In a rare step to control over-tourism, a pilot programme has been launched by the Italian city of Venice according to which the day-trippers will be charged an entry fee of €5 (around $5.

In a rare step to control over-tourism, a pilot programme has been launched by the Italian city of Venice according to which the day-trippers will be charged an entry fee of €5 (around $5.35). The authorities hope that the entry fee will discourage visitors from coming on peak days and turn the city into a more livable place for its dwindling number of residents. How has Venice prepared to charge its tourists? The authorities have placed signs which inform the visitors regarding the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days across July. The signs have been placed outside the main train station and other important points of arrival. Meanwhile, the authorities have trained some 200 stewards to politely inform anyone who is not aware of the fees and the process of downloading a QR code. Also Read: Venice to start charging entry fees from visitors in 2024 The authorities have also set up a kiosk for those who are not equipped with a smartphone. Once the tourists cross the designated entry ports, officials will conduct random checks for QR codes which show that the day-tripper tax has been paid or that they have exempted the bearer. A fine of €50 ($53) to €300 ($321) will be imposed on the transgressors. The entry fee is applicable only to people who are entering the city between 8:30 am and 4 pm. Those who wish to enter Venice outside of those hours are not required to pay any fees. Venice's tourism official, Simone Venturini said, "We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents. We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.” Venice battles mass tourism The move was supported by the city's council executive just weeks after Venice was recommended by the UN cultural agency UNESCO to be included in its list of world heritage in danger, especially because of the negative impact of mass tourism. Watch: Venice to charge tourists an entry fee to avoid overcrowding For years, the authorities in Venice have sought to ease the pressure of the increasing number of tourists who reach Venice to see sights, which include St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge. Repeatedly, the ticketing plan has been postponed as concerns were raised that it is likely to seriously affect tourist revenue and compromise people's freedom of movement. Locals marched in protest of the city's new day-trip entrance charge. Protesters argue that the admission charge will not address the lagoon city's problems of overtourism and depopulation. (With inputs from agencies)

Planning to travel abroad? Venice will now charge you for entry

Global athleisure giant Foot Locker is set to make waves with a strategic alliance. Teaming up with local powerhouse metro brands and beauty-to-fashion retailer Nykaa, Foot Locker is gearing up for an explosive entry into india.

Foot locker's entry in India amid economic headwinds

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights, effective 23:59 pm&nbsp;on Monday, state news agency WAM reported on Saturday, citing a statement by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). 
 
The GCAA said the restrictions would also include transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights travelling to the UAE and bound for those countries. 
 
Cargo flights between those countries and the UAE will continue, as usual, the statement added. 
 
It said the restrictions were being introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19. 
 
The GCAA added that exemptions to its decision include: UAE nationals, their first-degree relatives, diplomatic missions, official delegations, business jets - after getting prior approvals - and golden and silver residency permit holders, in addition to those, who work essential jobs. 
 
Those, who are exempted, will still have to take a PCR test at the airport and enter a mandatory 10-day quarantine. 
 
Separately, Dubai's Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said on Saturday it would allow travellers from South Africa, who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, to enter Dubai starting from June 23, WAM said. 
 
Travellers from India, who have valid residence visas and have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, will also be allowed in the emirate. 
 
Meanwhile, travellers from Nigeria must only present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure and will also undergo another PCR test on arrival in Dubai, WAM added. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights, effective 23:59 pm on Monday, state news agency WAM reported on Saturday, citing a statement by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights, effective 23:59 pm on Monday, state news agency WAM reported on Saturday, citing a statement by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The GCAA said the restrictions would also include transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights travelling to the UAE and bound for those countries. Cargo flights between those countries and the UAE will continue, as usual, the statement added. It said the restrictions were being introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19. The GCAA added that exemptions to its decision include: UAE nationals, their first-degree relatives, diplomatic missions, official delegations, business jets - after getting prior approvals - and golden and silver residency permit holders, in addition to those, who work essential jobs. Those, who are exempted, will still have to take a PCR test at the airport and enter a mandatory 10-day quarantine. Separately, Dubai's Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said on Saturday it would allow travellers from South Africa, who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, to enter Dubai starting from June 23, WAM said. Travellers from India, who have valid residence visas and have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, will also be allowed in the emirate. Meanwhile, travellers from Nigeria must only present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure and will also undergo another PCR test on arrival in Dubai, WAM added. (With inputs from agencies)

