Travel
Altitude sickness symptoms and how to avoid them
Being young, fit and healthy doesn’t mean you won’t suffer from altitude sickness symptoms. Here’s how to identify, treat and prevent them effectively Gracie is a student at Johns Hopkins, which offers one of the best medical training programs in the world. She is slim, fit and active. She doesn’t smoke, rarely drinks and always watches what she eats. She should have been the last person in our group to get altitude sickness symptoms and yet there she was, wide-eyed and pale-faced at breakfast after a restless night of nausea at the foot of Cotopaxi Volcano (3,500m). Experienced climbers know that altitude sickness doesn’t discriminate. The young, fit and healthy can suffer just as easily as the old, soft and pasty, which is why everyone should be aware of the symptoms before attempti...
National parks in Wales: which one is right for you?
When it comes to Britain’s breathing spaces, the national parks in Wales compete with the best of them. Here, we explain why Surrounded by sea on three sides, Wales is a dream destination for outdoor enthusiasts. While not as rugged as Scotland, or romantically perceived like Ireland, deepest Wales is just as beguiling. Lonely corners abound on dramatic mountain passes, deep river valleys and weather-lashed cliffs. Scattered seamlessly across the natural landscape are Iron Age hill forts, Roman ruins and over 600 castles – more per capita, it’s said, than any other country in the world. Samot/Shutterstock Conwy Castle in Wales Humans have shaped this place for millennia. As such, enigmatic ruins dot the landscape. Stone circles, dolmens and standing stones were erected long bef...
20 (typically modest) natural wonders in the UK
The best natural wonders in the UK may not equal those in the US, Canada or Australia, but the sometimes quirky, always striking sights are still worth seeing When the ArcelorMittal Orbit was foisted on the London skyline in 2012, it split opinion rather starkly. I, for my sins, thought it was quirky and interesting while Peter thought it a blight on the landscape. “It’s so typically British,” he said – a notion that baffled me. It was so unbritish in its haphazard, loping design: a clear contradiction of the order and tradition that defines Britain. When I told him as much, Peter explained: “I don’t mean the design but the ambition. The tower is medium height, medium size, medium everything. It’s half the size of the Eiffel Tower.” I could see his point. When it comes to world-class sight...
The travel that changed me: Vaseem Khan
Award-winning writer Vaseem Khan tells us how India’s ‘city of dreams’ turned him into an author There’s no denying it: Vaseem Khan is an overachiever. Born and raised in Newham (one of the UK’s most deprived areas), Vaseem went on to study at the London School of Economics, one of the best universities in the world. He spent a decade on the subcontinent setting up a chain of high-end hotels before returning to the UK to write The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, the first of a best-selling series of crime novels featuring Ashwin Chopra, a fastidious Mumbai Inspector, and his unlikely sidekick, a one-year-old elephant called Baby Ganesh. In 2020, after five Baby Ganesh novels, Vaseem published Midnight at Malabar House, the first in a new series featuring Persis Wadi...
Coronavirus: England to lift mask, distancing rules July 19
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict. Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths. “This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid. “There’s only one reason why we can contemplate g...
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends UAE flights
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, will be suspended from Sunday, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned “from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior p...
Ranked: most peaceful countries in the world 2021
The most peaceful countries in the world have been updated for 2021. Read our insights from the study and browse the rankings below Once again, Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Portugal, and Slovenia. However, the world is a less peaceful place as civil unrest and political instability has increased due to the global pandemic according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) report. Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth year in a row, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and Iraq. The GPI report is the only statistical measure of its kind and makes it possible to rank 163 independent states based on how peaceful they are. The 163 states cover over 99% of the world’s population and are assessed&nbs...
100 greatest hikes in the Lake District National Park
From the shores of England’s deepest lake to the summit of its highest peak, we share the greatest hikes in the Lake District National Park England’s Lake District is home to some of the nation’s most picturesque panoramas. The park’s craggy ridges, hidden tarns and glistening lakes have enticed walkers ever since the first ‘Lake Poets’ of Wordsworth and Coleridge put pen to paper in the 19th century. The Lake District is the UK’s most visited national park with over 15 million annual visitors. It is also home to the Wainwright Fells, 214 hills and mountains described in Alfred Wainwright’s classic seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells (1955-66). The UNESCO-listed park is also home to England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike at 978m (3,209ft), and the ...
Euro 2020: Swiss coach confident of last-16 spot despite tough travel
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic is confident his side have done enough to reach the last 16 at Euro 2020 after a 3-1 win over Turkey on Sunday but he criticised the long distances his side have had to travel during the tournament. Xherdan Shaqiri scored two superb goals as Switzerland secured third place in Group A at Euro 2020 with the win against Turkey, but they now face an anxious wait to see if they will reach the last 16. The Swiss, who finished level on four points with Wales but behind on goal difference, will hope to secure a spot in the knockouts as one of the four best third-placed finishers from the six groups. “We scored a few goals but unfortunately we had more chances we didn’t convert,” Petkovic said. “It wasn’t a perfect game but it was a good game.” “It should be enou...
Ekiti 2022: Governor Fayemi’s performance‘ll make the job easier for APC – party chairman
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Akinlayo Kolawole, has disclosed that the performances of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration would make next year’s governorship election easier for the party to win in the state. Kolawole, a former House of Representatives aspirant for the Ekiti North Federal Constituency Two in the 2019 general elections, made the disclosure in a chat with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, urging the party leadership not to take anything for granted ahead of the all important election. He enjoined every member of APC in Ekiti and beyond to show more interest in sharing the good news to the public. The APC stalwart reiterated commitment to his political aspiration, stressing that ” it is alive and kicking.” He said : ” You are all around an...
How to use a compass and map: a simple guide
This guide on how to use a compass and map should be enough to get you started and give you the confidence to use the skills for yourself in the hills As a schoolboy, I was lucky to learn how to use a compass and map. I then spent the best part of two decades putting these basic skills to use throughout the British countryside, without ever really having them tested. It wasn’t until a white-out on top of Scotland’s Ben Nevis during a winter mountaineering course that I really learnt how critical these skills are. Luckily for us (or rather thanks to the course’s well-planned itinerary), we had spent the previous day refreshing our navigation skills in a less hostile environment. Atop the stony plateau of Britain’s highest mountain, amid terrible weather, unable...
Canada’s premier says he discussed border with Joe Biden, but no deal
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday he has spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden about how to lift pandemic-related border restrictions between the two countries but made clear no breakthrough has been achieved. U.S. and Canadian business leaders have voiced increasing concern about the ban on non-essential travel in light of COVID-19 that was first imposed in March 2020 and renewed on a monthly basis since then. The border measures do not affect trade flows. The border restrictions have choked off tourism between the two countries. Canadian businesses, especially airlines and those that depend on tourism, have been lobbying the Liberal government to relax the restrictions. Canada last week took a cautious first step, saying it was prepared to relax quarantine protocols fo...
