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'Don't': US Warns Iran Over Likely Attack On Israel; India Issues Travel Advisory

India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a travel advisory, urging Indian citizens to avoid travelling to Iran and Israel until further notice. Those already residing in these countries were advised to contact the Indian embassies and register themselves due to the escalating tensions. New Delhi: Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, several countries, including France, India, Russia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, have issued warnings advising their citizens against travelling to Israel. This caution comes in light of threats from Iran of a potential attack following a strike on its consulate in Damascus earlier this month. The Ministry of External Affairs in India issued a travel advisory urging Indian citizens to refrain from travelling to both Iran and Israel until further notice. Indians currently residing in these countries were advised to contact the Indian embassies and register themselves in light of the escalating tensions. The White House acknowledged the imminent threat posed by a potential Iranian attack on Israel, although no specific details regarding timing were disclosed. In response to the heightened tensions, the United States announced the deployment of reinforcements to the Middle East, signalling concerns over the possibility of an Iranian assault on Israel. Meanwhile, German airline Lufthansa announced the extension of its suspension of flights to and from Tehran, citing soaring tensions in the region. Additionally, the airline disclosed its decision to avoid Iranian airspace for its flights. Israel-Iran Tension: Top 10 Developments 1. US President Joe Biden issued a stern warning to Iran amid fears of an imminent attack on Israel. 2. The warning followed reports, citing credible sources, that Iran plans to attack Israel within the next 48 hours. 3. The US has been on high alert since Tel Aviv attacked an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, resulting in the death of three Iranian generals. 4. Several countries, including the US, UK, and France, issued new travel guidelines for their government employees in Israel due to the Iranian threat. 5. India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a travel advisory advising citizens to avoid traveling to Iran and Israel until further notice. 6. The United States deployed reinforcements to the Middle East in response to concerns over a potential Iranian assault on Israel. 7. German airline Lufthansa extended its suspension of flights to and from Tehran due to escalating tensions in the region. 8. Tensions reached a critical level after a strike demolished the Iranian consulate in Syria, further exacerbating the situation. 9. Iran accused Israel of the strike, which resulted in the death of a top Iranian military commander and six officers. 10. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that an attack on Israel was "inevitable" following the consulate strike.

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The world’s best airports for food and drink

Airport dining There’s no more captive consumer than a traveler caught between airport security and the departure gate, which is why Food & Wine’s 2024 roundup of the world’s best airports for food and drink got our mouths watering. It’s no surprise that Singapore’s renowned Changi Airport has been declared No. 1. As well as boasting the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, it has more than 200 food vendors from which to choose, as well as a hawker street market, robot bartenders and an outpost of Raffles where you can drink a signature Singapore Sling. At No. 2 is Tokyo-Narita International Airport, where guests can delight in Japan’s culinary traditions. And at No. 3, the luxury environs of Dubai International Airport offer treats such as a pastry shop specializing in eclairs, as well as all the trusty international restaurant chains you’ll want to remind you of home. The great outdoors Europe’s highest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened in Italy, 574 feet (175 meters) above a ravine in Umbria. The half-mile journey across the Sellano bridge takes 30 to 45 minutes and – as if the drop didn’t provide enough drama – there’s a 223-foot incline at one end. Think you could handle it? Over in Africa, the roaring waters of Kalandula Falls in Angola are said to be sacred, and rituals were once performed there to calm the gods. As one of Africa’s hugest waterfalls, perpetually shrouded in an ethereal mist, it’s easy to see how it earned its hallowed reputation. While down in South America, an American woman and a Costa Rican guy met hiking Machu Picchu in 2010, but didn’t swap details and never expected to meet up again. Fate, of course, had other plans for this pair. In a bar in Aguas Calientes, they talked Shakira and things got “a little celestial.” Grand designs A groundbreaking “blended wing” demonstrator plane has been cleared to fly in California. The radical triangular shape of JetZero’s Pathfinder allows the whole aircraft to generate lift, minimizing drag. Nearby in Colorado, Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator plane has successfully started test flights. CEO Blake Scholl tells CNN his team’s goal is to cut flights to “half the time or less it takes today” and that supersonic planes will replace conventional jets in our lifetime. Starting over Hey Duolingo, teach us about “buena vida.” This week, we have the tale of a US woman who decided to change life’s tune by moving to Mexico and opening a music school. She travels back to the States about twice a year but has no plans to return for good. And then we have this couple, also from the United States, who, after years of unsuccessful IVF and multiple health issues, found unexpected happiness in Spain. “Andalusia has taken us in, cared for us in a way we never could have imagined,” says one. “Like interest on a bank account we never knew we had.”

