In the modern world of technology revolution and development in the area of communication, nothing seems more accessible and more desirable than travel. Thanks to alltopics.com readers have received new free daily news source of the travel industry. Travel.alltopics.com is the easiest and fastest way to find articles, news, images and videos that determine the world of travel.(PRWEB) May 31 ...
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MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (IHG) (IHG) (ADRs), one of the worlds largest hotel companies, is daring travelers to discover the Latin America and Caribbean they thought they knew with an enticing destination travel deal. Have you ever discovered Brazils tropical rainforest via a boat tour down the Amazon River? Or traveled back to colonial times by way of the old city of Quito, Ecuador? Have you visited a world-renowned museum in Panama City, or been witness to the historical structure of "El Morro," a fortress encapsulating Puerto Ricos role as a guardian of the New World? You thought you knew Latin America and the Caribbeanbut you have no idea.
The newly launched Discover Latin America and Caribbean promotion, valid on hotel stays from June 1st through September 15th, 2012, promises travelers an inspiring, culturally stimulating vacation experience for less. Travelers who book early from now to September 1st will be offered complimentary breakfast and save 20% at more than 75 exotic locations under the IHG family of hotel brands in Latin America and the Caribbean, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. Plus, loyal guests who are enrolled in Priority Club Rewards will earn points for stays.
Featuring a range of destinations from luxurious or family friendly, beachside resorts to urban, city-based hotels some of the IHG properties offering this promotion include: InterContinental Buenos Aires, where just steps away from the hotel guests can learn to tango at one of the citys famed dance schools; Holiday Inn Aruba-Beach Resort & Casino, where visitors can enjoy a day of snorkeling at the pristine Palm Beach; Holiday Inn Cartagena Morros, where guests can explore the colorful architecture of a charming and historically rich city declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 via afternoon strolls on cobble-stone streets; Crowne Plaza Lima, where sightseeing is enhanced with gardens and flower-filled parks and beaches; and Holiday Inn Express Santiago, located in las Condes Vitacura, where guests can live like a local in one of the most fashionable and upscale neighborhoods in Santiago. Choose from a variety of IHG-branded hotels located in a multitude of destinations and truly discover the Latin America and Caribbean you thought you knew.
The Discover Latin America and Caribbean promotion can be reserved anytime between now and September 1st for stays from June 1st through September 15th. For reservations and the full terms and conditions of this offer, please visit http://www.ihg.com/LAC.
*For photos or media inquiries please contact Cristina Planas/305.663.3543/cplanas@krepspr.com
Notes to Editors:
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, as well as our two newest brands, EVENTMHotels and HUALUXETMHotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 65 million members worldwide.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 661,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
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By Sean Captain, Managing Editor, TechNewsDaily
Credit: Google
Royal Palace at Caserta, Italy.
Summer is travel season, but also a time of high airfares and, for many, tight budgets. If you can't get to the great sites of the world in person, Google's new World Wonders Project can get you pretty close.
Launched on Thursday, the project is a mash-up of photos, YouTube videos, Google Earth 3D models and Google Street View panoramas. Brief write-ups on the locations round out the presentation.
World Wonders focuses heavily on buildings, from the Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto to the Old City of Salamanca in Spain to the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn. But it also features a handful of natural wonders, including Kakadu National Park in Australia and Yosemite Park in California.
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BELLEVUE, Wash., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Expedia.com, the world's leading online travel agency, has found that the Dominican Republic is an increasingly popular destination for US travel, up 30%, making it the 2nd most popular destination for Americans to travel in Latin America and the Caribbean.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/SF33870LOGO-b)
As the largest and most diverse Caribbean destination, the Dominican Republic is an easy trip from Miami, New York City, Atlanta and even some European destinations. Known for its warm and hospitable people, the Dominican Republic is a destination like no other, featuring astounding nature, intriguing history and rich culture.
