13-15th January, 2005 at Olympia, London

Where better to start Planning your Adventure holiday or Career break than at Olympia this January?

• Over 250 exhibitors * Over 100 free talks
• New exhibitors, new speakers, new features, new ideas for 2006

Whether you are a discerning traveller looking for inspirational holiday ideas or a seasoned adventurer, come and visit us at Olympia this January – it’s where the adventure begins. Now in its 11th year, The Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel and Sports Show is the only event dedicated to showcasing the UK’s biggest collection of off-the-beaten-track holidays. For everyone planning a travel experience in 2006 – from gentle treks to rafting the Grand Canyon to taking a career break – this is the only opportunity to meet directly with more than 250 specialist adventure travel providers from around the world.

Visit www.adventureshow.co.uk for full details on talks and features and up to date show news. 13 – 15 January 2006 Olympia, London 10.00am – 6.00pm daily

Globetrotters members can get Tickets for �7 in advance (�10 on the Door) by quoting ‘Globetrotters’ by Visiting www.adventureshow.co.uk or call 0870 161 2122

Survival International, a London-based organisation which accuses the Botswana government of ethnic cleansing against the Kalahari Bushmen has come under fierce criticism for allegedly distorting the true picture. One of the largest Bushmen groups in Botswana, the Kuru Family of Organisations, claims that is untrue. “There’s no genocide taking place, there’s no ethnic cleansing taking place,” said Braam Le Roux, a coordinator of the group.

Stephen Corry, director of Survival said: “Ethnic cleansing, yes. Genocide, it’s a question of looking at the term. We are very close to saying this is outright genocide, although the government has not, as yet, outright killed people.” Survival International works with around 700 Bushmen, either evicted from, or facing eviction from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, their ancestral land for 20,000 years.

Stephen Corry’s understanding of genocide is the forced removal of the Bushmen, which he believes will lead to their eventual destruction as a distinct people.

The Chiang Mai Night Safari Park, part of a huge project aimed at turning the area into “Chiang Mai World”, has received a boost with Kenya agreeing to provide Thailand with 135 African wild animals. Thailand in turn has pledged to provide financial assistance worth 20 million baht to Kenya so it can set up an elephant fund to help Kenya tackle the problem of rogue elephants. Wildlife activists have expressed concern over the welfare of the wild animals. Several major NGOs have expressed strong opposition to the use of wildlife for entertainment. They also questioned the deal’s transparency. One key concern is opposition to the export and exchange of wildlife, particularly species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species list, such as white rhinos, lions and Sita tigers.

Norway’s Directorate for Cultural Heritage has begun a unique program of setting up signs to highlight historical landmarks – underwater. The signs will be placed in order to discourage vandalism and plundering. About 30 shipwrecks in southern Norway will get the familiar preservation sign from the directorate, to help divers appreciate – and respect – some of the country’s less obvious attractions. Signs will be placed at depths of 10-30 meters (33-98 feet), and will point out wrecks and cargo that are particularly vulnerable to plundering.

The head of civil rights for the US Department of Homeland Security is urging Muslim air travellers to register with the federal government before flying to reduce the chances they might be stopped at an airport because their name is on or similar to names on an anti-terrorism watch list. Registering by completing a two-page “Passenger Identity Verification Form” which can be done on-line.�

The Homeland Security department shares the information with airlines, who compare it against security lists that might otherwise red-flag a passenger. The aim is to distinguish a traveller from people whose names – or close variations thereof – appear on US no-fly lists compiled by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The department says they want to improve their relations with Muslims and Arab-Americans.�

The two-page “Passenger Identity Verification Form” asks for personal information including name, address, birth date, height, weight, eye and hair colour, and requires copies of three of the following documents: passport, visa, birth certificate, naturalisation certificate, voter registration card, government identity card or military identity card.

Jon from the UK writes, in connection with a travel warning issued by the UK government about the Philippines:

I’ve visited the Philippines 3 times this year and travelled widely. I think our FO is overdoing it with its travel warning. The Sulus, Basilan and parts of Mindanao are certainly to be avoided but the rest of the country is pretty safe. Local skirmishes do break out between anti- government forces and the army but you will be stopped from getting too close to such a situation, in the unlikely event that you are close. This happened to me in Mindanao 2 weeks ago.

I have always felt pretty safe and found most people helpful and friendly. I believe the risk of street crime is substantially lower than over here. There is remarkably little begging and hassling, especially considering the low standard of living of many people. Large scale corruption is a way of life, led by the President and her family, but is need not be the concern of tourists. In short, do not be afraid of going to the Philippines on holiday, just avoid southern Mindanao and the Sulu region.

A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Transparency International recently published its new index on the world's most countries. At the top of the list, i.e. the least corrupt country is Iceland, followed by Finland and New Zealand in joint second place, Denmark in fourth place and Singapore in fifth place. In sixth to tenth position are Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, and Austria respectively.

Lying at the bottom of the league in joint 158th position is Bangladesh and Chad, in joint 155th place are Haiti, Myanmar and Turkmenistan, in joint 152nd position are Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. Angola comes in at no 151 and there are seven countries at joint 144 th position: the DRC, Kenya, Pakistan, Paraguay, Somalia, Sudan and Tajikistan.

Skytrax have conducted the world's “largest” passenger survey, was conducted over an 11 month period (June 2004 – May 2005) to find the world's Airline of the Year. The results are as follows:

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2005

1. Cathay Pacific
2. Qantas Airways
3. Emirates
4. Singapore Airlines
5. British Airways
6. Malaysia Airlines
7. Thai Airways

Beetle: I don't see Ryanair in this list.

The Chief Executive Tony Davis of Singapore based low-cost airline Tiger Airways said that they want to be the Ryanair of Asia. Tiger Airways flies from Singapore to Macau, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, competing with Malaysia's AirAsia and a partnership of Valueair Ltd and Qantas Airways associate Jetstar Asia. Tiger is 49 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines.