The <keyword id="19900359" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-navy" source="keywords">Indian Navy</keyword> has freed an <keyword id="20375812" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iranian-fishing-vessel" source="Orion">Iranian fishing vessel</keyword> that was hijacked by pirates and rescued its crew of 23 <keyword id="92998" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistani-nationals" source="Orion">Pakistani nationals</keyword>, following "intense coercive tactical measures" as part of an <keyword id="587932" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anti-piracy-operation" source="Orion">anti-piracy operation</keyword> at sea that lasted for more than 12 hours, officials said. Following Friday's operation, specialist teams from the Navy undertook a thorough sanitisation and seaworthiness check of the fishing vessel in order to escort it to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities, according to an official statement shared by a Navy spokesperson. The Navy said late on Friday evening that it was engaged in an operation to free the fishing vessel from pirates. Nine armed pirates had reportedly boarded the vessel. The hijacked vessel was intercepted on Thursday, the Navy said. "INS Sumedha intercepted FV 'Al Kambar' during early hours of Friday and was joined subsequently by the guided missile frigate INS Trishul," it said. "After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the SOPs, the pirates on board the hijacked fishing vessel were forced to surrender. The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued," the Navy added. The fishing vessel was approximately 90 nm (nautical miles) southwest of Socotra when the pirates reportedly boarded it, it said. The Indian Navy said it remains committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and the safety of seafarers, "irrespective of the nationalities". The <keyword id="9465424" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Socotra-Archipelago" source="Orion">Socotra Archipelago</keyword> is in the northwest <keyword id="12350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Ocean" source="Orion">Indian Ocean</keyword> near the Gulf of Aden. The Navy will take "affirmative action" to ensure a safer and more secure Indian Ocean Region, its chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar, told a press conference on March 23 while citing the anti-piracy and other maritime security operations undertaken by the naval force in the preceding 100 days under "<keyword id="21061783" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Op-Sankalp" source="Orion">Op Sankalp</keyword>". As part of the maritime security operations, the Navy has undertaken anti-piracy, anti-missile and anti-drones operations. A total of 110 lives -- 45 Indians and 65 foreign nationals -- were saved during "Op Sankalp" in that 100-day period, according to a PPT presentation given by a naval officer before the Navy chief's press conference. It was also mentioned in the presentation that from November last year till March, "more than 90 maritime incidents have happened", including 57 drone or missile attacks or sightings and 39 incidents of <keyword id="6358364" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="piracy" source="Orion">piracy</keyword>, hijacking and suspicious approaches.

Indian Navy frees Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by pirates, rescues 23 Pakistani crew members