UAE to suspend entry from three countries, Dubai updates travel protocols

Inside Air Force One - America's most famous plane used by US Presidents

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth today announced his much-awaited&nbsp;entry into politics.

The legendary Tamil actor, who has a cult status in Tamil Nadu, said he will form his own political party and contest all constituencies in Tamil Nadu in the next assembly elections.

&quot;Anyone who runs away from a fight is known as a coward. Now its time to do my bit for the people. I will launch my own party and stand in all 234 Tamil Nadu constituencies in the next assembly elections,&quot; he said.

&quot;Truth, work and growth will be the three mantras of our party,&quot; the superstar said.&nbsp;

Rajinikanth said democracy was in bad shape at the moment and he would feel &quot;guilty&quot; if he did not take his decision to enter politics.

He stated that his aim for joining politics is not name, fame or money and that he got all of that from the people of Tamil Nadu and&nbsp;declared that &quot;spiritual politics&quot; needs to be ushered in, sans shades of any caste or religion with transparency.

The superstar talked about bringing about a change in the nation and further talked about how &#39;politicians are robbing us of our own money on our own land&#39;.

The actor&#39;s remark is seen as a reference to the bitter infighting in the ruling AIADMK, allegations of rampant corruption, perceived political instability, and also the tax raids held at premises in the State including those linked to the ruling establishment, notably a Minister and his associates.

The RK Nagar Assembly bypoll in April was also cancelled following allegations of money distribution.

Stressing that he knew that launching a party, capturing power and governing was not an &quot;ordinary thing,&quot; he said it was akin to extracting pearl from sea.

&quot;This was possible only with the blessings of the God and full support of people,&quot; he said and expressed confidence that he will get both of it.

Quoting a shloka from Bhagawad Gita, which stresses the importance of doing one&#39;s duty and leaving the result to the Lord, he said &quot;this is the compulsion of time.&quot;

&quot;Engage in war, if you win you will rule the nation if you die you will go to heaven. If you go without waging war, they will call you a coward,&quot; he said quoting the scripture amid thunderous applause.

He further thanked his fans, Tamil Nadu police and the media for their support and appreciation.&nbsp;

Fans broke out on the streets in celebration upon Rajnikanth&#39;s announcement.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Chennai: Fans celebrate after <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rajinikanth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rajinikanth</a> announces political entry <a href="https://t.co/K1Vul6UFCZ">pic.twitter.com/K1Vul6UFCZ</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/947314681923768320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Fellow actor Kamal Haasan had also hinted that he was willing to work with Rajinikanth if the superstar ever decided to enter politics.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The 67-year-old star&#39;s entry into politics has been debated for about two decades.

On an earlier occasion, while addressing his supporters, he had urged them to be &quot;ready for war&quot; when the time came and said the &quot;system is rotten&quot;.

The legendary Tamil actor, who has a cult status in Tamil Nadu, said he will form his own political party in the next assembly elections and contest all constituencies in Tamil Nadu

