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The Central Bank of Malta has published its 2012 Coin Programme listing the new coins to be issued this year. Coins which have already been issued are also referred to in the programme. Details are as follows: * A €2 commemorative coin celebrating "Ten years of the euro" to be issued in rolls of 25 coins each, on sale from March; * A gold and silver numismatic coin issued under the Europa Programme 2012 "European Artists" featuring the sculpture 'Les Gavroches' (Street Urchins) by Antonio Sciortino, on sale from March; * A collector's medal featuring the Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette and St. John's Co-Cathedral. This medal is part of a presentation pack, which includes a DVD on renowned historical sites in Malta issued by the Malta Tourism Authority, on sale from May; * A Euro Coin Set dated 2012 consisting of the eight Maltese euro circulation coins, a €2 commemorative coin, which is the second in a series of five coins featuring milestones from Malta's constitutional history (see below) and a replica coin of the Roman period, on sale from June; * A €2 commemorative coin relating to Malta's...

Protestors are getting tear gassed in Cairo tonight. They are angry about the terrible loss of life during a soccer match in Port Said that killed 74 people. Protestors have in fact been quite active in Cairo since January 26. So, I've had a few people ask me "is it safe to travel to Egypt right now"?

I was asked the same question a year ago, because the streets of Egypt were ablaze, and the US Department of State had not yet issued an official "Travel Warning". That's what happens when there's politics involved. However, being cautious before saying "don't go" is smart since many Egyptians rely on tourism to earn a living. An off the cuff remark about lack of safety can do a lot of unnecessary damage (think Kenya in 2008). So, is it safe to travel to Egypt?

In my humble opinion, if you have a Nile cruise booked, or a Red Sea beach holiday on the horizon, then I think the security risks remain quite low. However, unless you take a charter flight from Europe, you will be passing through Cairo, and it's a little combustible right now. I would also avoid soccer matches and anything that looks remotely like a political rally.

The revolution has brought a lot of change, but it is an ongoing process. And what generally tends to happen when you overthrow a dictatorship is that the crazy security system they upheld to stay in power, also goes out the window. Hence an emotional soccer match ends up in a tragedy. Not spending time in Cairo is what I would advise, but then you miss out on the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids. That's a shame.

If I was booked on a trip to Egypt right now, I would check the news, and the US Department of State travel advisories. Also check other countries' foreign offices like Canada or Australia, that have less to lose politically by announcing travel warnings. Also, call the agency that booked you. Their people on the ground will have the best idea of what's safe.  And if there is a travel advisory issued, here's what to do...

More About: Is it Safe to Travel to Egypt? l Current Africa Travel Warnings l BBC - Clashes in Cairo

Image of Protester at Demonstrations In Cairo Following Football Stadium Deaths - © Getty Images/Ed Giles

Is It Safe to Travel to Egypt? originally appeared on About.com Africa Travel on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 14:30:25.

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Colombia 's Ministry of Business, Industry, and Tourism with use than $200 thousand dollars donated from the European Union (EU) to provide FTA workshops from Februrary 9. Minister Sergio ...

[1] In April 2010, Shia LaBeouf was set [2] to team up with commercial director Dante Ariola for The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman. However, scheduling issues got in the way and in March 2011, Zac Efron and a different commercial director, Fredrik Bond, stepped in [3] to take their place. Now things have shifted around yet again, as Efron exits, LaBeouf re-enters, and Bond remains at the helm. LaBeouf is best known for his leading role in the blockbuster Transformers franchise, but he'll be going somewhat smaller in his upcoming projects. His next appearances will be opposite Tom Hardy in John Hillcoat's The Wettest County this August, and opposite Anna Kendrick and Nick Nolte in Robert Redford's The Company You Keep. With LaBeouf's re-invovlement pushing Charlie Countryman into pre-production, it's scheduled for a May start in Eastern Europe. Matt Drake's pulp romance, which landed on the 2007 Black List, centers an American man who travels to Eastern Europe. He falls in love with a woman whose ex, unfortunately, happens to be a violent crime boss. [Variety [4]] After the jump, Kate Hudson, Bill Hader, and Josh Gad get animated for DreamWorks. Book of Mormon star Josh Gad, Bill Hader, and Kate Hudson will lend their vocal talents to the leads of Me & My Shadow, an animated fantasy from DreamWorks. Hader will voice a shadow named Stan, who's attached to a boring human named Stanley Grubb (Gad) but longs for something grander. When things go awry in the shadow world, Stan takes control of Grubb in an effort to save both their lives, and the pair wind up on an adventure involving a shadow-world baddie who wants to conquer the human world. Hudson will voice a human love interest for Grubb. The new role will be Hudson's first time doing voice work, but her co-stars have somewhat more experience in that department. Hader's previous animation work includes Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, while Gad voiced 2010's Marmaduke and will be heard in this summer's Ice Age: Continental Drift. Me & My Shadow marks the directorial debut of Alessandro Carloni, who served as head of story on the studio's Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon. Melissa Cobb (Kung Fu Panda) is on board to produce. But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the film will be its mixing of CG and traditional animation -- the former will be used to render the "real" world, while the shadow land will be hand-drawn. Me & My Shadow is slated for a November 13, 2013 release. [THR [5]] [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/Shia-LaBeouf1.jpg [2] http://www.slashfilm.com/shia-labeouf-to-star-in-the-necessary-death-of-charlie-countryman/ [3] http://www.slashfilm.com/fredrik-bond-direct-zac-efron-action-comedy/ [4] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049541.html [5] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dreamworks-me-my-shadow-kate-hudson-bill-hader-286141

