Free Republic

When checking out of a five-star hotel, thrifty travelers have been known to slip a few shower caps, mini-shampoos or even slippers into their suitcases. But more brazen guests are managing to steal bulkier items -- including mattresses, coffee machines and even a stuffed animal, hotel and spa reviewer Wellness Heaven found in a survey of 1,157 four- and five-star hoteliers. An astonishing 49 hotels reported that mattresses had been stolen from their premises since January 2018, CEO of Wellness Heaven Tassilo Keilmann told CNN, adding that it was likely hotels could have suffered multiple thefts. Hoteliers told Keilmann that...

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Up to about a third of the $590 million U.N. fund spent for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief may have gone to pay for overhead. The Financial Times says its two-month investigation showed the money appears to have been spent on administration, staff and related costs. The $590 million was part of the United Nation's $1.1 billion disaster flash appeal. The newspaper also found several U.N. agencies continue to refuse to disclose details of their relief expenditure in spite of earlier pledges of transparency by senior officials. The flash appeal covered the money donated...