£86 entry fee proposed for day-trippers to holiday hotspot
Mr Tokatzian, the president of St Mark's Square residents' association, said that around 30 million tourists visit Venice annually, with seven out of 10 being day-trippers who often do not spend money in local shops.
Venice became the first city globally to charge day-trippers an admission fee on 25 April 2024, although holidaymakers with hotel or Airbnb reservations are exempt.
The proposed €100 fee would be 20 times more expensive than the current charge of €5, and would aim to deter tourists who do not contribute to the local economy.
The proposal faces opposition, with critics arguing that such a high fee would not teach visitors 'respect'.
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Telegraph
36 minutes ago
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Rescued British hiker billed £12k for failing to heed Dolomites warning signs
A British hiker is being billed €14,000 (£12,200) by Italian emergency rescue services for failing to heed mountain warning signs. The 60-year-old, who has not been named, found himself in the midst of an avalanche on a rocky mountain path near San Vito di Cadore in the Belluno area of the Dolomites. He was lucky to survive, emergency services said, but not lucky enough to get off with a smaller fine, which he would have done if this had happened before Britain's exit from the European Union. The British man is understood to have set off alone from Passo Tre Croci, near Cortina d'Ampezzo, on Thursday morning. He was hiking on the Ferrata Berti path at an altitude of 8,200ft (2,500m) despite signs in English and Italian urging hikers to turn back. 'He said he didn't see the signs warning of the danger,' Nicola Cherubin, head of alpine rescue in San Vito di Cadore, told The Telegraph. 'Rocks have been falling continually in that area for the past two months. With these landslides it is not secure. He was really afraid.' Photos of the signage posted on the alpine service's Facebook page read: 'Warning. Trail no. 242 (Via Ferrata Berti) and trail no. 241 (Dogana Vecchia-Cengia del Banco) closed due to risk of collapse.' One said in English: 'Stay safe, do not go beyond this warning.' Italy has been warning tourists of the risks of trekking in the alps amid a record number of deaths – nearly 90 this year. The biggest causes have been inexperience and poor preparation while overcrowding has prompted calls for better management of the trails and protection for the environment. The British hiker sounded the alarm at around 3.30pm after becoming distressed by falling rocks. The volunteer rescue service sent a helicopter to rescue him but were initially thwarted by low clouds, forcing it to make a second trip to confirm his location. He was eventually brought to safety with no injuries but is now being asked to pay €14,000 (12,000 pounds) to the regional health service for the helicopter rescue because he is British. The rescue bill for an Italian or French climber might be a few hundred euros. But for non-EU nationals, the fee is considerably higher. 'If someone calls because they are tired or stuck because they find themselves in a place where they shouldn't be, or if they are unharmed with no health issue, they have to pay,' a national rescue service spokesman said. 'If you are from outside the EU without insurance, you have to pay more.' On Sunday rescue service volunteers completely closed the three access points to the Ferrata Berti trail and erected new signage in Italian, English and German warning of continuous rockfalls. On July 19, two Belgians ignored or failed to read the warning signs and were rescued in the same area. Alpine Rescue Service said half of the hikers or climbers billed for their rescues never pay up.
Reuters
2 hours ago
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Eurobank to distribute interim dividend after strong first half
ATHENS, July 31 (Reuters) - Greek lender Eurobank ( opens new tab, the country's largest by market capitalisation, said on Thursday that it will distribute an interim dividend of 170 million euros after announcing a strong profit for the first half of the year. The bank reported adjusted net earnings for the January-June period of 711 million euros ($812.96 million), slightly down from a record profit of 732 million euros a year earlier. Chief Executive Fokion Karavias told analysts on a call that profit was "progressing according to our expectations". "For the full year 2025 we have been committed to at least a 50% payout ratio... meaning that this may be higher than 50%," Karavias said, pointing to stronger than expected loan growth. Greek banks are returning to profit after they were nationalised following a financial meltdown in late 2009 amid the country's debt crisis, requiring several capital injections from the government. They were fully privatised last year. The European Central Bank (ECB) has approved requests by Greece's four largest lenders to resume dividend payments for 2024 after 16 years, a further sign of the sector's recovery and the country's economic rebound. Eurobank, which also operates in Bulgaria and Cyprus, said in a statement that its net interest income rose 12% year-on-year to 1.27 billion euros while its non-performing loan exposure (NPE) ratio fell to 2.8% from 3.1% a year earlier. Net fees jumped 29% to 364 million euros, mainly boosted by network activities and its wealth management business. ($1 = 0.8746 euros)
The Sun
2 hours ago
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Chelsea have spent eye-watering £360MILLION on defenders in three years – but how many of them were worth it?
