World News

This week, the city of Santiago de Compostela celebrates St James' Day on 25 July with special church services, art exhibitions, theatre productions, street shows, concerts and processions. The patron saint of Portugal and Spain has also inspired pilgrims to flock to the city from many corners of Europe using the 'Way of St James' – probably the most popular long distance walking routes in the world with well over 200,000 people embarking on their own personal journey each year.

Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, has launched two new destinations in Pakistan on consecutive days – Sialkot and Faisalabad. Beginning 16th July, the airline commenced four weekly passenger services to Sialkot where it already operates dedicated freighter services. A day later, on 17th July, Qatar Airways added Faisalabad to its Pakistan network with three flights a week.

The Nutmeg Princess has been added to the world’s first underwater sculpture park at Moliniere Bay in Grenada. The statue depicts Grenada’s first fairy tale princess emerging from a large nutmeg pod, reaching to the heavens with a handful of Grenada’s most famed spice, the nutmeg. The 11-foot tall sculpture was inspired by the 1992 book The Nutmeg Princess by Grenadian author/playwright Richardo Keens-Douglas and designed by artist Lene Kilde.

Hotel Verde, by BON has just been awarded a second LEED® Platinum Green Building Certification by the United States Green Building Council making Hotel Verde the first hotel globally to achieve a double Platinum certification for LEED®. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

England's green and pleasant lands aren't always green or pleasant in the summer festival season, especially if you prefer to have some of the rudiments of normal living. You may find yourself paying out hundreds, even thousands of pounds, to get something resembling a civilised place to sleep, shower and do the necessary.

The original Singita lodge has reopened, having been redesigned by Cecil & Boyd. who also worked on Singita's other lodges in South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. There are 12 luxury suites, each with their own private plunge pool. The biggest change to the property is that many of the walls have been removed, allowing guests to feel 'at one' with nature and to maximise the light and Sand River views.

The luxurious Paresa Resort Phuket offers guests the chance to combine exclusivity and authentic Thai experiences with its unique choice of 'adventures'.   The imaginative experiences, created by the hotel's General Manager and his team include 'Tales of a Rice Farmer', where guests are taught the secrets of Southern Thai cuisine by Khun Mina, the island chief and rice farmer on the small island of Yao Noi.

“We need to look for new ways of doing old things; of putting new wine in both old and new wineskins. I say old wineskins because in reaching for what is new we must not forget ourselves, who we are and what really makes us unique as a Caribbean people.”

An appeal for the rescue of Bulgaria's last two circus lions was launched by the Born Free Foundation in a bid to secure their relocation to the international wildlife charity's sanctuary at Shamwari, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Jora and Black (due to the latter’s distinguishing black mane) are two seven-year-old lions known to be brothers.

Jade Mountain's latest recognition by the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2015 is the fourth time and third year in a row readers have cast top votes for St. Lucia's storied resort. The magazine listed Jade Mountain as the number one Caribbean resort which defines the very best in travel.

Known for its otherworldly landscapes and scenery, it comes as no surprise that Iceland has been used for lunar training by NASA astronauts since 1965. This year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first training exercise, a number of special events have been organized in the region, including a return to the training area for three Apollo astronauts.

The San Antonio Missions have officially been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The decision was announced on July 5th at the annual UNESCO World Heritage committee meeting in Bonn, Germany.  An elite list with just 22 existing U.S. landmarks included, the five Missions (including The Alamo) are taking their place among other great American historic and cultural institutions like the Statue of Liberty and Independence Hall.

From racecourses and golf courses to Sydney's spectacular harbour and shopping precincts, The Bledisloe Cup Festival will take over the harbour city for four days from 5-8 August 2015. Most festival activities are free and some offer the chance to meet Qantas Wallabies players.

With a solid framework for environment and social sustainability in place, 11 Centara properties have achieved Silver Certification from EarthCheck, the world’s leading environment certifier of travel and tourism organizations.  In order to achieve Silver, Centara properties were required to submit operational data that was benchmarked against industry best practice.

La Digue is one of Seychelles’ most enchanted islands and the many small hotels there continue to make the charm of this beautiful island. Tucked in a beautiful garden filled with neatly-cut trees not far from the La Passe jetty on the island, are 10 chalets forming part of the latest tourism establishment run by well-known Hotel L’Archipel belonging to top Seychellois hotelier Louis D’Offay.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, yesterday completed a successful two day official visit to Guyana. “The aim of my visit was to discuss the priorities of Guyana’s leaders and to reiterate the Commonwealth’s enduring commitment to developing Guyana practically at the grassroots through capacity-building programmes. I also briefed the leadership on our advocacy and the range of pioneering global initiatives,” said Mr Sharma.