I'm a pilot. This is the REAL terrifying reason the skies are now so dangerously turbulent... and airlines aren't doing enough to keep you safe
It was 1988, and he was flying a Boeing 747 packed with 400 passengers from London to Nairobi when the aircraft was violently jolted as it passed over the mountains of northeastern Italy.
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Telegraph
34 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Crime has got so bad in Britain that foreign governments are warning their citizens about visiting
Before Samuel* travelled from Australia to the UK last October, his friends and family warned him about London's reputation for crime. 'I had planned to travel all around Europe,' says the 27-year-old architecture student from Sydney, 'but my parents said, 'once you get to London, you need to be really careful''. Conversations about the soaring robbery and theft rates in London are commonplace for Australian travellers visiting the UK, says Samuel. 'Everyone knows of somebody [in Australia] that's had their phone stolen in London,' he says. 'It's definitely common to hear the warnings in Australia, everyone knows that.' Despite the warnings, Samuel became one of around 80,000 people whose phones were stolen in London last year. Walking up a flight of stairs at Euston station with his mobile in his back pocket, he noticed he had been pick-pocketed when he reached the top. The experience had such an impact on him that he still finds himself checking his pockets in Australia, even though phone theft is 'non-existent' out there. Warnings about London's crime are not just hearsay out in Australia; they are now being issued by the Australian government. The government website Smart Traveller has raised the UK travel advice from a Level 1 to a Level 2 warning, urging Australians to 'exercise a high degree of caution' when visiting Britain, adding that 'petty crime is common, including pickpocketing' and alerting readers to thieves who use 'scooters and bicycles to snatch belongings'. Two extra bullet points recommend travellers 'keep money and valuables such as mobile phones out of sight' and 'avoid putting valuables in [their] pockets'. In Australia, there are only four risk levels when it comes to travel warnings: Level 1 indicates that a country is 'similar' to Australia safety-wise, while Level Four is 'do not travel' because 'your health and safety are at extreme risk'. Level 2, issued to the UK, 'may reflect a weak law-and-order system, where violent crime is common,' explains the website, adding that the country 'may lack some key public services, such as a responsive police force.' Two fifths of mobile phone thefts in Europe now happen in the UK, according to the insurance company SquareTrade Europe. Its data reveals that phone theft claims in the UK have increased by 425 per cent since June 2021. One mobile phone is stolen every six minutes across the capital, according to the Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile, violent crime has gone up by 30 per cent during Sir Sadiq Khan's nine-year tenure as Mayor of London. In March, the Conservatives accused him of overseeing a 'woefully inadequate' response to the problem of phone theft after dedicating only two sentences to the increase in his policing strategy for the capital. In early July this year, the Home Office wrote on X that there had been a 44 per cent rise in street crime across the UK, record levels of shop theft and a million incidents of anti-social behaviour. There's been a 44% rise in street crime, record levels of shop theft and a million incidents of anti-social behaviour. We refuse to accept this for our towns. This summer, police forces are increasing targeted patrols to protect businesses from harm and increase public safety. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) July 4, 2025 Australia is not the only country warning its citizens to take precautions when visiting the UK. Research by The Telegraph has uncovered a slew of foreign countries that have either put out fresh warnings about the rising levels of crime in the UK in recent years, or updated the 'crime' sections of their websites with additional warnings. The countries include France, Canada, New Zealand, the UAE and, most surprisingly, Mexico. In a 'travel advice' section on the Mexican embassy website, it warns that 'in London, crime has increased, especially in crowded areas, on the streets, and on public transportation.' It lists 16 bullet points with practical advice on how to avoid petty crime on the street, in the hotel, and when travelling in a vehicle. 