In additional to identifying the best deals, activities and tips for travelers planning a vacation to the Dominican Republic, Miriam Hernandez, head of the Dominic Republic market for Expedia.com, shared that, "The Dominican Republic has never been more popular for US travelers, especially those from the east coast, but surprisingly, room night costs have remained mostly flat, making it one of the best deals for getting to the beach this summer." A recent survey known as the Expedia Flip Flop report shows that beach travel is the number one type of trip most Americans prefer.
Dominican Republic travel trends at a glance
Where to stay in the Dominican Republic
For travelers looking for a romantic all-inclusive getaway, the Sanctuary Cap Cana, Zoetry Agua Punta Cana and Majestic Elegance Punta Cana all offer fantastic all-inclusive and romantic options. For families, the Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real, Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe and Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana Luxury all offer affordable and family friendly all-inclusive options. For travelers interested in trying their luck at a casino they should visit the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana featuring the largest gaming area in the country.
What to do in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has many of the most magnificent golf courses in the Caribbean and Latin America. From the mountains to the beaches, the golf courses there are uniquely designed and distinct.
Sports champions and golf enthusiasts alike cannot resist playing the island's challenging courses.
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Summer is travel season, but also a time of high airfares and, for many, tight budgets. If you can't get to the great sites of the world in person, Google's new World Wonders Project can get you pretty close.
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Virtually Travel the Globe with Google World Wonders Project
Planning your next family vacation, but strapped for cash? Consider Google, instead.
The Web giant's new World Wonders project brings the sandy beaches of Australia's Shark Bay or the ruins of the Temple of Hercules in Italy to your fingertips. Through Google's Street View application, Web surfers can tour famous historic sites using Google Maps, directly from the climate-controlled comfort of their home.
Part of the Google Art expansion, the site now offers virtual tours of 132 famous sites in 18 countries. The World Wonders Project allows exploration by location or theme, like archaeological sites, monuments and memorials, or places of worship. Or just flick through the homepage photo carousel or drop your mouse on a random spot on the globe to begin your tour.
Sites are grouped geographically, including every continent except Africa and Antarctica.
All of the historic sites filed away by Google are listed in the Street View gallery, which includes tours beyond the new European additions.
Google's project is meant to support the preservation of historic places around the world, the company said today during its launch in Madrid. The Web mogul hopes to bring these famous landmarks to a wider audience, the project site said.
Google has spent plenty of time running around the world, capturing famous places for various ventures. Last year, the company shared views of spaces like New York's High Line Park, London's Kensington Gardens, and Tokyo's Koganei Park.
"Street View has already proved a real hit for tourists and avid virtual explorers," the World Wonders site said. This new project is being marketed as a valuable resource for students and scholars, as well.
Google employees took an unorthodox approach to filming the "non-street" Street View venues. Bucking the traditional camera-equipped cars, Google outfitted a three-wheel pedi-cab with camera equipment and a rider who traveled around the world to those hard-to-reach locales.
Google partnered with the World Monuments Fund and UNESCO, which has offered its World Heritage List of famous landmarks to the Street View gallery.
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Cyber experts refute claims that code is spy tool Same 'simplistic' language used in video games Suggestion that virus could have come from Israel Spyware is too big to be stealth tool say some experts
By Phil Vinter
PUBLISHED: 10:11 EST, 31 May 2012 | UPDATED: 11:04 EST, 31 May 2012
There is confusion over who developed a new computer super-virus after some programmers today reportedly said the coding was the same relatively simple language as found in video games like Angry Birds.
The suggestion contradicts theories put forward by other experts who only yesterday said the virus, known as The Flame, was so sophisticated it had to have been developed by some of the world's top brains at the U.S.'s National Security Agency.
To guard against the virus the United Nations is issuing its 'most serious warning', but now some say element of the virus - known as malware - are baffling.
Simplistic: Experts have today raised question marks over the sophistication of new computer bug Flame, saying sections of the code used to produce it are the same as that used in video games like Angry Birds
According to msnbc reporterBob Sullivan the program requires 20 megabytes - a comparably large size for a computer virus and an indicator of sluggish coding.
