BofA Likely to Choose Dublin for Main EU Base After Brexit
MoreBank of America Corp. views Dublin as its default destination for a new hub inside the European Union if Brexit means the U.K. loses easy access to the single market, according to one of the firm's top ...
Legends of Argonauts and Greek heroes make Poti's tranquil setting by the sea such an appealing destination. The locals are proud of their past, but the port is not yet noted as a tourist destination. Instead, its main activities are commercial, but there are plans by the city officials to modernize infrastructure and buildings that will make Poti more enjoyable for travelers.
Today, Poti is still visited by people interested in lesser-advertised European destinations, or by those who arrive in Georgia by ferry from neighboring countries. But soon, Poti may become increasingly touristic, because it has so much to offer due to proximity to the Kolkheti National Park, which is right now the main reason to visit Poti if you are not on your way to another Georgian destination.
Poti for Nature Lovers: Kolkheti National ParkPoti is fortunately surrounded by one of Georgia's national parks: the Kolkheti National Park. It is a protected natural area, but there are areas open to public visits, as well as organized tours offered by local operators, boat trips, guided hikes, horseback riding, walks, bird watching, and even diving. The park is recognized for its rare relics of the tropical and subtropical landscape, that stretched across the Eurasian continent approximately 10 million years. The park stretches over more than 29,000 hectares of land and sea. It has rich flora and fauna, with more than 190 species of birds, as well as amphibians, and mammals.
Some of the habitats of this humid lowland of Georgia standout with through unique features: Paliastomi Lake, which was once a lagoon opening into the Black Sea; Imnati Mire, which is a percolation bog; and the Kolkheti Forest. Tourists can see which areas can be visited by downloading this official brochure (.pdf). Information about the trails is also available in detail here. You can book a tour with Georgian Holidays.
Even a day at the beach in Poti can appeal to nature lovers, especially if you don't mind the occasional quadruped that stares at the waves (usually cows roam free on the dunes in some parts).
Architectural Landmarks of PotiIf you don't have time to escape the city, you can still enjoy Poti. A stroll down the Palm Boulevard is a relaxing way to spend an evening. Or see the Poti lighthouse at the end of Demetre Tavdadebuli Street, a cast iron structure from 1864. The landmark was built in England at the order of Czar Alexander II and was brought in Georgia with a steamship. This structure is one of the symbols of the city, and it is worth it to climb its 152 steps to the lantern room for the splendid views from its observation deck.
Another interesting landmark is the Poti Tower, part of the old Poti Fortress built by the Ottomans after their invasion in 1725. During the Russian Empire, the fortress served as a prison, and the tower still contains its remains and a working mechanical clock, brought from Paris in 1896 by Georgian writer Niko Nikoladze, who was also mayor of Poti from 1894 to 1912.
The Poti Soboro Cathedral is another noteworthy landmark of the city. It is a Georgian Orthodox church built in Neo-Byzantine style by architects A. Zelenko and M. Marfeld in 1907 after medieval Christian cathedrals in the Trabzon mountains and Hagia Sofia. Notably, the cathedral was built at the order of mayor Nikoladze, who chose for it a central location.
The World War II Victory monument designed by Elgudża Amaszukeli and Wachtang Dawitaia is another landmark worthy of attention, especially for its Soviet-style design. The names of over 3300 Poti residents killed between 1941-1945 (when Poti had about 7000 inhabitants) are inscribed on tablets of marble surrounding the object. At the heart of the monument, there is a statue of a soldier surrounded by the waves of the sea.
Poti for Culture LoversPoti is small and lacks cultural attractions with the potential to attract touristic interest. However, the Poti Museum of Colchian Culture is enough for a short visit. It occupies an architectural landmark (former merchant's house) from 1907 and tells the history of Kolkheti through archeological finds and documents.
Alternatively, you can check out the Poti Municipality Exhibition Hall to see works by local and Georgian contemporary artists and other events. Information about these is usually shared (in Georgian) on the official website of the city.
