Another parent’s attempts to “psych her out” spurred Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to compete in her son’s sports day, the Olympic sprinter said in an interview with The Guardian this week.

Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic champion in the 100 meters, inevitably ended up winning the parents race with ease and footage of her crushing victory later went viral on social media.

The Jamaican said a friend and fellow parent had laid down a challenge two weeks before the sports day.

“She started sending me photos of her working out in the gym. And then she told me she was coming for me!” Fraser-Pryce told The Guardian’s Sean Ingle.

“I was like, ‘You can’t be serious girl!’ And when we got to sports day, she even started giving me the eyes, trying to psych me out.”

Fraser-Pryce added that she had not initially intended to compete in the race but changed her mind once her five-year-old son Zyon fell in an event and her husband finished fourth in the dad’s race.

“I just had to show up,” she said. “I had to preserve my name.”

The rest was captured on video by those watching the race – Fraser-Pryce blazing ahead of her other competitors as she claims one of the easier victories of her career.

At the age of 36 and with eight Olympic medals already to her name, Fraser-Pryce is still running some of the fastest times of her career having won gold at the world championships last year.

This week, she was crowned Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus World Sport Awards in Paris following her success in 2022.

“As competitors, as individuals, as moms and dads, we must believe that we can produce greater things that we may not always immediately see,” Fraser-Pryce wrote on Instagram after receiving the award.

“The discipline, the drive and the passion we apply daily in training, in recovery, in trying new strategies can deliver more than we think ourselves capable.”

Erling Haaland’s arrival at Manchester City last summer was met with equal measures of excitement and curiosity.

At the age of 22, the Norwegian forward had already established himself as one of the best goalscorers in European football – first at Red Bull Salzburg, then with two prolific seasons at Borussia Dortmund.

But now he was moving to a team already replete with attacking talent and a league in which big-name signings have come and gone without leaving an impression.

Would he adapt to life in the Premier League? The answer has been yes, emphatically – even to the extent that Haaland has surpassed the expectations of some of his greatest admirers during his first 10 months at Man City.

The numbers behind Haaland’s first season defy belief. He’s scored 51 club goals in 47 games this season: 35 in the Premier League, 12 in the Champions League, three in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.

Only Dixie Dean, who scored 63 in the 1927/28 season, has more goals in English football during a single top-flight campaign.

Haaland’s Premier League tally, which includes four hat-tricks, is a league record for a single season, breaking the previous mark held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.

Shearer and Cole recorded their 34-goal seasons at a time when Premier League teams played 42 games, rather than the current 38; Haaland currently has four games remaining to add to his haul, including when City faces Everton on Sunday.

Forming a potent partnership with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne – perhaps the best passer of the ball in European football – Haaland has made an immediate impact at City.

But De Bruyne’s laser-like passing hasn’t been the sole reason for his success, nor the excellence of teammates Jack Grealish, Rodri, or Bernardo Silva, to name a few. Haaland, Addo observes, has modified his game to devastating effect since arriving in the Premier League, taking his pace, power, and deadly finishing to another level.

“I think he’s learned to be patient, to wait for the situation in the box and to take the right runs inside the box,” Addo says.

“Even though there were games where you didn’t see him too much on the ball, you could see that he was always ready. Even if it’s in the last minute, he’s always ready to score, always ready to make the right run in the right situation.”

Addo, a former Dortmund player and Ghanaian international, oversees the development of the Bundesliga club’s talented crop of young players. He believes Haaland became a more complete player in Germany, scoring a greater number of right-footed and headed goals, as well as improving his movement off the ball in defense and attack.

The pair have written to each other from time to time over the past year and Haaland gave gifts to some of his former coaches after Dortmund and City played each other in the Champions League earlier this season.

“As a human being, I’m happy for him,” says Addo. “He has the mindset, he has the ability to score, to run, to have the right positions, to be hungry. If he keeps this hunger, which I guess he will, then surely, he will be the best striker ever.”

Addo recalls times when Haaland would score two or three goals in a game for Dortmund, only to be angry with the coaches when he was substituted off.

“This is the mentality you wish on every player – that he’s never satisfied, that he doesn’t relax, he doesn’t feel comfortable even though he scores a lot of goals,” says Addo. “He always wants more.”

Haaland’s finishing has been at its deadliest this season when he’s inside the penalty area, according to Opta data from Stats Perform, which shows 11 of his 35 league goals coming from inside the six-yard box.

Scoring goals has always been at the heart of Haaland’s game, ever since he was a young boy playing in Bryne – a town of around 12,000 people on the southwestern tip of Norway.

At the age of 16, he moved from Bryne to Molde FK to play in the top flight of Norwegian football under the guidance of former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; from there, he made his name with Salzburg, Dortmund, and now Man City.

Berntsen makes sure to watch all of Haaland’s games, so long as they don’t clash with the schedule of his beloved Liverpool team. He finds a certain novelty in watching the powerful forward – now six-foot-four and reportedly carrying 12 kilograms of muscle compared to 15 months ago – exhibit the same qualities as when he was a young kind.

