Safe from slaughter

Safe from slaughter

Livestock sacrifices will be banned from two upcoming Hindu festivals in Nepal, officials said recently, though no decision has yet been finalised with respect to the Gadhimai ceremony, which sees hundreds of thousands of animals slaughtered every five years. There would be no sacrifices during the February festival of Holi, where people spray each other with coloured powder and water, nor during the harvest festival of Sankranti in January, Ram Chandra Sah, chairman of the Gadhimai Trust, noted. 

“But the committee hasn’t said anything about the five-yearly sacrifices for the Gadhimai ceremony”.

Around 200,000 animals, mostly buffalo calves, were sacrificed at the most recent Gadhimai festival in November 2014. – DPA

 

Travel warning to Iran lifted

Britain lifted an official warning against all but essential travel to Iran last week, citing “decreased hostility” in the wake of a landmark nuclear deal. Almost all of Iran is now marked “green” in the government’s foreign travel advice, though border areas with Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain “red”, a warning against all travel. In a statement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that British nationals should still carefully consider the risks of travelling to Iran, but that the situation had changed under the government of President Hassan Rouhani. – AFP

 

Chilling with the birds

Hamburg Airport has opened a newly designed waiting area – the Upper Deck at gate A17 – offering passengers numerous electricity outlets and seating options. Among the features are the sounds of birds chirping from speakers and green areas to create the feeling of a park. The Upper Deck is the first part of an extensive modernisation project. Other waiting areas will be re-furnished in the coming months. The designers wanted to exude a specific Hanseatic atmosphere with various Hamburg characteristics, according to Hamburg Airport officials.

 

India introduces the e-visa

India is bracing for an inbound tourism boom with the extension of the e-visa facility for tourists from 76 countries – including Thailand. Under the e-visa tourist scheme, foreign tourists can apply for a visa by uploading their passport and photograph then paying the visa fee online. The authorities scan the documents and respond via an electronic e-mail that generates electronic travel documents, taken as e-visas. It takes 72 hours for an applicant to procure an e-visa. The electronic travel authorisation enables the inbound tourist to acquire a tourist visa on arrival, which is usually valid for 30 days and cannot be used more than twice a year. The facility is available to tourists in 16 airports across the country including — Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Amritsar, Gaya, Lucknow, Trichy, Varanasi and Ahmedabad. - The Statesman/ANN

 

Travel chaos expected as Beijing hosts parade

Beijing will close its airports for three hours during its World War II victory parade on September 3, state media reported lately. Beijing Capital International Airport and the Nanyuan Airport will shut between 9.30am and 12.30pm, the air traffic management bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced. Many airlines have already cancelled flights but passengers should expect hectic travel throughout the day. The Capital Airport handles more than 1,500 flights a day and Nanyuan more than 100. The parade will feature aerial displays and China’s latest weaponry rolling past Tiananmen Square.