bridge

Cole Palmer is fit to play for Chelsea against London rivals Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.

The 23-year-old forward fractured his toe when stubbing it on a door last week and subsequently missed the wins over Burnley and Barcelona.

The England international has struggled with injury this season and featured only five times across all competitions.

“He is available to start,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

“Everyone is happy, the team-mates are happy, we are all happy and the most important thing is Cole is happy because a footballer wants to play games and make the sessions every day.

“He is our best player, we are happy he is back. We need to give him time to be 100% fit. He has done fantastic in the past and no doubt he is going to do very good for this club in the future.”

Nov. 18 (UPI) — The National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday that an incorrectly labeled wire caused a containership to collide with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last year.

The federal agency released the key finding of its investigation into the catastrophic collision that killed six highway maintenance workers, destroyed a major regional transportation artery and upended trade at one of the country’s busiest ports.

Jennifer Homendy, the board’s chair, said, “This tragedy should’ve never occurred” in her opening remarks at a public meeting.

“As with all accidents we investigate, this was preventable,” she said.

Federal investigators determined that the Dali containership crashed into the bridge after losing electricity. The cause of the blackout was a loose signal wire connection to a terminal block that investigators traced back to improperly installed wire-label banding.

The Dali lost its propulsion and steering, and the crew had little time to recover before the ship struck a southern pier that was supporting the bridge’s central span, investigators concluded. As a result, a “substantial portion” of the bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River.

Additionally, the investigation also faulted Maryland officials for not assessing the bridge earlier for potential vulnerabilities to collisions with ships. The “lack of effective and immediate communications” also contributed to the deaths of the highway workers, investigators found.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was constructed before 1994, when bridges were mandated to meet safety criteria to reduce the risk of a collapse. State officials have since announced plans for a replacement bridge over the Patapsco River, which is estimated to cost at least $1.7 billion and be twice as high as the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against Grace Ocean Private and Synergy Marine, the owners of the Dali, arguing that the 985-foot container ship was “a clearly unseaworthy vessel” and the companies “were grossly and potentially criminally negligent.”

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in China has been officially opened and is now the highest bridge in the world – reducing the journey time for locals from two hours to just two minutes

China has unveiled a stunning new record-breaker after officially opening the world’s highest bridge in Guizhou province in the southwest of the country. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has slashed journey times from two hours down to just two minutes, according to local state media.

The remarkable structure boasts a deck-to-surface measurement of 625 metres – more than half a kilometre – making it tower above the previous record holder. It beats the Beipanjiang Bridge (Duge Bridge), also in China, which stands at 565.4 metres, by nearly 60 metres.

China’s rapid construction capabilities have recently drawn admiration from figures including Reform UK MP Zia Yusuf, who publicly expressed frustration on social media about the lengthy timescales for smaller infrastructure schemes in the United Kingdom.

Work on the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge commenced in January 2022 and was finished in under four years. The ambitious scheme resulted in a structure stretching almost 3km across a canyon dubbed the “Earth crack”.

The bridge measures 2,890 metres in total length and underwent rigorous testing before authorities gave the green light for public use.

As reported by ITV, before the bridge could be deemed safe for traffic, a dynamic load test was conducted, reports the Express.

This involved 96 lorries driving onto specific points of the structure in groups.

The new structure has now bagged the Guinness World Record for being the tallest bridge globally.

Now, globetrotters from all corners of the world are keen to witness the magnificent construction that officially opened its doors on 28 September 2025.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge boasts glass walkways for visitors to gaze down at the Beipan River, approximately 580 metres below.

It also features viewing platforms and a glass lift leading to its sky-high café, set to open in November this year.

For those seeking a thrill, they can bungee jump from the bridge.

State media have reported plans for professional BASE jumping events.

THERE are plenty of quirky places in the US, but did you know that one state has its very own miniature England?

It even has its own piece of the capital there as the original London Bridge was bought and reconstructed over the Bridgewater Channel Canal in Arizona.

You’ll find all this in Lake Havasu City three hours outside of Phoenix, where there’s a miniature England, and it’s literally called ‘The English Village’.

The resort was built when the actual London Bridge was brought over from the UK.

Back in the 1830s, London Bridge was constructed in the UK. But years later in the 1960s, it was deemed unsuitable for modern traffic.

In 1968, London Bridge was bought by American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch.

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He had the exterior granite blocks from the original bridge cut and transported to the United States to construct a new bridge in Lake Havasu.

Robert was actually the founder or Lake Havasu City, and its English village tourist attraction was built in 1971 – to coincide with the instillation of London Bridge.

It wasn’t just the original bridge that made it across the water. Vintage lamps on the bridge are made from the melted-down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army.

The bridge has been used for movies too like Bridge Across Time also known as Terror at London Bridge, and Day of the Wolves.

The English Village was built like a Hollywood set with pretty shop fronts, all made to look quintessentially English.

The village even has a vintage gate from an English castle, and there are red telephone boxes scattered about.

In the middle is a fountain which is surrounded by four lion statues which strikes a resemblance to the one you’ll find in Trafalgar Square.

It was anchored by Hog in Armour Pub and City of London Arms Restaurant and a cinema was later added – but sadly these have since changed.

One restaurant there today is The Chair which looks out at London Bridge and the village’s fountain which serves the British classic, fish and chips.

There’s also a pizza restaurant called Papa Leone’s Pizza as well as an ice cream parlour and fish and chip shop under London Bridge.

With average summer highs of 33C in Arizona, there’s plenty of outdoor seating and lots of boat tours along the canal.

On Tripadvisor, one visitor wrote: “It’s iconic, it’s London Bridge. A great job has been done in integrating a piece of England into the desert 5000 miles away, in it is almost seamless.”

Another commented “Authentic fish and chips offered at a nearby restaurant and a bit of English kitsch”.

At Christmas, the area around London Bridge, including The English Village, is decorated for Christmas.

The area is lit up for the yearly Festival of Lights with one of the main events being the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights which takes place on the water under the bridge.

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