The smell hits you before you even see the tents. In the al-Taawun camp, wedged between Yarmouk Stadium and al-Sahaba Street in central Gaza City, the line between human habitation and human waste has been erased.

Forced to flee their homes by Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, 765 families have set up makeshift shelters directly on top of and adjacent to an enormous solid waste dump. Here, amid mountains of rotting garbage, they are fighting a losing battle against disease, pests and the psychological horror of living in filth.

Fayez al-Jadi, a father who has been displaced 12 times since the war began, said the conditions are stripping them of their humanity.

“The rats eat the tents from underneath,” al-Jadi told Al Jazeera. “They walk on our faces while we sleep. My daughter is 18 months old. A rat ran right over her face. Every day, she has gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea or malnutrition.”

Al-Jadi’s plea is not for a luxury accommodation, just a mere 40 to 50 metres (130ft to 164ft) of clean space to live in, he said. “We want to live like human beings.”

‘We wake up screaming’

The sanitary crisis has unleashed a plague of skin infections among the 4,000 residents of the camp. With no running water or sewage system, scabies has spread like wildfire.

Fares Jamal Sobh, a six-month-old infant, spends his nights crying. His mother points to the red, angry rashes covering his small body.

“He doesn’t sleep at night because of the itching,” she said. “We wake up to find cockroaches and mosquitoes on him. We bring medicine, but it’s useless because we are living on trash.”

Um Hamza, a grandmother caring for a large extended family, including a blind husband and a son suffering from asthma, said shame is no longer compounding their suffering.

“We’ve stopped being ashamed to say my daughter is covered in scabies,” she told Al Jazeera. “We’ve used five or six bottles of ointment, but it’s in vain.”

She added that the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has left them with nowhere to turn. “The hospitals, like al-Ahli, have started turning us away. … They write us a prescription and tell us to go buy it, but there is no medicine to buy.”

A city drowning in waste

The conditions at al-Taawun are a microcosm of a citywide collapse. Hamada Abu Laila, a university lecturer who helps administer the camp, warned of an “environmental catastrophe” exacerbated by the lack of sewage networks and drinking water across Gaza City.

But the problem goes deeper than a lack of aid. According to Husni Muhanna, spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality, the crisis is man-made. Israeli forces have blocked access to the Gaza Strip’s main landfill in the east, forcing the creation of hazardous temporary dumps in populated areas like Yarmouk and the historic Firas Market.

“More than 350,000 tonnes of solid waste are piling up inside Gaza City alone,” Muhanna told Al Jazeera in January.

He explained that the municipality is paralysed by a “complex set of obstacles”, including the destruction of machinery, severe fuel shortages and constant security risks. With interventions limited to primitive means, the municipality can no longer manage waste in accordance with health standards, leaving thousands of displaced families to sleep atop a toxic time bomb.

Sleeping next to a tank shell

The dangers in al-Taawun are not just biological. Rizq Abu Laila, displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya in the north, lives with his family next to an unexploded tank shell that lies among the rubbish bags and plastic sheets.

“We are living next to a dump full of snakes and stray cats,” Abu Laila said, pointing to the ordnance. “This is an unexploded shell right next to the tents. With the heat of the sun, it could explode at any moment. Where are we supposed to go with our children?”

His daughter, Shahd, is terrified of the pack of wild dogs that roam the dump at night. “I’m afraid of the dogs because they bark,” she whispered.

Widad Sobh, another resident, described the nights as a horror movie. “The dogs bang against the tent fabric. … They want to attack and eat. I stay up all night chasing them away.”

For Um Hamza, the daily struggle for survival has reached a breaking point.

“I swear by God, we eat bread after the rats have eaten from it,” she said, describing the desperate hunger in the camp. “All I ask is that they find us a better place, … a place away from the waste.”

EXCLUSIVE: Death in Paradise star Don Gilet has spoken out about new cast member Catherine Garton who plays Sergeant Mattie Fletcher

Death in Paradise’s detective Don Gilet, who portrays Mervin Wilson in the BBC series, has praised new police officer Catherine Garton, who takes on the role of Sergeant Mattie Fletcher.

