The strength of Indian passport has increased substantially in recent times. How powerful is India’s passport? Among South Asian nations, Bhutan ranks 84th globally in passport strength, whilst Bangladesh (94th), Nepal (95th) and Pakistan (96th) occupy similar positions. China, India's northern neighbour, holds the 60th position, offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 83 destinations.Citizens from Singapore, Japan and South Korea currently enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival privileges to more than 190 destinations worldwide. Their sustained international relations, economic partnerships and worldwide connectivity have established their dominance in passport strength.

However, when we requested beach passes, we were told “it is hotel policy” that we couldn’t use the facilities. Maiori has one of the few sandy beaches on the Amalfi coast and most of it is occupied by hotel beach clubs which charge up to £50pp a day for non-residents. Is it classed as a medical condition by insurers though? Insurers require you to disclose all medical conditions you have, and taking a prescription medication is considered as having a medical condition, even if the prescription is private. • Read our guide to Mauritius•Mauritius is a great pick for a zika-free holiday ALAMY✉ My two daughters would like to treat me to a spa day in London.

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The Perseid meteor shower is one of the brightest and fastest meteor showers of the year. Here is all you need to know about the meteor shower and how to view it in the UK. What is the Perseid meteor shower? According to Royal Museums Greenwich, the average speed for a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second. The Perseid meteor shower will remain active and visible in the skies until August 24, it is expected to peak on August 12.

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It is not clear if the dangerous asylum seeker will be deportedAN illegal immigrant stabbed a fellow asylum hotel resident 15 times in a frenzied attack. Iranian Syed Barzegar, 33, went berserk after the victim banged on his door following a drawn-out row between the pair. He charged at him in the corridor and repeatedly stabbed him, with seven blows to his back. Barzegar, who claimed asylum in 2023, tried to conceal the weapon by handing it to a pal, Oxford crown court was told. 1 The brutal stabbing by the illegal migrant was carried out on a fellow resident at the Holiday Inn Express in Oxford Credit: Dan Jones Images

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Average wait times range from three months in Mumbai and Hyderabad to eight and a half months in Chennai. The average wait time reflects how long past applicants waited from fee payment to interview. The next available appointment indicates the earliest date currently open for booking.For Indian consulates, the next available appointments for B1/B2 visas are:Applicants are encouraged to check appointment systems regularly because slots often open up earlier than the average.Many Indian travellers look abroad for faster US visa interviews. Embassies frequently release additional slots, and applicants can reschedule to earlier dates if they appear.This flexibility can help reduce waiting time without needing to travel abroad. However, for those needing urgent travel, seeking interviews at nearby posts may be the best option.

The explosion sent black smoke spiralling into the midday sky in the Monongahela Valley, a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. An Allegheny County emergency services spokesperson, Kasey Reigner, said one person died in the explosion and two were currently believed to be unaccounted for. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10.51am. The explosion sent a shock through the community and led to officials asking residents to stay away from the scene so emergency workers could respond. “It felt like thunder,” Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage © lev radin / Shutterstock.comReform UK claims to have saved over £100m in its first 100 days running 10 English local authorities by cutting green initiatives and stopping planned spending. The party said it had saved £25m in Durham by scrapping electric vehicle upgrades, halting a heat pump installation, and reducing solar investment. It also said they had saved £32m in Kent by cancelling energy-efficiency upgrades, and £14m by abandoning a planned office move. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told the Times they were ‘standing up for the priorities of local people, not the whims of bureaucrats or the entrenched elite.’Richard Tice MP commented on X: ‘We are only just starting…. Watch this space’However, writing in Byline Times, Cllr Mark Hood, acting leader of Kent County Council’s Green group, said: ‘One hundred days in, and Reform UK has provided few ideas about where they are going to find £100m of cuts required to balance the books— instead we just get more chaos and clickbait.’To learn more about Reform UK, check out: Reform UK: What Britain’s fastest rising party stands for and Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ witch-hunts will achieve little.

NHS England remains “committed” to ensuring “good clinical leadership” across integrated care boards (ICBs), the chief nursing officer has said following concerns over senior nursing posts being scrapped. Speaking to Nursing Times today, Duncan Burton acknowledged that there were “significant changes” under way across ICBs and the wider NHS, but that clinical leadership was “fundamental” to how organisations are run. The union previously argued that savings ICBs had been asked to make were unsafe and showed a lack of understanding of the value of nursing leadership roles. “Clinical leadership is a fundamental part of our ICBs, and that remains the same,” said the CNO for England. An NHS England spokesperson told Nursing Times last week that the organisation would not be prescribing ICB board size and composition, as it was for ICBs to resolve locally.

A MAJOR supermarket chain has said food prices will have to rise over the next six months following the Government's Autumn Budget. In recently published accounts, Iceland blamed Rachel Reeves' tax raid for hiking its suppliers' costs. It added: "In consequence, we expect UK food price inflation to peak at some 4-5% in the next six months." The warning comes after the Bank of England (BoE) estimated food prices will rise to around 5.5% by the end of the year. Next also warned its costs would increase by £67million, some of which would need to be passed on to shoppers.