Another European City Bans Burqas

The BBC.com reports: The Catalan town of Lleida announced a ban on Islamic veils last month Barcelona has become the first large Spanish city to announce a ban on the wearing of full Islamic face-veils in some public spaces.

The ban was designed to include any head-wear that hindered identification, officials said.

At least two towns in Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, have already announced bans.

Belgium and France have both recently taken steps towards restricting the use of full veils in public.

Barcelona's city council said the ban would be largely symbolic, since it was uncommon to see women in the city wearing the full veil.

"Barcelona will forbid the use of the burqa, niqab and any other item which hinders personal identification in any of the city's public installations," a council statement said.

The ban would cover public spaces such as municipal offices, public markets and libraries - but not the streets.

The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, said the measure was aimed purely at ensuring people could be identified, and would therefore include balaclavas, motorbike helmets and ski masks.

"In no way does it target religious belief," he said.

The ban is scheduled to take effect in Barcelona after the summer.

The Conservative Popular Party (PP) called for the ban to be extended to all public places, including on the street.

Full veils have already been banned in public spaces in the Catalan towns of Lleida and El Vendrell.

Others are reported to be considering similar measures.

12 Etiquette Tips for Visitors to Russia

Here is a helpful list of etiquette tips about how to be respectful of Russian culture, while there.:


1.Shoes are always removed upon entering a private home (and are sometimes removed upon entering Russian museums). Slippers may be given to guests to wear.
2.People should never show the soles of their shoes to Russians; this is considered grave disrespect. Tourists should always sit so the soles of their shoes face the floor.
3.A small edible gift (wine, pastries, fruit) should always be given to hosts when people are invited over for dinner.
4.When Russian people give flowers, they never give them in even numbers (even-numbered bunches of flowers are reserved for funerals).
5.Visitors to Russia should try to refrain from smiling too much to avoid attracting attention.
6.Americans in particular should speak a little lower than they would in their home country; Russians often remark that their American friends seem to be shouting when they speak.
7.Russians follow European table manners--fork in left hand, knife in right hand.
8.Single women should avoid sitting at the corner of a table; this is considered bad luck.
9.During train travel, it is considered polite for travelers to share all they have with the people in the carriage: food, drink and cigarettes.
10.At outdoor markets, there is quite a bit of jostling; this is normal.
11.When standing in line, tourists should get up quite close to the person in front of them. Failure to do so will lead locals to believe that the tourist is not in line at all.
12.A little bit of knowledge of the Russian language will go a long way. At the very least, tourists should learn to say "Please" (Pazhalsta) and "Thank You" (Spasiba).

Things to Keep in Mind When Touring Russia
It's a little hard to get around in Russia without knowing some of the language, but in major metropolitan centers like Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are many people (generally of the younger generation) who have learned to speak English in school and more than happy to help wayward tourists.

It's not necessary for tourists to be on pins and needles for fear of annoying or insulting Russians. Russian locals are very forgiving and are accustomed to Western visitors. Most Russians will go out of their way to help tourists visiting their cities. It's not uncommon for a pair of visitors to be surrounded by dozens of Russians, each of them eager to assist.



Read more at Suite101: Russian Etiquette: 12 Etiquette Tips for People Visiting Russia http://russia-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/russian_etiquette#ixzz0qS5xCYLy

Cross Cultural Humor

Last month a world-wide survey was conducted by the UN.
The only question asked was:-

"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions
to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure because of the following:

1. In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant.
2. In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant.
3. In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant.
4. In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant.
5. In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant.
6. In South America they didn't know what "please" meant.
7. In the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant.
8. In Australia they hung up as soon as they heard the Indian accent.

Baltic Capitals Cruise on the NCL Sun---- June 28-July 10

I decided to take another 12-night European Cruise in less than one month.

Specifically, I will visit 7 COUNTRIES: Denmark, (East) Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, England, and Russia (overnight stay). 3 countries are new to me: Russia, Finland, and Estonia. Visiting East Germany will also be a first for me.

I am happy I will only have ONE flight—a direct Miami-London flight. The ship leaves from Dover, a port 2 hours from London.

I will take guided tours in St Petersburg and Berlin with a tour company recommended on Cruise Critic boards. In Stockholm, Copenhagen, Tallinn, and Helsinki, I will tour on my own. I am also signed up for the Meet&Greet onboard the NCL Sun, along with 64 others who are posted online. I have read many opinions and suggestions from 16 pages of posts.

I am especially excited to visit Russia for two days.

Interestingly, although 6 of the 7 countries are part of the European Union, only 2(Denmark and Finland) utilize the Euro.

Baltic Capitals Here I Come!!

White Nights in Russia

The White Nights describes the few weeks around the summer solstice in June in areas of high latitude during which sunsets are late, sunrises are early and darkness is never complete. The White Nights are a time of celebration in areas such as Saint Petersburg, Russia, where the Sun does not set until after 10 p.m., and the twilight lasts almost all night.