“In practice, just like now, he scored a lot of goals. He smiled a lot and trained a lot, so in a funny way, it’s quite like now,” says Berntsen.

“If you see the matches now, many of his movements are familiar … he has quite the same playing style as before. The main thing with Erling was he scored a lot of goals and was funny and loveable guy.”

With his move to Man City, Haaland followed in the footsteps of his father, Alf Inge – a former defender and midfielder who also had stints at Nottingham Forest and Leeds. His mother, Gry Marita Braut, was a Norwegian heptathlon champion.

A figure of influence over his son’s professional career, Alf Inge even caused a stir in the stands during this week’s Champions League semifinal when he was moved to a different seat after taunting Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu.

But when Haaland was a youth player at Bryne, it was rare to see his father on the sidelines at training sessions.

“He left Erling on his own because he could see that Erling had fun, developed, got better and better and better in a good, safe environment with friends,” says Berntsen.

“As it became clear that Erling is something special and he had to move from Bryne to Molde … Then his father became very important, of course, and he had to prepare Erling for how to meet a new job, how to be accepted in the world, how to be a professional.”

Haaland’s professionalism is a quality regularly singled out by teammates and coaches as a reason for his success.

Manchester City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan said he is the first to arrive at the training ground, while Grealish has called Haaland “the best professional I have ever seen” when it comes to diet, treatment, and recovery.

At Dortmund, Addo says that Haaland had his own personal trainer to help with physical conditioning, explaining how “even if he’s off the pitch, he does a lot on his body.”

His dedicated approach has already reaped rewards; more goals, records, and accolades are likely to be a mainstay of Haaland’s career if he is able to stay healthy.

“He’s still young and he will improve even more,” says Addo. “He will be the best player on this planet one day. He’s very close now – maybe the best player already.”

José Mourinho, who in 2004 famously referred to himself as the ‘The Special One’ as he was introduced to the media as the new Chelsea manager, is having quite a week.

Under the 60-year-old’s watchful gaze, Italian club Roma is well placed to reach this season’s Europa League final having beaten Bayern Leverkusen 1-0 in the first leg of the semifinal on Thursday.

Even before Roma’s victory, Mourinho was also being linked with a move to one of the richest clubs in world football – Paris Saint-Germain.

Under Christophe Galtier, PSG looks set to win yet another Ligue 1 title but was dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the round of 16, despite boasting some of the biggest stars in the sport – notably Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappé and arguably the greatest player in history, Lionel Messi.

It’s also a club in somewhat of a crisis having recently suspended Messi for two weeks after he left France to attend promotional events in Saudi Arabia.

The club has had to condemn fans for targeting both Messi and teammate Neymar in recent weeks.

Mourinho has shown he has the personality and ability to manage top players in fractured dressing rooms, but he has been quick to brush off the speculation.

“If they called, they didn’t find me,” he quipped in a Sky Sport Italia interview on Wednesday, when asked about the PSG reports.

Prior to joining Roma, Mourinho managed Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, but was unceremoniously sacked just before the Carabao Cup final in 2021.

Since then he’s got back to winning ways, guiding Roma to its first trophy in 14 years after victory in the Europa Conference League last season.

Mourinho’s current contract at the club runs until 2024 but, with the team seventh in Serie A, its qualification into next season’s Champions League appears to depend entirely on winning the Europa League.

If his side slips up, football journalist James Horncastle suggests Mourinho may be tempted to try win the Champions League again with PSG – a tournament he’s already won with Porto and Inter Milan.

“He sees Roma as a way to bounce back to another big job,” Horncastle said on the Football Daily podcast.

“José is someone who ultimately wants to win wherever he goes and I think he feels that at Roma, unless they start changing the strategy and start spending more money, they’re not going to be able to deliver a league title.

“He would like a project that is befitting his legacy again, which would be the chance to compete for a Champions League.”

Roma success

While rumors swirl around his future, Mourinho was happy that his Roma side found a way to win the first leg of its Europa League semifinal.

His side came up against German outfit Leverkusen which is managed by one of Mourinho’s former players – Xabi Alonso.

Friendships were put aside for Thursday’s encounter at Roma’s famous Stadio Olimpico though, as Edoardo Bove’s second-half effort put the Italian side in the driver’s seat ahead of the second leg on May 18.

“It’s down to the lads,” Mourinho told reporters after the win on Thursday.

“They have this mentality, this desire and this empathy – something I often say. They have a sense of responsibility that makes them want to give absolutely everything to make the fans happy.”

Close to 100 wildfires raging across the Alberta region of Canada have forced more than 29,000 people to flee in what officials have called an “unprecedented situation” for the province.

In the past 24 hours alone, 16 new fires have ignited in Alberta, Wildfire Information Unit Lead Christie Tucker said during a Sunday evening news conference.

Fighters across the province are still battling 98 wildfires, 27 of which were burning “out of control,” according to Alberta officials.

In a news conference Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith asked residents with firefighting experience who can “lend a helping hand” to contact emergency services.

This type of ferocious wildfire activity isn’t typical this early in the year, and firefighters don’t usually see such a large area burned, Tucker said Sunday morning.

