The Economist Intelligence Unit will publish a report -- The Austere Traveller -- in February that will show that business travelers' expectations are changing. Economic pressures mean executives now care less about luxury. Instead they are going back to basics. In 2009 we will be traveling less, for shorter periods and trading down in hotels, airlines and restaurants.

Deepa, 40, was born in Mumbai, where she is now a banking technology consultant, as well as running a company that offers "offbeat sightseeing tours" of six Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur. Deepa's Mumbai tours take in the city's bazaars, backstreets and culture and her blog, Mumbai Magic, is a personal view of life in the city.

Some passengers on a diverted Aeromexico flight finally reached their destination in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday after spending 16 hours in limbo. The plane was scheduled to fly from Mexico City, Mexico, to Seattle on Tuesday, but was diverted to Portland, Oregon, because of thick fog, said Kara Simonds,

Every year when I update my guidebook series, I find out what's new in Europe. Here's a review of what Americans can expect the next time they cross the Atlantic. Note that this is a continent-wide look at the latest in Europe. In upcoming columns, I'll cover what's new per major country. In 2009, it's not the "old Europe" anymore as

A baby ape born in the UK is settling into a new life in a German zoo after flying from Birmingham to Frankfurt -- monkey business class. The three-month old male bonobo -- who is to be fostered by a family of German apes after being rejected by his natural mother -- was considered too young and too fragile to travel cargo class, a

Gas prices nationwide jumped a bit over the past two weeks, according to a survey published Sunday. A gallon of self-serve regular cost, on average, $1.86, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey. That's a rise of nearly 8 cents over the past two weeks. After breaking all-time-high records over the summer, prices

Mumbai is always colorful and dynamic but if you're lucky enough to be in town for one of the city's major festivals you'll witness Mumbai erupting into glorious Technicolor. This two-day event takes place in the caves on the island of Elephanta, some 10 km from Mumbai harbor. The caves themselves, filled with carvings, sculptures

Gas prices nationwide jumped a bit over the past two weeks, according to a survey published Sunday. A gallon of self-serve regular cost, on average, $1.86, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey. That's a rise of nearly 8 cents over the past two weeks. After breaking all-time-high records over the summer, prices

Animals obviously hook up, at least during mating season. But do they like it? According to experts, there are two answers: "yes" and "it is impossible to know." "Mosquitoes, I don't know," hedged Mark Bekoff, a University of Colorado biologist and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals" (New World Library), "but across mammals, they enjoy sex."

You, too, can be a hero. For 99 cents, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now download a flight simulator called "Sully's Flight" which lets you recreate this past January's "Miracle on the Hudson." Based on the "X-Plane" flight simulator, also available at Apple's App Store, the game takes you through takeoff, hitting a flock of

Princeton undergraduate Xiaohang Quan was working on her senior thesis when she found a miscalculation in the hardware of the world's largest particle accelerator. Quan, a physics concentrator, traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-March with Princeton physics professors Christopher Tully, Jim Olsen and Daniel Marlow for the annual meeting

The astronauts aboard the linked shuttle-station complex took a congratulatory call from the White House on Tuesday and told President Barack Obama and schoolchildren all about their adventures in space. Obama got a big laugh in orbit and on the ground when he told the 10 space travelers that at a cruising speed of 17,500 mph, "We're glad that you are using the hands-free phone."

A British driver has blamed his GPS navigation unit for leaving his car teetering on the edge of a cliff after he followed its instructions. Robert Jones said he trusted his navigational system and continued to follow it when it told him the steep, narrow footpath he was driving on was a road. Jones, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, northern England, now has a court

Princeton undergraduate Xiaohang Quan was working on her senior thesis when she found a miscalculation in the hardware of the world's largest particle accelerator. Quan, a physics concentrator, traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-March with Princeton physics professors Christopher Tully, Jim Olsen and Daniel Marlow for the annual meeting

British intelligence officers scoured hundreds of UFO sighting reports in the 1980s and 1990s looking for top-secret American stealth-plane projects, newly released files have shown. At the end of the cold war, the Ministry of Defense was worried that America was developing mysterious planes but not telling its closest ally.

Blockbuster Inc. plans to rent and sell its movies and TV shows through TiVo Inc.'s digital video recorders in the second half of this year. The Dallas-based video rental company is playing catch-up to rival Netflix Inc., which already offers free instant streaming of its movies and TV shows through TiVo DVRs and other devices with its "Watch Instantly" service.

American diva Thelma Houston, whose 1977 hit No. 1 song "Don't Leave Me This Way" became one of the major songs of the disco era, is back -- with her first new album in 17 years. Houston, 61, who lives in Los Angeles, says the gap wasn't planned as she has continued working during that period, touring incessantly and performing about 200 shows a year.

Scientists have figured out a way to trick plants into doing the dirty work of environmental cleanup, U.S. and British researchers reported on Monday. Researchers at the University of Washington have genetically altered poplar trees to pull toxins out of contaminated ground water, offering a cost-effective way of cleaning up environmental pollutants.

Parents play a key role in shaping young eating habits and attitudes about food, nutritionists say. But, too often, they're sending mixed signals. There's the mom who demands that her kids eat breakfast, then skips the meal herself. There's the dad who bans chips and candy, elevating the forbidden food to tempting levels. And there are

London is home to the most expensive property in the world, followed by Monaco, New York and Hong Kong, a new report shows. Prime property in the British capital costs 2,300 pounds ($4,585) per square foot, just above Monaco, playground of the rich and famous, at 2,190 pounds, according to estate agent Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank's "Wealth Report 2007".

Dr. Arthur Agatston, cardiologist and South Beach Diet developer, talks about diet, exercise and Miami's new status as the nation's fattest city: Q: In your newest book, The South Beach Diet Supercharged, you write that the diet debates are over. What do you mean? A: The consensus is that we're beyond low-fat versus low-carb debates . . . The answer is

Parents wanting to instill good eating habits in their children, particularly teenagers, should make sure they eat meals together. In one of the first long-term studies to look at the benefits of family meals, researchers at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota found that family meals have a big impact on

Rhonda Barnett remembers her husband Marc's proposal as if it were yesterday, she says. Actually, it was 1994 when her then-beau enlisted the help of her co-workers -- and one large ladder truck -- at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, where she worked as public information manager, to ask for her hand. Knowing my sweetheart was going

American diva Thelma Houston, whose 1977 hit No. 1 song "Don't Leave Me This Way" became one of the major songs of the disco era, is back -- with her first new album in 17 years. Houston, 61, who lives in Los Angeles, says the gap wasn't planned as she has continued working during that period, touring incessantly and performing about 200 shows a year.