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Eva zu Beck is an <keyword id="6359225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="adventure">adventure</keyword> traveler who gained her following by documenting her travels to destinations such as Syria and Pakistan.</li><li>She landed in <keyword id="2602516" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Socotra">Socotra</keyword> Island, <keyword id="44789" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Yemen">Yemen</keyword>, on March 11, to run the remote island's first marathon.</li><li>Shortly after the race, she and her fellow runners were informed that they had to leave immediately, as the coronavirus pandemic was spreading and countries around the world were closing their borders.</li><li>She decided to stay. Little did she know she would spend three months on the island.</li><li>At the time of writing, zu Beck told Insider via email that she managed to leave Socotra on a cargo ship on May 30 — a full three months after arriving.</li></ul>Socotra Island is not your usual vacation destination.Despite being part of Yemen, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/man-walking-uk-coast-self-isolating-uninhabited-scottish-island-2020-4">remote island</a> is actually closer to Somalia, sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is often described as one of <a href="https://www.insider.com/most-alien-looking-places-on-earth-2016-5">the most "alien-looking" places on Earth</a>, thanks to its unusual dragon's blood trees, which grow nowhere else in the world. In fact, the island is so remote that <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1263/">37% of its plants are completely unique to it</a>, making it comparable to the Galapagos Islands in terms of endemic species. While <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDTINI9skkeZNY2ZXnBqIkQ">Eva zu Beck</a>, 29, an adventure <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> vlogger from London via Poland, gained her 521,000 subscribers on YouTube with off-the-beaten-path travel to destinations such as Syria and Pakistan, she did not expect to be on Socotra Island for three months. When her Canadian boyfriend went back home, in March, she thought she'd see him a few weeks later. She only recently left the island by way of a cargo ship heading to the United Arab Emirates, almost exactly three months after arriving.<h2>Eva zu Beck had been to Socotra before, in 2019, and said she fell in love with the island</h2><div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="1229" width="1639" msid="76165938" hostid="261"></div>When the island hosted its first marathon this March, she jumped at the chance of returning and signed up.On March 11, zu Beck and a group of about 40 runners from all corners of the world descended on Socotra for the race, planning to stay until at least March 18 since flights to the island were only once weekly, from Cairo, Egypt.A few days after the race, however, they were all awakened in the middle of the night and encouraged to leave as soon as possible: The island was closing its borders."After being offline for several days we got a call that suddenly the world is shutting down, and that if we want to make a connection to our home country, then we should probably get on the last commercial flight available," zu Beck told Insider.This was on March 15. Zu Beck says that most of the people in her group chose to leave then, but that she decided to stay, along with four others. <div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck" height="1080" width="720" msid="76165940" hostid="261"></div>"I figured I love the island, it's safe to stay there, and my local friends were very encouraging of the idea to just stay and wait out," she said, adding that she thought it would be a good time to practice her Arabic and participate in a few local projects to support the community. She took the opportunity as a sign. However, she also says that she had nowhere else to go. "I also have nowhere to go back to, I travel full-time. I don't have a flat, I don't have a car or a mortgage anywhere. There was nowhere for me to go, so I decided to stay," she said.However, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAXxkLonU5F/?igshid=1ip7kpat02ncz">in a recent Instagram post</a> she wanted to make clear that she doesn't encourage active travel to a remote location during a pandemic. "Rather, I wanted to share the beauty of a place I was already in, a place that's little-known and needs to be protected," she writes.It's worth noting that nonessential <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html">travel within the US</a> and internationally is currently not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, so if you do choose to travel, it's best to check <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html">each state's health and travel advisories</a> and the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html">CDC's travel recommendations for each country</a>.<h2>To date, zu Beck hasn't heard of any reported cases of the coronavirus on the island, which has a <a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Socotra">population of around 42,000</a></h2><div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="1536" width="2048" msid="76165941" hostid="261"></div>She adds that without any testing kits, however, no one can be sure, and that to her knowledge there have been no reports by health professionals of anyone on the island having COVID-19-like symptoms either. Socotra is hard to reach in the best of times, but now, during a global pandemic, there are no commercial flights in or out of it, and she says the cargo ships bringing in provisions are asked to quarantine off the coast before allowing anyone to disembark. Furthermore, Socotra is <a href="http://socotra.info/weather-and-seasonality-of-socotra.html#.XtZdxZ5KgXo">heading into its monsoon season;</a> high winds tend to blast the island from June through August."Basically it means that for about four months in the summer, the island becomes pretty much cut off from the rest of the world," zu Beck said. "In a way, it's a bit of a blessing in disguise, because it means less of a likelihood of bringing the coronavirus to the island from, for example, mainland Yemen." Mainland Yemen has had 354 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 84 deaths, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center</a>.