Money News

Strikes start at top hotel chains as housekeepers seek higher wages and daily room cleaning work

With up to 17 rooms to clean each shift, Fatima Amahmoud's job at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston sometimes feels impossible. There was the time she found three days worth of blond dog fur clinging to the curtains, the bedspread and the carpet. She knew she wouldn't finish in the 30 minutes she is supposed to spend on each room. The dog owner had declined daily room cleaning, an option that many hotels have encouraged as environmentally...

Discover India's unique hill stations

India's hill stations are numerous in number and represent some of the country's most popular and unique vacation destination options. Built as towns located at higher elevations to escape the summer heat and humidity, most of these lofty retreats date back to the 19th century and the time of the British Raj. Many are culturally and historically significant, and nearly all are set in jaw-dropping locations under the shadows of some of the most majestic mountain ranges in the world. Click through and take a trek up to India's finest hill stations.

Oasis reunion tickets greeted by error messages, lengthy online queues

LONDON — The sale of tickets for Oasis’ reunion tour got off to a creaky start on Saturday as online platforms strained under demand from hundreds of thousands of fans. The Britpop-era behemoth led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher is scheduled to play 17 gigs — its first shows for 15 years — in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin starting July 4. More than 1 million tickets are up for sale, at prices starting at about 74 pounds...

The street artist mapping London's local icons

Everything from Roman remains and museums, to housing estates and chicken shops feature in Angry Dan's artwork.

The history of road travel via motorways, highways, and freeways

The Romans are credited with establishing the first road networks, created specifically to transport troops and supplies to far-flung corners of the empire. But it wasn't until the early years of the 20th century that the idea of roads built solely for motor traffic, or controlled-access highways, shifted into gear. The world's first motorway was inaugurated in 1924. Soon afterwards, plans for an interstate highway system in the United States were being drafted. Meanwhile in Germany, the Autobahn caught the imagination of many. Today, motorways and freeways can be found in numerous countries. But what drove the urge to build these extraordinary vehicular platforms in the first place? Click on, get in gear, and accelerate through the history of road travel.

Summer street carnival returns after five years

Cowley Road Carnival was cancelled during the Covid pandemic and ran into funding problems in 2023.

Photos: Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the world's most remote settlement

Macao did it. Singapore too. Now Thailand looks to build casinos to attract tourist dollars

If the law gets passed, Thailand could be Macao and Singapore's largest competitor by the end of the decade, industry watchers told CNBC.

Viennese waltz: top travel tips for a spin around Austria’s capital

For a Freudian view Walk some of the city’s 23 districts, each one with its own distinct identity and history. The 9th district is a great place to start. Elegant and rich in art nouveau and art deco architecture, it was also home to Beethoven, Schubert and Freud. Visit one of the most famous addresses in psychoanalytic history, Wien IX, Berggasse 19, Sigmund Freud’s apartment before he fled the Nazis for London in 1938; and the Narrenturm...

The 30 best small towns in America

America is an enormous country with many beautiful big cities that are world famous. Names like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco come to mind. With that being said, not everyone is a fan of the busy city life; plenty enjoy a quieter lifestyle. Luckily, there are absolutely beautiful small towns in America that everyone should discover. Ready? Click on for the 30 best small towns in America.

Hundreds gather at abbey to honour saint-to-be

A pilgrimage to a Leicestershire abbey takes place to honour Father Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi.

Sea pool could be country's first sea wedding venue

The Bude Sea Pool team is fundraising to become England's first licensed venue for sea weddings.

I spend most of the year traveling, and there's one thing I always try to do on the first day of a trip

I travel for my job and for fun every year, so I spend a lot of time on the road. No matter where I'm going, i always try to book a local food tour.

Paris zinc roofers seek elusive UNESCO heritage status

The zinc covering the roofs of central Paris has given the French capital's skyline its distinctive grey hue for almost two centuries. According to the city's urbanism agency Apur, Paris has 128,000 roofs covering a surface area of 32 million square metres, of which 21.4 million are of the traditional zinc-covered variety.

Cap Vermell Grand Hotel: foodie heaven on the quieter side of Mallorca

Cap Vermell Grand Hotel: foodie heaven on the quieter side of Mallorca - Think you know Mallorca? Cap Vermell Grand Hotel is an award-winning jewel in the lesser visited corner of this favourite Balearic island, says Cathy Hawker

CAAP cancels flights

MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) canceled flights in areas hit by Tropical Storm Enteng. CAAP said that operations at Lingayen Airport were suspended. Meanwhile, two flights at San Jose Airport (Manila- San Jose- Manila) were canceled, as well as 10 domestic flights at the Bicol International Airport. At Masbate Airport, 149 passengers were affected by the cancellation of two flights - Masbate-Manila...

