Passengers will be able to fly between India and Saudi Arabia, under the new air travel bubble agreement soon. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has said that this agreement will come into effect starting January 1, 2022. Traffic carried to/from India shall comprise of passengers originating from/destined to Saudi Arabia only, and similarly, traffic carried to/from Saudi Arabia shall comprise of passengers originating from/destined to India only. Air travel bubbles are temporary arrangements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights
The US and France have once again reported the highest single-day rise in Covid cases led by the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief, has expressed concerns over a surge in Covid-19 cases across the world. According to him, the Omicron and Delta variants of coronavirus combining to produce a "tsunami" of cases. The number of Covid-19 cases recorded, by WHO, worldwide increased by 11 per cent last week (December 20-26) compared with the previous week. More than a year after the vaccine was rolled out, new cases of Covid-19 in the US have so
A few weeks after easing Covid19 restrictions, South Korea is all set to reinstate stricter rules, which includes social distancing in public and also indoors. The new restrictions begin from January 2, wherein not more than four people who are not fully vaccinated can gather in one place. Restaurants, cafes and bars have been asked to shut by 9 p.m. and movie theatres and internet cafes by 10 p.m. Restaurant owners issued a series of statements protesting the decision which will see them make big losses, and will stage a rally next week. South Korea's daily coronavirus tallies continue
Tourists from Singapore will not be allowed to travel to Italy for leisure from 16 December until January 31 next year. The Italian embassy said its health ministry has moved Singapore and Brunei onto a list of countries deemed to be of higher risk of Covid-19 infections, but the embassy did not specify the reason for changing Singapore’s risk classification. In fact, Covid cases in Singapore have reduced in recent weeks, down from a high of more than 4,600 on October 27 to less than 500 a day this week. Only those travellers from Singapore will be allowed who are traveling for work, hea
Citizens in Canada have been advised by their government to avoid foreign travel over the Christmas holidays, saying the Omicron variant of Covid "makes us fear the worst," including soaring infections and travel disruptions. If the cases keep rising, public health restrictions will be imposed soon, while the travel advisory will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Covid testing of travellers at Canadian airports will be increased. Last year during the year-end holiday season, all arriving travellers to Canada were required to quarantine for 14 days. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told a n
Public health authorities in Denmark and Norway on Monday released worrisome projections about the omicron variant of covid19 in their respective countries. As per the predictions, the variant will see a rapid spike in both countries in the coming days, potentially increasing pressure on hospitals. While it is still not clear if the variant leads to severe diseases, the release says that hospitals are likely to be filled to capacity even if the symptoms are mild. The variant has largely spread to several countries in the world. Researchers testing Covid samples in the US have recorded a ra
21 years after Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe in 2000, the title is back to India. Harnaaz Sandhu has won the 2021 edition of the beauty pageant which was held in Eilat, Israel. In winning the crown, the 21-year-old from Punjab edged out Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira and South Africa's Lalela Mswane. She was presented the crown by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico. During the final question and answer round, Ms Sandhu was asked what advice she would give to young women on how to deal with the pressures they face. In her response, she said that the biggest pressure the yo
The United Arab Emirates is transitioning to a 4.5-day work week for its government sector, thus becoming the first country in the world to have a working week shorter than five days. While Friday will be a half working day, Saturday and Sunday will be a holiday. Until now, the gulf nation gave offs on Fridays and Saturdays, which is followed in most Muslim countries. State news agency WAM, which announced the news, said that the extended weekend comes as part of the UAE government's efforts to boost work-life balance and enhance social wellbeing, while increasing performance to advance th
In less than a month since Omicron was first detected, some of the economies have started to suffer already. South Africa, where the variant originated, recently imposed and received travel bans which has affected the country’s tourism business. Last year, Covid19 led to a loss of $4.5 trillion in the global tourism economy. In Africa, 50% of people working in the tourism sector lost their jobs. And just when normalcy was being restored, and tourists were slowly arriving to South Africa for its wildlife and biodiversity, the new variant arrived. A recent United Nations Conference on Trad
For the first time in history, there is more female population in India than men. According to the government's National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), there are 1,020 women for every 1,000 men between 2019 and 2021. These numbers are historic for a country where female infanticide is still carried out and violence against women is rather common. Parents, too, are in favour of having sons over daughters, although this is now relevant only in rural India. The last survey in 2015 had found 991 women per 1000 men. According to the new report, rural India contributes the most, with 1,0