Meet the only person in the world who can travel to any country without a visa, he is..., uses private plane called..., not Trump, British king
Vatican City: Is there any person who can go to every country in the world without a visa or passport? Generally, in the world, the kings of Britain and Japan do not need to carry a passport to go anywhere. But there is one person who can travel anywhere in the world at any time without a visa and no country will stop him. This special right or privilege is granted to only one person in the world, who is the head of the world's smallest country and is also considered the leader of the Catholic Christian faith, that is, the Pope.
The Pope is regarded as having the most unique and special status. Pope Francis has travelled to more than 50 countries where no visa was required. The Pope generally does not need a visa in most countries of the world. As the head of Vatican City, he is an internationally recognized diplomatic figure. He often holds a diplomatic passport or special status under which he can travel without a visa.
The Pope holds a diplomatic passport from the Vatican, which allows him visa-free travel to most countries. When the Pope makes an official visit to a country, the host country usually grants him special exemptions. There may be formalities in some countries for special security or political reasons, but generally, visas are not required for the Pope. Wherever he goes, he is a state guest. The Pope is the head sovereign of Vatican City as well as the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics. His status is distinct from any other king or diplomat, as the Vatican is a religious and diplomatic entity that has full sovereignty under international law. When the Pope visits a country, he is granted the status of a state guest, under which visa and passport regulations do not apply.
The Lateran Treaty (1929) between Italy and the Vatican granted the Vatican the status of an independent state, which provided the Pope with full diplomatic immunity. The Vienna Convention (1961) also recognizes the Pope's special status under international treaties. Countries like China and Russia have sometimes placed political conditions on papal visits, but technically visas are not required. The British monarchy does not have this privilege either. The British monarchy is one of the most prestigious diplomatic institutions in the world, but their status is not as special as that of the Pope.
The Pope's status is both religious and diplomatic. The Pope is recognized as a religious leader in any country.
The Pope has the facility to travel around the world. He does this using his private plane 'Shepherd One.' Although this is not a special or permanent aircraft, the plane that the Pope uses for international travel is referred to as Shepherd One. The name 'Shepherd One' is inspired by the Pope's role, as the Pope is considered the 'Shepherd of God's flock' in the Catholic Church. Shepherd One is usually provided by Alitalia (Italy's national airline) or the main airline of the host country. This aircraft is generally a Boeing 787, Airbus A330, or similar large, long-haul aircraft, specifically configured for the Pope's travels.
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
When the Madras Presidency was spread across 1,59,798 square miles
More than 150 years ago, the Madras Presidency under the British was spread across 1,59,798 square miles, occupying a considerable tract of the peninsula of India. The coastline of the territory included within the Presidency of Fort St. George extended on the east of the peninsula 'from Orissa, in Bengal, to Cape Comorin.' On the west, the narrow strip of country, which included the Native States of Travancore and Cochin, formed the coastline 'from Cape Comorin to the town of Cochin, where Madras territory again extends along the coast until its junction with the Bombay Presidency at the northern extremity of the South Canara District,' according to the Report on the Census of the Madras Presidency, 1871. 'In the centre of the peninsula are the Nagpore country and Berar, the territories of His Highness the Nizam, known generally as the Deccan, and the province of Mysore; but all of the centre of the peninsula, south and east of Mysore, belongs to the Madras Presidency,' says Chapter VI of the report, which dealt with the area, physical geography, and population of the vast region. The Presidency boasted of a coastline of about 1,600 miles. Its mountain ranges ran northward from Cape Comorin along the western coast, attaining an elevation in some parts, from 4,000 to nearly 9,000 feet. This vast Presidency, back then, comprised just 21 districts. Of them, three lay within the influence of the never-failing rains of the southwest monsoon. 'In the remaining eighteen districts Nature demands the assistance of Art in the collection, storage, and distribution of the condensed moisture of the atmosphere. In some of these eighteen districts however, as in the northern ones, the periodic rains fall more regularly than in others, while in several of them the rivers running eastward, swelled by the south-west monsoon rains are utilized in the fertilization of districts in which the natural moisture is defective,' says the report. The part of the Presidency usually known as the Carnatic appeared to have been originally formed of three divisions, viz. — Northern, extending from the river Pennar to the river Gundigama, and consisting of a portion of the Nellore District; Central, extending from the Coleroon to the Pennar river, and containing a portion of Trichinopoly (Tiruchi), Chingleput, North Arcot, South Arcot, Madras, and Nellore Districts; and Southern, consisting of a portion of the Trichinopoly and the whole of Tanjore, Tinnevelly (Tirunelveli), and Madura (Madurai) Districts. These districts came into British possession between the years 1799 and 1801. Interestingly, during 1859-60, the two districts of Madras Town and Chingleput were amalgamated into a single district, the collection of Sea Customs revenue being separately provided for. This arrangement, however, lasted only for a decade. 