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The United States has restricted travel for its employees in Israel amid fears of an attack by Iran.

The US embassy said staff had been told not to travel outside the greater Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Be'er Sheva areas "out of an abundance of caution". Iran has vowed to retaliate after Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Syria 11 days ago, killing 13 people. UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has phoned his Iranian counterpart to urge against further escalation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the consulate attack but is widely considered to have been behind it. Iran backs Hamas, the Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza, as well as various proxy groups throughout the region, including some - such as Hezbollah in Lebanon - that frequently carry out strikes against the Israelis. Those killed in the consulate attack included a senior commander of Iran's elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, as well as other military figures. The attack came at a time of continuing diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Gaza spreading across the region. Speaking on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden warned Iran was threatening to launch a "significant attack" and vowed to offer "ironclad" support to Israel. The commander responsible for US operations in the Middle East, Erik Kurilla, has travelled to Israel for talks with officials on security threats. The Pentagon said the visit had been scheduled previously but had been brought forward "due to recent developments." Following a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lord Cameron said he had "made clear... that Iran must not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict". "I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence," he said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the foreign ministers of China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey to argue that further escalation is not in anyone's interest. It is not clear what form any reprisal attack would take nor whether it would come directly from Iran or via one of its proxies. On Sunday an Iranian official warned Israel's embassies were "no longer safe", suggesting a consulate building could be a possible target. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has told his US counterpart that "any direct Iranian attack" on Israeli territory would "require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran". Asked about the travel restrictions on Thursday, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he would not disclose the "specific assessments" behind them, but added: "Clearly we are monitoring the threat environment in the Middle East and specifically in Israel." The UK Foreign Office has also updated its travel advice for Israel to state that the country's government has raised the "possibility of an attack on Israeli territory from Iran, and that such an attack could trigger wider escalation". Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October, the Foreign Office has warned against travel to large parts of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. German airline Lufthansa has extended a suspension of flights to the Iranian capital Tehran until Saturday. The October attack saw gunmen kill 1,200 people and take more than 250 hostage after crossing into Israel from Gaza. Israel says that of 130 hostages still in Gaza, at least 34 are dead. More than 33,000 Gazans, the majority of them civilians, have been killed during Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

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Spain to scrap ‘golden visas’ for foreign investors

Spain will scrap its so-called “golden visa” program granting residency rights to foreigners who make large investments in real estate in the country, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters on Monday. Ending the scheme would help make access to affordable housing “a right instead of a speculative business,” Sanchez said. The program awards non-EU citizens investing at least 500,000 euros ($541,250) - without taking out a mortgage - in Spanish real estate a special permit, allowing them to live and work in the country for three years. “Today, 94 out of every 100 such visas are linked to real estate investment… in major cities that are facing a highly stressed market and where it’s almost impossible to find decent housing for those who already live, work and pay their taxes there,” Sanchez said. He added that the government would launch the process to eliminate the scheme at Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting after studying a report submitted by the Housing Ministry. From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 until November 2022, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, government figures show. Chinese investors top the list followed by Russians who invested more than 3.4 billion euros, according to a 2023 Transparency International report that questioned whether authorities investigated the origin of the funds. The measure is unlikely to affect the property market since less than 0.1% of 4.5 million homes sold during that period were purchased under the scheme, according to property website Idealista. Spain’s housing problem was not caused by the golden visa scheme, but rather by a lack of supply and a spike in demand, said Idealista spokesperson Francisco Inareta. “The measure announced today, which focuses on international buyers rather than encouraging new homes to come onto the market, is yet another misdiagnosis,” Inareta said. Neighboring Portugal has recently revamped its own “golden visa” scheme and excluded real estate investment to tackle a housing crisis. Foreigners who want to secure residency rights can still put their money into investment funds. The European Commission has long called for an end to such programs, citing security risks.

