Europe
Joe Biden nominates veteran diplomats for top State posts
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday nominated U.S. foreign policy veteran Wendy Sherman, a key negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, to be the No. 2 official at the State Department. Biden also nominated Victoria Nuland, a retired career foreign service officer who was the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, NATO ambassador and State Department spokeswoman, to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs, effectively the third-ranking U.S. diplomat. Sherman, who has a masters degree in social work, was the State Department counselor from 1997 to 2001, a period when she was also policy coordinator on North Korea. From 1993 to 1996 she served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs. Because of her association with the Iran deal, which was fiercely opposed by Repub...
Mikel Arteta delighted with new football chief appointment
Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta, is delighted with the imminent arrival of new football chief Richard Garlick. Arteta has revealed his excitement at the appointment of Richard Garlick as the club’s director of football operations. Garlick, who currently holds the role of the Premier League’s director of football, will replace Huss Fahmy, who left the Gunners board in November. “We lost Huss at the start of the season,” said the Spaniard. “He had a really important role because it is a very important link between myself, Edu the technical director, the board, Vinai [Venkatesham]. “We needed a person with a lot of experience, who knows the job really well, has all the connections in English and international football. “As well, someone that can bring some ideas and some qualities that we believe ...
WHO: 90 million confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide
The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 90 million, reaching 90,054,813 as of Wednesday, according to the latest numbers from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Globally, as of 9:47 am CET (0847 GMT) on Wednesday, there have been 90,054,813 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,945,610 deaths, reported to WHO. The U.S. has remained at the top in both infection cases and fatalities, with 22,428,591 confirmed cases and 373,329 deaths reported to WHO. It’s followed by India with 10,495,147 cases and 151,529 deaths, and then Brazil, with 8,131,612 cases and 203,580 deaths. Also severely affected were Russia with 3,448,203 cases, Britain with 3,118,522 cases, France with 2,740,656 cases, Italy with 2,289,021 cases, and Spain with 2,111,782 cases. On the list of death tolls afte...
World’s most powerful passports 2021
Japan is the world’s most powerful passport for the third year running. We take a look at what else topped the list It feels a little masochistic to look at the world’s most powerful passports after a year of recurring lockdowns. However, as we’ve said before, we remain hopeful about the future of travel. We believe that exploration is a human instinct and that as soon as it is safe, people will return to the road. With this in mind, we take a look at the newly released ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, compiled by Henley Passport Index. With historical data spanning 16 years, the index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. What are the world’s most powerful passports? Japan is the world’s most powerful passport...
England’s 100 most popular hiking trails
From the South Downs to Hadrian’s Wall, we explore England’s most popular hiking trails Whether you’re an experienced wanderer in need of some fresh ideas or a first-time hiker just looking to get outdoors more, our list of England’s most popular hiking trails offers a wealth of walking options. Home to over 100,000 trails, AllTrails is one of the world’s leading hiking apps. The app has over 20 million users globally and is widely downloaded across the UK. With reviews running in the hundreds of thousands, we believe the ‘AllTrails method’ is a great way of identifying some of the country’s finest footpaths. We’ve selected England’s most popular hiking trails from the app’s archives, but there are of course thousands more to choose from. Over 7,500 in fact, and counting. Ev...
China to hold talks on EU investment pact at its own pace
China will conduct talks on an investment pact with the European Union at its own pace, raising doubts about whether a deal can be sealed by year-end. China’s Foreign Ministry said, on Friday, that negotiations for the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which would grant European companies greater access to the Chinese market, have gone on for six years. An EU official said earlier that a deal was close, following a push from Germany, which holds the EU presidency until the end of the year and is the biggest European exporter to China. But the latest comments by the Chinese government suggest otherwise. China will “conduct talks at its own pace on the premise of safeguarding its security and developmental interests’’, foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, told a news briefi...
