The Russian foreign ministry urged Russian citizens on Friday to defer travel to Nepal for personal security reasons. “The internal political situation in the Kingdom of Nepal has recently deteriorated,” the ministry said. “Mass demonstrations against the government accompanied by acts of violence have spread over the country.”
The Foreign Office has advised “against all but essential travel” to Nepal because of enhanced tension in the Himalayan country.
Three people have been killed and hundreds injured as police opened fire on crowds. There have also been hundreds of arrests.
The Foreign Office (FO) warned there was a risk of visiting Britons getting caught up in violence on the streets.
“Those British nationals already in Nepal should decide whether their presence there is essential,” the FO said. “We will keep this advice under close review.”
Doll size, tight-fitting wool sweaters keep this breed of “fairy” penguins warm as they recover from exposure to oil spills off coastal Australia, dramatically raising their survival rate. (Photograph courtesy of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints) 
China's rising thirst for oil has long caused consternation in the geeky circles of the oil industry, as most recognized some time ago that the growing band of Shanghainese abandoning bicycles for BMW's would mean a sharp rise in global petrol demand. With the world now well aware of this dilemma, the oil industry is pondering where it will find sufficient oil to meet China's needs. 
Most journeys into the desert begin in Urumqi, a modern city indistinguishable from any other second tier Chinese city. Though it formed part of the original Silk Road, a journey through the desert was long considered a death sentence, and it wasn't until 1995 that a highway was erected. Though the highway allows access to the amenities of the region's cities to the tiniest desert village, some villages chose to remain closed and the highway was evidently rerouted and the villages excluded from maps to accommodate this. Ironically, those who put great store in recreating ancient methods of traversing the desert (donkey, rickshaw, et al) also rely heavily on the “shamo gonglu” highway. 
There are also plentiful cultural activities along the route, including the remains of the “lost city” of Subashi, well-maintained mosques, and little visited museums – we had to wake the curator from a lunchtime nap to ask him to turn the lights on for us in one. 
In 1993, UNESCO declared the Camino de Santiago a world heritage site. It starts from the boarder of France and works it way west to the city of Santiago de Compostela covering some 750 kilometres. Originally, pilgrims had to navigate their way using the sun, moon, stars, and even the Milky Way. Getting lost was part of the journey. Today, the trail is so clearly marked that losing your way is not really an option. With shiny traffic signs, brass and tile scallop shells, and the distinct yellow arrows you'll always be pointed to Santiago. 
The oldest documentation of the Compostelana, the official certificate of having completed the pilgrimage, was delivered to André le Breton in the Capilla del Rey de Francia and dates back to 1321. Almost 700 years later, you can still request the Compostelana certificate, complete with your name in Latin. To be eligible you must have either walked or ridden a horse for the last 100 kilometres or bicycled the last 200 kilometres. The demand for this document has grown such that there is now a special Pilgrim's Office that will attend to your petition. 
Despite a thousand years, the Camino de Santiago remains and its pilgrims continue to flow into Santiago. The Camino is an unforgettable experience that creates a special bond and camaraderie among all those who have walked it. In a world where things change so quickly, the Camino de Santiago is so refreshing as things really haven't changed so much after all! 
The downtown (all eight blocks) could serve as the set for Our Town. It centres on the block-on-a-side triangular Plaza and adjacent Lithia Park, which becomes more natural as one follows its creek into the mountains. Only one building is over three stories; it and 28 others are on the National Register of Historic Places. The town owns both a fibre optic network and a ski resort at nearby Mt. Ashland. A commission awards a bronze plaque to the “tree of the year.” There never will be a shopping mall in Ashland. McDonalds went broke. 
over sixty B&B's in turn-of-the-century Craftsman and Victorian homes that characterize the town and some twenty hotels and motels, including several in the downtown area. 
Venice and Twelfth Night. The town council stipulated boxing matches to cover the expected deficit, hoping Bowmer would not accept such an undignified linkage. Bowmer found the idea in keeping with the bawdiness of Elizabethan theatre and accepted. Ironically, the plays covered the deficit of the boxing. The Festival has continued ever since, with a few years off while Bowmer served in World War II. In 2007, the Festival will present As You Like It, On the Razzle (a variation on The Matchmaker aka Hello Dolly), The Cherry Orchard, Gem of the Ocean, and Tartuffe in the modernistic Bowmer. Three new American plays, Rabbit Hole, Tracy's Tiger, and Distracted will be in the intimate New Theatre. Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Tempest will be in the half-timbered, outdoor Elizabethan. 
About the author: David is professor emeritus of Behavioural Science and of Humanities, California State University, and author of over 100 books and articles including Why We Fight: Theories of Human Aggression and Conflict (2005). He has been a Fulbright Scholar in Cyprus and Ukraine, a Malone Scholar in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, worked in Australia, Singapore, and Morocco, and visited over 100 countries. He is co-founder and treasurer emeritus of Wildlife on Wheels, which provides live wild animal education programs to 100,000 Los Angeles basin children each year. He is married and has one child. Picture was taken of David and his family in the Raffles, Singapore (which is not the place it used to be, unfortunately.)