The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In 2013.

10. Karachi, Pakistan

Downtown Karachi (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan.  It’s also its largest seaport and financial hub.  Although Karachi is home to between 14-21 million people, it has also become wracked with lawlessness and crime.  This former capital of Pakistan has been overrun by political violence, gang shootings, and even suicide bombings.

While it’s per Capita murder rate is low compared to some of the other “murder capitals” on this list, Karachi is the most dangerous of the world’s mega-cities, with a murder rate of 12.3 per 100,000 residents (Al Jazeera).  None of the world’s 13 largest cities come within 25% of Karachi’s exceptional murder rate.

Amongst the political in-fighting and lawlessness, Karachi has become especially famous for its motorbike riding assassins, known as “target killers”.  For $700-$1000, these target killers will assassinate police, protesters, businessmen, and political opponents.

The assassin in the video below claims to have killed 30-35 people, and the number of target killers in Karachi has risen from 6 to 600 over recent years.  Expect the situation to much worse before it gets better.

9. Mogadishu, Somalia

Mogadishu (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

A perennial contender for most dangerous city in the world, Mogadishu has been the scene of on-again off-again urban warfare for much of the past 2 decades. Remember Black Hawk Down, the 2001 war movie starring that hunk of cheese Josh Hartnett?  That was Mogadishu.

Of course, that was a long time ago.  While there has been plenty of fighting since then, since August 2011, Somalia has ousted the Islamic extremists that were controlling a large portion of the city.  Since then, they’ve been in rebuilding mode.  It’s even safe enough now that Turkish Airlines is flying in and out of the city.

Some (crazy?) journalists are even hailing it as a beachfront paradise, with fresh lobsters and new restaurants and hotels opening up by the sparkling Indian Ocean.  In June 2012, a brave entrepreneur even opened up Mogadishu’s 1st dry cleaners since the early nineties.

So, if you don’t mind sky high levels of both violent & petty crime, lawlessness, a lack of modern infrastructure, bombed out and bullet ridden ruins, walking around with armed guards, and the occasional suicide bombing, a trip to Mogadishu might be right for you.  Like Somali spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman told the Associated Press, Mogadishu is safer these days than Kabul or Baghdad – a ringing endorsement if we’ve ever heard one.

8. Belém, Brazil

Belem (Photo credit: Ana Luiza Oliveira)

While Brazil has been recognized as of late for its role as an emerging economic force, the countries’ increasing prosperity has meant that more and more of its citizens can afford cocaine – Brazilians now consume around 18% of the world’s supply.

Belém is a natural gateway for cocaine streaming in from the surrounding countries of Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru.  The dense amazonian jungle surrounding this city makes it perfect for smuggling in drugs, where they can be exported all over Brazil and around the world.  The rise in cocaine use in the country has surely contributed to Belém’s place as one of the most dangerous cities in the world

The violence isn’t limited to drug killings; people are even murdered for trying to protect the Amazon rainforest.  Cattle barons have been known to hire professional assassins to take out activists, land reform advocates, and smaller farmers who refuse to give into extortion and strong arm tactics.

7. Chihuahua, Mexico

Chihuahua (Photo credit: Luz María Nieto Caraveo)

Like most Mexican cities that are plagued by vicious cartel violence, Chihuahua is an important transit point for cocaine smuggling into the United States.  As cartels fight for control of all-important drug routes, the levels of violence in Chihuahua has shot up dramatically.  It’s not uncommon for large groups of armed men to storm businesses and indiscriminately open fire.

6. Caracas, Venezuela

Caracas (Photo credit: Hector Frias)

Last year, Caracas had more violent deaths than Baghdad.  Caracas is definitely a top contender for the title of world’s most dangerous city.

The city has such a violent culture, that its given birth to the worshipping of the holy thugs, where residents worship and pray to statues of dead, notoriously violent gangsters.

5. Distrito Central, Honduras

Distrito Central (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In recent years, rising levels of violence in Honduras have been brought on by high levels of poverty, corruption, cartel members spilling in from Mexico, its place on the drug route from South America to the U.S., and a coup d’état in 2009. Some say that the code of honor amongst Honduran’s gangs reuiqre that new recruits kill before being admitted.

The Distrito Central area encompasses the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, as well as its poorer sister city Comayaguela. Together, these sister cities have a murder rate of 100 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants – the 2nd highest murder rate in the most murderous country in the world.

