Nigerian Times

Political and Natural Events Strongly Impact Room Rates in First Half of 2011, Says new Hotels.com Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) LONDON, September 13/PRNewswire/ — Hotel prices have experienced pronounced volatility as a result of political turmoil and natural disasters in the first half of 2011, according to the latest Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®). The average price of a room around the world rose by just 3% in the first six months of the year but this masked some steep rises and falls in regions affected by the historic events. Other factors such as currency strength and supply of rooms also impacted average room prices across the world, although the report shows that overall these were just 6% higher than when the HPI was launched in 2004, representing outstanding value for travellers. Prices fell 6% in Asia Pacific year-on-year but rose in all other areas: 4% in North America, 2% in Europe and Latin America and 1% in the Caribbean. Counting the Cost of the Arab Spring The upri...

Equatorial Guinea's president Teodoro Obiang Nguema (R) and wife Constancia Mangue de Obiang arrive for the inauguration of South Africa's fourth President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on May 9, 2009. AFP Photo/POOL/Jerome Delay (Photo credit should read JEROME DELAY/AFP/Getty Images) 30 Jun 2011 19:31 Africa/Lagos President Obiang Urges Unity and Solidarity in Africa PR Newswire MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, June 30, 2011 AU Chairman Stresses the Need to Further Strengthen the Continent's Youth MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a speech which called on all Africans to work together to solve problems facing the continent, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, addressed leaders from Africa's 54 nations and around the world. President Obiang, who is also chairman of the African Union, told member countries that even though they are "often exposed to pressures created by external nations," they must...