State Department warns travelers away from Sudan, Tunisia
The Seattle Times
The State Department on Saturday cut embassy staffing to minimum and issued travel warnings for Sudan and Tunisia due to security concerns over rising anti-American violence.
“Given the security situation in Tunis and Khartoum, the State Department has ordered the departure of all family members and nonemergency personnel from both posts, and issued parallel travel warnings to American citizens,” said department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
In Tunisia, the warning advised Americans that the international airport in Tunis is open and encouraged all U.S. citizens to depart on commercial flights. It said Americans who chose to remain in Tunisia should use extreme caution and avoid demonstrations. On Friday, protesters climbed the walls into the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, torching cars in the parking lot, trashing the entrance building and setting fire to a gym and a neighboring American school that is now unusable.
Should a European law protect American air travelers?
Chicago Tribune
Paul Kivett’s plane broke down twice before it could take off from Chicago this summer. He arrived in Paris almost five hours late.
If his had been a domestic flight, then Kivett, an architectural photographer based in Kansas City, Mo., would have been entitled to nothing more than the $15 meal vouchers that American Airlines offered. But he believed that under a little-known European consumer law adopted in 2004, called EU 261, the airline owed him more: specifically, 600 euros (about $775) cash, the set compensation for a delayed flight.
EU 261 established consumer protections not afforded American air travelers, including compensation for delays, denied boarding and flight cancellations. Airlines have pushed back, interpreting the law as narrowly as possible. In Kivett’s case, for example, American maintained that EU 261 simply does not apply to him.
Tourists from South Asia need varsity degree to visit UAE
Business Standard
Battling an illegal influx, the UAE has decided to adopt a stricter visa regime for tourists from labour exporting countries like India and Pakistan, under which such travellers will now require a university degree to visit the rich Gulf state, a media report said today.
Besides India and Pakistan, the largest countries exporting labour to the Gulf nation are the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The new regime bans visit visas for some workers, especially from traditional labour exporting countries to the UAE, and sets a university degree as a prerequisite for obtaining a visa, plus other requirements, a top immigration official told Gulf News.
WIRED and Marriott Hotels & Resorts Debut Event Series
DailyFinance
WIRED and Marriott Hotels & Resorts, signature brand of Marriott International (NYS: MAR) , today announced a partnership to launch the WIRED + Marriott Culturazzi Series. Kicking off with a Marriott Meetup: Five Startups to Watch event at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf on September 19, WIRED Insiders — startup executives, digital game changers, gadget gurus, culture vultures, and adventurers — will curate four events hosted exclusively at U.S. Marriott properties through December.
“As we transform our lobbies and public spaces, they are buzzing with younger travelers connected to their digital worlds, blending work and play,” said Paul Cahill, senior vice president of brand management of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. “Together with WIRED, we will bring provocative and stimulating experiences to our hotel guests and the local community amplified on their social networks and on our Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as by Marriott Hotels & Resorts’ cadre of social media influencers.”
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