Europe
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...
43 Nigerian Navy personnel wanted for desertion
Sundiata Post The Nigerian Navy, NN has released names of its 43 personnel who are currently wanted for desertion. A circular containing the names and photographs of the deserters is displayed at the Navy Headquarters in Abuja. The public with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing officers are requested to report to the nearest Naval facility or Police station. The circular also mandated all Navy Personnel with information on the whereabouts of the 43 personnel to arrest them or be dealt with as an accomplice. Although no reason was given for the disappearance of the officers, it was gathered that most of the deserted officers were serving on Naval Vessels and ship on foreign missions and absconded when the ship berthed in countries in Europe. The circular read, “...
UNICEF embarks on coronavirus sensitisation tour of Abia
The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to the Abia state government, parents and school authorities in the state to ensure that their children and wards adhere strictly to all COVID-19 protocols in order to avoid the ugly experience of getting another round of Covid-19. According to the world body, the effect of COVID-19 second phase in Europe and Asia has been devastating, pointing out that though Africa has been lucky to have recorded fewer casualties, government, parents and teachers cannot continue to depend on luck to survive the pandemic. The Desk Officer of UNCEF, Mr Okezie Nkpa who made the appeal when UNICEF, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and some media personnel staged a sensitization tour of some schools in Abia South, Abia Central and Abia Nort...
Most dangerous countries in the world 2021 – ranked
The most dangerous countries in the world to visit in 2021 have been revealed in the latest Travel Risk Map Now in its 12th year, the Travel Risk Map is an interactive tool produced by security specialists at International SOS. It is used to predict the safest and, conversely, the least safe countries in the world. The map comprises three sections: medical, security and road safety. For the security section, countries are indexed according to their travel security risk rating, which uses five risk definitions: insignificant, low, medium, high and extreme. International SOS uses a number of criteria to assess how the conditions in the country may impact visitors’ safety and security. These include the threat posed to travellers by political violence (including terrorism, insurgency, po...
Gareth Bale scores 200th career goal
Tottenham and Wales forward Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal as he equalised for Spurs against LASK in the Europa League. Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal on Thursday after he netted for Tottenham in their Europa League clash with LASK. Wales international Bale had been stuck on 199 goals for club and country since he scored for Spurs in their 2-1 Premier League win over Brighton at the start of November. He went close to reaching the milestone during Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Ludogorets in the Europa League on November 26, but hit his 200th goal in Spurs’ next European outing. Bale’s landmark strike – his first away goal for Spurs in Europe since he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro against Inter in 2010 – came from the penalty spot, Bale restoring parity after Peter Micho...
