takes

The outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus strain has reached 782 confirmed cases.

The number of confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s Ebola outbreak has surged to 782, with 178 deaths, marking one of the largest daily jumps so far as regional conflict, patient escapes, and limited contact tracing undermine containment efforts.

The Ministry of Public Health confirmed 72 new cases on Sunday over the previous 24 hours, a record single-day increase, with 29 additional deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus strain has a 22.8 percent death rate so far, with 40 patients recovering, officials said.

“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilise resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday.

The outbreak stems from the rare Bundibugyo strain, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus responsible for the DRC’s previous 16 Ebola outbreaks.

Contact tracing coverage has plummeted to 56.5 percent, a sharp decline from the 95% target, Health Ministry officials said.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, warned that “no one knows the true scale” of the outbreak due to dangerous gaps in surveillance and testing.

Eastern Ituri province remains the outbreak’s epicentre, harbouring nearly 95 percent of all confirmed cases. The virus has since breached into North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and spread across the border to Uganda.

Ituri’s humanitarian crisis exacerbates the medical emergency. Nearly one million residents have fled overlapping armed conflicts involving multiple groups, including the M23 rebel movement that controls Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. The area has endured decades of instability, with United Nations reports documenting massacres of more than 100 civilians in gold-rich Ituri villages as various factions vie for control of the region’s mineral wealth.

Thousands of artisanal miners routinely shuttle between clandestine mining sites scattered across the mineral-dense region, creating transmission hotspots that evade health monitoring. The outbreak is believed to have originated in the mining-intensive Mongbwalu Health Zone in Ituri province.

The World Health Organization announced it is ramping up diagnostic testing and contact surveillance operations. However, MSF reports a critical funding gap of $21.5m hampering response efforts.

Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi thriller, “Disclosure Day,” topped the box office this weekend, an encouraging sign for what could be a big summer for theaters.

The film, which stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, brought in $44 million in the U.S. and Canada for a worldwide total of $92.9 million, according to studio estimates. The opening weekend totals beat box office analysts’ expectations of about $40 million to $50 million.

“Disclosure Day” is Spielberg’s latest alien-centric movie that charts a desperate race to show the world the truth about extraterrestrials.

The film, which had a production budget of about $115 million, was also scored by legendary composer and longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams, who is now 94 years old.

Spielberg described the film in April as “way closer to truth than fiction” during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas. The veteran director of 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and 2005’s “War of the Worlds” said at the time that he’s been curious about “what’s going on in the night” since he was a child and “been very fixated on the possibilities.”

Focus Features’ “Obsession” came in second at the box office with a domestic haul of $19 million, a continuation of the film’s strong run in theaters.

“Scary Movie,” “Backrooms” and “Masters of the Universe” rounded out the top five at the box office.

Recent box office performance — particularly with Gen Z hits “Obsession” and A24’s “Backrooms” — along with a slate of upcoming blockbuster franchise installments has buoyed the hopes of exhibitors and studio executives for a strong summer.

Next week, Walt Disney Co. and Pixar will release “Toy Story 5,” while Warner Bros.’ DC Studios has “Supergirl” landing in late June.

Universal Pictures and Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters,” Disney’s live-action “Moana,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” are all slated for July.

That steady cadence of new and different films is key for a healthy box office and a successful summer, said Daniel Loria, editorial director at the Box Office Co.

“We’re seeing that momentum come back on a weekend-by-weekend basis,” he said. “What we needed to get back to a healthy industry post-pandemic is consistency, and that’s the difference here in 2026.”

Erling Haaland swapped the football pitch for the ice rink as he and his Norway team-mates took in a Stanley Cup match.

The Norway contingent provided lively support for the Carolina Hurricanes in game five of the NHL play-off series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

The Manchester City forward, who will make his long-awaited World Cup debut against Iraq on 16 June (23:00 BST), cut a relaxed figure at the Lenovo Centre in Raleigh, waving to the crowd when the Norway team appeared on the scoreboard screen and swinging a Hurricanes rally towel around his head.

