Saudi Arabia’s KSAA Launches ‘Arabic for the World’ Educational Channel on YouTube

Saudi Arabia’s KSAA Launches ‘Arabic for the World’ Educational Channel on YouTube

Venice Faces Possible UNESCO Downgrade as It Struggles To Manage Mass Tourism 

A scowling gondoliere ferrying sightseers 10 at a time across the mouth of Venice's Grand Canal scolds passengers to sit still and frets over being shorted the bargain 2-euro fare.

The brief journey perched along the sides of a packed gondola is a far cry from romantic scenes of gondolieres serenading couples as they ply Venice’s picturesque canals but is emblematic of the city's plunge into mass tourism.

The storied and fragile lagoon city is not alone in its struggle to manage an onslaught of tourists in the low-cost flight era. But the stakes are particularly high this week as the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decides whether to add Venice to its list of endangered world sites. A decision could come as early as Thursday.

A declassification would appear an indictment of the city’s management of tourism, after it escaped a downgrade two years ago when the Rome government enacted a ban on cruise ships off St. Mark’s Square and in the Giudecca canal.

“We are trying to avoid this,” said Michele Zuin, Venice’s top budget official. “But it is not as if we are slaves of UNESCO.”

The decision comes just days after