium BCE. “The outstanding universal value of the site qualifies it to be one of the World Heritage sites,” Ma’ayah said. In 2010, Jericho celebrated being the oldest walled city in the world, dating back to the modern Stone Age.

Persons: Antiquities Rula Ma’ayah, “, ” Ma’ayah, Jericho Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, United Nations World Heritage, UNESCO, Twitter, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Ministry, ., Tourism, Antiquities, CNN, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ” Locations: Jerusalem, Jericho, Palestine, Riyadh, Israel, Jordan

☆ Luciano Spalletti and the Power of Walking Away
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Luciano Spalletti’s farm sits high on a ridge outside Montaione, a peaceful, strikingly pretty Italian village set on a hilltop an hour or so southwest of Florence. It is picture-perfect Tuscany: cobbled piazzas lined with cafes; echoing, cobbled streets; a panorama of deep blue skies and verdant olive groves on rolling hills. The stretch of the Tuscan countryside Spalletti calls home is not quite so well-touristed as, say, Chianti. But Spalletti grew up here, in the medieval walled city of Certaldo, and he saw in the farm the chance to draw more people to the region. The view stretches all the way from Pisa, in the west, to the Apennines in the east.

Persons: Luciano, Spalletti Locations: Montaione, Florence, Tuscany, Certaldo, Pisa

☆ The story behind this playful rooftop portrait
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong’s humidity – already oppressive – was intensified in the dark, maze-like alleyways of an unruly enclave known as Kowloon Walled City. Greg Girard, courtesy of Blue Lotus GalleryA ‘strange, vertical village’Girard first visited Kowloon Walled City in 1986 while on a shoot at the nearby airport. As such, the Walled City remained technically subject to Chinese rule, though this was never enforced. The site of the Walled City has since been transformed into a public park, which opened in 1995. Ongoing interest in the Walled City is, Girard suggests, because of the spirit it encapsulates: the aptitude for survival even in the harshest of circumstances.

Persons: –, Greg Girard, wasn’t, ” Girard, ”, Girard, Greg Girard ., ’ Girard, “, Ian Lambot, Lambot, Girard — Organizations: CNN, Kai Tek International, Lotus Locations: Hong, Kowloon Walled City, Walled City, Walled, Tung, Hong Kong, British, ”, “, City, Girard

☆ A world in three islands on the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pavlo Fedykovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea lies a small country made up of three inhabited islands and irresistible allure. Across its three inhabited islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – you’ll find every sun-soaked aspect of the perfect vacation. The solution: Marsaskala, towards the southeastern tip of Malta island. Mellieħa Bay and St. Paul’s BayBugibba is a classic seaside resort town in St. Paul's Bay. The population is a modest two people, there are no cars, and no signs of globalization – just the untouched Mediterranean.

☆ After a month in Morocco, I can tell you the last place you want to stay is in a hotel or Airbnb
▼ + stars: | 2019-02-01 | by ( Harrison Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Take, for example, Riad Mimouna in the seaside city of Essaouira, where I stayed around New Year's. Like almost all riads — and unlike most hotels and Airbnbs in Morocco — Riad Mimouna was in the heart of the old medina of the city. The sitting room in Riad Mimouna. Harrison Jacobs/Business InsiderAs with most riads, each room of Riad Mimouna was designed differently. The seaview suite in Riad Mimouna.

Persons: —, Cyrus Bozorgmehr, Riad, Riad Mimouna, Harrison Jacobs, Mimouna, Dar Akal Organizations: Service, Fairmont, Marrakech riads, Brit, CNN, Business Locations: Morocco, Moroccan, riads, Marrakech, New York City, Essaouira, New Year's, Airbnbs, medina, Riad Mimouna, seaview, Mimouna, Fez, Dar, Dar Akal

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