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Venice hotels are providing water guns to their guests for this very strange reason!

In a bid to get rid of seagulls, several hotels in Venice are providing water guns to their guests. Two of the popular properties in the city, Gritti Palace and Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, are giving orange-coloured (the colour is repulsive to the birds). Director of Gritti Palace, Paolo Lorenzoni said that they had tried falconers but it was quite expensive. They also tried fake spinning owls, but couldn’t scare them but the moment they saw a pistol, they flew away. He further said that there’s no need to even use them but just keep them on the table so that they could see the gun. Apparently, the seagull has become a problem in the city. In Venice, these are known as magoghe meaning huge birds with sharp beaks. These birds love to snatch food at any cost. Before this, the city was already struggling to control the pigeon population. Hygiene and environment expert Francesco Boemo told local media, “The huge number of seagulls, in addition to being an aggressive and annoying presence for people, represent a problem for health and hygiene, as well as for buildings and the environment.” But he also stated that because these are a protected species, they cannot be eliminated. So the last and most immediate resort is the water cannons which are looking effective.

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AirAsia resumes flights between India and Malaysia, Thailand

AirAsia on Wednesday said it is resuming flights connecting India with Malaysia and Thailand from this month. After two years of corona-virus induced suspension, India resumed regular international flights on March 27. In a press release, Malaysian carrier AirAsia said that flights will gradually resume on six routes between India and Malaysia. While the flights on Bengaluru-Kuala Lumpur and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur routes began on April 1, the flight on the Tiruchirapalli-Kuala Lumpur route began on April 5, it mentioned. The flights on Kochi-Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata-Kuala Lumpur and HyderabadKuala Lumpur routes will commence from April 18, April 23 and May 1, respectively, it noted. The Malaysian carrier said flights on five IndiaThailand routes will begin in May. The flights on Bengaluru-Bangkok, Chennai-Bangkok, Kolkata-Bangkok, Kochi-Bangkok and Jaipur Bangkok will commence on May 4, May 4, May 2, May 1 and May 1, respectively, it mentioned. AirAsia is different from AirAsia India airline, which is based out of India and owned by the Tata group.

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Indonesia reintroduces visa-free policy for ASEAN nationals

The Indonesian government has reintroduced a visa-free visit policy for citizens of fellow ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights said. "With this new policy, foreigners from nine other ASEAN countries are able to enter with visa-free visits," Director of Immigration Traffic, Amran Aris, said on Tuesday. People from these Southeast Asian countries are only required to show proof of Covid vaccination and a negative polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) taken 48 hours prior to arrival, and use the PeduliLindungi test and track app on their mobile phone, Xinhua news agency reported. They are no longer required to undergo a PCR test upon arrival as long as they pass a temperature check. International airports in Yogyakarta, Makassar, Medan and Pekanbaru have reopened.

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SriLankan Airlines’ takes on summer with significant frequency increases

SriLankan Airlines has geared up for a busy Summer 2022 by increasing the number of scheduled flights by 40 per cent to match pre-pandemic levels and meet the growing demand for air travel as the industry continues to recover. The frequency increases will come into effect across SriLankan’s network of online destinations with the start of the airline’s summer flight schedule. The new schedule will facilitate smoother operations for the airline and offer customers greater flexibility, convenience and connectivity. One of the most significant changes is in SriLankan’s operations to India, which were scaled down considerably at the height of the pandemic. India recently reopened their skies for commercial passenger flights after two years of closure. In celebration of this encouraging development, SriLankan will be nearly doubling the number of weekly flights to India to over 100. Other planned frequency increases to cities in the Indian Subcontinent include the operation of an extra weekly flight each to Gan, Maldives and Lahore, Pakistan. SriLankan is further planning to match the weekly number of flights to Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Muscat and Seychelles in the Middle Eastern and African regions to its pre-pandemic level of operations. Frequencies to certain destinations in the Far East and Oceania would also be gradually increased in the coming months. Daily flights have already been introduced to Kuala Lumpur, while daily flights will be operated to Melbourne by May and to Bangkok and Jakarta by July of this year. Further, an additional weekly flight has been scheduled for Narita starting from July 2022. New destinations are also part of the plan and commercial passenger flights to Seoul, Korea are to be launched in May 2022. SriLankan Airlines earns much-needed foreign exchange for Sri Lanka, with close to 85 per cent of the airline’s revenue being generated in foreign currency. Furthermore, the airline is as dedicated as ever to help restore and grow the Sri Lankan tourism industry to and beyond pre-COVID-19 levels. The increase in operations is based on demand forecasts and is expected to generate increased revenues from traffic into and beyond Colombo through the airline’s extensive network. “SriLankan is steadily returning its commercial flight operations to normal as the recovery of global travel gathers momentum. We are complementing the operational growth with enhancements to our product and services including the onboard menu, the website and the launch of new destinations. We look forward to renewing our relationships with old friends and to introducing Sri Lankan hospitality to many new guests,” stated Richard Nuttall, Acting CEO of SriLankan Airlines.

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Czech Republic is ninth among the ten most peaceful countries in the globe

When traveling and choosing a destination, apart from the offerings of the destination, one of the very important factors taken into consideration, especially over the past few years has been safety. Whether the person is a family traveller, a solo traveller, a millennial, young adult or even an elderly traveller choosing a destination that is safe and peaceful is a priority. The Global Peace Index (GPI) measures more than just the presence or absence of war. It captures the absence of violence or the fear of violence across three domains: Safety and Security, Ongoing Conflict, and Militarisation. Europe remains the most peaceful region in the world and it is one of 3 regions to see an improvement in peacefulness on the 2021 GPI. According to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI), the Czech Republic is the ninth most peaceful country in the world and the eighth most peaceful country in Europe. The country’s strongest points were safe communities, low crime rates, difficulty in accessing weapons and the low impact of terrorism. Furthermore, the capital city of Prague is considered one of the safest and most beautiful cities in the world, too.

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Spain looks to lift mask requirement in most indoor spaces after Easter Week

Spain's health minister wants to lift face mask requirements for indoor spaces except public transportation and medical centers after Easter Week, when many residents travel and see their families. Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said Wednesday that she would bring the proposed action to a government Cabinet meeting on April 19. If approved as expected, it would take effect the following day. Over 92% of Spaniards over age 12 have received at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. The country's high vaccination rate has meant relatively low pressure on hospitals during the most recent surge of infections. Authorities made outdoor mask use no longer obligatory in February as a wave of cases caused by the more contagious omicron variant eased. In March, Spain eliminated mandatory home isolation for people infected with the coronavirus but experiencing no or mild symptoms.

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