Free Republic

Angela Merkel has appealed to German politicians to approve Europe's rescue efforts ahead of a crucial vote that could torpedo the Brussels summit. The German Chancellor, who on Tuesday must secure the Bundestag's approval before European bail-out plans can proceed, briefed politicians on plans to increase the firepower of the European Finance Stability Facility (EFSF) from €440bn (£383bn) to more than €1 trillion. She assured them that Germany would not have to stump up more cash because financial engineering would be used to boost the bail-out fund. Even so, European leaders face a tense wait before the Brussels summit resumes...

BEIJING - Even as some travel destinations struggle to attract tourists, flocks of Chinese are expected to go overseas during the National Day holiday, according to the country's top tourism think tank. The China Tourism Academy, a research institute, forecasts that 2.2 million Chinese tourists will travel overseas during the weeklong holiday that starts on Oct 1. The number of outbound tourists is expected to increase by a double-digit percentage above what it was in the same period this past year, the academy said. And travelers during the holiday are expected to spend $950 each on average, or $2.1 billion...

HERAKLION, Greece—The first time he despaired of his debts, Vaggelis Petrakis drank a poisonous brew of beer and gasoline. A note he left didn't mention the financial woes of his fruit and vegetable business, of which his family was well aware. Instead, he left instructions for his children on how to look after his animals. "Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits," the note began. Then he had second thoughts and called his son, Stelios, who took him to a hospital. Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece's collapsing economy and the ruin of his...

Maybe the folks over at Pure Michigan need to give Kid Rock a call. According to today's Mining-Journal, folks can't get enough of the Pictured Rocks in Munising -- which were featured prominently in Rock's "Born Free" video last year. Mining-Journal: National Park Service statistics for Pictured Rocks showed August visitation up 43.47 percent over last year. Those figures followed a 31.79 percent increase in June and 14.81 percent increase in July. At the National Park Service-U.S. Forest Service Interagency Visitor Center in Munising, which services Pictured Rocks and the Hiawatha National Forest, it was so packed with visitors at...

North Korean Cruise Seeks Tourists, 8 to a Room By EDWARD WONG ABOARD THE MANGYONGBONG, off North Korea — It was billed as a cruise ship, but the creaking, nearly-40-year-old vessel that set sail from the remote North Korean town of Rajin had more of the trappings of a tramp steamer. With its cramped cabins, cut-rate cuisine and foul, water-deprived bathrooms, it was not about to compete anytime soon with Cunard or Carnival in the leisure industry. Then again, it does not have to. As North Korea’s latest venture into the tourism business, it need not concern itself with rivals....

The humane thing to do to a rabid dog is put it out of its misery. The humane thing to do to Greece is the same. Instead, officials in Germany, the EU, and IMF insist on putting Greece through another round of austerity measures inhumane torture in return for "one more" tranche of money. Disgustedly, but not at all unexpectedly IMF officials say Troika Expected To Approve Greek Loan Tranche This MonthGreece's creditors are expected to give the thumbs-up for the disbursement of the next tranche of its 2010 bailout pact later this month after the Greek government announced new taxes to cover...

Israeli tourist visits to Turkey has “dropped to near zero” in recent days, according to an executive at one of Israel’s largest travel agencies. Gilad Brovinsky, Deputy Head of Marketing for “Disenhaus Tours,” said Tuesday that “in recent months the number of Israeli tourists visiting Turkey was much lower than in previous years and most of them were Israeli Arabs. In recent days with the stories that we’re hearing in the news, it has fallen to zero and we are dealing with mass cancellations of vacations and flights to Turkey.”

The background: Mr. Suhail Din, India, demands of the inferior inhabitants of Stockholm, Sweden, to treat him like an Emperor on visit. The article: "UK native Suhail Din sparked a heated debate among The Local's readers with his reflections on why Swedes refused to talk to him and his family during a recent visit to Stockholm. Contributor Ruben Brunsveld examines why. Two weeks later the article has received more than 300 comments and has been shared on Facebook almost 600 times. So now that the dust has settled it is time for a more nuanced look at why this contribution...

