Tourism

• Tuesday, January 8th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  QE2 final world cruise before becoming Dubai floating hotel

  One of the world's most famous cruise ships, the Queen Elizabeth 2 set sail Sunday on its final global voyage before being turned into a floating hotel, British media reported. The vessel left with a fireworks send-off from the port city of Southampton for her last winter trip, the domestic Press Association news agency said.

• Monday, January 7th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Santiago airport to handle 2.2 million pax this summer

  From December 2007 to February 2008 an expected 2.2 million passengers will be passing through Santiago de Chile's Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, reports The Santiago Times. This is a 10% increase over last summer, and 20% of this figure corresponds to first-time travelers, according to airport operations chief Alberto Becerra.

• Thursday, January 3rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  South Georgia stamp issue celebrates New Int. Polar Year

  

  In commemoration of a new International Polar Year (March 2007- March 2009) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are issuing a series of stamps which will be available this month. South Georgia has been closely linked to polar scientific research from the very first International Polar Commission back in 1879 in the city of Hamburg.

• Wednesday, January 2nd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Stomach bug downs passengers on 'cursed' ship

  

  Cunard's £300 million MS Queen Victoria - which was officially launched by Camilla in Southampton three weeks ago when she failed to successfully smash the champagne bottle on its side - has been struck by a potentially fatal stomach bug.

• Monday, December 31st 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Norwegian vessel continues cruise and arrives Ushuaia Jan 2

  

  The captain of the Norwegian cruise vessel Fram which hit an iceberg in Antarctica confirmed Sunday that the cruise would continue as planned. The passengers are due to fly home after a planned arrival in Ushuaia on January 2.

• Sunday, December 30th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Aztec pyramid found in Mexico City could rewrite history

  

  Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of Mexico City that could show the ancient city is at least a century older than previously thought. Mexican archaeologists found the ruins, which are about 11 meters high, in the central Tlatelolco area, once a major religious and political centre for the Aztec elite.

• Saturday, December 29th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Rescuers ready to pick up freed FARC hostages

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent two helicopters into Colombia on Friday on a delicate mission to pluck three hostages from the rebel-held jungle.

• Saturday, December 29th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  United Kingdom: Airport baggage restrictions remain

  

  Some of Britain's major airports have not yet been given permission to relax a rule restricting passengers to one item of hand baggage, the Government has said.

• Saturday, December 29th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Damaged Antarctic cruise takes refuge in Chilean base

  

  The Norwegian flagged cruise vessel MS Fram with 318 passengers on board drifted into an iceberg in Antarctica overnight Saturday but there were no injuries and passengers were reported to be calm. The vessel is currently anchored next to Chile's President Frei Antarctic base in King George Island.

• Saturday, December 29th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Partygoers can see in Falkland Islands New Year on web

  

  Stanley in the Falkland Islands, like thousands of other cities around the world, will be beaming live images to the rest of the globe on New Year's Eve.