Savings on Rental Cars, Trains

If you need to rent a car in an American city, Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) has some deals for you. Daily rates start as low as $8.95 in Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, $10.95 in Los Angeles and $14.95 in Washington, DC.

If rail is your preferred means of travel Via Rail (www.viarail.com) has extended its usual Tuesday Escape fares through Wednesday this week. You have until midnight tomorrow to book for great savings in the Windsor, ON to Quebec City corridor. Sample one-way fares include Montreal to Toronto for $35, London to Windsor for $25 and Toronto to Niagara Falls for $19.

Travel must take place between May 29 and June 10, and to get the lowest fares you may have to leave very early in the morning. However, with fares this low it can be worthwhile.

On a more somber note, the success of recent elections in Ukraine is to some extent overshadowed by reports of extensive loss of life in the breakaway region of Donetsk in the east. There between 40 and 100 people are reported to have been killed in a battle for Donetsk airport.