But bone-dry conditions, abnormally hot weather and high winds have converged to fuel this “really extreme wildfire activity,” Tucker said.

“We could be sort of settling in for a long fight here,” she said.

Wildfires have burned a total of 390,000 hectares in Alberta so far this year, and recent blazes have burned a “huge amount of ground” over the last few days, Tucker said.

Approximately 1,000 firefighters from other regions have been requested to assist in controlling the fires, and they will be arriving over the next week, according to Tucker.

Some gains were made Sunday as scattered showers across the province helped firefighters access areas they couldn’t before due to extreme wildfire behavior.

“This is giving firefighters a helping hand, causing less active wildfire, allowing them to work on parts of fires they hadn’t been able to access before. It’s a much needed chance to make progress on some of these powerful, challenging wildfires,” Tucker said.

Firefighters now hope that cooler temperatures and higher humidity will help them battle the flames in the south and central part of the province – but challenging conditions remain in the northern part of the province, Tucker said.

“Up north, it’s still very dry. We’re still seeing winds and we are expecting a continuation of those kinds of conditions that can lead to extreme wildfire behavior,” she said in the Sunday evening news conference.

Communities in Alberta have seen some extremely hot temperatures in the past week, with the capital city of Edmonton hitting 31 degrees Celsius, about 88 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday and Thursday – more than 10 degrees above average, according to the Canada Centre for Climate Services.

Tucker said crews faced with “rapidly changing wildfires across the province” will continue to focus their efforts on fires that are threatening communities.

Meanwhile, multiple hospitals have been fully evacuated and many roads are closed in north and central Alberta, according to province officials.

So far, about 5,000 people have sought refuge at evacuation centers, Alberta Emergency Management chief Colin Blair said in the Sunday news conference.

As of Monday, 54 schools have been forced to close, affecting 10,500 students, and contingency plans are being developed, Mike Ellis, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, said in the briefing.

Additionally, 300 patients from long-care facilities have been safely evacuated from various locations across Alberta.

The extent of the damage has yet to be seen

As thousands of Albertans flee their homes and head to evacuation centers, they leave not knowing whether they’ll have a home to return to when the evacuation orders are lifted.

“My whole family’s side over there, our little village side there on the north Fox Lake is all wiped out,” Laboucan said. “Family and friends’ homes are gone.”

An out-of-control wildfire has burned more than 16,300 hectares of land, about 40,200 acres, as of Sunday in the community of Fox Lake, authorities said.

It remains unclear just how much damage the fires have left as the thick smoke and heavy fire conditions keep crews from fully assessing property loss, Blair said.

“We know structures have been lost, but our first priority is protecting lives and dealing with the emergency response first and foremost,” Blair said.

Officials do know that dozens of structures have been damaged, including in the Fox Lake area, where 56 firefighters with heavy equipment and aircraft are battling the flames, authorities said.

Many have also been ordered to flee in Yellowhead County, where immediate evacuations were ordered for 8,000 people. Another 3,600 were ordered to evacuate from Little Red River Cree Nation.

Another out-of-control wildfire dubbed EWF-031 has burned about 77,920 hectares of land, about 192,500 acres, as it rages southeast of the town of Edson in Yellowhead County, according to Alberta fire officials.

Smith has said it’s an “unprecedented situation our province is facing.”

On Monday, Smith announced that financial assistance would be available to evacuees.

“Every adult who has been evacuated and displaced for seven consecutive days will receive a $1,250 along with an additional $500 for each dependent ending child under age 18,” the premier said.

Smith said the application process will move swiftly so that people can receive evacuation payments as soon as possible. She added that the government is working to ensure that qualifying residents who live in remote locations and indigenous reserves will also receive payments.

What is it about castles that fascinates so many people around the globe?

A lot of the allure derives from the history and human drama that played out within the walls, as well as the astonishing architecture that features on so many castles. But they’re also romantic and somewhat mystical, places that spark our imagination and conjure visions of long-ago knights in shining armor and powerful warrior queens.

“Because they combine two functions, they are far more interesting than fortresses or palaces,” says Marc Morris, author of “Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain.”

“What makes a castle a castle is that it combines the functions of defense and dwelling – it’s a fortification and a stately home rolled into one. Creating a building which is both comfortable and defensible is difficult. The ingenious ways in which castle-designers reconciled this balance is always intriguing.”

Although we normally associate castles with European history, it’s actually an architectural form found around the world – in nations as varied as Japan and India, Morocco and Mexico.

Many are now hubs of living history where modern visitors can watch jousting and other ancient combat forms, listen to medieval music or watch artisans demonstrate the arts, crafts and everyday skills of a thousand years ago.

They also make great backdrops for outdoor concerts, films, theater and military performances, or for the on-location filming of movies and television shows.

“With a castle you get not only the stories of sieges, but also stories of the domestic lives of the rich and famous,” says Morris. “Castles are places were plots were hatched, marriages were consummated, murders carried out, royal babies born, and so on. With castles, you are never short of fascinating things to talk about.”

Read on to find out more about 21 of the world’s most beautiful castles, fortified homes that are both a feast for the eyes and a time trip back to the bygone age during which they were created.

