New Zealand confirms airport virus case, says travel bubble unaffected

A giant snowman brandishing a pitchfork exploded in a blaze of fireworks atop a pyre on a snowy mountain pass named Devil's Bridge on Monday, the first time the spring festival ceremony has been held outside the Swiss city of Zurich.

Families reunited in emotional scenes Monday as Australia and New Zealand launched a quarantine-free travel bubble that opened the border almost 400 days after its pandemic-enforced closure.

Every spring, roses bloom in the western Saudi city of Taif, turning pockets of the kingdom's vast desert landscape a vivid and fragrant pink.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday praised efforts made to rebuild the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, saying continued mobilisation was needed to meet the government's target of restoring the landmark within three years.

Pilgrims immunised against Covid-19 circled Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia's Mecca city Tuesday as they performed the year-round umrah pilgrimage on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Djibouti, which is one-tenth the size of England with a population of just one million, is one of Africa's smallest countries.

It's Tokyo, but unlike you've ever seen it before -- a miniaturised 1:1,000 scale version of one of the world's biggest capitals, displaying everything from sea levels to population densities.

New Zealanders and Australians rushed to book flights Tuesday as the beleaguered tourism industry welcomed the "lifeline" of a travel bubble between the largely coronavirus-free neighbours.

Britain will on Monday set out plans to restart international travel, using a "traffic-light" system as the country cautiously emerges from lockdown.The announcement comes as the UK has set a tentative date of May 17 to relaunch international travel.

While most of the world struggles to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines, Serbia faces a different battle -- how to persuade its citizens to get the life-saving shot.

Caroline Baron is wearing shoes she has not worn in a year and a big smile as she walks into The Shed, one of the few major venues in America's cultural capital New York to begin hosting live performances again for the first time since March 2020.

Palau's president has declared the opening of a rare holiday travel bubble with Taiwan as a "ray of light" that shows the world is slowly emerging from the coronavirus pandemic.

United Airlines announced Thursday it will immediately start hiring pilots, beginning with a group of 300, to be ready to meet growing demand for air travel.

Chile closed all its borders for the month of April, Bolivia shuttered its frontier with Brazil and Peru went into Easter lockdown Thursday as South America moved to brake a quickening coronavirus pandemic.

Taiwan and Palau launched what is being billed as Asia's first coronavirus travel bubble on Thursday as the two diplomatic allies try to kickstart their battered tourist industries after successfully keeping infections at bay.

Cyprus is to open up to 16 countries previously not on its coronavirus safe list, welcoming tourists from its largest markets Britain, Russia and Israel, the health ministry announced Monday.

Palau's leader flew into Taiwan on Sunday as the two coronavirus-free allies prepare to launch a travel corridor and boost their pandemic-hit tourist sectors.

Thailand on Friday announced plans for an experimental quarantine-free model in ultra-popular beach destination Phuket, as the kingdom attempts to resuscitate its pandemic-battered economy.

People in Tokyo flocked to admire cherry blossoms in full bloom at parks, shrines and rivers on Friday, despite coronavirus warnings against holding traditional parties under the delicate flowers.

Nepal has eased quarantine rules for visitors in an effort to attract more climbers to Mount Everest, officials said Friday, after the pandemic wiped out last year's season and devastated the tourism industry.

Greece on Thursday celebrated 200 years since the start of its independence war with the Ottoman Empire with parades and ceremonies attended by foreign dignitaries, though the pandemic forced officials to scale back events.

Hordes of drunken revelers ignoring the pandemic have forced parts of Miami Beach into a state of emergency but, just blocks away, locals organize trash collection and do yoga in the morning calm.

With its lush landscape, distinctive trees, unique animals and turquoise waters home to dolphins, Yemen is hoping its Socotra archipelago will become a dream destination despite the country's nightmarish conflict.

Tourists writhe their bodies to pumping techno beats on dance floors along Mexico's Caribbean coast -- a magnet for people from around the world who want to party during a pandemic.

Parisians packed inter-city trains leaving the capital on Friday hours ahead of a new lockdown in the French capital imposed to combat a surge in coronavirus infections.

High among the treetops the sound of a chainsaw rings out and a huge branch comes crashing down as Madrid's forestry engineers move from tree to tree, repairing the damage from the record snowfall seen in January.

Well-heeled Saudis frolic in an artificial oasis built on salmon-coloured dunes, splashing the cash after a year-long pandemic lock-in that dovetails with efforts to discourage citizens from splurging overseas.

The EU will unveil Wednesday a proposed European vaccine pass to ease travel, an idea pushed by tourist hotspots such as Greece that are desperate to save their crippled economies.

Cuba will emerge from the April congress of its all-powerful Communist Party without a Castro at the helm for the first time in over 60 years.

China is poised to ease border restrictions to allow some foreigners -- including from the US, India and Australia -- back in, provided they have taken a Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine.

Disneyland Paris, Europe's biggest tourist attraction, said Friday it will not be able to reopen as planned on April 2 because of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests opened Friday to immediate condemnation from conservationists.

Nepal's "icefall doctors" were preparing Wednesday to set off for Everest ahead of the hoped-for return of climbers after the pandemic wiped out last year's season on the world's highest peak.

A decade of war has not only destroyed Syria's present and poisoned its future, it has damaged beyond repair some of its fabled past.

Singapore Airlines will begin trialling a coronavirus digital travel pass developed by aviation's industry body next week, the carrier said Monday, the first airline to pilot the scheme as the pandemic-hit sector seeks to recover.

Paris police warned Friday that alcohol consumption will be banned across large swathes of the capital this weekend, in the hope of avoiding a repeat of the huge crowds that have been gathering despite France's Covid-19 curfew.

News has come in about the Singapore Airlines breach. This is the second airline breach this week related to the attack on comms IT vendor SITA, which is a multinational information technology company providing IT services to the air transport industry.

A newly renovated colossal mausoleum for the founder of the Roman empire Augustus has reopened to the public in the Italian capital after centuries of neglect.

An Australian teenager has died after a suspected box jellyfish sting, authorities said Thursday, in a rare case believed to be the country's first such death in 15 years.