Mattie is the latest addition to the Saint Marie force and steps into the shoes of Darlene Curtis, previously played by Ginny Holder. Ginny made a quiet exit from the show after only appearing via video link in the Christmas special.

In an exclusive chat with Reach PLC and other media outlets, Don discussed the upcoming series and his experience of welcoming a fresh face to the squad.

He began by stating that Darlene was not replaced, as “you cannot replace that character”. He elaborated, “It was just the new character coming in, just a completely different energy that we weren’t expecting.

“The arrival of Mattie surprises us all as characters, and she’s a very colourful and larger-than-life character as well. So it’s always great,” reports the Express.

“It’s just the same as when new characters come in per episode, it sort of keeps things fresh, keeps the characters on their toes, brings some new and different energy in with a new storyline to go with it.”

He continued, “And again, not giving too much away, but you find out things about Mattie bit by bit as she tries to connect with her colleagues, the same way I tried to connect with my colleagues, and it didn’t happen very easily.

“She’s a great character to work with, and there’s a rebelliousness to the character that Catherine brings, which in some ways is similar to the way that Mervin works.

“So I wonder if there’s just a little tinge of admiration for the way she works that is a bit unorthodox.”

The synopsis for tonight’s episode, available to stream on BBC iPlayer, states: “A reclusive pensioner is shot dead in his home, and a figure matching the description of an unassuming accountant was witnessed fleeing the crime scene.”

It continues: “However, the suspect has a rock-solid alibi. Meanwhile, the commissioner is determined to get the islanders back on side with a community-focused initiative, but tensions rise when Mervin goes rogue during the launch event.”

Death in Paradise airs on Friday at 9pm on BBC One.

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**

THERE’S a small town along the Essex coastline that’s one of the driest places in the country.

Shoeburyness has a lower annual rainfall average than the rest of the UK – not to mention it has two Blue Flag beaches and is just one hour away from London.

Thirteen minutes from Southend-on-Sea is the lesser-known coastal spot of Shoeburyness.

The town is home to around 22,000 people and is one of the driest places in the country.

Its position on the southeast coast means it gets less rainfall than other spots around the UK.

Shoeburyness records an average of between 526.78mm and 527mm of rain per year.

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In comparison, the average annual rainfall for the entire UK is 1,163mm – Shoeburyness receives less than half of that.

So, it’s no wonder that lots of people flock to the town to visit its two Blue Flag beaches; Shoebury Common and Shoebury East Beach.

Shoebury Common is a sand and shingle beach that’s popular with families during the summer.

But it’s not just bucket and spade friendly, or for paddling, though. It’s also a popular place to launch boats and jet-skis, and is good for kitesurfing too.

Up on the promenade are colourful beach huts, as well as Uncle Tom’s Cabin where visitors can grab an ice cream, soft drink or cup of tea.

Shoebury East Beach is further along the coast, and is set to undergo a £600,000 makeover this spring.

The new inclusive playground at Shoebury’s East Beach in Southend will have themed zones inspired by the sea.

There will be a sandpit, climbing areas and a submarine structure in the middle of the playground.

The playground will be open to all age groups and abilities and include wheelchair-accessible swings, roundabouts and sensory features.

The area surrounding East Beach had a new addition last summer with the Beach House Cafe opening next door to the East Beach Cafe and marking the completion of a £2million regeneration project.

One visitor to the Beach House said: “Love it here! Come for brunch every weekend, drive up from London. Lovely beach setting, food is fresh, tasty & lush!”

Last year, The Telegraph also named Shoeburyness as one of the top 20 destinations in Britain for the best secret and remote beaches.

The Telegraph stated: “Just three miles from the mayhem that is Southend in summer, Shoeburyness has two Blue Flag beaches that are far less well known.

“Its East Beach is the nicest and is popular with local paddleboarders and kitesurfers, thanks to its long strand of sand.”

The town was once even accessible on the London Underground – although it was never officially part of the network.

The District line ran seasonal, direct services to Shoeburyness via Southend between 1910 and 1939 – and was known as the ‘Southend Service’.

Those who want to visit Shoeburyness can still do so very easily from London by getting on a direct train from London Fenchurch Street.