Nissan LEAF's autonomous drive demonstration event – London
Nissan Intelligent Mobility
The world is facing serious challenges such as climate change, traffic congestion, road fatalities and increasing air pollution. Nissan is committed to addressing these challenges by making transportation safer, smarter, and more enjoyable, with the ultimate goal of achieving zero-emissions and zero-fatalities on the road. Nissan Intelligent Mobility is the roadmap to achieve it.
Guided by the vision of mobility for all, Nissan is implementing these innovations by bringing them from luxury segments to compact high volume models and ensuring everyone has access to the benefits. Nissan is making cars exciting partners for all of our customers.
Nissan Intelligent Mobility encompasses three core areas of innovation
Nissan Intelligent Driving helps to give customers more confidence through enhanced safety, control, and comfort for everyone on board. The building blocks for autonomous driving are already built into Nissan cars with extensive set of advanced safety features including Intelligent Around-View Monitor and Intelligent Lane Intervention. Autonomous drive technologies can already be found in certain Nissan vehicles today, including the Nissan Serena, the first model produced for the mass market to feature ProPILOT technology. Nissan has plans to extend this technology to more models in Europe, Japan, China and the United States, with 10 models to be launched by 2020 by the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Nissan LEAF's autonomous drive demonstration event – London
Nissan Intelligent Power makes driving more exciting for customers by continuing to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy. Nissan is committed to a holistic approach to achieving zero-emission mobility by making internal combustion engines more efficient and putting more advanced technologies into our electric vehicles. We continue to advance a variety of powertrain technologies under Nissan Intelligent Power, which are most suitable to the different market segments and different regions across the world. We have a diverse range of EV-based technologies in our portfolio in addition to 100% electric vehicles, these technologies include e-Power (series-hybrid) and fuel cell electric vehicles. Each new technology supplements the portfolio, but does not supplant other technologies.
Nissan Intelligent Integration keeps customers more connected by conveniently linking Nissan cars to the wider society. Nissan is helping to shape a sustainable ecosystem enabling cars to interact with people, other cars and road infrastructure. This approach will eventually lead to remote vehicle operation, reduced traffic jams, more efficient car-sharing, and improved energy management.
Nissan Intelligent Mobility is not about removing humans from the driving experience. Instead, it's about building a better future for Nissan customers where cars are their partners, and where drivers are more confident and more connected.
March 10, 2017
Although most Americans would be hard-pressed to point it out on a map, Malta is a rising star among European destinations. Beloved for its Mediterranean climate, historic towns, and maritime culture, it's an ideal location for meetings and incentives -- and is about to become even more so thanks to Hard Rock International, which last week announced plans to open its third European resort on the island nation in 2020."In the past few years we've seen Malta's tourism sector on a steady rise, with the destination reporting nearly 2 million visitors in 2016," said Arthur Gauci, chief executive officer of Seabank Group, the hotel's Maltese developer. "As the world takes notice and Maltese tourism booms, we're thrilled to work with Hard Rock to bring an upscale and never-before-seen experience to the island."
Joining Hard Rock resorts in Ibiza and Tenerife, Spain, Hard Rock Hotel Malta will be located in the St. George's Bay area of St. Julian's, a town north of the Maltese capit al, Valletta. Part of a new mixed-use development called db City Centre -- which will boast a shopping mall, luxury residences, and modern office spaces -- the seafront hotel will offer 370 guest rooms, including 110 suites with balcony views, as well as a multi-course signature restaurant, a rooftop lounge and bar, numerous pools, a 16,000-square-foot spa, a fitness center, and over 37,000 square feet of function space, including Malta's largest convention center.
The hotel will be constructed around a 19th-century building that used to be living quarters for the British military. Prior to opening, Hard Rock said, the historic site will be fully restored.
"Malta draws in travelers from around the world given its central Mediterranean location, idyllic charm, rich cultural history, and vast array of activities -- from scuba diving to exploring prehistoric temples -- and we are thrilled to be part of a project that will provide travelers and locals with the country's firs t true entertainment destination," said Marco Roca, executive vice president of global hotel development at Hard Rock International.