Furthermore unlike the computer bug Stuxnet, Flame has so far failed to make a security breach comparable to hacking into a nuclear power plant.
Most notably sections of the code were used the Lua programming language which is almost whollly used to create video games such as the hugely popular Angry Birds.
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Was flame virus written by gamers? Code similar to apps such as Angry Birds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Whenever a high-ranking Iranian politician has sent or received an email in the past two years, a computer virus nicknamed Flame has most likely copied that email and secretly shipped it to an outside computer network.
When a user of an infected Iranian computer typed a password, Flame stole it. When the user opened a sensitive document or instant-messaged a friend or video-chatted with a colleague, Flame nabbed that, too.
Flame, which reportedly has infected hundreds of computers across Iran and the Middle East, is probably the most sophisticated computer virus ever detected, say the experts who discovered it this week.
Flame's sheer size and the information it seeks it's taking data, not money probably makes it the handiwork of a government or group of governments, say the experts at Kaspersky, the respected Russian lab that identified the virus.
And Flame may well be the latest weapon in a series of cyberskirmishes that have exploded in size and sophistication in recent years, say local and national computer security experts interviewed by The World-Herald.
In this largely hidden fight, the Chinese and Russian governments are believed to have used computer worms and viruses to steal American government secrets, as well as staggering amounts of proprietary information from U.S. companies.
And the United States and Israel are suspected of collaborating on an earlier computer worm known as Stuxnet, which famously crippled the Iranian nuclear program in 2010.
Flame, by contrast, appears to be spying, not seeking to destroy Iranian computer systems.
It actually looks a lot like traditional espionage, but how it gets done has changed, said Robin Gandhi, a University of Nebraska at Omaha computer security expert and professor affiliated with the Peter Kiewit Institute. This isn't your typical virus. ... The whole point of (Flame) is to be sneaky and stealthy and gather data as you go about your business, never noticing.
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Whenever a high-ranking Iranian politician has sent or received an email in the past two years, a computer virus nicknamed Flame has most likely copied that email and secretly shipped it to an outside computer network.
When a user of an infected Iranian computer typed a password, Flame stole it. When the user opened a sensitive document or instant-messaged a friend or video-chatted with a colleague, Flame nabbed that, too.
Flame, which reportedly has infected hundreds of computers across Iran and the Middle East, is probably the most sophisticated computer virus ever detected, say the experts who discovered it this week.
Flame's sheer size and the information it seeks it's taking data, not money probably makes it the handiwork of a government or group of governments, say the experts at Kaspersky, the respected Russian lab that identified the virus.
And Flame may well be the latest weapon in a series of cyberskirmishes that have exploded in size and sophistication in recent years, say local and national computer security experts interviewed by The World-Herald.
In this largely hidden fight, the Chinese and Russian governments are believed to have used computer worms and viruses to steal American government secrets, as well as staggering amounts of proprietary information from U.S. companies.
And the United States and Israel are suspected of collaborating on an earlier computer worm known as Stuxnet, which famously crippled the Iranian nuclear program in 2010.
Flame, by contrast, appears to be spying, not seeking to destroy Iranian computer systems.
It actually looks a lot like traditional espionage, but how it gets done has changed, said Robin Gandhi, a University of Nebraska at Omaha computer security expert and professor affiliated with the Peter Kiewit Institute. This isn't your typical virus. ... The whole point of (Flame) is to be sneaky and stealthy and gather data as you go about your business, never noticing.
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Shares of Osiris Therapeutics Inc. rose Wednesday after the stem cell product developer said Medicare is assigning reimbursement codes to its Grafix skin therapy.
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Public release date: 30-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vanessa McMains vmcmain1@jhmi.edu 410-502-9410 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
This year the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund awarded 29 of 40 grants to Johns Hopkins researchers for the study of stem cell metabolism and regulation, the creation of new cell models for human diseases such as schizophrenia and Rett syndrome, which previously could be studied only in animals, and the development of new potential therapies.
