Zip line will link Rio casino towers

LAS VEGAS >> A new zip line connecting two towers at Las Vegas’ Rio casino is set to open in early November.

The VooDoo Skyline at the off-the-Strip casino will start at the patio of the VooDoo Steakhouse on the 50th floor of the Masquerade Tower. Riders will glide to the 20-story Ipa­nema Tower and then return back to their starting point.

The ride covers one-third of a mile in 70 seconds. Tickets are $25.

Box of jewels found on Mont Blanc

PARIS >> Police say a French mountain climber stumbled upon a case of dozens of cut jewels, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — believed to be debris from one of two Air India crashes decades ago.

Police commander Sylvain Merly said the Mont Blanc climber, who asked to stay anonymous, turned in the box marked “Made in India” on Sept. 9. Authorities hope to find someone connected with its owner, who is presumed to have been a passenger on one of the two jets that crashed in 1950 or 1966.

Merly said Thursday the metal box, slightly smaller than a shoe box, was filled with small bags of loose jewels, mostly emeralds and sapphires.

Ireland loaded with U.S. visitors

DUBLIN >> Ireland’s government says tourism to the Emerald Isle is rising and could reach a record high for American visitors, as many are coming for a year of clan-based parties.

Thursday’s figures from the Central Statistics Office found that the number of overseas tourists to Ireland reached 4.75 million in the first eight months of this year, 6.5 percent more than the equivalent period of 2012.

American tourists recorded the biggest increases, with 807,000 arriving this year, including 438,000 in the summer months, a nearly 20 percent gain from 2012.

Tourism minister Leo Varad­kar credits much of the rise to “The Gathering,” a government-funded program of events that encourages people with Irish surnames to attend clan reunions throughout 2013.