laid

“It’s either displacement or death in Gaza City or it’s displacement and death in al-Mawasi.”

President Trump rejecting the annexation of the occupied West Bank is a “very important moment”, says director of Mediation Group International, Martin Griffiths.

There are many ways to make an entrance, but lurching into a pub full of smartly dressed diners while windswept, muddy and more than a little frayed wouldn’t be my first choice. At 7.30pm on a sunny Sunday evening, the Welldiggers Arms – a country pub just outside Petworth in West Sussex – is full of people tucking into hearty roasts, the glass-walled restaurant overlooking glorious downland scenery, the sun all but disappeared behind the hills. For my husband, Mark, and I, it’s more than a stop for supper; the pub marks the halfway point on our two-day walking adventure along a brand new trail, the 25-mile Petworth Way.

Twenty-five miles may not sound like much (I have keen walker friends who would do it in a day) but, for us, it’s the perfect length, with plenty of pubs along the way. The first leg, from Haslemere to Petworth, covers countryside we’re both entirely unfamiliar with; the second, Petworth to Arundel runs through landscapes I’ve known since childhood. Happily, the start and finish points can be reached by rail – meaning we can leave the car at home and set off with nothing but small rucksacks, water bottles and detailed printed instructions.

Things start easily enough; a brief weave through Haslemere’s residential streets before the first serious ascent, through fields and shady, fern-rippled woodland that opens out on to Black Down, the highest point in the South Downs national park. After the dim light of the wood, the heathland blazes with colours; bursts of butter-yellow gorse, purple heather and bottle-green pine trees, all set beneath an intensely blue sky.

It reminds me of Ashdown Forest, which inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, and Mark and I bicker happily about who would be Christopher Robin and who Pooh, before arriving at the Temple of the Winds viewpoint, where we sink gratefully on to the seat and soak up the view. It is spectacular; green velvet hills and blueish-tinged valleys, church spires and the odd country estate dotted between the trees, all of Sussex laid out before us, half drenched in sunlight, half darkened by ominous clouds throwing down grey mists of rain on the horizon.

Keen not to miss lunch at the Noah’s Ark pub in Lurgashall, we set off again, at which point the bickering becomes slightly less good-humoured as we realise we’re going the wrong way. Ten minutes’ later, we’re properly lost, with an OS app on a phone that has unhelpfully lost all signal and directions that make no sense. Thankfully, a pair of local walkers point us in the right direction, and we make it down the hill, past vineyards and on to the pub, where we settle in with a couple of cold halves, some local salami and warm bread, eaten while watching a cricket match on the village green.

Fortunately, the next few miles are more straightforward, until a final ascent that leads into Petworth House’s great park; a glorious end to the day that makes us feel as if we’ve got this walking thing licked. That is, until we realise there are very few taxis in Petworth and we’ll have to walk the extra mile and a half to the Welldiggers, which, fortunately, proves to be a cocoon of loveliness; all soft clean linens, piping-hot showers, and staff who politely pretend not to notice our slightly catatonic state over dinner.

Next morning, fuelled by delicious shakshuka (poached eggs in a hot tomato sauce) and several buckets of tea, we hop in a taxi back to Petworth park to continue the walk across the Sussex Weald. The route drops in on a short section of the Serpent Trail – a 65-mile route from Haslemere to Petersfield that we pencil in for next year – before veering away past Burton Park, a grandiose, privately owned Greek revival mansion, all Doric columns and vanilla-hued walls. From here, the path heads downhill, which, we agree, is not a good thing, as it means going uphill is not far off.

Uphill is something of an understatement, and the pull up through the villages of Barlavington and Sutton was made even more challenging as the White Horse Inn, earmarked for a restorative half, turns out to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Fuelled instead by lukewarm water and half a Twix each, we carry on towards Bignor, the gradient steepening with every step. By the time we’re walking east along the South Downs Way, the 360-degree views – across a patchwork of faded cornfields and khaki grassland – are quite some reward. Even so, it’s a welcome change to begin the descent into Houghton village, where I know (because I’ve checked) lunch awaits.