The journey takes just one hour and one-way tickets are as little as £11.30.

If you head further into the town of Shoeburyness, you’ll find a Wetherspoon called Parson’s Barn.

There’s also a popular restaurant called The Angel Inn which earned itself a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award last year.

Here you can dig into sizzling fajitas from £15, burgers, mains like steak with chips and salmon with broccoli and paprika cous cous.

Speaking of which, on Tuesdays, The Angel Inn does Pie and Pint Night where you can get any pie and any drink from its menu from £17.

Shoebury Park is another popular spot, it stretches across 20 acres and is filled with green areas and ponds.

It also has a tennis court, basketball court, cricket pitch, bowling green, BMX trail track, skateboarding facilities, fishing lake, and a children’s playground.

For more on Southend – here’s how the coastal city has become cool with celeb visitors…

Southend-on-Sea has become an unlikely hot spot for some of the UK’s best-known TV personalities.

The Essex town has seen a surge in popularity, thanks to its colourful beach huts, award-winning hotels and stunning coastline.

Dubbed the British Miami by fans because of its long golden beaches, the town often welcomes celebrity visitors.

Fool Me Once actress Michelle Keegan spent her first Mother’s Day as a mum, at the Roslin Beach Hotel on Thorpe Bay.

On Sunday 30 March, Michelle was spotted there with her husband, Mark Wright and their new baby, Palma, as well as other family members including Jess Wright.

They aren’t the only ones; the Roslin Beach Hotel has also opened its doors to Gary Barlow, Tyson Fury, Denise van Outen, and TOWIE stars including Frankie Essex, who have all visited.

It was reported earlier last year that the hotel would undergo a £10million makeover. Currently, the Roslin Beach Hotel has 37 bedrooms, but with the extension, it will have an extra seven rooms.

They also want to add a spa, a new wedding venue, and add outdoor restaurant facilities.

For more on Essex, this is Britain’s smallest town that was named one of the coolest spots in the country with cosy pubs and coastal walks.

And here you can swap the Cotswolds for a less-crowded but equally quaint weekend in Essex’s most perfect market town.

Meg Whitman strode to the podium, cloaked in righteous indignation. Her husband stood silently by her side.

Just one day earlier, her former housekeeper had revealed that Whitman — the Republican candidate for governor with the tough talk on immigration — had employed an illegal worker for nine years.

Although she said she fired Nicandra Diaz Santillan after she heard about her housekeeper’s status, Whitman was in a no-win situation. Conservatives wondered why Whitman hadn’t turned “Nicky” over to authorities. Liberals bristled that the candidate hadn’t helped this “member of our extended family” find an attorney.

After a 45-minute barrage of questions, the always-on-message candidate finally delivered her main talking points: “We have to secure the borders. We have to hold employers accountable. We’ve got to eliminate sanctuary cities. And we’ve got to get a temporary guestworker program so people like Nicky can work here legally.”

The dueling news conferences that week — Whitman vs. Diaz Santillan and her attorney, Gloria Allred —were remarkable for more than their political repercussions. Salted between housekeeper tears and candidate bluster were as many details as had ever been known about the closely guarded private life of the billionaire who aspires to be governor.

Whitman has spent a lifetime in business, shepherding, protecting and selling some of America’s most valuable brands: Ivory soap, Keds, Mr. Potato Head, EBay. For the last 19 months, she has burnished her own brand — using more than $141 million of her personal fortune in the process.

Her money has made Whitman a ubiquitous presence in California living rooms, her aristocratic tones wafting out of television sets in an unprecedented barrage of ads. It has allowed her to largely avoid the spontaneity that gets novice politicians into trouble. Campaign stops tend to be by invitation only, or photo ops, like her recent stint as NASCAR grand marshal: “Gentlemen, start your engines!”

The former EBay chief is running on resume, not biography, to an extent rarely seen in modern politics. At a time when candidates’ extended families gambol on stage, and cameras are invited to watch them ski, fish and barbecue, Whitman’s is still largely unknown.

The candidate is married to Dr. Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV; his silent cameo in Santa Monica was a rare appearance on his wife’s behalf. The Stanford University neurosurgeon has given just one interview in their 30-year marriage. Whitman’s sister and brother have neither spoken nor appeared for her. Ditto, her two grown sons. Despite repeated requests, the campaign did not make Whitman available for an interview.