Himeji Castle, Japan

Located about 30 minutes by bullet train west of Osaka and Kobe, Himeji rises above the Inland Sea and is considered the epitome of the Japanese feudal castle.

Both a Japanese national treasure and World Heritage Site, the elegant whitewashed structure is also called “White Heron Castle” because of its resemblance to a great bird taking flight.

Completed in the early 17th century, Himeji offers daily guided tours in Japanese and English.

Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece

This classic medieval castle towers above the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. Originally built as a Byzantine citadel, it was reworked into its present Gothic form by the crusading Knights of St John when Rhodes served as the headquarters of their grand master.

During the brief Italian occupation of the Dodecanese Islands, Benito Mussolini used the castle as a holiday home. Its permanent archeological exhibitions feature relics from ancient Greece and the early Christian period.

Neuschwanstein, Germany

Even though many people consider this Bavarian masterpiece the epitome of a German castle, it’s a relatively new creation, erected in the late 1800s at the behest of King Ludwig II.

The Bavarian monarch instructed his architects to design something that would reflect both the operas of Richard Wagner and the romantic ideals of the Middle Ages – as much a fantasy as Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, but with the snowcapped Alps as a backdrop and the Bavarian plains spread out beneath.

Neuschwanstein is also a cinema darling, having appeared in numerous flicks over the years including “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “The Great Escape.”

Alcázar of Segovia, Spain

One of the most striking castles in all of Europe, the Alcázar rides a narrow, rocky promontory overlooking the plains of Old Castile in central Spain.

Although it started life as a Roman fort, the structure evolved over hundreds of years into a prototypical medieval castle with a deep moat, drawbridge, round guard towers and a robust keep, as well as lavishly decorated royal chambers.

Segovia Castle is most renowned as the home of Queen Isabella and powerful Phillip II before the royal court was moved to Madrid.

Pena Palace, Portugal

Another offspring of the Romantic movement that swept 19th-century Europe, Pena crowns a hilltop near Sintra, Portugal.

Commissioned by King Ferdinand II on the site of a ruined monastery dedicated to the Virgin of Pena, the castle is a flamboyant blend of various historic styles including Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance details.

The castle’s vivid red-and-yellow color pattern – and its flashy clock tower – endow Pena with a much more playful air than the somber castles found elsewhere in Europe.

Amber Fortress, India

Erected in the early 17th century by the Mughal ruler of Rajasthan, the Amber Fortress crowns a hilltop near Jaipur, its stout walls reflected in the waters of Maota Lake.

The palace complex inside the walls revolves around courtyards flanked by exquisite examples of Rajput architecture like the Maharaja’s Apartments, Sukh Niwas (Hall of Pleasure) and Diwan-i-Am (Royal Audience Hall).

Although it was once fashionable to ride an elephant up the steep entrance road, visitors are now advised to walk or take a 4×4 taxi.

Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, Morocco

This massive mudbrick structure on the edge of the Sahara has starred in more than a dozen movies and television shows including “Game of Thrones,” “Gladiator” and “The Man Who Would Be King.”

The complex features a fortified lower town along the Asif Ounila River – where people still reside – and a partially ruined hilltop citadel.

Berber-style guest houses provide accommodation for visitors to a ksar originally built in the 17th century as an overnight stop for caravans traveling between Marrakech and the Sudan.

Kalmar Castle, Sweden

Founded in the waning years of the Viking Age, Kalmar Castle traces its roots to a 12th-century defensive tower overlooking the Kalmar Strait on the Baltic Sea.

Four centuries later, King Gustav and his sons transformed Kalmar into a splendid royal residence that (with the help of renovation) looks much the same today as it did in 1592.

In addition to exhibitions, children’s activities and guided tours, Scandinavia’s best-preserved Renaissance castle also features special events like the Van Gogh multimedia show, which is open until November 2019.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico

Guarding the entrance to San Juan Bay, this 16th-century Spanish citadel is one of the most impressive structures in the Caribbean.

Protected by a moat (with a drawbridge), stone battlements and rugged sea cliffs, the castle has repelled numerous attacks including several assaults by French pirates and a 1595 strike by Sir Francis Drake. However, it surrendered to US forces after a fierce naval bombardment during the Spanish-American War.

Since 1962, El Morro and nearby Castillo San Cristóbal (the largest fort constructed by the Spanish in the western hemisphere) have been part of the San Juan National Historic Site. The grassy “field of fire” in front of the castle is now immensely popular for picnics and kite flying.

Topkapi Sarayi, Turkey

Although it’s officially called a palace, Istanbul’s sprawling Topkapi compound bears all the features of a classic castle: defensible site, fortified walls, powerful gateways and a royal residence occupied by the Ottoman sultans from the late 15th century when it was originally constructed until the 1850s.

Converted into a museum when the Ottoman Empire dissolved after World War I, the Topkapi offers extensive gardens, wall-top walks overlooking the Bosphorus, the Ottoman Imperial Harem where the ruler’s concubines resided and the Imperial Treasury with its famous emerald-encrusted golden dagger – stolen and eventually retrieved in the 1964 heist movie “Topkapi.”

