With the start of the new year, the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) has made a significant advancement in its tourism accessibility: the launch of an electronic visa system specifically designed for Indian travellers from January 1, 2025. This innovative digital solution marks a new era in Israel-India tourism relations, making the visa application process more efficient and user-friendly than ever before. This new e-Visa system represents a significant step forward in Israel’s ongoing efforts to enhance the tourist experience and streamline entry procedures for international visitors. While this pilot scheme currently relates only to Indian nationals residing in India, the intention is to extend the system to all incoming foreign tourists to Israel from every destination. The...
Read MoreYear: 2025
Massive winter storm to clobber U.S. from Plains to East Coast
The heaviest snowfall in a decade is possible, could cause power outages, cut gas supplies A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday, as a disruptive winter storm brought the possibility of the “heaviest snowfall in a decade” to some areas. Snow and ice blanketed major roadways in parts of Kansas and Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck. At least 8 inches of snow were expected, particularly north of Interstate 70, as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions were reported. The warning extended to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday. “For locations in this reg...
Read MoreDecember 2025 anniversary cruise to Mexican Riviera to recreate first-ever sailing ; legendary music group, The Temptations, to join the party Princess Cruises, known around the world as "The Love Boat," is celebrating six decades of delivering dream vacations and happiness to millions of cruisers with a special 14-day 60th Anniversary Mexican Riviera Voyage, departing from the Port of Los Angeles on December 6, 2025. On sale now, this milestone cruise onboard Royal Princess will include some of the same ports on the first-ever voyage that set sail on December 3, 1965, on Princess Patricia. As part of the announcement, Princess revealed that The Temptations, the legendary Motown group behind the classic hit "My Girl," will sail on ...
Read MoreA butterfly collector in Africa with more than 4.2 million seeks to share them for the future
What began as a childhood hobby more than six decades ago has led to what might be Africa’s largest butterfly collection in a suburb of Kenya’s capital. Steve Collins, 74, was born and raised in western Kenya. By the age of 5, he was fascinated by butterflies and started building a collection that has grown to more than 4.2 million, representing hundreds of species. “My parents encouraged us to look for butterflies after visiting the Congo and were gifted a trapping net by some friends,” Collins said. “By the time I was 15 years old, I was already visiting other countries like Nigeria to study more about butterflies.” During his 20-year career as an agronomist, Collins dedicated his free time to research. He established the African Butterfly Research Institute in 1997. Now...
Read MoreI landed in Mexico City in December 2019, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic upended life and cartel-led violence reached its bloodiest period in Mexico's recent history. Yet traveling around the country as a senior correspondent for Reuters, I was mesmerized by the vibrancy of Mexico's people, culture and food. A bartender pours a glass of wine at the bar of the fine dining restaurant Meroma in the Roma neighbourhood. REUTERS/Claudia Daut It may strike some people as unwise, or even perilous, to mount a bike to explore a megalopolis long known for street crime and snarled traffic - and where motorists do not need to pass a driving test to hit the road. Yet in many ways it's the best way to soak up Mexico City, a fast-changing cultural hotspot sitting on the bed of an ancient l...
Read MoreA worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday. The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said. “These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited,” said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham. Four...
Read MoreThe 2025 wave season is here and travelers are flocking to cruise ships to escape the winter blues. New data from Squaremouth, leading travel insurance marketplace in US, reveals the top trends for this year's wave season, along with expert tips for travelers setting sail in 2025. Travel Insurance is Trending Travelers are jumping at the chance to set sail this season, and they're opting to do it carefree. Of the travelers planning to cruise this wave season and beyond, an impressive 74% are insuring their trips—up from just 38% in 2024. Cruisers' top concerns for 2025 include illness or injury while at sea, trip cancellations, and medical evacuation coverage. More R&R, Less Adventure While 2024 was the year of adventure travel, 2025 is all about rest and relaxation. O...
Read MoreYour Schengen VISA will now take you to Romania & Bulgaria as well
Romania and Bulgaria scrapped land border controls to become full members of the European Union's Schengen free-travel area on Wednesday, joining an expanded bloc of countries whose residents can travel without passport checks. Fireworks lit the sky at a crossing close to the Bulgarian border town of Ruse just after the stroke of midnight as the Bulgarian and Romanian interior ministers symbolically raised a barrier on the Friendship Bridge straddling the Danube River. The crossing is a major transit point for international trade, and bottlenecks are common. A view of Romanian-Hungarian customs point in Nadlac, as Romania and Bulgaria both join the Schengen bloc, Arad county, Romania, December 31, 2024. Inquam Photos/Virgil Simonescu via REUTERS "This is a historic moment," said ...
Read MoreLA-based PaintScaping, a global leader in 3D projection mapping, has created DINO LUMINA, the world's first dinosaur park that uses giant projections on invisible screens. As guests walk thru the forest, they are surrounded by full-sized dinosaurs that, unlike animatronics, are walking, running, fighting, and hunting. This limited engagement runs at the Dallas Zoo, until Monday, January 6, 2025. A CGI trailblazer, PaintScaping CEO Philippe Bergeron previously collaborated with Daniel Langlois, the genius behind SoftImage—the groundbreaking software that brought Jurassic Park's dinosaurs to life. Dino roars for the crowd "Daniel was instrumental in creating one of the most memorable scenes in movie history, when we see the dinosaurs for the first time," no...
Read MoreAlagna Mirtillo Rosso marks the entry of NH Collection Hotels & Resorts in Italy’s mountain hotel segment Minor Hotels Europe & Americas has announced the upcoming addition of NH Collection Alagna Mirtillo Rosso to the portfolio of the upper-upscale NH Collection Hotels & Resorts brand in Italy. Located in the heart of the Pennine Alps, the four-star property will undergo a renovation process and officially open its doors under the new brand in March 2025. NH Collection Alagna Mirtillo Rosso, located in the town of Alagna Valsesia, at the foot of Monte Rosa, caters to all travellers but is ideal for families and perfect for ski lovers. The hotel is just a few minutes from the Alagna, a cable car, which takes visitors to the Monte Rosa Ski ski hotel, an area that links ...
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