World Travel News: April 2007

The Yasothon Bun Bang Fai rocket festival in Thailand is a memorable and noisy day for all those who experience it. more

Venice's St Mark's Basin is the site for the Vogalonga on May 27th, a wonderful event for rowers from all over the world. more

Cambridge's Strawberry Fair takes place on June 2nd and is set to please music and arts lovers once again. more

Anyone planning to be in California next month should make sure they take in San Francisco's Carnaval from May 26th to May 27th. more

A gunman has killed two on a shooting spree in Kansas City, Missouri. more

A British widow who had moved to Goa has been found with her throat slit. Denise Higgins of Oxfordshire, 52, had been living in the Indian state since late 2006. Her assailant stabbed her in her kitchen, using her own kitchen knife, on Thursday. more

Columbia fell into darkness on Thursday as a blackout hit more than 80 per cent of the country's 42 million population. The stock exchange was forced to suspend trading and fire-fighters set out to rescue at least ten people trapped in lifts. more

An extremist Islamic group in Pakistan has gained court backing. Sindh High Court in Karachi ruled that the previously banned al-Rashid Trust could reopen its offices. The court had previously banned the organisation, but the Pakistani government lawyers failed to produce an order implementing this. more

A storm struck the US border with Mexico on Wednesday, killing at least ten people. more

Malaysia has crowned a new king in a traditional ceremony steeped in Malay custom and pageantry. more

Sir Richard Branson has been scrubbed from BA's in-flight James Bond movie, Casino Royale. The film includes a cameo from Branson in an airport scene. BA has also applied Airbrushing to Virgin insignia on surrounding planes in the scene. more

UK residents' trips abroad are on the increase, according to the latest results from the International Passenger Survey. Visits abroad increased to 17.2 million in the three months to February 2007, showing an increase of three per cent compared with the previous three months and an increase of four per cent compared with the equivalent period in 2006. more

The Royal Ploughing Festival in Bangkok will take place on May 11th and is expected to be well attended once again. This Hindu event denotes the start of the rice-growing season and will see various officials lead sacred oxen and the royal plough around Sanam Luang field, all the time interpreting omens to gauge how successful the season will be. more

If an afternoon at Ascot or a night down at Walthamstow just doesn't cut it for you in the racing stakes, perhaps you should be heading to Egypt next month. The South Sinai Camel Festival attracts around 250 riders and their camels from 17 different Egyptian tribes for what promises to be a month-long exhibition of some breathtaking action. more

The Actopan Barbecue Fair is expected to again prove a huge draw this summer. The event celebrates the foundation of the Mexican town in the 16th century and takes place from July 8th to July 9th. more

Australia has been found to be the leading destination for Britons when it comes to making that trip of a lifetime. A study by American Express has revealed that 13 per cent of Brits placed Australia as their "dream destination", while New Zealand was in second place with eight per cent of the vote. more

Low-cost airline Zoom has announced it is set to offer a new London Gatwick to Bermuda service. The firm, which specialises in long-haul flights at cheap rates, has announced it will offer twice weekly flights to the island from June 8th, with all-inclusive prices starting at £110 one way. more

A Greek airliner has been forced to make an emergency landing in Germany following a bomb threat. The Olympic Airlines Boeing 737, which was carrying a number of EU officials, was on route from Athens to Strasbourg when Greek police received the call. more

With St George's day passing by without many of us noticing, one campaigner claims that April 23rd will soon become a public holiday. Graham Smith, who unveiled his St George Unofficial Bank Holiday campaign last year, believes that St George's day will be another day off for British workers within three years, reports the BBC. more

An empty yacht has been found sailing off Australia's North Queensland coast. The 12-metre catamaran is thought to have set off with its three-man crew from Airlie Beach on Sunday. The vessel was spotted by a helicopter on Wednesday but rescue teams only managed to get to the vessel this morning to find nobody on board. more

A strong earthquake has hit islands to the south of Japan's mainland, it has emerged. The 6.7 earthquake hit islands off the Okinawa prefecture at 01:45 GMT, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. more

The SS Great Britain in Bristol has received the accolade of the UK's best large tourist attraction at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. The world's first propeller-driven steamship capable of ploughing the oceans won the award in conjunction with Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, reports the BBC. more

China has begun running a fleet of high-speed trains, it has been reported. The first of some 140 new trains capable of running at speeds in excess of 200 km/h was unveiled on Wednesday morning in a short run from Shanghai to Suzhou, reports the Xinhua news agency The trip took just 39 minutes, halving the previous journey time. more

A joint bid from Poland and Ukraine has won Uefa's vote to host the 2012 European Championships. Uefa's president, former French star Michael Platini, announced the decision today in Cardiff. The surprise winning bid beat out competition from favourites Italy and a joint effort from Croatia and Hungary. more

New research has revealed that a large proportion of British holidaymakers like to avoid locations and attractions that are popular with other tourists and explore all their destination has to offer. A study by Quintas da Madeira revealed that 44 per cent of Brits abroad like to avoid areas that other tourists will frequent. more

