cars

With the summer holidays on the horizon, travel lovers are preparing for their getaways

An insurance provider has shared a checklist for drivers planning a European getaway. Ahead of summer, many families and adventurers are preparing for road trips or holidays abroad. For anyone planning to drive their car in Europe, Green Flag recommends checking five things before setting off.

Sharing advice for motorists online, Green Flag said: “It’s worth taking a few minutes to make sure everything is properly arranged before you head off on your European travels. A quick check, a few weeks before you go, means you’ll have time to address anything that’s not already in place. Take a few minutes and check:

1. Whether any existing breakdown cover includes European travel
2. Which countries are covered under the policy
3. You have your vehicle insurance documents
4. Your driving licence and passport are valid
5. Any local driving requirements, such as safety equipment rules and items you’re expected to have in your car.”

The motoring experts explained that drivers should know their breakdown cover options, which could help them decide whether to take out European breakdown cover for the trip. Green Flag said the insurance helps drivers if their car develops a fault or breaks down during a trip outside of the UK but within Europe.

If drivers don’t take out insurance and then experience difficulties, it could prove costly. Green Flag said: “If you don’t have European breakdown cover and your car develops an issue while travelling abroad, you’d need to call up a breakdown and rescue service that operates in the country you’re in.

“This usually means contacting a local recovery operator and paying for roadside help and towing directly. Costs vary depending on the country, time of day and distance involved.

“In many cases, payment is required upfront, and getting English-speaking help may be difficult depending on where you are.” Green Flag added that you might also need to arrange accommodation and pay the costs to return your car to the UK if it can’t be repaired locally.

Despite this, some drivers might decide to go ahead without additional breakdown cover. The blog advised: “Whether it’s worth getting breakdown cover for your trip to Europe depends on how much of a risk you consider breaking down abroad to be.

“If you’re happy to figure things out should they happen, then maybe European breakdown cover isn’t for you. But if you’d rather set off knowing you’re covered should your car break down, then you’ll probably want to consider getting European breakdown cover.”

Nonetheless, knowing your options ahead of travel means you’re prepared in case of an emergency. For drivers considering European cover, insurers often offer single-trip or multi-trip cover.

BUSY waterways, beautiful cottages and riverside hotels – this might sound like Venice, but it’s not.

Giethoorn has been compared to the ‘floating’ Italian city but in fact it’s over 800 miles away, and much smaller.

Two hours from Amsterdam in the Netherlands is the village of Giethoorn, a car-free village which has been called a ‘fairytale’ by visitors.

It’s also known as the ‘water village of the Netherlands‘ and has over 55 miles of waterways to explore.

One visitor called it a “beautiful and fairytale village in the Netherlands” and another even said it was “too perfect to be real”.

Another said: “Giethoorn is a dream place that looks like it came straight out of a picture book.”

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There are multiple hotels in the village to choose from. One of the most popular is the Giethoorn Old Art Hotel.

With rooms starting from £70, guests can even rent boats to take to the water themselves.

Another is Hotel Giethoorn, where guests can get a very authentically Dutch breakfast with fresh bread and toppings like hagelslag (which are chocolate sprinkles), cheese, or sliced meats.

No cars are allowed in the village, but it can be navigated by foot, or via boats – of which there are many.

These vary from large tour boats which you can hop on, or if you fancy being a captain yourself, self-navigated Whisper Boats can be hired out, as can Sloops, from €17.50 (£15.23) per hour.

Anyone taking the wheel doesn’t need a boating licence, just to be over the age of 16.

There are rules though, and one is that if you’re navigating your own boat and come across a tour boat – you must move out of the way as they have a VIP pass.

Like on the tube, there’s a certain side to stick to, and this is the right.

And anyone on the water cannot be too noisy – there are water police around.

Those wanting to avoid the water, or wanting to see the village at a different angle, can see it by foot.

There are around 180 narrow wooden bridges across the water and from here you can see more of the village’s pretty thatched cottages.

The village is usually quite busy with tourists and is a popular daytrip destination from the city of Amsterdam.

For those who want to stay a little longer without the crowds, the village tends to be quieter after 4pm.

If you fancy a similar experience but with fewer crowds, the nearby village of Dwarsgracht is also navigated via canals but is considered much-less busy than Giethoorn.