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Perched on an ancient volcanic outcrop at the end of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle is considered the “most besieged place” in Britain with at least 26 major attacks during its 1,100-year lifespan.

From Mary Queen of Scots to Oliver Cromwell and Sir Walter Raleigh, many famous Britons are indelibly linked the ancient edifice.

Britain’s oldest crown jewels (the Honours of Scotland) are safeguarded inside a castle that also provides an incredibly fitting venue for the annual Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Music concerts, living history events and weapons demonstrations are among the many events staged throughout the year inside the walls. And bygone military mascots are buried in the castle’s Dog Cemetery.

Schloss Vianden, Luxembourg

Despite its diminutive size, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is well-endowed with castles – more than 50 are spread across an area smaller than London’s metro area. The most spectacular of these is Schloss Vianden, poised high above the Our River in northern Luxembourg.

Built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress that protected the empire from barbarian invasion, the castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries.

Blending aspects of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance design, it remained in royal hands until 1977 when the Grand Duke bequeathed it to the state. Vianden’s biggest annual bash is an August medieval festival with dueling knights, troubadours, jugglers and artisans.

Novgorod Detinets, Russia

The Kremlin in Moscow may be better known, but it can’t hold a candle to the one in Novgorod when it comes to medieval ambiance.

Located 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of St. Petersburg, Novgorod was the seat of a powerful Russian republic from the 11th to 15th century when it was finally overshadowed by Moscow.

That power was concentrated inside the detinets or kremlin with its sturdy walls and heavily fortified towers.

Among its landmarks today are the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom with its silver domes, the Novgorod Museum and the Millennium of Russia monument.

Château de Chambord, France

There’s no better example of the transition from the fortified castles of the medieval era to palatial homes of the Renaissance than this enormous chateau in the Loire Valley.

Commissioned as a “hunting lodge” by King François I in the early 16th century, the massive structure (440 rooms) took 28 years to construct.

However, the moat, corner towers and keep are purely decorative. Chambord is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year with myriad special events including an exhibition that addresses the question of whether Leonardo da Vinci designed the castle’s double helix staircase.

Shuri-jô Castle, Okinawa

One of the finest examples of Chinese castle architecture is Shuri, a hilltop fortress and palace complex on the island of Okinawa in Japan.

As the royal court of the independent Ryukyu Kingdom for more than 450 years – when the islands were heavily influenced by nearby China – Shuri developed a warren of imperial living quarters, audience halls, religious shrines and an extravagant throne room reminiscent of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The compound was heavily restored after World War II, when Shuri served as the local headquarters for the Imperial Japanese Army. The castle’s present-day activities range from a morning gate-opening ritual called Ukejo and multilingual audio tours of the grounds to daily dance performances and nighttime illumination.

Bodiam Castle, England

England has far larger castles (Windsor) and others that are more steeped in history (Tower of London). But none boasts that textbook form of Bodiam Castle in East Sussex.

Erected in 1385 as the bastion of a former royal knight, it’s the epitome of a medieval castle – thick crenelated walls supported by nine stubby towers, arrayed around a square central courtyard and reached via a wooden walkway (a drawbridge in olden days) across a wide moat.

Among its many visitor summer activities are archery sessions, dressing up in medieval costumes, afternoon tea with cakes and scones and guided tours. And just seven miles away is where the landmark Battle of Hastings played out in 1066.

Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico

The only royal castle in the Western hemisphere hovers high above Mexico City.

Erected in the late 1700s as a summer house for the viceroy of New Spain, the castle has played many roles since then, including the palace of Emperor Maximillian and an 1847 battle between Mexican troops and invading Americans that features in the “Marine Corps Hymn” (“From the Halls of Montezuma …”).

Nowadays Chapultepec is home to Mexico’s National Museum of History. The royal quarters – including the precious Malachite Room and Maximillian’s flamboyant bedroom – are included in castle tours.

Predjama Castle, Slovenia

What makes this Slovenian castle so special is its astounding location – Predjama is arrayed across a cave mouth beneath a natural rock arch on the side of a sheer cliff.

The lofty setting made it virtually impregnable when it was constructed in the 13th century. Attackers laid siege to Predjama on numerous occasions, but a secret passageway (that still exists today) allowed the defenders to come and go at will.

Located 62 kilometers (38 miles) from Ljubljana, the castle and its park-like grounds host the Erasmus Knight’s Tournament, a medieval festival and jousting competition staged every July.

Castello Aragonese, Italy

This island bastion overlooking the Bay of Naples is the oldest castle on our list, tracing its roots to the 5th century BC when Greeks colonized the region. From Roman legionnaires to Napoleon’s troops, many armies have occupied Aragonese over the years.

The castle now belongs to the family of an Italian lawyer who purchased the fortified island in 1912 and began restoration of its battlements, churches, convents, crypts and gardens. In addition to views that stretch all the way across the bay to Mt. Vesuvius, Aragonese Castle boasts outdoor cafes, a bookshop, art exhibits and outdoor movies.

Prague Castle, Czech Republic

Prague’s imposing citadel is also one of the few castles anywhere in the world that still boasts real political power – the official residence of the president of the Czech Republic.