Researchers whose preliminary data promised greater discoveries were awarded Investigator-Initiated grants. Jeff Bulte, Ph.D., professor of radiology, biomedical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the Institute for Cell Engineering, hopes to develop a cell therapy for treatment of type 1 diabetes an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system kills the insulin-producing cells that help regulate blood sugar. By developing cloaked stem and insulin-producing cells that can evade immune system detection, Bulte and his team hope to replace damaged cells and restore insulin levels in patients.
Grants were awarded to:
Several Johns Hopkins investigators were awarded Exploratory grants for researchers either new to the stem cell field or with untested but promising new ideas. Miroslaw Janowski , M.D., Ph.D., a research associate in radiology, plans to develop a stroke treatment by guiding newly introduced brain cells with magnets through blood vessels to the site of injury.
Exploratory grants were awarded to:
Postdoctoral trainees also will receive funding for research projects. A fellow in biomedical engineering, Pinar Huri, Ph.D., will use her award to develop bone grafts with blood vessels inside made from fat tissue-derived stem cells. The grafts would be used in patients with severely damaged bone in need of reconstructive surgery.
Postdoctoral grants were awarded to:
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'Experiencia Mistica,' Spanish for 'Mystical Experience,' is a particle board and paint rendering of a church. Viewers climb into the 6-foot-tall, 10-foot-long and 8-foot-wide structure, and sensors pick up the viewer's presence, triggering video on a silver monitor, lights and music.
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Technology meets spirituality in interactive 'Experiencia Mistica' installation
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Jacob D. Myers: Holy Ink: The Spirituality of Tattoos (PHOTOS)
QUEZON City, May 31, 2012Far from being a merely religious concept, spirituality can be highly political, as Filipino youth who have been immersed in the Taiz community would agree.
Pia Montalban, 29, a disaster training volunteer of Alay Bayan, explained that it is precisely her Catholic spirituality that moves her to be immersed in social and political realities.
Montalban, who spent 3 months experiencing the Taiz spirituality of trust and unity in France from December 2006 to March 2007, said that young people should not merely wait for bishops to issue statements on social issues confronting todays society but on our own, we [should] ask and listen.
She also explained that probably 90% of farmers, workers and other sectors involved in nagging social issues are baptized Catholics. Montalban begged the question, Where is the Church? Aren't we the Church?
Carlos Pascasio, who was in Taiz in 1989 at the height of the conflict between East and West Germany, said that living in the Taiz community helped him see that spirituality is closely linked with concern for one's neighbor. Pascasio, who now works in real estate, said, I developed a macro view; it widened my horizon.
Pascasio himself was a former student activist involved in such groups as Kabataang Makabayan and League of Filipino Students before realizing that the solutions proposed by such groups would never work.
Bro. Andreas Krautsieder, a Taiz brother who visited the Philippines a month ago, agreed that since the love of God cannot be separated from the love of neighbor, it cant be helped that the Gospel be political.
Krautsieder said that to be political does not necessarily mean being partisan. Talking about feeding the hungry and visiting prisoners, he said [these are] very earthly and yet can transform our life if we start to put it into practice.
Taiz is an ecumenical monastic order in Taiz, Sane-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. The Philippines has been sending young people to immerse in the community since the early 1980s. [Nirva'ana Ella Delacruz]
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30-05-2012 10:21 Watch as participants share what has happened for them since reading Lola's life changing book, 'Things Are Going Great In My Absence' and experiencing Divine Openings for themselves.
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Spiritual Enlightenment Experiences with Divine Openings - Video
Wrapping up a successful test flight, a SpaceX cargo ship was detached from the International Space Station early Thursday, setting up a Pacific Ocean splashdown off the Baja California peninsula.
Space station astronauts unbolted a commercial cargo ship early Thursday, used the lab's robot arm to pull it away and released it into open space to set the stage for re-entry and splashdown off the Baja California peninsula to close out a successful test flight and set the stage for the start of routine cargo delivery missions later this year.