As a result Californians have learned more about Whitman from campaign crises and court cases than they have from the candidate’s own telling: For most of her adult life, she did not vote. She has a temper that can flare under pressure. Her primary residence and household staff are modest by billionaires’ standards: 3,700 square feet in tony Atherton for the first, a part-time housekeeper, landscape and pool service for the second.

Whitman and her campaign staff “refuse to relinquish any kind of control over the candidate, her image and her message,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a USC political analyst. “They can afford to; they have all the money in the Western world.… When her people don’t have control, there is danger there.”

It’s not as if Margaret Cushing Whitman’s 54 years haven’t had their share of personal drama. But there are stories she tells on the campaign trail — and ones she doesn’t.

Whitman was raised in wealthy Lloyd Harbor, N.Y., the youngest of three children. Her 6-foot 8-inch father, Hendricks Hallett Whitman, was a World War II veteran who worked in the financial industry. But it was her stay-at-home mother, Margaret C. Whitman, whom the candidate describes as her inspiration, a woman blessed with a “bias for action.”

Whitman actually talks as much about her mother’s personal life as her own.

In the depths of World War II, Whitman’s Boston-born mother wanted to do her share. She ended up in New Guinea with the Red Cross fixing airplane and jeep engines — though she had never popped a hood in her life.

“What that story really told me as a little girl was the price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake,” Whitman said at a recent campaign event. “That you have to try things that you’re not sure you can do.”

Buried deep in Whitman’s recent book, past 200 pages of corporate bromides (Be frugal. Be authentic. Results matter.) are two tales that do not make the campaign-trail cut: the story of her own birth defect and of her sister Anne’s struggle with mental illness.

Tall, patrician and athletic today, Whitman was born with dysplasia; her left hip lacked a socket. Doctors discovered the condition shortly after she was born, and she spent her toddler years strapped in a metal brace that helped mold a socket.

The treatment worked, and Whitman gravitated toward sports. She was captain of the swim team at Cold Harbor High School, where she graduated a year early. At Princeton University, where she was in only the fourth class to admit women, she played lacrosse and squash.

Stories of overcoming hardship are staples for most candidates, but Whitman eschews the emotional in favor of pragmatic connections to her audiences. Her campaign pays particular attention to women voters, and the candidate regularly reminds audiences that she would be the first woman governor. But she spends little time talking about the difficulties of balancing home and family and whether she shared those problems.

At a campaign event last month, a member of the audience asked Whitman: “Does being a woman and a mother give you a different perspective on running this state, and if so, how?” Her answer? Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter.

“In the end, as all the women in this audience know and all the men, you have to deliver the results, don’t you?” she responded. “And that’s what I did in my business career, and that is what I will do as governor.”

Whitman argues that her corporate experience makes her uniquely qualified to run a place as complex as California. And she offers up her decade at online auction giant EBay as exhibit A for why voters should choose her over Brown.

But between consulting firm Bain & Co, one of her first jobs out of business school, where she said she learned to be a corporate “all-around athlete,” and EBay, which she boasts grew from 30 to 15,000 employees during her tenure, there was FTD. In her book she describes her two years there in the mid-1990s as “probably the most frustrating and, ultimately, least satisfying executive experience in my career.”

When Whitman arrived, the member-owned association of florists had just been bought by an investor group and turned into a for-profit company. To service the debt, the company had to be immediately profitable, but many of the association’s florists had decamped to the competition.

“I finally quit that job,” she wrote, telling the arbitrageur who bought FTD: “ ‘This company is not fixable, at least by me.’ ”

Whitman wasn’t the only one who rued her time at the Southfield, Mich., headquarters.

Peggy Thompson, her assistant, recalled that FTD administration had been segregated in an isolated executive wing. Whitman shut that down and “moved us in with everyone else. We thought, ‘That’s really awesome. She wants us to be one team.’ But she didn’t have anything to do with us. She didn’t like us…. She was the worst boss I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some winners.”

