Worldwide briefing

More and more Mju

Millennium Hotels and Resorts is to open Mju restaurants at its hotels across the globe, following the success of Mju at the Millennium Knightsbridge in London, where Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda is a consultant. He will function in an advisory role.

Moscow rocks

Moscow is to get its first Hard Rock Café this November. A franchise has been bought by Canadian entrepreneur Dug Steel, founder of the Hungry Duck nightclub in the city.

Greek ‘bucks

Coffee shop chain Starbucks is expanding into Greece for the first time. The move means that it will now have shops in five European countries. The first shop will open in Athens, with about another 12 following during the first year. The company also has plans to open in Germany and Spain this year.

Top-notch Marriott

Marriott International has been ranked as one of the 100 best companies to work for in the USA by Fortune Magazine, for the fifth time in a row. The chain came third on the list, which surveys companies employing 100,000 staff or more.

Syria slump

The number of tourists visiting Syria nearly halved last year, according to official figures. A total of 52,112 people came to the country accompanied by tour guides, compared with 96,294 in 2000. US tourist numbers fell to 2,481 from 3,544, and there were 39,311 coming from Europe against 75,459 in 2000.