Category: Life & Style

India ranked among the top 10 countries for the cross-country travel index by vacation homes aggregator Holidu. Leaving behind 118 great countries like Germany, France, Japan, Turkey, and Spain, which are already tourism magnets; India bagged the 10th position.

The index is compiled by taking account of various factors like Unesco World Heritage sites, number of attractions, natural assets, land size, rainforests, vertebrate species, landscape variation along with the number of ‘Best Cities’ in the top 100 rankings.

There are various other reasons that India grabbed this high spot is its 40 UNESCO sites, 1900 animal species, and a minimum of two cities- Mumbai and Delhi which became more popular than the traditional common tourist spots. Quality of roads, fuel charges, and average weekly rentals required for travel which is expected to be nearly Rs. 13,000 per week are also some of the factors that were considered.

According to FAITH, the policy federation of all the national associations representing the complete travel, tourism, and hospitality sector of the country presented this travel index to the tourism minister. It stated that this rank is considered crucial in determining the post-COVID-19 positioning of India and travel marketing campaigns.

For the first time in 60 years, the Trans Bhutan Trail will be reopened for travelers. The trail is 402 km long connecting 9 districts, 2 municipalities, 28 local governments, 400 historic cultural sites, and one national park.

The city has a 1000-year-old history rich with cultural and historical sites. Previous, only pilgrims who wished to explore the pious destinations in Tibet and Bhutan’s western regions used the Trans Bhutan Trail as a pilgrimage route.

Now, travelers will have the opportunity to check out 18 major bridges and climb 1000 stairs along with mountain bike rides while enjoying a picturesque view of the eastern Himalayan region.

The trail is said to reopen by April 2022 for the local travelers along with the world to witness Bhutan’s beauty first-hand. The Bhutan Canada Foundation is the principal donor of the project that has helped in the restoration work of the Trans Bhutan Trail.

G Adventures, the team behind the restoration work said, “We are honored to be working with the Bhutan Canada Foundation and the Trans Bhhutan Trail to launch the newly restored trail in magical Bhutan.

Bhutan is one of the two nations in the world which are carbon-negative and is among the 10 biodiversity hotspots.

On Sunday, the state-run National Health Service (NHS), Britain will this week begin offering vaccinations to children aged between five and 11 who are most at risk of coronavirus.

In comparison with other countries, such as the United States and Israel, Britain has been slow to offer vaccinations to children aged 5 to 11 and is not planning to vaccinate more of the age group.

NHS England said children in the cohort who were in a clinical risk group or who live with someone who is immunosuppressed would be able to get a first Covid-19 shot, in line with advice issued last month by the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation (JCVI).

British Vaccine Minister Maggie Throup said, “I would like parents and guardians to be reassured that no new vaccine for children would have been approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness had been met”. She further added that she encourages as many as possible to make sure they get their children the vaccine when contacted.

The Pfizer-BioNTech shot will be offered to children in two 10 microgram doses, equivalent to a third of the dose for adults.

On the eve of India’s 73rd Republic Day, the Government of India conferred Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian to Indian American technology leaders Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai and actor and chef Madhur Jeffery.

In the “trade and industry” category, the chief executive officer of Microsoft Nadella and Google CEO Pichai will be honored whereas Jaffery will be honored with the award in the “culinary” category.

After the founder and CEO of Microsoft stepped down in 2014, Nadella became the CEO of Microsoft. He has been working for the Seattle-based company for almost two decades as a seasoned executive.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, appointed Pichai as CEO in 2019. His bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering was earned at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He hails from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The 88-year-old Jaffrey is regarded as one of the most authoritative voices on Indian food outside of India. He is also an award-winning actor who featured in more than 20 films.

Along with these three, there are 17 other individuals who will be honored with Padma Bhushan this year. Apart from Padma Bhusan, the government also confirmed the names of four Padma Vibhushans, and 107 Padma Shri.

British Prime Minister, Borris Johnson announced that his government is removing the mandatory coronavirus RT-PCR and other testing requirements this upcoming Thursday. The nation is ready to end Plan B measures for the fully vaccinated travelers arriving in England.

The announcement came as a major relief for the aviation, tours & travel industry as the passengers and overseas travelers will not have to take the test before entering the country.

In a press statement, Borris Johnson said, “To show that this country is open for business, open for travelers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated”.

According to the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, the rule will take effect latest by Feb 11. The rule coincides with the school mid-term break and kids holidays. After the new rule, the UK will become the most welcoming country in the world for international travel. Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of airline industry body Airlines UK called this day a “landmark day”.

From February, the nation will also halt all the COVID-19 testing for adults and children under 18. It further plans to ease the rules for the unvaccinated people.

