#between italy and singapore 2023

[umseb]

📷 @.k.alledan_fotografie / instagram

[ummick]

oh dear i'm afraid i'm in love with him

[umlewis]

"Man or machine ⚙️" - september 13, 2023 📷 @.plus44world / instagram

[umgeorge]

📷 @.jessheenan.smith / instagram

[2handsslan]

lando norris // ln4 fic recs

———————————— 🏎️🏎️ ————————————

one shots

champagne coast - @snoopyracing

“when lando and you spend summer break together you don't expect italy to eventually hold such a special place in your heart... or lando and you go on vacation and everyone keeps thinking you're a couple”

wanna be yours - @snoopyracing

“you're the mclaren f1 team photographer and lando can't help but get jealous at your friendship with logan sargeant”

the breakup of the century - @no-144444

“you and lando break up on horrible terms, can a new album and a special performance bring you back together? is that even what you two want?”

encontrar tu media naranja - @iamred-iamyellow

“during one of your concerts a fan threw their phone up on stage. after you finished recording a video, you tried tossing it back to them and ended up accidentally hitting a world famous f1 driver in the face”

rookie - @propertyofwicked

series

dreamland series - @chilling-seavey

“as a flunking university student in dreary bristol, lando is sure there’s another life waiting for him elsewhere. a life that he can only dream of living with the girl with a million dollar career, verified instagram, and a stunning smile that he swears was created for him. but maybe those dreams stray no farther than his phone screen”

somebody else series - @eroselless

“you just work in hospitality for McLaren and he’s their star driver. what happens when your paths cross and you find yourself questioning your feelings for each other?”

vexing vacation - @vroomvro0mferrari

“when you agreed to join your brother on his vacation, sharing a room with his best friend wasn’t part of the plan. now, that you’re constantly stuck with lando and his relentless teasing, you’re not sure whether you want to strangle him or kiss him”

hermana series - @grandprixprincess

“after running into lando at the singapore gp, he finally shoots his shot. reader is family friends with carlos and is like a little sister to him. friends to lovers”

smau

telepatía - @iamred-iamyellow - smau

nueva vida (pt2)

“spending years in lower divisions finally payed off when you found out you'd be lewis hamilton's race engineer for ferrari in 2025”

fake it ‘till you make it! series - @racew1nn3rs - smau

“after an underwhelming 2022 season, the mclaren formula one team decided to bring in a new, young social media manager in the hopes of increasing brand promotion in 2023. when online banter between the newest team member and lando garners unbelievable fan attention, the two are asked to do the impossible in order to keep the support high: fake a or relationship”

fifth wheel series - @dannyricsmirrorball - smau

“y/n is always fifth wheeling george, carmen, alex, and lily”

just a boy - @hugleclerc - smau

"lando is just a boy trying to fight the guys in your comments without exposing his identity to the public"

tales of candor - @povlnfour - smau

“lando’s girlfriend has a secret identity. she’s not quite the girl next door everyone assumed, and he might just be the inspiration for more than just her instagram captions”

cool for the summer - @theonottsbxtch - smau

“in which lando goes to the same resort each summer and he befriends the owners daughter who works there”

*these are part of my fic rec masterlist, please note none of these are written by me and the author of each story had been tagged! check out my f1 fic rec masterlist for other drivers!*

[coimbrabertone]

Actions Have Consequences...Finally

Well, at the Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was being his usual self. Lando Norris got a run on him into turn four, went to the outside, and Max blatantly pushed him off the road. Lando swerves to the left, cutting the track, and then slows up to left the leader - Sainz - back through, but remains ahead of Max.

This evidently pissed Max off, since a few corners later in the esses, he pushes Lando off yet again to get ahead.

The first incident is more comparable to COTA 2024, but this one was closer to Interlagos 2021 as both cars were pushed completely off track and that's how Max made the move.

Max would get a ten second penalty for each of these incidents, leading to him sitting for twenty seconds ahead of his first pitstop. For a brief moment in the Mexican Grand Prix, the two Red Bulls were running last and second to last, as Perez was also having a stinker and a half.

