Two Malaysian Cities Win Jean Paul L’allier Heritage Prize Award

Melaka and Georgetown, Penang have won the ‘Jean Paul L’allier Prize For Heritage’ award organized by the Organisation of World Heritage Cities. 

The award given out every two years is aimed at recognizing and appreciating cities that had distinguished themselves by their achievements in the conservation, enhancement or management of property inscribed on the World Heritage List.

This proves that the two Malaysian cities are still sitting pretty at the top of the list in terms of heritage cities. 

Other cities that have won the ‘Jean Paul L’allier Prize For Heritage’ are Cidade Velha (Cape Verde), Cuenca (Ecuador), Hue (Vietnam), Krakow (Poland), Kutna Hora (Czech Republic), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Mexico City (Mexico), Queretaro (Mexico) and Safranbolu (Turkey). 

Celtic had needed loads of perseverance before they could secure a hard-fought Scottish Premiership win against a stubborn Ross County in yesterday’s game. 

They had to wait until the 64th minute, when debutant centerback Cameron Carter-Vickers' long-range strike deflected over the helpless Staggies’ goalie and into the net. This was followed six minutes later when Albian Ajeti headed in to kill the game, before nodding in a third in the eighty-fifth minute. 

The brace certainly put some gloss on the scoreline – but the fact is Celtic had nearly 80 percent possession and just one shot on target. Still the 3-0 triumph earned them a very precious 3 points to move them up to fifth place. 

Luxembourg Offers Free Public Transport

Luxembourg tomorrow will become the first country anywhere in the world to offer a free public transport system as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic. 

Some cities have already taken similar partial measures – but the country’s transport ministry said it was the only time such a decision had encompassed an entire nation. 

The free transport, which is being flagged as “an important social measure“, will affect approximately 40 percent of households and is likely to save each one around 100 euros ($110) per year.

Users only need to show an identification card to hop on a bus, train or streetcar. The measure will benefit 600,000 Luxembourg citizens and some 200,000 non-residents, mostly cross-border workers from Belgium, France and Germany who commute daily to the capital.  

Private cars are the most used means of transport in the Grand Duchy. According to a 2018 survey by TNS Ilres, cars accounted for 47 percent of business travel and 71 percent of leisure transport. In the meantime, buses are used for only 32 percent of trips to work, followed by trains at just 19 percent. 

In comparison, in Paris, 69% of workers use public transport, according to Insee, the French statistics institute. 

The exception to the free-for-all public transport system will be first-class travel on trains and certain night bus services. 

Celtic suffered a shock Europa League last-32 exit on Thursday after a match marred by errors and wastefulness. 

Neil Lennon's side seemed set for extra time when in the eighty-third minute, Odsonne Edouard dinked in a penalty and cancelled out FC Copenhagen’s 51st-minute opener. 

But the Danish champions netted twice on the break in the final five minutes to earn a 3-1 victory and a 4-2 aggregate win to mete out Celtic's first defeat in 2020.

Have Passport Will Travel

There’s a Henley Passport Index, compiled by global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, which scored countries from all around the world based on how many other destinations citizens can access without having to obtain a visa prior to travel. 

The rankings were decided using data from the International Air Transport Association. 

And the world’s most powerful passports belong to Japan and Singapore, the two nations have claimed the top spot out of 199 countries. Their passports allow visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 189 places! 

Next comes Finland, Germany and South Korea, in second place – all three passports offer access to 187 destinations around the world without a prior visa 

Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg sit in joint third place with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 186 apiece. 

This is followed by France, Spain, and Sweden, which score 185 each and share fourth position. 

The top five is rounded out by Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland, all of which have 184 points. 

The UK and US share sixth place, with a score of 183, alongside Belgium, Canada, Greece, Ireland and Norway. 

Malaysia is at No.12. 

And at the bottom of the pile is Afghanistan, whose passport allows citizens to access just 25 countries without a prior visa. 

“With a few notable exceptions, the latest rankings from the Henley Passport Index show that countries around the world increasingly view visa-openness as crucial to economic and social progress”, said Dr Christian H Kaelin, chairperson of Henley & Partners and the creator of the passport index. 

We all know Have Passport Will Travel!