Republikken, som består av 340 øyer og store havarealer, har innført en ed der turister og andre besøkende må love å være ansvarlig for å beskytte natur- og kulturarven i landet.
American citizens who need help in Austria can now head to their nearest branch of McDonald’s, because of an agreement signed by the fast-food chain and the US embassy in Vienna, the BBC News reported.
The embassy says any US citizen “in distress” or whose passport has been lost or stolen can get assistance from one of Austria’s 194 McDonald’s outlets.
Restaurant staff have been given the task of helping US citizens get in touch with the US embassy.
A 24-hour hotline to the embassy is part of the arrangement.
The embassy said it was ensuring that American citizens had every option available to get in touch when in need – “the #1 duty of every embassy around the world”.
McDonald’s said it saw itself as a type of support and telephone exchange and had agreed to the idea on the request of US ambassador Trevor Traina.
A spokesman told the BBC it would also “help anyone who finds themselves in need of assistance, for example, by calling the police or emergency services”.
The Ambassador signed an agreement with the company’s managing director in Austria, Isabelle Kuster, last week.
The company said its branches would continue to be Austrian territory and would offer help to anyone in need, not just Americans.
Not everyone was impressed by the announcement on social media:
One Facebook user wondered if the idea was “because apparently we are too incompetent to look up the US embassy online”
Another joked: “One McPassport to go please”
Another asked: “Is this in lieu of a staffed embassy?”
To which the embassy responded “certainly not”, adding that the embassy was fully staffed and the partnership was “only one extra way for Americans to connect to the Embassy when they are in an emergency situation”.
Trevor Traina, a former technology entrepreneur, was nominated for the Vienna ambassadorial post by President Donald Trump last year.
President Trump is himself widely known for his taste for burgers and fries.
The embassies in Prague in the Czech Republic, Belgrade in Serbia, and the High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, will ble closed down, while the embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, will be downsized.
At present, Nigeria maintains 119 embassies, high commissions, permanent missions, and career consulates, around the world.
Hotellet The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, i delstaten Nevada, har “ansatt” den digitale assistenten Rose. Hun kan svare på spørsmål hotellgjester skriver til henne på SMS, skriver Se og Hør.
Lokalstyreleder på Svalbard, Arild Olsen (Ap), foreslår å forby plast i alle former på øyrgruppen: poser, engangsbestikk, bomullspinner av plast og fleeceklær. Det melder NTB, ifølge NRK.
Norge setter nå strengere rammer for forskningen som skal foregå på Svalbard. Kina, som er blitt en stor aktør i Arktis, protesterer mot at de ikke får forske på det de vil, skriver NRK.no Men norske myndigheter mener det er viktig å verne om Svalbards sårbare natur.
Snart er det klart for åpningen av Hudson Yards på vestsiden av Manhattan i New York. Her blir det leiligheter, hotell og mer enn 100 forretninger og spisesteder, skriver Se og Hør.
Det største blikkfanget blir nok kunsten, som den britiske designeren Thomas Heatherwicks trappeinstallasjon (bildet), formet som en enorm bikube, omringet av hager og parker med utsikt til Hudson River.
Palma de Mallorca, hovedstaden på Mallorca. Illustrasjonsfoto: Wikipedia
15 unge og berusede britiske flypassasjerer ble stoppet av spansk politi da de ankom Mallorca fra Skottlands hovedstad Edinburgh. Passasjerene skal ha oppført seg ufint og vært voldelige om bord i flyet. Politiet tok hånd om dem etter landing, men ingen av dem ble fengslet, skriver SpaniaAvisen ifølge NRK.