This marked a clear departure from the stewarding decisions at Circuit of the Americas a week prior, and this has led to discourse, because of course it has.

Now, some of it is sensible, including calls for a consistent, permanent stewarding panel that travels from race to race.

Most of it, however, is just Max fans whining about getting an unfair penalty that "ruins racing."

First things first, Max has been getting away with this non-stop for his entire career.

Max Verstappen hitting Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel at the start of the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, then his moving twice under braking when defending from Max in the same race.

Singapore 2017, when a Schumacher-esque swerve by Vettel and a charge up the inside by Raikkonen led to Kimi, Max, and Vettel going three wide on a wet track. Max stayed in it despite a bad start, and this contributed to their turn one crash. This one isn't entirely on Max, but it's another example of how he'd rather have multiple cars crash than back out of a move.

Azerbaijan 2018, when Max moved late on the straight to block Daniel Ricciardo on the straight and led to that high-speed crash between the Red Bull teammates.

Austria 2019, when Max divebombed inside of Leclerc, they touched tyres, and he forced Leclerc wide (sound familiar?) to take the win.

The all-or-nothing racing with Lewis that he did in 2021 in Britain, in Italy, and in Saudi Arabia which almost felt like a race long meltdown by Max Verstappen as he made late and desperate moves to try and beat Hamilton. This is on top of Interlagos 2021, which I mentioned earlier, when he went off to Narnia with Lewis on his outside, forcing both of them wide as he didn't even attempt the force.

Then in 2022 and 2023, with Max having the fastest car in the world, this narrative started to form about Max growing up and improving his ways. Well, that went out the window in 2024, because when Max's car went to shit, the same old creature came out.

Austria 2024, when he and Norris crashed out, the aforementioned COTA 2024, and of course these double incidents at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

So the way I see it, Max getting penalties isn't a case of inconsistent stewarding, it's a case of him finally facing long overdue consequences.

Max has been doing this kind of stuff for years, and this take the inside, force the other guy off routine has been in his arsenal since the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, at least, while the Mexico stuff he's used since the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix. That's years and years of doing this kind of stuff. He has been making these over the line moves habitually.

He's a habitual line stepper.

Oh, but the Max defenders have an argument for that too. More of a whataboutism to be fair, but they claim that Max is doing the same things that Senna and Schumacher were celebrated for.

One: just because something has happened before doesn't make it okay.

Two: people absolutely hated the things that Senna and Schumacher did, and they faced consequences for their actions.

The Suzuka collision in 1989? Senna was disqualified from that very race for cutting across the track, denying him the chance to take advantage of taking out Prost.

Suzuka 1990? Prost called Senna's behavior disgusting and said that if this was how people were going to race, that he might as well just retire now.

For Schumacher, it's more of the same story.

Britain 1994? Schumacher passes Damon Hill on the formation lap, returns the position on the grid, but gets a five second stop-go penalty for the illegal, out-of-position on the parade lap move. Benetton told Schumacher to ignore this as they tried to appeal, going over the three lap threshold, getting the black flag, and then ignoring the black flag and instead trying to serve the initial stop-go penalty.

Schumacher was disqualified from the British Grand Prix and received a two-race ban. The team appealed the ban, but after Schumacher was disqualified yet again - this time for plank wear at the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix - the two-race ban was upheld.

Schumacher was disqualified twice and banned for two races in 1994 alone, and that was before taking out Damon Hill for the championship. The British press eviscerated him for this.

Then in 1997, with Ferrari, Schumacher had the Jacques Villeneuve incident in Jerez. The "you hit the wrong part of him Michael!" commentary was just the beginning of how the press laid into Michael for that one. He was considered a serial cheater by now, and the FIA seemed to agree, as he was disqualified for the entire 1997 season because of it.

Add Monaco 2006 and Hungary 2010 to the list as well.

Senna and Schumacher are your examples for forgiving Max Verstappen? Those are some of the most controversial drivers in F1 history, they're received plenty of hate, criticism, and harsh penalties. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Max is going to be treated the exact same way.

