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In our roundup of journey information this week: Dubai’s $800 incentive scheme to lure again vacationers, a “firenado” in Utah, plus a few of the wildest filming areas in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
If you suppose the 172-minute runtime of Christopher Nolan’s Mediterranean epic “The Odyssey” is lengthy, simply contemplate Greece’s 12-year look forward to Mount Olympus to be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hovering at 9,570 ft over the Aegean coast close to the Macedonian border, Mount Olympus is Greece’s highest mountain and, earlier than the long-awaited honor this week, was already a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and residential to the nation’s first nationwide park.
It’s additionally the fabled residence of the 12 Olympian deities of Greek mythology. The mount’s craggy subpeaks, deep gorges, forested flanks and cloud-bathed summit all mix to make it a worthy “Mountain of the Gods.”
It’s not the one vacation spot related to Nolan’s motion pictures to have simply been topped a UNESCO World Heritage Site. France’s D-Day beaches (as portrayed within the visceral World War II epic “Dunkirk”) had been added this week too.

Traveling again to Ancient Greece, however in Scotland

“Dunkirk” was shot extensively on location in Normandy, France, whereas filming for “The Odyssey” came about in six nations, together with Greece, although Mount Olympus itself didn’t characteristic.
CNN’s Sandy Thin headed to Scotland to trace down a few of the new movie’s wildest and most distant areas, from huge seashores and towering dunes to a fortress clinging to the cliffs. Matt Damon known as “The Odyssey” the “hardest shoot” of his profession – and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than Thin understood why.
Wildfires and excessive warmth

Towering ‘firenado’ in Utah
A wildfire in a Utah National Forest spawned a big ‘firenado.’
It’s been one other summer time of record-breaking warmth in lots of locations world wide.
An unusually sturdy warmth dome will scorch a lot of the western United States this weekend, bringing the most well liked temperatures thus far this yr to tens of thousands and thousands from California to Canada.
Earlier this week, firefighters battling the Wide Mouth 2 fireplace in Utah noticed a “firenado,” a swirling tower of smoke that may type throughout intense fires.
Wildfires have been breaking out throughout mainland Europe, with France and Spain the worst affected. If you have got journey plans arising, you may monitor the present state of affairs right here, in maps and charts. England, in the meantime, is battling an “exceptionally serious” drought that has hit half the nation.
In Italy, Rome spent thousands and thousands redesigning a piazza close to the Vatican with shade timber, misting stations and fountains to assist individuals beat the warmth. Just over a yr after opening, most of the timber have died, the water options have stopped working and a few benches are too scorching to sit down on. Watch right here.
Finally, in China, Emirates airline has apologized after passengers had been caught for 10 hours with out air-con after their flight was diverted from Shanghai to Hangzhou attributable to dangerous climate.

America’s Best Towns to Visit 2026: Burlington
Continuing our countdown of America’s Best Towns to Visit in 2026, we now have Burlington, Vermont, at No. 6.
Vermont’s largest metropolis is a lakeside school neighborhood with a small-town really feel that’s evident in its weekly farmer’s market and walkable downtown. Depending on the season, you may bike alongside Lake Champlain, get pleasure from wild ice skating or hike city trails. Sipping on craft brews and sampling Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from its birthplace close by are pleasures out there right here year-round.
Take a glance, too, at the remainder of our record thus far: Roanoke, Virginia, at No. 10, Lawrence, Kansas, at No. 9, Iowa City, Iowa at No. 8 and Juneau, Alaska, at No. 7.

Inside North Korean summer time camp welcoming Russia and China
Hundreds of Russian and Chinese college students are attending North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp this yr, state media stories. The UK sanctioned the controversial camp, situated within the coastal metropolis of Wonsan. CNN’s Will Ripley stories.
Hundreds of Russian and Chinese college students are attending North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp this yr, state media stories. The UK sanctioned the controversial camp, situated within the coastal metropolis of Wonsan.
Italian college students apologize after an incident with a Thai native goes viral.
Watch right here: The video and its aftermath.
Dubai launches $800 incentive scheme to lure again vacationers.
The US and Israeli struggle on Iran has hit UAE customer numbers exhausting.
Written within the stars?
A UK pilot scrawled a surprising message within the sky mid-flight.
A wildfire disaster. A tense listening to. A Grammy protest.
What do you bear in mind from the week that was?
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