<h2>'I don't think any of us expected this to last quite so long,' she said of her time on the island</h2><h2><div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="1066" width="1421" msid="76165942" hostid="261"></div></h2>For the first six weeks, zu Beck and her fellow runners set up camp on a beach, watching the sunrise from their tents, fishing and bartering for their meals, cooking on an open fire, and exploring the island on extended hikes. She then moved in with a local family — she spent most of her nights camping outside of their home — and taught herself how to ride a motorbike, which she used to get around, though she said she spent the last few weeks mostly staying put."I'm so happy that I got kind of a semi-normal reality here on the island. We've been very lucky and I realize that I'm very privileged to even be able to be here, and in time like this," she said. "I feel extremely lucky."She says that while the island's professional class is growing, most locals are farmers and fishermen."People live quite modestly, there are no luxuries here. I think the most Western thing that you can purchase on the island is a jar of Nutella," she said, adding that items like ice cream and pizza are nonexistent."People who have very little are actually keen to share. I've been on the receiving end of this incredible hospitality here," she said, explaining that locals have what she calls a "code of honor" called "Karam," in which hosts welcome any and all guests, and are reluctant to take anything in return. She says she contributed as much as her host would allow her to towards food and rent.<h2>All in all, she said one of the biggest obstacles was reliable internet, which means that she couldn't have video calls with her boyfriend or family</h2><h2><div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="1152" width="2048" msid="76165944" hostid="261"></div></h2>"Being so far away from everything and everyone just means that you have to take good care of your mental health," she said, adding that she often found herself struggling with the distance to her friends and family, and not knowing when she could get off the island.At the time of writing, zu Beck emailed Insider with an important update: She and her four fellow marathon runners who remained managed to evacuate on a cargo ship on May 30 — a full three months after arriving. They're currently headed to the United Arab Emirates, which will take them about a week. She says getting off the island wasn't easy, given the pandemic, but also because of the political situation on mainland Yemen, which has been in the midst of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29319423">a civil war for years</a>. While zu Beck says the violence of the mainland rarely reaches Socotra, and while she adds that the island "has its own set of political issues," she notes that "they're nowhere near as dangerous as those affecting mainland Yemen."In fact,<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/socotra-yemen-civil-war-uae-miltary-base-island-life-emirates-a8342621.html"> in 2018, the United Arab Emirates sent hundreds of troops to the island</a> without Yemeni permission: Despite the two countries being allies, this led to power clashes. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29319423">According to the BBC</a>, Mainland Yemen's civil war can be traced back to 2011, when the country's then-president was forced to hand over power after 33 years, following pro-democracy protests. His successor, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, struggled to bring much-anticipated stability to Yemen, and fighting began in 2014 when the Houthi Shia Muslim rebel movement seized control of the capital, exiling Hadi in the process. The crisis escalated in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened against the Houthi rebels to restore Hadi's government. An estimated <a href="https://acleddata.com/2020/01/23/ten-conflicts-to-worry-about-in-2020/#Yemen">100,000 people have died</a> in the conflict.<h2>Zu Beck says she doesn't regret her time on the island</h2><h2><div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="2850" width="3800" msid="76165945" hostid="261"></div></h2>She said she spent the last few weeks there reading, writing, and meditating a lot."All those things are good for your mental health, just kind of keeping you distracted and keeping you productive," she said. "I know that a lot of people have been struggling with productivity and feeling like nothing's moving forward, nothing's progressing because of the pandemic. But I've been trying to avoid that by just, you know, just doing little things like that."She adds that her time on the island taught her not to rely on external distractions to find happiness. "The atmosphere is kind of conducive to that because things just move quite slowly on the island. Life is peaceful and very calm — definitely nothing like the kind of life that I used to have back in London, just a couple of years ago," zu Beck said. "It feels like I'm living a completely different life." <div type="image" title="Eva zu Beck Socotra" height="1349" width="1798" msid="76165947" hostid="261"></div>"I feel like I'm emerging out of this crisis a bit stronger than I was, and I'm much more content with whatever I do," she said. "It's not about the external things, it's not about the distractions, it's all about what's in your head and what's in your heart. That's been quite enlightening. It's one of the things that we all know, but sometimes you kind of really have to live it and experience it to truly believe it."When asked whether she would make the decision of staying in Socotra again, given what she knows about the pandemic now, she says "The luxury of hindsight is a beautiful thing, but you know how they say, 'all's well that ends well.'"<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/man-walking-uk-coast-self-isolating-uninhabited-scottish-island-2020-4">A man walking the entire length of the UK coast is self-isolating on a tiny, uninhabited Scottish island with his dog</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/ebony-thyme-travel-nurse-solo-travel-photos-2020-5">Meet the 27-year-old frontline nurse who is a travel influencer in her spare time</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/countries-reopen-to-tourists-visitors-june-2020-5">12 tourist hot spots planning to reopen this June</a></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/eva-zu-beck-spent-lockdown-on-socotra-island-yemen-2020-6">Insider</a>