Actions have consequences.

Elsewhere in the racing world, the Thai MotoGP was pretty damn good - which is a relief since imo, last year was a bit of a snoozer - with Enea Bastianini winning the sprint, while in a chaotic wet race, Pecco Bagnaia triumphed over Jorge Martin, whilst Pedro Acosta put on a clinic in the final few laps to take third place.

Seriously, look up the Pedro Acosta/Jack Miller battle if you get the chance, because those two go side by side through the middle loop of the lap, racing hard, but racing fair. Everyone stays in the track limits, nobody gets crashed out, just a great battle between a Jack Miller who doesn't want to give up position, and a Pedro Acosta who is hungry for a podium.

Maybe Max could learn a thing or two from that.

As for NASCAR, unfortunately, I didn't see it. I was watching the Mexican Grand Prix and NASCAR was at the same time. It's the annoying time of year when racing series think it's a better idea to go against each other rather than challenging high and mighty football. That sucks because I think Homestead is a great track, but from what I hear, Tyler Reddick won.

Regular season champion into the final four. That's at least a decent bounce back after Logano went from out of the playoffs to championship contender in a week.

[bzhitstruth]

From Singapore with love

Today GG blessed us with many photos, and of course, there were some interesting details.

1. In the first series of photos there are 18 photos, due to the fact that some photos are divided into 2 and 3 parts, in reality there are 32 photos. The number of photos in which GG is present is 28.

18-32-28. I think there is no need to explain what these numbers mean. This is not the first time GG has done this!

2. GG posted two series of photos - at 19:05 and at 20:30. There are 85 minutes between these publications. We also know what this means, right?

3. It seems that the number 8 is again hidden in the location of the photos - photos 8 and 14 are black and white, they stand out among the others, and in the general view of the grid they form 8 (or B, Bo).

4. The place where the first photo shoot was done is the luxurious, expensive Singapore Raffles Hotel; wedding photo shoots are often held here. Interestingly, the recent DD's photo shoot and video in Xiamen was done in a wedding salon!

5. In photos 13 and 18, GG is standing by a beautiful fountain; quite by chance there is a lion on the fountain.

Wherever GG goes, he is constantly pursued by lions! While visiting a museum in Italy in February-March 2023, he also came across lions. And on the street too.

Plus, GG used to wear a Gucci lion necklace and ring, as well as TOD'S clothing with a lion logo and the bag with lions on the strap. I understand that lions are used quite often as a decorative element everywhere, but since Leo has a special meaning for us, I can't help but notice it!

I hope that soon GG will finish work in Singapore, fly home and meet his little Leo, who is probably really looking forward to it and misses him. 💚❤️.

Everything is fake, CPN, my fantasies and nothing more.

sources: one, two, three

[senfonikankara]

Ayşegül Sarıca (1935-2023)

Ayşegül Sarıca was born in Istanbul in 1935. She began learning piano from Ferdi Statzer at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. After finishing school, she went to Paris in 1951, and studied piano with Lucette Descaves and chamber music with Pierre Pasquier at the National Conservatory in Paris. After graduating conservatory in 1953, Sarıca worked with Marguerite Long. In 1959, Sarıca won the “Prix de la Ville de Paris” at the M. Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition.

She has given many concerts with famous conductors such as Karel Ancerl, Pierre Dervaux, Anatole Fistoulari, Louis Fourestier, Gotthold Lessing and Heinz Walberg in many countries: England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Rumania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Egypt, Tunis, Algeria, Iran, UAE, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. Since 1968, Sarıca has been a soloist of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. She received the title of the State Artist in 1971. In 1974, she received the “Chevalier de I′Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the French Ministry of Culture. Sarıca has also given numerous recitals with many virtuosos such as Christian Ferras, Andre Navarra, Heinrich Schiff and Alexander Rudin.

