Canada's secret slopes

(Budget Travel) -- All Olympic eyes will be on Whistler Blackcomb next year as it hosts the 2010 Winter Games' alpine skiing events. But those in the know will be heading to British Columbia's vast, snowy interior for its cool old-school mountain towns and the best powder and terrain in North America.

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

Serious skiers go to great lengths (and often out-of-bounds) to find steep, narrow chutes like the 70 at Kicking Horse, all of which are within the borders of the resort near Golden. For the less daring, there are plenty of intermediate options, such as the 700-acre Crystal Bowl -- on its own as big as the average Vermont ski area. kickinghorseresort.com, lift tickets $67.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort

At 3 years old, B.C.'s newest ski destination is still largely a secret. It's so uncrowded you can park a stone's throw from the high-speed gondola that accesses the biggest vertical drop in North America: 5,620 feet. When Revelstoke's 15-year plan is completed (around 2022), the resort will encompass a whopping 10,000 skiable acres. revelstokemountainresort.com, lift tickets $68.

Panorama Mountain Village

Even with 4,000 feet of vertical rise (one of the highest in B.C.) and 2,847 acres of skiable terrain, Panorama, near Invermere, stands out most for its family-friendly amenities, like hot and cold soaking pools, and restaurants that double as entertainment. Our favorite: the old mining shack turned dining room in Paradise Basin that's accessible only by snowmobile. panoramaresort.com, lift tickets $68.

Whitewater Ski Resort

Once a gold boomtown, Nelson has a new claim to fame: its wealth of lakefront Victorian buildings, many housing art galleries, vegetarian restaurants, and tapas bars. Just outside of town, Whitewater's unpretentious ski area consists of a dirt parking lot, two lifts, a handle tow, and a small lodge. Its kitchen, the Fresh Tracks Café, has such a following that its cookbook (with recipes for dishes like whiskey smoked-salmon chowder) is a national best seller. skiwhitewater.com, lift tickets $52.

Berlin remembers fall of the Wall

World leaders have hailed the Berlin Wall's fall in celebrations 20 years on from the upheaval that changed Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was joined at the Brandenburg Gate by Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and UK PM Gordon Brown.

In a special video address, US President Barack Obama said Berliners had rebuked tyranny on 9 November 1989.

The event two decades ago led Germany to reunify, caused the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War's end.

Communist East Germany erected the 155-km (96-mile) concrete barrier in 1961 to encircle West Berlin and prevent citizens from fleeing into the capitalist enclave.


There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny, no stronger affirmation of freedom

Barack Obama


In pictures: Berlin Wall anniversary
In quotes: Twenty years on
Russia's mixed feelings
At least 136 people are thought to have been killed at the wall while trying to escape.

Ms Merkel - who grew up in East Germany - presided over Monday's celebrations, which were attended by tens of thousands of people despite a downpour of rain.

She led a procession of leaders through the Brandenburg Gate - the symbol of German reunification in 1990.

The presidents of Russia and France, the British premier and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those who joined the German chancellor.

Ms Merkel said the events of 20 years ago had shown the world could tackle new challenges, from poverty to climate change.

"Together we brought down the Iron Curtain and I am convinced this can give us the strength for the 21st century," she said.

Další uzavřený přechod mezi Ukrajinou a Slovenskem

Podle ministra Slovensko zatím neuvažuje o úplném uzavření hranice s Ukrajinou. "Chceme soustředit veškerou pozornost na jeden hraniční přechod," dodal Kaliňák.

Na přechodu Vyšné Nemecké musí každý cestující před vstupem na slovenské území projít lékařskou prohlídkou. „Nepřetržitou službu posilníme o vojenské lékaře ministerstva vnitra. Nechráníme pouze Slovenskou republiku, ale také ostatní evropské státy Schengenského prostoru,“ uvedl v pátek Kaliňák.

Slovensko v úterý uzavřelo pro pěší hraniční přechody Veľké Slemence. I když počet cestujících ze Slovenska na Ukrajinu klesl, ministr opětovně důrazně žádal Slováky, aby na Ukrajinu zatím nejezdili.