Latest data for August show a fall of almost 21% y-o-y . Tourist arrivals from Europe fell by 19% y-o-y, while tourists from Middle East countries were down some 14%, compared with August 2010.

Ozone pollution travels between continents easily, traveling thousands of miles on the wind. The chemical - a powerful air pollutant - damages crops by inhibiting growth, say University of Leeds researchers.

The European Central Bank should help alleviate Greece's debt burden by forgoing profits on its Greek bonds, but should not go as far as accepting losses, Wolfgang Franz, the head of a panel... Provisional data and early estimates about the course of the tourism season in 2012 give good cause for some concern.

The discovery and exploitation of natural gas resources off Cyprus' coast could make a substantial contribution to Europe's energy security and increase the region's geopolitical stability, the Director of Energy at Cyprus Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Solon Kassinis said today.

Mexico and the European Union have signed an agreement to bolster bilateral tourism, authorities said.

Mexico and the European Union have signed an agreement to bolster bilateral tourism, authorities said.

International tourist arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UN World Tourism Organization World Tourism Barometer. By region Europe was the best performer having ...

International tourist arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UN World Tourism Organization World Tourism Barometer. By region Europe was the best performer having ...

International tourist arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UN World Tourism Organization World Tourism Barometer. By region Europe was the best performer having ...

Norristown's Stefania Luciani is a multi-faceted, international artist whose works include everything from oil paintings to soft muted landscapes, to wall size oil canvasses and mosaics.

No plans to abandon Europe 1/17/2012 By Jenna Marshall While approaching new emerging markets as possible sources for the business and tourism sectors, Tourism Minister Richard Sealy has ...

The co-stars have reunited for the sequel to the 2008 thriller; in which a retired CIA agent travels across Europe to find his daughter, who was kidnapped on a trip to Paris to be sold into prostitution.

In southeast Europe, the Danube River connects history and commerce. The calm waters attract tourists and commercial enterprises continue to grow.

Malta International Airport's targets for this year is the inauguration of the Skyparks Project and a focus on emerging markets in the east of Europe, CEO Markus Klaushofer said this afternoon. Speaking during a visit by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco, the newly appointed CEO, who took on responsibility for the airport last Sunday, said that last year was a successful one for MIA, which registered a record 3.5 million passenger movements. "In effect, this means an increase of 6.5 per cent over 2010, which in itself was a record year which had then registered an increase of 12.8 per cent over 2009." He said his plans for this year were the inauguration of the Skyparks Business Centre and a focus on the marketing department to target emerging markets in the east of Europe where he saw huge potential. Mr Klaushofer said he worked in Russia before coming to Malta and he had good contacts which he hoped he would be able to use. He also welcomed the strong relationship between the airport, the Malta Tourism Authority and the government. Before coming to Malta, Mr Klaushofer, 38, spent three years at...

Nation (Nairobi)-Hotels at the Coast are enjoying roaring business with the influx of tourists from non-traditional source markets of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

Last week, I discussed the "bad" places to visit in Europe - bad as in baden, meaning bath, or spa resorts.

Parliamentary Secretary Mario DeMarco this morning visited three hotels and a restaurant in the Sliema area, thanking all the staff for their contribution to a "positive year in tourism". Accompanied by MTA and MHRA representatives, Dr DeMarco commended the hospitality shown by hotels and catering establishments. "The best publicity we can give about Malta is when tourists, upon returning to their respective home countries, speak highly of their experience in Malta. "The first thing a tourist sets his eyes on is his accommodation," he said, as he shook hands with housekeeping staff at the Preluna, thanking them for the service quality they provided during one of the toughest years the islands have seen. Dr DeMarco visited the Palace, the Preluna and the Plaza hotels in Sliema, before heading to Barracuda restaurant in St Julian's. Earlier this week, Dr DeMarco said the year was characterised by an unstable economic scenario and the introduction of austerity measures in a number of European countries, many of them Malta's core markets. Despite such challenges Malta managed to outperform last year's record. "Intense ...