In 1991, Sarıca played Cemal Reşit Rey’s “Kâtibim” with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hikmet Şimşek. It was recorded onto the disc. Among her CDs are: violin-piano sonatas of Grieg, Debussy and Frank (with violinist Ayla Erduran); Mozart’s Symphony No.15 and No.23 (with Ankara Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gürer Aykal); Beethoven’s Concerto No.3 and No.4 (with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra) and Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor (with Bilkent Symphony Orchestra). In addition, her recitals were also recorded onto the disc, which is including Moments Musicaux series.

Between 1991 and 2000, Sarıca taught master courses to students in the Faculty of Music and Stage Arts at Bilkent University. Since 1999, she has taught master and doctoral courses to students in the Institute of Advanced Research on Music at Istanbul Technical University. In 2006, Sarıca was awarded the “Merit of Honor" in music by the Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation. She has served as a jury member in numerous international piano contests.

[tilbageidanmark]

998 Movies in 2023...

In 2021 I saw 885 movies...

In 2022 I saw 954 movies...

And in 2023 I saw 998 movies.

Yes, I've seen nearly 3 movies every single day for the last three years. Yes, I have no life, Etc. But I like it, and it works for me. So if anybody have an issue with that, they are cordially invited to fuck off. This solitary habit had evolved into an ongoing writing project, where I jog down every night a paragraph or two about each movie, and that fills me up with a sense of a minor achievement, sufficient enough to keep me going.

Most of the movies (like everything else in life) were mediocre, but about 150 were stand-outs, so on average, every two days I experienced some sort of an emotional release, a catharsis, if you will, which had made the whole project worthwhile for me.

Here are some stats, and a few random discoveries that I really enjoyed.

First of all, I made it a point to see more movies directed by women – 156 in total. I'm going to concentrate even more on female movie-making.

I also continued to explore the vast and interesting world of “foreign” cinema, (i.e. “Not from the USA”): 520 films in 2023 [52% of the total]. I plan on increasing this percentage much more next year.

The countries from which I saw the largest number were France (100), UK (70), Denmark (30), Italy and Japan (24 each), Germany and Spain (19 each), Iceland (14), Canada and Finland (13), Sweden (12), Ireland, Poland and Scotland (11). The other films were from Chile, Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Australia, Norway, Belgium, Iran, Korea, Hungary, Portugal, Brazil, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Greece, The Netherlands, Armenia, Austria, Bolivia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauritania, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palestine, Polynesia, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Uruguay, Yugoslavia. There was even one movie in ancient Babylonian!

I don't keep track of the genres, and I sample nearly everything. I love to cry 'and laugh and cry all again', so I mostly seek stories with “real” personal emotions. Obviously, many are dramas, art-house fair. I still have never seen any superheroes movie in my life. And I usually refuse to watch any horror, space operas, franchise, most blockbusters, supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy, and not too much 'action’.

Recently, I started picking up movies from this Wikipedia List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as lists of winners and contenders from various European film festivals.

Of the 998 movies, 103 were documentaries, 119 were films I've seen before, 150 were shorts, (and 26 were so bad I couldn't finish them).

For their age, I only saw 35 silent movies, but a whopping 111 movies from 2023. The rest are spread in between.

I did discover many new directors I fell in love with with, too many to list here. If anybody is interested in reading my personal opinions, they can re-visit the tag 'Movies' here. I post about 20 reviews every Monday.

So here are just a few of my off-beat favorite 2023 discoveries:

'The Mill and the cross' (2011) by Polish poet Lech Majewski: A literal recreation of Bruegel’s 1564 painting ‘The Procession to Calvary’, done in Newport Beach’s ‘Pageant of the Masters’ style. With a minimal narrative and nearly no dialog, it transports a masterpiece from one medium into another.

'The organizer' (1963) by Mario Monicelli, with Marcello Mastroianni. A unionist trying to organize workers laboring in inhuman conditions at a late 19th Century textile factory in Turin. A Neo-realistic and unsentimental look at the eternal struggle for control of the means of production.

'Close' (2022), innocent lost, by Belgian Lukas Dhont. Movingly and tenderly it details an intimate friendship - love, rather - between two 13-year-old boys.

