London is the top travel destination for 2012 according to to Lonely Planet, the globe-trotting world travel publisher. In their list of the top 10 favourite cities for 2012, the Guide says, "London is going for the knock-out blow in 2012. The Olympics are riding into town and a whole swath of the capital is being transformed in the process. London’s east will be thrust into the spotlight but the rest of the capital will be rolling out the red carpet too. Seeing Tower Bridge lift its bascules to let a tall ship pass beneath is all stately grace, as opposed to your first rush-hour trip on the tube, getting up close and personal with strangers of every colour, creed and nationality. Mind the gap! Whoever you cheer for, you won’t be alone in this most international of cities."

The other nine cities listsed are Muscat, the capital of Oman, Bengaluru, Cádiz, Stockholm, Guimarães, Santiago, Orlando and Darwin.

By John Bonar

The Russian Ambassador to UK, Alexander Yakovenko, has set the scene for Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Russia  later this month with an article in the Daily Telegraph's Russia Now supplement. (http://www.bsr-russia.com/en/international-relations/item/1813-russian-ambassador-alexander-yakovenkos-article-on-british-russian-relations.html)

"Russia and the UK have no reason to stand apart but, of course, a healthy competition remains," the ambassador wrote.