Among the other landmarks inside its spacious confines are St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, 10 gardens and a row of 16th-century cottages called the Golden Lane that once housed the castle guards.

Guided tours, offered during daylight and evening hours, last around three hours.

Krak des Chevaliers, Syria

Although it’s virtually impossible to visit these days, owing to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Krak des Chevaliers remains one of the world’s great castles – and the only one on our list that has experienced (and fortunately survived) 21st-century warfare.

Created in the 12th century by the Knights of St. John, the celebrated Krak is considered the epitome of a crusader castle in the Middle East and one of the greatest statements of medieval military architecture.

The structure features two mighty walls separated by a moat on a steep hillside between Homs and the Mediterranean Sea. The latest UNESCO report on the castle (2019) states that restoration and archeological work has commenced again, but the security situation remains tenuous.

One country, two major airlines operating world-class long-haul fleets out of different major aviation hubs located close to one another.

On paper, the United Arab Emirates’ ownership of two powerhouse global longhaul carriers with largely overlapping international air networks that converge so closely might seem an extravagance too far. Isn’t one enough?

And so, the announcement by Emirates and Etihad of a new deal to work more closely will inevitably revive rumors of a potential merger between the two: something long discussed at a kind of academic level in aviation circles, particularly during tough economic times, but one potentially stymied by local politics – and the fact that their status symbol hub airports are an hour apart on the ground.

Earlier this month, the two airlines, both still coming back from the disruption caused by the pandemic, agreed on a so-called “interline” partnership. The move raises questions about what that means for passengers, and whether a new regional super airline is finally on its way.

Emirates and Etihad are both flag carriers of the UAE, the small Gulf country made up of seven emirates. Emirates, established in 1985, is based in Dubai and is one of the world’s largest airlines by most metrics. Etihad is newer, established in 2003 and based in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport are fewer than 150 kilometers (100 miles) apart and the drive between them takes around 75-90 minutes depending on traffic. By and large, the Emirati capital city Abu Dhabi is known for being smaller and quieter than its glitzy, livelier northeastern neighbor Dubai, but both certainly have their draws for travelers in addition to being regional economic centers.

One of the big questions that pops up every time Emirates and Etihad are mentioned in the same announcement is whether it means a closer partnership – reciprocal agreements for frequent flyer benefits, codeshare flights and even a prospective merger.

Addison Schonland, partner at consultancy AirInsight Group, plays down the prospect of a merger, characterizing the interline agreement as “primarily a regional tourism marketing effort.”

“When these two airlines announced previous memorandums of understanding on aviation security in 2018 and another in 2022 on promoting Abu Dhabi, these agreements did not lead to integration,” he says. “Every time Emirates and Etihad announce joint initiatives, they are asked if this would lead to integration. Every time the answer is a firm ‘no’.”

Indeed, says Schonland, “these airlines follow their own strategies on codeshare and interline agreements, like the recent one between Emirates and United Airlines or the one between Etihad and Gulf Air in 2021.”

But what is interlining, and what does it mean?

Interline agreements are one of the earliest steps two airlines take when they want to cooperate. Usually, from the passenger standpoint, if you’re connecting from a flight on airline A to airline B, interlining means that you can check your bags in with airline A and not have to collect them at the connecting airport to then check them in again with airline B.

This agreement between Emirates and Etihad seems to be a little more expansive than that and looks to also cover what is known as open-jaw ticketing: flying into one city and out of another. That’s the kind of thing that travelers to Europe or Japan do quite often, to avoid having to backtrack on themselves as they explore – and it can be really useful.

“In the initial stages of the expanded interline, each carrier will focus on attracting visitors to the UAE by developing inbound interline traffic from select points in Europe and China,” the two airlines said in a joint statement about the partnership.

“The ‘open jaw’ arrangement will allow visitors to cover as much ground as possible when exploring Abu Dhabi, Dubai or any other emirate, saving time by removing the need to fly home via their arrival airport.”

To give an example, let’s imagine that you’re coming from Europe or China at the beginning of this new program. If you were flying into Dubai International Airport but wanted to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, you’d have to travel down and back to fly home from Dubai. Now, you can fly into Dubai and out of Abu Dhabi, or vice versa.

The double open-jaw is where options might get very interesting

Relatively unusually, you can also do a kind of double open-jaw.

“Customers traveling into the UAE also have the option of ‘multi-city flights,’ with the choice to travel from one city on both carriers’ networks, and conveniently returning to another point served by either Emirates or Etihad,” said the airlines’ joint statement.

That’s convenient for a number of reasons.

First, you might find flight deals or better timings for your schedule out of one airport in your home region but back to another – flying out of Copenhagen and back into Stockholm, say.

Second, you may well be able to use this on a longer trip as well: flying from Beijing to Abu Dhabi, spending time exploring the UAE, and then flying out of Dubai to somewhere else, perhaps a city that Etihad itself doesn’t serve but Emirates does.

If the new interlining agreements are eligible in the region where you’re flying from, you might find some real bargains, especially if the idea of a stopover for a few days on the trip out and on the way back sounds appealing.

Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are attractive from the stopover point of view: They’ve got loads of hotels at many price points, including some very reasonably priced resort-style hotels with big pools and sunshine on tap.

It’s worth keeping an eye out to see whether either Emirates or Etihad – or both – start to offer extended stopover options, or expand existing stopover deals like the Dubai Connect program. Here, if your connection to your onward destination is more than six and less than 26 hours, Emirates will put you up in a hotel for the night as a mini-stopover.

Should I fly Emirates or Etihad?

From an on-board perspective, both Emirates and Etihad are highly regarded airlines with some of the best passenger experience you can find. By and large, for most passengers you won’t find much of a difference in economy between the two airlines.

However, if you do have the option to choose between flights, pick airplanes – of either airline – with wider economy class seats like the Airbus A380 and A350, rather than the narrower seats of the Boeing 777 and 787 that these airlines operate. There’s usually no pricing difference, but the difference between 18.5” and 17” in seat width can feel massive, and the extra room at the shoulder and in the aisles is also a plus.

And bear in mind if you’re more of a premium economy traveler, Emirates is the only one of the two airlines to offer it, and only on some routes.

A 29-year-old YouTuber will plead guilty to a federal charge after he destroyed the wreckage of a plane he purposefully crashed to gain views, Justice Department officials announced Thursday.

Trevor Daniel Jacob admitted to authorities he planned to crash his plane in a video he made to promote a wallet. He later collected the aircraft’s wreckage and got rid of it to hinder federal investigators from probing the crash site, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The flight took place on November 24, 2021. Jacob departed from Lompoc City Airport, in Santa Barbara County, but he never intended to land the aircraft, he admitted in the plea agreement. Instead, he “planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed,” according to the release.

Jacob had put up several cameras in different parts of the plane and took with him a parachute, video camera and selfie stick, the release said.

“Approximately 35 minutes after taking off, while flying above the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Maria, Jacob ejected from the airplane and videoed himself parachuting to the ground,” it added.

After parachuting to the ground and recording the crash, he hiked to the wreck and took the video data of the crash with him, according to the release.

The YouTuber reported the crash to the National Transportation Safety Board two days later and agreed to share the site of the wreck. But he instead lied to authorities that he did not know where the crash site was and roughly two weeks later, flew to the site with a friend, loaded up the wreckage and later destroyed it, according to the release, which cites the plea agreement.

Roughly a month after the wreck, he uploaded a video on YouTube called “I Crashed My Airplane,” showing the crash and Jacob parachuting from the plane.

Some viewers were suspicious of the stunt, with a number of comments pointing out Jacob was already wearing a parachute, made no attempt to glide the aircraft to a safe landing area, and took his camera and selfie stick with him when abandoning the plane.

“Jacob admitted in his plea agreement that he intended to make money through the video,” the release added.

He also admitted to lying to federal investigators after submitting an aircraft accident incident report and falsely claimed the plane fully lost power roughly half an hour after takeoff, the news release said.

“Jacob also lied to (a Federal Aviation Administration) aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit and, because he could not identify any safe landing options, he had parachuted out of the plane,” it added.

The FAA revoked Jacob’s pilot license last year, according to the release.

Jacob is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks.

Dr. Kwane Stewart’s outreach on the streets started more than a decade ago as a personal mission that he kept to himself.

“It was my way to heal,” said Stewart, a veterinarian whose nonprofit, Project Street Vet, provides medical care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness. “Maybe some of it was guilt. Maybe some of it was I just wanted my own little crusade.”

Stewart had spent several years working in a county shelter in Northern California when he thought about quitting in 2011. He’d long dreamed of saving animals but was instead forced to euthanize an increasing number of those that were being surrendered.

“It was the recession. I’m seeing hordes of unwanted pets dropped off, people who don’t have the money to feed them or care for them medically,” Stewart, 53, said. “It started to steal a part of my soul. I thought about leaving the veterinary profession altogether.”

Stewart was at a crossroads, he said, desperately trying to lower the shelter’s rates of euthanasia and increase adoption rates, but also struggling with the sheer number of animals dropped off there. On a whim one morning, he stopped to examine the dog of a homeless man outside a 7-11 where he got his coffee.

“I’d seen this guy before and ignored him. Regrettably, just walked by him,” Stewart said. “And on this day, I just broke pattern because I noticed his dog had some sort of serious skin condition.”

Stewart diagnosed and treated the dog’s condition, and the animal was transformed. But for Stewart, the man’s gratitude was the real wakeup call: “Thank you for not ignoring me” were the words that Stewart says inspired his next chapter.

“That was the moment I said to myself, ‘I’m going to do more of this. I’m going to get back to saving animals on my terms. And I’m going to do it for passion, not for pay.’”

Soon after, Stewart began to do more outreach, setting up small drop-in clinics to provide medical care to pets whose owners couldn’t afford it and walking the streets looking for unhoused individuals whose pets needed help. Right away he was struck by how much the pet owners cared for their beloved animals.