The documentary 'Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb' (2022), about the relationship between two remarkable men: The LBJ biographer and his lifelong editor.

'The Maid' by Chilean director Sebastián Silva, a perfectly simple drama about the life of a live-in housekeeper. It was one of a dozen movies I saw about 'Domestics', an emerging sub-genre, mostly from South America and South-east Asia.

'Timbuktu' from Mauritania (2014), by Malian film director Abderrahmane Sissako. A heart-breaking tragedy about terror in the barren Sahara desert. Senseless religious laws imposed by a patriarchal and fanatic group on simple villagers.

'Spring Blossom' (2020), a gentle drama of a shy 16 year old girl who falls in love with a 35 man she sees outside a local theater. [Like Quinn Shephard’s ‘Blame’], it’s twice as impressive, because it was written by the talented Suzanne Lindon when she was only 15, and she directed it and starred in it before she was 20.

The earlier films of Irish director John Michael McDonagh, 'The Guard' and 'Calvary', both with Brendan Gleeson. (But not 'War on everyone' which was awful).

All of Lynne Ramsay's Glasgow-based dramas, especially 'Gasman', her first short, and 'Ratcatcher', her debut feature. Heartbreaking, transformative masterpieces. The same goes for Ken Loach's 1969 'Kes' and 'I, Daniel Blake' from 2016.

Re-watch: Nils Malmros's 1981 'The tree of knowledge'. It has always been my favorite Danish movie, and also one of my general All-time Top-Five favorites - Ever. Together with Truffault’s ‘Small Change’, it’s also the best movie about children, the pains of puberty and the joys of adolescence.

'The Ballad of the Weeping Spring' is a “different” (and hard-to find!) Israeli cult film from 2012. An homage to Kurosawa’s Samurai films, and to Sergio Leone’s Westerns, it’s a mystical pilgrimage into the origins of “Oriental / Mediterranean Music”. After inadvertently killing his two friends and living off the grid for 20 years, the mythical band leader of the defunct “Turkish Ensemble” is recruited to “put the band together”, and is looking for 9 other musicians to play for his dying ex-partner.

Jody Foster's documentary 'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché' (2018). Alice Guy-Blaché was the first ever female filmmaker, and history’s first director of narrative cinema. An enormously important figure, who was erased and forgotten until her recent resurgence. Like ‘The Méliès Mystery’ documentary, these two biographies are a must-see for any film lover.

'The house is black' (1963), by another female pioneer, Iranian avant-garde poet Forugh Farrokhzad. A harrowing documentary about a real leper colony.

Werner Herzog, Radical dreamer, a 2022 German documentary about the greatest living filmmaker, one of the greatest of all time.

And not to be accused for being an elitist, I've re-watched (some as many as FOUR times this year!) many of my all time 'guilty pleasures': 'In the loop', 'Long Shot' with Charlize Theron, The Icelandic 'Echo', 'Office Space', 'After the wedding', 'Hot Fuzz', 'A simple favor', 'Cold war', 'Margin call', 'Belle de Jour', 'Chinatown', 'The conversation', 'Game night', 'To kill a mockingbird', 'world of tomorrow', 'Midnight run', 'Burn after reading', Etc., etc.

[Photo Above: I didn't realize, and didn't find it mentioned anywhere, but Buñuel gave himself a little cameo in 'Belle De Jour'!]

So what does it all mean? Nothing, really. Except of food, air, and some minimal travel, I don't consume much of anything any more. I don't have a TV, cars, streaming services, any belongings, or attachments. But I recognize that this obsessive viewing is also some form of unhealthy consumption. Anyway, for the time being, I'll just keep doing it.

[And to answer a question that may come up, I view 100% of these movies on “free” streamers. I'm not ashamed of it, on the contrary!]

So far, in 2024 I only saw 2 movies, both of which I've seen before: René Laloux's 'Fantastic Planet', and one of my most precious films from last year, Celine Song's 'Past Lives'. 10/10 for both - will watch again!

Adios, mothers'.