It’s this leg that really reaffirms the joy of walking for me. As the Arun valley unfolds beside the wooded hills of the Arundel estate, I think of how many decades I’ve driven the road that runs alongside and how different the countryside looks when taken at a slow pace, with the chance to stop and look, rather than snatched glances through the windscreen. Thirty years ago, I’d sit over lunch with my mum and dad in the George & Dragon’s garden, watching hikers amble down the very hillside we’re walking on. I’ve not been back to the pub for many years and it’s lovely – if slightly lump in throat – to return and have my parents suddenly conjured up so vividly.

It’s tempting to stay all afternoon, but after a classic ploughman’s (what else?), we lace up our boots for the final stretch, past Houghton’s thatched, flint-walled cottages and along the River Arun, before one final ascent into the Arundel estate. Clouds glower, but we’re lucky; the rain holds off as we skirt the edge of Swanbourne Lake and pass the Hiorne Tower, built by architect Francis Hiorne in 1797, as part of his (failed) bid to rebuild Arundel Castle. When we pop out on to London Road and amble towards the familiar outline of the castle, we’re almost too focused on finding large slabs of cake to properly celebrate the fact we’ve arrived at our destination.

Later, once the train has taken us back to our corner of the East Sussex countryside, I think about how little I know, really, of the landscapes I’ve visited since childhood. We’ll probably never be long-distance walkers, but weekend trails like this prove you don’t have to be; a couple of days is enough to see a familiar landscape in a whole new light.

Accommodation was provided by the Welldiggers Arms, which has double rooms from £115 B&B

Plans for Nigel

IN typically ferocious style, Nigel Farage yesterday laid down the gauntlet to Labour on immigration.

How the Government responds may well end up deciding whether it wins a second term.

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Farage speaks ordinary Brits’ language and understands their “total despair”.

His cure for the crisis was plenty of harsh medicine:

1. Deportation flights starting immediately and ultimately booting out up to 600,000 illegals.

2. Bringing back Rwanda-style deals with third countries — the only proper deterrent to the small boats we ever had, and foolishly scrapped by Labour.

3. Ripping up European human rights laws and quitting the ECHR, which will also go down well with voters.

Labour will never do it and the Tories have dithered. But can Farage actually deliver it?

How will he achieve returns deals with rogue and failed states such as Iran and Afghanistan?

Many Brits will be wary of his idea of giving taxpayers’ cash to the vile Taliban regime.

The Tories tried for years to bring in a British Bill of Rights and failed.

Where does Northern Ireland and the complicated rules around the Good Friday Agreement fit in?

If he wants to be Prime Minister, Farage will have to provide some serious answers.

In dole-drums

A STAGGERING 6.5million people are now jobless and on benefits.

That’s up 500,000 in just a year since Labour took office.

Numbers of working-age adults on welfare payments have now risen by 79 per cent since 2018.

Unemployment — made worse by the “Jobs Tax Budget” is now on course to be its highest since the Covid pandemic.

Soaring welfare payments are not only totally unaffordable and a drag on growth, it is also morally wrong to demand working people bail out those who cannot or will not work.

Having ditched its modest welfare reforms — and with the Government now paying a “moron premium” on the UK’s debt mountain — what is the plan?

Unsafeguard

VICTIMS of domestic abuse are regularly failed by the system.

More than 100 women a year in England and Wales alone are murdered by current or former partners.

Many were let down by the DASH questionnaire used by police, social services and healthcare workers as an initial assessment of danger.

Minister Jess Phillips says it doesn’t work and is working out how to replace it.

That cannot come soon enough for those suffering now.

But it’s tragically too late for those who have already lost their lives needlessly.

HULK Hogan has been laid to rest in a private funeral with WWE legends, celebrities, and his family attending.

Mourners appeared to be wearing a touching nod to the wrestling icon as his casket was taken into a Clearwater, Florida, church on Tuesday.

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Hogan died on July 24 aged 71 from a heart attack, but medical records showed he had a history of leukaemia.

Wrestling icons like Triple H, Stephanie McMahon attended, while celebrities like singer Kid Rock and comedian Theo Von were also present.

His ex-wife Lina, who he was married to from 1983 to 2009, was the only member of his family seen going in or out of the service.

Photos from the funeral saw pallbearers wearing yellow boutonnieres – the same colour as Hulk’s iconic wrestling outfit.

The private service was held at the same church where Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was baptized in 2023.

The service was heavily patrolled by church security and Largo police officers, including K-9 dogs.

President Donald Trump paid tribute to the wrestler by posting a photo to his social media of the pair arm wrestling.

