Latest news with #Faroes
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Medals for Guernsey on final day of Island Games
Guernsey's Alex Tapp and David Trebert have won silver in badminton's men's doubles at the 2025 Island Games. The duo, who reached the last 16 two years ago on home soil, had not dropped a game on their way to the final. But they could not find a way past Faroe Islands' top seeds Magnus Dal-Christiansen and Runi Oster as they were beaten 21-11, 21-12 in the final. "We believed we had an outside chance of getting a medal - the final might have bene pushing it a little bit far," Trebert told BBC Guernsey. "But had we performed at our best in the final we might have had a better chance of winning the gold." Having been seeded outside the top four the Guernsey duo had to overcome Faroes' third seeds Jonas Djurhuus and Asbjorn Heide Olsen in the quarter finals. They thenh went on to defeat Menorca's second seeds Albert Navarro Comes and Carlos Riudavets Sintes in the semi finals. "We came into these games as a five to eight seed, and having looked at the draw we thought if we could play at our best level there was a chance," added Tapp. "Did I think we would get a silver medal? No probably not, but to have knocked out the number two seeds on the way here we can't really complain with that." Guernsey's Bown wins more Island Games gold medals Inderwick helps Guernsey win cycling gold medals Meanwhile Guernsey's men's half marathon runners Sammy Galpin, James Priest and Ethan Woodhead won a bronze medal in the team event. Galpin was 24 seconds off an individual medal as he finished in fourth place behind Faroe Islands' Julian Gregersen. Priest was 10th while Woodhead finished in 17th place.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Medals for Guernsey on final day of Island Games
Guernsey's Alex Tapp and David Trebert have won silver in badminton's men's doubles at the 2025 Island duo, who reached the last 16 two years ago on home soil, had not dropped a game on their way to the they could not find a way past Faroe Islands' top seeds Magnus Dal-Christiansen and Runi Oster as they were beaten 21-11, 21-12 in the final. "We believed we had an outside chance of getting a medal - the final might have bene pushing it a little bit far," Trebert told BBC Guernsey."But had we performed at our best in the final we might have had a better chance of winning the gold."Having been seeded outside the top four the Guernsey duo had to overcome Faroes' third seeds Jonas Djurhuus and Asbjorn Heide Olsen in the quarter thenh went on to defeat Menorca's second seeds Albert Navarro Comes and Carlos Riudavets Sintes in the semi finals."We came into these games as a five to eight seed, and having looked at the draw we thought if we could play at our best level there was a chance," added Tapp."Did I think we would get a silver medal? No probably not, but to have knocked out the number two seeds on the way here we can't really complain with that." Meanwhile Guernsey's men's half marathon runners Sammy Galpin, James Priest and Ethan Woodhead won a bronze medal in the team event. Galpin was 24 seconds off an individual medal as he finished in fourth place behind Faroe Islands' Julian was 10th while Woodhead finished in 17th place.
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Telegraph style book: Ff
F Facebook: Is the social media platform, Meta is the company face coverings or masks: Not 'face masks' Fairtrade Faithfull, Marianne Farah, Sir Mo Faroes far-Right: Only to be used with neo-Nazi groups such as the National Front and BNP, and not populist far Right (noun) without a hyphen; but adjective takes a hyphen, so far-Right activist, far-Right party etc farther: Used with distances; further: Means additional father of six: Not father-of-six Father Christmas: Preferred to Santa fatwa Fayed, Mohamed: not Al-Fayed. fazed (to be disorientated or disconcerted) and phased (introduced in stages) have different meanings fed up: We should soon become fed up with the ignorant usage 'fed up of' feelgood factor femmes fatales: Note both noun and adjective are pluralised feng shui fettuccine fewer: Fewer for countable things; less for uncountable filmic: An American adjective that has no place in the English language so long as cinematic exists Finnigan, Judy firefighter first past the post flammable: Not inflammable. The negative is non-flammable. Speeches remain inflammatory flaunt: Means display ostentatiously. NB celebrities do not flaunt their bodies; flout: Means treat with contempt flier: Someone who flies floccinaucinihilipilification: often cited as the longest non-technical word in major English dictionaries flyer: A small handbill advertising an event or product flypast focused/focusing: One S not two foetus: Not fetus Fogg: Phileas: Not Phineas formulas: Not formulae foxhunting: Is one word 4x4: For the vehicle Fourth of June: Happens at Eton, usually at the end of May Fourth Plinth: Capped up Francis of Assisi: St Francis was a monk, not a priest freedom of information laws / request: no caps. But Freedom of Information Act front line: As nouns always two words (adj. Front-line forces, Front-line combat etc.) front-runner fulfils: one L fullness: Preferred to fulness full-time fulsome: Means cloying or excessive, not copious, and is nearly always pejorative
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shetland eyes Faroes-style tunnels to replace ageing ferries