 4. Acapulco, Mexico

Acapulco (Photo credit: Yosuke Kami)

Until the last few years, Acapulco was associated with images of scantily clad co-eds, not decapitated bodies.  But when an image of a picturesque beach with a couple of bloody bodies in the foreground made the front pages in newspapers around the world – and 10 mutilated bodies were found in and around the resort city in a single weekend – the outside world recognized that this once prosperous tourist resort had fallen victim to the extreme, often sadistic drug violence that has plagued much of Mexico.

While tourism officials anxiously point out that most of the violence doesn’t take place in cruise destinations, it’s hard for them to be heard when they’re competing with images of dismembered bodies.

3. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Ciudad Juarez (Photo credit: pmoroni)

 Ciudad Juarez would have easily been in the #1 position on this list, as it had been for the last 3 years.   Plagued by murderous drug warfare,  some parts of the city could have been mistaken for a warzone.

Yet over the last year, the murder rate in this border town dropped over 57%.  The shift has been drastic; in October 2010, there were 359 murders in the city, while in October 2012 there were “only 30″.

While the Mexican government proudly boasts about the reduction in crime, the true reason for the murder drop likely has nothing to do with the government’s efforts. Instead, citizens have the Sinaloa cartel to thank.  By successfully ousting the rival Juarez Cartel from its turf, it has greatly reduced the number of conflict. The sharp drop in crime could also be related to the fact that over 200,000 terrified citizens have fled the troubled city in recent years.

Still, the city is still far from safe, this border town is still controlled by gangsters.  Kidnappings and extortion is still very common, and some human rights groups have found that incidents of torture are on the rise.  Additionally, the murderous violence could easily escalate to previous levels if a major gang leader were captured and splinter groups started fighting again for control of the city.

 2. Maceio, Brazil

Maceio (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Once famous for its white sandy beaches, this city in northern Brazil is now the most violent city in Brazil, with a per capita murder rate of 135.26 per 100,000 inhabitants.

While it boasts beautiful beaches, sparkling emerald waters, and year-round sunshine, the city is scarred by slum violence fueled by extreme poverty and inequality.  It’s a land where sugarcane farmers settle their scores with machetes and clubs, while the rich rely on paid assassins to get what they want.

Government officials eager to attract tourism point out that residents are killing each other, not outsiders, and that the killing mostly occurs in the favelas (slums), rather than in picturesque beauty spots.  Still, being the 2nd most violent city in the world isn’t exactly a selling point when it comes to tourism.

1. San Pedro Sula, Honduras

San Pedro Sula (Photo credit: iwantcheese)

San Pedro Sula, officially arrived as the murder capital of the world.  While recent number are difficult to obtain, a Citizen Council study reported that a whopping 1,143 out of 719,447 of San Pedro Sula’s residents were murdered in 2011.

That’s 159 people killed for every 100,000 residents.  That’s a murder rate 40 times higher than the average U.S. city, and 8 times higher than the most dangerous city in America (New Orleans). Even the U.S. peace corps was forced to withdraw from Honduras after a member of the peace corps was shot in the leg in San Pedro Sula.

Perhaps even more alarming is a study by the United Nations indicating that the city’s murder rate has more than doubled in the period from 2005 – 2010.  Like many struggling Latin American countries, San Pedro Sula’s spike in extreme violence is largely a product of the drug trade, mixed with extreme poverty and high levels of corruption.

Squeezed out by President Calderon’s War on Drugs, many traffickers have set up shop in Honduras, leaving a trail of bloodshed and lawlessness in their wake.  One doctor tells the story of how she was receiving 3 patients with gunshot wounds, only for a gunman to drop in and shoot them before casually walking away.

Gangs, extreme poverty, and total corruption all contribute to make San Pedro Sula the world’s most dangerous city heading into 2013.