2011 will close with a six per cent increase in tourist arrivals over 2010 which had already seen a 13 per cent increase on the previous year. A total of 1,357,971 people visited Malta by the end of November and the 1.4 million benchmark will be reached by the end of the year. Addressing a news conference this morning, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said that this year's positive results were achieved in spite of a difficult year for the industry. Next year was expected to be another difficult year especially because of issues that affected Malta's source markets, including austerity measures. The outlook for the tourism industry in Europe was moderate, in the range of two to three per cent growth. On the local front, the restructuring of Air Malta and the issue of accessibility will remain the most pressing challenges for 2012, he said. Dr de Marco mentioned as an example the decision by Ryanair to ground 75 of its aircraft this winter across Europe. He noted that a new flight connection between Toulouse and Malta, starting in April, as well as increased frequency by Lufthansa from Munich and Frankfurt, as well as...

By Dr. Elias Akleh

Economic sanctions are arrogant open acts of war against other nations. Their goal is to devastate the lower and middle classes and to weaken the country. The regime of the imposing country believes that its economy is superior and is so influential that other countries are so dependent on it and could not survive without it.

Economic sanctions are deceitfully justified as punishing a ruthless political regime and protecting human rights of an oppressed people. Such people are the most devastated when their economy is hurt while the ruling regime may become more oppressive in its reaction in order to protect and to preserve itself. Case in point is the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children who died due to lack of medicine during the economic embargo after the Gulf War while the Iraqi regime had its own reserve of all kinds of medications stored for itself.

The sanctioning regime hopes that the sanctioned population would hurt so bad that, with some external encouragement and hope for economic relief; they would rise up and topple their own regime. The other scenario is that the military industry of the sanctioned regime becomes so weak and ineffective that the regime would not stand a chance in any military confrontation, similar to what happened in Iraq.

Such scenarios take place in a country that is faced with sanctions by the majority of the international community. On the other hand countries facing partial sanctions rise up to the challenge and become more self-sufficient and more independent. Cuba, with the longest economic embargo, North Korea and Iran are examples of such countries. Due to its large size and important natural resources, Iran had advanced its industry even to achieve nuclear technology.

Due to its leadership in resisting the Zionist expansionist plans in the Middle East, and for supporting the national resistance and liberation groups of Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, and due to its alliance with Iran, Syria was subjected to many Western schemes of regime change. The whole Arab Spring movement has been primarily orchestrated and geared towards regime change in Syria, that is meant eventually to lead to a regime change in Iran; a frontier for Russia and China. Under the justification of protecting the lives of Syrian civilians rebelling against their government and protecting their humanitarian rights, Syria is subjected to economic sanctions imposed first by Western countries then by the Arab League.

Economic sanctions are not new to Syria, who was subjected to such sanctions since mid 1970’s imposed by the US. Since then Syria had risen to this challenge and had developed immunity against sanctions.  What is new today is that the Arab League, with many of its member countries, joined by Turkey, had also imposed economic sanctions against Syria. The Arab League, with the leadership of Qatar, has been manipulated and used as a Trojan horse by an American/British/French triad to topple Syrian regime and to inflict the country with a civil war, similar to Libya, in the service of terrorist Israel and the expansionist Zionist plan in the Middle East.

Syrian economy is not dependent nor tied to any Western economy, thus these sanctions have no real effect on Syria. Syria is mainly an agricultural country and thus is mostly self-sufficient except in the technological sector which is filled mainly by Asian countries such as China, India, Russia and Iran. Also Syria has good economic trade with some Latin American countries. 

Many neighboring Arab countries such as the Gulf States, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon import and are dependent on Syrian agricultural products. Lebanon and Iraq rejected the Arab League sanction and continue trade with Syria. The mostly desert Jordan shares borders with Syria and is heavily dependent on Syrian food products and water resources. Many Jordanian students study in Syrian universities. Jordan will hurt greatly by the sanctions. So the Jordanian king requested the Arab League to relief Jordan and to be treated as an exception in the sanctions.

Expecting the sanction Syria had withdrawn its money from the rest of the Arab central banks, especially the Jordanian Central Bank, causing a shortage and crises in these banks. Gulf States, especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have to compensate these shortages. Food prices in Syrian neighboring countries may double to cover the extra expenses of importing food from other resources. Tourism industry will also suffer greatly. Tourists, who used to travel to neighboring Syria, have now to pay extra for travelling to farther countries.