With the space station's Canadian-built robot arm locked onto the Dragon cargo craft, four gangs of motorized bolts holding the capsule in place were driven out, releasing the spacecraft from Harmony's Earth-facing port at 4:07 a.m. EDT (GMT-4).
A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule moves away from the International Space Station early Thursday in this view from a camera on the end of the lab's robot arm.
Flight engineer Joseph Acaba, operating the robot arm from a computer work station inside the lab's multi-window cupola compartment, pulled the Dragon capsule away, moving it to a pre-determined release point well away from station structure.
One orbit later, Acaba and flight engineer Donald Pettit released the spacecraft, opening snares in the arm's latching end effector at 5:49 a.m. as the space station sailed 250 miles above the southern Indian Ocean. SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, Calif., working in concert with NASA's flight control team at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, then monitored three quick rocket firings to begin Dragon's departure and eventual descent to Earth.
Within 11 minutes or so, the capsule was outside a pre-defined safety zone around the space station and SpaceX assumed full responsibility for the remainder of the mission.
The Dragon cargo ship moments after it was unbolted from the space station's forward Harmony module.
"The departure sequence is fairly quick, it's a three-burn series, two small burns then one big burn," said NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings. "The Dragon will head away from the space station outside the integrated space and that'll be the end of our integrated activity with the SpaceX/Dragon team. That process is 10 or 11 minutes after the release time."
"So again, very quick, very different from rendezvous day when we spent a lot of time in integrated space. The Dragon will head on out and be on its own in terms of the Dragon team controlling and managing the rest of the activities through the day."
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The SpaceX Dragon capsule parachuted into the Pacific on Thursday to conclude the first private delivery to the International Space Station and inaugurate NASA's new approach to exploration.
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SpaceX capsule returns to Earth, ends historic trip to space station with Pacific splashdown
The world's first commercial space cargo ship, the unmanned Dragon capsule, cast off from the International Space Station today (May 31) as it prepares to return to Earth.
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Posted on: 3:49 pm, May 31, 2012, by Staff Writer, updated on: 04:16pm, May 31, 2012
(CNN) The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the companys founder declared a grand slam.
The Dragon drifted beneath parachutes to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, about 560 miles off Baja California, on Thursday morning. It hit the water about a mile from its target, SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters.
This has been a fantastic day, Musk said, adding, Im just overwhelmed with joy. He said recovery crews have reached the capsule and report it looks really good.
Splashdown came at 8:42 a.m. (11:42 a.m. ET), about two minutes earlier than expected, SpaceX and NASA reported. Musk was on hand at the companys mission control center near Los Angeles as operators monitored the descent, and called the mission a grand slam in a briefing later Thursday.
Splashdown came nine days after it took off on its historic mission, during which it delivered food, clothing, computer equipment and supplies for science experiments to the orbital platform and returned with about 1,300 pounds of cargo everything from trash to scientific research and experimental samples.
The space stations robotic arm released the Dragon at 5:35 a.m. ET. A thruster burn a minute later pushed the spacecraft away from its host, according to SpaceX, the private company that built and operates the vessel.
Alan Lindenmoyer, NASAs head of commercial space systems, said the space agency is waiting to recover the spacecrafts cargo and will review post-flight reports. But he told Musk, We became a customer today. Weve been waiting for this day, and it certainly is a tremendous day, Lindenmoyer said. Were looking forward now to routine, regular cargo service.
Space analyst Miles OBrien said the flight was a demonstration of the companys capabilities, and the spacecraft wasnt carrying critical equipment or supplies.
If none of this cargo had gone up or down, the show would have gone on, said OBrien, a former CNN correspondent. Its next mission, expected later this year, will be a for-real cargo with mission-critical items.
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After a successful trip to the International Space Station, the SpaceX Dragon craft successfully de-coupled from the Station in the early hours of the morning and began its descent towards the Pacific Ocean. The ship, which is loaded with cargo loaded up by the space station astronauts, safely splashed down in the ocean at 11:42 am EDT today.
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SpaceX Dragon Safely Splashes Down After Trip To Space Station