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth today announced his much-awaited entry into politics. The legendary Tamil actor, who has a cult status in Tamil Nadu, said he will form his own political party and contest all constituencies in Tamil Nadu in the next assembly elections. "Anyone who runs away from a fight is known as a coward. Now its time to do my bit for the people. I will launch my own party and stand in all 234 Tamil Nadu constituencies in the next assembly elections," he said. "Truth, work and growth will be the three mantras of our party," the superstar said. Rajinikanth said democracy was in bad shape at the moment and he would feel "guilty" if he did not take his decision to enter politics. He stated that his aim for joining politics is not name, fame or money and that he got all of that from the people of Tamil Nadu and declared that "spiritual politics" needs to be ushered in, sans shades of any caste or religion with transparency. The superstar talked about bringing about a change in the nation and further talked about how 'politicians are robbing us of our own money on our own land'. The actor's remark is seen as a reference to the bitter infighting in the ruling AIADMK, allegations of rampant corruption, perceived political instability, and also the tax raids held at premises in the State including those linked to the ruling establishment, notably a Minister and his associates. The RK Nagar Assembly bypoll in April was also cancelled following allegations of money distribution. Stressing that he knew that launching a party, capturing power and governing was not an "ordinary thing," he said it was akin to extracting pearl from sea. "This was possible only with the blessings of the God and full support of people," he said and expressed confidence that he will get both of it. Quoting a shloka from Bhagawad Gita, which stresses the importance of doing one's duty and leaving the result to the Lord, he said "this is the compulsion of time." "Engage in war, if you win you will rule the nation if you die you will go to heaven. If you go without waging war, they will call you a coward," he said quoting the scripture amid thunderous applause. He further thanked his fans, Tamil Nadu police and the media for their support and appreciation. Fans broke out on the streets in celebration upon Rajnikanth's announcement. Chennai: Fans celebrate after #Rajinikanth announces political entry pic.twitter.com/K1Vul6UFCZ — ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2017 × Fellow actor Kamal Haasan had also hinted that he was willing to work with Rajinikanth if the superstar ever decided to enter politics. The 67-year-old star's entry into politics has been debated for about two decades. On an earlier occasion, while addressing his supporters, he had urged them to be "ready for war" when the time came and said the "system is rotten".

'I do not come for money or fame, as I have enough of it,' says Rajinikanth as he enters politics

China&nbsp;said&nbsp;on Monday that India&#39;s inclusion in the&nbsp;NSG was not&nbsp;even on the agenda of the group&#39;s meeting in Seoul this week and there were differences among the existing members over the inclusion of new countries.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
This statement comes just a day after&nbsp;India&#39;s external&nbsp;affairs&nbsp;minister&nbsp;Sushma&nbsp;Swaraj asserted that Beijing was not opposing India&#39;s entry&nbsp;to the Nuclear&nbsp;Suppliers&#39; Group&nbsp;(NSG).&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We have stressed that the&nbsp;NSG&nbsp;is still divided about non-NPT countries&#39; entry into the NSG,&nbsp;and under the current circumstances we hope that NSG will make thorough discussions to make a decision based on consultation,&quot; Chinese&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;ministry spokesperson Hua&nbsp;Chunying&nbsp;told a media briefing.&nbsp; 
 
Answering questions about&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;secretary S&nbsp;Jaishankar&#39;s&nbsp;visit here on June 16-17 and Swaraj&#39;s remarks, Hua said India&#39;s admission into NSG is not on the agenda of the Seoul meeting of the 48-member elite club to be held on June 24.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;As we understand&nbsp;the annual conference in Seoul this year also has no such topic. We understand that non-NPT countries are concerned about their entry into the NSG. But since NSG is still divided about the issue, so it is still not mature to talk about the entry issue in the annual conference in Seoul,&quot; she said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I want point out that the NSG agenda has never covered any issue concerning the non-NPT countries joining the NSG,&quot; Hua asserted.&nbsp; 
 
China,&nbsp;along with some other nations,&nbsp;has effectively blocked India&#39;s entry to NSG that trades in advanced nuclear material and technology.&nbsp; 
 
Swaraj&nbsp;had&nbsp;made the comments on China at a news conference held to highlight her government&#39;s achievement in their two-years of rule&nbsp;on Sunday.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;As far as China is concerned, they are not opposed to India&#39;s membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) but is talking about criteria procedure,&quot; she said.&nbsp; 
 
India had spoken to 23 nations on India&#39;s membership to NSG, out of which 21 had extended support while the remaining had raised questions.&nbsp; 
 