To explore both is possible as the villages are just a 10-minute cycle apart.

For more on the Netherlands, here’s the European city that one writer returns to every year and is reachable without having to fly.

And the lesser-known Dutch city nicknamed “Little Amsterdam” that’s cheaper and less crowded but just as cool.

March 25 (UPI) — Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting administrator for Transportation Security Administration, said Wednesday that TSA agents are struggling during the shutdown.

She made the comments during a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security amid funding issues for the Department of Homeland Security.

“Officers are reportedly sleeping in their cars at airports to save gas money, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second and third jobs to make ends meet, all while expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public,” she said in her opening statement to the committee.

“Many have received eviction notices, lost their childcare, missed bill payments and been charged late fees, damaged their credit, defaulted on loans, and have been unable to even qualify for a loan to help ease the financial burden during the shutdown.”

According to TSAcareer.com, the starting base salary for officers is $34,454. The average is $46,000-$55,000 with locality adjustments.

Officials from TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency said their readiness has been severely hurt by the partial government shutdown.

McNeill testified that 480 officers have quit the TSA since their pay stopped Feb. 14 and that the agency will not be able to replace them before visitors begin arriving for the World Cup in June.

She said officers spend four to six months in training before working at checkpoints, while the World Cup games begin in 80 days.

“Even if TSA were to hire new officers upon conclusion of the DHS shutdown, those officers would not be able to work on the checkpoints until well after the World Cup has concluded,” she said. “We are facing a potential perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports.”

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans said President Donald Trump was on board with their plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security.

On Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he will “expeditiously move” to write the reconciliation process for the new Republican-led measure that will bypass the filibuster even without the 60 votes needed.

“The purpose of the second reconciliation bill is to make sure there is adequate funding to secure our homeland and to support our men and women in the military who are fighting so bravely,” Graham said in a statement.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor that “this morning, Democrats sent Republicans our counteroffer on legislation to reopen DHS, pay TSA workers, while at the same time, rein in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] with common sense guardrails.”

“Our offer is a reasonable, good-faith proposal that contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about now for months,” he said.

Schumer also noted that the ICE reforms are not new or surprise demands.

Israeli settlers set fire to homes and vehicles near Jenin amid reports of widespread violence across the occupied territory.

Israeli settlers have torched homes and vehicles in at least two areas of the occupied West Bank, wounding at least one person, amid reports of settler violence across the Palestinian territory.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency, citing local sources, said Israeli settlers stormed the village of al-Fandaqumiya and the town of Seilat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, late on Saturday.

In al-Fandaqumiya, Israeli settlers set “homes and vehicles ablaze and damaged additional houses by smashing windows” as Palestinians “attempted to confront them and put out the fires”, the agency reported.

In Seilat al-Dahr, the settlers targeted several homes, attempted to set them alight and physically assaulted a resident, leaving him wounded.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed large fires burning inside homes in Seilat al-Dahr, and another house engulfed in flames in al-Fandaqumiya as residents frantically tried to extinguish them.

There was also an attack on Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, where settlers wounded two Palestinians. Three others were arrested as settlers stormed the area under the protection of Israeli forces, Wafa reported.

The attacks, which took place late on Saturday during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, are the latest in a wave of settler violence in the occupied territory that has previously resulted in killings.

Other images and videos shared by Palestinian authorities showed settler attacks on the villages of Qaryut and Jalud, south of Nablus. In Jalud, a four-wheel-drive vehicle was seen completely burned out following the attack.

Violence was reported elsewhere across the occupied West Bank.

Near the town of Haris, west of Salfit, settlers gathered on the main road and pelted Palestinian vehicles with stones, according to Wafa.

In Ramallah, settlers near Rawabi Square on the Ramallah-Nablus Road threw stones at passing Palestinian-registered vehicles, with no injuries reported.

Similar incidents were reported in Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem.

Settler violence in the West Bank has intensified in the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war on nearby Gaza.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.

In late February, Israeli settlers defaced and set fire to a mosque near Nablus in the occupied West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In February, the UN Human Rights Council warned in a new report (PDF) that Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank – including “the systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces” and unlawful demolitions of Palestinian homes – aim to uproot Palestinian communities.

Human rights groups say Israeli authorities have allowed the settlers to operate with total impunity in their attacks against Palestinians.

