On the open expanses of Chile’s high-altitude Atacama desert, bright stars pierce an ink-black firmament, a lure for stargazers looking for wonder and astronomers seeking signs of life on distant planets. Chile’s arid northern deserts have attracted massive investment in telescopes in recent years and the country is home to nearly half the world’s astronomical observatories. Parabolic antennas of the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimeter Array) project are seen at the El Llano de Chajnantor in the Atacama desert, Antofagasta, Chile in a File Photo. ESO/Babak Tafreshi (twanight.org)/Handout via REUTERS Now, under threat from light pollution coming from urban sprawl and development, Chile’s environmental defenders are starting a fight to keep the skies dark, with legal muscl...
Read MoreCategory: विदेश
travelogues, travel articles and news from around the world
Walt Disney Co will lose its option to buy a plot of land next to its Hong Kong theme park that was to allow for future expansion after the city’s government said on Wednesday it would not extend the option due to current economic conditions. The announcement comes as the Chinese-ruled hub tries to bolster its flagging economy and badly hit tourism sector, which was impacted heavily by anti-government protests last year and more recently, the coronavirus. In a file photo, men wearing face masks following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak walk behind a closed gate at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, China. REUTERS/Lam Yik Hong Kong’s Disneyland resort is owned by a joint venture, Hong Kong International Theme Parks Ltd (HKITP), of which the local government ...
Read MoreIncidents of rhino poaching in Namibia have been dropping steadily as timely intelligence work has helped nab hunters before they shoot in known hotspots, the government said on Tuesday. Joint police and government task forces have proven “extremely successful”, the spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said, with intelligence enabling a proactive, rather than reactive, response. “Instead of the discovery of a dead rhino initiating an investigation, would-be poachers are now regularly arrested while they are still conspiring to kill a rhino,” Romeo Muyunda said in a statement celebrating World Rhino Day. It said just 22 rhinos have been poached in Namibia so far this year, down from 46 in 2019, 78 in 2018, 55 in 2017 and 61 in 2016. Of 88 arrests ...
Read MoreRescuers set free around 25 whales on Tuesday that were marooned on a sandbar off the remote west coast of Tasmania in one of Australia’s worst beaching events, and hope to save more in coming days. Government scientists said about 90 of the 270-strong pod of pilot whales have died since they were spotted from the air in shallow water off the rugged coastline on Monday. 270-strong pod of pilot whales marooned on a sandbar. Reuters Footage showed large numbers of the animals prone on a wide sandbar at Macquarie Harbour, about 200 kms (120 miles) northwest of the state capital Hobart, while others floundered in slightly deeper water. Rescuers had to get in the icy water to attach the whales, a species of oceanic dolphin that grow to 7 metres (23 ft) long and can weigh up to 3 to...
Read MoreArchaeologists in Egypt have discovered 27 coffins at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, a burial ground that is also home to one of the world’s oldest pyramids, the ministry of tourism and antiquities said. Among this 14 coffins were found two days ago during an archaeological dig at the burial spot where another 13 wooden sarcophagi had been discovered last week, making it total 27 sarcophagi or coffins. The discovery is now said by experts to be one of the largest of its kind. Undated image shows one of the 2500-year-old coffins discovered in a burial shaft in the desert near Saqqara necropolis in Egypt, released on September 19, 2020 by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/Handout via REUTERS The wooden sarcophagi are ornately painted and...
Read MoreWith tourists slow to return, Egypt’s resorts and ancient sites face tough winter
At the Pyramids of Giza, just a handful of tourists walks among the ancient wonders. Twelve people showed up to admire Luxor’s towering colonnades the day it reopened this month. At Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, visitor numbers are well below previous years. Even as international flights and tourist spots open up and Egypt’s coronavirus cases remain in check, officials, hotel owners and tour guides concede that the key winter season starting in October is going to be tough. That could be bad news for the economy. Tourism accounts for up to 15% of Egypt’s national output, and officials said it was losing around $1 billion each month after the sector all but shut down from March as the coronavirus pandemic struck. Egyptian officials say they are making every effort to reassure touri...
Read MoreSouth Africa will allow travel from Oct. 1 to and from all countries in Africa as well as other countries where levels of COVID-19 infections are not too high, a government minister said on Friday. For countries outside Africa, the government will determine whether entry is allowed depending on that country’s COVID-19 infection and transmission rate, cooperative governance minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said. Johannesburg skyline The government will prepare a list of countries from where travel will be restricted, Dlamini-Zuma said, but did not specify when the list will be published. “International travel in the continent is allowed to all countries and from all countries,” she said. Travellers should have a negative COVID-19 test obtained not more than 72 hours before the d...
Read MoreNepal will commence expedition activities for foreigners from October 17. This was announced by the Nepalese government along with the decision to allow domestic airlines to operate flights to all destinations across the country from Thursday. Nepal halted its expedition activities in March as COVID-19 spread in the Himalayan nation. Hundreds of trekkers in remote parts of the country were hurriedly flown back to capital Kathmandu while some were evacuated to their respective countries. Early this month, Nepal government had decided to grant permission to allow a Bahrain Royal Guard expedition to climb Mt Lobuje East and Mt Manaslu. Based on the proposal from Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, a team of 15 Bahrainis along with Prince of Bahrain and three Brit...
Read MoreThe pioneering elephant welfare charity, The Human Elephant Learning Programs Foundation (H-ELP), is partnering with the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) to launch a global service that stars elephants in Zoom video calls live from their natural habitat in Northern Thailand’s ancient jungle. Rates start from US$ 75 to bring elephants in on a Zoom video call for ten minutes. For US$ 145 callers also get a two-minute introduction to their three-ton video call companions and a three-minute question and answer session conducted by one of the GTAEF’s elephant experts. All funds raised through people or organisations booking elephants to partake in their video conferencing will be shared by H-ELP and GTAEF to care for Asian elephants. The Zoom fundraising initia...
Read MoreAnantara Chiang Mai Resort is offering residents of Thailand the ultimate getaway blending contemporary design with traditional Thai hospitality and old world charm for a stay that won’t break the bank. Recently named the number one resort in Southeast Asia in the annual Travel + Leisure 2020 World’s Best Awards, Anantara Chiang Mai is conveniently located on the banks of the Mae Ping River, giving easy access for guests to explore the temple-filled old city, Lanna heritage, artisan villages and mountain hill tribes. Anantara Chiang Mai Resort - Kasara Garden View Suite The resort’s centerpiece, the stunning colonial house, was once the British consulate of Chiang Mai. The house is now The Service 1921 Restaurant and Bar, charming guests with a British secret intelligence c...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.