The White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg is famous for spectacular fireworks and Scarlet Sails, a massive show celebrating the end of school year.

I look forward to seeing this July 4 and 5 in Russia!

Non-Latin Web Addresses Go Live

More than half the internet users around the world don't use a Latin-based script as their native language. Now, web addresses in some other scripts will go live. Here is a BBC.com article on the subject.:

'Historic' day as first non-latin web addresses go live
Arab nations are leading a "historic" charge to make the world wide web live up to its name.

Net regulator Icann has switched on a system that allows full web addresses to contain no Latin characters.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first countries to have so-called "country codes" written in Arabic scripts. The move is the first step to allow web addresses in many scripts including Chinese, Thai and Tamil.

More than 20 countries have requested approval for international domains from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).

It said the new domains were "available for use now" although it admitted there was still some work to do before they worked correctly for everyone. However, it said these were "mostly formalities".

Icann president Rod Beckstrom described the change as "historic".
The introduction of the first web names using so-called country code top-level domains (CCTLDs) is the culmination of several years of work by the organisation.

Previously, websites could use some non-Latin letters, but the country codes such as .eg for Egypt had to be written in Latin script.

The three new suffixes will allow web addresses to be completely written in native characters.

"All three are Arabic script domains, and will enable domain names written fully right-to-left," said Kim Davies of Icann in a blog post.

One of the first websites with a full Arabic address is the Egyptian Ministry of Communications.

Some countries, such as China and Thailand, had already introduced workarounds that allow computer users to enter web addresses in their own language.

However, these were not internationally approved and do not necessarily work on all computers.

Icann warned that the internationalised domain names (IDNs), as they are known, would also not work on all PCs immediately.

"You may see a mangled string of letters and numbers, and perhaps some percent signs or a couple of "xn--"s mixed into the address bar," said Mr Davies. "Or it may not work at all."

Previously, Icann has said that people would have to update the software on their computers to view the domains.

"Computers never come with the complete set of fonts that will allow it to show every possible IDN in the world.

"Often this is fixed by downloading additional language packs for the missing languages, or specifically finding and installing fonts that support the wanted languages."

Global access

When Icann first announced its plans for non-Latin web names it said it was the "biggest change" to the net "since it was invented 40 years ago".
"Over half the internet users around the world don't use a Latin-based script as their native language," said Mr Beckstrom at the time.

"IDNs are about making the internet more global and accessible for everyone."
Icann said it had received 21 requests for IDNs in 11 different languages, including Chinese, Russian, Tamil and Thai.

Website owners in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will now be able to apply for web addresses using the new country codes.

The first country codes:
• Egypt: مصر
• Saudi Arabia: السعودية
• United Arab Emirates: امارات
Source: Icann

see article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10

An English person's advice on how to be effective in business with Americans

The U.S.A. (America) offers business the world's largest commercial market. British Cathy Wellingshas some advice for those who wish to dip their toe in the economy “across thepond”.

It has been said that Britain and the USA are two countries
separated by the same language. Many assume that the Brits
and Americans are similar due to their colonial ties and 'special
relationship' but actually they are often more than just an
ocean apart. Since independence in 1776, the United States
has developed its own identity and ways of doing things.
Compared to the Brits, Americans have a more direct and open
communication style and attitudes which impact on the way
they do business.

Americans tend to be very easy to deal with due to their open
nature. They have a very strong work ethic and are not afraid
of taking risks to improve the success of their business. Success is often measured in terms of profit,so when conducting business, they will tend to prioritize tasks over relationships.

Just as former US president Calvin Coolidge once stated: "the business of America is business".

As the world's largest economy, America's influence on business culture is unmistakable and there are boundless opportunities for others to achieve their very own 'American dream'. In order to do so, one must first have an understanding of this young, diverse culture as well as knowledge of American
business etiquette.

The following tips will help ensure that you maximise your opportunities for doing business in the United States:

● Be punctual. Arriving late to appointments is considered disrespectful
● Meet deadlines. In the United States, 'time is money' and Americans place great emphasis on gettingthe best results in the quickest time
● Be polite. Politeness is highly valued in the USA and Americans will expect you to match their level of politeness
● Participate in small talk. Americans like to create a comfortable environment before conducting business by chatting for a few minutes
● Always remember to shake hands. It is customary to begin and end business meetings with a brief but firm handshake
● Remember to minimize physical contact. Americans respect other people's space and privacy and are very protective of their own 'personal bubble'
● Address colleagues with their appropriate title at first, but don't be surprised if you are invited to call someone by their first name soon after meeting
● Don't be offended if your American colleague seems frank. Americans like to get down to business and don't like to 'beat about the bush' when it comes to negotiating. They are often blunt which can be perceived as rudeness by certain cultures

Cathy Wellings is the culture and communication manager at Communicaid. She oversees the design and delivery of more than 500 programs in over 30countries every year. She has lived and worked in France and Spain as well as the UK, training professionals in culture and communication skills.