If you a planning an overland trip in west Africa, then please note that the Nigerian Government has announced that it is closing its borders with the Benin Republic with immediate effect due to an increase in cross-border crime such as smuggling and human trafficking. The main border crossing into Benin is not far from Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos and it normally carries travellers and traders from Benin, Togo, Ghana and beyond.

Travel Photographer of the Year is a new annual competition, supported by major names in the photographic and travel industries, that recognises and celebrates the very best travel photography.

Any photographer – amateur or professional – can enter TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (TPOTY) by submitting a portfolio of four images in one, two or all three of the portfolio categories. There’s an Image of the Year category as well and even a special award for those aged 16 and under – the YOUNG TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR. Entries close on September 14th 2003.

Under 30? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

We reported a while back about Dubai’s Palm, an ambitious hotel and resort development off the coast. Now, tourism and government authorities have gone one step further, or should we say under. A 220 suite hotel is planned to open in three years’ time off Dubai in the Persian Gulf. The Hydropolis Hotel will be made from strengthened plexiglass, concrete and steel able to withstand being placed at around 30 metres below the surface of the sea. The route to the hotel will be through a 1,700 ft transparent tunnel on a shuttle train.

This will be the world’s second under water hotel. The first, the Jules Verne Underwater Lodge can be found in Florida.

Fourteen of the European hostages, missing in the Sahara for over five months have been released by suspected Islamic extremist kidnappers. One woman hostage died whilst held captive in Mali. The tourists – nine Germans, four Swiss and a Dutchman are reported to be well, but exhausted. A political row has erupted over speculation that a ransom was paid. The German press has reported that the kidnappers wanted $5m for each hostage as well as security guarantees. The German press believe that the German government has paid a ransom, although others believe that Mali has put forward the money, and that Germany will then provide it with foreign aid. Also at issue is how far Germany – or indeed any country – should be responsible for its citizens when they knowingly travel to dangerous parts of the world.

The Cambodian government has has released full scale tourism plans for a small village, Anlong Veng, some 70 miles away from Angkor Watt, Cambodia’s most visited tourist attraction. Anlong Veng, however is infamous as being Pol Pot’s last refuge. Plans include opening a museum with video show, refurbishing houses belonging to Pol Pot and a villa belonging to T Mok, once home to the one legged commander nicknamed the Butcher who took over from Pol Pot. There are plans to train some of the former Khmer Rouge as guides. The Ministry of Tourism says that the project will be done in the “best possible taste.” Relatives of the victims have criticised the plans because Anlong Veng has religious significance because of the tremendous suffering and tourism would cheapen the memory.

A great website, spotted by our webmaster Paul. It contains articles from the press and magazines around the world and also headlines from events around the world. So, if you ever wondered what the headlines were in Yemen or Serbia, here’s your chance to find out. Each country’s newspaper is listed so you can select a newspaper of your choice to see that country’s news stories. The site also tells you which language the newspaper is in. Click on: worldpress

A retired Florida schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a “human shield” is facing hefty fines, which she is refusing to pay. The US Treasury said that Faith Fippinger, 62, broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in “virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq.” The government also has asked Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq and any financial transactions she made. In her response, Fippinger wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies and that “if it comes to fines or imprisonment, “please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the build-up of its arsenal of weapons.” Since she won't pay, she said, “perhaps the alternative should be considered.”

Southwest Airlines, the highly successful US low cost airline – the one that Ryanair is modelled on, has fired two pilots (both men) for allegedly taking off their clothes whilst in the cockpit, in flight.

Southwest is famous for being offbeat. When they started flying in 1971, flight attendants wore hot pants (one assumes the female ones) and were chosen for sex appeal and they are known even today for making funny in-flight announcements, sometimes even in song.

This is not the first time that pilots have behaved badly – America West fired a pair of pilots last year for being under the influence of alcohol in the cockpit after running up a $142 tab at a Miami bar the night before. A Northwest Airlines pilot was arrested in January, after a loaded gun was found in his carry-on.