Arriving at the game in a grey polo shirt, he was later filmed beaming in a white and red Hurricanes jersey emblazoned with the number nine – the same number he wears for both club and country.

The Hurricanes, targeting their first Stanley Cup crown for 20 years, lead the Golden Knights 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, completing a 4-2 regulation win in game five.

Norway are playing at their first World Cup since 1998 – and their first major tournament since Euro 2000 – and have already made a mark despite not starting their campaign until next Tuesday.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and Sebastian Aho added a second-period goal in a breakout game for Carolina’s top-line performers, helping the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Thursday night to move one victory away from the Stanley Cup.

Captain Jordan Staal added his fifth goal in the series on a night when Carolina overcame multiple hiccups from these playoffs, from a shaky power play to being outplayed in the second period of this series.

And there had been the waiting game for Aho and Svechnikov — two roster mainstays in an eight-year postseason run — to find a better offensive groove.

It all came together in Game 5, with Svechnikov’s short putaway at the post on the power play giving Carolina a 4-1 lead midway through the third period. And unlike most multi-goal leads in what has been a wild and thrilling series, this one held up, with Brandon Bussi finishing with 22 saves in his second career postseason start.

That gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Sunday night in Las Vegas, with the Hurricanes playing for the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since coach Rod Brind’Amour captained them to the title in 2006.

It has been a tough series for Vegas goaltender Carter Hart.

(Karl B DeBlaker / AP)

Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice for Vegas, finding the net for the first time since Game 1 of the Western Conference Final sweep of Presidents’ Trophy winner Colorado. Carter Hart entered this one as the first goaltender in Stanley Cup Final history to give up at least four goals in each of the first four games, then did it again to continue a difficult series while finishing with 20 saves.

Vegas had twice before been in a 2-2 series in these playoffs, in the first round against Utah and the second round against the Ducks. Both times, the Golden Knights won Game 5 and then closed out the series in Game 6.

This time, they’ll have to win on home ice to force the series back to Carolina for a Game 7 on Wednesday night. And they’ll have to take two in a row against a Hurricanes team that hasn’t suffered consecutive losses since mid-January.

Vegas played much of the night without center William Karlsson, who was being checked out on the bench for an apparent upper-body injury. Karlsson skated to the tunnel midway through the second period and didn’t return.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb was forced to leave Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday after taking a puck to his face on a slap shot midway through the first period.

The 14-year veteran, who played for the Kings from 2014-2017, did not return to the game. ESPN is reporting that McNabb was taken from Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., to a hospital for evaluation.

Vegas coach John Tortorella did not have an update on McNabb’s status after his team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Huricanes, and the Golden Knights had not provided one as of early Friday morning.

McNabb was defending in front of the net with 9:08 remaining in the first period when a blistering shot by Carolina winger Nikolaj Ehlers hit him in the facial area. Slow-motion replays show the puck may have struck the protective visor on McNabb’s helmet near his eyes.

After crumpling to the ice, McNabb immediately climbed to his feet, skated off the playing area and headed down the tunnel while holding a hand over his nose and mouth.

“It’s a scary play,” Vegas forward Brett Howden said after the game. ”You never want to see that. Just hope he’s doing all right. We haven’t seen him yet but hope he’s doing OK.”

Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin said: “Any time you see that happen to a teammate, especially to a guy like Nabber who is a huge part of this team, a leader, it’s tough. It’s hard to see that happen to any guy on the ice. We’re just hoping for the best for him.”

Born in Davidson, Canada, McNabb was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the 2009 entry draft. He played in 37 games for the Sabres and was acquired by the Kings on March 5, 2014. Los Angeles also received Jonathan Parker and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Hudson Fasching and Nic Deslauriers.

McNabb had six goals and 36 assists in three seasons with the Kings before being selected by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft. This is his third Stanley Cup Final with the Golden Knights, who won the championship in 2023.

