swim

BUS drivers in London have fumed that their vehicles are becoming riddled with cockroaches.

Shocking snaps appear to show the rodents perched in seat cushions and drink containers.

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As a result, many drivers have flocked to London Bus Forums (LBF), a message board and campaigning organisation, to call on Transport for London to make its vehicles cleaner, The Times reports.

One video uploaded to the forum appears to show one driver get a nasty shock when he notices several cockroaches inside his drink.

“I went to take a sip from my drink and felt something in my mouth,” the driver says in the clip. 

“I spat it out and saw it was a cockroach.

“I felt sick and ended up vomiting.”

Complaints made by drivers are “growing in frequency and urgency”, according to the LBF.

Bus services are run by private companies under contract to Transport for London [TfL].

TfL said extensive daily cleaning took place across the network and the fleet was treated with the same long-term antibacterial products as were used on the Underground.

A TfL spokesman said: “We are committed to working together with operators to provide a clean environment for staff and customers. Most TfL welfare facilities are cleaned multiple times a day, and at a minimum daily, to maintain hygiene and safety standards.

“All buses are also cleaned every night before entering service, and reports such as these are rare.

“We take any report seriously and are urgently investigating the specific incidents that have been raised.

“As with any reports, we will take appropriate action as part of the investigation, which can include taking buses out of service for inspection, deep cleans and treatment with specialist equipment if necessary.

“We would like to reassure staff that our operators would never take action against people raising concerns about welfare or safety and encourage any driver with concerns to contact their employer, their union, or contact us directly.”

LBF added: “These cockroach reports are not isolated. They reflect a broader failure to maintain safe and sanitary conditions for bus drivers.

“This is a public health issue affecting both staff and passengers.

“That’s why drivers will be marching on November 5 to demand safer working conditions and the adoption of the bus drivers’ bill of rights.”

John Murphy, the regional officer for Unite, the union representing many London bus drivers, fumed that it was “completely unacceptable that London bus drivers are being forced to drive around for hours in vehicles that have cockroach infestations.”

He continued: “TfL and the bus companies need to take action now to rid all buses of infestations and Unite will hold them to account until they do.”

The Sun Online has reached out to Transport for London for comment.

ISTANBUL — During a pool training session months ago, Ukrainian war veteran Oleh Tserkovnyi was struck by an idea: What if a group of veterans swam across the strait of Bosphorus, between Turkey’s European and Asian shores? And if they did it on Aug. 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day?

The symbolism of the day would draw attention to the toll and devastation inflicted by Russia’s full-out war on Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

When the 34-year-old pitched the idea to fellow veterans in their One for Another support group, none raised injuries, particularly their amputations, as a barrier. Two joined him right away.

They trained for months, with the support of Superhumans Center, a veterans’ rehabilitation clinic in Ukraine, and coached by CapitalTRI, an amateur triathlon team in Kyiv. They agreed their race would have another goal — to raise money for prosthetics, which remain costly and urgently needed by many of Ukraine’s wounded.

“We’re not asking for pity,” Tserkovnyi told The Associated Press shortly before the competition. “We’re asking for support.”

A race that links continents

After months of rigorous training, discipline and physical challenges, the three Ukrainian veterans on Sunday joined more than 2,800 swimmers from 81 countries in the 6.5-kilometer (4-mile) crossing from Asia to Europe.

The Bosphorus Intercontinental Swimming Race is an open-water event held each year in Istanbul, organized by the Turkish Olympic Committee since 1989.

All three Ukrainians completed the crossing, each swimming for more than an hour. The two veterans with amputations faced setbacks even before the start — the organizers initially barred them from competing, insisting they have to be in a separate category for people with disabilities.

But they persevered and swam the race, alongside the others.

For the Ukrainians, it wasn’t just about endurance but about reclaiming control over bodies transformed by war — and sharing their recovery with a world that often seems indifferent to the injuries they carry.

Seeking balance in the water

Sports had always been a part of Tserkovnyi’s life, but war and injury pushed him to use it as a survival tool after two severe, life-changing concussions — a bridge back to life for war veterans with disabilities.

“Sport itself heals — we’ve seen that firsthand,” he said. “And the community, it pulls you through. It pushes you, it disciplines you.”

When he speaks, he’s quick to point out the changes he sees in himself — the stutter, the involuntary twitch in his eye.

“It’s what’s left over. It used to be much worse,” he said.

Both of his concussions were the result of prolonged exposure to artillery fire while serving on the front line. He was a sniper when the second one hit. Afterward, he said, it felt like he had lost his sense of balance entirely.