Nearly a year into her stint at FTD, Whitman was sued for age discrimination by a 55-year-old technology executive named David M. Carlson, whom she fired and replaced with a 39-year-old, a man her age.

At a strategy session shortly before Carlson was let go, Whitman said the company needed “about fifteen killer young executives,” according to court documents. When FTD’s head of government affairs suggested that she not use the word “young” and probably didn’t mean it, she replied: “Actually, I do.”

The suit ended in a confidential settlement. Carlson could not be reached for comment.

It was EBay, of course, that Whitman helped make a household name, and the quirky online auction company returned the favor with wealth and opportunity. In the course of a decade, two brands were born.

No campaign appearance or debate is complete without at least a taste of her EBay experience. As she noted during the final debate: “I ended up running one of the great Internet success stories…. I was a job creator.”

Her tenure earned her accolades. Harvard Business Review named her one of the top performing CEOs of the past decade; Fortune magazine put her on its list of the Top Five most powerful women.

Maynard Webb, whom she wooed to the company to rebuild its faulty computer system after a 22-hour outage, calls her “the best boss and leader that I ever had.”

He saw her push the company to expand outside of North America, and “today international is over 50% of EBay’s revenues.” And he remembers the day in 2001 when the system again broke down. First the primary system failed, then the backups.

The site was down for hours, leaving buyers and sellers paralyzed. Even after the outage ended, time-consuming technical cleanup followed.

“Meg stayed with the team, made sure it was all OK,” Webb recounted. “She left at 2 a.m. This was the kind of leader she was.”

But her tenure was not without controversy. She pushed the company into a string of acquisitions. Some, like PayPal, were successes. Others, like Skype and Butterfield & Butterfield, were widely panned. Her last three years at the company coincided with slowing growth and a faltering stock price.

In 2007, while being prepped for an interview with Reuters, Whitman became angry with a communications aide, uttered an expletive and shoved the young woman.

The incident led to a confidential settlement in which Young Mi Kim reportedly received $200,000. At first the campaign sought to portray the matter as a “verbal dispute,” but Whitman later acknowledged that she had laid hands on Kim.

“Sometimes,” she said, “these things happen.”

Whitman never planned to go into business or politics. Her ambition to become a medical doctor was derailed by a collision with organic chemistry; she opted for business after selling ads for a student magazine called Business Today.

Her shift to politics came at the request of Mitt Romney, who had been her mentor at Bain. Romney asked her to help him run for president; she raised millions for him. When he dropped out of the 2008 race, she shifted her support to John McCain. Forever the marketer, she also came up with his slogan: “Country first.”

Her own venture into politics left many to wonder why the deeply private Whitman would open herself up to the scrutiny of campaigning. Introducing her to his employees at Cisco Systems recently, Chief Executive John Chambers asked her if a particular event pushed her to run because, “as a friend, I worry.”

An hour or so later, Whitman would make her first remarks about her housekeeper. But she made no mention of that in responding to Chambers. Characteristically impersonal, Whitman recalled a meeting at EBay, where the company’s executive team rued how hard it was for businesses to function here. Today, she told Chambers, she wants to change that.

“I remember my executive team sitting in a conference room,” she recounted. “And I said, ‘If we were going to start EBay again, would we start it in California?’ And you know, I’m not sure the answer to that is ‘Yes.’ ”

maria.laganga@latimes.com

England were given another major fright but held off tournament debutants Italy by 24 runs to secure a place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup.

After England posted 202-7, Italy threatened to pull off the greatest shock in World Cup history in pursuit – a result which would have left Harry Brook’s side facing an embarrassing group-stage exit.

Ben Manenti crashed 60 from 28 balls to take Italy within 89 of victory and, after his wicket became the first of four in quick succession, 31-year-old Grant Stewart thrashed a 45 from 25 balls to keep the contest very much alive.

Italy needed 30 from the last 12 balls but Sam Curran had Stewart caught at short third.

With 25 runs needed from the last over and two wickets in hand, Jamie Overton wrapped up the innings to leave Italy 178 all out.

But it was another unconvincing day for England, who progress after a final-ball win over Nepal, a defeat by West Indies and two nervy wins against Scotland and Italy.