A YouTube star spent the last 3 months on a remote island off the coast of Yemen, not knowing when she could leave

A C-17 tactical transport aircraft of the <keyword id="15141" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Air-Force" source="Orion">Indian Air Force</keyword> (<keyword id="6355075" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IAF" source="Orion">IAF</keyword>) executed a <keyword id="20990311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="precision-airdrop" source="Orion">precision airdrop</keyword> of two combat boats along with marine commandos in the <keyword id="6368835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arabian-Sea" source="Orion">Arabian Sea</keyword> while assisting the Navy to seize a hijacked cargo vessel from <keyword id="6701762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Somali-pirates" source="Orion">Somali pirates</keyword>. The IAF described the airdrop of the <keyword id="20990312" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Combat-Rubberised-Raiding-Craft" source="Orion">Combat Rubberised Raiding Craft</keyword> (CRRC) boats and the <keyword id="3679963" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="MARCOS-commandos" source="Orion">MARCOS commandos</keyword> as a "remarkable display" of "jointness" between the two forces. The Navy on Saturday captured 35 pirates and freed 17 hostages held by them after seizing the former Maltese-flagged merchant vessel around 2,600 km from the Indian coast in a well-calibrated operation. The nearly 40-hour operation saw the Navy deploying its stealth-guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata, patrol vessel INS Subhadra, long-endurance Sea Guardian drones besides airdropping of the elite marine commandos -- MARCOS -- using the <keyword id="650946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="C-17-aircraft" source="Orion">C-17 aircraft</keyword>. The merchant vessel Ruen was seized by the Somali pirates in December off the coast of Somalia. "In a remarkable display of #Jointness &amp; #Integration, an IAF C-17 aircraft executed a precision Airborne Drop of two Combat Rubberised Raiding Craft (CRRC) boats, along with <keyword id="6355100" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-navy" source="Orion">Indian Navy</keyword> MARCOS in Arabian Sea in support of ongoing anti piracy Op Sankalp," the IAF posted on 'X'. "Flying for almost 10 hrs to an area 2600 kms off the Indian Coast, the Op was carried out to rescue crew of bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen. The ship was hijacked by Somali pirates near Yemeni island of Socotra recently," it said. "Working seamlessly with @indiannavy, the mission was successful with all the 17 crew on-board recovered safely," the IAF added. In a statement, the Navy said the seaworthiness of MV Ruen is being assessed and the vessel carrying approximately 37,800 tonnes of cargo worth around USD 1 million will be brought safely to India. "The culmination of the ongoing anti-piracy operation involving pirate ship Ruen in the Southern Indian Ocean Region highlights the commitment of the Indian Navy towards reinforcing peace and stability, and also to thwart the resurgence of piracy in the region," it said. The Indian Navy deployed over 10 warships to keep a vigil over the strategic waterways following increasing attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi militants. In the midst of rising global concerns over the Houthi attacks, the Indian Ocean saw rising incidents of piracy.

IAF's C-17 aircraft executes precision airdrop in Arabian Sea, helps Navy seize hijacked vessel

In a post on X, the India Meteorological Department (IMD)said that a depression was formed over South-west <keyword id="6368835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arabian-sea" source="Orion">Arabian Sea</keyword> around 920 east-southeast of Socotra in Yemen, 1190 kms southeast of Salalah Airport in Oman at 8.30 a.m. "It is to intensify into a cyclonic <keyword id="43950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storm" source="Orion">storm</keyword> during next 24 hours and further into a severe cyclonic storm on October 22 (Sunday)," the IMD has forecast. The depression is expected to move towards south Oman and adjoining Yemen coasts. Thursday night the IMD observations indicated that the low pressure area over southeast and adjoining southwest Arabian Sea was moving westwards and lay as a well-marked low pressure area over southwest Arabian Sea around midnight of October 19. Owing to these disturbances, the <keyword id="2914356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wind-speeds" source="Orion">wind speeds</keyword> will touch up to 55-60 kmph in south east Arabian Sea, and increase up to 65-70 kmph on Saturday-Sunday, creating very rough sea conditions, and fishers have been advised against venturing into the sea till Monday.