“They’re with each other 24/7 hours a day. Their bond and relationship is on a different level,” Stewart said. “Because they’re not in a traditional home, it doesn’t necessarily make them less of a pet parent. A pet doesn’t care about nice furniture and a big home, they want to spend it with you.”

And he found that many pet owners wanted to share their stories about their dog and their history together.

With their consent, Stewart’s brother, Ian, eventually began documenting some of the work and personal stories to raise awareness about animal welfare and homelessness.

“They probably get criticized more than anything, especially from people in the outside world. But I’ve seen people give up their last meal for their pet and people who have $3 to their name, and after I’m done with the treatment, they will try and give me that $3,” Stewart said.

His brother encouraged him to spread the word and join forces with others to provide street care, and soon more like-minded animal welfare professionals jumped on board.

Genesis Rendon, a registered veterinary nurse who Stewart calls his “right-hand,” had worked in the veterinary field for nearly two decades and was doing her own street outreach when she teamed up with him in 2016. Today, as a lead volunteer for Project Street Vet, she is often by Stewart’s side in homeless camps and on Los Angeles’ Skid Row assisting animals in need.

“Now it’s spreading across the country,” Stewart said. “I’m building a network of trusted volunteers, technicians with hospitals and clinics we can call on. These are all people who just reached out and said, ‘I’m inspired by what you do. How do I do it?’”

Stewart says they can treat about 80% of the cases they see out of a small portable kit. Treatments include antibiotics, vaccines, and anti-inflammatories as well as deworming and flea and tick medications.

“It’s boots on the ground,” Stewart said, adding that their group will also help connect animals in need to clinic services. “And whenever we can, we advocate for or assist people in getting their animals spayed and neutered.”

Stewart’s work with Project Street Vet is all volunteer, and the organization has expanded to other cities, including Orlando and Atlanta.

“It doesn’t matter what your situation is or what your background or past is, I see a pet in need, and I see a person who cares for them dearly who just needs some help. … It’s at no cost to them. It’s free.”

Since he started, Stewart and his volunteer teams have treated thousands of animals while giving their human parents hope and dignity, too.

“I will say this about the people I’ve met who have pets on the streets,” he said. “They are some of the most remarkable pet parents I’ve ever met.”

Want to get involved? Check out the Project Street Vet website and see how to help.

To donate to Project Street Vet via GoFundMe, click here

The NFL announced four selected games for the 2023 season on Wednesday, including a first-ever Black Friday match-up between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets.

That game, which will take place at MetLife Stadium on November 24, will see four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, recently traded to the Jets, go up against the Dolphins’ star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

In a repeat of last season’s NFC Championship game, the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 3, while the Eagles also face the New York Giants in Philadelphia on Christmas Day.

There will also be a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game between reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals in Kansas City on New Year’s Eve, pitting Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes – perhaps the two best quarterbacks in the league at the moment – against each other.

The full schedule for the 2023 season will be announced on Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, the NFL announced five international games: two in Frankfurt, Germany – the first time the city will have hosted an NFL game – two at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one at Wembley Stadium.

The league staged its first game in Germany last year when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks faced off at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Below is a full list of the NFL’s international games for the 2023 season.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – October 1 at Wembley Stadium

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills – October 8 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans – October 15 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs – November 5 at Frankfurt Stadium

Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots – November 12 at Frankfurt Stadium

New York City FC has released a first look at the renderings for its plans to build a new 25,000-seat stadium complex in Queens, the first soccer-specific stadium in the city.

In addition to the $780 million stadium, the project plans are set to include 40,000 square feet of public open space, a school, a hotel and ground floor retail shops to the Willets Point neighborhood, according to the New York club.

Developers are also planning to deliver 2,500 units of “100% affordable housing,” according to the New York club.

“This proposal will provide affordable homes for thousands of families, catalyze economic activity that supports small business and create another great destination in Queens,” Thomas J. Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.

NYCFC says it plans to have the stadium, which will be privately financed, ready for the 2027 MLS season.

Willets Point is also home to the New York Mets’ Citi Field and NYCFC’s new stadium will be across the road from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of tennis’ US Open.

New York mayor Eric Adams announced the plans to build a new stadium back in November and, according to the Queens Daily Eagle, the replacing of 100,000 tons of contaminated earth with 80,000 tons of clean dirt has recently been completed at the project site.

“This continued investment in New York City will create a long-overdue home for our First Team, and create a new neighborhood for Queens,” Marty Edelman, vice chairman of NYCFC, said in a statement.

NYCFC was founded in 2013 and played its first MLS season in 2015, but has never had its own stadium.

Now in its ninth MLS season, NYCFC has primarily played its home matches at Yankee Stadium, but has also hosted fixtures at Citi Field, Red Bull Arena and even as far afield as BMO Stadium in California.

“The integration of the residential buildings with the open space and stadium is a true model for how neighborhoods should be built, and is a critical step for how this vision will come to life in a way that puts housing first, prioritizes the pedestrian experience and will be built with union labor,” New York City Council member Francisco Moya said in a statement.

“The welcoming ‘front door’ to the new Willets serves as a powerful symbol of investment in a corner for Queens that has languished for too long but stands to become a beacon for the borough and the City.”