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☆ Pope Francis orders return of Parthenon sculptures to Greece
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has decided to return to Greece three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon that have been in the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for more than a century. The pieces are being returned to Greece as London and Athens continue an artistic tug of war over the so-called Elgin Marbles. Greece has repeatedly called for the permanent return from the British Museum of the 2,500-year-old sculptures, which British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Greece's then-ruler. Earlier this month a Greek newspaper reported that a deal to return the marbles to Greece was close, but the Greek government said it was not imminent. In March, the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO urged Greece and Britain to reach a settlement.

☆ Soccer Moroccan fans scramble for World Cup flights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ahmed Eljechtimi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RABAT, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Moroccans scrambled on Friday to get seats on the seven additional flights that state carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has announced to help soccer fans get to Qatar for the World Cup quarter final against Portugal. A source at Morocco's soccer federation said it had agreed with RAM that fans seeking tickets on the additional flights should have tickets for the Saturday match and a Hayya card - Qatar's temporary entry visa for World Cup visitors. However, several fans at a RAM office in Rabat said they were able to get air tickets with only the Hayya card and hoped to buy match tickets on arrival in Doha. Fans attending the Casablanca stadium zone need to get there three hours early for a place, one of the organisers said. "Looking at how many T-shirts I have sold, I wish the World Cup lasted forever,” said Zouhir Sabir, a shop keeper in the old centre of Rabat.

☆ Greece, Britain discussing Parthenon Sculptures return but deal not close, Athens says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Renee Maltezou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ATHENS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The Greek government on Monday quashed local media reports that a deal with Britain over the repatriation of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens was imminent but said the two sides were in talks on the long-running dispute. The museum, custodian of the sculptures known in Britain as the Elgin Marbles, also reiterated it would not dismantle its collection. Last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that there was "progress" and a sense of "momentum" in talks with Britain to reunite the sculptures in Greece. Citing a British official, Greece's ANT1 TV said on Sunday that the only way to return the sculptures to Greece without violating British law was "if the British Museum opened a kind of annex in Greece". In March, the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO urged Greece and Britain to reach a settlement on the issue.

☆ Putin's top propagandist says Russia 'practically' took Kyiv at the start of the war, overlooking its humiliating retreat from the city
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The editor of Russia's RT outlet said Russia "practically" took Ukraine's capital in its invasion. In reality Russia never took Kyiv, and instead retreated and never returned. Simonyan did acknowledge that Russia's army left Kyiv earlier in the war, but not that the army was effectively forced to retreat. She said the main reason that Russia would "never bomb Kyiv" is because "our holy sites" are in the city. Simonyan hinted that Russia could bomb Washington, London, or Berlin, as Russia has no holy sites in those cities.

☆ Christmas vacations: 15 of the best places to go
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The Bath Christmas Market has a multitude of wooden chalets selling distinctively British handmade crafts in a quaint Georgian setting. Bogotá, ColombiaA woman dressed as Santa Claus sits next to a Christmas tree and a Christmas star at Bolivar Square in Bogota. Salzburg and Oberndorf, AustriaThe Christmas Market and associated festivities in Salzburg are really something to sing about. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg claims to be the oldest Christmas market in France and one of the oldest in Europe. damianalmua/Adobe StockThe traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white take on an entirely new meaning in New Zealand.

Persons: CNN —, Santa Claus, Claus, ”, Allan Baxter, Jesus, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Centre –, Austen, Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, Roy Rochlin, Bergdorf Goodman, Wangari Maathai, Fernando Vergara, “ Ruta, John’s, Miguel de Allende, Mary, Joseph, “ posada ”, Mozart, White Organizations: CNN, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, The, Royal, Catholic, Rockefeller, Getty Images Rockefeller, New York, Radio City, Columbus Circle, Fashion’s, Saks Fifth, Macy’s Herald Square, Kenyan, Park, Nuremberg, Toy Museum, Bolivar, Downtown, Malta Toy Museum, Quebec City, Adobe, Nord Expe, Mexico Piñatas, UNESCO, ”, Santa Locations: England, Philippines, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Santa, Bethlehem , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York City, Bethlehem, Moravian, Bath, “, Fernando , Philippines, Asia, San Fernando, Catholic Philippines, Manila, of Bethlehem, Barcelona, Spain, Santa Eulalia, New York City New York, Central Park, Macy’s, Nairobi, Kenya, Nuremberg, Germany, German, Bogotá, Colombia, Bogota, Christmastime, Malta, Downtown Valletta, Quebec City, Canada, Petit Champlain, Quebec, Old Quebec, Sentier, Nord, Miguel, Mexico, posadas, ponche, Piñatas, Salzburg, Oberndorf, Austria, ” Salzburg, Bavaria, Strasbourg, France, Europe, Queenstown , New Zealand, New Zealand, Queenstown, Wakatipu

