Nepal Kathmandu :Golden paddy fields of Rampur

The paddy fields of Rampur in Molung Rural Municipality-2 in Okhaldhunga have turned golden with the beginning of harvest season.

Here's Why Queen Elizabeth Doesn't Need a Passport to Travel

Preparing for international travel almost always involves a last-minute scramble to locate one’s passport — unless of course you’re the Queen of England.

That’s right, her Majesty the Queen has no need for commoner items like passports when she travels abroad. As the official website of the British monarchy describes:

When traveling overseas, The Queen does not require a British passport. The cover of a British passport features the Royal Arms, and the first page contains another representation of the Arms, together with the following wording:

Is this Nibiru? NASA boffins STUNNED as HUGE alien planet found

A MASSIVE alien planet has been discovered by space boffins – and people think its proof mystical planet Nibiru has arrived.

The object – dubbed OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb – is 13 times the size of Jupiter and is located 22,000 light years away.

Although it’s orbiting its own star, researchers believe the planet could be a failed star, or brown dwarf.

The discovery has fuelled speculation that an alien planet predicted to unleash an apocalypse on Earth is real.

Mahinda samarasinha: Dual citizens if any parliament MPs, in Sri Lanka must be jailed.

If there are any parliamentarians who are dual citizens, they should not only be barred from Parliament, stripped of their parliamentary privileges and asked to pay compensation but should also be sent to jail, Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday.

He told the weekly SLFP news briefing that the country's apex court has given a clear ruling on dual citizenship and as such no parliamentarian with dual citizenship has the right to sit in the House anymore.

“The law must be amended to send parliamentarians with dual citizenship to jail in addition to disqualifying them from sitting in Parliament and being stripped of their parliamentary privileges,” the minister said and added he had never obtained dual citizenship as suggested by some media institutions.

valuables belonging to the South Asian countries of the British Museum's

The Queen undertook one of her first public engagements since her private estate became caught up in the Paradise Papers leak, as she opened a refurbished gallery at the British Museum.
Wearing a Stewart Parvin magenta double-breasted cashmere coat and a red flower posy brooch, she toured the newly restored and renovated Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia.

Chairman of the British Museum trustees, Sir Richard Lambert, said the first phase of the reopening, with the rest of the gallery set to be fully open to the public from December 14, was a “huge moment” for the museum and the “culmination of a lot of work”
It is a really important gallery for us because we get millions of visitors here every year from China and Asia – and it is beautiful,” he said.
On what it was like to show the Queen around the refurbished gallery, Sir Richard said it was “wonderful” and noted that she was “really interested in it”.

Disney plans new star wars tv series

"Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology
Disney on Thursday announced plans for a new Star Wars film trilogy and a live-action TV series as it builds on the beloved and profitable science fiction franchise.

We have big ambitions for the Star Wars franchise," Disney chief executive Robert Iger said during a quarterly earnings call.

Disney just closed a deal with Rian Johnson, director of upcoming film "The Last Jedi," to develop a brand new trilogy, according to Iger.

"We're also planning to produce a number of original series for the new service and are already developing a Star Wars live-action series," Iger said of a planned direct-to-consumer pay service offering television and film content.

While there have previously been animated Star Wars series, this will be the franchise's first live-action show for the small screen.

The Star Wars franchise has been "exceeding expectations" since Disney acquired Lucasfilm five years ago, according to Iger.

Disney touted the box office success of two new Star Wars films and expressed confidence that "The Last Jedi," set to debut in theaters next month, would be a hit.

"The excitement will only intensify as we get closer to the release date," Iger said of the coming instalment.

Is there anyone in the world, who has the same voice as Audrey Luna?

Crackling slightly down a transatlantic phone line, Audrey Luna has a pleasant, normal speaking voice. But she's only able to use it for 10 minutes.

Come Friday evening, these same vocal cords will unleash a note so dizzyingly high, so astoundingly rare, that archivists say New York's Metropolitan Opera has never heard it in 140 years - at least, not since her last performance.

And like a world-class athlete on game day, she needs to conserve her strength.

Ms Luna is a coloratura soprano - the voice type capable of the highest notes - and specialises in thrilling, trilling vocal runs that pour out strongly even at their peaks.

Few people alive have the potential to reach the note now winning her headlines - the A above high C.

To put that in context, Christmas choristers singing the descant line of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing will usually hit a high A - some with difficulty. Ms Luna's note is a full octave - or eight notes - higher than that.

