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The Beetle
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Racial Profiling at US Airports
Celebrated Canadian author, Rohinton Mistry, has cancelled the second half of his US book tour because of racial profiling at US airports. Mr Mistry – the Indian-born author short-listed for the Booker Prize this year – was “extremely unhappy” about the treatment he received, Canada's Globe and Mail reported. “As a person of colour he…
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The Beetle
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Mac.s Jottings
Signs and thoughts that Mac has seen or experienced on his travels around the world, and noted down in his travel diary. l. Hong Kong. Budget Garden Hostel. Sign. “No smelly shoes allowed in dormitory.“ 2. Simla India. Sign read “Spitting on the road is an offence punishable up to 50 rps under HPMC.” (An…
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The Beetle
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New Diver Record
A South African scuba diver set a new world record after living underwater in a steel tank for 10 days and surviving by eating through a tube. Tim Yarrow was (30) cheered by hundreds of onlookers shortly after 12:30pm on Saturday when he climbed out of the 3 by 2,3m tank, his home in a…
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The Beetle
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The Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands are 100 tiny formerly uninhabited islets and reefs making up 5 km of actual land spread over 410,000 sq km of sea. They are believed to have oil and gas reserves in addition to good fish stocks. The problem is that both China and Taiwan lay claim to all of them and…
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The Beetle
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Woolly Mammoth Find
The remains of four woolly rhinos have been unearthed in an English quarry. Scientists describe the group find at Whitemoor Haye in Staffordshire as “extraordinary” and one of the best Ice Age discoveries of its type in Northern Europe in recent years. In addition to the great beasts, researchers have also dug out a remarkable…
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The Beetle
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Execution denounced in world protest
A coalition of international human rights organisations is calling on countries around the world to abolish capital punishment in the first World Day Against the Death Penalty. Sixty cities around the world marked the occasion by illuminating significant landmarks: Barcelona lit up the Gaudi cathedral, Santiago illuminated its central park, and Belgium lit up its…
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The Beetle
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Learning Spanish in Ecuador
I am in New York and I opened Adelante Spanish School (http://spanishamerica.com) with my Partner, Monica Guerra, who manages day-to-day affairs in Quito. For free help in planning a Ecuador trip, arranging a room in Quito and especially to plan Spanish lessons please contact us (lee@spanishamerica.com in English or monica@spanishamerica.com in Spanish) In my opinion…
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The Beetle
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One Off Ivory Sale
The United Nations agreed last month to allow Botswana to have a one off sale of approximately 20,000 kilogrammes of ivory from elephant tusks, expected to be stockpiled by 2004. Similar bids have also been approved to take place in Namibia (who have 10,000kg of elephant tusk ivory) and South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have…
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The Beetle
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Storm Chasing
Believe it or not, storm chasing has become something of a hobby. So when the weather is bad, throw away that jigsaw, that book, that piece of embroidery or the TV guide, get your waterproofs on, grab a map and jump into your car! Oh, and don’t forget your camera or camcorder and mobile (cell)…
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The Beetle
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Orang-utans Found
Orang-utans, like gorillas and chimpanzees, are often described as the closest relatives of humans. They are in grave danger of extinction, because their habitat is under threat from illegal logging, forest fires and gold mining. According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the annual 5% loss of habitat means there will…
The Globetrotters Club
The travel club for independent travellers.