The Faroese prime minister says Shetland could boost growth and revitalise island life by following his country in replacing ageing ferries with undersea Islands Council says it is pushing ahead with plans to build tunnels to four outlying isles in the archipelago including Unst, the most northerly place in the UK."I think we have learned in the Faroe Islands that investment in infrastructure is a good investment," Aksel Johannesen told BBC Islands Council says its multi-million pound project is likely to be funded by borrowing money and paying it back through tolls, potentially providing a new transport model for other Scottish islands. Critics say politicians in Scotland have wasted years talking about tunnels while the Faroes, nearly 200 miles further out into the Atlantic, have actually built them."It is frustrating," says Anne Anderson of salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms, which employs nearly 700 people in Scotland, including just under 300 in island chain produces a quarter of all Scottish salmon - the UK's most valuable food export with international sales of £844m in 2024."Ten years ago Scottish salmon used to have 10 per cent of the global market. Nowadays we're slipping ever closer to five per cent," adds Ms Anderson, who blames that slide, in part, on a lack of investment in public infrastructure .She agrees that the UK should look to the Faroes for inspiration."Identify what works well for them and then just copy and paste and let's get moving," urges Ms Anderson. They have been building tunnels in the Faroes since the 18 islands which make up the self-governing nation under the sovereignty of Denmark are connected by 23 tunnels, four of which run below the sea. More are under dramatic is a 7.1 mile (11.4km) tunnel which connects the island of Streymoy to two sides of a fjord on the island of includes the world's only undersea its deepest point it is 187m (614ft) below the waves and has halved the driving time between the capital Tórshavn and the second biggest town, Klaksvik. Speaking in his grass-roofed office looking out over a busy harbour in Tórshavn, Johannesen says tunnels helped to grow the population and the economy of the archipelago, which is home to some 54,000 people, in contrast to Shetland's 23,000."It's about ambition," says tunnel builder Andy Sloan, whose company worked on part of the Faroese tunnel adds the islands have led the world "in connecting an archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic through blood, sweat and tears – and focus."They have delivered a remarkable piece of infrastructure," says Mr Sloan, who is executive vice-president of engineering firm is now advising Shetland Islands Council on the technicalities and financing of Faroese tunnels were constructed using a technique known as drill and blast – where holes are drilled in rock, explosives are dropped in, and the rubble is then cleared away – which Mr Sloan says could also be used in Scotland."Without doubt, Shetland can copy what has been achieved in these islands," he adds. Prof Erika Anne Hayfield, dean of the Faculty of History and Social Sciences at the University of the Faroe Islands, says the tunnels have delivered significant benefits."People can live and thrive in smaller settlements," while still participating fully in island life and commuting to "the central labour market" in Tórshavn, she explains."In the long term, in terms of demography, social sustainability, a lot of people on islands believe that it is necessary," adds Prof she said the costs of some tunnels had been controversial, with some Faroese arguing that they are being built at the expense of investing in schools and hospitals. Shetland's main town, Lerwick, may be closer to Tórshavn than it is to Edinburgh – and closer to Copenhagen than London – but advocates of tunnels insist the islands are not a remote backwater but an advanced economy constrained by poor archipelago of 100 islands at the confluence of the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean boasts the UK's only spaceport and a thriving fishing industry."We land more fish in Shetland than we do in the whole of England, Northern Ireland and Wales," says Macdonald."Tunnels could be incredibly transformational," she adds: "We're really excited about the opportunity."The 20th Century oil and gas boom brought Shetland riches but the islands have since embraced the shift to renewable energy and are home to the UK's most productive onshore wind farm."Shetland's really integral to Scotland and to the wider UK," says Macdonald. The council has authorised a £990,000 feasibility study into building tunnels to four islands – Unst, Yell, Bressay and has not yet published an estimated cost for construction. "Tunnels would really open up this island for businesses," says Elizabeth Johnson, external affairs manager of Saxavord Spaceport on adds that they would "enhance the economic viability of the island".But with neither the Scottish nor UK governments volunteering to pay for Shetland's tunnels, the Faroese funding model of borrowing paid back by tolls looks likely to be adopted."I think people recognise that there is probably a need for tolling and I think people understand that," says adds: "They already have to pay to go on the ferries."At present the council runs ferry services to nine islands, carrying around 750,000 passengers each year on 12 vessels at a cost of £23m per average age of the fleet is 31.5 years, costs have risen sharply in the past decade, and some routes are struggling to meet demand for vehicle and Clyde ferries, off the west of Scotland, run by Scottish government-owned Caledonian MacBrayne, are also ageing and have been beset by problems. Mr Sloan says tunnels could provide more robust transport links for the west coast as well as the Northern Isles."Quite frankly, it can be repeated in Shetland, and not just Shetland, possibly elsewhere in Scotland."Mr Sloan agrees that tolls are the most feasible funding were abolished on the Skye Bridge in 2004 after a long-running campaign of non payment, and were scrapped on the Forth and Tay road bridges in Ms Johnson, of the Saxavord Spaceport, reckons Shetlanders would be happy to pay their way."I don't think anybody that I've spoken to would be against tolls," she says. Although there is no organised opposition to tunnels in Shetland some locals do express concern about whether they would change what it means to be an island. Pat Burns runs the northernmost shop in the British Isles, The Final Checkout on was not convinced about tunnels at first, fearing that they would alter the nature of island life."I like the challenges of trying to get from A to B," she after years of worrying about bad weather interrupting supplies for her shop and seeing tourists turned away because ferries are full, she has changed her mind."I was a wee bit iffy-iffy about it before," she says, "but now I realise that if Unst doesn't get a tunnel, the challenge is going to be too big."