In Vegas’ 5-4 Game 1 victory against Carolina on Tuesday, McNabb had three assists for the first time in his career. Ben Hutton and Kaedan Korczak are possible options to take McNabb’s spot if he can’t play in Saturday’s Game 3 in Las Vegas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Around 7 a.m. Saturday, in a lot beside the shuttered Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, a strange set of cars and trucks began to gather. Three Model A’s. A couple of ’60 convertibles. A 1964 Chevrolet Impala station wagon. Also, a big bull on trailer wheels.

“Am I in the right place?” asked a man in one of the Model A’s.

“Going to Chicago?” asked a guy in a white Denali.

“I wish I could do the whole thing,” said Joe Hernandez of Pasadena, wistfully standing by.

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This was the starting line for roughly 70 drivers who gathered to celebrate the centennial of Route 66 with a 2,448-mile, 20-day caravan to Chicago. Most had come from outside California to share an adventure with fellow “roadies” and boost awareness of the classic scenery and independent businesses along the eight-state route.

But soaring gas prices and hesitant international travelers have added uncertainty to a trip that was always going to be a logistical challenge. Day 1 alone might terrify an L.A. commuter: From the Pacific to Pasadena by surface streets, including miles on Santa Monica and Colorado boulevards.

“I don’t know how it’s all going to happen,” said Gary Daggett, president of the Old Route 66 Assn. of Texas. But he and his wife, Stephanie, have more than a little Route 66 experience to draw upon.

Mike and Lisa Visket of Prescott, Ariz., pose in Santa Monica at the pier in their Route 66 clothing on June 6, 2026.

“This is our 30th trip over 20 years,” Daggett said. “You can’t see everything. There’s so much…. You start meeting the people, you get hooked on the people.”

Shortly before their 8:30 departure time, organizer Rhys Martin called drivers together.

“Leaving here is going to be a little complicated,” he said.

Martin, who is part of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, is president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Assn., and serves as manager of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserve Route 66 initiative. For the journey, he is driving a ’64 Chevy Impala station wagon with a GPS unit inside so that armchair travelers can follow his journey on the web.

“It’s going to be impossible to keep everybody together,” he said during preparations. “We’re encouraging people to spread out and support independent businesses rather than all going to one place and demolishing the kitchen.”

William Cooke of Pinon Hills participates in a caravan from Santa Monica Pier to Chicago, celebrating the centennial of Route 66.

In song and literature, the route is celebrated as an east-to-west journey. This caravan, running in the opposite direction, will travel from California through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri to Illinois.

From Santa Monica, the Day 1 schedule took drivers to Beverly Hills City Hall, Grand Central Market downtown for lunch, the Chicken Boy statue and Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Highland Park, then an overnight in Pasadena.

Day 2 takes the group from Pasadena to Barstow. Day 3, from Barstow to Needles. On June 25, the caravan is due to arrive in downtown Chicago.

The loose procession was led by a core group of 15 cars, including representatives of all eight states on the route. Since anyone can join or leave the caravan at any time, the number of vehicles will vary by the hour.

Through the decades, the road has grown from an American artifact into a global symbol of small-town Americana. Many merchants, restaurateurs and hoteliers along 66 now say that their summer customers are mostly travelers from abroad, especially Europe. One of the caravan’s drivers, in a rented pickup truck, was Dries Bessels, co-founder of the Dutch Route 66 Assn.

Brady Wilson of Amarillo, Texas, displays an assortment of Route 66 pins on his cowboy hat. Wilson is part of a caravan of Route 66 enthusiasts who set out from Santa Monica Pier on June 6, 2026, for Chicago.

Though the Model A’s will surely raise eyebrows on the road, the caravan’s most startling element is the fiberglass bull representing the Amarillo-based Big Texan Steak Ranch restaurant, one of the event’s sponsors.

“It’s the same one my dad brought home in ’71. His name is Big Moo,” said Danny Lee, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother, Bobby Lee. “He’s 12 and a half feet high. About 500 pounds. It’s all fiberglass.”

In 21 cities along the drive, the Big Texan team aims to stage nightly steak-eating contests, giving free dinners to anyone who can eat 72 ounces of steak, a baked potato, three shrimp, a side salad and a roll in 60 minutes.