[This is copy from my r/truefilm post]

[usafphantom2]

2,000th pilot graduated through the F-35 training system

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 04/29/2023 - 10:00 in Military

The 56th Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force formed the 2,000th pilot of the F-35 Lightning II, U.S. Air Force Major Christopher "Blade" Jeffers, on April 17, 2023, at Luke Air Base, Arizona.

This milestone represents a step forward for Luke's aviators in carrying out their mission to train the greatest fighter pilots in the world.

Since 1941, Luke's Air Base has trained more than 61,000 pilots, approximately 105 F-35 pilots and 188 F-16 pilots annually, representing 75 percent of the world's F-35 pilots.

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“Here in Luke, we are not only proud of the number of pilots we produce,” said Colonel Keegan McLeese, deputy commander of the 56th Fighter Squadron. "We are very proud of the quality of our graduates, because they will be the ones who will advance air power in the coming decades."

Before flying the aircraft, pilots must undergo 192 hours of academic and simulator-based training. It takes 50 flight hours to complete the course and almost half are accredited through the F-35 Full Mission Simulator, an immersive technology designed to replicate the F-35 hardware.

U.S. Air Force Major Christopher Jeffers, a 62nd Fighter Squadron pilot student, poses for a photograph in front of an F-35A Lightning II fighter on April 17, 2023, at Luke Air Base, Arizona. (Photo: U.S. Air Force / Airman 1st Class Katelynn Jackson)

“The simulator was very close to the plane,” Jeffers said. "It's as realistic as possible."

Jeffers flew the F-16 from 2014 to 2022 with more than 1,600 flight hours before participating in the Transition Course (TX) to the F-35. Jeffers became certified to fly the F-35 while assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron.

“The most rewarding part of the training is seeing what I can do now in the F-35 compared to the F-16,” Jeffers said. "The situational awareness and capabilities that the F-35 offers would need several F-16s."

The F-35A is the latest fifth-generation fighter in the U.S. Air Force, with more than 8 million lines of three-layer code that make up the flight systems.

“The biggest difference between the fifth-generation aircraft and the F-16 is stealth,” Jeffers said. "This increases the survival rate in the missions. The next is the fusion of sensors. The F-16 can provide a lot of information, but you, as a pilot, need to decipher what is and what is not important. Since the F-35 knows what you want and increases the awareness of the battlefield."

In addition to strengthening national security, the F-35 serves as a vessel to strengthen global partnerships. Currently, Luke's Air Base maintains training partnerships with Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore and Denmark.

“I had the opportunity to train with foreign partners here at Luke,” Jeffers said. "It was a very good experience to train with them and see the motivation they had to learn and improve."

Upon completing 3 and a half months of flight training accompanied by 50 hours of flight, TX pilots like Jeffers are trained as instructors in instructor refresher training. Jeffers will fulfill the remaining three years of his contract as an F-35 instructor pilot at Luke's Air Base.

"I see myself driving the F-35 here in Luke until I can retire," Jeffers said.

It took 14 years since the introduction of the F-35 in 2006 to reach 1,000 trained fighter pilots in 2020. Three years later, the Department of Defense doubled that number.

Jeffers' belief is that, with the innovative and constantly evolving nature of the Air Force, this rate of force growth will continue.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we jumped to 6,000 pilots in a fraction of the time it took us to reach 2,000,” Jeffers said. "The U.S. Air Force is always improving and growing."

As the F-16 approaches the end of its training mission on Luke, a force of 2,000 trained F-35 fighter pilots strengthens the role of the aircraft in modern warfare.

"We will be flying the F-35 in the coming years, and then the next generation of fighter aircraft will emerge," Jeffers said. "But I think the F-35 will be available for the next generation of aspiring fighter fighter pilots."

Luke AFB is fully committed to continuing quality F-35 training in support of its mission. Producing combat-ready aviators who train alongside high-performance multifunctional aircraft strengthens combat readiness.

Tags: Military AviationF-35 Lightning IIUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work throughout the world of aviation.

