Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier continues to be hot copy. After his diplomatic faux pas in Afghanistan and questions over his former girlfriend's links with biker gang members, there is now a question over his excessive airfare. According to the Toronto Star, Bernier charged to federal funds $22,573 to cover his airfare to Laos, where he attended a two-day conference in November. The trip included a stopover in Paris. Bernier's travel details were in the Foreign Affair Department's website.

Sandi Sabloff had been suffering from chronic kidney failure for 20 years. But thanks to kidney donor, 23-year old Australian Ashwyn Falkingham, a member of the Jesus Christians group, more years will be added to Sabloff's life after a successful transplant at the Paraskevaidion Surgical Transplant Centre in Nicosia, Cyprus. Sabloff and Falkingham are reported to be recovering well.

The latest look at shopping comes from Shermans Travel, which has put together its list of the top spots for "shopaholics. " The Thai capital Bangkok topped the list for its reputation as one of the best shopping destinations in Asia. Good finds in the city are high-quality silk, jewelry, and traditional crafts for a reasonable amount of money. Buenos Aires in Argentina is cited for its low cost leather products. Denmark's Copenhagen is among the top five for its wide-range of merchandise especially home accessories and glassware such as Holmegaard and Royal Copenhagen Porcelain.

Authorities at Yakima airport in Washington evacuated the terminal and temporarily closed the airport Sunday when they found two training grenades inside a passenger's travel bag. However, mo one was hurt from the incident. About 35 people inside the terminal were evacuated before bomb experts from the U. S. Army called in by police arrived to defuse the bomb, which contained no explosives.

On July 5, the first special flight that will allow passengers to fly in their birthday suit, naked that is, will take off from Erfurt in Southeast Germany to its destination in the island of Usedom off Baltic Sea. "All the passengers will fly naked, but they are only allowed to undress once they are in the plane. But then they will be able to enjoy the hour-long flight in the way God intended," Enrico Hess, the founder of the travel company OssiUrlaub, has been quoted as saying.