Dubai International Airport (DXB), a major international hub, registered a 127% jump in annual passenger traffic to 66.1 million in 2022. The DXB, the hub of airline Emirates, is forecast to welcome 78 million passengers this year, as the United Arab Emirates gets ready to host major international events, including the COP28 climate conference. Dubai Airports, the airport's operator, in November forecast DXB passenger traffic to reach 64.3 million in 2022. About 60% of people travelling through DXB are origin and destination travellers, while 40% are transfers, said Dubai Airports Chief Ex
Saudi Arabia organised Al Liwan cultural event in Riyadh on February 22 to commemorate its foundation day. The event highlighted the three centuries’ history, tradition and growth of the country. February 22 was declared a national holiday last year, following a royal decree by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Al Liwan was organised at King Abdullah Financial District in the Saudi capital, showcasing the dynamism of Saudi Arabia’s traditional markets and the originality of its traditional attire. Celebrations were held in 14 locations to mark the foundation of the country by Imam Moh
India has surpassed France to become the United Kingdom’s largest Scotch whisky market in terms of volume, with a 60% hike in imports in 2022 over the previous year, says the latest figures released by industry body Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). The data revealed that India imported 219 million bottles of Scotch compared to France’s 205 million last year, growing more than 200% in the past decade. However, despite the double-digit volume growth, Scotch whisky only comprises 2% of the Indian whisky market. SWA pointed out that the hike in volume still makes up only a fraction of the
A study published in the journal Risk Analysis says that Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries are most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike. In the new study, Professor Nick Wilson from the University of Otago, Wellington, and independent researcher Dr Matt Boyd, from Adapt Research, said that these five island nations would “likely be pockets of survivors around the planet in even the most severe” scen
Twelve South African cheetahs arrived in India on February 18 as part of an ambitious project to reintroduce the spotted cats in the south Asian country. It is the second batch to arrive in the country after eight cheetahs from Namibia last year. The latest arrival is part of an agreement signed between India and South Africa in January to transfer more than 100 cheetahs to the Asian country over the next decade. The South Africa cheetahs will join their Namibian cousins at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Quarantine enclosures have been created at the reserve for the newly arrivi
Climate change and more intense and frequent weather events have been cited by Singaporeans as the top challenge facing the South-east Asian region in 2023. This meanwhile is different for their Asean counterparts, who suggest unemployment, inflation, a commodities crunch, and rising cost of living to be the biggest worries in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings of the survey were published in the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s The State of South-east Asia 2023 report. The survey results indicated that 59.5% of the 1,308 survey respondents polled across the 10 Asean member
South Africa became one of the top tourist destinations for India in 2022 due to its strong recovery efforts and promotion of a variety of destination options. The African nation exceeded its target of bringing 33,900 or more visitors set at the beginning of the recovery year by receiving about 50,000 Indian visitors last year through November. The tourism board wants to surpass last year's goal by 72% this year. India has become South Africa's sixth-largest foreign source market as the two countries commemorate 30 years of diplomatic relations. South African Tourism expects a 35% rise in
The five female and seven male cheetahs will be transferred from the Gwalior air base, where they will land Saturday morning, to Kuno National Park in an MI 17 helicopter Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav Thursday announced that 12 more cheetahs would be flown in from South Africa on Saturday (February 18) and that ten quarantine enclosures have been created for them at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, where eight such felines were brought from Namibia last year. A military C 17 aircraft left the Hindon air base in Uttar Pradesh at 6 am Wedn
Indian-American schoolgirl Natasha Perianayagam has made it to the “world's brightest” students list for the second consecutive year by the US-based Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth. The list was based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 15,000 students across 76 countries. Perianayagam, 13, is a student at Florence M Gaudineer Middle School, New Jersey. She also took the Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth (CTY) test in Spring 2021, when she was in Grade 5. Her parents hail from Chennai. The school girl said she loves doodling and reading JRR Tolkien's novels
In the week since two powerful earthquakes hit Turkiye and Syria on February 6, the Government of India has sent medical assistance worth ₹7 crore to the affected nations, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on February 14. The 5,945-tonne emergency relief material included 27 life-saving medicines, two kinds of protective items and three categories of critical care equipment, valued at approximately ₹2 crore, the statement said. On February 6, three truck loads of relief materials were arranged at the Hindon air base comprising life-saving emergency medicines and protectiv