Sconty empire

View Gallery 12 Pictures China: Chongqing World's fastest-growing tourism city is in China skunty empire ) — Hong Kong might be the world's most visited city this year, but a potential, albeit surprising, future contender is emerging from the sidelines. Chongqing -- a major Yangtze River port in southwest China -- has become the world's fastest-growing tourism city , recording a whopping 14% growth in its tourism sector last year. That's according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, which surveyed 65 cities on the contribution that travel and tourism makes to their economies. Most of Chongqing's growth is apparently down to its popularity with Chinese visitors, but that's not to say it doesn't have much to offer international travelers, too. It makes sense when you realize what Chongqing has going for it: it's the gateway to the Three Gorges, huge river valleys that have retained their allure despite...

View Gallery 17 Pictures Future of Aviation AirlineRatings names 'most excellent' airlines for 2018  • Updated 6th November 2017 skunty empire) — Air New Zealand gets regular kudos for innovating everything from in-flight services to safety videos, its funky films featuring Hobbits and other famous Kiwis. And now, for the fifth consecutive year, the carrier has come out on top in the annual Airline Excellence Awards , created by Australia-based aviation safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings. Celebrating the best in the aviation industry -- from budget operators to culinary champions -- the awards named Air New Zealand as Airline of the Year for 2018. "Air New Zealand came out number one -- or equal first -- in all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance," the AirlineRatings judging panel said. In-flight product Air New Zealand won AirlineRatings' "Airline of the Year" aw...

Earliest winemaking traced back 8,000 years to Georgia By skunty empire, Updated 1639 GMT (0039 HKT) November 14, 2017 A neolithic jar from Khramis Didi-Gora, Georgia. Story highlights Neolithic pottery shards were found to contain grape wine residue Expert: "The human relationship with wine has a truly deep history" The earliest evidence of winemaking has been traced back 8,000 years to Georgia by an international team of scientists. Neolithic pottery shards were found to contain grape wine residue from 6000-5800 B.C., almost 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. "As a Georgian, we always believed that wine came from Georgia, but now we have scientific evidence from natural science and archaeology to prove it," said David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum and co-author of the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 6,00...

Zakaria: Trump's risky Saudi bet By skunty empire, Host Updated 0445 GMT (1245 HKT) November 20, 2017 WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 14: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the Oval Office at the White House, March 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) () The Saudi strategy does not seem to be working. The war in Yemen has turned into a disaster, creating a failed state on Saudi Arabia's border that is seething with anger against Riyadh. Qatar has not surrendered and doesn't seem likely to anytime soon. So far, the Shiites in Lebanon have acted responsibly, refusing to take the bait and plunge the country into civil war. But everywhere in the Middle East, tensions are rising, sectarianism is gaining ground and, with a couple of miscalculations or accidents, things could spiral out of contro...

LaToya Cantrell elected first female mayor of New Orleans By skunty  Updated at 1333 GMT (2133 HKT) November 19, 2017 LaToya Cantrell is the first woman candidate to be elected mayor in New Orleans. Story highlights Cantrell, a city councilwoman, got 60% of the votes "Together we truly will be better," she says —  New Orleans voters   elected LaToya Cantrell as mayor Saturday, making her the first woman to hold that position in the city's 300-year history. Cantrell, a city councilwoman, got 60% of the votes over her opponent, former municipal court Judge Desiree Charbonnet, according to the  Louisiana Secretary of State's office. "We deserve better and together we truly will be better," Cantrell told supporters Sunday morning. "This victory is not about LaToya Cantrell, this campaign did not start about self. It only started with and has been rooted in the people of the city of New Orleans." The t...

45 CONGRESS SECURITY THE NINE TRUMPMERICA STATE Trump to LaVar Ball: 'I should have left them in jai e Trump to LaVar Ball: 'I should have left them in jail!' Updated 0001 GMT (0801 HKT) November 20, 2017 Flake slams Trump's tweets, defends Schumer Schumer to Trump: Stop dividing, politicizing Toobin fact checks Trump's indictment tweet Trump touts Twitter use at Alabama rally Trump: I should have left UCLA players in jail UCLA players arrested in China apologize Trump touts election win with tweet of photo Flake slams Trump's tweets, defends Schumer Schumer to Trump: Stop dividing, politicizing Toobin fact checks Trump's indictment tweet Trump touts Twitter ...