Europe
What is Europe’s most walkable capital city?
Helsinki in Finland has been named Europe's most walkable capital city by leading British footwear retailer Schuh. The Nordic capital topped the rankings based on several metrics including air quality, cleanliness, street lighting, green spaces, noise pollution and elevation. The study also considered how safe a city was to walk alone in during the day and at night. The post What is Europe’s most walkable capital city? appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
Best road trips in the world (and how to stay online en route)
When it comes to road trips, we’ve had our fair share of mishaps. We’ve battled a total whiteout in Iceland, got stuck in a ditch in Turkey, broken down in Chile and changed a flat tyre in lion territory (in Namibia’s Etosha National Park, constituting one of the most stressful events of our travels). Despite all this, we’re irrevocably drawn to the open road. There’s a very specific freedom in being able to rent a car wherever you land and set your own course. More importantly, you can veer from the course when you want to: spend extra days in a national park or depart a tourist town earlier than planned. You are the masters of your time. The post Best road trips in the world (and how to stay online en route) appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
Ranked: happiest countries in the world 2023
The happiest countries in the world 2022 have been ranked and for the fifth year running, Finland is the happiest country in the world The post Ranked: happiest countries in the world 2023 appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
10 tips for visiting Ephesus, Turkey (Türkiye)
Visiting Ephesus should be on every traveller’s Turkey itinerary. After more than 150 years of excavation, the city's reclaimed and restored structures have made Ephesus Europe's most complete ancient city. The post 10 tips for visiting Ephesus, Turkey (Türkiye) appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
EU lawmakers vote for more restrictive capital requirements on banks holding crypto
Banks could be required to hold a “risk-weighted exposure amount” of up to 1,250% of capital based on exposure to crypto if the full parliament passes the measures. News Own this piece of history Collect this article as an NFT The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has voted for measures requiring banks holding cryptocurrencies to set aside a punitive amount of capital. In a Jan. 24 notice, the European Parliament announced the committee had voted overwhelmingly in favor of amendments to its Capital Requirements Regulation and Capital Requirements Directive applying to banks holding crypto. According to a draft law, banks would be required to hold a “risk-weighted exposure amount” of up to 1,250% of capital based on exposure to crypto. On Tuesday 24/01 @EP_E...
Europol reports $19.5M in crypto seized in enforcement action against Bitzlato
The operation conducted by authorities across Europe and the U.S. resulted in the arrest of 5 individuals linked to the exchange, including Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov. News Own this piece of history Collect this article as an NFT The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or Europol, has reported authorities took control of crypto wallets containing more than $19 million in cryptocurrency as part of enforcement actions against crypto firm Bitzlato. In a Jan. 23 announcement, Europol reported that roughly 46% of assets — 1 billion euro, or $1.09 billion at the time of publication — moved through Bitzlato were linked to illicit activities. The government agency’s analysis suggested that Bitzlato received more than 2.1 billion euro in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoi...
Ranked: most dangerous countries in the world 2023
The most dangerous countries in the world to visit in 2023 have been revealed in the latest Travel Risk Map The most dangerous countries to visit in 2023 are Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen according to the latest Travel Risk Map, an interactive tool produced by security specialists at International SOS. The map is used to predict the safest and, conversely, the least safe countries in the world to visit and has four layers in total covering a country’s security risk, medical risk, and the impact of the pandemic on travel and domestic operations. For the security layer of the map, countries are indexed according to their travel security risk rating, which uses five risk definitions: insignificant, low, medium, ...
Going cashless: Norway’s digital currency project raises privacy questions
The small Nordic country of Norway may not be particularly notable on the global crypto map. With its 22 blockchain solution providers, the nation doesn’t stand out even at the regional level. However, as the race to test and implement central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) accelerates every day, the Scandinavian nation is taking an active stance on its own national digital currency. In fact, it was among the first countries to begin the work on a CBDC back in 2016. Dropping cash In recent years, amid a rise in cashless payment methods and concern over cash-enabled illicit transactions, some Norwegian banks have moved to remove cash options altogether. In 2016, Trond Bentestuen, then an executive at major Norwegian bank DNB, proposed to stop using cash as a means of payment in the c...
Cross-border crypto scammers on the hit list for EU agencies
By the end of 2022, scammers shifted their focus to duping crypto investors who desperately tried to recoup their year-long losses. An international law enforcement operation led by European government agencies joined crypto entrepreneurs and businesses to curb cross-border crypto scams since July 2022, uncovering a criminal network operating through call centers. Europol and Eurojust, two EU agencies for law enforcement cooperation, joined authorities from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany and Serbia to investigate online investment fraud since June 2022. The investigation identified a criminal network that incurred over $2.1 million in losses — primarily for German investors. Call centres selling fake crypto taken down in Bulgaria, Serbia & Cyprus. The criminal organisations lured victims to...
20 interesting facts about Georgia
We share the most interesting facts about Georgia, collected on a two-week trip through the transcontinental country Georgia may as well be called “Georgia, the country” thanks to its famous American counterpart. Unlike the US state, the country still feels uncharted. Bordered by Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the west, Georgia is a land of deep green gorges, snow-capped summits and implausibly-placed medieval churches. It’s also a place of rich culture and history, as Peter discovered on his recent trip through the country. Below, he shares the most interesting facts about Georgia gathered on his two-week journey. Interesting facts about Georgia Georgia was home to Europe’s first known humans In the late 1990s and early 2...
Turkey has an obsession with crypto — Specifically Dogecoin: Study
The crypto market slump doesn’t mean interest in crypto is also down. A new study from the cryptocurrency education platform CryptoManiaks revealed that many countries are still scouring the internet, hungry for crypto-related information. According to the study, the Netherlands and Turkey take the top two spots, with 8.2% and 5.5% of the population, respectively, searching for crypto-related terms. Turkey particularly accounted for 4.7 million searches, leading the searches with sheer numbers. The study analyzed the combined number of searches for a select set of popular cryptocurrencies into a percentage of the population for each country in order to calculate the percentage of locals searching each month. While it was in second for overall searches, Turkey came in first place ...
10 best day trips from Yerevan, Armenia
From the world’s oldest winery to medieval monasteries, we share the best day trips from Yerevan, Armenia’s Pink City After trekking the Highlander Svaneti and exploring Kazbegi in Georgia, I had a few days before my flight home so I hopped across the border to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Known as the Pink City for the volcanic rock used in its state buildings, Yerevan is a city with many faces. With evidence of settlement dating back to the 8th century BC, Yerevan is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. While most of its ancient structures have now been removed, built over by Soviet-era tower blocks and monuments, the city still retains several alluring features – not least its position in the shadow of the fabled Mount Ararat. Today, following Armenian independenc...
