ON TWITTER

#VENICE

Italian authorities have approved a ban on cruise ships entering the historic centre of Venice. Large ships will now have to dock at the city's industrial port until a permanent solution is found.

@Denis_bucholz said: “Good, they sould have been banned decades ago. They produce far to much pollution and undermine wave actions throughout the city.”

@Billmauldin10 posted: “They’ve got far too big for most destinations, even in the Caribbean. Like cinemas, corporations need to scale back sizes and focus on quality and not numbers.”

@bfpm2020 commented: “This is really great news. I suspect that most of these loud ‘tourists’ only go there as part of a box-ticking exercise anyway and have little or no interest in its history or culture.”

@sympaticoshores remarked: “St Mark’s Square was begun in the 10th century and completed in the 12th century. It pleases me no end that the environmental, ecological, corporate and financial footprint of cruise ship erosion will no longer be tolerated here.”

@anneceline said: “To each his own, but I've never understood the appeal of a cruise ship. Crowds of passengers are either running around frantically from entertainment to entertainment or cooped up in suffocating cabins. Sounds exhausting and stifling to me. Worse, one has nowhere to get away.” @Olgauk1 added: “Excellent decision. Those monstrosities took away from the beauty of such a beautiful city.”

#EUROVISION

The Eurovision Song Contest has been given permission to let 3,500 fans watch in person as part of a trial by the Dutch government. The annual musical extravaganza will be staged at Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena in May, after being cancelled last year.

@rivermagic123 said: “As if this year hasn't been bad enough.”

@tommy210254 posted: “I voted Brexit! We've left! Bloody Remoaners at it again! Come on Nigel, get it defunded (is that the correct response?).”

@stephen91516153 asked: “Is Holland improving that much, compared to France, which seemed to be stalling or going backwards?

@d_a_potter wondered:

“Is this some kind of punishment?”