Snow, ice and freezing fog that is sweeping across parts of the UK will continue for days, forecasters said.

The conditions have caused travel disruption, with delayed trains, motorway accidents and flights from Heathrow cancelled on Sunday morning.

A number of people are in critical condition after being pulled from a lake amid freezing temperatures in Solihull, according to police.

Temperatures could drop as low as -15C (5F) in northeast Scotland overnight. If so, it would be the lowest temperature the UK has seen since February last year.

Earlier, the Met Office warned power cuts and mobile phone coverage might also be affected.

Snow has been settling in Devon and Wales as well as parts of Scotland and areas of north-west England.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place for Scotland, London and south-west England until Monday morning.

But the Met Office ended its weather warning for Northern Ireland, despite the cold weather leading to some sporting fixtures being cancelled.

A £5m scheme to restore marine habitats along the Solent over the next five years has been announced.

The Solent Seascape Project will cover an area of the major shipping lane spanning about 522 sq km.

It will see 10 organisations work together on four types of habitat – seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, saltmarsh and seabird nesting sites.

They aim to develop a plan to protect and restore “at least 30% of the Solent’s seascape”.

The Solent is recognised as an internationally-important wintering and breeding ground for seabirds.

Habitats have become “fragmented and degraded”, with mud and sand banks and the seabed under pressure from coastal development, project organisers said.

Louise MacCallum, of the Blue Marine Foundation described the approach as “pioneering”.

“Using our combined knowledge, passion and experience on a project which will genuinely benefit marine wildlife in an area of the world we all love is such an amazing thing to be able to do.”

A man is to attempt one of the world’s most dangerous rows in the Antarctic in honour of the “forgotten hero” of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance voyage – just months after open heart surgery.

Jamie Douglas-Hamilton will row from Elephant Island to South Georgia. The grandson of the 14th Duke of Hamilton will brave the Scotia Sea – the roughest and coldest on Earth.

He is also calling for the Polar Medal to be awarded posthumously to Harry McNish, the carpenter on Endurance.

McNish was on Shackleton’s ill-fated voyage, which ended with the expedition vessel being sunk by pack ice in October 1915.

The group managed to reach Elephant Island and McNish, from Port Glasgow, adapted the James Caird lifeboat to make it seaworthy for the voyage. Some of the crew made it to South Georgia to seek help.

Mr Douglas-Hamilton, 42, from Edinburgh, will be the only Britain in a team of six hoping to row the 950-mile route sailed by the James Caird, which has never been attempted before.

The adventurer, who is a seven times Guinness World record holder, told BBC Scotland he had read the unpublished diaries of Harry McNish after befriending his great nephew, John McNish.

The American space agency NASA has brought home its next-generation astronaut ship after a near-26-day mission to orbit the Moon.

The Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere and a descent that was further slowed by parachutes.

Because this was a test, there were no people aboard this time, but that will change for the next flight. NASA is planning ever more complex missions with Orion.

These will likely start in late 2024 and include, in 2025 or 2026, an attempt to put humans back on the lunar surface.

This was last achieved exactly 50 years ago to the day by the crew of Apollo 17. The agency’s new project is called Artemis, who in Greek mythology was the sister of Apollo.

“[During Apollo] we did the impossible by making it possible,” observed NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Mike Sarafin, the Artemis project manager who has been an ever-present in media conferences over the past three weeks, couldn’t hide his delight at seeing a perfect splashdown: “Folks, this is what mission success looks like.”

Olumo rock, is one of the major tourist attractions in Nigeria with a captivating embodiment. Olumo rock is located in Abeokuta is a classic that stands out among other tourist attractions in Ogun state.

With its surrounding lush history, Olumo rock will never cease to bring tourists to wonder at how rocks can tell stories on their own.

One thing stands out in particular; the blessings of nature. It cannot be faulted that at least every state in the country, including the F.C.T, has something naturally distinct about it. It is in this light, Ogun state, one of the six states in the southwest geo-political zone is unique for its own beautiful piece of nature strategically located in the state capital, Abeokuta.

The state capital Abeokuta, translated into English means “Under The Rock”, is known for this beautiful piece of nature standing at a height of 137metres and strategically located at the centre of the state capital – Olumo Rock.

History Of Olumo Rock

From History, Olumo Rock was discovered by a hunter by the name Adagba, who used the rock as means of fortress during the intertribal war in the 19th Century. The Egbas were part of the Oyo Empire before the empire collapsed.

The rock also served as a vantage point for the inhabitants at the time as it enabled them have a clear view of enemy’s advancement in a war they eventually triumphed.

The name “Olumo” is the combination of two words – “Olu” (God) and “Mo” (Moulded), the combination of these words is translated as “God has ended our troubles and sufferings”.

Olumo Rock was turned into a tourist site in 1976 and commissioned on the 3rd of February 2006 by the former president of the country, Olusegun Obasanjo.

The rock comprises of statutes of Egba past heroes and different symbols of the Egba warriors like Ilesha Abi Agbongbakala, Agaba – the great hunter, Okonkenu – the first paramount ruler in Egba land, and Jagun Jagun – the sharp shooter and general in command.

During the rainy season, it was noted that Olumo Rock produced water that could be used by herbalists to cure diseases and sicknesses.

However, it stopped producing water over 50 years ago and beside this point is the tomb of a chief called Sonni Osi-Toko who died at 122years old on the 3rd of January, 1956.

Another fascinating fact about the rock is the presence of a tree that is claimed to be over 200 years old. This tree neither sheds its leaf throughout the year as it flourishes in dry and rainy season.

