President Biden will remove the ban on travel between the United States and countries in southern Africa at midnight on Dec. 31, a senior administration official said on Friday, reversing restrictions imposed last month to combat the spread of the Omicron variant. The region’s leaders had denounced the ban asContinue Reading
(CNN) — An Asian elephant struts into the pool and dips its head beneath the surface, using the tip of its trunk like a snorkel. Standing on its hind legs as the water relieves the gravitational burden of its body, the animal wades between two men offering bananas at eitherContinue Reading
A traveler wearing a protective mask waits to board a United Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport, Oct. 15, 2020. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images United Airlines and Delta Air Lines canceled dozens of Christmas Eve flights as Covid hit crews. “The nationwide spike in OmicronContinue Reading
Pedestrians walk past Yum! Brands Inc. Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Shanghai, China. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images China is leaving behind pandemic lockdowns, and U.S. companies like Procter & Gamble, Starbucks and MGM Resorts International say the country’s recovery is boosting their overall sales as consumersContinue Reading
JERUSALEM — In an effort to contain the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Israeli authorities have barred most international travelers from entering Israel or the West Bank until at least the end of December, leaving holy sites in Bethlehem, Nazareth and the Old City of Jerusalem devoidContinue Reading
When Lee Xian Jie first stepped foot in the traditional farmhouse located in Ryujin-mura, a village in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture, it was “quite rundown” — with floors so rickety they shook beneath him with every step he took. After all, the main structure of the abandoned home was 300 yearsContinue Reading
A perennial favorite among holidaymakers, Greece consistently ranks among the top 10 vacation destinations in Europe. But now it wants tourists to get to know lesser-known locations across its thousands of sprawling islands. “We’re moving beyond sea and sun. We want to prolong the tourism season in both time andContinue Reading
Mexico has let tens of thousands of people cross its territory on their way to the American border since early April, government data shows, a major uptick before the expiration of a U.S. immigration measure that has kept most migrants from being able to claim asylum in the United States.Continue Reading
TBILISI, Georgia — President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday ordered the restoration of direct flights from Russia to the mountainous former Soviet republic of Georgia starting May 15 and abolished visa requirements for Georgian nationals, in the latest sign of continued rapprochement between the two nations. The Russian Foreign MinistryContinue Reading
Millions of U.S. travelers are forging ahead with their holiday plans, despite a national surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. More than 109 million Americans are expected to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, a 34 percent increase from last year, according to AAA.Continue Reading