Krakow recognized as the world's most fashionable city
The American agency Orbitz - a giant in the US tourism market - has awarded Krakow the title of the world's most fashionable city. Explaining their choice, the agency's experts noted that Krakow is the "new Prague."
They emphasized that the city is the cultural capital of Poland. The authorities of Krakow maintain all historical and architectural monuments in excellent condition. In addition, the entertainment infrastructure is well developed here. According to experts, it is best to visit Krakow in January and February, when the carnival takes place and entertainment venues are open around the clock. Following Krakow in the list of "seven most fashionable cities in the world" are Spanish Valencia and Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh City.
Crossing the border will be easier during the New Year holidays
During the New Year and Christmas holidays, the Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will ensure a simplified passage regime for organized tourist groups.
According to the press service of the department, during the New Year holidays many Ukrainian tourists travel to Europe to relax at ski resorts in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria. Therefore, additional lanes will be allocated for organized groups of tourists at border crossing points with Poland ("Rava-Ruska", "Krakivets", "Shehyni"), with Slovakia ("Uzhhorod"), with Hungary ("Tisa"), and with Romania ("Porubne"). At other automobile crossing points, the above-mentioned groups will be allowed through out of turn.
As practice shows, in the period from December 20 to January 10, the flow of people at the western section of the border increases several times. This is due to the large number of Ukrainians working abroad who begin returning to Ukraine from December 20, and from the first days of January go abroad again for the holidays.
Parliamentarians amended the Family Code of Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the Family and Civil Codes of Ukraine aimed, in particular, at improving the mechanism for changing a citizen's name. 321 people's deputies voted for the corresponding law.
A person who has reached the age of 14 has the right to change their name or surname with the consent of their parents or one of them if the other parent has died, is declared missing, declared dead, declared incompetent, deprived of parental rights, or their details have been removed from the birth record entry.
The law abolished provisions of the Family Code on the possibility of reinstating a marriage after its dissolution, as well as the right to adopt a child by one of the spouses in case of separate residence without the consent of the other spouse. Amendments were also made to the procedures for determining the child's origin in cases of artificial insemination or implantation, and the procedure for resolving disputes between mother and father regarding the place of residence of a minor child.
In Indonesian airports, passengers' eyes will be scanned by a scanner
Passengers at Jakarta's international airport can avoid queues at check-in points by using the iris scanning system.
According to Reuters, the new program for travelers arriving or departing from Indonesia is called Saphire. To make the registration control procedure fast and convenient, you will need to pay an annual fee of $200.
The project was created by an Indonesian-Dutch enterprise. According to its representatives, passenger registration when scanning the iris takes about ten seconds. "This not only saves customers' time but also relieves terminals during large influxes of visitors, and allows more time to be spent on suspicious individuals, which should ultimately reduce the terrorist threat," they stated.
Currently, 550 people have become users of this service. It is planned that their number will increase to 20,000, and these will mainly be citizens of Indonesia. In the Netherlands, about 33,000 people already use a similar system in airports.
Recall that at the end of November, similar passenger accounting and control systems appeared in some US airports (for example, at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York). However, there they are installed as an experiment, and the cost of a special plastic card on which the biometric parameters of its owner are recorded is $100.
Austrian students demand the abolition of tuition fees
Austrian students blocked the busiest ring road in Vienna near the University of Vienna for days, demanding free education. The action lasted only 363 seconds, which corresponds to the semester fee in euros.
The protesters blocked the street with a banner calling on the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which won the October parliamentary elections, to keep its election promise and abolish tuition fees. A petition with the same demand was handed to SPÖ leader Alfred Gusenbauer before the start of the next round of negotiations on forming a ruling coalition. Five thousand people signed the message.
The number of tourists arriving in Israel has decreased
This year, the flow of tourists to Israel during the Hanukkah holidays decreased by 25% and amounts to 80,000 people (a year ago their number reached 120,000). At the same time, losses from the reduction in tourist flow could reach $80 million - based on the calculation that each tourist brings the country $2,000. In November, experts also noted a 30% decrease in guest numbers.
According to experts, the reason for the decline was the war with Lebanon, due to which many travelers refused to visit Israel. The situation will not change until April, when a recovery in tourist flow can be expected, writes IS "Cursor."
Recall that a similar situation occurred in Lebanon. The amount of damage inflicted on the country's tourism sector by the actions of the Israeli military is estimated by experts at $3 billion. Before the war, which lasted 33 days, tourists coming to Lebanon from Arab countries made up 42% of the total number of vacationers. After the end of hostilities, the flow of tourists to the country decreased by 43% compared to 2005 data.
Arizona in the USA – the fastest-growing state
The American state of Arizona has for the first time broken Nevada's 19-year monopoly on the title of the fastest-growing state, reports the Tucson Citizen citing data from the Federal Census Bureau.
According to the study, population growth is driven not only by increased birth rates but also by labor migration. During the reporting period, more than 100,000 Americans moved to the state for permanent residence. The main 'donor' in this process was California. The population was also replenished by 32,000 legal immigrants (the number of illegal immigrants was not counted).
In addition to Arizona's successes, the study also noted the demographic results of other states. Thus, North Carolina for the first time managed to enter the top ten most populous states, displacing New Jersey; the populations of New York, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Michigan, on the contrary, decreased. The District of Columbia also showed disappointing demographic statistics.