He said: “They are having the “Hulkster’s” funeral today, and I thought everybody would enjoy seeing this picture.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags flown at half-staff at all official buildings last Friday, which he declared Hulk Hogan Day in Florida.

Hogan was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history, known for both his larger-than-life personality and his in-ring exploits.

He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

Hogan had been dealing with significant health issues for months when he went into cardiac arrest at his $11.5 million mansion in Clearwater.

He had a neck surgery in May, and was rushed to the hospital afterwards over complications with his recovery.

In June, he suffered a series of health issues that left him reportedly unable to feel his legs or walk with a cane.

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Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including Hogan Knows Best, a reality show about his life on VH1.

Hogan’s body will be cremated.

His daughter Brooke Bollea Oleksy, better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, memorialized her father in a recent social media post.

“I am so grateful I knew the real version of him. Not just the one the world viewed through a carefully curated lens, she wrote on Instagram.”

Just days before his death, Hogan and Brooke shared a short but emotional conversation, per the National Enquirer.

“It was a tearful conversation, albeit a short one,” a source told the outlet.

“Brooke told her dad how much she loved him, how much she missed him. Hulk said he loved her, and he was sorry.”

Instantly recognisable in trademark bandana and shaggy, blond handlebar moustache, Hogan had long been a larger-than-life icon for middle America.

Hogan became such a big star that he was able to transcend wrestling and starred in the movie The Rock III with Sylvester Stallone, as well as securing his own reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best.

Born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, in 1953, his dad was a construction foreman father and his mum was a dance teacher.

At school, he was called a hippy because of his long hair, love of rock music and hatred of American football despite his physique.

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Bonnie Blue insists she is happy but there is a cost to her fame and she does not live a normal life

Bonnie Blue has made millions from porn, inviting multiple fans to have sex with her and posting film of what some people would call orgies, but she calls “events”, online.

Her biggest event was in January, when she had sex with 1,057 men in 12 hours, the inspiration for the title of a new Channel 4 documentary, 1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story.

At a screening of the documentary, Bonnie insisted she was “very happy” with her life. But her notoriety, and her boasts of sex with married men, who, she says, should not feel guilty about cheating on their wives, come at a price.

In the film, Bonnie, a 26-year-old former NHS recruitment worker from Derbyshire, whose real name is Tia Billinger, says: “The last time I went out by myself was probably about six months ago. Now it is not that safe.

“I get 100s of death threats a day, so it is not that safe when I walk around.

“I say, ‘It is going to happen at some point, someone will come and give me stick’ and fair play to her, at least they are getting up off their sofa. My worst one is acid, if someone did acid, and I could see some spiteful girl doing that.”

READ MORE: ‘I saw real Bonnie Blue behind closed doors – there’s one dark truth people don’t see’

Bonnie has split from her husband and her closest friends seem to be Josh, who posts her videos, and a stylist. She says: “My sort of circles got smaller, but my team are also my best friends.”

Director Victoria Silver followed Bonnie for six months, gathering footage of her having sex, and was at her January marathon for a couple of hours.

At the documentary screening, Bonnie expressed surprise at the amount of explicit footage used. Asked if she was expecting complaints, Victoria said: “If I was making a film about a musician or some kind of other performer their work would be in there. I think it is important to see what she does.”

And Bonnie is clearly proud of her work. Of her sex marathon, she says: “I love the fact that I was able to experience that day with over 1,000 subscribers, fans, people that spent time out of the day to come meet me.

“But, yeah, I also need money to be able to take time out of my days to be able to do that, to hold these events. These events aren’t cheap by the time you pay for staff, security, the venue.”

But she says she has earned more than £1million in some months, and the documentary shows the increasingly extreme lengths she will go to for clicks and views.

In one stunt, she creates a school classroom for a sex show, with other, younger, contributors taking part after being sent invites.

The director’s voiceover says they are not paid but “appearing in their socials with Bonnie is payment enough”.

At the shoot in Birmingham, one girl called Codie says: “She got quite big quite fast, so it will be nice to see how she does things. No, I am not being paid today, it’d just be that I get tagged and then hopefully get followers and subs from that and then roll on to my page.”

She admits she does not normally do anything “adventurous” on her OnlyFans page and that this is the first time she has taken part in filmed group sex. She adds that making sex films is better than having to do an office job.

