Intelligent Travel: The Radar: IT's Weekly Web Reconnaissance

Week of July 18th

Intelligent Travel offers up a host of interesting travel tidbits, but even we admit that our cup runneth over when it comes to fascinating facts. So we've compiled a weekly roundup of the things we've found on the web, and share them with you.

North America

-The U.S. Senate has overturned a ban on HIV-positive travelers entering the country. It was one of only a dozen countries to have that ban in place—a list including Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Russia. [Air travel news]

-The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has produced a Digital Atlas of Megalopolis covering the vast, urbanized Northeastern corridor from Virginia to Maine. [Maps]

-A radioactive and chemical waste site in Hanford, Washington—dubbed "one of the most contaminated places on Earth"—is leaking waste into the ground. [Environment & wildlife]

-Vertical farms on skyscrapers may soon become part of New York City's skyline. [Global news & trivia]

-The Yankee Stadium, in Bronx, New York, will be closing down at the end of the current baseball season. Its replacement will be a billion-dollar venue across the street. [Global news & trivia]

-An unmanned, motorless submarine studying the North Atlantic ocean is nearing the halfway mark between New Jersey and Spain. It will have covered 3,800 miles once it reaches the Spanish mainland. [Global news & trivia]

South America

-Brazil's affluent, safety-concerned motorists are buying more bulletproof cars. [Global news & trivia]

-Students and scientists in La Plata, Argentina, are on a quest for the perfect hamburger. [Global news & trivia]

Europe

-Forests around the world may succumb to fuel and food production, according to reports supported by the British, Swedish, and Swiss international development offices. [Environment & wildlife]

-Vesuvius not to blame this time: Italy declared a "state of emergency" for the ancient site of Pompeii. [History & world heritage]

-The French think that the French are among the world's most obnoxious tourists. [Global news & trivia]

-Ever heard of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic? It's one of several subdivisions within the Russian Federation. [Random research find]

-Peter the Great's battleship has been discovered in the Baltic Sea. [History & world heritage]

-The new U.S. embassy in Berlin has been called a klotz (lump, in German). [Global news & trivia]

Asia

-The U.S. is considering opening a diplomatic office in Iran. The "interests section," rather than a full-staffed embassy, would be the first U.S foreign relations establishment in Tehran in three decades. Let's hope it's not another klotz. [Global news & trivia]

-A rare, 2,500-year-old marble discus has been found by a lifeguard, while diving in the antiquities site of Yavne-Yam, a port city in Israel. [History & world heritage]

-With travel restrictions to Taiwan further relaxed, and the inauguration of weekend charter flights earlier this month, Chinese tourists are expected to arrive in large groups. Up to 3,000 mainland Chinese citizens will be allowed travel to the nearby island each day. [Global news & trivia]

-A swiss-based organization estimates that up to 1.5 million people have been relocated from their Beijing homes, to make way for the Olympics. The Washington Post has a more in-depth report. [Global news & trivia]

-Crossbows, large banners, and nudity will not be allowed at the Beijing Olympics, as per the "Spectators' House Rules." [Global news & trivia]

-Don't drink the water: Myanmar (Burma), and Indonesia's Sumatra island, are among the countries in Southeast Asia at high risk of arsenic contamination in groundwater, according to new studies. [Environment & wildlife]

-The citizens of Kamikatsu, a small southeastern Japanese town, have developed a "zero waste" program, which they hope will inspire the rest of the world.[Global news & trivia]

Africa

-Namibia, the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, is experimenting with ways to deal with climate change. [Environment & wildlife]

-Wildlife conservationists were fatally attacked in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [Environment & wildlife]

Oceania

-A koala survived being hit by a car, getting its head stuck in the vehicle front grill, and being dragged for several miles in Brisbane, Australia. The critter, dubbed Lucky Grills, is doing well. [Environment & wildlife]

-Qantas, the Australian airline, is cutting 1,500 jobs and closing call centers in Tuscon, Arizona, and London. [Air Travel News]