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17 Things You Should Never Do In Europe
Travelers beware: The authorities in Europe are really cracking down. Italy recently made headlines due to all the strict new regulations across the country, from a law prohibiting anyone from sitting on Rome’s Spanish Steps to fines for wearing flip-flops in Cinque Terre. Now, you can add stealing sand from a beach. You read that right: Two French tourists are facing up to six years of jail time for taking sand from a beach on the island of Sardinia.
And it’s not just Italy: Countries across the Continent are fining tourists for the most unlikely offenses. Last year, two tourists got fined €25 (about $27) for getting lost in a Metro station in Paris. This summer, a surprised traveler in Mallorca was fined €100 ($111) for buying goods from an illegal street vendor. Meanwhile, in the Mallorcan town of Magaluf, lawmakers have published a list of 64 banned actions with penalties ranging from €100 ($111) to €3,000 ($3,335) for everything from damaging flowers to climbing trees. The island city of Hvar, Croatia will fine you for a lengthy list of inappropriate public behavior, including walking around in a swimsuit—a €600 ($667) fine. And in Amsterdam, which is known for its brothels and marijuana cafés, the city recently launched the Enjoy and Respect campaign, with fines for drinking in public, making noise, littering and more.
Supporters say it’s all an attempt to keep unruly tourists in line. “Young tourists are welcome, but they will have to learn how to behave here,” Hvar’s fed-up mayor Rikardo Novak told local media when he instated those fines.
Critics say all these rules are way too punitive. The move has sparked debates online with some saying it’s a sure-fire way to turn off tourists. But maybe that’s the point? Stephen Hodes, the founder of an independent think tank called Amsterdam in Progress, says he thinks Amsterdam hasn’t been strict enough. ”There are too many tourists,” he says. “The only thing to do is to take radical measures, otherwise it’s a consumption ghetto, not a city where people live.”
Whatever the case, these rules aren’t going anywhere. So before you plan a trip to Europe, check out these 17 regulations that just might get you in big trouble and turn that dream European vacation into a nightmare.
1. Stealing Sand: As those French travelers discovered, Sardinia wants people to keep their hands off its sand. A 2017 law made it illegal to remove sand, pebbles and shells, with fines of up to €3,000 (about $3,330). Last year, a tourist from the UK got fined €1,000 ($1,100) for stealing sand.
2. Traveling with Designer Rip-Offs: Leave that fake Rolex at home. In France, tourists can get fined up to €300,000 ($334,000) for bringing counterfeit goods into the country. Other countries like Austria, Ireland and Croatia are similarly strict.
3. Ripping Your Currency: Be careful how you handle your money in Turkey: Defacing or tearing up the local currency can carry a prison sentence of between six months to three years.
4. Wearing a Bikini… and Nothing Else: In many parts of Europe, including the Spanish island of Mallorca and the Croatian towns of Split and Hvar, it’s against the law to wear only a bikini or swimming shorts in the street. Authorities may impose fines if people are caught wearing swimwear away from the beach; in Mallorca that even extends to the seafront promenade.
5. Peeing in the Ocean: Really? Portugal has a bizarre law on the books saying that you can get busted for using the ocean as your toilet. Here’s the thing: Who will ever know?
6. Wearing a baggy swimsuit: Sorry guys, but if you’re headed to a public pool in France, you’ll need to learn those trunks at home and don a tight-fitting Speedo-type swimsuit instead.
7. Behaving Badly: Signs reading “Save Your Money and Enjoy Hvar” greet tourists at the entrances to the center of the town in Croatia, graphically detailing offenses and the corresponding penalties. The highest fine, €700 ($778), is for public alcohol-drinking, eating or sleeping.
8. Taking Selfies: Better to just ask a fellow tourist to snap a photo for you. In the center of Milan, selfie sticks were recently banned—in addition to glass bottles and food trucks—as authorities try to limit littering and anti-social behavior.
9. Wearing Heels at Historic Sites: Save your fancy outfits for dinner. Heels are banned at certain Greek archaeological sites, including the Acropolis.
10. Driving in Sandals: Proper footwear required! Driving while wearing flip-flops or sandals is a criminal offense in Spain, and comes with a fine of €200 ($222).
11. Hiking in the Buff: In 2011, a Swiss court made it illegal to hike naked. The case came about after a German man strode nude past a family picnicking near the Swiss Alps. Naked hiking had become increasingly popular in the years before the court ruling.
12. Running out of Fuel: Cruising on Germany’s Autobahn? Make sure your fuel tank is topped off. It’s illegal to run out of fuel while driving on the famed road.
13. Kissing on a Train Platform: Lips off! Couples have been banned from kissing on train stations in Manchester, England (a more recent law) and France (on the books since 1910). The reason? It holds up commuters and rail delays.
14. Driving Without a Breathalyzer: It’s illegal in France to drive without a breathalyzer in the car. Although the on-the-spot fine of €11 ($12) is no longer carried out by the government, it remains against the law.
15. Jaywalking: Germany takes its road safety very seriously. It’s a common social rule not to cross a pedestrian crossing before the light turns green. If you make a run for it, you could be fined €5-€10 ($5-$11).
16. Public Drinking: Holiday resorts across the Spanish island of Mallorca stepping up sanctions against rowdy tourists with a range of new penalties. Tourists and locals could face fines of up to €600 ($667) if caught drinking on the street.
17. Hailing a Cab if You’re Sick: The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act of 1984 makes it illegal to flag down a taxi in England if you have a “notifiable” disease without telling the driver. Then the driver can decide whether he/she wants to take you where you need to go. Our guess? You’re not going anywhere.
Source: Forbes
Former Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande, has made a fervent appeal to factions within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State to reconcile and unite ahead of the forthcoming local council election.
Addressing party chairmen and chairmanship candidates from the 10 local government areas of Oke Ogun zone, Akande emphasised the critical need for solidarity within the party ranks to secure victory in the elections scheduled for this month.
Highlighting the significance of unity within the party, the former Governor Ajimobi’s aide underscored that Oyo State is inherently an APC stronghold, but internal conflicts hampered the party’s performance in the previous election.
He urged members to set aside their differences and focus on the common goal of delivering a progressive government to the people of the state.
Speaking during the gathering in Otu, headquarters of Itesiwaju Local Government area, Akande stressed the imperative of forgiveness and reconciliation, emphasising that the party’s success hinges on unity. He lauded the efforts of the national leadership in fostering reconciliation, urging members to embrace the spirit of unity.
As a gesture of support, the ex-NCC gaffer provided financial assistance amounting to N500,000 to each of the 10 local government areas to bolster their preparations for the upcoming April 27 election.
The event was attended by APC Chairmen and Chairmanship candidates from the Oke Ogun Zone, alongside 21 former local government chairmen, demonstrating a collective commitment to the party’s success in the forthcoming election.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
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