☆ This Spanish city is the No. 1 place to live and work abroad―and it's about to get easier to become a digital nomad there
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Valencia, Spain, is the No. 1 city for expats to live and work abroad in 2022, according to a survey of more than 12,000 respondents from InterNations, an online expat community with more than 4.5 million global members. Among expats, Valencia earns the top spot for being "a safe place with an excellent climate, a vibrant nightlife and culture, a pleasant urban environment and great travel opportunities" while still being "fairly affordable," says InterNations founder Malte Zeeck. It could become the next big hotspot for non-European digital nomads to relocate, too. The Spanish parliament recently passed the so-called Startups Act, intended to boost entrepreneurship and diversify the economy, which includes creating a new type of visa for digital nomads expected to launch in January 2023.

☆ The French baguette gets UNESCO heritage status
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe French baguette gets UNESCO heritage statusThe French baguette has been added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

☆ Crunch time: U.N. puts baguette on cultural heritage list
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS — The humble baguette — the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world — is being added to the U.N.’s list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity. With the bread’s new status, the French government said it planned to create an artisanal baguette day, called the “Open Bakehouse Day,” to connect the French better with their heritage. With the bread’s new status, the French government said it planned to create an artisanal baguette day. It’s the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery that’s in danger. The “artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” was inscribed at the Morocco meeting among other global cultural heritage items, including Japan’s Furyu-odori ritual dances, and Cuba’s light rum masters.

☆ French baguette makes it onto World Cultural Heritage list
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The humble baguette, France's staple bread, has made it onto the United Nation's cultural heritage list. Paris-based U.N. heritage body UNESCO on Wednesday voted to include the "artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread" on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which already includes around 600 traditions from over 130 countries. This "celebrates the French way of life: the baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality," said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay. These days a baguette - which means "wand" or "baton" - is sold for around 1 euro ($1.04) each. ($1 = 0.9645 euros)Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia argues against ‘endangered’ status for Great Barrier Reef
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s environment minister said Tuesday her government will lobby against UNESCO adding the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered World Heritage sites. The report, which recommended shifting the Great Barrier Reef to endangered status, followed a 10-day mission in March to the famed reef system off Australia’s northeast coast that was added to the World Heritage list in 1981. “We’ll very clearly make the point to UNESCO that there is no need to single the Great Barrier Reef out in this way” with an endangered listing, Plibersek told reporters. “If the Great Barrier Reef is in danger, then every coral reef in the world is in danger,” Plibersek said. The Great Barrier Reef accounts for around 10% of the world’s coral reef ecosystems.

☆ Great Barrier Reef should be put on 'in danger' list, UN panel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Australia's Great Barrier Reef should be listed as a world heritage site that is "in danger", a UN panel recommended on Tuesday, saying the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem was significantly impacted by climate change and warming of oceans. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the government would push UNESCO to not list the reef as endangered because climate change was threatening all coral reefs across the world. "We'll clearly make the point to UNESCO that there is no need to single the Great Barrier Reef out in this way," Plibersek said during a media briefing. The independent Great Barrier Reef Foundation said it was already aware of the series of threats identified in the UN report but the recommendation to add the reef to the endangered list was premature. "The Great Barrier Reef is a wonder, she's got her challenges, but she's definitely not on her last legs in any case," Managing Director Anna Marsden told Reuters.

Insider's experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). My mother was a smart economizer — she knew her financial priorities and focused on them. Following her example, I have never deprived myself but also don't waste money on big-ticket items. My dad taught me how to invest for the long termMy dad, meanwhile, was not only a saver, but an investor. We figured out that no one has a "market on the market," so to speak.

☆ Holocaust survivors turn to TikTok to teach a new generation not to forget
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Emma Barnett | Emma Barnett Is An Associate Producer For Nbc News Now. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

In a recent TikTok video, 98-year-old Lily Ebert told her 1.9 million followers about the Auschwitz number tattooed on her forearm: A-10572. Like many Holocaust survivors, Ebert didn’t talk about the experience for decades. The last family photo of Lily and her siblings, taken around 1944; Lily Ebert is bottom right. The social media sensation known for her lighthearted dance videos has 8.7 million followers on TikTok and 2.8 million on Instagram. Those followers are learning through her new TikTok documentary series “How to: Never Forget” that she is also the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors.