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Women who wash intimate areas with shower gels and soaps 'increase their risk of sexually transmitted infections'

Women who use shower gels and soaps in intimate areas are putting themselves at higher risk of developing sexually transmitted infections, experts have warned.Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, say that soaps and lubricants can damage sensitive tissues and raise a woman’s chance of becoming infected with herpes, chlamydia and HIV.Study leader Joelle Brown said there is ‘mounting evidence’ that using these products internally can increase the risk of bacterial vaginosis – a condition that occurs when the bacterial balance becomes disrupted - and sexually transmitted infections.Dr Brown's team recruited 141 women in Los Angeles who agreed to answer questionnaires about their product use and undergo lab tests for vaginal infections. The researchers found that 66 per cent of the women reported using lubricants and cleansers internally.The most commonly used products were sexual lubricants - 70 per cent of the product-using group used commercial lubricants, while 17 per cent reported using petroleum jelly and 13 per cent used oils.Test results showed that the women who used products not intended for internal use, such as oils and Vaseline, were more likely to have yeast and bacterial infections, according to the findings published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

For instance, 40 per cent of the women who used petroleum jelly as a lubricant had bacterial vaginosis - an infection that can be caused by a number of common bacterial species - compared to 18 per cent of women who did not insert petroleum jelly.And 44 per cent of women who reported using oils tested positive for Candida, the fungus that causes yeast infections, compared to five  per cent of women who did not use oils.Researchers suggested the increased risk for these common infections might result from the products upsetting internal pH and beneficial microbe communities, allowing harmful organisms to proliferate.Normally, the area is home to a finely tuned system of good and bad bacteria, which produce acids that protect against infections and viruses.Doctors do not recommend that women wash themselves internally because it can alter the balance of these bacteria and does not seem to offer any benefit.

The products can damage sensitive tissue and raise a woman's chance of becoming infected with herpes, chlamydia and HIV

The natural balance of bacteria in the vagina is an ‘evolutionary protection that is just washed away,’ with soaps and perfumes according to Dr Michael Zinaman, chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at St Elizabeth's Medical Centre in Boston.A representative for Vaseline manufacturer Unilever told Reuters Health: ‘Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is for external use only, and we state this on our packaging for consumers. We do not recommend Vaseline Petroleum Jelly be used as a lubricant and have not performed any testing to support this use. ‘Vaseline Petroleum Jelly should also not be used as a sexual lubricant in combination with latex barrier protection, as it can degrade the latex.’The study did not determine why petroleum jelly might promote bacterial vaginosis. Commercial sexual lubricants, which are designed for internal use, were not associated with an increased risk of infection in the study, but they still require further evaluation, according to Dr Brown.

However, Dr Mary Marnach, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Mayo 
Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, claims that, many personal lubricants, like K-Y jelly, contain glycerin which breaks down to sugars and promotes yeast infections and possibly also bacterial vaginosis, noted.‘For this reason I recommend lubricants without glycerin such as Astroglide Free and those that are silicone based (K-Y Intrigue) over the counter,’ Dr Marnach said.

The fashion for scented intimate products can be linked to health issues, agrees Dr Sovra Whitcroft, a gynaecologist at the Surrey Park Clinic, Guildford. She said: ‘The problem with perfumed products is that they change the natural pH or acidity of the vagina.‘The normal pH is four to five. If this is altered and made less acidic, it loses its natural protection and bacteria are allowed to thrive and multiply. The very product designed to improve body odour can, in a short space of time, do the opposite by contributing to an overgrowth of odour-producing bacteria.‘And many strong chemicals and perfumes can have a direct irritant effect on the sensitive mucosal lining as well as the relatively thin and delicate skin, causing contact dermatitis or inflammation. This can make the area more prone to harbouring bacteria, causing secondary infections. ‘In the longer term, if products containing talcum powder are sprayed around the area, the tiny particles can be driven up into the female reproductive system.‘There have been many studies suggesting a link between these talcum particles and ovarian cancer and while it is difficult to know whether these results are true, it is important to steer clear from anything which can cause such potential harm.‘The truth is as long as a woman is healthy, washes thoroughly with soap and water frequently and changes her underwear every day there should be no need for cover-up deodorants. Using a chemical perfume to cover potential odours may mask an underlying infection or even cause one.’

Most Expensive Streets in the world.

1. Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco

Price: $17,750 (INR 8,52,000) per square feet.

Monaco is well known for its luxury and also known as the home for party-friendly billionaires. Avenue Princess Grace, Monte Carlo always offers something for everyone. What all you want is here, there is the casino, the stunning sceneries, the Formula 1 Grand Prix and what more, plenty of sunshine all year round. Monaco has one of the best yacht harbours in the world.

1. Monaco

2. Severn Road, Hong Kong

Price: $11,200 (INR 5,37,000) per square feet.

