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Brazil’s new Digital Nomad Visa is enticing a new type of traveller to Rio de Janeiro

BBC »

Getting residency in Brazil was once shrouded in red tape, but the Digital Nomad Visa has made the process easier. It enables visitors to keep their current employment in another country while allowing stays of one year, with the option of renewing for another 12 months. Applicants must provide proof of work and earn at least US$1,500 (£1,200) per month or have US$18,000 (£14,400) in savings.

Remote workers in Rio also have the benefit of a thriving digital nomad community, said Hollingshead. Highly active social media and WhatsApp groups allow visitors to find an assortment of in-person meetups, from samba nights and hiking expeditions to business-networking and language exchanges. These online hubs are also valuable resources for finding out information about visas, taxes and other general day-to-day life in Rio.

Kosovo takes ‘historic step’ towards joining Council of Europe

Euronews

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe “transmitted for opinion” Kosovo’s membership application to its Parliamentary Assembly, though it is unknown when this verdict will be delivered.

The Council of Europe is an international organisation founded after World War II to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

It established the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects the rights of every citizen within the 46 states that signed up.

Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz welcomed the decision stating on Facebook their candidacy was approved with a two-thirds majority.

“For our new state, today’s decision marks a historic step, perhaps the most important since our independence”, she said, but warned the accession process remained “long and difficult”.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. More than 100 countries recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

More on Kosovo.

Motorcycles now banned from parts of The Pyrenees

The ban excludes motorcycles, ATVs, quads, buggies, etc., from local roads and trails in the Parque Natural del Alto Pirineo, a national park in the Pyrenees and the largest in Catalonia, Spain.

The Pyrenees mountain range spread across Spain, France, and Andorra. The challenging twisty roads are known attract drivers and riders from around the world who seek challenging roads.

The regulations described in the ‘Action Plan for the declaration of a zone of special protection of acoustic quality in the Alt Pirineu Natural Park’ distinguishes motorcycles, mountain bikes, quads and buggies as ‘particularly noisy’ vehicles, without take into account their type approval or the level of decibels they emit.

The action plan includes the following:

  • Limit the passage of noisy vehicles to certain areas of the ZEPQA, taking into account the regulation of motorized traffic inside the park, restricting access to certain tracks either throughout the year or at certain periods.
  • Restrict motorized access to the entire network of forest trails and paved paths of the ZEPQA of Alt Àneu and Farrera, except the access roads to urban centres, by vehicles considered excessively noisy consisting of all types of vehicles such as motorcycles, quads, ATVs and buggies that are not electric, except those of registered residents, beneficiaries of livestock forest exploitation, public services and those duly authorized by the Alt Pirineo Natural Park and/or the respective local entities.
  • Promote the use of electric vehicles.
  • In addition, there is a specific point dedicated to ‘Carrying out awareness actions specifically aimed at drivers of vehicles that emit more noise: motorcycles, mountain bikes, quads and buggies.’

Read the whole article here.

Israel opens embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Rina Bassist, Al-Monitor »

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Turkmenistan on Thursday to inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Ashgabat, as the country considers opening an embassy in Israel.

Cohen arrived to Turkmenistan Wednesday evening after a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, and was received at the Ashgabat airport by Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Berdyniyaz Myatiev. It was the first visit in 29 years by an Israeli minister. The first and last such visit took place in 1994, a year after the two countries established diplomatic ties, when then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres traveled to the country.

 

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy at birth is one measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages.

Life expectancy at birth compares the estimated average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.

  1. Monaco » 89.64 years
  2. Singapore 86.51
  3. Macau 85.16
  4. Japan 85.00
  5. San Marino 84.05
  6. Canada 83.99
  7. Iceland 83.83
  8. Hong Kong 83.80
  9. Andorra 83.61
  10. Israel 83.54
  11. Guernsey 83.42
  12. Switzerland 83.42
  13. Malta 83.39
  14. Australia 83.28
  15. South Korea 83.17
  16. Luxembourg 83.17
  17. Jersey 82.83
  18. Sweden 82.80
  19. France 82.79
  20. Italy 82.79
  21. Spain 82.78
  22. Liechtenstein 82.76
  23. Norway 82.75
  24. New Zealand 82.74
  25. Austria 82.48
  26. Anguilla 82.41
  27. Netherlands 82.36
  28. Bermuda 82.25
  29. Cayman Islands 82.25
  30. Isle of Man 82.25
  31. Belgium 82.06
  32. United Kingdom 82.05
  33. Slovenia 82.02
  34. Finland 81.96
  35. Puerto Rico 81.89
  36. Denmark 81.87
  37. Ireland 81.87
  38. Germany 81.72
  39. Greece 81.71
  40. Portugal 81.71
  41. Saint Pierre and Miquelon 81.62
  42. Faroe Islands 81.47
  43. Taiwan 81.38
  44. Turks and Caicos Islands 81.04
  45. Wallis and Futuna 80.89
  46. Saint-Barthélemy 80.80
  47. Saint-Martin 80.80
  48. United States 80.75
  49. Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha 80.70
  50. Gibraltar 80.65

The most populated countries in the world

On 15 November 2022, the world’s population surpassed 8 billion people.