The opera showcasing this rarity is Thomas Adès's The Exterminating Angel, a savage, surrealist piece based on the 1962 Luis Buñuel film of the same name.

Ms Luna plays Leticia, an opera diva who joins a well-off couple for a glittering dinner party. Macabre twists unfold as the partygoers find they have entered a strange vortex - and are trapped in the house when the evening ends.

It's a supernatural note for a supernatural story - and the Oregon native is hitting it twice a night.

IOC arm blamed for fuel shortage in Sri Lanka

supplies disrupted over allegations of fuel contamination

Sri Lankan politicians have blamed Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary LIOC for a sudden fuel shortage that has gripped the country since Friday.

The problem arose after authorities rejected a recent 35,000 million tonnes shipment of petrol procured by LIOC from a French oil company, citing contamination. The Petroleum Ministry said in a statement that Lanka IOC had requested it to accept the cargo — that was initially turned away — after filtration but authorities had refused to, “in the interest of the Sri Lankan consumers”.

LIOC has denied the allegation and said it sought replacement of the shipment from the French company soon after officials rejected the supplier’s offer to filter the consignment.

The state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and LIOC handle Sri Lanka’s retail oil distribution. Following the shortage, some politicians and a section of the media voiced strong criticism against India for “being responsible” for the crisis.

U S $ 500000: promote religious freedom in India, Sri Lanka

And for Sri Lanka, it seeks to ensure that authorities at all levels of government in Sri Lanka effectively implement national laws and policies protecting religious freedom.

The US has announced a grant of nearly USD 500,000 for organisations which can come up with ideas and projects to promote religious freedom in India and Sri Lanka. The Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in its notice, said it seeks to “reduce religiously-motivated violence and discrimination in India” through its USD 493,827 programme.

And for Sri Lanka, it seeks to ensure that authorities at all levels of government in Sri Lanka effectively implement national laws and policies protecting religious freedom. Recipient of both the India Programme and Sri Lanka – with similar objectives of religious freedom and protection – would be announced after screening of applications in this regard, it said.

Elephant Pictures Awarded

An image of two elephants fleeing a mob that set them on fire in eastern India highlights the ongoing human-elephant conflicts in the region.

The photograph, named “Hell is Here” was taken by Biplab Hazra and was named the winner of the Sanctuary Wildlife Photography Awards 2017.

The image shows a calf on fire as it and an adult elephant run for their lives -- as a crowd of "jeering" people throw "flaming tar balls" and firecrackers at the pair.

According to the Sanctuary Asia Foundation, these type of scenes are common in the Bankura district of West Bengal.

ICIJ releases The Paradise Papers

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists today releases The Paradise Papers, a global investigation that reveals the offshore activities of some of the world’s most powerful people and companies.

ICIJ and 95 media partners explored 13.4 million leaked files from a combination of leaked files of offshore law firms and the company registries in some of the world’s most secretive countries.

The files were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with ICIJ.

The Paradise Papers documents include nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a prestigious offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond.

The leaked documents include files from the smaller, family-owned trust company, Asiaciti, and from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions.

The Paradise Papers reveal offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II whose private estate indirectly invested in a rent-to-own loan company accused of predatory tactics. At least 13 allies, major donors and Cabinet members of U.S. President Donald J. Trump appear, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s interests in a shipping company that makes millions from an energy firm whose owners include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law and a sanctioned Russian tycoon.

The leaked files from Appleby, the offshore law firm, include details of tax planning by nearly 100 multinational corporations, including Apple, Nike and Uber.

New Zealand Prime Minister The worlds youngest female leader.

Jacinda Ardern was officially sworn in as the Prime Minister of New Zealand this morning, promising to form an "active" government that would be "focused, empathetic and strong". 

At 37, Ardern is the youngest New Zealand PM in 150 years, and the country's third woman leader.

She also happens to be one of the few politicians globally to talk openly about mental health, and her personal struggle with anxiety, and is a strong supporter of women's rights and LGBTQ issues. 

She had been tipped for the top for some time, but has spoken about how her crippling anxiety made her worry she wouldn't be suitable to hold the highest office in the country. Her reticence vanished when, eight weeks before the election, her party (New Zealand Labour) was forced into leadership chaos when leader Andrew Little stood down, and Ardern (who had served as his deputy) was unanimously elected to the leadership by her colleagues. 

“There will be good days and there will be bad days," she said in her address this morning. "So, ladies and gentleman, without further ado, let’s go and do this.”