The caravan’s first challenge came at the Santa Monica Pier, where there was no room for the cars due to a construction project, World Cup preparations and a Children’s Hospital fundraiser. Instead, the caravan gathered by the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Drivers strolled over the pier for a photo op, then returned to their cars.

“Herding cats,” said George Kulakowski of Huntington Beach, at the wheel of a 1931 Ford Model A Panel Delivery truck.

Participants in a Route 66 centennial caravan pose for a photo before they depart from Santa Monica Pier on June 2, 2026, for Chicago along the historic highway.

Another challenge awaited in West Hollywood, where Santa Monica Boulevard (aka Route 66) was busy with crowds for the city’s WeHo Pride Street Fair. By plans laid ahead of time, most caravan vehicles detoured around the party while select caravan cars followed a police escort through the action.

This way, Martin said, “another community along Route 66 gets to share its identity with the community at large.”

Allison Lehn of Boston participates in a caravan from Santa Monica Pier to Chicago, celebrating the centennial of Route 66.

By 11:15 a.m., Martin’s car had reached Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. Meanwhile, assorted other parades and caravans are traveling Route 66 in other states this year; most of them concentrate on short segments.

By 12:45 p.m., caravaners had met the mayor of Beverly Hills and rolled through West Hollywood’s Pride festivities, arriving at Grand Central Market, running slightly ahead of time.

On May 30, an estimated 3,596 classic cars joined a “Capital Cruise” on Route 66 in Tulsa, Okla., becoming a Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest parade of classic cars, drawing an estimated 100,000 spectators and overwhelming local traffic.

In Arizona, the Williams Historic Route 66 Car Show was set for Friday and Saturday. In Texas, the Amarillo-based Texas Route 66 Festival is running Thursday through June 13.

William Cooke of Pinon Hills, left, and Sarah Jane Woodall of Tecopa, Calif., drive along Wilshire Boulevard in a 1960 Edsel Ranger Convertible as part of a Route 66 centennial caravan.

In those states and beyond, the caravan from Santa Monica will find hotels and motels in every kind of condition, vintage neon, road food, blue states, red states and purple states.

As a package of Times stories described in May, some landmarks date to the highway’s days as a scene of Depression desperation in the 1930s, others to its giddy postwar years in the late 1940s and ‘50s.

Route 66 was created in 1926 as a highway stitching together hundreds of local roads. Nicknamed “the Main Street of America” by its boosters and “the Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in “The Grapes of Wrath,” the highway inspired Bobby Troup’s song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” in 1946.

But economic life along Route 66 has been precarious since the late 1960s, when interstate highways and chain hotels began stealing traffic away from the older, slower road. After Route 66 was decommissioned as a highway in 1985, about 85% of the old route remained in use, often as small-town thoroughfares, country highways and frontage roads alongside Interstate 40.

Efforts to save and rebuild the route as a historic resource began in the late 1980s and gained ground after the 2006 release of the Pixar/Disney animated features “Cars,” which tells the story of the highway’s rise and fall. In small towns such as Tucumcari, N.M., and Seligman, Ariz., the highway remains central to local identity and economy.

A vehicle in the Route 66 caravan is photographed June 6, 2026.

This year’s centennial improvements along the route “are things that are going to go into the future,” Martin said. “The real impact is going to be next year and the years after.”

June 6 (UPI) — Democrat Xavier Becerra is advancing to the November election in the California governor’s race, while Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer battle for the second spot.

California’s primary is nonpartisan, so the top two finishers advance, regardless of party.

If elected, Becerra, 68, would be California’s first Latino governor since 1875. The state’s population is about 41% Latino.

“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on Earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a statement. “We will not be bought. We will not be bullied. And we are never backing down.”

Becerra was the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary under President Joe Biden and is a former California attorney general.

No Republican has won statewide office since 2006. Hilton has also been endorsed by President Donald Trump, who is unpopular in the state. California Gov. Gavin Newsom can’t run for re-election because of term limits.

The vote count has taken several days because California has mail-in voting. It’s not unusual for California’s elections to take a long time to count. Trump-endorsed Hilton led early, but it’s likely that’s because Republicans voted early, while Democrats waited because they had many more contenders from which to choose, The New York Times reported.