Christmas celebrated under pandemic’s shadow
Hundreds of millions across the world celebrated pared-down Christmas festivities on Friday due to coronavirus restrictions, as Pope Francis called for vaccines for everyone, describing them as “glimmers of hope in this period of darkness and uncertainty”. The pandemic has claimed more than 1.7 million lives and is still running rampant in much of the world, but the recent launching of mass vaccine campaigns has boosted hopes that 2021 could bring a respite. Like so many across the globe, the pope was forced to break with normal Christmas tradition, holding his annual “Urbi et Orbi” speech by video from the apostolic palace, to prevent a crowd from gathering in St Peter’s Square. “I call on everyone, on leaders of states, on businesses, on international organisations, to promote cooperatio...
Italy reports 459 coronavirus deaths on Friday – ministry
Italy reported 459 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 505 the day before, the health ministry said. The daily tally of new infections increased by 19,037 from 18,040 the day before, taking the total number of cases since Italy’s epidemic began to 2.02 million. Italy on Thursday became the eighth country in the world to exceed 2 million officially recorded cases. The number of swab tests carried out in the past day was 152,334 from a previous 193,777, the health ministry said. The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has reported 71,359 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 23,402, down by 668 from the day before. The current number of intensive care pa...
Laurent Blanc named new Al-Rayyan manager
Laurent Blanc returns to management 4 years later. He hadn’t managed since he left PSG, and now, he will try his luck at Al-Rayyan in Qatar. 4 years after leaving PSG, Laurent Blanc will return to management with Al-Rayyan, the Qatari club announced. The French manager, 55, signed for a year and a half, and his mission will be to improve their position in the Qatari league, as they are 6th and 12 points from top, Xavi Hernández’s Al-Sadd. Blanc was champion of the world in France 98 and of Europe in Belgium/Netherlands 2000 as a player, also managed Bordeaux for three seasons, spent 2 years at France and 3 at PSG. Curiously, his appointment as Al-Rayyan manager comes not long after he assured that he wouldn’t manage professionally anymore: “I no longer like football, I would only manage ch...
Tijani Babangida: Gernot Rohr to blame for Eagles poor form
Former Super Eagles winger Tijani Babangida has blamed Gernot Rohr for the national team’s poor form after ending the 2020 calendar year without a win. Babangida made this known during an interview on Friday. The Eagles drew 4-4 against Sierra Leone in Benin City and 0-0 in Freetown in their final games of 2020, and thus failed to clinch an early ticket for the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Cameroon in 2021. Former Ajax winger Babangida blamed Rohr for the national team’s woes. “The coach of the Eagles is the one to be blamed for the poor form of the team. He is the one in charge of the team and one thing I know he has deviated from is that he has not followed the football culture of Nigeria’s national team,” Babangida said. “We used wingers during our time with the team, but looking...
Hiking in Latvia: where to find the best trails
Hiking in Latvia is an ideal way to explore a land of peaceful lakes, fairytale forests and exceptionally unspoilt countryside Latvia is perhaps best known for the cosmopolitan city of Riga. Beyond the clamorous capital, however, lie delightful small towns like Cēsis and Sigulda that offer hiking, cycling, canoeing and myriad other outdoor adventures. Considering its size, the little Baltic nation dedicates a surprising amount of space to outdoor pursuits. The white-sand beaches of its coast are the biggest draw, particularly during the summer. Further inland, you’ll find a range of natural landscapes including acres of ancient forests, a picturesque lake district and quaint pasturelands of grazing cattle. As always, we believe that the best way to see a country is on foot. From short-but-...
Champions League Round of 16 Draw Announced
The fixtures for this season’s Champions League round of 16 have been announced. Borussia Monchengladbach will play their first-ever Champions League knockout game at home to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, while last season’s winners Bayern Munich will travel to Lazio. Atletico Madrid meet Chelsea in a repeat of the 2014 semi-final, which the Spanish side won. Jurgen Klopp will return to his home country to bring his Liverpool side to RB Leipzig, while it’s also a homecoming for Cristiano Ronaldo, who visits his native Portugal to face Porto. The most enticing tie of the round came when Barcelona were drawn against French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Last time the two sides met, Barcelona won 6-1 at the Camp Nou, completing an incredible comeback after losing the first leg 4-0. Rounding o...