Another contributor, Leah, says: “I got a DM to see if I wanted to take part. As soon as I heard Bonnie Blue’s name I was intrigued because she’s everywhere at the minute.”

Leah says this is the first time she has been with other people in a room having sex and she is “definitely” nervous.

But Bonnie does not seem bothered or concerned by the fact the girls look a bit shy and intimidated. Bonnie says: “The fact they are so nervous works in my favour, because their reactions will be more realistic. Or if they feel intimidated, obviously, I want them to say, but sometimes sex is intimidating, so it’s going to be good.”

Another scene shows Bonnie at home with mum Sarah, who speaks with pride about how her daughter was a great dancer as a child.

She also seems proud of her career as a porn star. She says: “Would it be something that I chose for her to do, no. I was really, really shocked, but now would I want her to do anything else? No, not at all. It’s her choice.”

Sarah and other relatives have given up their jobs to be on Bonnie’s payroll.

Sarah says: “People I know always liked us both, but think it’s OK to make nasty comments.

“Most of the time I just laugh. I’m like, ‘If you could earn a million pounds in a month, your morals would soon change, and you’d get your bits out’. I don’t care what people say.”

Bonnie says: “My family started to put up with hate, I get that, but I also get the life I live and the money. So it’s like I also want them to receive some of the rewards.”

The documentary ends as Bonnie is about to head to Romania to meet influencer Andrew Tate, who is facing rape and human trafficking charges, which he denies, and is a self proclaimed misogynist. Bonnie says: “He’s probably just as controversial as I am. Whether people love him or hate him, he’s a marketing genius.”

Director Victoria asks her: “You talk about female empowerment, but how do you square that with aligning yourself with the most misogynistic male on the internet?”

Bonnie says: “Piers Morgan interviews serial killers all the time. It’s not messed up his brand. He [Tate] has been labelled multiple things by the media, and so have I. We’re probably the two most misunderstood people out there at the moment.”

Channel 4 defended the documentary, telling the Mirror: “The explicit content is editorially justified and provides essential context.”

And at the screening, commissioning editor Tim Hancock said: “We are very proud to do films like this.”

* 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, Channel 4, Tuesday, 10pm.

Funerals have been held for the two Palestinians, including a US citizen, who were killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Friday. The family of Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to death, is calling on the US State Department to investigate and hold the perpetrators to account.

The trail hugs every curve of the cliffside. On my left, the Mediterranean Sea swirls beside craggy rocks, while flowering plants unfurl on my right. A quarter of France’s coast is lined with similar sentiers des douaniers (customs officers’ paths), which were once used to patrol the sea. The difference on this trail is that I’m wearing nothing but my backpack.

Off the coast of the southern French resort town of Hyères, Île du Levant is home to the only naturist community of its kind, the Domaine Naturiste d’Héliopolis. For 93 years, this rustic Eden has lured free-spirited lovers of nature and authenticity, as unabashedly naked as Adam and Eve before they ate the forbidden fruit. On every visit, I’ve found that when people shed their clothes, they shed their pretence. Unlike traditional naturist retreats where nudity is de rigueur, Héliopolis is peppered with clothing-optional spots. This makes it the ideal place for travellers to dip their toes into the naturist way of life.

Meghan Markle is pressing ahead with build her business empire with her lifestyle brand As Ever – but one royal expert has questioned Prince Harry new career path

Meghan Markle continues to build her business empire with her As Ever lifestyle brand and a vast investment portfolio. But while the Duchess of Sussex pursues her entrepreneurial aspirations, it seems to be a different story for Prince Harry.

The Duke of Sussex is said to be concentrating more on his charity and philanthropic works rather than chasing commercial ventures. It is a marked difference from several years ago, when the Sussexes’ careers appeared intertwined with Meghan declaring that she and Harry were like “salt and pepper” as they always “move together”.

And with a change in their working lives, a new Channel 5 show called Meghan and Harry: Where Did The Money Go? shines a light on their finances; revealing Harry’s surprising inheritances, Meghan’s millions and their staggering Montecito mortgage.

The documentary counts the multi-million pound deals the pair have cut to sell their story since leaving The Firm – but it also details their astronomical outgoings.

