Eiffel Tower Operator Says Strike by Staff Has Ended, Site to Reopen on Sunday

 This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
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Eiffel Tower Operator Says Strike by Staff Has Ended, Site to Reopen on Sunday

 This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 23, 2024, shows the Eiffel Tower on a cloudy day in Paris. (AFP)

A strike by staff at the Eiffel Tower has ended, the company that runs one of the most visited tourist sites in the world said in a statement on Saturday.

The tower will reopen on Sunday, the Societe d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), which is owned by Paris City Hall, added.

Workers at the Eiffel Tower went on strike on Feb. 19 in protest over the way the Paris monument is managed.

It came as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which begin on July 26 and will feature metal from the tower in the winners' medals.

SETE and trade unions "reached an end-of-strike agreement stipulating that the parties will regularly review the company's business model, maintenance costs and sales through a body that will meet every six months", the company said.

SETE said visitors who bought tickets between Feb. 19-24 will get refunds.

Unions claim Paris City Hall, which owns 99% of SETE, is underestimating the cost of planned maintenance and repairs to the monument ahead of the Olympics.



British Museum Explores ‘Silk Roads’ Trade Routes in New Exhibition

People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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British Museum Explores ‘Silk Roads’ Trade Routes in New Exhibition

People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)

A new exhibition exploring the vast network of the Silk Road trade routes opens at the British Museum in London this week.

Showcasing a range of artifacts including Chinese ceramics, Byzantine jewellery and the earliest known group of chess pieces, "Silk Roads" focuses specifically on the period AD 500 to 1,000, amid the rise of different empires and religions.

"This exhibition is presenting a rather different vision of the Silk Road than some people might be expecting... Rather than a single trade route between east and west, we are showing the Silk Roads plural... as a series of overlapping networks that link communities across Asia, Africa and Europe," exhibition co-curator Sue Brunning told Reuters.

"We're showing that it was not just silk and spices... but also people, objects and ideas moving sometimes great distances, not just by land, but also by sea and river and exchanges taking place in all contexts."

Highlights include loans from central Asia such as a large mural found in the reception hall of an aristocratic house in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and a gilded silver cup from the Galloway Hoard, on loan from the National Museums Scotland.

"Silk Roads" opens on Thursday and runs until February.