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The Beetle
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Deep Vein Thrombosis
DVT poses a threat to some airline travellers. In the UK, DVT used to be called economy (or coach) class syndrome, but this is very much a misnomer. DVT can happen to any one of us, whatever our style of air travel. It is now possible to take a blood test to determine your vulnerability…
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The Beetle
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Visit the Qingzhou Buddhist sculptures, London
At the Royal Academy from 26 April—14 July. This exhibition shows 35 of the best-preserved figures, carved from limestone (around 550—577 AD) out of the 400 or more Buddhist sculptures found in 1996 in a field in the Shandong province in eastern China. According to early written sources the area in which the sculptures were…
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The Beetle
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International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
“We must make people everywhere understand that the AIDS crisis is not over; that this is not about a few foreign countries, far away. This is a threat to an entire generation, that it is a threat to an entire civilization….” United Nations Secretary, General Kofi Annan On May 19th, 2002, thousands of individuals in…
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The Beetle
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Animal Facts
The zebra is a member of the horse family and no two zebras have the same pattern. Stripes help confuse predators chasing the zebra, making them misjudge distances. Source: STA Travel
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The Beetle
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UK airline news: Easyjet buys Go
There were five low cost airline carriers in the UK: Easyjet, Go, Buzz (owned by KLM), Ryan Air and BMIBaby. Easyjet has just announced that it is paying £374m ($524m) for its rival, Go, (which used to belong to British Airways before they sold it to a Venture Capital fund). The consolidated airline will still…
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The Beetle
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Free Concerts in London
Cultural Co-operation are putting on free concerts featuring 300 musicians from 25 countries. The concerts are scheduled as follows: Kew Gdns on 29/30 June. Regents Park on 6/7 July Greenwich Park on 13/14 July. For full details and a voucher to enter Kew Gdns for free on those days, you can either: Ring the hotline…
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The Beetle
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Tiny Autonomous Town Discovered on the Swiss – Italian Border By Eric Dondero R.
In early April I took a Eurail/backpacking trip solo through Western Europe. I had the opportunity to travel throughout Switzerland. I gained a great deal of knowledge about Swiss bank accounts and procedures for securing greater financial privacy. I also passed through the tiny independent Principality of Monaco on the French coast near the Italian…
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The Beetle
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Dakar and Dhaka!
Thomas from Munich wrote in to say that he read the Beetle’s story about the confusion between Oman and Amman. The same thing happened to an African friend of his who went back to his home country with his family of 4 people. He booked a flight to Dakar in Senegal or so he thought,…
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The Beetle
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London Markets: Leadenhall Market
In the 15th Century, Dick Whittington, who was the Lord Mayor of London at the time, designated this site as an official food market and it has been serving the people of London ever since. Archaeologists say that the site is on what was once a Roman Forum. It even gets a mention in Charles…
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The Beetle
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Diving in Oman
Oman is a fascinating country. For anyone who has been to Zanzibar, there are striking architectural similarities, but it is not all about modern or ancient towns, there’s desert, mountains and, of course, the Arabian Sea! Most of the dive operators are attached to hotels. There is one dive operation, called Dive Oman which is…
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