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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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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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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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Shiva Exhibition
In an exhibit billed as “The Sensuous and the Sacred,” the Smithsonian Institution introduces the public to a Hindu deity called Shiva, noted for being the Lord of Dance. Admission to the exhibit is free. After it closes in Washington on March 9, it will be seen at the Dallas Museum of Art, April 4-June…
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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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UK Visitor Numbers Drop
The number of foreign tourists visiting the UK saw its biggest fall in 20 years in 2001, according to the National Statistics Office, particularly from US, who are traditionally the UK’s biggest visitor group. The impact of September 11 and the foot-and-mouth outbreak contributed to the sharp decline, which saw a £1.5bn drop in the…
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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…
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The Beetle
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Bats and Rabies
A man has died after contracting Britain's first case of rabies for 100 years, hospital bosses have confirmed. David McRae, a 56-year-old conservationist from Guthrie, Angus, Scotland, failed to recover from European Bat Lyssavirus (EBL), a type of rabies found in several northern European countries. Mr McRae, who was licensed to handle bats, was bitten…
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The Beetle
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Tourism Based Economies Will Suffer
Tourism revenues are a major and important earner for many countries in South East Asia. Consider, then, the effect of government travel warnings. We have already seen the deserted beaches in Bali, after more than 190 people were killed on October 12th. The US State Department recently issued a warning specifically mentioning Malaysia as a…
The Globetrotters Club
The travel club for independent travellers.