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Tennis player Novak Djokovic is opening a restaurant chain in his native Serbia, and bought the entire world’s yearly supply of donkey cheese for his business. The “pule”, or donkey cheese, is a rare delicacy that’s priced at €1,000/kg, and is made exclusively by Balkan donkeys on a farm west of Belgrade. How do producers justify the exorbitant price tag? In addition to being milked three times a day…
One billion tourists have travelled the world in 2012, marking a new record for international tourism – a sector that accounts for one in every 12 jobs and 30% of the world’s services exports. On the symbolic arrival date of the one-billionth tourist (13 December 2012), UNWTO revealed the actions tourists can take to ensure their trips benefit the people and places they visit, as voted by the public.…
Colorado-based company Golden Spike announced plans for a commercial venture to send private clients to the moon during a press conference on December 6. On Thursday a team of former NASA executives announced plans to send two people to the Moon for about $1.4 billion. Golden Spike Company’s announcement said it will use existing rocket and capsule technology, and will aim for a first launch before…
The refurbished Hollywood sign was presented in all its freshly painted glory Tuesday after its biggest makeover in 35 years, in time for 90th birthday celebrations. Some 360 gallons of fresh bright white paint was applied over the last two months to the Tinseltown icon, which sits atop Mount Lee in the Hollywood Hills north of LA. Over the last two months, workers have used window-cleaner style…
Mini has launched a car hire scheme in the UK’s capital designed to put a smile on Londoners’ faces. Introduced Wednesday, the car hire scheme with a difference is aimed at trying to cheer up the London population who, according to the latest research, are the least happy in the UK, experiencing on average only 142 minutes of fun a day. And while there is no doubt that in terms of sheer driving…
Until now restricted to trainee space explorers and scientists, Europe’s “Zero-G” aircraft is to start making commercial flights for paying customers from March 15. Essentially, you become an astronaut for 5 minutes, flying to a point of zero degrees gravity! The Airbus 300 flies parabolas, offering around 30 seconds of gravity-free experience at the top of each loop. Over a flight lasting two and a half…
The UAE is to be home to ANOTHER 'world's largest'! Christo, the legendary public artist famous for his Wrapped Reichstag (below), plans to build the world’s largest sculpture out of oil drums in Abu Dhabi. “The Mastaba” is a pyramid-like structure made entirely from stacked, painted oil barrels, designed to tower above the sand dunes of the Gulf desert. It will take 30 months and hundreds of people to…
Turns out the story-line for Samuel L Jackson’s Snakes on a Plane isn't quite as far-fetched as it seems! A cobra joined ninety passengers onboard an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to Kuwait yesterday, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. A 48-year-old Jordanian passenger was responsible for bringing the Egyptian cobra onboard. He owns a reptile shop in Kuwait and had hidden the Egyptian cobra in…
The stunning southern Thai province of Trang welcomed its one millionth visitor, Mr. Wichaya Kiatying-angsulee, on 29 November 2012. Senior executives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Trang Provincial Authority, Trang Chamber of Commerce and Nok Air presented a certificate to the millionth tourist of 2012 at the Departure Lounge of Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok. The event was presided over by Mr.…
Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the expansion of services to Karachi, Pakistan. The four weekly flights from Sharjah to Karachi are now increased to daily flights, making it easier and more convenient for passengers travelling between both cities. Additional flights will now operate between Sharjah and Karachi, departing Sharjah…
6 December, 2012: Six Senses Zighy Bay announces its third collaboration with Oman Sail’s EFG Bank Sailing Arabia – the Tour 2013. Starting from Manama, Bahrain and ending in Muscat, Oman, the route will traverse the Arabian Peninsula with Six Senses Zighy Bay as the first stop entering Oman. Touring through four nations and seven marinas, EFG Bank Sailing Arabia – the Tour sails over 1,408 kilometres in only…
The much-anticipated Twelve at Hengshan, A Luxury Collection Hotel, was unveiled last week on Shanghai’s tree-lined Hengshan Road. Twelve at Hengshan is the only five-star luxury hotel within Shanghai’s most romantic and history-filled Hengshan Road neighborhood of chic avenues lined with plane trees imported from France in the early 1900s. Carefully incorporated within the low-rise heritage district,…
The piano used as the prop for the key flashback scene between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca” will go on sale next month. Sotheby’s says the auction in New York should raise between $800,000 and $1.2 million for the 58-key piano on which the movie’s character Sam plays “As Time Goes By” for Rick and Ilsa. “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” Bogart’s Rick tells Bergman’s Ilsa as the three…
Hermès is adding its own touch of luxury to the annual “Heart” stamp collection issued by France’s postal services, La Poste. Designers were inspired to turn some of the French luxury brand’s iconic scarves into stamps and Zoé Pauwels’s design was chosen to feature in La Poste’s 2013 Valentine’s Day collection. Pauwels’s illustration includes birds, hearts and shooting stars brought together by cloudy…
Jamie Oliver’s Operation Russia is nearing completion, with plans firmly in place to open his first Jamie’s Italian outposts in Moscow and St. Petersburg next year. It’s no surprise that Oliver should set his sights on Russia for the expansion of his rapidly growing empire, given that he enjoys star status in the country and his cookbooks often appear on bestseller lists. His publication Jamie…
The iconic Californian villa where Brian de Palma shot Scarface is available to rent, for $10,000 a week or $30,000 a month. Fans of legendary Cuban-American gangster Tony Montana, portrayed by Al Pacino in the 1983 movie, will be able to make the most of El Fureidis villa. Located in Coral Gables, Florida in the film, the actual villa is in fact in Santa Barbara, California. The luxurious…
“A testament to ultra-modern design, the new Radisson Blu Hotel, Maputo is located overlooking the Indian Ocean within easy reach of Maputo International Airport and the city centre. Cutting-edge style and unique features are the hallmark of this first-rate hotel where guests can look forward to luxurious guest rooms, superb dining and state-of-the-art conferencing facilities,” … that is how the Radisson Blu…
With the festive season fast approaching, the Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages are teeming with creativity. This winter the Collection of nine Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages that orbit Europe’s most fashionable cities promise a festive Art Deco spectacular harnessing all the eclectic elegance of one of design’s most daring periods. From 15 November visitors to the Collection of Villages will discover an…