Some energy companies, who are invested in Syria and now withdrawing, will also suffer greatly for abiding with the sanction. French companies are the largest losers in these sanctions. French Total Oil Company, Lafarge Construction Company, and Airbus Company will lost millions of dollars worth of investment in Syria.

Royal Dutch Shell had also announced its withdrawal from Syria with a loss of 40% shares of oil production; a huge investment in the industry.

Canadian Suncor Energy, the second largest Canadian oil company, had announced cessation of its oil, gas and electricity production in Syria. Suncor had big investments that include 50-50 joint venture with the Syrian General Petroleum Corporation producing about 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and roughly 1,000 barrels of oil per day.  Suncor’s cessation will cost the company a lot of money and privileges.

Syria used to export about 150,000 oil barrel per day to European countries, whose revenue comprised roughly 30% of Syria total revenue. The withdrawal of these energy companies and the ban on oil imports from Syria are planned to have a great impact on Syria’s ability to produce and export oil and gas, and thus devastate the country’s economy. Fortunately this is far away from reality and the real loss was to these energy companies and to European consumers, who have now to pay more money to compensate for these losses and to cover the cost of importing oil from more expensive sources.

The withdrawal of these European energy companies had created a golden opportunity for other eager energy companies to fill this vacancy. State-owned companies of countries, who rejected the sanctions, including the China National Petroleum Corporation and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, had made significant investments in Syrian energy industry offering Syria better deals than their European counterparts. Russia and Iran are expected soon to follow. Iran had already signed an all inclusive trade agreement with Syria last Tuesday December 13th.

Turkey’s role in the Syrian crisis draws a special attention. In the recent past Turkey has improved its trade dealing with Syria tremendously. Now-a-days Turkey had turned its face complete 180 degrees and started criticizing and even directly attacking the Syrian regime. It also seemed that Turkey, a non-Arab country, had occupied the Syrian seat in the Arab League. Turkey had played a great role with Qatar in persuading the Arab League to declare the sanctions against Syria. Turkey was the first to adopt the sanctions by freezing $110 million of Syrian money in its banks, by imposing high taxes on imported Syrian products, and by declaring a safe zone on its Syrian borders to protect what is called Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Turkey’s slap had returned to its face. Turkey has more than $250 million worth of investment in Syria that will be lost. Syria had countered with banning Turkish goods. Turkish sanction came as blessings in disguise to the Syria, whose industry, comprising 27% of its economy, had suffered by the past Turkish/Syrian trade agreement due to the cheap Turkish goods that were favored over the local Syrian goods. After the Turkish sanction the local Syrian industries got revived. Recep Tayyip Ordogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, is faced now with huge criticism from oppositional parties as well as his own accusing him of harboring FSA in Turkey.

The economic sanctions have important political awakening in the Arab nation in general and the Syrians in particular. The decisions of the Arab League in dealing with the Syrian crisis in particular and with the Arab Spring movement in general, particularly in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, had shown the League without any further doubt as a political tool manipulated by the West to oppress Arabs, keep their land divided, and to open their natural resources for theft. It had never served any of the Arab’s national causes. In the primary Arab cause; the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the League had given Israel 10 long years, so far, to respond to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative while not giving Syria more than just one week to deal with its rebels before imposing sanctions. For rebuffing their Peace Initiative major Arab leaders had welcomed Israel to open embassies in the capitals rather than fighting Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

While aggressively and hastily supporting the alleged popular Syrian revolution against the ruling regime the League refuse to accept support petition letters from leaders of genuine popular revolution against very oppressive regimes of Yemen and Bahrain. 

When Syrian citizens rallied behind their leadership, the president of the supposed Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, hurried back to his Western handlers licking their hands begging for more support. He declared that once receiving Syrian leadership he would cut ties with Iran, end arms supplies to Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, and would negotiate with Israel over Golan Heights.

Economic sanctions against Syria are blessings in disguise. Economically they challenged Syrians to become more independent and look for other avenues for trade. The sanctions rather than splitting Syrian from Iran have really pushed Syria deeper into Iran’s arms. They have also awakened Syrian national pride and loyalty to their country and leadership. The realities of many Arab leaders and the Arab League have been clearly exposed as Western puppets.

- Dr. Elias Akleh is an Arab writer of Palestinian descent, born in the town of Beit-Jala. Currently he lives in the US. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.

Barbados welcomed 248 visitors from Scandinavia yesterday and Tourism Minister Richard Sealy said it showed the strategy to explore the British and European markets separately was working.