“There were times I could walk, but then suddenly I’d just tip over like a pencil,” Tserkovnyi said. “I have third-degree hearing loss on one side, no peripheral vision.”

The sense of being “a sick person,” he said, felt so foreign to him that he threw himself into recovery with everything he had. For a long time, he also had PTSD symptoms, including dramatic flashbacks to the war.

But it was in the pool that he found a way to recognize the warning signs. “I began to understand what triggers them, when they come, and how to stay ahead of them,” he said.

A path back to oneself

Engineer Pavlo Tovstyk signed up as a volunteer in the early days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Serving as a driver in an intelligence unit, he stepped on a landmine in June 2023.

The blast took his foot and subsequent surgeries led to a partial amputation of his left leg.

The 47-year-old, who used to be an active swimmer as a child, never thought swimming would become a lifeline. He was still recovering from his injury when he began sneaking into the swimming pool, keeping it a secret from the doctors.

“Water became a kind of savior for me,” he said. “At the time, everything felt disoriented. But in the water, my thoughts, my strength, my body — it all came together again. I became myself again. Just … different.”

The idea to swim the strait in Turkey started almost as a dare, then became a plan.

“To cross the Bosphorus, you need not just physical strength, but a certain mindset — a state of determination that all of us managed to find within ourselves,” he said.

Calm found in purpose

Oleksandr Dashko discovered swimming only after losing his left leg.

The 28-year-old had joined the military at the start of the Russian invasion and served in the infantry in various front-line areas.

In June 2023, a mine exploded near him and shrapnel tore into his knee.

“I didn’t take it very graciously, let’s say,” he said as he recounted the conflicted feelings that tormented him for so long. Adjustment to life with an amputation has been slow and mentally taxing.

It was only over the past year that he was able to focus on physical rehabilitation — and swimming, he said, has become the activity that brings him a sense of calm.

The challenge of swimming the Bosphorus became a purpose for Dashko.

“When I do nothing, I slip back to that state right after the injury — depression, apathy, the feeling that the amputation is winning,” he said. “But when something like this shows up on my path, it gives me a jolt — to live, to move forward, to motivate others.”

Physical goals, he said, help anchor him. He hopes for more such challenges, not just for himself, but for other veterans.

“Honestly, if it weren’t for this, I’d probably be drunk and lying under a fence somewhere,” he said.

Maloletka and Arhirova write for the Associated Press. Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.

A picturesque UK island with white beaches and turquoise waters was once home to around 40 residents, but has been left abandoned for around 200 years due to one key reason

A beautiful UK island that could easily be mistaken for the likes of the Maldives or Caribbean was surprisingly abandoned by Brits centuries ago.

Boasting insanely white beaches, turquoise waters and its very own sub-tropical climate that welcomes balmy temperatures of around 25C – you’d expect Samson Island to have been turned into a huge holiday resort crawling with tourists. But for years, this stunning piece of land – which is roughly just 39 hectares – used to home just 40 residents, most of whom were believed to have worked as farmers and fishermen.

Despite its ethereal beauty, life on Samson wasn’t easy, and by the mid-1800s the population had dwindled down to just 10 people, all part of two remaining families. Stung by scarce resources and its isolated location, residents reportedly started suffering from malnutrition – surviving mainly off foraged food and potatoes.

READ MORE: Abandoned EU island where tourists are banned just 10-miles from popular city

In 1834, the island was bought by Augustus Smith, who removed the families from Samson and transformed the island into a private deer park. However, this plan massively backfired and many of the deer attempted to escape to the neighbouring islands.

Now left alone to its own devices, Samson has become a haven for wildlife, and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Expect to see seals playing in the waves, while gannets and razorbills fly overhead if you visit.

You’ll also be able to spot the crumbled ruins that once homed multiple families. They make for a great snap and really make you think what life would have been like on this incredible island some two hundred years ago.

“Nestled in the narrow strip of land between the twin hills of Samson stand the roofless remains of stone cottages and boathouses,” explains Discovering Britain. “Long walls section off parts of the island and, around the ancient burial sites that top the hills, flints, pottery and other echoes of an intriguing history of human habitation have been unearthed.”

Situated in the acclaimed Isles of Scilly, some 28 miles of Cornwall – you can now visit Samson on a day trip from the habitable islands nearby. Tresco, one of the most popular islands on the archipelago, is less than a mile away – meaning you can technically swim over to Samson, but due to potential hazards and ferry routes – it isn’t advised.

However, you can easily catch a ferry and walk the plank from the boat to the shore. If you want a bit more adventure, you can hire a kayak from Bryher and paddle across the clear water from Rushy Bay.

