@ As an indication of recovery in the world travel industry, online travel agency Expedia said bookings for the quarter ending March 31 were up 64% on the previous year while Nielsen//NetRating reported that traffic to online travel destinations surged 12 percent to 51.2 million surfers in March, as compared to 45.9 million in February and that nearly 43 percent of all Web surfers accessed an online travel site in March, as compared to 39 percent the month prior. Jupiter Media Matrix forecast that online sales of travel will grow to $64 billion by 2007 (or 22% of all travel bookings) from the $24 billion (11%) transacted in 2001. @The Economist reported on the race between Boeing and Airbus to build faster and wider aircraft respectively, ironically moving in each others territory, Boeing having pioneered the Jumbo, and Airbus the Concorde. No mention is being made in the report on any attempts to create more fuel efficient aircraft, perhaps because there aren't any efforts. @ The Times reported that The European Commission preparing to recommend a European-wide fuel tax per ticket charging system both to encourage airlines to buy more fuel-efficient aircraft and to deter people from flying. The charge would be collected by Eurocontrol, which manages European airspace and charges airlines a fee for each flight. @ CNN reported that in hundreds of undercover tests conducted in US airports between November and February, security screeners missed 70 percent of knives, 60 percent of simulated explosive devices, and 30 percent of guns. @According to insurance industry sources, after Sept. 11, the number of people buying travel insurance has trippled from 12 percent of travelers to 35 percent. @ On the opposite, Beliefnet.com, an educational and community site focusing on religion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. @Yahoooooo! Yodeler Wylie Gustafson sued the portal over his/their trademark cry and then won an undisclosed settlement as high as $ 5 million US. @The Netherlands broke another taboo, by becoming the first country to legalise euthanasia @ Mainstream travel websites not having many qualms about ecological means of transport, have gone as far as to offer car fuel rebates - they expect summer gas prices in the U.S. to be the third-highest on record. @ The Register reported that Peru tables a bill that would mandate the use of free software (as opposed to windows) in government computers, Peru has become the latest Latin American country to seek alternatives to proprietary software. Mexico, Argentina and Brazil have all pursued similar measures in a government-led movement that is sweeping the region and carries both pragmatic and philosophical overtones. @ Deutsche Bahn, the German railway operator, is suing popular search engine sites like Google in an effort to get them to remove links to two articles which they allege give instructions on how to sabotage railway. @ Nigerian Police have raided suspected internet cafes to confiscate their computers and arrest the infamous "nigerian scam" fraudsters who send emails searching a gullible audience to promise millions of dollars in return for money laundering. The Nigerian government has inaugurated a national committee to wage war against the fraudsters. THE GEORGE ORWELL
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