THE Ministry of tourism is seeking additional Sh450 million funding from treasury to finance renewed market campaigns in Europe to mitigate effects of the Eurozone crisis which various analysts fear may lead to a recession.

PLAYERS in the tourism industry, Taita Taveta county have said that the travel advisories issued by some European countries have not affected tourism in the region.

Saturday brings the biggest game of the Spanish season -- maybe of the European season -- so far, as Barcelona travels to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the capital to take on Real Madrid.

Lie down with me, Watson!” beseeches a bare-chested Robert Downey Jr. to Jude Law midway through Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to his 2009 Conan Doyle makeover. Hmm: is Britain’s most celebrated literary sleuth about to swap 221b Baker Street for Brokeback Mountain?

OK, so the line in question arrives in the middle of a locomotive stand-off, with Holmes and Watson only going supine to avoid a hail of Grenadier bullets ripping through a train carriage. But even through the cordite, the whiff of homoeroticism is hard to miss in a film that often forgoes deductive mystery in favour of unabashed man-love.

Witness the scene in which a dole-faced RDJ stands morosely by as Law walks down the aisle with his betrothed (Kelly Reilly), or another in which Watson labours manfully, and tearfully, to haul a wounded Holmes back from the brink of death. (God only knows what stops him administering the kiss of life.)

Small wonder Noomi Rapace barely gets a look-in as the gypsy fortune teller who joins them on their travels, this girl needing rather more than a dragon tattoo to draw Sherlock’s gaze.

Yet as close as Rob and Jude get as they pursue an international conspiracy from London and Paris to Switzerland, there’s an even more intriguing relationship in A Game Of Shadows: that between Sherlock and his fabled nemesis Moriarty, played with suavity and silky menace by Mad Men’s Jared Harris.

Not only does this ensure Holmes 2 is an improvement on its predecessor, it also lends welcome dramatic heft to a film that might otherwise be defined by its smirking insouciance – not to mention present Holmes with an adversary who is his intellectual as well as physical equal.

Boys aloud

Having a decent antagonist really makes the difference here. An early encounter between Holmes and Moriarty in the latter’s study recalls nothing so much as a Bondian tête-à-tête. (Rarely has urbane chit-chat about chess, graphology and celestial mechanics carried so potent a charge.)

Yet it does bolster your suspicion that this is a Boy’s Own club from the director’s chair downwards, something the virtual cameo of Rachel McAdams’ returning Irene Adler does little to dispel. You’d think Rapace would be well placed to inject an oestrogenic element as the Tarot card-reading Sim.

Yet the Swedish actress – not looking entirely comfortable in her first English-speaking role – is little more than a gooseberry, her third-wheel status reflected in the solemn and unsmiling demeanour she projects even when the movie’s at its goofiest.

You could argue husband and wife screenwriters Kieran and Michele Mulroney are just being true to their source material – the loyal Mrs Hudson apart, Sir Arthur’s yarns were never renowned for their female characters.

But given how little literary fidelity they display in other areas, their failure to give Shadows a satisfying non-male presence must surely count as a missed opportunity. The piece’s general attitude towards women is neatly encapsulated by the scene in which Sherlock pushes Reilly’s Mary off the aforementioned choo-choo.

Her indignities do not end there either, a later scene requiring her to share the screen with a naked Stephen Fry in his role as Holmes’ elder brother Mycroft. Take our word for it, readers: this is one blockbuster that would not be better for being in 3D.

Heading for a Falls

Like the bowler-hatted sniper who dogs its heroes’ footsteps, Shadows doesn’t always hit the target. But in the action department, it scores a bullseye, an opening scrap between Sherlock and four assailants setting the benchmark for a later skirmish with a seemingly invincible Cossack, a frantic dash through a forest splintered by heavy artillery, and a climactic confrontation at Reichenbach Falls that Conan Doyle lovers will recognise from The Final Problem.

Yes, a rather unpleasant scene at Harris’ secret weapon factory introduces a note of flesh-puncturing sadism more in keeping with producer Joel Silver’s Lethal Weapon quadrilogy.

But this is counterbalanced by an amusing interlude in a Romany camp that enables Ritchie to reference the raucous rough and tumble of his 2000 caper Snatch. (“Brace yourself, Watson,” Downey mutters as he and Law are circled by pickpockets. “We’re about to be violated!”).

Clocking in at 10 minutes over the two-hour mark, you might expect Shadows to drag. But the film romps along at a merry old clip, rarely pausing for breath as it speeds across Europe via car, boat and Shetland Pony.

Admittedly, you might wish Moriarty had a slightly more fiendish masterplan than the one he eventually details. But this is a minor blip in a higher-grade sequel that puts as few feet wrong as Sherlock does on the dance floor during the peace-summit finale.