'Avoid displaying jewellery, cameras, cell phones, or other valuables,' the website advises. The UAE embassy website also warns travellers of a 'recent increase in violence and knife crime' in London, 'including a number of attacks on citizens of Arab Gulf states'. It says: 'We advise our citizens to take special care, especially at night, and avoid wearing valuable items that attract attention in public places'. Twelve bullet points follow, with advice 'to make your visit to London safer'. They include making sure to check that the hotel door has a functional lock and a dead bolt. Like Australia, the Canadian government has increased its warnings about crime in London. In 2017, the Canadian website increased the risk level of the UK from the first level ('exercise normal safety precautions') to the second level ('you should exercise a high degree of caution '). Canada only has four risk levels, the fourth being 'avoid all travel'. Though the update seems to have been made following the Westminster terror attack in 2017, the volume of advice about 'crime' in London has grown startlingly on the website over a decade. Web archives show that in 2012, the Canadian government published one line warning of 'petty crime' including 'pickpocketing, purse snatching and mugging'. By 2017, the section on crime had grown to three paragraphs, and included a new warning of 'violent crime such as mugging and sexual assault'. In 2019, the government was listing areas in which to be most vigilant, including 'pubs and bars', and had published a line that 'cellphone theft is rampant in tourist areas'. Now, in 2025, there are three lengthy sections on 'petty crime', 'violent crime' and 'spiked food and drinks' with detailed bullet points advising Canadians to 'avoid showing signs of affluence'. And it's not just foreign governments issuing warnings: back in the UK, London hotels are now also warning travellers of the high rates of petty crime. 'We always mention to be wary of phone snatching; there's a lot of phone snatching in Piccadilly Circus', says a concierge, who did not want to be named, at a luxury five-star hotel in central London. 'Also, when they are wearing jewellery, we mention that they should be careful.' Unsuspecting guests falling victim to phone snatching has 'happened a few times,' they say, 'but there's not much we can do. It happened once with an external member of the public, it was over a year ago: it can be guests, or people from outside. It's most likely phones.' It's lunchtime in central Victoria. 'Hop-on hop-off' buses are embarking on their tours of London, filled with huge groups of tourists. One bus steward is shepherding a queue of eager foreign visitors into a brightly coloured, open-top coach. He says that in the last year, he has been witness to six or seven 'live' phone snatches alone. 'Most of the time they come on electric bicycles, they snatch from the footpaths and they go away: they're really fast,' he says. Now he worries that it could detrimentally affect the tourist industry he is part of. 'It could impact tourists because tourists are afraid of where the crime is… it could impact the business', he admits. 'People are still afraid. Previously I heard that London was the safest place, but crimes are going up now'. Is he concerned for the future of his job? 'Yes, there is a concern,' he admits, before suggesting that 'we should tighten immigration laws' and that 'people should be punished when they commit the crime.' Online, social media is awash with warnings for those visiting the UK. 'So I moved to London this week, and I am so anxious walking on the streets,' says Australian social media user Alicia English while filming herself in a TikTok post. 'Apparently everyone's phones get stolen off them, people drive past on bikes and just snatch them out of your hands… that is making me anxious because I really can't afford a new phone right now.' Her video has nearly 200 comments. 'I saw someone have a phone snatched out [of] their hands on Oxford Street last week,' says one respondent. In May 2024, Calina Chehade, a 24-year-old video editor, saw a string of warnings about crime in London on TikTok before her trip to the city. Chehade, who lives in Lebanon, was travelling to the UK for an Olivia Rodrigo concert. 'Phone snatching is especially talked about and famous in London,' she tells The Telegraph. 'My mum sent me a TikTok of someone with a black eye because someone stole their phone. It definitely got on my nerves.' Before she travelled to London, family members who had visited before gave her tips to prevent her phone being stolen. 'I remember my cousin telling me 'wear a big coat and put your wallet inside your coat, and close it well and hold on to your belongings,' she says, before reciting, as if by heart: 'Always walk with confidence. Don't let them know you're a tourist.' Though Chehade did not have her phone snatched, she views herself as one of the lucky ones. 'It was fine, luckily,' she reflects of her visit. 'But there is luck involved, it's not just me being prepared. Thank God, nothing happened.' Then she confides, almost in amazement, and perhaps with a slight tinge of disappointment: 'I didn't even witness a phone snatch while there.'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Alex Polizzi: ‘The place I'd never go back to? Hong Kong'
