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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…
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The Beetle
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Sunrise and a ray of hope by Andy Brouwer
It was 8.30am and I was waiting for Rosanna White in the early morning sunshine, sheltered in the shade of a palm tree in front of the Independence Monument. Rosanna is the volunteer co-ordinator for the Sunrise Children's Village, a Phnom Penh orphanage with a high profile, due in no small part to the extraordinary…
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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.