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Canadian Permanent Residence Application Fees to Increase End of April

Effective 30 April 2024, applicants for Canadian permanent residence will encounter increased fees as part of a regular update process. According to Wego, these fee adjustments occur every two years to accommodate rising program and service delivery expenses and to counteract the effects of inflation. The upcoming changes in fees, which apply to all permanent resident applications, signify the Canadian government’s commitment to managing the costs associated with immigration processes while ensuring the sustainability of immigration programs.

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Hit by boycott, Maldives reaches out to India for tourism boost

As the number of Indian tourists to the Maldives continues to decline, the island country's tour and travel association has reached out to India to arrest the further slide. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) met Munu Mahawar, the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives on Monday "to explore collaborative efforts in tourism promotion". The association expressed its intention to collaborate closely with the Indian High Commission to bolster tourism initiatives. "Plans are underway to launch a comprehensive roadshow across key cities in India and to facilitate influencer and media familiarisation trips to the Maldives in the forthcoming months," it said. The number of Indian tourists, who ranked among the top sources for tourism for Male in the last few years, plunged after January when now three suspended ministers made derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he pitched Lakshadweep as a tourist destination. The insulting comments against India and PM Modi did not go down well with a section of people and organisations, who started "BoycottMaldives" campaign on social media. Within weeks, from being the top tourist group visiting the Maldives, Indians slipped to fifth position in the last three weeks of January. In the last three years, over 2 lakh Indians visited Maldives annually - the highest from any country post-Covid. Over 17 lakh tourists visited Maldives in 2023, of which the maximum were Indians (2,09,198) followed by Russians (2,09,146) and Chinese (1,87,118). The number of Indian visitors to Maldives was more than 2.4 lakh in 2022 and over 2.11 lakh in 2021. As per the latest data till April 8, tourists from India to Maldives slipped to the sixth position. So far, only 36,840 tourists visited the island nation, a sharp decline compared to similar months in previous years. Maldives' tour association in a statement said that "India remains a vital market" for Maldivian tourism and it looks forward to partnering with prominent travel associations and industry stakeholders across India to further promote the island nation as a premier travel destination. "The Association is confident with the support from the industry and the Government agencies, Maldives can regain the current decline in Indian tourists," it said. MATATO said India's burgeoning middle class is anticipated to spend a substantial $144 billion annually on international travel by the year 2030, drawing significant interest and investment from global players in the hospitality, airline, and tourism industries. According to Euromonitor, it said, the number of outbound Indian travelers is expected to double to 47 million by 2030, with their spending projected to increase from $35 billion in 2019 to an impressive $84 billion by 2030. "This growth trajectory positions India to ascend to the sixth-largest outbound travel market globally by 2030, trailing only China, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and France." The association said industry reports forecast robust expansion in Indian outbound travel, with a compounded annual growth rate of 11.2 per cent through 2032, closely mirroring Euromonitor's predictions. This surge in outbound tourism, it added, has led to a fervent pursuit of Indian tourists by top destinations such as Dubai and prominent airlines like Qatar Airways, leveraging the star power of Bollywood icons. In February this year, Dubai rolled out a five-year multiple-entry visa for Indians to "bolster travel between India and Dubai, to foster sustained economic collaborations and encourage tourism and business ties."

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