News from the Tow Center
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Machu Picchu welcomes nearly 1 million visitors a year
Mumbai, 22nd July, 2015: On a daily basis, the Machu Picchu Archaeological Site welcomes about 3,300 tourists, which represents almost 1 million visitors to the Sanctuary per year. Mechanisms are being proposed to balance the lengths of visits, with the aim of “not congesting” the area, it was announced. Ricardo Ruiz Caro, head of Cusco’s Culture Decentralized Administration (DDCC), specified the park currently opens from 7.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. Nonetheless, the DDCC is analyzing the possibility of extending the service hours by 30 more minutes. “We want to use time more efficiently, since the study on the carrying capacity is almost ready. It establishes that only 2, out of the more than 12 sunlight hours we enjoy, are used intensely,” said Ruiz Caro. Likewise, he dismissed a proposal suggesting night visits to the site because the area is “too sensitive” from the biological and environmental points of view. “We would have to analyze if the visits at night would alter the life systems existing in the area. We think a night schedule is not possible in the short term,” Ruiz Caro added. After revealing Machu Picchu welcomes about 1 million visitors a year, Ruiz made clear the problem “is not” the number of tourists visiting the site, but the way “how tourist flow is managed.” In this sense, a visitor center at Machu Picchu valley will be built with the aim of monitoring the number of people arriving at the monument, the DDCC official said.
Egypt court jails Mubarak-era PM Nazif
Egypt court jails Mubarak-era PM Nazif for 5 years
An Egyptian court has sentenced Ahmed Nazif, a former prime minister under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, to five years in jail, Media said. He was sentenced on graft charges in a retrial, judicial sources said on Wednesday. The retrial was ordered after Nazif had previously been sentenced to three years and launched an appeal.
An Egyptian court has sentenced Ahmed Nazif, a former prime minister under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, to five years in jail, Media said. He was sentenced on graft charges in a retrial, judicial sources said on Wednesday. The retrial was ordered after Nazif had previously been sentenced to three years and launched an appeal.
Suicide blast on motorcycle in NW Afghanistan
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 15 people near a busy marketplace in northwest Afghanistan on Wednesday, Media said. Five of the dead were Afghan security force personnel, and 38 people were wounded, according to officials. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in Almar, a district of Faryab province which borders Turkmenistan. The main target was believed to be a nearby police checkpoint
Gunman kills woman, 2 children in suburban Atlanta home
Gunman kills woman, 2 children in suburban Atlanta home
A gunman killed a woman and two children and wounded another man before killing himself in a suburban Atlanta home early on Wednesday, media reported, citing Forsyth County Sheriff Duane Piper. The shooter’s name wasn’t released, but he was reportedly known to officers from previous arrests for minor crimes. The victims and the shooter all lived at the house, and Piper said there was “absolutely no clue at this point what precipitated” the attack. The house is a few yards from a golf course community along the Chattahoochee River.
A gunman killed a woman and two children and wounded another man before killing himself in a suburban Atlanta home early on Wednesday, media reported, citing Forsyth County Sheriff Duane Piper. The shooter’s name wasn’t released, but he was reportedly known to officers from previous arrests for minor crimes. The victims and the shooter all lived at the house, and Piper said there was “absolutely no clue at this point what precipitated” the attack. The house is a few yards from a golf course community along the Chattahoochee River.
20 dead in 2 explosions in Cameroon
Twenty people were killed in twin suicide bomb attacks in the city of Maroua in northern Cameroon, Associated Press reports. The first attack occurred in a market and the second blast was carried out in the heavily populated Haussa district of the city. The terrorist attacks were reportedly carried out by Boko Haram militants, who allegedly used teenage girls as suicide bombers, local police says. The Maroua area is regularly attacked by Boko Haram extremists.
20 dead in Baghdad car bomb blast
Twenty people are dead and at least 48 are injured following an explosion in a Shia district in southwestern Baghdad. A car bomb charge was set off in the middle of a bust market. No one has taken responsibility but the Sunni Islamic State often targets Shia districts in the Iraqi capital.
Sushma Swaraj 
