Long queues for passport control checks at UK airports are a fact of life but are still an “unacceptable” part of travel, Stansted Airport bosses say.

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Long airport wait ‘unacceptable’

If it happens, the expected union of US Airways and American Airlines could be one of the last big legacy airline mergers. Maybe even the last one. Together, the two companies would create the largest airline in America as measured by number of employees, and the second-largest in terms of operating revenue. Read full article > >

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The Navigator: How a US Airways-American Airlines merger could affect travelers

Business travel spending has continued to rise, but that growth has mostly come from higher prices. Amid cutbacks, companies have become increasingly strategic about managing travel.

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Special Section: Business Travel: Business Travel Is Rising, but Not Necessarily the Travel Budget

Training drills, travel, Roth, Updike and Kandinsky: BBC Sport looks at what makes the new England boss tick.

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Roy revealed

Government appears set to ease restrictions.

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Cuba May Revisit Strict Travel Rules

How well-travelled are you compared with the Queen?

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Have you been where the Queen’s been?

I stood, frozen in place, on the sidewalk at the intersection of who-knows-where and what-am-I-doing-here, desperately trying to orient myself with my cellphone and dodging pedestrians who actually seemed to know where they were going. Read full article > >

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A public transportation vacation: Philadelphia shows pros, cons of carless trip

Hi there. I'm Kat. You may know me from Daily Show writer Miles Kahn's popular screenshot above, or its subsequent appearance in countless blog posts such as Jim Romenesko's “Thank you, CNN!” or Videogum's “Tips for Solo Dining” or Jezebel's “We Just Really Want to Make Sure You’re Cool on the ‘Eating Alone’ Front.” Oh, and now The Soup's “My Dinner With Entrée.” I'm sorry about ruining TV journalism for everyone while not looking anything like the world's most beautiful human, Beyonce , but I really do dig eating alone sometimes. On purpose, even. Not just because of my hideous deformities and “man face” (thank you, internet commenters!). Not everyone enjoys solo dining, though, and that's such a shame to me. Plenty of people don't think twice about sitting alone in a restaurant, out of necessity or preference. Armed with a book, a phone, people watching or their own quiet thoughts, they're good to go. For others, it's a source of intense embarrassment or anxiety, and that's what I went on CNN Newsroom to discuss in my weekly segment (previous installments of which addressed slavery in Ivory Coast cacao fields , antibiotics in beef and the impact of growing your own food ). Earlier this week, my colleagues at CNN Travel had run a much-commented-upon piece about a site that pairs female business travelers with other women so they would not have to bear the discomfort of eating alone in a strange city. This story, frankly, depressed me – the politics and angst of the high school cafeteria writ large and a decade (or two or three) later. The women interviewed admitted to skipping meals, hiding at dark tables in the back, or faking cell phone calls to avoid the scrutiny of other diners, who they felt perceived them as “sad, lonely spinster(s)” clearly out to ensnare unsuspecting gentlemen by sexily eating salad alone at the bar. The discomfort isn't gender-limited though; the Newsroom guest before me, a whip-smart, take no prisoners political analyst, flinched when I told him the topic. Though he travels the country extensively and alone for his job, he might brave a diner at lunchtime, but never a higher-end restaurant at night. The notion simply cowed him. I'm lucky enough to have no qualms about walking into a restaurant anywhere on the shmanciness spectrum at any time of day and taking great pleasure in my meals. When I was 19 years old and trying to stitch myself back together after an excruciating breakup, a friend told me he thought that there was nothing in the world more intriguing than a woman eating on her own. Twenty years later, I still take that to heart . While I don't put a great deal of thought into how my fellow patrons are perceiving me, I do attribute other solo diners with a sense of self confidence, calm, and delight. I have plenty of people I love in my life, but they may or may not share my food obsessions. That's okay; I don't need them to. My husband isn't keen on offal or intense spice, so I won't subject him to it. I could be working in a city where I don't know a soul. I may just wish to chill out with a nice Manhattan, a plate of oysters (that I don't have to share) and the comfort of my own company. I might just be hungry. I figured I could help empower someone who needed it. My tips (in a less reductive form than one might guess from the screenshot): Sit at the bar This one is a slam dunk. You're not taking up a whole table and drawing a server's potential disdain with a lowered check total. A bartender can be a companion and ally if you'd like one, or a protective force if you're in need of such a thing. It's also a great way to chat with other patrons, or stare dreamily at the liquor collection, lost in your own thoughts. Ask questions about the menu Curious diners get great service. Per almost every front-of-house staffer I've known professionally or as a friend, they'll pay special attention to a person who seems genuinely curious about the food and drinks, and often bring them extra things to try. Bartenders and servers are humans, too – some of the best ones, even – and appreciate a friendly patron who actually values their opinion. If you do return to the place (and have tipped humanely), you'll be on the fast track to “regular” status. Bring a book As my friend Steven, a pro-level solo diner , says, a book is the universal symbol for “Please don't talk to me.” If a woman is indeed concerned with being seen as a Dockers-chasing harlot, a book is a smashing defense (just no “Fifty Shades of Grey,” please) – or an excellent distraction that can be easily be tucked aside if something entertaining arises. Or, if you are perhaps in search of a comely fellow Proust fan, that's a big ol' flag you can fly. Use Twitter This may not be for everyone, but as I wrote about a few months back after traveling for an uncle's funeral , if you're eating solo out of duty and not desire, there are worse things than having a social network in your pocket. While I'd sooner swallow a lobster pick than tweet at the table when there's company present or post pictures of my meal, if I'm alone, on occasion I'd like company. Because I write about food for a living, my online circles tend to be pretty dining-centric. I like to make the most of any meal opportunity I have while I'm in a new city, and chances are that one of my over 22,000 followers has a few recommendations that shouldn't be missed. While it's not been exceptionally pleasant having my worth as a journalist, appearance or potential social appeal assessed by strangers and other media professionals on the internet, it's all part of the cycle, and it's helped at least one person. A good friend and fellow journalist, Adam Robb, has recently become the caregiver of his very ill grandmother , and it's taken a toll. As he told me yesterday, he opened his Facebook to write me a note and vent a little bit. The first thing in his newsfeed was that screen grab. “I'm taking it as a sign from God I should take myself out to dinner tonight,” he told me. He went to Daniel Humm and Will Guidara's NoMad – one of the hottest new restaurants in New York City. He thoroughly enjoyed his meal. He ate alone. Take Our Poll Previously – How to eat alone at the bar , Grazing the bar and Dining solo on the road

