Zimbabwe is said to be about to import four endangered Siberian tigers from China for captive breeding.  China had received zebras, elephants and impala as part of an “exchange programme”. Yes, this comes from a country that is rapidly imploding, people being displaced from their homes and land, rampaging inflation and there is not enough to eat.  A local biologist working in Bulawayo, said the plan was “a complete load of garbage”, adding that the country even lacked the resources to look after its own wildlife.

Ever worried about being able to access your cash whilst overseas?  These two websites allow you to locate Visa and Mastercard ATMs.

A monk has travelled from China to Ruabon, near Wrexham in Wales to help open a special temple to teach the ancient discipline of Shaolin.  Shi Xing Du will draft a syllabus for students to learn the Shaolin way, which includes kung fu, Chinese medicine, Buddhism and meditation.  The centre of the discipline's teaching is the Shaolin temple in the Henan Province of China, which is a Buddhist temple.  Shi Xing Du said he knew instinctively that north Wales was the right place to create a temple. “Wales is beautiful and I think it is the right place to set up a school,” he said.  Speaking through his disciple Pol Wong, he said the area surrounding the school in Ruabon was similar to the area around the Shaolin temple on the Song Shan Mountain.  To find out more information, see: http://www.chenloong.com/school.htm

A restaurant in north east China was closed down for listing stir fried tiger meat with peppers for US $98 or a kilo of tiger meat for US $ 863.  Maybe it was the fact that the sale of tiger meat is outlawed in China or that the restaurant was less than a mile away from a Siberian Tiger Park that attracted the attention of local authorities.  Police raided the restaurant to find that actually the tiger meat was donkey marinated in tiger urine – to give it “a special flavour”.  Hhhmm, nice.

According to a recent study, some 30% of European flights from London Heathrow were delayed in 2004.

The average delay per flight was 33 minutes.  Zurich and Vienna were the second and third most affected at 26% and 24% respectively.

The lowest number of delays was reported at Oslo, where 13% of flights were delayed more than 15 minutes, with an average delay of 38.5 minutes. Helsinki, Brussels and Copenhagen airports also reported low delays.

Worst airline performer in the survey was Turkish Airlines with 100% of flights delayed out of Paris Charles de Gaulle, with an average delay of 428 minutes

Singapore is following London's lead and plans to build a giant Ferris wheel.  Designers estimate that it will be 142 feet taller than the London Eye and say that visitors will be able to enjoy views of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia from the 587ft-high wheel when it is completed in early 2008.

Spotted by Webmaster Paul, here's a satellite photo from Google of the Stonehenge

Campaigners organising Malaria Awareness Week say that British tourists are too complacent about contracting malaria as they travel to more and more far flung locations.  In particular, last minute bargain hunters are at risk because they don't leave time to arrange medication.  Last year around 5m travelled to risk areas, but 60% did not take the right health advice before they set out. Around 2,000 Britons get malaria each year, and deaths are low but rising.

Recent research from the United States publication Foreign Policy and the US NGO “Fund for Peace” has identified the twenty most vulnerable countries as: Ivory Coast, Congo, Sudan, Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Chad, Yemen, Liberia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Rwanda, North Korea, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Bangladesh, Burundi, Dominican Republic and Central African Republic. Ten Latin American countries out of the list of sixty that run the risk of becoming what is described as “failed states” are: Haiti, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras.

The “failed states” ranking is based on twelve economic, social, political and military performance indicators.  Other organisations have different views.  The World Bank has identified about 30 “low-income countries under stress”; the UK's Department for International Development has named 46 “fragile” states of concern.  A report commissioned by the CIA has put the number of failing states at about 20.

The Beijing Municipal Traffic Administration has launched a campaign to standardise road signs to make it easier for visitors to navigate the city.  Bilingual Chinese-English signs are to be displayed on streets as well as around the city's key tourist attractions. Many would agree that getting around Beijing can be difficult when you see signs saying “export” instead of “exit” for the word chukou and “scatter” instead of “evacuate” for the word shusan.