Alderney children's travel charity seeks support

Tripsfund says the cost of living crisis has increased demand on the island.

Helicopter goes missing in far eastern Russia with 22 people on board

The helicopter had picked up passengers near the Vachkajec ancient volcano in a scenic area of the Kamchatka peninsula.

DoT breaks ground for Misamis Oriental tourism facility

INITAO, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, Philippines — Department of Tourism (DoT) Sec. Christina Garcia-Frasco led the groundbreaking rites for the construction of a tourism facility in this town located a few distance away from the Laguindingan international airport. The tourist rest area (TRA), to be constructed at the cost of P10 million, is located along the national highway. It is the second such facility to be built in northern Mindanao and the 11th...

Into the Sunlight

The Brito family-owned 18-hectare Sunlight Ecotourism Island Resort, located on Naglayan Island, Barangay Baldat, Culion, Palawan, is set to complete its estimated P5-billion expansion by next year. The expansion of its Salepan water villas will add 28 luxury villas to its existing 74 villas, according to Craig Ronquillo, resort manager, during a weekend visit by a select group of journalists invited by Pia de Villa, corporate marketing head of...

I spent 8 days in Panama and returned feeling like I visited 3 different countries. Here's why it's worth a trip.

Business Insider's author spent a week in Panama where she explored modern cities, diversity-rich rainforests, and luxury beach resorts.

Pilot declared emergency, loss of autopilot before crash that killed 3 members of famed gospel group

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The pilot of a plane that crashed in northeast Wyoming in July, killing seven people, declared an emergency and loss of the autopilot shortly before the incident that claimed the lives of three members of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet The Nelons. The preliminary report released this week by the National Transportation Safety Board states the plane had taken off from an airport in Nebraska on July 26,...

Hotel key cards are being replaced by digital options like Apple, Google wallets

Hotel chains are racing to ditch the plastic room key card and replace it with digital options like Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.

Is your state among the most expensive for homeowners?

Costco's first membership fee increase in 7 years now in effect

The cost of a Costco membership in the United States and Canada increased for the first time in seven years on Sunday, impacting about 52 millions members.

I restored a 1900s train car with my dad and turned it into an Airbnb. Now it's paid for itself.

Isaac French and his family transformed a decrepit 1900s train car in Idaho into a profitable Airbnb, achieving 90% occupancy within the first year.

Glider crash victims remembered on 80th anniversary

Hundreds gather to pay their respects to 23 servicemen who died in a crash in Paulton in 1944.

Locals fear neighbour will turn village green into his garden thanks to loophole

Fuming residents in the village of Monxton in Hampshire have already spent eight years battling to save their village green after a developer purchased the cherished spot

Oxfordshire's Big Picture: Sunday's image of the county

Showcasing the best images sent to us from around Oxfordshire.

Earning 6 figures, working 9 months a year, traveling the country: What it's like to be a travel nurse, from those who have done it

Travel nursing can offer good pay and flexible contracts, but has some downsides, too.

Pope embarks on longest, farthest and most challenging trip to Asia, with China in the background

VATICAN CITY — If any evidence were needed to underscore that Pope Francis' upcoming trip to Asia and Oceania is the longest, farthest and most challenging of his pontificate, it's that he's bringing along his secretaries to help him navigate the four-country program while keeping up with work back home. Francis will clock 32,814 kilometers (20,390 miles) by air during his Sept. 2-13 visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and...

Barbie Forteza, David Licauco fly to Thailand for a special project

Team BarDa has another project incoming! On Instagram, Sparkle shared a photo update where Barbie Forteza and David Licauco could be seen aboard an aircraft on the way to Thailand. This marked Barbie and David's second international trip for a special project in 2024. Previously, they flew to Canada for the Sparkle World Tour. Barbie and David currently star in GMA Prime's historical drama series "Pulang Araw" alongside Sanya Lopez and Alden...

The family home that became a famous bookshop

Scarthin Books attracts customers from far and wide to the small, historic village of Cromford.

10,000 US hotel workers strike over long holiday weekend

Workers walk off the job in eight US cities over pandemic-era cost-cutting measures.