“Our relationship has not yet run its course,” Downey Jr. informs Law at one point. And if Shadows achieves anything, it’s to make us hope he’s right.

Malta International Airport and the Malta Tourism Authority this afternoon welcomed the announcement by Air France yesterday that it will be starting a scheduled service between Malta and Toulouse from April. This will be the first time that Air France will be operating a scheduled service to Malta. Malta Airport CEO Austin Calleja said it was significant that a legacy carrier like Air France had decided to put Malta in its network. This tied in with the efforts of MIA and the Malta Tourism Authority to imrove Malta’s accessibility. MTA CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci said Air France's commencement of scheduled operations to Malta would further enhance the Maltese islands' presence in the French market.  The move also reflected a certain confidence in Destination Malta as a viable route for a wide cross section of carriers, including one of Europe's leading legacy airlines, Air France.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner travels to Europe next week to press political leaders and central bankers to stem the region’s worsening debt crisis.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner travels to Europe next week to press political leaders and central bankers to stem the region’s worsening debt crisis.

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner travels to Europe next week to press political leaders and central bankers to stem the region’s worsening debt ...

A garden is being developed in Pembroke with an investment of €2.4 million. The garden is part of a €20 million Malta Tourism Authority project, co-financed by the European Union and which also includes the St Paul's Bay promenade, a walking and cycling trail and the restoration of the Madliena tower. Another investment is the building of a €15.6 million aquarium in a public-private partnership. Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Pembroke today visited the works on the Pembroke garden and said the project strengthened the country's tourism product in a zone which was of utmost importance for the sector. Investment in the product, accessibility and effective promotion were leading the country to obtain positive results with a record being achieved in the past four years. Indications were that this would be another record year. Success in tourism, Dr de Marco said, generated commercial activity and jobs. MTA chief executive Josef Formosa Gauci said the garden would provide tourists visiting the area with a nicer country and more recreational spaces.

The Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and Tobago, tells Sara Macefield about the island's recent award from the European Council on Trade and Tourism (ECTT) giving details of how the diverse ...

The Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and Tobago, tells Sara Macefield about the island's recent award from the European Council on Trade and Tourism (ECTT) giving details of how the diverse ...

The Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and Tobago, tells Sara Macefield about the island's recent award from the European Council on Trade and Tourism (ECTT) giving details of how the diverse ...

The Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and Tobago, tells Sara Macefield about the island's recent award from the European Council on Trade and Tourism (ECTT) giving details of how the diverse ...

Panaji, Nov 29: Keen to promote Poland as a film and tourism destination in India, the country's top diplomat wants Bollywood to do a "Zindagi Milegi Dobara" in the locales of the central European nation.

The contractor who carried out embellishment works on the St Paul’s Bay promenade has already been informed of ‘damage’ in the works and will be carrying out the necessary repairs, the Malta Tourism Authority said. In a statement this morning, the Labour Party’s St Paul’s Bay sectional committee and councillors said that holes have started to appear along and beyond a long stretch of the paving. The project, co-financed through European Union Structural Funds, was inaugurated on September 6. The committee and councillors said the damages were appearing in spite of the fact that the completed works have been certified by the competent authorities. They said that besides the holes, rust was also covering part of the railings. In a reply, the MTA said the 'damage' brought to the public's attention consisted of minor blemishes in two or three particular spots. “The damage being referred to may well be deemed to be minor, seeing as the embellished promenade is over a kilometre in length,” it said. The MTA said that this notwithstanding, the bars and slabs in question had already been noted by...

Chelsea crashed to another last-gasp defeat tonight to put them in real danger of failing to reach the Champions League knockout stage and pile the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas. For the third time on their travels in Group E, the Blues took the lead, Didier Drogba scoring only his second goal of the season shortly after half-time. But, as against Valencia and Genk, the visitors threw away victory, substitute Eren Derdiyok equalising before Manuel Friedrich completed the comeback in stoppage-time. To make matters worse, Valencia beat Genk 7-0 to wipe out Chelsea's superior goal difference and leave Villas-Boas' men needing to win or keep a clean sheet in next month's final group game to reach the last 16. Chelsea arrived at the BayArena beset by on- and off-field problems and there was more bad news for the visitors when it emerged Ashley Cole, who had started all of their Barclays Premier League and European games this season, had been struck down by an ankle injury. Jose Bosingwa was recalled as an emergency left-back, while Raul Meireles and Daniel Sturridge came into the side beaten by Liverpool on Sunday - but...

By Ludwig Watzal

(Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Popular Resistance in Palestine. A History of Hope and Empowerment, Pluto, London-New York 2011.)