'In the year 1870 the Chingleput District was again divided as before, leaving the administration of the Madras Town District in the hands of the Sea Customs Collector. The Chingleput District was obtained from the Nawab of Arcot in 1763 in return for services rendered to him and his father by the Company. The grant was confirmed by the Great Mogul in 1765, and for a long time the district was known as the Jaghire of the East India Company. The site of the town of Madras was obtained in the year 1640, by a grant from the descendants of the Vijianagar rulers, subsequently confirmed by the Moghul Government,' according to the report. The districts of Salem and Coimbatore came into British possession, the former in 1792, by the treaty of Seringapatam, and the latter in 1799 after the final defeat of Tippoo and the partition of his territory between the British, the Nizam, and the legitimate successor to the Mysore Government, the late Maharajah of Mysore. The Neilgherry Hills [present day Nilgiris], 'formerly a taluq of the Coimbatore district, was constituted a separate district under Act I of 1868.' Within the Madras Presidency, there were six well-defined linguistic boundaries. 'In the north-eastern district of Ganjam is included within it a portion of the Oriya-speaking population, whose language is commonly spoken by the people of the Northern Circars, and in a portion of the Nizam's country, Kurnool, Cuddapah, part of North Arcot, Nellore, and some parts of Bellary. Tamil is the common language of the districts from a few miles north of Madras to the extreme south of the east division of the peninsula. Malayalam is the language of the Native States of Travancore, Cochin, and the Malabar District. Tulu is spoken in limited portion of the South Canara District; and Canarese in certain portions of the Bellary, Coimbatore, Salem, and South Canara Districts. Besides these six Dravidian languages, the hill tribes of certain districts have dialects of their own,' the report notes. As per the 1871 Census, in the whole Presidency, there were about 11,610,000 persons who spoke Telugu; 1,176,000 who spoke Tamil; and 1,899,000 who spoke Canarese (Kannada). As many as 2,324,000 had Malayalam as their mother tongue; 29,400 spoke Tulu; and 6,40,000 persons spoke Oriya and Hill languages.
The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
A Sena minister & a Maratha family that ‘sided with colonial powers'—the Rs 5,000 crore CIDCO land ‘scam'
The plot in Navi Mumbai is currently valued at Rs 5,000 crore and it was reserved for housing for the poor but Shirsat allegedly gave away this land parcel to the Bivalkar family, according to the NCP (SP) MLA. Rohit Pawar of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has accused him of bypassing the rules and handing about 15 acre of land of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to the heirs of a Bivalkar family, who have been holding this land parcel for over two centuries. Mumbai: Controversial minister Sanjay Shirsat from the Shiv Sena has once again found himself at the centre of a controversy in Maharashtra, this time battling allegations of a land 'scam'. The land parcel is under litigation for years, as the Bombay High Court in 2014 had accepted the ownership of Bivalkar family and directed the CIDCO to furnish the compensation, only to have the decision stayed in the Supreme Court. The Maharashtra government-owned CIDCO is known as a premier town planning and development agency. Shirsat became the CIDCO chairman in 2024. Originally from Ratnagiri and now settled in Pune, the Bivalkar family is said to have been given around 4,000 acres of land in Kolaba (now Raigad) by Raghuji Angre, who controlled the erstwhile state of Kolaba, in 1816 in lieu of its services. The family, according to Pawar, received the land parcel for helping the British against the Maratha empire. 'The family tried to get the land allotted to them but despite repeated attempts, the family's claims were rejected. Yet, Shirsat Saheb, ignoring all norms, handed over 15 acres back to them,' Pawar told the media. 'The rightful share of the poor has been gifted to the heirs of those who once sided with colonial powers. We demand that this land, which is illegally being given to the family, should be taken back by the government and also request the government to take the resignation of Shirsat.' Last month, the social justice minister was earlier in the news after a widely-shared video showed him purportedly sitting on a bed and smoking while a bag full of currency lies near him. ThePrint reached Shirsat for comment via phone calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received. CIDCO PRO Priya Ratambe refused to comment on the allegations brought against CIDCO and the minister. Also Read: Malegaon ruling, 'Sanatani terror'—Mahayuti, MVA draw battlelines in Maharashtra The legal quagmire Yashwant Bivalkar, who dragged the CIDCO to the court over compensation for a 157-acre parcel, had petitioned that his great-great-grandfather was a minister in Angre's state, which came to prominence when its then ruler Kanhoji