Since Brexit, new rules have come into force for British travellers heading to Spain

Spain remains one of the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers, with millions jetting off to the Mediterranean country annually. Before Brexit, UK travellers enjoyed relatively straightforward access to Spain.

Since Britain’s departure from the European Union, however, updated regulations have been introduced. Your passport’s ‘date of issue’ must fall within 10 years of your date of arrival, and if you renewed your passport before October 1, 2018, it may show an issue date beyond 10 years, making it unsuitable for entry to the Schengen zone (which encompasses Spain).

Additionally, British passport holders can only stay within the Schengen area for 90 days within any 180-day period. Upon entering Spain, you’ll be required to have your passport scanned, a facial photograph taken, and four fingerprints recorded under the new Entry/Exit System (EES).

After completing your EES registration, your digital record remains valid for three years or until your passport’s expiry date if that falls sooner.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) states that UK visitors may also need to present a return or onward ticket and/or evidence of valid travel insurance when passing through border control, in addition to a valid passport.

You may also be required to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds for your visit, and provide evidence of where you’ll be staying.

This might include a hotel reservation or the details of a property you own. Alternatively, if you’re staying with friends, family or another party, you could present an invitation such as a ‘carta de invitation’ arranged by your hosts, reports the Mirror.

Thieves broke into Redcar Racecourse at 3.30am this morning (Saturday) and stole a Polaris all-terrain vehicle and caused damage to rails as they escaped along the track.

Racecourse officials are appealing for witnesses, CCTV footage, and any information about the whereabouts of the missing vehicle, which performs a vital function on racedays.

The crime comes ahead of Monday’s Zetland Gold Cup meeting – one of the premier fixtures of Redcar’s year – with racing also taking place on Tuesday.

Redcar’s general manager Amy Fair stressed that racing would go ahead as planned on both days but added: “It is bitterly disappointing for this to happen. The team work so hard to prepare for racing and this is a real kick in the teeth.”

The thieves made their exit up the straight, causing damage to rails along the way, and it is hoped they will have been caught on CCTV footage from homes backing onto the track.

“The Polaris vehicle is integral to racedays, being used to transport various pieces of vital equipment, so we now have to find a replacement in time for Monday,” said Amy.

“The Zetland Gold Cup on Monday is one of the jewels in our crown and it is so frustrating that such mindless criminality is causing extra work so close to such an important day.”

• Anyone with information is asked to contact the racecourse office on 01642 484068.

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.

The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world.

The spacecraft reached its final destination — the Indian Ocean — despite some engine trouble, before erupting in flames upon impact. That last part was not unexpected, according to SpaceX.

Musk called it “an epic” launch and landing.

“You scored a goal for humanity,” he told his team via X.

It’s the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But first comes the moon and NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew in for the launch, saying Starship is now one step closer to the moon.

The last of the old space-skimming Starships lifted off in October. SpaceX’s third-generation Starship — a souped-up version dubbed V3 — soared from a brand-new launch pad at Starbase, near the Mexican border. Last-minute pad issues thwarted Thursday evening’s launch attempt.

SpaceX was hoping to avoid the fireworks it experienced during back-to-back launches last year when midair explosions rained wreckage down on the Atlantic. Earlier flights also ended in flames.

There was no fireball this time until the very end. The spacecraft plummeted upright into the Indian Ocean under seemingly full control, then toppled over and ignited.

While the liftoff itself went well, not all of the engines fired as the booster attempted a controlled return. The spacecraft also had to make do with fewer engines, but kept heading eastward 120 miles (194 kilometers) up. A pair of modified, camera-equipped Starlinks ejected from Starship provided brief views of the spacecraft in flight — a remarkable first.

At 407 feet (124 meters), the latest model eclipses the older Starship lines by several feet (more than 1 meter) and packs more engine thrust.

The revamped booster sports fewer but bigger and stronger grid fins for steering it back to Earth following liftoff, and a larger and more robust fuel transfer line to feed the 33 main engines. This fuel line is the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster. The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also has more of everything — more cameras and more navigation and computer power — as well as docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions.

Starship is meant to be fully reusable, with giant mechanical arms at the launch pads to catch the returning rocket stages. But on this latest trial run, nothing was being recovered. The Gulf of Mexico marked the end of the road for the redesigned first-stage booster, and the Indian Ocean for the spacecraft and its satellite demos.

NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars — and also Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — to provide the lunar landers that will be used to land Artemis astronauts on the moon.

The two companies are scrambling to be first.

While Starship has reached the fringes of space on multiple flights lasting an hour at most, Bezos’ Blue Moon has yet to lift off, although a prototype is being readied for a moonshot later this year.

NASA is following April’s successful lunar flyaround by four astronauts with a docking trial run in orbit around Earth planned for next year. For that Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with Starship, Blue Moon or both.

A moon landing by two astronauts — Artemis IV — could follow as soon as 2028 using either Starship or Blue Moon, whichever lander is safer and ready first. It will be NASA’s first lunar landing with a crew since 1972’s Apollo 17. The goal this time is a moon base near the lunar south pole, staffed by astronauts as well as robots.

SpaceX is already taking reservations for private flights to the moon and Mars on Starship.

The world’s first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and his wife signed up 3 1/2 years ago for a flight around the moon. The timing is uncertain.

This week, another wealthy space tourist — Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang — announced he will fly to Mars on Starship’s first interplanetary mission. Wang previously chartered a SpaceX polar flight in a Dragon capsule last year and, along with his hand-picked crew, became the first to orbit above the north and south poles.