Alex Polizzi, 53, is a hotelier, businesswoman and TV personality best known since 2008 as the presenter of The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5. In the show she visits struggling British hotels to try to turn their fortunes around by giving advice and suggestions to their owners or managers, often undertaking renovation projects on their behalf. Her uncle Sir Rocco Forte and her mother Olga Polizzi co-founded the Rocco Forte Hotels group. Polizzi owns the Polizzi Collection of three UK hotels. She lives in London with her two children, Olga, 17, and Rocco, 12. I travel all over Britain for The Hotel Inspector, and I always feel I've seen it all. On a trip to the Scottish Borders, just before the pandemic, one young couple proved otherwise. They had a pub with rooms that had been donated by a parent, but they had absolutely no interest in it. The husband droned on about hand-churning butter while the place fell apart. I stayed the night and agreed to meet his wife downstairs at 9am with our crew of eight. At 10.30am she finally arrived, dressed in a kangaroo onesie. I was really cross — it had taken us six hours to get there and she couldn't even be bothered to get out of bed. I loved growing up around hotels and always took it for granted. A hotel always stands out for me if it has good service. A not-particularly-beautiful hotel becomes somewhere special if the staff are amazing. I love working in my own hotels, and people are amazed when they see me. They say, 'Why are you working?' But I like clearing and cleaning tables, sorting things out. There's the odd unfortunate moment, though. In my East Sussex hotel, the Star at Alfriston, a lady complained recently because the coat she'd hung up had disappeared — it turned out another guest had worn it in the garden because she was cold. • 18 of the best hotels in Venice The last time I stayed at a five-star hotel that wasn't one of my uncle's was the Ritz in Paris in 2019. I felt it was snobby — we weren't quite their target clientele, and it was full of extremely rich, soignée ladies with expensive shopping bags, while I was there with my daughter and we were in trainers. My favourite hotel, for a luxurious weekend, is the Aman Venice overlooking the Grand Canal. It's extraordinarily expensive but with a wonderful sitting room, bar and high frescoed ceilings. For a countryside retreat, it has to be Le Mas de Peint in the Camargue. I also love the hotel L'Arlatan in Arles, Provence, where there are so many brilliant food markets. One place I'd never go back to is Hong Kong, where I trained at the Mandarin Oriental for three years in my twenties. I found the region overcrowded, dirty and polluted — it's a fun place to visit if you're really rich, but not if you're not. The hotel was wonderful, though, and the training was dedicated and professional. I think they had three times as many staff as guests and wages were very low. My mother had to send me money every month so I could work there. • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 I grew up in Bayswater in west London. My mother was widowed when I was nine, and we always had the same family holidays after that: winters skiing in France at her friend's chalet, and summers in the Algarve. My grandparents stayed in their hotel, the Dona Filipa, and rented a villa nearby for 13 grandchildren; I was the eldest. We had a rigid schedule: breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm and right on time for dinner in the hotel. My grandfather played golf all day with my uncle while we swam, and he let me drive the golf buggy if I didn't chat too much. Once, aged ten, I drove it into a bunker and they had to tow it out. In later years my sister and I would sneak out of our bedroom window to a local nightclub with a gang of teenagers that went every year. My first trip as a grown-up was backpacking from Thailand to Malaysia with my friend Felicia when I was 18. Felicia had her passport stolen and we had no phones, but at that age you feel invulnerable. We stayed in hostels with no showers and were incredibly grubby, so it was a real highlight when Mum paid for us to have two nights at Bangkok's Mandarin Oriental. They looked us up and down when we arrived. We didn't leave for a day, and we had room service and shower after shower. Reality returned in Malaysia when we arrived at our hostel and an enormous live rat fell through the ceiling. I'm a much more anxious person now than I was then and my children don't enjoy being with me so much. I loved holidays when they were little and wanted to play with me on the beach, in places like Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. I recently visited New York with my daughter and had to find a hotel where I could afford two rooms. Only my son is young enough not to mind sharing a room with me!The Hotel Inspector airs on Thursdays at 8pm on Channel 5 In our weekly My Hols interview, famous faces from the worlds of film, sport, politics, and more share their travel stories from childhood to the present day. Read more My Hols interviews here
