Kashmir on edge: Most tourists cancel travel plans, airlines cap flight ticket prices

The turmoil in Kashmir has not only cut short the travel plans of pilgrims and tourists currently visiting the state, but also thrown a spanner into upcoming travel plans for the long Independence Day weekend. According to Tourism Kashmir Director Nissar Wani, about 20,000-22,000 tourists were in Kashmir on Friday when the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration issued an advisory asking Amarnath Yatris to cut short their pilgrimage and all tourists to leave Kashmir Valley at the earliest, citing terror threats. As per reports, only a little over 1600 tourists…

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How I Plan to Cover the World’s Most Exciting Travel Region as Skift’s New Asia Editor

It occurred to me that I might be in trouble. Because Asia is a huge continent to cover! It occupies a third of the world’s land area and its 4.5 billion person population is bigger than that of the other continents combined. Skift’s new Asia editor Raini Hamdi And then there’s me, located in a tiny red dot on the world map, Singapore, covering the whole of Asia for Skift. The continent I’m covering is also not a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, to borrow Ang Lee’s film title. It is…

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India tops as Asia’s most investment savvy economy: StanChart

India is Asia’s most investment savvy economy and more than two-thirds of the country’s affluent class prefer to use various investment products to achieve their financial goals and greater social mobility, says a study. According to a new Standard Chartered study of 11,000 emerging affluent consumers across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 68% of Indian people belonging to this segment are using investment products to achieve their financial goals, as compared to an average figure of 57%. For the purposes of this study ‘investment products’ refers to fixed income…

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Stress can ruin your beauty in the most shocking way: Here’s how to fight back

There are a few things that adversely affect your looks like stress. From premature wrinkles, acne, uneven skin tone and puffy eyes to dark circles, stress can lead to or aggravate a large number of beauty problems. “Living under constant stress is like leaving a soft rubber pipe under the sun to dry. Two of the most common skin problems that I see very young people struggling with these days is premature ageing and uneven skin tone. This is often a direct outcome of not being able to manage stress”,…

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Global Vice Index: Cigarettes, alcohol cheapest in Luxembourg, most expensive in Ukraine

The cost of maintaining a drugs, booze and cigarettes habit got a lot more expensive in the U.S. last year, rising the most of almost anywhere in the world, the annual Bloomberg Global Vice Index shows. Americans had to fork out over $200 more for a basket of so-called vice goods last year versus 2016, with only New Zealand seeing a bigger increase. The gauge compares the share of income needed to maintain a broad weekly habit of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and opioids across more than 100 countries.…

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Dear women, here’s the most effortless method of keeping UTIs at bay

Doctors say that one in five women suffer from UTI at least once in their lifetime. Now, American researchers may have found a simple way to prevent urinary tract infections — drinking an additional three pints (or 1.42 liters) of water a day could help keep the infections at bay in women who are prone to them. Led by Thomas M Hooton, MD, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami School of Medicine, the study looked at 140 healthy premenopausal women who had at least three UTIs in…

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