Angre led the Maratha navy against the Europeans in the 1700s. Kolaba was annexed by the British in 1840, but the land stayed with the Bivalkars even post-Independence. In fact, it held the properties even after the Bombay Personal Inam Abolition Act was enacted 1 August 1953. Later, according to an agreement dated 21 January 1959, and gazette on 21 October 1959, between the Colaba collector and the Bivalkars under the Indian Forest Act, the management of 'private forest lands' was handed over to the forest department, as 'reserved forest', on certain terms and conditions. The ownership was never divested even then. In 1960, the Bivalkars saved their property by bringing their property under the ambit of the Bombay Court of Wards Act. On 3 February 1970, a notification was brought out under the Land Acquisition Act, announcing that land is likely to be needed for the planned development and utilisation of the land in the trans harbour, Panvel and trans Thane Creek area for industrial, commercial and residential purposes. Three years on, the Maharashtra government directed that the land cease to be 'protected forest' from the date of the notification, facilitating its transfer to the CIDCO for the planned development of the area. For this purpose, about 150 acres of land was to be used. In 1985, the Bivalkars contended that they should get compensation under the Land Acquisition Act and not the Forest Act. Four years later, their ownership was upheld, but compensation was granted under the Forest Act for 157 acre of land. Yashwant's mother Indirabai Bivalkar challenged the order in the Bombay High Court seeking compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. Since then the land is entangled in legal matters. According to the HC, the Bivalkar family's ownership was not questioned till 2010. On 17 September 2010, the CIDCO filed a petition to hold and declare that Bivalkars are not the owners and that the property was finally vested with the government and transferred to the CIDCO. In turn, the HC acknowledged the government's standing that the Bivalkars were the land owners and their proprietary rights till the year 2014. It also ordered the CIDCO to pay compensation but also did not stop the land from being used for Navi Mumbai International Airport, as required by CIDCO, the nodal agency of implementing the airport project. The CIDCO challenged the order in the Supreme Court in 2015, and the apex court has given a stay on the HC order. What oppn MLA says According to Rohit Pawar, since 1990, the Bivalkars have approached CIDCO multiple times to get the allotment of land under the 12.5 percent scheme brought in by then CM Sharad Pawar and local leader late for development of land for the sons of soil. Under this scheme implemented in 1994, the CIDCO allocates 12.5 percent of developed land to project affected persons (PAPs) in lieu of their acquired land. But, the CIDCO is said to have rejected their applications on the grounds that they are not the cultivators of the land. The latest request was made in 2023, which was again rejected citing that the issue is subjudice, according to a copy of the letter from CIDCO seen by ThePrint. But in 2024, through the urban development department, the CIDCO was asked to give away plots to the family, Pawar alleged. When Shirsat became the CIDCO chairman in September 2024, he allotted the land measuring about 15 acre worth Rs 5,000 crore to the family just about a month before the Model Code of Conduct kicked in, he further alleged. This land is for the poor people and on that land, about 8,000-10,000 houses could have been built for the locals, he said, while announcing a protest at the CIDCO office in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Hindi imposition, English preference, Maharashtra's Marathi schools are vanishing amid a language war
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Britain agrees to drop mandate for Apple to provide 'back door'
Representative Image SAN FRANCISCO: The Trump administration has reached an agreement with Britain to spare Apple from a request that the company create a tool to give British law enforcement organisations access to customers' cloud data. Tulsi Gabbard, US director of national intelligence, said Monday night that Britain had "agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a 'back door' that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties." Britain's decision to back off the policy comes after Apple spent months lobbying officials in Washington and rolled back an encrypted storage feature for British users. In the face of govt pressure around the world, the company has been resolute that it won't create a back door that allows access to phones or encrypted user data because it is afraid such a tool could be abused. Much of Apple's predicament in Britain played out in private after the govt issued a secret order this year. The request came after Britain amended its Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which allows it to compel companies to turn over data and communications to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Apple helped make the secret order public by declaring in Feb that iPhone users in Britain would begin seeing messages on their phones saying the company no longer offered its Advanced Data Protection feature. The capability, which remained available in the US, had allowed British users to encrypt almost all of their iCloud data, including messages,notes, photos and backups. Gabbard said Britain's agreement would "ensure Americans' private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected." nyt
