And, this week, Madeleine Albright, the secretary of state, paid a flying visit to the two capitals.

ECONOMIST: Kenya

The former Great Britain captain and coach was formally installed on Friday as successor to Shaun McRae on a flying visit from Australia.

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Its relations with Iran, already good, were confirmed by Mr Assad, who rarely travels outside his own country, paying a flying visit to Tehran at the end of last month.

ECONOMIST: Lebanon, Syria and Israel

In a flying visit on September 18th, the American defence secretary, William Cohen, warned him that Indonesia faced isolation if it did not act fast to disarm the militias in West Timor, where three United Nations workers were killed on September 6th.

ECONOMIST: Indonesia

Duck off one of the main boulevards like Saemunangil in the center of the city and you can discover one of pulsating areas where Seoulites relax -- often in city's thousands of restaurants, bars and noraebang (karaoke bars) that should feature in even a flying visit.

CNN: Look into your Seoul for a hit of Korean flavor

He finished with a visit to Gulfport, Mississippi, before flying back to Washington.

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Whether you're flying to visit your family, catching a train to meet up with a long-distance love or celebrating New Year's Eve on a warm-weather cruise with friends, ever present travel disruptions over the holiday season may leave you needing a place to stay at the last-minute.

BBC: A boom in same-day hotel booking apps