THE arrival of £37million Jorrel Hato takes Chelsea's spending on defenders under their new owners past a record-shattering £360m. Yet the Blues back four which lines up against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the new season may well include just one player who cost a fee. Marc Cucurella, who came in from Brighton three years ago in a deal worth up to £62m, is the biggest success of Chelsea 's hit-and-miss defensive recruitment. The signing of Hato is a major coup for the Blues, with Liverpool and Arsenal among the other major clubs who wanted the talented and versatile teenager. The young Dutchman is the 12th defender brought in since the consortium led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly took over the club in May 2022. But Cucurella, a Euro 2024 winner with Spain, is the only member of the current Chelsea back four that you would describe as world class. And if Chelsea are to win domestic and European titles, they will need more defenders to reach that level. To be fair, Enzo Maresca 's side can already claim to be world champions. To beat a flair-filled Paris Saint-Germain side 3-0, just weeks after they had spanked Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final, was an impressive achievement. The back four which started the Club World Cup final was left back Cucurella, homegrown centre backs Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah, and right back Malo Gusto. The Frenchman, now 22, could end up costing Chelsea £30.7m after signing from Lyon in January 2023 and spending the rest of that season on loan back at the French club. Gusto has done a decent, sometimes very good, job at right back. He covered for the long injury-related absences of Reece James over the last two seasons and kept his place when James was employed in midfield - as he was against PSG. 8 8 But if you believe Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez will start the biggest games in front of the defence, and James will mostly play as an inverted right back when he is fit, then Gusto will not be in Enzo Maresca's strongest 11. Chalobah did well after returning from half a season on loan at Crystal Palace, but could yet find himself being sold this summer. As a product of the Chelsea Academy, he would generate pure profit for financial rules purposes and there could be clubs willing to pay £40m for him. If Chalobah left, his replacement as right-sided centre back at the start of the season would almost certainly be Tosin Adarabioyo. The free transfer from Fulham last summer has carved a niche for himself off the pitch as well as on it. At just 27 he is one of the senior members of the squad, and plays an 'Uncle Tosin' role to the youngsters, enjoying a particularly close relationship with fellow Mancunian Cole Palmer. But no-one, not even Tosin himself, would claim that he is one of Europe's best defenders. If Wesley Fofana is able to put his injury hell behind him and rediscover his previous form, he could yet meet those standards and become a Chelsea stalwart for years to come. Fofana, still just 24, has made only 34 appearances for the Blues since arriving from Leicester in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth up to £75m. He is the most expensive of all Chelsea's defensive signings and that means, through no fault of his own, he has also been the biggest let down. But only just. The Blues really have had trouble finding a settled and satisfactory centre back pairing. Within weeks of the 2022 takeover, Kalidou Koulibaly became the new regime's first defensive signing. The Napoli star's £35m fee felt a little steep for a player about to turn 31, but the Senegal international was highly-rated and on the radar of other big clubs. Koulibaly failed to live up to his billing, although he could point to the chaos of playing under three different managers and a hamstring injury as decent explanations. He was offloaded after just one season to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal - and played for them in this year's Club World Cup. When Chelsea set a new record for winter window spending in early 2023, Benoit Badiashile 's £35m arrival from Monaco went a little under the radar in the wake of massive deals for Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk. The Frenchman did fine in a struggling team in the remainder of the 22/23 season, but not well enough to seal his spot. And when injury kept Badiashile out of the start of the following campaign, Colwill took his chance after returning from loan at Brighton. 8 8 8 Meanwhile the unfortunate Fofana had suffered the second major knee injury of his short Chelsea career in the summer of 2023. Within weeks, the Blues had gone back to Monaco to bring in Axel Disasi for another £38m. The France international was a first choice under Mauricio Pochettino for much of the 2023/4 season. But new boss Maresca did not fancy Disasi, and he was sent on loan to Aston Villa for the second half of last season. The signing of Hato, 19, fits Chelsea's current transfer philosophy of signing the best young players and trying to turn them into superstars. If they fail, they can usually be sold on for a profit, as is likely to be the case with Renato Veiga. The versatile Portuguese was signed only last summer, did well enough to earn a loan to Juventus for the second half of the season and could find himself joining Atletico Madrid for a chunky fee. In addition to Veiga, Chelsea signed two teenage defenders last summer in centre back Aaron Anselmino and left back Caleb Wiley. The latter has now returned to Watford for a second season on loan, while Anselmino may well also leave on a temporary deal after recovering from injury. Mamadou Sarr, 19, is likely to be loaned back to Strasbourg after the Blues paid £12m to their sister club. Hato is also 19 but at a fee of £37m, he will surely need to deliver for Chelsea this season. The Blues will probably ease him in, perhaps initially as cover for left back Cucurella. In the longer term, Hato should end up challenging Colwill for that left-sided centre back slot or forming a partnership with the England international. And finally, after spending more on defenders than any club, Chelsea could end up with a world-class back four to show for it. 8
