- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
English-language students swerve UK post Brexit
At the top of Calton Hill overlooking Edinburgh and the North Sea, a visiting English language student from France is in no doubt about the view: "Amazing!" he exclaims.
Covid has meant that the number of foreign students on such visits to the UK has fallen sharply.
But Britain's departure from the European Union is not helping the recovery, as post-Brexit administrative requirements have raised travel costs.
About 50 college students from France's Alsace region have taken advantage of the lifting of UK Covid restrictions. Others, however, have opted to learn English in EU nations such as Ireland or Malta -- or simply sign up for language courses at home.
Teacher Sarah Lepioufle, accompanying her college's Edinburgh trip, said the changes introduced since Brexit -- the extra paperwork involved -- had made applying for courses an "obstacle course".
Non-EU students living in France are suddenly facing visa costs of £100 (118 euros, $126), whereas before Brexit they could travel on a collective travel document.
"I had to give up because I am Russian," said Elisabeth Shpak, left out of the Scotland trip because of the fees involved.
- Major financial losses -
The British Educational Travel Association, whose members help organise such visits, estimates that Brexit could cost the sector up to £3 billion annually.
Having spoken to stakeholders in the sector, they felt voyages would be 60 to 70 percent down compared to before Brexit and the pandemic, said Steve Lowy at BETA.
Before Britain's EU exit, Britain welcomed "well over one million" such students per year, he said.
Now "there is a perception of us not being welcoming, and not open to people from Europe. And that is a harder thing to overcome".
While a BETA poll showed Britons favoured relaxing the post-Brexit travel rules, Lowy argued that overcoming the new negative perception was "potentially a long-term issue".
For those students who have managed to travel to Scotland, the experience is celebrated, especially coming out of Covid restrictions.
"There have been no trips, everything has been cancelled because of lockdowns," said 13-year-old Aaron Schaetzel.
- Collective travel -
The UK authorities say they can already offer students a so-called "collective passport".
But this document -- the product of a 1961 European treaty -- has not been signed by all current EU members.
As for the French travel sector, it is waiting on its own government's guidance regarding use of the collective passport for the first time.
The UK government, meanwhile, cites security risks for some students now needing individual visas, something Lowy finds hard to accept.
"Youth travel is low risk," he insisted.
"These students and their teachers are here for cultural and educational purposes, and that is only good for the UK -- not just the initial revenue they bring but for the long-term impact."
On Calton Hill, tour guide Marilyn Hunter passionately tells the French students about Scotland's landscape, its history and major exports whisky and salmon.
But Brexit seems to have spoiled the opportunity for some EU-based students to visit the UK.
The previous week, a group visiting from Germany had been forced to leave behind four students who had not obtained their visas in time.
L.K.Baumgartner--CPN