Hilton, 56, is a British-born former Fox News host who once worked for Prime Minister David Cameron. Steyer, 68, is a New York-born billionaire philanthropist and climate activist who ran for president in 2020.

On Friday, the Department of Justice sent a federal prosecutor to observe ballot counting in Los Angeles after Trump claimed that the count was being rigged by Democrats.

The Los Angeles County registrar-recorder said in a statement Friday: “Our office was notified late yesterday that the U.S. attorney’s office would send an assistant U.S. attorney to the Ballot Processing Center to observe ballot processing activities.”

“The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operations,” spokesperson Mike Sanchez said in an email to CNN.

Sanchez noted that ballot processing is open to the public.

California law gives election officials 30 days to complete the counting and certification process, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement.

“Our commitment is immediate: in California, every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,” Weber said.

STONEHENGE is considered one of the most well-known historical sites in the UK – and it’s getting a new addition.

Next to the stone circle – which was nearly named one of the seven Wonders – will be a replica Kusuma Neolithic Hall that will open in the next few months to visitors.

The Kusuma Neolithic Hall has been under construction for the last nine months.

It’s based on an ‘archaeological footprint’ that was found just two miles away – it was first excavated in 1928.

The original remains are thought to date back 4,500 years and are being reconstructed as part of a £1million project.

It’s in its final stages and has been built by volunteers who are using authentic tools of the time, like axes, along with materials like thatch and timber.

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As for what the structure was used for, that is unclear but animal bones and pottery remains were also discovered at the site.

Experts suggests it could have been used as a place for winter feasts, rituals, an animal barn or even as simple as storage.

The pre-historic building replica will be open throughout summer for tourists, although no opening date has been announced yet.

Then in September, it will become a dedicated and immersive learning space for students.

You’ll be able to see the new hall and Stonehenge for free from its surrounding footpaths, if you don’t mind being at a distance.

If you want to get closer, buy a ticket with English Heritage and if you book in advance it’s 15 per cent off.

Online adult tickets start from £31.80, children from £15.80 – those under five go free.

MAURA Higgins has sparked an unexpected Dancing With The Stars feud as she took sides after a pro dancer’s bitter split from his ex-girlfriend.

The 35-year-old landed the biggest job in American telly back in April after her successful stint on The US Traitors.

Maura was snapped up for the job, which is the US equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, as she continues to crack the showbiz scene out there.

In a recent interview, the reality star confessed the pro dancer she really doesn’t want to be paired with.

While she would love have Mark Ballas or Val Chmerkovskiy as her partner there’s one man that it seems would really hit a nerve.

Maura said: “To be honest, I’m okay to have anyone else – I just don’t want [Gleb Savchenko]. That’s the main thing for me, you know?”

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The TV personality and model assured fans she wasn’t trying to be “mean” but was simply sticking up for her good pal Brooks Nader.

“It’s just because I get on with [Brooks], and that’s that. I’m on Brooks’ side. I’m a loyalist, okay,” she added.

Actress Brooks, 29, “really fell” for Gleb while they were competing on the show together back in 2024.

The Russian dancer, 42, has gained a reputation for being a “playboy” over the years after being linked to his partners from previous seasons.

Brooks and Gleb had quite the messy break up just seven months after their romance begun.

Reality star Brooks accused Gleb of cheating and he denied all of those allegations.

During Episode 3 of Alex Cooper‘s Unwell Winter Games earlier this year, Gleb called the Sports Illustrated model “crazy.”

He even made brutal comments about their sex life.

Maura and Brooks appear to have struck up a friendship after meeting at events over in America.

The girls posed for snaps together at a Vanity Fair party back in March and it seems they have only grown closer.

Former Love Island star Maura has proved she has Brooks’ back as she risked sparking a huge feud.

The celebrities’ pro dancer partners will be announced later this year.

Dancing With The Stars is set to kick of following it’s usual schedule in the Autumn.