It also sees one royal journalist pose a question about Harry’s contribution – especially given Meghan’s revelations about how much of a hands-on parent she is to their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Royal commentator Emily Andrews reckons Harry doesn’t contribute much else to his household – and she tells the documentary: “Meghan gets up at half six, half an hour before the children, then the children gets up and she gets them dressed, gets their breakfast, and then she makes their packed lunch and takes them to kindy (nursery), then at 9 o’clock she sits down and is a girl boss… Where is Harry in all of this? He’s not making money, he’s not looking after the kids, what is Harry doing?”

It comes after other experts say the couple will see their income dwindle and costs soar as their multi-million pound deals dry up. After striking their ‘Megxit’ deal in 2020, King Charles removed all financial support from the couple, with Harry moaning to Oprah that his dad “literally cut me off financially”.

Royal expert Norman Baker tells the show: “There’s no doubt in my mind that Meghan and Harry’s income is going to decline in the future. It’s declining now. They’ve done the big hits that they could do. They’ve done the big Spotify event, they’ve done the big book, there is nothing else to come, nothing else to sell apart from themselves.”

Upon moving to America, the pair splashed out on a family home costing $14.65 million (£11m). However, they also took out a mortgage of $9.5m (£7m), with repayments in the region of $50,000-100,000 (£73,000 – £37,000) a month. Until now, it’s been unheard of for a senior royal to require a mortgage.

On top of that, Prince Harry has been forced to fund his own security, and he rarely travels anywhere public without a four-car convoy.

Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan explains the costs of specialist protection, saying: “It’s always very difficult to identify the cost in relation to specialist protection, purely because there’s a lot of other factors that go into it. You are looking at somewhere in the region of about £3 million a year to protect somebody who stays at home.

“As soon as they leave the residence, even if they go down to the shops, that could see that cost double or triple and go from £3m to £6m or £9m or £10m, conservatively. Security is not a fashion accessory, it’s a need. You’ve got to address your needs versus your wants.”

To pay for it, the pair famously signed a £100 million five year deal with Netflix in 2020 and a £15 million deal with Spotify. The Spotify deal has already ended with a top exec at the firm dubbing the pair “grifters”, while the Netflix deal is due to end this year, with no renewal in sight.

Before Megxit, the Sussexes were earning £2.3m a year as working royals, receiving money from the then Prince Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall. But when the pair left The Firm that all stopped, leaving Harry forced to live on the inheritance his mum Diana, Princess of Wales left him in her will.

When she died in 1997 Diana left £6.5m to the boys each, which had grown to around £10m when Harry received it upon turning 30. Talking to Oprah, Harry said “Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” referring to the family’s move to California. Meghan, meanwhile, was thought to be worth around £5million when she met Harry – money built up from her time as an actress on Suits and from her lifestyle brand.

His tell all book Spare earned Harry a $20m (£15m) advance and sold an incredible 3.2 million copies in its first week. And he’s expected to have received a further £7m from the hardback sales.

PR expert Nick Ede is backing Meghan to become the family’s highest earner. He says: “Meghan is the best way of making money for the two of them. She is the breadwinner.” Nick believes that having to build her own fortune before she met Harry means she’s more savvy with deals than her royal husband.

Nick continues: “Megan from an early age knew it was very important to be secure. If you’re a jobbing actress that means you don’t know literally where the next pay cheque will come from and I think that will have added to her drive.”

Broadcaster and critic Bidisha Mamat agrees with Nick and admits she fears that Harry has a lot to prove. She says: “They are going to run out of ideas before they run out of money. Meghan is going to do fine, Meghan is going to make her money, Harry has the bigger financial, personal and emotional challenge. Harry has to prove he really can have a career.”

Following the collapse of the Spotify deal, Meghan did indeed land another podcast deal. This time, however, her deal was with smaller company Lemonada and expected to be worth just $40,000 (£30,000).

Meghan is also still coining it in from Suits, from which repeats are thought to have recently added another $200,000 (£148,800) to the Sussex bottom line.

Indeed, Meghan might be more savvy with money but Harry has just come into another inheritance – this time from his great-grandmother, Elizabeth, Queen Mother. In 1994 the Queen Mother set up a Trust Fund to benefit her great-grand children and this is expected to have paid out £8m to Harry.

Since they left the royal family, the pair have become more famous than ever and commentator Afua Hagan believes the pair will go on to achieve more and more.

She says: “What is clear about Harry and Meghan is that they are very savvy with their money. America is a good spot for them at the moment because it definitely fits in with their idea of entrepreneurship.