A woman Chief Mrs. Sinatu Aduke Sanni, popularly called Iya Orisa has lived almost all her 133years on earth dwelling in the rock. She has witnessed the coronation of four kings of Egba Land – Alake of Egba land. She believes the god of the rock protects them and gives them everything they ask for.

In recent times, the tourist attraction has been renovated and an elevator has been added for those who do not wish to climb the stairs between the rocks to get to the summit, it also has a museum, an eatery, market where different types of tie and dye clothing materials are sold to visitors, and also a water fountain as side attractions.

The Height Of Olumo Rock

As mentioned earlier, Olumo Rock stands at a height of 137metres above sea level which is almost half the height of the Eiffel Tower, Paris which stands at 300metres. Also the height of Olumo Rock cannot be compared to Zuma Rock in the state capital, Abuja which stands at 725metres above sea level.

One of the attractive thing about Olumo Rock however is the fact that it is easy to climb.

Even before the recent renovations, Olumo Rock had stairs carved into it for easy climbing. For those who do not wish to go through climbing through the rocks can use staircases or elevators to reach the summit.

At the top of the rock is a beauty to behold. One will be able to see the view of Abeokuta all covered in red corrugated roofs paralleled by thick green forests that melts into the horizon.

Some distinct monument one will see includes the First Church of Nigeria, the central mosque, the family of house late Moshood Abiola (M.K.O), the River Ogun and Baptist Boys High School.

Location Of Olumo Rock

Olumo Rock is located at the heart of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital at exactly the intersection between Ijemo-Alape Road and Ita-Bayinbo Street in Ikija area, under Abeokuta North local government of the state.

Driving to Olumo Rock from Lagos will take approximately 1 hour 45 minutes if you use the A5 route through Papalanto.

Guyana is located in the northeastern corner of South America. Indigenous peoples inhabited Guyana prior to European settlement, and their name for the land, guiana (“land of water”), gave the country its name.

Christmas is a special time for Guyanese both at home and overseas. Many overseas based Guyanese will try and return home to to visit with family and friends. This makes Christmas extra special.

Leading up to Christmas in Guyana, the streets are filled with shoppers looking for gifts. You can also hear the sounds of vehicle horns blaring in slow traffic and the sound of the Masquerade Bands and their music and dancing.

Some people are also dressed as certain characters and these characters have special dance moves. There can be lots of different groups on the streets at the same time.

In Guyana, people really like to decorate their houses and streets with lots of lights at Christmas time. Traditionally you didn’t put up the decorations until Christmas Eve.

A popular Christmas food in Guyana is Pepperpot. This is a meat stew made with beef, pork or mutton, it is flavoured with cinnamon and a sauce made from cassava root) served with bread.

This is sometimes eaten for breakfast at Christmas. This is a national dish from one of the six races of Guyana, the native Amerindians.

Other Christmas foods include baked chicken or turkey, stuffing, garlic pork, homemade pickled onions and cook-up rice (rice cooked with peas/beans, some meat and lots of herbs and spices, this is another national dish from Afro-Guyanese heritage).

There’s also black cake, a very rich fruit Christmas cake which includes rum. The fruit for the cake is soaked in wine or rum for months before the cake is made. If you visit a house in Guyana over Christmas you have to “try a lil piece”!

Gifts are often exchanged after breakfast on Christmas day.

The day after Christmas, Boxing Day, is also a national holiday. It’s a popular time for games and sports as well as another day for visiting friends and family.

The Phosphate Mines, also known as the Phosphate Mines of Nauru, are the remnants of what was once a triving income for the economy of the island nation of the Republic of Nauru.

As Nauru is the smallest nation in the Pacific, it was considered once to be the richest nation, where at the middle of 19 century it was made to be a strip mine exploited at first by the colonial powers, more precisely by the German Empire.

The phosphate deposits are actually the result of thousands of years of bird droppings, which are also known as guano, and as they are near the surface, it does not take much effort to mine the phosphate.

After Nauru gained its independence in 1968, it soon intensified the mining process and large wealth came to the island, which made the economy to be dependent on phosphate.

Unfortunately, by the late 20 century, the country has rendered its own landscape infertile, and the island is mostly a barren wasteland.

The high plateau that is known locally as Topside is the place where once was the location where most of the phosphate deposits were, nevertheless, with the large scale of phosphate mining, almost all of the available phosphate has been mined, and there are only pinnacles left which create a jagged landscape unsuitable for agriculture nor forestry.

Today, 80% of the island is uninhabitable and infertile, leaving everything but the coastal strip to the people from Nauru with hope that the “Certain Phosphate Lands: Nauru v. Australia” case from the International Court of Justice will bring some rehabilitation to the mined-out areas of Nauru.

Basically, Australia’s administration of the island in the past has failed to remedy the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining, and even though it is uncertain whether something will be done by Australia for the nature to be brought back in some kind of livable condition for the locals, they will have to continue to live as one of the poorest nations in the world.

There was once a trust fund for the islanders from the mining which reached 1 billion Australian dollars, nonetheless, the government has made poor investment choices and with the corruption, the fund was left with almost no money, therefore made the Nauru poor with little money.

This began showing also to the locals, as they were fishing and doing little bit of gardening in the past, but with the easy income from the mines, the people stopped farming and began importing canned and frozen food, which is why nowadays, the country has the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world.

Even though there is still some small amount of phosphate exported, the revenue is still not enough to sustain the population on the island which is reliable on foreign aid, mostly from Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand.

What would happen with the phosphate mines is still debatable and with the rising water levels, the destiny of the people from Nauru is very uncertain whether they would be able to continue living on this small piece of land they call home.