Getting to the Isle of Scilly will require a little bit of work. You can either fly on the Skybus, which departs from Land’s End, Newquay or Exeter Airport – or take a helicopter from Penzance. Most people opt for the Scillonian III Passenger Ferry, which takes two hours and forty minutes from Penzance but can work out much cheaper.

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Koreans swam, rode water park slides and enjoyed other water activities at a newly opened mammoth beach resort, state media reported Wednesday, as the country largely maintains a ban on the entry of foreign tourists.

The Wonsan-Kalma eastern coastal tourist zone, which North Korea says can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, is at the heart of leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost tourism as a way to improve his country’s struggling economy. But prospects for the resort, the biggest tourist complex in North Korea, aren’t clear, as the country won’t likely fully reopen its borders and embrace Western tourists anytime soon, observers say.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported the Wonsan-Kalma area began service Tuesday, drawing a large number of North Koreans who enjoyed open water swimming, slides and other attractions at a water park and various water activities in the area.

“The guests’ hearts were filled with overwhelming emotion as they felt the astonishing new heights of our-style tourism culture blossoming under the era of the Workers’ Party,” KCNA said in a typical propaganda-driven dispatch.

Photos released by North Korean state media showed children with tubes and inflatable balls dipping into the sea, while others in colorful swimsuits beamed while sitting beneath red-and-white parasols.

Kim said at the inaugural ceremony last week the site would be recorded as “one of the greatest successes this year” and called its opening “the proud first step” toward realizing the government’s policy of developing tourism.

Since 2022, North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. But the country hasn’t said whether and when it would fully resume international tourism.

Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled while there are questions about ties between the two socialist neighbors. In February this year, North Korea allowed a small group of international tourists to visit its northeastern border city of Rason, only to stop that tour program in less than a month.

Since February 2024, North Korea has been accepting Russian tourists amid expanding military cooperation between the countries. But Russian government records seen by South Korean experts show a little more than 2,000 Russians, only about 880 of them tourists, visited North Korea last year, a number that is too small to revive North Korea’s tourism.

Russia’s Primorsky region, which borders North Korea, said last week that the first group of Russian tourists to the Wonsan-Kalma resort will depart on July 7 for a eight-day trip that includes a visit to Pyongyang.

Kim writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

A MASSIVE European waterpark has opened a new year-round outdoor pool – and it comes with a massive swim-up bar.

The outdoor pool Svømmepøl is n the Rulantica water world at Europa-Park Resort in Germany.

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It measures around 660sqm and sits inside a Nordic-style ‘volcanic landscape’.

The 32C heated pool is in the ‘Dynstrønd’ area of the park and is the largest open-air pool in Rulantica to date.

It also has several features including geysers, water mist and an infinity area.

In addition, there is a rock cave with bubbling water loungers and a discovery tour with mascot ‘Snorri’ – perfect for little ones.

There is a swim-up bar called ‘Svømme-Bar’ too – which seats 150 guests.

The pool is then surrounded by sun loungers and Nordic vegetation.

Visitors can also get to the outdoor swimming area from the indoor area.

Europa-Park’s owner, Ronald Mack, said: “With ‘Svømmepøl’, we are expanding Rulantica’s year-round offering with a spacious and fascinatingly designed outdoor pool that promises both relaxation and adventure.

“The numerous details and special features create an impressive bathing experience and once again set new standards in innovative water attractions,” reports EAP Magazine.

The pool even took an entire week to fill.

Rulantica first opened in 2019 and in total spans 32,600sqm with 14 themed zones based on Nordic legends including Rangnakor.

There are 50 slides and attractions in total, as well as a wave pool and two swim up bars.

There are a number of other experiences available at the waterpark including evening DJ sets and private relaxation booths and saunas.

Rulantica is operated by Europa-Park, which sits just next door to the waterpark.

There is even a free shuttle that runs between the two attractions.

Tickets to enter Rulantica cost £38.50 and tickets to enter Europa-Park cost £54.

Back in February, Europa-Park celebrated its 50th anniversary and with it, opened a new ride.

Featuring the park’s mice mascots Ed and Edda, the ride is a train journey with an interactive gaming element.

The ride is based on the upcoming film, ‘Grand Prix of Europe‘ – a cartoon film that stars Ed and Edda voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Gemma Arterton.

Visitors can ride on ‘Grand Prix EDventure’ with Ed and Edda’s racing crew and take a trip across Europe.

There was also a £75million indoor tropical waterpark that nearly opened in the UK.

Plus, the first look at huge new £200million indoor waterpark opening in the UK with aquadrome and adventure zone.

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