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Zendaya flashes her $200k engagement ring as she enjoys a romantic dog walk with fiancé Tom Holland in Richmond Park
They got engaged over the Christmas holidays after first meeting on the 2016 set of Spider-Man. And Zendaya flashed her dazzling $200k engagement ring during a low-key stroll with her fiancé Tom Holland in Richmond Park on Monday. The couple cut low-key figures for the outing, with Zendaya, 28, opting for a pink knitted jumper and black jorts. While Tom, 29, donned a plain blue top and a pair of black joggers for the stroll. The pair appeared in good sprits as they spent some quality time together outside their busy schedules. The loved-up couple are set to share the screen for the fourth time in Christopher Nolan 's latest highly-anticipated project, after previously playing love interests in three Spider-Man movies. Tom is set to play one of the main roles in The Odyssey, starring as Telemachus, the son of Odysseus - while Matt Damon will take on role of the legendary Greek king of Ithaca. While Zendaya's role has been undisclosed so far, despite her being spotted filming on the Aegadian Isle of Favignana in March, wearing a sleeveless off-white Grecian gown. The Golden Globe winner is rumoured to be playing the Greek goddess Athena, who serves as divine counselor to Odysseus and meddles with gods like her father Zeus in his quest to return home. Others have suggested she will star as Calypso, a nymph who keeps Odysseus captive by force on her island Ogygia for seven years while attempting to make him her immortal husband. There's also a chance she could be playing Nausicaä, the beautiful daughter of King Alcinous who helps Odysseus when he's shipwrecked on her island. Filming for the mythic action epic began in February on location in Greece, Morocco, Italy, Iceland and Los Angeles, with shooting now based in Scotland. The Odyssey is set to become the most expensive project of Nolan's prestigious career, with a reported budget of $250 million, and will also be the first film in history to be shot entirely using brand new IMAX film technology'. He is directing from his own screenplay - based on the epic poem by Homer that dates back to the 8th Century BC and was first published in English in 1614. Anticipation for the mammoth film has already reached a fever pitch, with the incredible cast including a huge number of Hollywood's biggest stars. Anne Hathaway is said to be playing Odysseus' wife and Queen of Ithica, Penelope, whom he's eager to reunite with following a perilous journey back home. While Charlize Theron has been reported to be starring as the witch goddess Circe in the 3000-year-old fantastical tale full of sirens and a cyclops. The star-studded cast also includes the likes of Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, Will Yun Lee, and Mia Goth. And Universal Pictures gave eager fans the first glimpse at the film in a short teaser clip, attached to screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth earlier this month. The trailer begins with an unknown narrator speaking about the title character Odysseus, who in the original poem is trying to return home to his wife Penelope after his victory in The Trojan War. They begin: 'Darkness. Zeus' law smashed to pieces. I'm without a king since my master died. He knew it was an unwinnable war. And then, somehow, he won in'. Dramatic footage of the sea crashing against the shore, shows what appears to be a mammoth statue of the famous Trojan Horse. Jon Bernthal's unnamed character is then seen claiming: 'I know nothing of Odysseus, not since Troy', while Tom is seen for the first time as Telemachus, insisting: 'I have to find out what happened to my father. When did you last see him?' While brief shots of the film are shown, Jon's character shouts to the room, 'Who has a story about Odysseus? You? You have a story? Some say he's rich. Some say he's poor. Some said he perished. Some said he's imprisoned'. The trailer ends with an old man laying on pieces of driftwood, presumably Matt as the title character. The Odyssey is scheduled to hit IMAX theaters on July 17, 2026 - just two weeks before Tom and Zendaya will be back for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31.
