Vietnam has lifted coronavirus restrictions on international flights for fully vaccinated passengers from Tuesday.
The country's aviation authority made the announcement on Monday.
“Vietnam will lift restrictions on international flights starting February 15. The frequency of flights will be restored to pre-pandemic level,” said state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre.
Commercial passenger flights can now arrive in Vietnam from any country for the first time since it sealed its borders in March 2020 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 via air travel.
Dinh Viet Son, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, confirmed that partner destinations had been informed of the move and all had agreed to resume commercial flights, other than China.
Vietnam has remained tightly sealed off to most of the world since the onset of the global pandemic. However, this has severely hampered the South-East Asian nation's tourism economy.
In November, some tourists returned to the resort island of Phu Quoc under strictly controlled Covid-19 tourism pilot programmes.
Is Vietnam open for travel?
In December, the nation eased entry restrictions for travellers from 15 destinations, including France, South Korea, the UK, the US and Germany, under coronavirus vaccine passport schemes. Travellers flying to Vietnam from one of the 15 approved countries must be fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test result.
Quarantine requirements were also eased, with vaccinated tourists only needing to self-isolate for three days instead of the previous 14 days.
But no updated travel rules for tourists coming from other international destinations have been published since the announcement. Vietnam previously said it would fully reopen to tourists in June this year.
Following Monday's announcement, the country is the latest South-East Asian country to begin to ease Covid-19 related travel restrictions.
In January, the Philippines announced it would reopen to vaccinated tourists in February and Malaysia is looking to fully reopen its borders next month to tourists who have been double-jabbed.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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