IMD warns of cyclone forming in Arabian Sea, may affect Mumbai & Konkan

<ul><li>OpenAI launched <keyword id="15681942" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ChatGPT" source="Orion">ChatGPT</keyword> in November 2022 and since then, many stories of the chatbot’s uses, mishaps and potential misuse have been reported. </li><li>Travel planning is among the many services that ChatGPT can be used for. </li><li>We tried planning budget and luxury trips with ChatGPT and it provided detailed, sample itineraries with price breakups.</li></ul>Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, multiple stories about the artificial intelligence chatbot’s uses, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/microsoft-bing-chatgpt-gives-death-threats-tries-to-break-a-marriage-and-more/articleshow/98091746.cms">mishaps</a> (hilarious and otherwise), and potential misuse have been reported. However, what no one can deny is that ChatGPT is here to stay and has the potential to change many things, including travel planning. At present, most tour companies offer fixed packages that may not always incorporate customers’ requirements, especially if they’re diverse in nature – for instance, combining temple tours with bar crawls, floating market tours, flea markets and a trip to the elephant sanctuary in Thailand. The other alternative – to pick and choose activities, involves a lot of effort. Travellers will need to crawl through hundreds of sites advertising the best attractions and hidden wonders, check prices, manage the budget and handle multiple separate bookings to finally arrive at an itinerary. The effort multiplies if it’s not a solo trip. ChatGPT, essentially, minimises the intensive effort and gives you different options. When it comes to planning trips, ChatGPT works as a better-informed, more interactive search engine that collates all available information in one place and in a cohesive manner. And better yet, it takes into account users’ various limitations and expectations to prepare an itinerary, which is most definitely a good starting point. And if you’re confused about where to travel, it can even give relevant suggestions based on your likes and dislikes. Listed below are a few examples of how ChatGPT planned various trips to different destinations at different budget points: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Budget trips to famous destinations" comment="subhead2" text="Budget trips to famous destinations">Budget trips to famous destinations</cmsannotation> On being asked about famous destinations to travel to, ChatGPT listed Paris, Bali, New York City, Tokyo and Rome as the top five destinations, along with reasons for why they’re worth visiting. On further inquiry, it revealed that an eight-day-long budget trip to Bali from India could cost anywhere between $500-1,000 i.e. ₹41,000-82,000. To compare, tour operator Make My Trip offers a <a href="https://holidayz.makemytrip.com/holidays/india/package?id=55100&amp;listingClassId=4&amp;pkgType=FIT&amp;fromCity=New%20Delhi&amp;defaultPageForOnlineBookableFIT=true&amp;intid=Seo_DOM_Holiday_pkg_name_click&amp;affiliate=MMT&amp;depDate=2023-05-07">10-day trip for ₹84,000, after a 25% discount</a>. The chatbot also generated a day-by-day sample itinerary with price breakup when prompted. Please find below a part of the itinerary: Day 1: Arrival in Bali Airport transfer to accommodation in Kuta or Seminyak (₹1,000-1,500) Spend the day exploring the nearby beaches and local markets (free) Dinner at a local warung (small local restaurant) (₹200-400) Day 2: Ubud Private taxi to Ubud (₹1,500-2,000) Visit the Monkey Forest Sanctuary (₹50-100 entrance fee) Explore the Ubud Art Market (free) Lunch at a local warung (₹200-400) Visit the Tegalalang Rice Terrace (₹10,000 for a swing ride) Return to accommodation in Kuta or Seminyak by private taxi (₹1,500-2,000) Day 3: Nusa Penida Island Take a ferry to Nusa Penida Island (₹1,500-2,000 round-trip ferry ticket) Visit the Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong (free) Lunch at a local warung (₹200-400) Visit the Kelingking Beach viewpoint (free) Return to accommodation in Kuta or Seminyak by private taxi (₹1,500-2,000) <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Luxury trips to lesser-known destinations" comment="subhead2" text="Luxury trips to lesser-known destinations">Luxury trips to lesser-known destinations</cmsannotation> When asked about lesser-known destinations worth visiting, ChatGPT listed Faroe Islands (North Atlantic island group), Lofoten Islands (Norway), Sapa (Vietnam), Leh-Ladakh (India) and Socotra (Yemen). It also listed the major attractions at these destinations. As per ChatGPT, “a luxury trip to Lofoten Islands from India can cost anywhere between ₹2.5-3.5 lakh ($3,400-4,700) per person for a week-long trip, excluding meals and other incidentals.” Most popular tour operators don’t offer a Lofoten Islands trip, which means if this destination is on your bucket list, you need to individually research and plan the trip. Following is part of the sample itinerary that ChatGPT prepared for a week-long trip to Lofoten, with price breakup: Day 1: Arrival in Lofoten Islands Fly from India to Leknes Airport in Lofoten Islands (approximately ₹60,000-70,000 round-trip) Private transfer to luxury hotel in Lofoten Islands (approximately ₹5,000-7,000) Rest of the day at leisure to explore the hotel facilities and nearby area (free) Day 2: Svolvær Private driver/guide for a day trip to Svolvær, one of the main towns in Lofoten Islands (approximately ₹8,000-10,000 for the day) Visit the Lofoten War Museum (entrance fee ₹400-500) Lunch at a local seafood restaurant (approximately ₹2,000-3,000) Enjoy a boat ride to see the Trollfjord (approximately ₹3,000-4,000) Return to hotel in the evening That is not to say that ChatGPT can eliminate all effort required in planning a trip. Travellers still need to cross-reference the sample itinerary and book the trip. It also, naturally, can’t replace the years of experience that many tour guides and travel organisations provide. But, as mentioned earlier, it’s a good starting point to plan for your travels. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/npci-introduces-interchange-fees-on-upi-transactions-done-via-prepaid-payment-instruments/articleshow/99080455.cms">Will UPI payments now attract charges? Decoding NPCI’s interchange fee on UPI transactions via prepaid payment instruments</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-april-2023/slidelist/99080224.cms">Upcoming smartphones launching in India in April 2023</a>

