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The World’s Most Powerful Passports [Infographic]

Some passports afford their bearers more freedom than others and if you’re a U.S. holder, you’ll be able to enjoy an impressive level of visa-free travel. According to the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index, the U.S. passport is one of the world’s most powerful, granting its holders visa-free access or visa-on-arrival access to 186 countries. That’s a level of freedom shared with Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

After its citizens gained visa-free access to Myanmar earlier this month, Japan has been named the country with the most powerful passport. Japanese travelers are now able to cross an impressive 190 borders without restrictions. Singapore, another Asian island nation, is in second place with 189 destinations. France, Germany and South Korea follow close behind with visa-free travel to 188 countries. At the other end of the scale, Afghanistan and Iraq have the least powerful passports worldwide with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a mere 30 jurisdictions…MORE

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Nepal buys Rs 700m mansion for its ambassador in Washington

Nepal buys Rs 700m mansion for its ambassador in Washington

At a time when state agencies have been prescribed austerity to reduce burden on the public coffers, the government has purchased a lavish mansion as the residence of the Nepali ambassador to the United States of America at a cost of $6.8 million—approximately Rs700 million.

The cost, which does not include the additional three percent commission to the middleman, totals the entire rent Nepal pays for all its missions aboard annually, including the embassy buildings, and residences of the embassy staff and the ambassadors.

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Nepal — the latest specialty coffee grower


Himalayan climate is ideal for coffee growing but farmers face numerous hurdles

Nikkei Asian Review

KATHMANDU — As the aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the air, Nima Tenjing Sherpa bends and perches his nose above a cup at a table inside a tiny roaster in a posh Kathmandu neighborhood. He inhales the fragrance, an act reminiscent of wine-tasting, then sips at the coffee. “It’s sweet with traces of fruit,” he says.

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See the World’s Most Iconic Hotels


See the World’s Most Iconic Hotels
National Geographic
They’re classic, even legendary, but these lodgings refuse to rest on their laurels.

Some hotels are destinations in their own right. Their fabled reputations draw travelers seeking a place with personality, that X factor that makes the destination as much of a joyful discovery as the journey, a home base with heart.

Whether you’re looking to rub shoulders with history at one of the world’s grandes dames, seeking sublime vistas, or sniffing out delicious food and wine, these hotels are guaranteed to enrich any travel experience.
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LA MAMOUNIA, MARRAKECH
HÔTEL DE CRILLON, PARIS
HUKA LODGE, TAUPO
THE STRAND, YANGON
HOTEL LUNGARNO, FLORENCE
WALDORF ASTORIA SHANGHAI ON THE BUND, SHANGHAI
BROWN’S HOTEL, LONDON
THE BOULDERS, SCOTTSDALE
THE AMERICAN COLONY HOTEL, JERUSALEM
LAS ALCOBAS NAPA VALLEY, ST. HELENA
THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE, MUMBAI
LAKE PLACID LODGE, LAKE PLACID
INKATERRA LA CASONA, CUSCO
THE BRANDO, TETIAROA
HOTEL BAYERISCHER HOF, MUNICH
THE BRANDO, TETIAROA
HOTEL BAYERISCHER HOF, MUNICH
THE FAIRMONT EMPRESS, VICTORIA
BEAU-RIVAGE PALACE, LAUSANNE
THE VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL, VICTORIA FALLS

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Why The Entire Way We Talk About Millennials Is Wrong

Why The Entire Way We Talk About Millennials Is Wrong

BLOOMBERG

Every week, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway take you on a not-so-random walk through hot topics in markets, finance and economics.

When it comes to millennials, the media has certain tropes that it likes to go back to. Millennials love avocados. Millennials aren’t into homebuying. Millennials are always killing off this or that product or service. But what if the consumption lens is the totally wrong way to talk about this generation? On this week’s Odd Lots podcast, we speak to Malcolm Harris, the author of “Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials,” about what he says is a more useful frame for understanding the economic stresses millennials face.

