British Airways seem to be going all Ryanair on us. The latest hoo-hah is going to hit travellers with more than one check in item of luggage hard. Passengers flying with British Airways could face an additional cost of $470 if they choose to take an extra bag with them on a return flight. The airline has announced that from February 13, 2007 the cost of checking in an extra bag on a one-way long-haul flight will be $235 (£120). Short-haul travellers will face a $118 (£60) per bag fee, while those taking UK domestic flights will have to fork out $90 (£42) for each additional case.”

Hundreds of Russian fishermen were recently rescued from ice-floes which began to drift after breaking away from the shore off Sakhalin island in the Sea of Okhotsk. The anglers had been fishing through holes drilled in the ice, a traditional winter pursuit for many Russians. The Emergencies Ministry rescued all 442 people who were adrift, although about 70 had initially refused to leave without their gear. One ministry official was quoted as saying many of those rescued were in a state of “heavy alcoholic intoxication”.

Machu Picchu is a Unesco World Heritage Site and currently attracts as many as 2,500 visitors a day. A controversial 80-metre (262ft) bridge, due to open in February 2007 will create a new route to the Incan ruins and enable locals to take produce to Cusco in three hours instead of 12. Critics, however, say that the new bridge could have a damaging impact on tourism to the ruins by increasing tourist numbers, which could damage the ruins and lead to an increase in drug trafficking in the region. Unesco inspectors are due to inspect the site later this year to ascertain whether its status is endangered

My name is Christina Yang, and I wanted to introduce you to the organization I am volunteering for as I think it would be a great resource for independent travellers to know about.

CICERONES DE BUENOS AIRES is a non-profit organization that offers a free tour guide service. It is a greeter program, to help visitors explore the city through the eyes of a porteño (Buenos Aires resident.) The service is similar to the “Big Apple Greeters” in New York, and as it is a non-profit it is completely free. It is a great service for everyone, but especially for independent travellers because it is essentially a way to make a friend in an unknown place. For more information, visit www.cicerones.org.ar, or you can e-mail at contacto@cicerones.org.ar.

Professor Stephen Hawking, the eminent professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, author of erudite books recently warned that future generations would need to leave the planet to ensure the survival of the species. He is quoted as having said that space rockets using Star Trek technology like the ‘warp drive’ would be needed to colonise hospitable planets. Professor Hawking also spoke of his desire to go into space, and appealed to the Virgin tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, who is planning a “space tourism” venture, to realise his ambition. “My next goal is to go into space. Maybe Richard Branson will help me,” he said. “Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. There isn’t anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star.

MTV and Frommer’s travel Guides

MTV has teamed up with Frommer’s travel guide to publish a series of travel guides specifically for young holidaymakers and those studying abroad. The guides offer a unique perspective on popular hotspots such as Ireland, Italy and Europe in general. In addition, further travel guides on Spain, France, England and road trips in the US are planned for April next year. The MTV Travel Guides can also be downloaded in podcast format from Frommers.com and iTunes.

If you, like the Beetle have a yen to go and visit the gorillas, it is disheartening to learn from a recent survey that over 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. Scientists warn that, coupled with the commercial hunting of gorillas, it may be enough to push them to extinction. One of the most virulent viruses known, Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people since it was first recorded in 1976. Scientists are still working on a vaccine and there is no known cure. In 2002 and 2003, several outbreaks of Ebola flared up in human populations in Gabon and Congo. Outbreaks of the disease in humans have sometimes been traced to the bush meat trade.

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