Month: August 2022

Summer is usually a period when national tourism boards promote their most well-known destinations. But two years of a pandemic have made people who live full-time in tourist hotspots reconsider whether the pre-pandemic norm of "over tourism" should return. And some governments have taken note. This year Greece's tourism ministry launched a new strategy promoting its world-famous tourism sites while also highlighting lesser-known parts of the country. "The campaign is 'Greece: if you come even once, you will want to stay forever'," Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias tells me. "Alternative destinations. So many of them: 124 inhabited islands. Yes, of course it's about Mykonos and Santorini and Corfu and Crete, but there are so many other destinations," ...

A £63m ($75m) Russian superyacht will go under the hammer after its owner was sanctioned. The Axioma was seized in Gibraltar in March after US bank JP Morgan claimed owner Dmitrievich Pumpyansky did not pay a £17m ($20m) loan. The 72.5m vessel is being auctioned on Tuesday and, because it is listed for one day only, it is expected to go for less than its estimated value. The monster boat can sleep 12 people in six cabins. It boasts a swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa, 3D cinema, jet skis and scuba diving equipment and has space for 20 crew. It is the first seized luxury boat to be sold since Best Running Shoes restrictions were imposed on powerful Russians following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February. There have been calls f...

Anthony Joshua's bid to recapture the unified heavyweight titles ended in disappointment as Oleksandr Usyk produced a terrific performance to win by split decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In a clash billed as the Rage on the Red Sea, a spirited Joshua, 32, showed some aggressiveness and intent - a vast improvement from their first fight - but could not match the brilliance and ring savviness of the Ukrainian. Two judges scored the fight 115-113 and 116-112 to Usyk, while a third judge gave it 115-113 to the challenger. While there were some close rounds, Usyk was the deserved winner. At the end of the fight, a furious Joshua - quite bizarrely - picked up two of Usyk's belts, dropped them on the floor and strode towards the dressing room, before turning round and getti...

At least 32 people have been killed in two separate events in Turkey when vehicles crashed into first responders following earlier accidents. A bus hit the scene of a road crash near Gaziantep on Saturday morning, killing 16 people and injuring 21. Hours later a truck hit a crowd of people 250km (150 miles) away in Mardin, also killing 16 people and reportedly hitting emergency workers. There have been no reports of a connection between the incidents. Twenty-nine people were injured in the second crash, eight of them seriously, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. The incident in the town of Derik in Mardin province "occurred after the brakes gave out on a lorry, which hit a crowd", he wrote on Twitter. The eme...

Russian forces in Crimea have been targeted by a fresh drone strike. The Russian-appointed regional leader said a Ukrainian drone targeting Russia's Black Sea fleet in the city of Sevastopol was shot down on Saturday. It follows a string of attacks on Russian forces and installations in the annexed peninsula this month. Meanwhile Ukraine's president has welcomed a deal allowing UN inspectors to visit the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, further north. Early on Saturday a video showed smoke rising from the area in Sevastopol where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based. The BBC News has not been able to independently verify the footage. The Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, played down the seriousness of the incide...

Somali forces claim to have defeated the militants who stormed a hotel in the capital after a bloody siege. At least 12 people were killed in the deadly 30-hour ordeal, although local media reports the death toll could be even higher. The assailants used explosives to gain entry to Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel on Friday before violently taking control and holding guests hostage overnight. Islamist extremist group al-Shabab has taken responsibility for the attack. "The security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead, we've had no incoming gunfire from the building in the past hour," an unnamed official told AFP news agency. The hotel has been largely destroyed following intense NOBULL Shoes Canada bombardment by security...