Earth’s population continues to explode » from 1 billion in 1820 to 2 billion in 1930, to 3 billion in 1960, to 4 billion in 1974, to 5 billion in 1987, to 6 billion in 1999, to 7 billion in 2012, and 8 billion in 2022.

Following are the 50 most populated countries using the latest figures available »

  1. India » 1,425,000,000 (April 2023)
  2. China » 1,413,143,000
  3. United States » 339,665,000
  4. Indonesia » 279,476,000
  5. Pakistan » 247,654,000
  6. Nigeria » 230,843,000
  7. Brazil » 218,690,000
  8. Bangladesh » 167,184,000
  9. Russia » 141,699,000
  10. Mexico » 129,876,000
  11. Japan » 123,719,000
  12. Ethiopia » 116,463,000
  13. Philippines » 116,434,000
  14. Democratic Republic of the Congo » 111,860,000
  15. Egypt » 109,547,000
  16. Vietnam » 104,799,000
  17. Iran » 87,591,000
  18. Germany » 84,220,000
  19. Turkiye » 83,594,000
  20. Thailand » 69,795,000
  21. France » 68,522,000
  22. United Kingdom » 68,139,000
  23. Tanzania » 65,643,000
  24. Italy » 61,022,000
  25. South Africa » 58,048,000
  26. Myanmar » 57,970,000
  27. Kenya » 57,052,000
  28. South Korea » 51,967,000
  29. Colombia » 49,337,000
  30. Sudan » 49,18,000
  31. Uganda » 47,730,000
  32. Spain » 47,223,000
  33. Argentina » 46,622,000
  34. Algeria » 44,758,000
  35. Ukraine » 43,306,000
  36. Iraq » 41,266,000
  37. Afghanistan » 39,232,000
  38. Canada » 38,517,000
  39. Poland » 37,992,000
  40. Morocco » 37,067,000
  41. Angola » 35,981,000
  42. Saudi Arabia » 35,940,000
  43. Malaysia » 34,220,000
  44. Ghana » 33,846,000
  45. Mozambique » 32,514,000
  46. Peru » 32,440,000
  47. Yemen » 31,566,000
  48. Uzbekistan » 31,361,000
  49. Nepal » 30,899,000
  50. Venezuela » 30,518,000

HS4A » Human Security For All

A global campaign to raise awareness on human security. Human Security depends on the security of all beings and life on the planet. It includes the whole biosphere and all life on earth. The Human Security approach recognizes the interlinkages between peace, development, and human rights, and equally considers civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

The Roaming Yak finds himself on a long hard desert slog, only to end up in paradise

At the beginning of the covid pandemic lockdowns, Darrin found himself in Namibia.

Along the way, he started filming his adventures and wildlife he encountered and “somehow have amassed 25 Terabytes of 4K footage shot on 5 different cameras.”

He has started a YouTube series where he shares some of his footage and recounts his wonderful solo adventures during isolation. Below is his latest episode.

You too can follow along and subscribe to his YouTube channel.

An overland adventure in Tajikistan across the Roof of the World

Karin-Marijke, Landcruising Adventure »

Crossing high-altitude deserts with snow-capped mountains rising on the horizon, meandering through gorges along vertical rock walls. And that for 766 miles! How can that not be attractive to any overland traveler? The largely unpaved road alternates with smooth asphalt and paved stretches that have turned into washboards and potholes, so you never know what to expect around the corner.

The Pamir Highway challenges you to stay alert every second.

Driving the Pamir Highway, Tajikistan (©Coen Wubbels)

You inflate your tires because it seems that ‘from now on the road is good’ and deflate them after half a mile on rock-protruding road surface that is killing your suspension and your back. Your mood swings from wondering what the heck you’re doing in this desolate part of the world seeing nobody and nothing for ages to marveling why you have never heard of this gorgeous route before.

Welcome to the Pamir Highway, locally dubbed the Roof of the World!

Read the rest of Karin-Marijke’s post at  Landcruising Adventure »

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