Steve Baik, who coached Chino Hills to an unbeaten basketball season in 2016 led by brothers Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, is returning to high school basketball. Calabasas announced on Wednesday he will be its new basketball coach.

Baik, who left Chino Hills and then guided Fairfax to a City Section Open Division championship in 2019, has long been considered an outstanding coach. He recently has been living and helping develop high school and youth players in Tennessee. He will replace veteran coach Jon Palarz, who retired from coaching.

“He reached out to me,” Calabasas athletic director Thomas Cassidy said. “He’s in the process of moving back. In talking to him, he had a lot of respect for coach Palarz and felt it was a good place to come back and build a program and have success. He blew us away. I was hoping we could work it out. We were able to put it together.”

Now the question is whether LaVar Ball, the father of the Ball brothers who Baik worked with at Chino Hills in sometimes much-publicized ways, will make an appearance in the Calabasas gym.

52-year-old Ryan McFarland killed six of his family members and later took his own life when confronted by the police in Muscatine in the US state of Iowa.

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Given the carrier picture is largely unchanged compared to last week, this week’s tracker highlights the big-deck amphibious fleet.

Much of America’s fleet of nine amphibious assault ships is hard at work as the U.S. opts to replace the Iwo Jima ARG in Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) with a “sub-optimized” Littoral Combat Force (LCF). The LCF appears to be the first deployment that embodies the Navy’s new more flexible deployment strategy, which could have wider impacts across the fleet in the future. “It’s the way to have force multiplication, to punch bigger than yourself, and that’s done through tailored offsets,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said at SNA earlier this year about the new tailored deployments concept. “That whole thing builds a way to present forces to allow me to do more with less.”

The 24th MEU, operating under the designation LCF-24, deployed to SOUTHCOM and replaced the Iwo Jima ARG. “Distinct from a standard Amphibious Ready Group/MEU deployment, LCF-24 is a purpose-built MAGTF engineered for distributed operations,” SOUTHCOM explained in a statement. The Marine Air-Ground Task Force, with more than 1,300 Marines and Sailors, will operate from both shore-based nodes and aboard Fort Lauderdale, and is certified to “execute a wide array of mission essential tasks, including but not limited to Quick Reaction Force operations such as embassy reinforcement and the tactical recovery of aircraft [and] personnel, while standing ready to support disaster relief activities.”

A new train service has created the world’s longest train journey, allowing passengers to travel across 13 countries

The launch of a brand-new rail service has created the world’s longest train journey, spanning 21 days and passing through 13 countries.

A new rail link between Laos and China now allows travel from Portugal to Singapore entirely by rail.

The epic route covers a staggering 11,600 miles and is operated by multiple railway companies throughout.

Travellers can cross numerous borders while making several spectacular stops along the way.

The mammoth trip offers passengers stunning countryside scenery between the major destinations along the route.

Departing from Lagos in Portugal, the journey concludes in Singapore, reports the Express.

It’s a truly one-of-a-kind adventure, crossing from the western to the eastern hemisphere entirely by train.

From Lagos, the service heads to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, before stopping at the next stop in the Basque region of Spain.

The train then winds its way through France, Russia, China, Vietnam, and Thailand before finally rolling into Singapore.

Along the way, the service stops at some of the world’s most iconic cities, including Paris, Moscow, Beijing, and Bangkok.

The lengthiest leg of the trip is a gruelling 40-hour stretch from Paris to Moscow.

Despite this marathon section, the journey features 11 stops, giving passengers plenty of opportunities to stretch their legs.

Travellers can also enjoy overnight stays at destinations en route, stepping off the train to explore.

To complete the full journey, passengers must obtain seven separate visas. The overall fare is approximately £1,006, comparable to the cost of a flight from Portugal to Singapore.

Nevertheless, the trip requires considerably more planning than a flight and involves numerous additional stops.

In some areas, passengers must make bus connections to continue their train journey.

These included the stretch from Vietnam to Cambodia, and from Malaysia to Singapore.

The longest journey has only been made possible by the introduction of the Laos-China railway.

It is expected to boost Laos’ economy by allowing it to transport people from China.

The previous longest train journey ran from London to Singapore.