10,000 US hotel workers strike as contract talks break down

By Doyinsola Oladipo and Mrinmay Dey NEW YORK (Reuters) -Some 10,000 U.S. hotel workers began a multi-day strike in several cities on Sunday after contract talks with hotel operators Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels reached an impasse, the Unite Here union said. Unite Here, which represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada,

Error or provocation? A new Chinese map steals Russian territory

Wiltshire in pictures: Culture and murals

A gallery of pictures taken across Wiltshire over the past week, including a Nepalese cultural day.

'I was enchanted by a lesser-known Greek island with plenty of magic'

Callum Hoare took a visit to the adults-only Asterion Suites & Spa on the Greek island of Asterion, finding a resort which offers a serene cultural retreat full of local charm and treasures

Saving the seas one dive at a time in Northumberland

On the outer side of Britain’s Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast, is the Longstone lighthouse, which was home in 1838 to a reluctant heroine called Grace Darling. She was the lighthouse keeper’s daugher, and at the age of just 22, she jumped into a rowing boat in the midst of a violent storm and successfully saved nine people from drowning after a paddlesteamer ran aground in the night. Now, 186 years later, I’m looking out at the same...

Has Boeing shaken your confidence to fly? A new MIT study could restore it

Boeing's ongoing quality control issues have rattled traveler confidence. But a new study from MIT says flying is getting safer by the decade.

‘It’s just black sky up there’: 50 years on, the transatlantic flight speed record remains unbroken

On 1 September 1974 two men made the fastest ever journey between New York and London. The astonishing trip – at three times the speed of sound – took less than two hours and set a record that still stands 50 years later. Even the mighty Concorde, which set the record for the fastest commercial transatlantic flight in 1996, straggled in almost an hour behind. The US air force Lockheed Blackbird SR-71 jet had a crew of two – pilot James Sullivan...

Oasis tickets: How to get VIP packages for 2025 reunion tour if you miss out on general sale

There's a way you can still get tickets for the Oasis reunion tour with a host of extra perks

Ailing foreign tourism, collapse of Chinese arrivals and new risks for PH economy

As the Philippines is drifting into open escalation, economic uncertainty and geopolitics are casting a dark shadow on its outlook, starting with tourism. INTERNATIONAL tourism has a critical impact on the economy in most Southeast Asian nations. Consequently, there have been great hopes that, after years of pandemic devastation, tourism would speed up recovery in the region. In most regional countries, the recovery of foreign tourism has been...

Pay to enter, fees to leave

"OPEN sesame!" If only the same magical phrase in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" works when applying for a visitor visa to a country of the intended destination. In the real world, unless there is an agreement among a group of countries allowing the free movement of citizens in the participating nations, a visa is required to visit or stay temporarily. An example is the Asean, 10 member nations, which include Brunei Darussalam,...

Marcos institutionalizes eTravel system

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has institutionalized the use of the electronic travel (eTravel) system for international inbound and outbound passengers and airline crewmembers for efficient travel procedures in the country. “The eTravel system is hereby institutionalized as the government’s one-stop electronic travel declaration system,” Marcos said in issuing Administrative Order (AO) 24. According to the President, eTravel shall be...

Shanghai Museum welcomes feline visitors to peruse Egyptian cat imagery at 'Meow Night'

By Casey Hall and Xihao Jiang SHANGHAI - Shanghai Museum has pulled in crowds this summer for an exhibition of ancient Egyptian relics including cat statues and other feline imagery, and which on Saturday nights allows up to 200 visitors to bring along their own four-legged friends. Inspired ancient Egyptians' worship of Bastet, the goddess of protection - often depicted as a cat - the museum

Travel plan promises wider paths and new bus lane

A consultation seeks views on changes to a route from Leeds city centre to St James’s Hospital.

A pony safari in Kenya to a murder mystery weekend in New York, the Observer’s travel special, 1986

On 5 January 1986, the Observer packed its bags for a travel special, first stopping to ask some seasoned travellers what always went in theirs. Adventurer Christina Dodwell took a 2oz hammock and family photos, but never a gun: ‘In a lot of places life is cheap and guns are valuable.’ Tight-jeaned travel journalist Michael Wood took a Swiss Army Knife (‘Mainly for pulling wine corks’) and august travel writer Eric Newby a hat ‘from an imperial...

Is your health at risk from airport noise and pollution?

Bristol in pictures: Forwards, Dogfest and sunny skies

The music carries on at Forwards Festival, while a new star rises for Bristol Rovers.