No price tag or date was revealed for his Mars cruise.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Thousands of homes in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area have been advised to boil their water before drinking due to an incident at the treatment works

Welsh Water has issued an update after telling residents in Rhondda Cynon Taf to boil their tap water before drinking it after a chemical issue at the treatment works. The boil water notice remains for a second day for residents across a large area whilst the issue is being resolved.

On Friday, May 22, the water company identified an issue affecting the chemical dosing process at the Maerdy treatment works. Whilst the boil water notice is still in place, Welsh Water has advised customers that the issue has been fixed and water from the site is re-entering the network.

A statement made today, Saturday, May 23, said: “As a precaution, the boil water notice remains in place and we ask that you continue to follow guidance and boil tap water before drinking, brushing teeth, preparing food or making ice until further notice. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

“Public Health Wales advise that it is important to continue to drink water in the current hot weather to stay hydrated, using boiled and then cooled water if affected by this issue. Boiled water is safe to use in the normal way when making infant formula.”

Bottled water stations have been set up for affected customers.

The full list of areas affected by the notice are:

• Blaenllechau
• Bryngolau
• Cymmer
• Dinas
• Edmondstown
• Ferndale
• Hopkinstown
• Llwyncelyn
• Maerdy
• Tylorstown
• Penrhys
• Pontygwaith
• Porth
• Pwll Gwaun
• Pantygraigwen
• Pontypridd – Treforest
• Trebanog
• Rhiwgarn
• Tonyrefail
• Tyn Y Bryn
• Trehafod
• Wattstown
• Williamstown
• Ynyshir

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Supporters will not be allowed to take their own food or filled drinks bottles through the turnstiles, under Wembley’s standard security rules.

Instead, the stadium is encouraging fans to bring empty clear plastic bottles of 500ml or less, which can then be filled for free at water stations inside the ground.

Any bottle must be clear, plastic, crushable and no bigger than 500ml and is required to go through security without a lid.

Hard plastic, metal and glass bottles are not permitted, but once inside, there are free water refill points around the concourses, and kiosks will also be selling drinks.

Bags will also be tightly controlled.

Wembley operates a “small bags only” policy, with each fan limited to a single bag no larger than about A4 size; rucksacks, holdalls and suitcases are not allowed, and there is no cloakroom.

Fans are being advised to travel light, a small bag for essentials such as medication, a phone, sun cream, wallet and an empty bottle is likely to pass checks, but anything larger may be turned away.

Food from outside the stadium is not allowed and may be confiscated or binned at the search areas.

Supporters will need to rely on the food and drink outlets inside Wembley, where queues are expected to be lengthy for a sold-out play-off final.

There is also a wider list of prohibited items, including flares and pyrotechnics, fireworks, weapons, illegal substances, alcohol brought from outside, large umbrellas, air horns and megaphones, drones, scooters, and large banners not related to the teams.

Professional cameras with long lenses, laptops, tablets and selfie sticks are generally not permitted, although normal mobile phones and small non-professional cameras are usually allowed.

Once inside, there is no re-entry; fans who leave the stadium will not be allowed back in.

With temperatures expected to be high on Sunday, health officials and fan groups are urging supporters to take extra care in the heat.

Fans are being advised to use the free water refill points regularly, seek shade on the concourses before kick-off and at half-time where possible, and to look out for anyone around them who appears unwell or dizzy.

Light clothing, hats and sunscreen are recommended for those in seats exposed to direct sun, particularly in the early afternoon.

Club guidance for the match largely mirrors Wembley’s own rules, with the main additional advice covering flags and banners.

Flags are generally allowed as long as they meet size limits and use small plastic poles – anything larger may require prior approval or could be refused on safety grounds.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene

A man who died after a crash involving a lorry on the A14 has been named by police. Suffolk Police were called at 2.26am on Thursday, May 7, following reports of a crash involving a lorry and a pedestrian on the eastbound carriageway at Bury St Edmunds.

The pedestrian, a man aged in his 70s, was pronounced dead at the scene. He has since been identified as David Green, previously known as David Biggs, aged 76, of Bacton.

Officers are appealing for any witnesses that haven’t already spoken to the police. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Joint Norfolk & Suffolk Serious Collision Investigation Unit, quoting reference 37/25998/26, via their website, or by calling 101.

It was not the only Britpop anthem to get a Salah-inspired re-write that season, with London band Dodgy’s Good Enough providing the tune for a terrace chant the player calls “something special”. Acknowledging Salah’s self-proclaimed pride in his Muslim identity, the fans sing: “If he’s good enough for you, he’s good enough for me, If he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim too, If he’s good enough for you, he’s good enough for me, He’s sitting in the mosque, that’s where I want to be.”

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Some 90 people have been confirmed dead following a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China.

More than 240 workers were on duty underground at the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi, Shanxi province when the explosion occurred at around 7pm on Friday.

President Xi Jinping called on authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescuing survivors and treating those injured by the blast.

The cause of the incident in Qinyuan county is currently under investigation, the state-owned Xinhua news agency reported.

As part of a probe, executives from the Shanxi Tongzhou Group responsible for managing the facility have been arrested.

Six national emergency mine rescue teams were dispatched to the scene.

Coal mine explosions in China are often caused by flooding, although regulations introduced since 2000 have reduced the number of fatalities from incidents.

The latest blast is one of deadliest reported in recent years.

Premier Li Qiang called for information to be released in a ‘timely and accurate manner’.

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“In space we don’t experience any forces, our muscles, our bones immediately start to diminish because we’re not being loaded by those forces,” says Dr Dan Cleather, professor of strength and conditioning at St Mary’s University who is on the team developing the British equipment, HIFIm.