India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.&nbsp; 
 
Swaraj was optimistic that China would agree on India&#39;s entry into NSG.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&quot;When foreign secretary went to China, he said during the talks that India&#39;s credentials should be discussed instead of criteria. I believe that there is still time and we are hopeful that we will be able to convince China as well,&quot; Swaraj said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Opponents argue that granting India membership would further undermine efforts to prevent proliferation. It would also infuriate India&#39;s rival Pakistan, an ally of China, which has responded to India&#39;s membership bid with one of its own.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Swaraj also took questions on Pakistan&#39;s bid to join the NSG and said that India was not against the entry of any country into the non-proliferation body.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&quot;As far as Pakistan&#39;s entry is concerned, we are not yet members of the NSG, so we cannot be a part in the decision-making process regarding their membership. We are not opposed to the entry of any nation into the NSG. We would want any application to be considered on its own merits,&quot; she concluded.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Membership of the 48-nation club would bring India into the nuclear fold 41 years after it tested its first nuclear bomb, and give the nation of 1.25 billion a vested interest in curbing the world&#39;s most dangerous regional arms race.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
A seat at the NSG would strengthen India&#39;s geopolitical clout and help it&nbsp;capitalise&nbsp;on nuclear trade and technology transfer opportunities.&nbsp; 
 
(Agencies)&nbsp;

The statement comes after Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj's comment that China was not blocking India's entry into NSG

China said on Monday that India's inclusion in the NSG was not even on the agenda of the group's meeting in Seoul this week and there were differences among the existing members over the inclusion of new countries. This statement comes just a day after India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that Beijing was not opposing India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG). "We have stressed that the NSG is still divided about non-NPT countries' entry into the NSG, and under the current circumstances we hope that NSG will make thorough discussions to make a decision based on consultation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing. Answering questions about foreign secretary S Jaishankar's visit here on June 16-17 and Swaraj's remarks, Hua said India's admission into NSG is not on the agenda of the Seoul meeting of the 48-member elite club to be held on June 24. "As we understand the annual conference in Seoul this year also has no such topic. We understand that non-NPT countries are concerned about their entry into the NSG. But since NSG is still divided about the issue, so it is still not mature to talk about the entry issue in the annual conference in Seoul," she said. "I want point out that the NSG agenda has never covered any issue concerning the non-NPT countries joining the NSG," Hua asserted. China, along with some other nations, has effectively blocked India's entry to NSG that trades in advanced nuclear material and technology. Swaraj had made the comments on China at a news conference held to highlight her government's achievement in their two-years of rule on Sunday. "As far as China is concerned, they are not opposed to India's membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) but is talking about criteria procedure," she said. India had spoken to 23 nations on India's membership to NSG, out of which 21 had extended support while the remaining had raised questions. India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact. Swaraj was optimistic that China would agree on India's entry into NSG. "When foreign secretary went to China, he said during the talks that India's credentials should be discussed instead of criteria. I believe that there is still time and we are hopeful that we will be able to convince China as well," Swaraj said. Opponents argue that granting India membership would further undermine efforts to prevent proliferation. It would also infuriate India's rival Pakistan, an ally of China, which has responded to India's membership bid with one of its own. Swaraj also took questions on Pakistan's bid to join the NSG and said that India was not against the entry of any country into the non-proliferation body. "As far as Pakistan's entry is concerned, we are not yet members of the NSG, so we cannot be a part in the decision-making process regarding their membership. We are not opposed to the entry of any nation into the NSG. We would want any application to be considered on its own merits," she concluded. Membership of the 48-nation club would bring India into the nuclear fold 41 years after it tested its first nuclear bomb, and give the nation of 1.25 billion a vested interest in curbing the world's most dangerous regional arms race. A seat at the NSG would strengthen India's geopolitical clout and help it capitalise on nuclear trade and technology transfer opportunities. (Agencies)

India?s entry into Nuclear Suppliers' Group not on Seoul meet agenda: China

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