☆ More Americans are living and working in Mexico. Where does that leave the locals?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Jaylinn Herrera | Jaylinn Herrera Is A Nbc News Associate With The Nbc National News Desk. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Mexico City has seen an influx of people migrating to the historic metropolis, especially during the pandemic when remote work made it possible to work from different places. Currently, 1.6 million Americans live in Mexico, according to the State Department, and Mexico City is the fifth rated destination for digital nomads globally, according to nomadlist.com. He emphasized Mexico City isn’t cheap, but in comparison to other countries digital nomads are migrating from, it’s considerably more affordable. “If you’re making your salary in U.S. dollars, pounds, Canadian dollars, you’re better off living in Mexico City.” Romero said. He believes those areas with higher numbers of digital nomads are already economically out of reach for most of the locals.

☆ This school in the Indian desert stays cool even in extreme heat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Chelsea Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Here, buildings have long been designed to adapt to the heat, a tradition that New York architect Diana Kellogg has followed with her work on the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School. Named the 2020 “Building of the Year” by Architectural Digest India, the eco-friendly sandstone school opened in November 2021 and 120 girls are currently enrolled in its curriculum, according to Kellogg. High ceilings and windows release rising heat in classrooms, while a solar panel canopy provides shade and energy. Kellogg calls it “a big, tight hug.”A view from above of the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl's School. Particular wind directions and different sandstones would regulate temperatures differently to the materials found and used in Jaisalmer, for example.

Persons: Diana Kellogg, Kellogg, ” Kellogg, “, ” Organizations: CNN, ’ School, CITTA, Architectural Digest, Diana Kellogg Architects, UNESCO, Girl's, Diana Kellogg Architects Comfort Locations: Jaisalmer, Golden, York, India, Kellogg

☆ Major glaciers in Kilimanjaro and Yosemite will disappear by 2050, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Major glaciers across the world, including those in the Dolomites in Italy, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the U.S., will be gone by 2050 even if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said in a report on Thursday. Even if global temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), an increasingly unlikely scenario, at least one-third of the roughly 18,000 glaciers across the 50 World Heritage sites will disappear by mid-century. Only a rapid reduction in our CO2 emissions levels can save glaciers and the exceptional biodiversity that depends on them," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement. The other glaciers can be saved only if emissions are reduced dramatically and global temperatures do not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, UNESCO warned in its report. Half of humanity depends directly or indirectly on glaciers as a water source for domestic use, agriculture and power, according to the report.

☆ Major glaciers, including Dolomites and Yosemite, to disappear by 2050 - UN report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/PARIS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Some of the world's most famous glaciers, including in the Dolomites in Italy, the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the United States and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania will disappear by 2050 due to global warming, whatever the temperature rise scenario, according to a UNESCO report. The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO monitors some 18,600 glaciers across 50 of its World Heritage sites and said that a third of those are set to disappear by 2050. While the rest can be saved by keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) relative to pre-industrial levels, in a business-as-usual emissions scenario, about 50% of these World Heritage glaciers could almost entirely disappear by 2100. World Heritage glaciers as defined by UNESCO represent about 10 percent of the world's glacier areas and include some of the world's best-known glaciers, whose loss is highly visible as they are focal points for global tourism. Carvalho said that the single most important protective measure to prevent major glacier retreat worldwide would be to drastically reduce carbon emissions.

☆ Here's what the Day of the Dead means, and why it endures
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Albinson Linares | Noticias Telemundo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

The "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. Claudio Cruz / AFP - Getty Images"In Mexico, Nov. 1 and 2 are very special days because they celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, respectively," said Diana Martínez, an academic at the Institute of Anthropological Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM. By the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Church established Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day. People take part in the "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. He's worked at the cemetery from a very young age and has witnessed many Día de los Muertos celebrations.

☆ Mexico City govt joins Airbnb to lure 'digital nomads', despite rising rent fears
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Figurines are seen in front of the Airbnb logo in this illustration taken February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMEXICO CITY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Mexico City's mayor said on Wednesday she wants to boost the number of 'digital nomads' in the capital after signing an agreement with short-term rental platform Airbnb, despite fears the influx is pricing residents out of the rental market. Average daily rates for short-term rentals across Mexico City jumped 27% to $93 in August 2022 compared with the same month in 2019, data from market research company AirDNA shows. Airbnb is also opening its platforms for Mexican residents to create tourism experiences around their daily activities, according to Sheinbaum. The partnership between Mexico City's government and Airbnb is also backed by UNESCO, United Nations' cultural agency.