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That’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight eating all alone

Stereotypes of Danish cuisine inevitably feature visions of streaky bacon and swirly pastries. But trail-blazing restaurants like the two Michelin-starred “Noma” have ushered in a fashion for so-called “New Nordic Cuisine” that has seen bon vivants straining their vocal chords in songs of praise. Copenhagen, the stylish Danish capital, is leading the way in this North European culinary revolution. Indeed, the latest edition of the Michelin Guide awarded the city's restaurants an impressive 14 stars – more than any other of its Scandinavian counterparts. But the city is also dotted with eateries for all occasions and tastes, offering more than just Michelin starred fine dining. Here is CNN's at-a-glance guide to Europe's new culinary capital. Noma – For a foraged feast Noma is hidden inside an 18th-century storage building that was once used to keep salt. Facing out onto the quiet waterways of Copenhagen Harbor, it's an unassuming location for a two Michelin star restaurant, regularly touted by industry experts as the best in the world today. René Redzepi, founder and head chef, has been wowing foodies ever since Noma's relatively recent emergence, with his extraordinary emphasis on local and foraged food, showcasing the cuisine of the cold North Atlantic. “Vegetables in soil” offers perhaps the most illustrative and notorious example of Redzepi's agrarian-focused philosophy. Locally sourced baby carrots, radishes, leeks and celeriac are served on a bed of “soil”, which is in fact a combination of malt flour, hazelnut flour, melted butter and beer. Noma's interior echoes this earthy outlook. Rustic wooden beams extend between the white-washed walls, and food is served on bare dark oak tables. Those with time on their hands should opt for the 12-course “Noma Nassaaq” taster menu. The four-hour degustation begins with a platter of sea-buckthorn with pickled rose-hip petal, and culminates in a Jerusalem artichoke sorbet with apple, shortbread and chocolate discs, taking in a cosmic array of Nordic delights in between. Read – Eat your way around Copenhagen, Europe's new culinary capital

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The culinary delights of Copenhagen

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe. Cinco margarita recipes for Cinco de Mayo, and summer in general. – Serious Eats Harking back to the legendary Vegas steakhouse. – Saveur Yogurtgate: One college student had the unfortunate pleasure of accidentally spilling fro-yo on the President's trousers. – Bites on TODAY Burger King will transition to cage-free eggs and pork by 2017. – Gawker The life and times of a restaurant regular. – Wall Street Journal

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Box lunch: Margarita mania and ‘Yogurtgate’

Newt Gingrich, whose quixotic presidential bid has been dogged by financial problems, racked up nearly $3 million in new debt for private jet flights, security consultants and travel costs in March even as his campaign teetered on the edge of collapse, according to new disclosures . Read full article > >

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Gingrich racks up more debt as his campaign disintegrates

Seven people from one traveller family abused and beat up to 24 vulnerable men who were kept in captivity and made to work without pay, a court hears.

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Family ‘kept homeless in squalor’

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to travel abroad for the first time in 24 years, suggesting she has growing confidence in reforms.

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Burma’s Suu Kyi to visit Europe

Before we get to the dancing penises at the National Institutes of Health, let’s begin our discussion with the Secret Service agents’ dalliance with prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia. “ We’re representing the people of the United States ,” President Obama said Sunday when asked about the agents and military personnel who, after a night of heavy drinking, reportedly procured prostitutes at a strip club called the Pleyclub. “And when we travel to another country I expect us to observe the highest standards.” Read full article > >

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Debauchery: An American specialty

People were watching us. Staring, actually. My 17-year-old daughter was uncomfortable, as was her mother, my modest and distinctly non-Greek wife. On the other hand, our 16-year-old son, who shares his father’s Zorba-like hamminess, was lapping up the attention. Read full article > >

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Traveling back to Granddad’s Greek home