Prepare for sporting entertainment of the traditional Scottish variety at the Dornoch Highland Games, swinging into action at Dornoch this August. All the traditional favourites will be taking place at the Games including heavy sports such as tossing the caber, promising a proper Scottish event for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. more

World cinema fans can dive into a feast of Latin American film at the 2007 Sao Paulo Short Film Festival, featuring an array of exclusive shorts from a diverse collection of filmmakers. Taking place in August the festival is a huge film and cinema event that regularly attracts thousands of film fans each year. more

Tickets for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have now gone on sale. Around seven million tickets have been made available to the general public, of which a quarter will be offered to non-residents of China. more

A number of miners have been trapped in a coal mine following an explosion in central China, according to reports. The country's Xinhua news agency states that at least 33 people are trapped following the blast in Baofeng county, Henan province It is thought that a second blast occurred as the rescue began to get underway, hampering efforts to save any possible survivors. more

The process to find the next president in Turkey is underway. The country's parliament has officially declared that the process is open, causing mass demonstrations against the current prime minister. more

There have been fresh attacks by suicide bombers in Morocco, it has emerged. The latest incident saw two brothers blow themselves up in central Casablanca, close to the US consulate on Saturday, injuring one woman. more

Oxford today held the 10th UK-India Round Table at the Ditchley Park Conference Centre, discussing issues including bilateral relations, education and research. In addition, business and investment and global governance will be discussed at the conference. more

Brazilian police claim to have broken up a huge crime ring responsible for carrying out thousands of contract killings over the past half decade. More than 20 suspects - from businessmen, through police officers to hired assassins - have been arrested in the north-east of the country this week. more

At least eight people have been killed in an explosion at the cafe located in the Iraqi parliamentary building, the BBC reports the US military as saying. Dozens more have been injured in the attack which police say involved a suicide bomber. more

The BBC today held a day of action for the missing journalist Alan Johnston, who was abducted in Gaza on March 12th. Marking exactly one calendar month since Mr Johnston was abducted, the correspondent's parents Graham and Margaret Johnston held a press conference along with BBC director of news Helen Boaden. more

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued a statement following the publication of Oxfam's report on foreign policy. In the publication, the international development agency and charity noted that the UK's foreign policy affects millions of poor and vulnerable people "in war zones where Oxfam works". more

The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has said that action is required to solve the problems affecting the Galapagos Islands, according to reports. According to the Reuters news agency, Mr Correa said: "We are pushing for a series of actions to overcome the huge institutional, environmental and social crises in the islands." His comments coincided with a UN delegation visiting the islands to see of the territories should be declared "in danger". more

In a visit to the Yuma border control centre in Arizona, president George Bush commented that "illegal immigration is a serious problem" and the US government should work hard to prevent it. He spoke of the need for a "comprehensive bill", which Mr Bush said he was working on with congress to "get it done". more

Charles Simonyi, the fifth tourist to enter space, has docked with the International Space Station (ISS), according to reports. Mr Simonyi flew with two other Russian cosmonauts during a two-day flight to the ISS. more

This year's walking and cycling festival in North Devon and Exmoor is set to be a real stormer. Taking place from May 3rd through to May 11th, this year's festival is looking to raise money for the North Devon Coast and Countryside Service Access Project. more

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has revised its travel advice for Guinea due to the "continuing stabilisation of the security situation". It no longer advises against all but essential travel to Guinea but maintains its advice against all but essential travel to the border areas. more

A number of Manchester United fans were taken to hospital after violence in Rome last night, according to the British Embassy. A total of 11 United supporters were taken to hospital, the BBC reports the British Embassy as saying, with two kept in overnight. more

Weather experts are predicting 17 named tropical storms in this year's hurricane season, nine of which could form hurricanes, according to reports. Experts from Colorado State University said that at least one major storm would make landfall over the US as the El Nino warming of the Atlantic wears away. more

A controversial chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ, depicting him naked with his arms outspread, has been cancelled by a New York gallery, according to reports. News of the planned exhibit was met with firm criticism from a Catholic group which was particularly appalled at the timing of the sculpture. more

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has condemned the killing of five African Union (AU) soldiers in Darfur. On April 1st, a convoy in of AU troops in Sudan was attacked and five Senegalese soldiers were killed in addition to three of the attackers. more

The prime minister Tony Blair has reiterated the government's position on the 15 Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel currently being held in Iran. Speaking to Glasgow-based Real Radio, Mr Blair said that he had read transcripts of an interview Ali Larijani, the head of the supreme national security council, which seemed to offer "some prospect". more

The island of Sark, the smallest of the Channel Islands, has been recognised as a wetland of international importance under the international Ramsar Convention. Included in the new status are the Gouliot Headland and the famous Gouliot Caves. more

A tsunami has struck the Solomon Islands following an undersea earthquake, killing at least 12 people, according to reports. The earthquake struck at 07:40 local time today and triggered waves several metres high that officials say have engulfed buildings and swept people to sea. more