Even in making their highest total of the tournament so far, they were not convincing with the bat.

They were 105-5 before Will Jacks hit 53 not out from number seven. It was his first fifty in T20 internationals and, coming in 21 balls, England’s quickest at a T20 World Cup.

The result eliminates Italy, whose tournament ends in Mumbai on Thursday against West Indies.

England’s Super 8 opponents are still to be confirmed but they will play that phase in Sri Lanka, starting on Sunday, and surely must improve to have any chance.

Feb. 16 (UPI) — The lone surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach shooting, in which 15 Jewish people were killed and 40 were injured, made his first court appearance in Sydney on Monday on murder and terrorism charges.

Naveed Akram, 24, appeared in court via video-link from Goulburn supermax prison to face 59 charges related to the Dec. 14 attack on a gathering to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, including 15 counts of murder and one of carrying out a terror attack.

Akram is accused of carrying out the attack alongside his 50-year-old father, Sajid Arkram, who was shot dead at the scene by police who also shot Naveed, seriously injuring him.

Naveed Akram did not enter a plea and was asked only to confirm he understood the extension of a court order suppressing the identities of survivors of the attack who do not wish to be named in court.

After the brief hearing at Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court, criminal defense attorney Ben Archbold refused to answer questions as to how his client would plead, saying it was too early to say.

Court documents detail several videos, including one taken on one of their mobile phones in which the pair are allegedly seen undergoing firearms training at a rural location somewhere in New South Wales. Police allege the footage shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner.”

Another video on Naveed Akram’s phone shows the pair allegedly posing with an Islamic State flag and long-arm firearms, in which they are allegedly heard making “a number of statements regarding their motivation for the Bondi attack and condemning the acts of ‘Zionists.'”

The documents allege the attack was “meticulously” planned over a period of months with CCTV footage also showing the pair carrying out a reconnaissance mission to Bondi on Dec. 12, in which they scoped out the footbridge from which they are alleged to have opened fire on around 1,000 people gathered in Archer Park two days later.

The pair is also alleged to have thrown several IEDs at the crowd, including a “tennis ball bomb,” but none of them detonated, according to the court documents.

Naveed and Sajid Akram spent most of November in an area of the southern Philippines known for Islamist militants, but authorities have said their investigations thus far indicate they acted alone and did not receive training or “logistical preparation” assistance there, as originally feared.

Naveed Akram is next scheduled to appear in court in April.

FEBRUARY half-term is already here and you might be looking at the week ahead thinking – what do I do with the kids?

Well, many places across the UK are hosting special half-term events and activities at no cost.

With so many different activities you can ensure the kids will have fun without having to spend any money.

The Super Duper Family Festival, Manchester

The Super Duper Family Festival starts on February 18 and runs through until February 21.

Across four days, families can explore Manchester‘s public spaces that will be transformed into free Play Zones with games, dancing, activities, crafts, movies and performances.

For example, The Carnival zone will feature a Victorian carousel, Hook a Duck, Spin the Wheel, a Coconut Shy and Ferris Wheel Hoopla.

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Family Day: impasto studio, National Portrait Gallery, London

On February 17, families can head to the National Portrait Gallery between 11am and 4pm for fun-filled activities.

Between 11am and 1pm and 2pm and 4pm, families can take part in a sketcher’s session, where you get to make your own sketchbook.

At the same times, there will be two relaxed workshops where you can draw from still lives.

Or head to animal attire, to draw and collage an animal accessory to wear.

Across the day there are also free activity trails to explore.

Pancake Day races, various

This year, Pancake Day falls within the half-term holidays which is ideal to enjoy some pancake-themed fun.

For example, you could head to Leadenhall Market in London to see the Pancake Race at 12:30pm, where teams of four run a 20 metre relay flipping pancakes.

In Devon, you could head to Dartmouth between 2:30pm and 4pm to see an afternoon of pan-flips.

There is also pancake making of course…

Search ‘Pancake Day race near me’ to find your local event.

February Festival, Blackpool

Between February 19 and 22, there will be a festival of circus, live entertainment and family activities in Blackpool.

Events include Elton Wrong, who will be roaming the town centre with his mobile white piano.