New European
12-02-2025
- Politics
- New European
Dreams of independence in Europe's far north
'We could be independent within five years,' said Eirikur Lindenskov, the longstanding editor of Sosialurin , the main Faroese print newspaper. 'Five months, more like,' responded my old pal and former Republican politician Magni Arge, over a pint in the capital, Tórshavn. Faroese politics have gone up in flames since Donald Trump took office: in uncertain times, the seesaw of Faroese public opinion usually tips towards the 'loyalist' view: that is, loyalty to Denmark. Not this time – Trump's threat to Denmark that he would buy Greenland or take it by force has changed everything, and independence seems to be on everybody's lips. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are the last remnants of Denmark's empire. Sweden and Norway, Shetland, the African and Indian territories, Iceland, the Danish West Indies (now the American Virgin Islands after their sale to the US last century) – all are now gone. But possession of Greenland earns Denmark a seat at the intergovernmental Arctic Council of eight nations, so it has been reluctant to lose its last two outposts, having defied a narrow Faroese vote for independence in 1946. With less autonomy, Greenland joined the EU in 1973 on Danish terms that failed to acknowledge its oceanic territorial rights. It promptly left again following a referendum in 1982, after the Arctic island was granted a similar level of autonomy to the Faroes, which had never joined the EU. Blindsided by Trump, Danish politicians have no easy answer to the charge that Denmark is an outdated colonial power that does not enjoy the full backing of the Greenlandic people. Arge, who recently completed a thesis on Denmark's disposal of its colonial territories and its compliance (or otherwise) with international law, says Denmark justified its Greenland stance on the basis of Nato solidarity. 'Suddenly, that argument is completely exposed. The Danes are like a boxer who has gone 14 rounds with his opponent but he's still hanging in there… until his promoter comes and punches him on the nose.' On January 24 the Faroese Parliament agreed to move to the next stage of agreeing a 'three-state solution' so as to neutralise Trump's demands. The idea is that Denmark and its two former colonies would become equal partners in a new 'commonwealth' under the Danish Crown. Each would have separate UN membership and, in all likelihood, Greenland and the Faroes would apply for EU membership, on their own. During the 25 years I have been going to the Faroes I have witnessed extraordinary change. Once a sleepy, socially conservative backwater, fiercely divided between Danish loyalists and those who yearned for full independence, now even the right wing loyalist party has recognised, in private at least, the reality of an impending reset. Independence is not a left-right split: the current coalition is led by the Copenhagen-leaning social democrats, allied with centre left Republicans and the centre right pro-independence Progress party. With the social democratic Danish government now ready to flesh out the three-state idea, pro-independence Faroese see an opportunity to slip through an open door to independence, alongside Greenland. The modern Faroes boast a growing population – out of kilter with the reality in most remote European island communities – GDP per capita is higher than Denmark's, it has a booming fishery within its 200-mile limits, a world-renowned farmed salmon industry, successful IT and creative industries, and is undergoing a tourism boom. Younger Faroese living in Denmark are coming home in ever greater numbers because of better opportunities – and because they see a recognisably more liberal society. A growing migrant population is the only way to meet workforce shortfalls in construction and service industries. Atli Gregersen is the founder of Hiddenfjord, the all-Faroese salmon producer, and an elder statesman of the islands' business community. He is blunt: 'The salmon industry needs to be much closer to the EU, and if we are not part of Denmark, it's obvious we would be part of the EU. It's also obvious now that the Danes can't protect us. I like the Danes, but I don't ever like 'to be a Dane'.' And at Guðrun and Guðrun – the Tórshavn-based knitwear partnership that went global when Sophie Gråbøl wore her traditional Faroese sweater in Danish TV's drama The Killing – Guðrun Røgvadóttir says: 'Some changes can come really suddenly. We have been working for independence for 70 years, and then Trump says 'I want Greenland', so there's no question that the relationship with Denmark will change.' And her partner, Guðrun Ludvig, adds with a smile: 'I am never, ever going to live in Denmark again!' Stan Abbott is a journalist and author of travel narratives
