RiverBarge Excursion Lines reopened its Algiers Point office here after relocating reservations, sales, marketing and operations to Houston following Hurricane Katrina. In addition, the 198-passenger River Explorer will kick off New Orleans trips December 19 with a nine-day Christmas Bonfires on the Levee trip followed by a four-day Big Easy-style New Year´s excursion departing December 30.

The bodies of a two tourists, a Spanish woman and an Italian man, were found last Saturday in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Local investigators are probing this double homicide case, official sources said. According to William Bastarrachea de Leon, chief of police in the state of Quintana Roo, the bodies were found near Tulum, a small town some 80 miles south of Cancun.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has bestowed on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez the Jose Marti Prize for his contribution toward unity and integration of Latin American and Caribbean nations, the UN organization reported. The Venezuelan leader will receive the award named after Cuban writer and national hero Jose Marti in a ceremony that will be held in Havana next January 28, on the author´s birthday.

A study from researchers at the UK´s National Oceanography Centre has reached a paradoxical conclusion: global warming may cause a lowering of European temperatures while making the Caribbean even hotter, and it could happen very quickly. The research team´s conclusions, as reported in the scientific journal Nature, are based on observations of the Gulf Stream over a period of 50 years. They have concluded that the current is weakening and, as a result, less warm water, and consequently less heat, is being transferred from the mid-Atlantic towards the North.

Specialist Caribbean tour operators Just Grenada and Just Tobago have been joined by a brand new sister company, Just St. Kitts & Nevis. The company specializes in holidays to traditional plantation houses converted into intimate inns, together with a small selection of comfortable, handpicked hotels, designed to appeal to couples and families alike.

The Department of Transportation reported that 10,193 complaints were filed against U.S. airlines in 2004 concerning poor service and resources for handicapped passengers. The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) would like to remind passengers of the value of booking with a travel agent and to check out ASTA´s consumer website, for travel tips. Travel agents who specialize in accessible travel can help make trips run smoother for people with disabilities.