Palestinian resistance against an Israeli 'belligerent occupation' is mostly viewed as terrorism and rocket attacks. The brutal violence that was inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation force is mostly ignored by the West. The most what the Western politicians are doing is recommending the Palestinian to abstain from using violence, ignoring Israel`s forty-five-year-old occupation and colonization of another people. For them, popular resistance seems immoral or unnecessary.

The late Israeli professor of sociology at the Hebrew University, Baruch Kimmerling, wrote on March 27, 2001 in the Israeli daily “Haaretz”: “Since 1967, millions of Palestinians have been under a military occupation, without any civil rights with, and most lacking even the most basic human rights. The continuing circumstances of occupation and repression give them, by any measure, the right to resist that occupation with any means at their disposal and to rise up in violence against that occupation. This is a moral right inherent to natural law and international law.”

Mazin B. Qzmsiyeh teaches at Bethlehem University and Birzeit University and works for a number of civil organizations. He received his Ph. D from Texas Tech University. He did his postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee (included Clinical Fellowship). He published extensively in areas ranging from Zoology to Genetics. He serves as chairman of the board of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between People and coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Sahour. Besides this book, his political writing includes “Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle.

Many Western politicians keep recommending the Palestinian people to struggle for a state by nonviolent means. But hardly any of them ever has called on the Israeli government to restrain from its brutal repression of another people. By limiting their message to the undesirability of violence, they gloss over, according to the author, the long history of nonviolent struggle in Palestine. They do not attempt to ensure a colonized people the right of “plurality, justice, and human rights” (12) What the Palestinians want is “freedom and the right of return, not a flog over a canton called a state” (1) And they do not want what was envisaged for them by the former Israeli general and Army Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan: “When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” (15).

The author writes the history of popular resistance in Palestine beginning with the Ottoman rule, continuing during the Zionist build-up from 1917 to 1935, the great Arab revolt of 1936 to 1939, the devastation to the Nakba (the catastrophe) from 1939 to 1948, from the Nakba to the occupation of the whole of Palestine in 1967, via the period of the so-called peace process to the current Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions campaign (BDS).

Qumsiyeh writes that by examining the Palestinian situation, everyone will recognize that there are no examples of completely nonviolent struggle for freedom from colonial occupation. “I cannot think fo a single historical precedent where the struggle for rights was waged solely by violent means or solely by nonviolent means. It seems that history of human struggle is a mix of both to varying degrees.” (21) International law recognizes the right to resists an occupation authority. This right is based not only in Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Convention but also in the guiding lines set for by the International Tribunal in Nuremberg The statutory argument in article 2 of the indictments (concerning transgressions against the laws on conducts of war) at the Nuremberg Tribunal was based upon the Hague International Convention of 1907, writes the Israeli author Hans Lebrecht which Qumsiyeh quotes. (21) Not only thousands of Palestinians civilians have been killed over the past few decades for simply being Palestinians in Palestine but internationals too, like Rachel Corrie who was deliberately run over by a caterpillar bulldozer or Tom Hurndall who was killed by shot on his head.

The Israeli colonization of Palestinian land cannot be permanently maintained without ideological and material support from outside. The U. S. government, pro-Israeli pressure groups and the European Union give billions of dollars and Euros to Israel, used inter alia for building colonies on occupied land or are invested in the military sector. Billions of dollars are earned from Israeli exports, much of it security-related products, armaments and tourism. The BDS campaign, which Qumsiyeh strongly supports, brings these facts to the fore and attempts to induce governments, churches and private investors to restrain from investments in a country that has been occupying, oppressing and colonizing another people for the last 45 years. The author lists quite a few examples of the worldwide BDS campaign. (215-222) The appendix lists eighty out of 200 groups engaging in popular resistance in Palestine.

The author is optimistic that this form of popular resistance will bear fruit in the long run. This book refutes the claims that Palestinians never tried nonviolence. It would make more sense to ask the Israel military to restrain its violence and use nonviolent means to deal with the resistance. Qumsiyeh´s history of popular resistance in Palestine should be read by everyone who is opposed to colonialism and foreign domination. That is why it transcends the Palestinian case and can be a template for other resistance movements.    

- Dr. Ludwig Watzal works as a journalist and editor in Bonn, Germany. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.watzal.com.