Israeli organisation B’Tselem has also accused its government of actively aiding the settlers’ violence “as part of a strategy to cement the takeover of Palestinian land”.

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, two Palestinians were injured on Saturday night by live fire from Israeli forces south of Tulkarem.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that at least two people were wounded after being shot by Israeli forces at the Jabara checkpoint.

IT’S Monday morning, pouring with rain and I’m lugging a wooden sledge up to the top of a steep hill.

This is where I will meet the delivery driver who’s dropping off my shopping for the week.

Welcome to the life of a Clovellian — the name given to the residents of Clovelly in Devon, one of the country’s prettiest villages.

Once owned by the Queen of England, Clovelly dates back to the Domesday Book and is famed for its cobbled streets and the fact it doesn’t have any vehicular access.

For the 250 residents who live here, life is full of minor inconveniences but the trade-off is living somewhere quiet and safe with the community spirit of a bygone age — plus incredible views of the Atlantic.

You can’t just pack up and move here, though.

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Residents have to be approved by John Rous, the current owner and a direct descendant of Christine Hamlyn who inherited the estate in 1884.

The cottages in Clovelly are let to long-term residents only, so there aren’t any Airbnbs or second homes.

When we saw a house advertised on RightMove, we expressed our interest and met with the Estate Manager, who showed us around and explained the complexities of living there.

Then it was time for an audience with Mr Rous to see whether we would fit in and if we understood the ethos of Clovelly.

We succeeded, and were soon immersed in village life.

The harbour, at the bottom of the village, is generally where visitors gravitate and it’s a wonderful place for wild swimming as well as a hotspot for marine life.

I regularly see dolphins from my kitchen window and have to stop and pinch myself.

There are two pubs here, The New Inn and The Red Lion, and both are hubs for tourists and villagers alike.

I’ve even taken on one of the shops in the visitor centre’s car park where I’ll be teaching yoga, Pilates and providing a treatment space for massage and other therapies.

Because of the village’s layout, emergency services can’t access it, so if someone needs medical assistance they are either carried or walked to an ambulance.

In the event of a fire, crews need to come on foot or rely on specialist equipment to navigate their way from the top of the village.

It’s the reason why there isn’t any gas in the village. Instead, many of the cottages are heated by Aga Rayburn range cookers, which also heat up the water.

Most days, we forage on the beach for wood for our log burners, which has saved us a fortune.

So it goes without saying that you have to be physically strong to live in Clovelly — pulling your sledge up and down the hill is tough going — and especially on moving-in day.

Until 1983, donkeys were used to haul heavy loads up the cobbled streets but, although you will often see them being walked around the village, their days of service are now over.

Luckily, online supermarket deliveries are a thing of modern convenience and Amy’s Pantry — a converted van full of groceries, fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products — arrives each Wednesday.

Since moving to Clovelly, I am fitter than I’ve ever been and average 15,000 steps a day, although it is strange living somewhere where we are the subject of so much attention.

Our home is one of the most photographed cottages in the village, and in the busy summer months we are greeted by crowds of gawping tourists taking photos every time we open our front door.

When our son Zak recently visited from university, he couldn’t get over the fact we were a tourist attraction.

Generally, people are lovely and intrigued about what it’s like to live there.

However, we have had to buy a private sign for our gate because tourists kept coming into our garden.

There are regular festivals throughout the year, including the Seaweed Festival, Lifeboat Day and the Lobster & Crab Festival.

The Christmas light switch-on is a big event, too, with as many as 5,000 visitors coming to the village to enjoy the fireworks.

It’s the most incredible place and, despite the inconveniences, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else now.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law a measure allowing Californians to break into vehicles to rescue animals if they appear to be in danger from excessive heat.

The bill by Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) and others was introduced after a series of incidents in which dogs died after being left in closed cars on hot days.

“We’re very excited about the lives this new law will save,” Steinorth said in a statement Saturday on Facebook. “Thank you to everyone who helped us raise awareness of this serious issue and showed their support.”

Under AB 797, a citizen must first call law enforcement to report a situation in which he or she believes an animal to be in peril.

But if the animal is in imminent danger, the car is locked, and law enforcement is not arriving quickly enough to save the animal’s life, the bill provides immunity from civil and criminal liability to a person causing vehicle damage for the purpose of rescuing the animal. The measure was supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

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