As at 19.00 yesterday, a total of 18 flights between Spanish and French airports out of the 224 scheduled were cancelled, and another 21 out of the planned 1,817 between Spain and other European destinations which either crossed French air space or used its terminals for connecting flights.
Although proportionately low for four days of continuous strikes, with an average of 10 flights a day in Spain grounded, travellers have suffered considerable upheaval – especially at Madrid's Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport, which ws the worst affected with 12 cancellations, of which nine were between the Spanish capital and France, and three to other parts of Europe.
Another eight, four each for France and for other European airports, were grounded at Barcelona's El Prat terminal.
Four flights due to take off from Valencia, five from Alicante, three from Zaragoza, two each from Málaga, Sevilla and Asturias, and one from Vitoria in the Basque Country were also cancelled.
In France itself, 10 times as many planes were grounded as in Spain, nearly 100 a day, between Monday morning and last night.
The photo shows passengers queuing at the Vueling information desk after the low-cost carrier had to cancel flights bound for France.
Berlin - "Italy is a great power in tourism and will excel again on the international market," said Italy's Minister for Cultural Heritage and Tourism at the Internationale Tourismus-Boerse in Berlin. He was at the leading global trade show to present, with Enit, the country's Strategic Tourism Plan for 2017-22. Dario Franceschini said: "The real challenge has just begun. We are facing increasingly fierce competitors who weren't even in the market 20 years ago - including the Arab Emirates - and we have to deal with a greatly increased number of travellers: millions of people who we need to guide and encourage with our food and wine, culture and landscapes." He said the key words of the plan are "experience" and "decentralisation".
Tourism accounts for 10.2% of GDP and 11.6% of employment in Italy, confirming the country as Europe's top tourist destination, among Schengen countries, by number of visitors from outside the EU. Figures published by Enit, the Italian tourism agency, put the degree of appreciation among foreign visitors at 82.4%. The figure is confirmed by social media where the country turns out to be the most photographed country in the world on Instagram, with 54.4 million images tagged with the #Italy hashtag.
Enit director Fabio Lazzerini said: "We are the country that travellers from China, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan want to visit above all others." The minister said Italy now needs to direct travellers to less well-known destinations. "It is true that Italy has a considerable cultural heritage that is spread across the whole country, it is recognised globally for its fashion, cooking, design and lifestyle. This makes us one of the most desirable tourist destinations, a huge potential that must and can be exploited through a shared promotion of the country, as demonstrated by the pavilion set up here by Enit and the regions, with a vision that allows all the organisations to present themselves under the overarching symbol of Italy."
On Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund will enter into the biggest match of their season so far, and one which will go a long way toward defining the relative success of their season. There is little margin for error as they receive Benfica for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, backed by the famous Yellow Wall but lacking the safety net of an away goal in hand.
They will not, however, stray too far from their principles. The task of supporting 25-goal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will most likely fall to a pair of teenagers, the 19-year-old Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic, who is still 18. There are few clubs who would embrace such a strategy for a crucial sellout match to be played in front of 65,000-plus.
Then again, Dortmund are not just any club, and the pair are not just any teenagers. If the club's commercial department has shaped BVB's public image around the motto of Echte Liebe ("real love"), drawing heavily on the passion of the Westfalen atmosphere, then the football side of the operation has carved its own, complementary niche of outlook in attracting the brightest young talent from across Europe to create a squad for the future.
In the last two transfer windows alone, Dortmund have signed five players 22 years old and under for transfer fees adding up to an estimated €40 million. Three of the those (the last of which was the January arrival of Swedish sensation Alexander Isak) were teenagers.
At most other top-level clubs, this might be seen as a cynical stockpiling of potential stars of the future to keep them from the clutches of competitors and as future transfer-market collateral. The big difference is that at Dortmund they're not kept parked on the drive for show. They play.
Let's look at last summer's arrivals. Dembele has already become a cornerstone of BVB's attack. Raphael Guerreiro, a relative veteran at 23, has been held up by a couple of minor injuries, but he is also regarded as important to the first team already and is almost always a starter when fit.
