In a joint operation by INTERPOL, the World Health Organization and Oxford University’s Southeast Asian Tropical Medicine Research Programme, samples of the antimalarial drug artesunate were purchased throughout Southeast Asia and subjected to analysis. The findings were printed in the February 2008 Public Library of Science journal (http://journals.plos.org).
Twice a year, about 100 of Berlin, Germany’s, museums open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Patrons can see the art and also sample lectures, music, theater, culinary events and more. “Long Night of Museums” takes place Aug. 30, 2008, and Jan. 24 and Aug. 29, 2009.
One ticket gives unlimited access to all venues and use of a special shuttle. A 25-page PDF program listing the events, performances and where to catch the shuttle can be downloaded from www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de.
Historic Tempelhof International Airport (aka Berlin Templehof) is scheduled to close in October 2008 due to reduced use and rising costs.
One of the world’s oldest, still-operating commercial airports it began operation in 1923. It once served international long-haul airliners but in recent years has been handling mostly commuter flights. Its buildings — prominent among examples from the Nazi era — will be preserved.
As of Jan. 31, 2008, all persons crossing land borders or sea borders into or out of the United States must show appropriate documents proving citizenship and identity.
Acceptable documents include a passport, a Trusted Traveler Card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST) or a military ID with travel orders. If a passport is not available, then U.S. citizens can show a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license) and a birth certificate or naturalization certificate.
The Federal Aviation Administration has downgraded the status of Philippine Airlines to Certificate 2, citing a lack of regulations that comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s safety standards.
Philippine Airlines can continue its schedule of 33 weekly flights to the USA under increased FAA scrutiny, but it cannot expand or change the types of planes flying its routes.
The Philippine government is working to develop a Civilian Aviation Authority designed to address the issues involved.
On Jan. 31, 2008, the price of a United States passport increased from $97 to $100 for an adult and from $82 to $85 for anyone under 16. The new, limited-use passport card (for land or sea crossings but not for air travel) now costs $45 adult and $35 child.
The vaporetto (water bus) line numbers in Venice, Italy, have changed.
The main circular line around the heart of the city is still Line 1. Line 2 (formerly No. 82) is now the express line. Line 3 is now for Venetian residents only and not for tourists. Check the signboard on any boat before boarding.
The no-smoking ban aboard the MS Deutschland as well as the other nine European river ships of Peter Deilmann Cruises (Alexandria, VA; 800/348-8287, www.deilmann-cruises.com) has been extended to all indoor areas. Smoking on board now is confined to the outside decks only.
Two Roman villas and private baths dating from the second to fourth centuries have been restored and opened to the public in Rome, Italy.
Excavated under the 16th-century Palazzo Valentini, the 19,375-square-foot complex, which probably housed a Roman senator and his family, features well-preserved marble floors and a mosaic. Glass catwalks above the villas’ remains are combined with 3-D light-projection reconstructions showing how they originally may have looked.
On the southwest coast of Wales, the annual Mud Festival takes place in 2008 on Sept. 6-7. Showcasing mud’s importance in estuaries, activities include welly wanging (the throwing of a Wellington boot as far into the estuary as one can), tug-of-war, mud hut construction and a “mud safari” walk in the estuary.