☆ Here’s the Dirt on ‘House of the Dragon’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( John Jurgensen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In a recent “House of the Dragon” episode, search parties hunt for a prince hiding in Flea Bottom, a slum lined with brothels and itchy-looking commoners. Scenes were shot in the Spanish city of Cáceres, where medieval authenticity came with a catch: Crews were restricted on the amount of simulated filth they could slather on the ancient walls and cobblestone streets of the tourist destination, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The disadvantage is it can look a little Disney -fied and clean,” said Jim Clay, the show’s production designer.

☆ Here’s the Dirt On ‘House of the Dragon’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( John Jurgensen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In a recent “House of the Dragon” episode, search parties hunt for a prince hiding in Flea Bottom, a slum lined with brothels and itchy-looking commoners. Scenes were shot in the Spanish city of Cáceres, where medieval authenticity came with a catch: crews were restricted on the amount of simulated filth they could slather on the ancient walls and cobblestone streets of the tourist destination, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “The disadvantage is it can look a little Disney -fied and clean,” said Jim Clay, the show’s production designer.

☆ Congolese NGOs decry mining in main refuge of 'Africa's unicorn'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Erikas Mwisi Kambale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Industrial activities are supposed to be banned in the 13,000 square kilometers of the reserve in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo. Aerial photo evidence shows mining has persisted, the civil society groups said at a joint news conference to mark the international day of the okapi. The NGOs blamed a Chinese company called Kimia Mining, which has previously been accused of flouting a ban on river-dredging in Ituri province and other mining regulations, according to a 2016 report by a UN Group of Experts. There was no available contact information to reach Kimia Mining for comment. Congo is currently at loggerheads with conservationists and scientists over its plan to open other parts of its rainforest and peatlands to oil and gas drilling.

☆ Tourists in Italy are behaving badly this year: Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

With Europe seeing an explosion of visitors a year after Covid travel restrictions dropped, incidents of visitors behaving badly in Italy show no sign of abating. Think that’s bad? Meanwhile in Venice, tourists routinely swim in the UNESCO-protected canals, which double as the city’s sewer system. “Tourists don’t know how to relate to the artistic heritage because they have no relation with our history – so they refer to their cultural imagination, and therefore to our cinema. “So many tourists have said to me over the years, ‘In Italy there are no rules.’ But they are mistaken.

Persons: Gennaro Sangiuliano, ”, Ivan, Haley, destructively, –, surfed, Augustus, ENIT, Eike Schmidt, Florence – Italy’s, we’ve, it’s, Schmidt, serena, panini, Luigi Brugnaro, Gianfranco Zarantonello, “, Zarantonello, zipping, you’d, Tom Jenkins, “ It’s, Nicola Bassano, Dolce, Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Trevi, Vita ”, Vita, ” Maria Pasquale, ” Jenkins, Giorgia, Dr Audrey Tang, We’re, they’d, “ Jung, it's, ” Tang, “ That’s, Tang, ” Zarantonello, Lord Byron, Byron, “ Byron, Michelangelo’s Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, carabinieri, Maserati, Vatican Museum, Uffizi, Roma, Tourists, European Tourism Association, United, Vita, Twitter, Parco, British Psychological Society Locations: Italy, Rome, Saudi, Venice, Australian, American, ENIT, Florence, ”, Italian, Czech, Belgian, eFoils, Southeast Asia, France, Spain, ‘, ” Venice, Europe, It’s, Grand, Vatican

The repatriation is part of a worldwide movement by cultural institutions to return artifacts that were often stolen during colonial wars. African nations and scholars have put pressure on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, to return stolen African artifacts for years, according to Chika Okeke-Agulu, program director of African studies at Princeton University. But he said most African artifacts tend to remain in Europe. The following year, he commissioned a report focusing on restitution efforts, which commenced a repatriation movement of African artifacts throughout Europe. Abba Isa Tijani, director-general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, agrees, hoping the recent transfer of the African bronze sculpture inspires more museums to return African artifacts, opening the door for better relationships.

☆ Here are the origins of the oldest public library in the Americas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

PUEBLA, Mexico — It is, according to UNESCO, the oldest public library in the Americas, tucked away from the street front at a cultural center in the historic heart of this Mexican city. “Everything that was imagined at that time is in the library,” said Juan Fernández del Campo, the library’s current manager. Palafox’s passion for books is evident in a quote from him, written on a mosaic outside the library. This was not the time for Mexico to raise its wings toward freedom of thought,” the library manager said. The library reopened in 2002; two years later it was added by UNESCO to its Memory of the World Register.

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