EXPLORE 2002 For anyone planning an expedition, EXPLORE 2002 – the place to be is the 26th annual Expedition Planning Seminar that will be running on 16-17th November 2002 at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London. The seminar covers all aspects of planning an expedition including lectures on medical issues, insurance, PR, communication,…

Doctors aiming to make a cheap and effective malaria drug available across Africa have been awarded a $1.5m grant by the Gates Malaria Partnership, based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which was established with $40m from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. Experts will look at the best way…

­ Less than one in 10 people are estimated to have been on an international flight ­ China is expected to unseat France as world’s most visited country by 2020 ­ 16% of foreign trips are in East Asia – up from 1% in 1950 Sources: IATA, Worldwatch Institute

Mexican airports are returning to normal operations after Hurricane Isidore battered the country on the weekend. The airport authorities estimated that 89 flights at Cancun, were cancelled because of the hurricane, but no damage has been reported and the airport is now operating normally. One man died at Cancun Airport.

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The Dead Sea is falling by about one metre (3ft) a year due to declining rainfall, and an increase in the amount of irrigation water being taken from the River Jordan. Water flows in from the River Jordan and other sources, but there is no outflow – it simply evaporates, concentrating the salts in the…

Cote d'Ivoire (a.k.a.Ivory Coast) is a developing country on the west coast of Africa. The Foreign & Commonwealth office advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Abidjan and against all travel to any other part of Cote d'Ivoire at this time. Abidjan is calm but tense. There is a curfew from 2000 to…

The AUC (Air Transport Users Council– the UK airline watchdog) recently issued a list of the 20 most complained about airlines. They said there was “little evidence” that airlines were showing “any real concern about the impact on passengers of damaged, delayed or lost luggage”. Lost luggage, flight cancellations and problems with tickets – particularly…

The Museum is housed within the Bank of England, at the heart of the City of London. It traces the history of the Bank from its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694, to its role today as the nation's central bank. Displays include: gold, bank notes and a reconstruction of the 18th century office. In…

For true 007 fans this exhibition at the Science Museum in London will display a vast collection of objects, costume designs, storyboards and images. See Oddjob's killer bowler hat and Rose Klebb's flick-knife shoe. Visitors will have a real behind the scenes look at the work of the creative and technical teams of these world…