Emre Mor, at 19 and having arrived from Danish football, has already received five starts. The 20-year-old midfielder Mikel Merino, who has made two Bundesliga starts, is regarded as important enough to the immediate future that Dortmund have kept him around the first team despite his lack of match action. It was clearly felt that he is best where he is, continuing to learn the ropes.
Merino's case is an interesting one. Many other clubs would loan him out to get him game time, experience and—maybe with a view to cashing in if the right offer came up—visibility. Yet BVB believe obviously he is in the perfect place to improve already.
Mikel Merino has stayed at Dortmund to continue his integration into the squad's methods.TF-Images/Getty ImagesPart of that is with an eye to the future, of course. Julian Weigl, a relative veteran at 21 but who signed from 1860 Munich at 19, is surely coveted among a clutch of Europe's biggest clubs. Even if he signed an extended deal to 2021 before Christmas, as per Bundesliga.com, it could be that one day, Merino may well get the call to replace him.
Stocking up in terms of real depth of talent is the best insurance policy for this sort of future occurrence that Dortmund could have. That opportunity to shine at the top level is important in attracting the best—after they have been spotted by head of scouting Sven Mislintat, who uncovered players including Robert Lewandowski and Shinji Kagawa—but so is the possibility of making that step up to elite level after a while.
This is nothing new with Dortmund, of course, where the perception is just as important as the detail of the reality when it comes to attracting players.
Jurgen Klopp's successful teams, and their success in grabbing worldwide media attention, clearly enhanced Dortmund's reputation as a go-to destination—and the image of his teams was an overwhelmingly youthful one. Seven of the starters in the 2013 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich were 24 and under, with four more of the same age bracket—led by Nuri Sahin—on the bench.
In the first of Klopp's two title-winning seasons, 2010-11, his most-used outfield players in the Bundesliga included Mats Hummels (who was 21 when the season began), Kevin Grosskreutz (22), Sahin (22), Sven Bender (19) and Mario Gotze (18).
Germany's ability to develop players of the highest technical level has risen stratospherically over the last 15 years, as noted in Raphael Honigstein's book Das Reboot, for one.
At Dortmund, the desire to do so is even more intense, with the use of the pioneering Footbonaut, which arrived in Klopp's reign. A good example of its use was detailed by Goal.com here last October. It was administered, until recently, by Pulisic's father Mark, who has just left his job as an academy coach there.
"Kids want change," said Pulisic senior. "Kids like things to be different." He might have been talking about the Footbonaut, but that principle is just as applicable to Dortmund as a whole. The opportunity is the carrot at the end of the line, but the attention to detail is what maintains focus on a day-to-day basis.
In the last two years, Tuchel has been integral to those methods. "He is a very special coach, who attaches great importance to tactics," Gotze said during the club's training camp this winter, as per ESPN FC. He also noted Tuchel's intense coaching during the games themselves, which Gotze said was "something I have never seen before."
Mario Gotze has been impressed by Thomas Tuchel's intensive work with the club's youngest players.TF-Images/Getty ImagesSo even since Gotze's first BVB spell, things have developed apace. His transfer to Bayern Munich in 2013, and Lewandowski's later move south, hardened resolve to find a workable alternative strategy, as a reminder that BVB can't quite compete financially. Getting the talent early makes perfect sense.
Whether Tuchel will be around to preside over it much longer is open to debate, with talks planned on his future with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke at the end of the season. Tuchel's relationship with Mislintat has reportedly fizzled to non-existent, according to multiple reports cited by ESPN FC.
The coach has been open that much of the recruitment goes on without him, led by Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc, on Mislintat's recommendations. "I found out very late that we signed him," he said of January's signing of Isak, per the Mirror. "I was told about the transfer last week and when he was introduced to me," he continued, though he did add that "the signing made 100 per cent sense for BVB."
Whether Tuchel stays or goes, that strategy will remain the same. Quite how far it can take them—and how quickly these young players are ready to seize gala occasions by the horns—will become clearer against Benfica. That they have the chance to will surely attract the cream of the next generation, home and abroad.
