Trouble in Paradise: Tourism in the Age of Terrorism
Trouble in Paradise: Tourism in the Age of Terrorism
Author: Spiegel ONLINE
EGYPT
Sinai Peninsula
He quickly performed yet another inspection of the surveillance cameras, got an update on the status of maintenance work being performed on the bomb detector and went over his calculations on the future strength of his team of guards for the umpteenth time. Now all security expert Mohab Bakr needs is his cigarettes, then he'll be ready for his most important appointment of the day, maybe even of the season: the security meeting with the managers of the Egypt's seaside resort Taba Heights. Bakr is in charge of security.
His senior-most supervisor, "Mister Jokim," will also be at today's meeting. His real name is Joachim Schmitt, the German vice president of hotels and resorts for the Orascom Group, which owns Taba Heights. The international corporation operates 25 locations with nearly 15,000 beds between the Nile and Red Sea, but business has seen better days. The unrest following Hosni Mubarak's deposition in 2011 along with Islamist terrorism have taken their toll on the Swiss-based company's share price, which has fallen from 150 Swiss francs to below 10. "Mister Jokim" has come to Taba to talk about the security situation -- security, in these trying times, has become an invaluable commodity.
Despite Enticing Narratives, the International Community Has Fueled Bosnia’s Instability
In 1984, during the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented to the world as Yugoslavia’s poster child—a picture that would fall apart only eight years later.
Read more
Democracy in Iraq: A Facade for Corruption and Human Rights Violations
To guarantee the protection of the rights and freedoms of its people, the Iraqi government must be a true democracy.
Read more
CIRSD Hosts Horizons Discussion with Professor Andrey Sushentsov on Russia’s Global Role and the Future of Multipolarity
Belgrade, April 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) hosted a special edition of its acclaimed Horizons Discussions series, featuring an in-depth conversation between CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić and Professor Andrey Sushentsov, Dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO University and one of Russia’s most influential strategic thinkers.
Read more
Jeremić for China Daily: Collaborations urged amid turbulence
“You gotta wait for the rain to stop in order to fix the roof,” he said in an exclusive interview with China Daily, adding that Europe had been under anesthesia for decades. “Europe should have woken up many, many years ago. Sadly, it hasn’t,” he said, referring to Europe-US relations.
Read more