Hong Kong, a former British colony  is one of the world most advanced countries in the world is a very attractive destination for holidays as well. The Severn Road is one of the top streets in Hong Kong as well as in the world. The City offers a variety of exciting experiences to visitors from all around the world. You can enjoy the nearby islands, lovely beaches and yes, the Disney is not too far away.

2. Hong Kong

3. Fifth Avenue, New York City

Price: $7,500 (INR 3,60,000) per square feet.

Fifth Avenue, New York itself is a unique iconic symbol. Fifth Avenue serves as a symbol of wealthy New York and is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive streets in the world. It is one of the premier shopping streets in the world. It will cost you $7500 per sq.ft.to own a home in one of the most vibrant cities in the world. You can find anything in the world you want in this city. Great food, pleasure shopping and not to forget a lot of entertainment too on offer.

3. Fifth Avenue, New York City

4. Kensington Palace Gardens, London

Price: $7,196 (INR 3,45,000) per square feet.

Kensington PalaceGardens is a street in west central London which contains some of the grandest and most expensive houses in the world. It was the location of the London Cage, the British government MI9 centre used during the Second World War and the Cold War. It has long been known as "Billionaires Row". Indian billionaire, Laxmi Mithal resides in this very street. We love London as just that we love London’s vibrancy and what the city can offer residents. There is never a dull moment other than the weather plays a spoilsport. It’s the city that never sleeps for sure.

4. Kensington Palace Gardens, London

5. Avenue Montaigne, Paris

Price: $5,076 (INR 2,43,000) per square feet.

Avenue Montaigne boasts numerous stores specialising in high fashion, such as Dior, Chanel, Valentino and Ralph Lauren, as well as jewellers like Bulgari and other high-class establishments such as the Plaza Athénée hotel. The city of romance has the EiffelTower, with great views from the top. You can also have a boat trip on the river Seine. Again, It is one of the premier shopping streets in the world.

5. Avenue Montaigne, Paris

6. Ostozhenka, Moscow

Price: $3,738 (INR 1,79,000) per square feet.

Seeing Moscow in this is actually a surprise for everyone. Especially since it outranked Beverly Hills and Sydney, which known to be very expensive.Ostozhenka, Moscow clocked in with $3,738 per sq.ft. Ostozhenka is well known for its tradition and class, and also it is a very pleasant place for shopping and dining. Many of Russia’s rapidly growing number of billionaires have apartments on the street, which runs along the Moscow River.

6. Ostozhenka, Moscow

7. Via Suvretta, St. Moritz, Switzerland

Price: $3,551 (INR 1,70,000) per square feet.

St. Moritz is considered the oldest and one of the most famous winter resorts in the world. Due to its favorable location, residents enjoy over 300 days of sunshine a year. Every winter this alpine village hosts the "White Turf" horse race on the frozen LakeSt. Moritz attended by the international Upper class people. Many prominent billionaires have holiday homes here, including Lakshmi Mittal and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. You can have pastimes which include skiing and hiking. Via Suvretta is one of the ancient but modern streets in St. Moritz.

7. St. Moritz, Switzerland

8. Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills

Price: $2,803 (INR 1,34,500) per square feet.

Beverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills is home to countless Hollywood celebrities and the wealthy.

8.Beverly Hills

9. Wolseley Road, Sydney

Price: $2,616 (INR 1,25,500) per square feet.

Wolseley Road is the most expensive residential street in Australia and it stands as Australia's ultimate address, with 16 of the top 100 most expensive houses in Sydney being located on this street. Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflected as a major destination for immigrants to Australia. Property on Wolseley Road got boosted by a very strong Australian dollar in recent months that has appreciated around 20% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year.

9. Wolseley Road, Sydney

10. Altamount Road, Mumbai

Price: $2,336 (INR 1,12,000) per square feet.

Hey hey, Who said India is a 3rd world country? Mumbai clocks in at 10th place. The Indians have certainly busted their behinds in the race of world domination and consequently built and grown some impressive cities. Mumbai is a perfect example of that. Altamount Road is a residential street in South Mumbai, parallel to Peddar Road which it meets at the well-known intersection called Kemp's Corner. Altamount Road is a very affluent area, and also home to several Bollywood stars. If you want to buy real estate in Mumbai, you are looking at around $2,336per sq.ft.

10. Mumbai