Thief-proof
A US$3 million (about HK$23 million) security system has been installed at the Egyptian museum in Cairo to guard against theft from the home of some of the world's richest archaeological treasures.
The project includes the installation of 190 surveillance cameras covering the museum, its 100,000 exhibits and surrounding streets, along with weapon and fire detectors. The new system follows a failed attempt to steal several pieces from the museum's prestigious Tutankhamen treasure.
Open border Passport checks and police border controls on Italy's frontiers with France and Austria have come to an end, bringing Italy into compliance with the Schengen agreement on free movement among signatory countries.
The countries that have signed up so far are Austria, the Benelux countries, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
In practice this means that visitors to Italy can go from Venice, say, to Vienna and Munich and back again without ever showing a passport.
Greece is a partial member of the Schengen group, and is expected to become a full member by the end of the year.
Darwin date Down House, Charles Darwin's home and workplace for 40 years, has reopened to the public after major restoration by English Heritage, a British government preservation agency.
It was here that Darwin developed his theories about evolution leading to the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859. Down House is on Luxted Road, Downe, Kent.
Full-up Monty Destination Sheffield, which handles tourism promotion for that northern English city, says its Full Monty tours are proving enormously popular, even though the itinerary promises a less than thrilling visit to the newsagents where Gerald buys a stack of newspapers, and Ruskin Park, where he acquires a new garden gnome.
Copy for Travel Briefing should be faxed to Mike Currie at 2980-3140