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[umseb]

📷 @.oliwia_stronczynska / instagram

[ummick]

[umlewis]

harness the power of remote support. the mercedes-amg petronas f1 team accelerates with teamviewer.

[umgeorge]

📷 @.carmenmmundt / instagram

[theborderlessworld]

Italy, France, Germany: 38 European countries can now visit China visa-free

China's rapidly expanding visa-free scheme aims to boost tourism.

China's visa-free list continues to grow, with eight more European countries being added.

Citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia and Latvia have now been granted visa waivers for the Asian nation.

Tourists from these countries, as well as Japan, will be able to enter China visa-free from 30 November 2024 until 31 December 2025.

Passport holders from Andorra, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovakia and Norway were recently added to the list, which grants them stays in China of up to 30 days without a visa.

Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia were granted the access in October.

It brings the total number of European countries granted visa-free access up to 38.

In July, tourists from Poland, Australia and New Zealand were also granted unrestricted entry to China until the end of 2025.

Since the start of 2024, the scheme has been announced in stages, with various European nations and Malaysia also gaining visa-free access. It aims to encourage more people to visit China for business and tourism, and promote exchanges between Chinese citizens and foreign nationals.

Which European countries can travel to China visa-free?

Citizens of 38 European countries can stay in China without a visa for up to 30 days.

The full list of European countries now includes Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. Tourists from these countries will be allowed to enter China for short stays without a visa until the end of next year.

The aim is “to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing on the initial announcement made in November.

International travel to China is still bouncing back

China's strict pandemic measures, which included required quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting for nearly three years. The restrictions were lifted early last year, but international travel has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.

China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to enter without a visa but suspended that after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not done so for Japan.

In 2023, China recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreigners, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 97.7 million for all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

From July to September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.

The Chinese government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some businesspeople have been coming for trade fairs and meetings, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.

How else is China simplifying travel for Europeans?

Last year saw a surge in interest in China as a tourist destination among Europeans.

Data from online travel agency Trip.com showed a 663 per cent increase in overall bookings from Europe to China compared to 2022, and an almost 29 per cent increase on 2019.

The United Kingdom and Germany were among the top 10 sources of inbound travellers to China globally, the data shows.

Shanghai remains the most popular destination among Europeans with its alluring blend of modernity and tradition, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Sanya, a beachside city on the southern end of China’s Hainan Island, and Chengdu - the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province - are emerging destinations.

Beyond it's new visa-free schemes, the country is further encouraging inbound tourism by promoting cultural and historical attractions in partnership with Trip.com. China is also enhancing tourism infrastructure by investing in technology, travel guides and e-payment systems.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/11/22/china-aims-to-boost-tourism-by-giving-visa-free-entry-to-these-five-european-countries

[whattheabcxyz]

2024-10-30

Singapore

Up to 20K more COEs to be released from February next year

Bukit Panjang resident claims neighbour smokes in flat despite court order to stop - another reason to put a $100 tax on every cigarette pack sold, but the authorities just refuse to do it!

Digital economy made up 17.7% of GDP in 2023

LTA says motorists can book directly with authorised workshops to install new ERP units - there is no need for owners to wait for an official notification from LTA to replace their IUs, or go through the authority’s booking portal

Mixed-use complex to be built above Hougang MRT station

All NS men to receive $200 LifeSG credits by 30 Nov

Dengue deaths so far this year are more than double last year's

Jail for man who used corporate credit card to make nearly $30K in unauthorised transactions

Authorities say no other oil sightings following recent Bukom & Changi incidents

Science

We probably will never know for sure how the 1st eukaryotes came about

Health

So now we're being told that snacking between meals has benefits - no one knows anything, really

Entertainment

Choose between this or that

Technology

Singapore has 1.3m coders & ranks 9th globally in terms of contributors to GitHub generative AI projects

Life

Virtual sticky notes to help you organise your life

Art

^ Tim O'Brien has a wonderful imagination

Archaeology

Sunken temple of ancient Arabian civilisation found off Italy

Music

Handy chord progression generator helps you with whatever genre of music you wish to compose!