An information and analytics digest for everyone going abroad or staying home

Archive — February 2005

Tourism

Travel notes from Syria and Lebanon

If it's the cold season outside, and you just happen to have a free week (but only one), the most optimal solution would be a trip to Syria and Lebanon. A moderate combination of exoticism…

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Tourism

Travel Notes from Syria and Lebanon – 3

The city of Hama can be called the most beautiful and most pleasant place in Syria. It is like an oasis of silence, peace and fresh air among the eastern bazaars of Syria. There are few people here…

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Culture

Painting, boats, sport and media art – 2

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Sport

Atypical footballer in unorganized China – 2

Sasha went to China alone, without his family (by the way, the club paid for infrequent flights for Golovko and his wife to and from China). It was incredibly boring. Especially for Golovko, known as…

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Sport

An Atypical Footballer in Disorganized China

Long-time captain of Kyiv Dynamo Alexander Golovko is not an ordinary footballer. And it’s not that he is the only one who has won the Ukrainian championship with two different teams – Simferopol’s…

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Education

Oxford bets on the rich

The new vice-chancellor (head of administration) of Oxford University, John Hood, has decided to fight the budget deficit threatening the position of England's oldest university in the international…

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Immigration

In Canada – a new 'broom' for immigration

In mid-January, Joe Volpe was appointed Canada's new minister of immigration and citizenship. Judy Sgro, who had previously headed the ministry, resigned amid allegations of 'political favoritism and…

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Real estate

How to rent a house by the Mediterranean Sea

Summer is not far off, and it's time to think about the upcoming vacation. There are many chores, albeit pleasant ones – you need to choose a country, a place, book a hotel. To avoid solving all…

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Education

IELTS and TOEFL as a ticket to life

Few people nowadays learn foreign languages for, as they say, 'their own sake'. For the majority, love of a foreign language is akin to love of convenience: knowledge of the language, confirmed by a…

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Culture

Painting, boats, sports and media art

What will a curious traveler see when visiting Central and Western Europe in February? Among the artists – Chagall, Caravaggio, Léger, Toulouse-Lautrec, de Nittis, and several group exhibitions, the…

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Immigration

Visa scandal in Berlin

In Berlin, on the initiative of representatives of the CDU party, a commission has begun work to investigate violations in the visa policy of the federal government, reports Deutsche Welle.

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News

Qatar to become a tourist paradise

Qatari authorities plan to turn this small state in the Persian Gulf into a tourist Mecca. The country, with a population of 800,000 people, two-thirds of whom are foreign labor, expects to attract a…

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Education

America doesn't value the educated

Astonishing things at first glance are happening in America. From across the ocean, it seems that this country is simply an earthly paradise for educated people with degrees from prestigious…

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Curiosities

Cubans Will Drink from Noon to Dawn

Following the introduction of smoking restrictions in public places, the Cuban government has established a new procedure for selling alcohol on the island. According to Izvestia.Ru, in both cases…

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Culture

Chinese New Year Will Bring Luck to Everyone!

Each time on the eve of the New Year, we all solemnly promise to start a new life. The first days of January pass, and our enthusiasm gradually subsides. And only the Chinese have a “second attempt”…

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Immigration

Tories want to restrict entry into Britain

The leader of the English Conservatives, Michael Howard, said that if his party comes to power, it will limit the admission of refugees, step up the fight against human smuggling and sham marriages…

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Visas

France moves to biometric visas

France is preparing to conduct a visa experiment: from March 2005, applicants will be issued biometric visas. According to Travel.ru, the plan to introduce biometric visas appeared back in 2003 and…

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News

Tourists begged to return to Southeast Asia

According to the latest data, as a result of the natural disaster in Southeast Asia, which affected the territories of 12 states, more than 300 thousand people died. The countries of Southeast Asia…

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Curiosities

In London, taxi drivers will bargain

Soon tourists who have mastered the rules of the Eastern bazaar while on holiday in Egypt or Turkey will be able to apply their bargaining skills in prim London.

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Immigration

Europe needs its own green card

Europe needs its own green card to meet the needs of the labor market, which current EU resources can no longer satisfy. This is stated in a European Commission statement, as Lenta.ru reports citing…

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Real estate

Tsunami raised prices in Asia

Rental housing prices in the capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, which suffered most from the December 26 tsunami, are now higher than in New York or London. This is reported by the Hong Kong…

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News

Lukashenko puts Belarusians under lock and key

The Belarusian authorities intend to stem the outflow of workers and women from the country. According to Gazeta.GZT.Ru, the draft of the corresponding law was developed on the personal directive of…

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Education

German students will become even poorer

From now on, each German federal state will decide for itself whether tuition at its universities is paid. And this means, reports Deutsche Welle, that there will likely be far fewer free…

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Airbus

“Extra” Air Miles Could Bankrupt Airlines

Airlines have faced a new problem that could ruin them: passengers have accumulated too large a number of unused “air miles.” By the end of 2004, 14 trillion air miles with a total value of $700…

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