2022 brings in good news for travelers wishing to travel to Thailand. Thailand is set to resume a quarantine-free travel scheme for international travelers from February 1.

The kingdom’s tourism-dominated economy suffered a great deal following the suspension of the program due to the rise in cases of Omicron as visitor numbers plunged to a trickle. According to reports, the COVID-19 taskforce spokesman, Taweesin Visanuyothin said that fully vaccinated travelers will now be allowed to enter the country under the Test and Go scheme, and will be required to take COVID tests within the first five days of arrival.

In order to comply with the rule, travelers will be required to wait in a hotel for their test results and download a tracking app. In November, Thailand introduced the Test and Go scheme as an alternative to two weeks of hotel quarantine to boost the economy of the country.

A spokesperson stated that the program could be resumed as hospitalizations are not spiking, although authorities will be watching it closely. If the situation changes or there are more infections, they plan to adjust the sandbox scheme accordingly.

The sandbox program, which was introduced last year, allows fully vaccinated tourists to spend seven nights in certain designated areas before they are allowed to travel to the rest of Thailand.

In December, the trial for the fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine was started by a team from Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. The trial inoculated 120 volunteers with Moderna doses and 154 hospital personnel with Pfizer jabs.

The study shows the preliminary result of the vaccines are safe and show substantial antibodies are produced. However, the hospital said that the fourth dose is considered “partially effective” in defending against the Omicron variant.

According to Professor Gili Regev-Yochay, who leads the team said that vaccines were “extremely effective against the earlier variants”.

Israel was one of the first countries to conduct mass vaccination campaigns. Last summer, it began offering booster shots and has since made fourth shots available to the elderly and vulnerable. According to the health ministry, more than 537,000 Israelis have received a fourth dose of vaccination. In Israel, more than 80 percent of adults have had two coronavirus vaccinations, and more than half have received a booster shot.

Meanwhile, in a short video message, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel was reducing its quarantine period for positive cases. As a result of the record number of infections that threaten to overburden the economy, the period has been reduced from seven to five days.

On Monday, to assess the damage in tsunami-hit Tonga, Australia, and New Zealand dispatched surveillance flights. The eruption of an underwater volcano triggered a tsunami and blanketed the Pacific island with ash, cutting off the phone and internet lunes for the entire island.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison extended support for Tonga as soon as possible. However, the relief efforts were hampered due to the volcanic ash. She said, “There’s been a lot of challenges there with the ash cloud and the disruption to communications and so we are working together to get as much support to Tonga as we possibly can”.

Zed Seselja, Australia’s Minister said that reports suggest no mass casualties have been reported and the airport “appears to be in relatively good condition”. However, there is “significant damage” to roads and bridges.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that the Tsunami had a significant impact on the infrastructure.

Satellite images show traces of outlying islands are submerged in water. New Zealand-based volcanologist Shane Cronin said, “this is an eruption best witnessed from space, the large and explosive lateral spread of the eruption suggests that it was probably the biggest one since the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo”.

On Thursday, Australia reported its biggest pandemic caseload amid a runaway Omicron outbreak. The outbreak is driving up the need for hospitalization due to a surge and putting strain on supply chains, forcing authorities to ease quarantine rules for more workers.

The number of confirmed cases in Australia has nearly doubled since the beginning of the pandemic as people remain unrestricted as they get used to living with the coronavirus. There have been more than 147,000 new cases confirmed, including about 92,000 in New South Wales (NSW), although that includes a backlog of positive at-home test results dating back over a month. The number of dead has risen to 53 with NSW suffering 22 deaths on the deadliest day of the pandemic.

More than 1.4 million people have been affected by the infection since the pandemic began. However, the death rate in the new variant’s infection is lower than prior outbreak as more than 92% of people above 16 had their double-dose. For this 92%, the booster drive is ramping up in the country.

On workers going back to work, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said, “There is no quick fix to this. These are commonsense changes, they will help but they are not everything, there is no simple solution”.

The European Union regulators warn frequent COVID-booster shots could adversely affect the immune system and may not be feasible.

According to the European Medicine Agency repeating the booster shots every four-month can weaken the immune response and might tire out people. In its report, the agency advised countries to leave more time between boosters and synchronize them with cold-season onsets in each hemisphere, following the blueprint set out by influenza vaccination strategies.

Earlier this month, Israel become the first country to administer a second booster shot over people above 60. Like Israel, some countries favor offering people second booster shots to provide further protection against surging omicron infection. However, the U.K. seconds the thought and said that a single dose is providing a good level of protection and people need not go for the second one.

During the briefing, the EU regulator also noted that oral and intravenous antivirals like Paxlovid and Remdesivir remain effective against Omicron. Considering it takes about three to four months to develop a vaccine targeting a specific variant, the FDA said it could approve a new vaccine soonest by April.