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Moynihan’s Kathmandu paintings on display http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-04-24/moynihans-kathmandu-paintings-on-display.html

Moynihan’s Kathmandu paintings on display

Kathmandu Post

Apr 24, 2018-Internationally-renowned artist Maura Moynihan’s art exhibition titled Who Loves Kathmandu More Than Me? opened at the premises of Kathmandu Art in Lazimpat on Saturday. The exhibition features a collection of Moynihan’s modern-contemporary artworks inspired by the Kathmandu Valley.

Artist Moynihan who has been making frequent visits to Kathmandu since the 1970s said, “When you fall under the spell of Kathmandu Valley, it is impossible not to paint,” adding, “I have great admiration for the people of Nepal. It is a plausible fact that Nepal’s stability is sustained by the artisans.”

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How China’s Billions Are Modernising Pakistan’s Railways – And Quickly

How China’s Billions Are Modernising Pakistan’s Railways – And Quickly
Beijing is set to upgrade a 1,163-miles track from Karachi to Peshawar near the Afghan border with an $8 billion loan to Pakistan.

NDTV

Just a pledge from China to help upgrade Pakistan’s train network has prompted authorities in the South Asian nation to overhaul its colonial-era rail infrastructure.

For software businessman Farrukh Malik, the change was palpable. As he clambered aboard the 22-hour express service from coastal Karachi to the northern capital, Islamabad, Malik, 40, said he’d been a passenger on the line since he was a child. “The introduction of trains like Green Line which has lesser stops and runs strictly as per schedule is a great difference,”‘ he said as the train whistled to announce its 10 p.m. scheduled departure.

Beijing is set to upgrade a 1,163-miles track from Karachi to Peshawar near the Afghan border with an $8 billion loan to Pakistan. It’s part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road trade initiative, which includes $60 billion of badly-needed works financed in Pakistan.

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‘For All Women’: Tireless Connecticut Mom Plans Her 9th Everest Summit

‘For All Women’: Tireless Connecticut Mom Plans Her 9th Everest Summit
Lhakpa Sherpa is recognized by Guinness World Records and is well known in mountaineering circles, but she spends most of the year living a modest life in obscurity in West Hartford

CNBC

Between raising two daughters and working as a dishwasher at Whole Foods, Lhakpa Sherpa just doesn’t have time for training to climb Mount Everest. Even so, she has done it a record eight times — and hopes to outdo herself yet again.

The 44-year-old native of Nepal holds the world record for summits of Everest by a woman and plans to return this month for what has become an annual expedition to the top of the world.

“My body knows that I have already been this high. It’s like a computer. It figures it out very quickly. My body knows the high altitude. It remembers.”

Lhakpa Sherpa is recognized by Guinness World Records and is well known in mountaineering circles, but she spends most of the year living a modest life in obscurity in Connecticut, where she moved with her now ex-husband, another well-known climber, in 2002.

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This self-made millionaire lifted her parents out of debt and bought them their first home

This self-made millionaire lifted her parents out of debt and bought them their first home

CNBC

Anna Haotanto was 21 when she set her first major financial goal: buy her parents a home before she turned 30.

At 28, she handed them a new set of house keys, and by the time her milestone birthday rolled around she was officially a millionaire.

Haotanto is not the founder of a multi-million-dollar tech start-up, nor did she grow up with money. In fact, quite the opposite: As a teenager, her family was saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debts and ever-increasing rents on their apartment in Singapore after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused her parents’ textiles business to go bust.

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QATAR AIRWAYS Special Fares

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6 Ways To Stop Overthinking Everything

6 Ways To Stop Overthinking Everything

FORBES

Whether they’re beating themselves up over a mistake they made yesterday, or they’re fretting about how they’re going to succeed tomorrow, over-thinkers are plagued by distressing thoughts. Their inability to get out of their own heads leaves them in a state of constant anguish.

While everyone over-thinks things once in a while, some people just can’t ever seem to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts. Their inner monologue includes two destructive thought patterns — ruminating and worrying.

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