“Harry and Meghan have proven time and time again that they can stand on their own two feet that they can provide for themselves and their family. Definitely we can never count them out.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been contacted for comment.

Meghan & Harry: Where Did The Money Go? is streaming on 5

June 13 (UPI) — The State Department was pressing ahead Friday with a reorganization that will see more than 3,400 layoffs of U.S.-based staff in bureaus that cover Asia and the Middle East and across seven divisions, including the office of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which will be letting go 51 employees.

The planned cuts, which were communicated to lawmakers and staff Thursday, provide the first detailed breakdown of the scope of the administration’s bid to tackle “bureaucratic overgrowth,” merge desks to eliminate redundancy and re-think the briefs of bureaus, Government Executive said.

With a 69% cut, Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs will see the largest workforce reduction with 386 staff laid off and 145 leaving by mutual agreement. Economic Growth Energy and Environment will shed 297 employees, 198 of them layoffs.

Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and Arms Control and International Security will each lose around 22% of their teams, equivalent to 168 and 245 employees, respectively, while Political Affairs will lose 274 staff, 112 of them via layoffs.

The largest cuts are reserved for the department’s Management division, where 897 staff will be laid off, with unit manpower being reduced by a further 796 via resignations on a deferred basis.

Rubio’s so-called “S Family” office will see its staff complement slashed by 240, or 12%, but all but 51 have opted to resign voluntarily, officials said.

The department, which said it planned to complete the changes by July 1, stressed that some staff members will be reassigned, and that the disappearance of any individual’s office from the organizational chart did not mean they were being let go.

It also vowed the human resources team would assist foreign service officers whose next assignment had been axed to find a new position.

In a document prepared for Congress, the State Department said reduction in force, or layoffs, had been carefully designed in line with all applicable laws in a way that would not affect the department’s functions.

“Reductions will principally affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found from centralization or consolidation of functions and responsibilities,” the department said.

However, a number of offices that had become “prone to ideological capture and radicalism will cease to exist, including the Civilian Security, Human Rights and Democracy division, while the Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and Population, Refugees and Migration offices will be brought into the undersecretary Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs’ jurisdiction.

A foreign service officer told Government Executive that the changes would leave the division with overall responsibility for humanitarian and foreign assistance totally hollowed out.

Labor strongly opposed the plans, with the American Foreign Service Association — the union that represents staff members — saying it rejected the workforce changes “firmly and unequivocally,” coming at a time when the effectiveness of American diplomacy was already at risk from “an already stretched thin and under-resourced” State Department.

Geoffrey Pyatt, a former assistant secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Greece and Ukraine, added his voice to the dissenters.

“Inevitably, a lot of the people who will be laid off will be experienced diplomats with hard-earned skills in language and area knowledge,” he told the Financial Times.

Rubio announced his sweeping reorganization of the service, including returements, in April, saying the department had become too big, expensive and bureaucratic in recent decades and needed to drastically slimmed down in line with President Donald Trump‘s priorities.

The surge in tourism has been primarily driven by holidaymakers from the UK, with Great Britain overtaking Germany as the island’s leading market in the first quarter of 2025

The Canary Islands have been a firm favourite destination for sun-seeking sightseers from the shores for decades, but one isle in particular is witnessing a significant increase in tourism this year.

While Lanzarote has been lauded for its measured and sustainable approach to managing visitor growth, Fuerteventura has experienced the highest surge in tourist arrivals among the Canary Islands during the first quarter of 2025, sparking concerns about the island’s capacity to cope with the rapid influx.

According to official figures, Fuerteventura welcomed a staggering 758,195 tourists between January and March, marking a 7.8 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. This translates to an additional 55,120 visitors in just three months — a substantial jump that far outpaces the growth seen on neighbouring islands.

In contrast, Lanzarote recorded a rise of 1.9 per cent, while Gran Canaria and Tenerife experienced increases of 2.8 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

READ MORE: Canary Islands declares ‘pre-emergency’ as warning issued to British tourists

Fuerteventura’s growing tourist numbers have been primarily driven by British holidaymakers, with the UK overtaking Germany as the island’s leading market, with 243,181 British tourists arriving in the first quarter — a 13.2 per cent increase from the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, German visitor numbers declined slightly by 1.3 per cent, from 239,500 early last year, to 236,398 in 2025.

