India , in the chasm of duality: India, one of the oldest and most sophisticated civilizations on earth, is a world where duality takes all its sense. After spending 10 days here, mainly as part of a Quebec economical delegation focused on IT and the Telecom market, I got the opportunity to discover and appreciate this raising monster. India counts 1.1 billion people and given its huge population and religious/philosophical/mysticism diversity it is impressively peaceful. India is the home of Hinduism, of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha, of Mahatma Gandhi, of Mother Theresa and of other great human beings who have made world history. It now has a GNP (Growth National Product: value in $ generated by the country each year) as big as Canada?s but benefits of a growth of nearly 9% annually compared to 2% for Canada. It has an increasing ?middle class?  read more »

Five years ago, Icy Strait Point was just a dot on a map of Alaska's Chichagof Island. Today, many thousands of cruise passengers visit there to get acquainted with the native Huna Tlingit population, observe a one-time salmon-canning operation, and ride the world's longest zip line.

Icy Strait Point is one of many emerging ports in today's cruising world. It's a brand-new port, built from scratch, as are several others. But most emerging ports are existing ones just now becoming popular ports of call as cruise lines widen their itineraries.

The reason?

Veteran passengers are looking for destinations they haven't visited, said Giora Israel, vice president of strategic planning for Carnival Corp.

"A second aspect is the sheer number of new ships," which are overwhelming some existing ports, he said. "St.

Five years ago, Icy Strait Point was just a dot on a map of Alaska's Chichagof Island. Today, many thousands of cruise passengers visit there to get acquainted with the native Huna Tlingit population, observe a one-time salmon-canning operation, and ride the world's longest zip line.

Icy Strait Point is one of many emerging ports in today's cruising world. It's a brand-new port, built from scratch, as are several others. But most emerging ports are existing ones just now becoming popular ports of call as cruise lines widen their itineraries.

The reason?

Veteran passengers are looking for destinations they haven't visited, said Giora Israel, vice president of strategic planning for Carnival Corp.

"A second aspect is the sheer number of new ships," which are overwhelming some existing ports, he said. "St.

In a recent New York Times opinion piece Chilean writer Antonio Skrmeta goes on about the effects of global warming on Chile , but I think he's really talking about sex . More specifically, he's complaining about condom use . Tell me that the subtext doesn't just scream 'kavetch': Here in Santiago, a few thousand miles from Antarctica, boiling hot temperatures have heralded the start of summer. This is, in general, a happy time of year, but it certainly feels eons away from my adolescent years when we sang along to Here Comes the Sun and warmed our souls with the hippie energy of Let the Sunshine In.  read more »

Thinking of heading to China for the Olympics but concerned you'll only manage to bag tickets to the synchronised swimming or handball competitions? Well never fear as a report from Xinhua News says 75% of Beijing Olympic tickets remain unsold.

A total of 1.8 million tickets to the sports events of the August 8-24 Games went on sale in December. Although the Beijing Olympics Organising Committee (BOCOG) hasn't given a reason for the glut of unsold tickets Chinese media is reporting that it might have to do with some key events popular with the Chinese population being extremely over-subscribed while the rest had fewer bookings.

The Olympic Torch arrived in London yesterday. Here's what the People's Daily had to say (full story here): Olympic flame crosses London amid snow + - 08:39, April 07, 2008 The heavy snow in London exerted slim effect on people's passion of seeing Beijing Olympic flame as large crowds lined along the street to greet the relay of torch on Sunday in the host city of 2012 Games. London boasted the longest relay of nearly 50 kilometers among cities outside China's mainland. Eighty torchbearers, including Paralympics, Olympic athletes and celebrities carried the torch through ten London boroughs from Wembley to Greenwich. Landmark buildings and ancient sites witnessed the sacred flame. Dragon and lion dancing performance dressed up the Chinatown like a festival.  read more »

Reuters - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed China that he will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August due to a scheduling conflict, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Thursday.

BEIJING (MARKET WIRE) Jamaica Week celebrations in China culminated in fine style this week, at the Ritz-Carlton Beijing with a Grand Jamaican Evening Reception and Dinner. Activities to mark the week were held at the Ritz-Carlton Beijing to coincide with the visit of Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett and his delegation attending the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM). The week showcased Jamaican food, music and culture and kicked off with a sumptuous Jamaican Sunday Brunch on April 13 in Beijing. It was presented by The Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street in collaboration with the Ritz

BEIJING (MARKET WIRE) Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (3rd left), along with his delegation (left side of table), met with Vice Minister Responsible for International Affairs, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Mr. Yang Guo Qing (2nd left) and his team (right side of table) during the recently held China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM) in Beijing, China. The meetings were held to discuss direct airlift to facilitate increasing number of visitors to Jamaica from China. Accompanying the Minister were (left to right) Mr. Heinz Simonitsch, JAMVAC Director; Ms. Carrole Guntley,