Sunbathing in Alexandria may soon be a thing of the past, at least if some Egyptian Islamist politicians have their way. clearpxl Egypt's tourism industry has suffered a severe blow since the outburst of anti-regime demonstrations in January. But that did not stop the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, from demanding stricter regulations over what tourists can do and wear while visiting the country. The party is urging officials to ban skimpy swimwear and the consumption of alcohol on Egyptian street

Wracked by debt but blessed with abundant sunshine, Greece plans to develop some 20,000 hectares of solar power parks in a bid to export renewable energy to Germany, a report said on Saturday. Top-selling Ta Nea daily said the project, which has a tentative budget of 20 billion euros ($29 billion), could create 60,000 jobs at a time when Greece is battling a deep recession and record unemployment figures. Germany is looking for alternative energy sources after chancellor Angela Merkel's government decided to shut down all 17 of the country's nuclear reactors over 11 years, following the disaster at the...

Competing against the world’s most breathtaking locales, the Dead Sea is just three months away from potentially being named one of the world’s seven natural wonders as part of the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. The online voting contest seeking to name seven natural wonders of the world is years in the making and is set to finish on November 11, 2011. The organizers want to have 1 billion votes cast on their website, www.new7wonders.com. The current results are confidential, but Israel’s Tourism Ministry said they feel the Dead Sea is doing well so far, even if they don’t...

Just as students head back to college and families finish summer vacations comes the latest bad news from pest control companies: Bedbug infestations are getting worse and becoming more common in some places, including dorms, hotels, nursing homes, hospitals, office buildings, and schools and day-care centers. According to a survey released Wednesday by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, pest control companies say there has been double-digit growth in infestations in the past year. About 54 percent of pest companies reported treating bedbugs in college dorms, compared with 35 percent in 2010; 80 percent reported treating...

The province is defending its marketing of the town of Dildo after accusations it was being ignored because of the 'sensitive nature' of its name. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, Tourism Minister Terry French refuted the remarks, saying Dildo is in travel guides for all to see. French says the town is prominently displayed in the provincial tourism guide. French says on page 260 of the guide, which is a map of the Avalon, Dildo and South Dildo are in the middle of the map. He says the town is mentioned multiple times in the travel guide,and is...

The state of Washington formally shuttered its tourism office on Friday, a move that helps close deep budget deficits but makes it the only U.S. state no longer spending money to attract visitors.

Consumer spending was flat in May, breaking a string of 10 straight months of gains, as households struggled with rising prices and automakers failed to deliver the models Americans wanted. When adjusted for inflation, spending slipped 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, falling for a second straight month. The report, which showed underlying inflation quickening, suggested that consumer spending would offer little support to the economy in the second quarter. In the first three months of the year, it advanced at a modest 2.2 percent annual rate. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity,...

SNIPPET: "They say they police intelligence unit arrested Asdatul Sahirun on Sunday at a shopping mall in the capital's Malate tourist district."

The Holland America liner, the Oosterdam, which makes regular cruises to the Mexican Riviera, will no longer sail out of San Diego after April 2012.Regular voyages to the Mexican Riviera, long a mainstay of San Diego’s cruise ship business, are likely to end by the fall of 2012 with the decision by Holland America to move one of its key liners to Australia. The cruise line’s 1,926-passenger Oosterdam and the 2,500-passenger Carnival Spirit are the only two vessels that currently head to the Mexican Riviera on a regular basis, and both are now scheduled to leave San Diego after April...

Tourists Flee Osama Shadow By Irfan Ahmed CHITRAL VALLEY, Pakistan, May 6, 2011 (IPS) - This is the time of year when picturesque Chitral Valley in the northwestern corner of Pakistan sees a huge influx of tourists. But local residents fear a backlash from the events in Abbottabad, some 300 miles southeast, as authorities put up an extraordinary security cordon throughout this tourist haven. Local officials and residents note a number of cancellations from tourists who have apparently heeded their embassies’ travel advisories to stay out of Chitral, which borders the Afghan province of Nuristan, a Taliban stronghold. Many countries,...

Last Tuesday, a man by the name of Chip Thoma filed a lawsuit against Governor Palin over an alleged “traffic conspiracy.” Yes, you read that right… If you’re thinking this sounds like some sort of ridiculous frivolous complaint, you would be correct. Mr. Thoma isn’t new to Governor Palin, nor is he new to filing frivolous claims against Alaskan Governors. However, you wouldn’t know much about this case if you got all of your news from the Associated Press. Becky Bohrer, the AP writer who covered the story, not only posted her story with an embarrassing grammatical error, but she...

SARASOTA COUNTY - Prosecutorial missteps and a series of communication problems led a judge to release 16-year-old Shawn Tyson from custody just hours before police say he shot and killed two British tourists in Newtown.