"The tourism depends on two things: the quality and the prices," he said. "I don't know how fast the prices will rise and still be OK for the patients from Western Europe, but I think many clinics will try to develop it." Experts say Bulgaria with its combination of well-trained healthcare workers and low salaries is in a good position to become a ... (more)

From 'Tomb Raider' to 'Changeling' to 'Kung Fu Panda,' actress Angelina Jolie has some serious range. You never know what kind of film she's going to appear in next. THR has word that she has attached herself to a biopic of 'Gertrude Bell,' a woman who became a well-respected figure for her work in the middle east. Here's a more detailed description of Bell courtesy of Newcastle University Library:  "Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born into a wealthy family at Washington New Hall in what was then County Durham. Initially home-schooled, she then attended school in London and graduated with a first-class degree in Modern History from Oxford University. Thereafter she travelled in Europe and also spent several months in Bucharest and in Tehran. Her travels continued with two round-the-world trips: one in 1897-1898 and one in 1902-1903.From the turn of the century, Gertrude developed a love of the Arab peoples - she learned their languages, investigated their archaeological sites and travelled deep into the desert. This intimate knowledge of the country and its tribes made her a target of British Intelligence recruitment during the First World War. At the end of the war, Gertrude focused on the future of Mesopotamia and was to become a powerful force in Iraqi politics, becoming a kingmaker when her preferred choice, Faisal (son of Husain, the Sharif of Mecca and King of the Hijaz) was crowned King of the state of Iraq in August 1921.Gertrude's first love remained archaeology and, as Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq, she established the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. Her 1905 expedition through the Syrian Desert to Asia Minor was published as The Desert and the Sown and her study, in 1907, of Binbirkilise on the Kara Dag mountain was published as The Thousand and One Churches and remains the standard work on early Byzantine architecture in Anatolia." After returning to sci-fi with 'Prometheus' -- which hits on June 8, 2012 -- it's back to business as usual for director Ridley Scott. He's said to be considering taking on the film, but it's not a done deal yet.  'Goldeneye' and 'The Constant Gardener' screenwriter, Jeffrey Caine is penning the script.Source: THR

Christopher Lyles is heading to Stockholm, Sweden for a groundbreaking surgery -- still considered experimental -- that is the only medical intervention that will help him.

In the summer and fall of last year, the Greek financial crisis tore at the seams of the global economy. Having run up a debt that it would never be able to repay, the country faced a number of potential outcomes, all unpleasant. Efforts to slash spending spurred riots in the streets of Athens, while threats of default rattled global financial markets. Many economists argued that Greece should leave the euro zone and devalue its currency, a move that would in theory help the economy grow. “Make no mistake: an orderly euro exit will be hard,” wrote New York University economist Nouriel Roubini in the Financial Times . “But watching the slow disorderly implosion of the Greek economy and society will be much worse.”

No one was sure exactly how the scenario would play out, though. Fear spread that if Greece were to abandon the euro, Spain and Italy might do the same, weakening the central bond of the European Union. Yet the Economist opined that the crisis would “bring more fiscal-policy control from Brussels, turning the euro zone into a more politically integrated club.” From these consequences would come yet further-flung effects. Migrants heading into the European Union might shift their travel patterns into a newly affordable Greece. A drop in tourism could limit the spread of infectious disease. Altered trade routes could disrupt native ecosystems. The question itself is simple--Should Greece drop the euro?--but the potential fallout is so far-reaching and complex that even the world’s sharpest minds found themselves unable to grasp all the permutations.

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Head of the Energy Department of the Commerce, Industry and Tourism Ministry, Solon Kassinis, has submitted proposals for cooperation with Israel in constructing a liquid natural gas plant and a pipeline for which political decisions are still to be taken from Israel and Cyprus.

Coach tours highlighting the benefits of Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 are being held on November 26 and 27 by the Planning and Priorities Coordination Division within the Office of the Prime Minister. Rotta: EU07-13 will give the public a first-hand opportunity to find out more how EU funds are being invested in Malta and Gozo through six routes, covering a select number of projects co-financed through the European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund. Four routes will be visiting various projects in Malta and two will be touring projects in Gozo. The tours will stop at different project locations for a brief site visit and presentation. The selected projects target a number of local interest themes such as heritage, tourism, social inclusion, health, education, employment, information technology, and the environment. Each route will be run once on Saturday and once on Sunday, to allow visitors to take more than one tour. Refreshments will be provided for registered visitors. The projects will also remain open on both days for those members of the public who wish to visit individual projects at their leisure. Bookings...

Germany travels to Kiev for a friendly against Ukraine hoping to return next year for the final of the European Championship. Joachim Loew's team comes bolstered by 10 wins from 10 qualifying games but will be missing striker Miroslav Klose and captain Philipp Lahm in Friday's match. Germany will test the ground that will stage the final after recently visiting Poland, the second co-host of...

In a survey conducted amongst its members, the European Tour Operators Association discovered that a major slump in leisure tourism bookings is underway.