We used ChatGPT to plan international trips - here’s a tour of the results!

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53db9c01ecad043b35437f55-1200-750/rtr1ztn8.jpg" border="0" alt="Socotra" style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px;" />REUTERS/Alistair Lyon</div></div></div>One hundred and fifty miles off the Horn of Africa lies a tiny archipelago of islands known as Socotra.
Because of its extreme isolation from other land masses, Socotra has very unique plant life, a third of which can be found nowhere else in the world.
Not only are the plant endemic to Socotra, but they look weird as can be, causing people to refer to it as "<a href="http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/most-alien-looking-place-on-earth.html" target="_blank">the most alien-looking place on earth</a>."

Incredible Pictures Of The Isolated Island Called 'The Most Alien-Looking Place On Earth'

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b0435f69beddb9030a8ce2-1200-800/heart of the dragon copy.jpg" border="0" alt="Heart of the Dragon Beth Moon Trees"><a href="http://www.bethmoon.com">Beth Moon</a>Heart of the Dragon, Socotra, Yemen.</img></div></div></div>Throughout history, trees have withstood the test of time, quite literally. People are born and people die, civilizations rise and fall, but many trees, trees that you see every day, stay where they are, growing and staying firm.
Photographer <a href="http://www.bethmoon.com/">Beth Moon</a> is fascinated by trees, especially those that have been around the longest and grown the largest. This fascination led her to travel the globe to photograph the world's most impressive and historic trees.
She is interested in documenting such trees in order to preserve their memory and pay homage to their significance.
Standing as the earth's largest and oldest living monuments, these symbolic trees will take on a greater significance, Moon says in her artist statement, especially when our focus is directed at finding better ways to live with the environment and celebrating the wonders of nature that have survived throughout the centuries.
Her photos have recently been compiled in a book, "<a href="http://www.abbeville.com/bookpage.asp?isbn=9780789211958">Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time</a>," available through Abbeville Press. She shared some of her photos and stories with us.

You Searched For "Socotra" and got 7 results

Indian Navy frees Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by pirates, rescues 23 Pakistani crew members

PTI

A YouTube star spent the last 3 months on a remote island off the coast of Yemen, not knowing when she could leave

Sophie-Claire Hoeller

IAF's C-17 aircraft executes precision airdrop in Arabian Sea, helps Navy seize hijacked vessel

PTI

IMD warns of cyclone forming in Arabian Sea, may affect Mumbai & Konkan

IANS

We used ChatGPT to plan international trips - here’s a tour of the results!

Srishti Magan

Incredible Pictures Of The Isolated Island Called 'The Most Alien-Looking Place On Earth'

Christian Storm

Beautiful Photos Of The World's Oldest And Most Majestic Trees

Christian Storm