In a bid to step up flight security, China plans to
use policemen disguised as crew members. The undercover police, who may
be armed, are undergoing training and are likely to be deployed in October
this year.

British Airways has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia after receiving evidence of a planned attack on a UK jet at Riyadh airport.

Expect to get some good fares between New Zealand and
Tasmania: Air New Zealand (ANZ) is to launch a low cost service
Tasman Express on October 29th on its trans Tasman route. There is already
an Emirates service across the Tasman Sea and Virgin Blue has said
it intends to start flights between the two countries later this year.

ANZ also plans to cut the price of fares from
Auckland to Sydney by 45 percent to NZD$189 (USD$111) one way, while the
total reductions would average about 20 percent.

India’s first budget airline, Air Deccan
has just started with flights from the southern city of Bangalore. Air
Deccan aims to undercut other carriers’ fares by 50 percent, will
start with one daily service to Hubli and Mangalore, but plans to expand
quickly to 20 flights per day to destinations in the south of the country.
India’s civil aviation minister, Rajav Prat Rudy said: “The days
of flying being a symbol of only maharajas or the rich are over.”

Pilots in the US are pressing the government to train
more cockpit crews in the use of guns after new warnings about possible
terrorist hijack attempts.

The US government has put out a worldwide alert that
terrorists may be plotting more hijack attempts on commercial airliners
this summer. According to a report from CNN the targets could include
Australia, Italy, the UK or the eastern United States. However, the intelligence
is still being evaluated and some doubts have been cast on its reliability.

Ben Sessions from Houston, Texas wrote in to recommend: “a wonderful travel-accommodations club. My wife and I often travel in the US and Europe researching our ancestors and visiting relatives, old friends and new friends. We belong to a travel group The Hospitality Club, which has members worldwide offering free accommodations for travellers. It is free to join and all the members are listed on the internet by country and city. We spent June in Germany and met and overnighted with several members. They were wonderful and quite accommodating. Frugal folks who like and/or need to travel will benefit greatly from this organization, (members have the option of being a host/hostess or not.)

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter — to get the exchange rates for 164 currencies or The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — to create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Can you help David and his wife and two young children who are planning to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, Canada and Africa. Can anyone give him some advice on work permits? David's wife is an occupational therapist. Also can anyone give David some advice on travelling with young children? If you can help, please contact David on: david.flower3@ntlworld.com

The Beetle would like to hear from anyone who has dived at Madang, Tufi or Walinde as she is planning a trip there at Christmas. Please e-mail the Beetle: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

September 27th is World Tourism Day. Tourists lodging in Bologna will receive a passport listing all services and advantages: discounts to museums, restaurants, bars, pubs, local transportation and unusual guided tours. http://www.commune.bologna.it

Building work on a national Holocaust memorial in the German capital, Berlin, has begun. The memorial is being built in the centre of the city, close to the Brandenburg Gate and near the bunker where Adolf Hitler committed suicide in 1945. The monument should be completed by May 2005 – in time for the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War Two.

Music, ballet, plays and recitals, comedy and children’s theatre and so much more! If you’re near Palermo the first 2 weeks of September, stop by and get a feel for the Sicilian summer! Enjoy an evening of entertainment in a magnificent piazza while savouring a cool gelato! http://www.commune.palermo.it

A woman was killed by a great white shark while swimming with sea lions at Avala Beach, between Los Angeles and San Francisco in California. This is the first attack in almost ten years. Four lifeguards tried to save her life, but the 50-year-old was declared dead upon reaching the shore. The shark had bitten her left leg, severing her femoral artery. The area is known to be populated by sharks but they usually only attack humans if confused, said a shark specialist interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle. 'If you are wearing a wetsuit and fins and you are swimming with sea lions you are doing a clumsy job of imitating shark food,' he said.

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

What is the capital city of the following countries:

1. Angola
2. Cyprus
3. Laos
4. Nepal
5. South Korea

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Win a Frommer’s guidebook on Amsterdam 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks.

Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.

The winner of last month's Moon Guide on Fiji is Eileen Hobson.