Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have resigned from all duties related to the UK’s royal family. A statement by Buckingham Palace on Friday revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would no longer serve as working members of the royal family. “Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the statement read. It also disclosed that the couple’s honorary military appointments and royal patronages would go back to Queen Elizabeth II for redistribution. “While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family,” the statement concluded. Get more stories like...
Between lockdowns, I wrapped up a challenge that started nearly two years ago: climbing every mountain in the Yorkshire Dales National Park Just over a year ago, I was stood atop Aconcagua: the highest mountain in South America and the highest peak outside of Asia. It was my third – perhaps fourth – peak of the seven summits. As I descended its scree slopes, I was in high spirits and full of optimism for the year ahead. By the time I was on my way home, I was already thinking about Denali in Alaska and whether I could afford an attempt in the summer of 2020. Well, I didn’t climb Denali in 2020. In fact, like most around the world, I did very little last year. There’s no need to labour the point, we’ve written about it before and everyone is all-too-aware of just how hard the last 12 m...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has called for the Europa League knockout rounds to be played over one leg after Manchester United’s away game at Real Sociedad was moved to Turin. The first of United’s two-legged tie against the Liga side has been moved to Italy due to current travel restrictions imposed by the Spanish government over Covid-19, preventing the team from flying in for the game without the need for quarantine. Real Sociedad’s director of football Roberto Olabe hit out at UEFA over the ruling which saw the Spanish side have to find an alternative venue for next week’s game, claiming Manchester United had an unfair advantage – and Solskjaer agreed, adding that he would have backed it being a one-legged occasion. Solskjaer said: “With Europe, we hope it’s going to be sustainable. Different...
Take a vicarious breath of fresh air by touring the best trees in Britain Over the course of the last year, many of us have remembered just how much we depend on nature for quiet, everyday relief. Although some of us joke that when the pandemic is over, we’re “never going for a walk in the park again”, it’s undeniable that these walks have kept us sane. As an ode to nature, we share below the 20 best trees in Britain. Selection process Selecting the best trees in Britain was not an easy undertaking given the extraordinary breadth of options. We used a scoring system to give the list some structure. A tree received points for appearing in the following initiatives. All trees had to score 2 or more to be included in our master list. Britain’s Tree of the Year (2 points) or an Eng...
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it has found six more cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant in the country. This brings the total number of people who have tested positive to the variant in Nigeria to 13. The B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant was first detected in the United Kingdom and has since spread to other parts of the world. The Director-General of NCDC, Chikwe Iheakwazu, while speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Monday, said the six new cases were detected in Lagos State by scientists at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), at the Redeemers University in Ede, Osun State. “Last week we detected six additional samples of the B.1.1.7 variants in Lagos state,” Mr Ihekweazu said. “We already have five c...
The United Arab Emirate, UAE, says passengers from Nigeria can no longer travel through other countries or airports to Dubai. This was made known in a notice by Dubai Airports, the operators of Dubai International Airport. The regulations restricted Nigerian passengers from transiting through other airports. The move comes as the United Kingdom on Friday suspended direct flights between the UAE and the UK as part of measures to curb the spread of the raging coronavirus disease. In a notice sent to travel partners, Dubai Airports said amongst other things, passengers from Nigeria can no longer travel through other countries or airports to Dubai. The notice was titled, ‘Dubai Travel Protocol Update–Travel From Nigeria’. It read, “Kindly be advised that effective from 01 February 2021, the fo...
We share the best adventure travel books 2021 and explain why each should be on your reading list From a cross-country road trip in a hostile America to boundless sand dunes in remote China, our crop of adventure travel books 2021 have one thing in common: their journeys are more than just physical. There are tales of derring-do, but beyond the sparkly appeal of adventure are stories of recovery, rebirth and the healing power of nature. In Nepal, one man re-attempts Everest after a lethal earthquake. In the UK, another walks back from the brink of suicide while, in the US, a woman emerges from a three-year battle with leukaemia. Ultimately, these are tales of not just exploration and adventure but of courage, curiosity, resilience and hope. Adventure travel books 20...