Fuerteventura’s tourism boom is somewhat of a double-edged sword. The increase in visitors boosts the local economy, supporting jobs in hospitality, retail and transport, but the rapid influx raises serious questions about the island’s infrastructure and environmental sustainability.

Unlike Lanzarote, which has been praised for its strategic tourism management, including controlled development and investment in sustainable infrastructure, Fuerteventura seems to be struggling to keep pace with demand. The island’s roads, water supply, waste management systems and accommodation capacity are all under mounting pressure.

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Local authorities and residents have voiced concerns about overcrowding, environmental degradation and the strain on natural resources, particularly in popular beach areas and protected natural parks — there have even been anti-tourism protests.

On Sunday, May 18, residents from all over the Canary Islands took to the streets in coordinated mass demonstrations in 15 locations — including in Fuerteventura — to demand an end to what organisers called an “unsustainable and exploitative economic model”.

The Canary Islands have long been a model for balancing tourism with environmental preservation, but Fuerteventura’s current trajectory could threaten this stability. The island’s unique landscapes, including its dunes and marine ecosystems, are vulnerable to overcrowding. Without careful planning and investment, the very attractions that draw visitors to the isle could be harmed, undermining long-term tourism prospects.

Experts suggest that Fuerteventura needs to adopt a more sustainable tourism strategy, similar to Lanzarote’s approach. This could include measures such as limiting the number of new hotel developments, enhancing public transport options to reduce traffic congestion, promoting eco-friendly tourism activities, and investing in renewable energy and water conservation technologies.

In November 2024, Jessia de Leon, the Canary Islands’ Minister of Tourism, announced that the archipelago intends to improve on the previous concept of ‘sustainable tourism’ after unveiling a groundbreaking new approach, which focuses on three main areas: new regulatory framework, transforming tourist spaces and climate action. She said: “It’s about erasing or at least compensating for the footprint left by those who visit the Canary Islands.”

Fuerteventura remains a vibrant destination beloved by Brits, but one that stands at a crossroads. It must urgently address the pressures of its newfound popularity to ensure a sustainable future.

Has rising anti-tourist sentiment put you off from visiting the Canary Islands? Let us know in the comments section below

May 20 (UPI) — The keel for the future guided-missile destroyer USS Quentin Walsh was officially laid Wednesday in a ceremony at Bath Iron Works in Maine. It is the first time an Arleigh Burke-class ship will be built in honor of a Coast Guard member.

The keel, the structure at the bottom of the ship’s hull, represents the start of construction or birth of the ship. Madison Ann Zolper, the great-granddaughter of the ship’s namesake Coast Guard Capt. Quentin Walsh, attended Wednesday’s ceremony and welded the family’s initials into the keel plate.

“We are honored to mark the beginning of the construction for the future USS Quentin Walsh and celebrate his legacy with his family,” said Capt. Jay Young, Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer program manager for PEO Ships. “DDG 132 will provide our Navy with critical strategic capabilities to support fleet readiness.”

The Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyer, designated as DDG 132, will feature upgraded air and missile defense radar to provide “enhanced war fighting capability to the fleet,” according to the U.S. Navy. The destroyers are designed to fight air, surface and subsurface battles at the same time.

Walsh, who died in 2000 and held various roles in the U.S. Coast Guard, was awarded the Navy Cross for heroic actions in the 1944 Battle of Cherbourg during World War II. Walsh’s 53-man reconnaissance unit captured 750 German soldiers and freed 52 American prisoners of war.

Walsh, who also served during the Korean War, was among those honored in France on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

“Capt. Walsh was a hero whose efforts during World War II continue to inspire, and his leadership in securing the French port of Cherbourg had a profound effect on the success of the amphibious operations associated with Operation Overlord,” former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said at a 2019 ceremony in Cherbourg.

That same year, Adm. Karl Schultz — former commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard — announced the USS Quentin Walsh.

“Naming a future Navy destroyer after Capt. Walsh, the first Arleigh Burke-class ship to be named after a Coast Guard legend, highlights not only his courageous actions but the bravery of all U.S. service members involved in the D-Day invasion of Normandy,” Schultz said in 2019, as the Navy on Tuesday celebrated the start of construction.

“The keel laying of future USS Quentin Walsh (DDG 132) symbolizes the Navy’s 250-year commitment to innovation and maritime dominance,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement. “This milestone marks the Navy’s enduring legacy and commitment to shaping the future of maritime power.”