There will be dancers on the streets too such as ballerinas.

Railway family fun day, Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire

On February 16, Clitheroe Castle Museum is hosting a family fun day to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway.

Across the day, there will be hands-on fun, creative activities and immersive railway heritage.

At the castle, visitors will be able to see a working ‘Rock and Roll’ model railway, meet Lancashire children’s author Susan Brownrigg who will read extracts from her book Wrong Tracks, play train spotting games and decorate your own train wagon.

In addition, there’s the ‘Tracks of Life: Trains, People and Place’ exhibition, which celebrates the life and work of Ken Roberts (1928–2024) who was a local railway enthusiast and photographer.

Nottinghamshire Festival of Science & Curiosity

Nottinghamshire Festival of Science & Curiosity returns for another half-term full of activities.

Running until February 20, you can get involved in a number of different activities that are designed to inspire curiosity and imagination.

These include geology workshops, bath bomb making, Lunar New Year celebrations and Lego sessions.

Ikea events, various

Ikea is a great day out in itself, but did you know each store often hosts free events too?

For example, you could head to the Hammersmith store this week for Lunar New Year Fun sessions.

Or perhaps visit Ikea Exeter for spring flower garden canvas painting.

Just head to Ikea’s website and then to the events section and explore the activities at the store near you.

Seven Stories – The National Centre for Children’s Books, Newcastle

If your kids love reading and are good with their imagination, then head to Seven Stories – the UK’s National Centre for Children’s Books.

Inside, visitors can explore children’s stories through exhibitions, performances and workshops.

Cotswolds Designer Outlet

Across this week, the Cotswolds Designer Outlet will have special guests from Scrubditch Care Farm.

Kids can meet therapy farm animals, which include baby lambs and goats.

There will also be a farmyard trail where little ones can spot colourful animals around the shopping outlet.

There’s an indoor soft play area and adventure playground too.

Waterstones stores treasure hunts, various

Over this half-term, Waterstones stores across the country host scavenger and treasure hunts.

For example, at Waterstones York Monks Cross, there are events themed on Winnie the Pooh’s 100th birthday.

Every day at 11am there will be a storytime session, then there are themed colouring sessions and a picture hunt as well.

Or at Waterstones Carlisle you can browse the bookshelves to try and find Dav Pilkey’s Dogman.

For more inspiration on things to do during half-term, here’s 12 of the best free or budget activities across the UK to keep the kids busy in half term.

Plus, here’s how to have a fun half term entirely for FREE – from tennis lessons to kids’ meals and epic days out at the zoo.

Have you had a memorable family adventure? A trip where you stepped outside your comfort zone and tried something new together? Whether it’s a family backpacking trip, completing a long-distance hike, bike or canoe trail, wild camping, youth hostelling or trying out a new activity, we’d love to hear from you.

The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet wins a £200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property – the company has more than 3,000 worldwide. The best tips will appear in the Guardian Travel section and website.

Keep your tip to about 100 words

If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words we will be judging for the competition.

We’re sorry, but for legal reasons you must be a UK resident to enter this competition.

The competition closes on Monday 23 February at 10am GMT

Have a look at our past winners and other tips

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A 15-day-old baby lost her father in Israel’s latest violation of the Gaza ‘ceasefire’ during attacks that killed at least 11 Palestinians in 48 hours.

KATIE Price and her new husband Lee have insisted they’re the “strongest” and most “beautiful” couple they know as they revealed their plans to return to the UK.

The former glamour model, 47, tied the knot with the businessman in a secret ceremony last month and they’re currently on their honeymoon in Dubai, where he lives full time.

Lee Andrews was supposed to come to UK a few weeks ago but he claimed he was forced to delay his flight to look at properties for the pair to live in.

While fans of Katie were convinced it was because he wasn’t allowed to leave the country, we revealed Katie has put a deposit down on a pad in the UAE.

The loved-up pair have now revealed their both returning to the UK and it could be very soon.

Katie said: “So yeah we’re still in Dubai and we are coming to England very soon.

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Lee replied: “Within a day right?”

Katie added: “Watch out England we’re coming for you.”

The star’s Walter Mitty-like husband shared a snap of the couple holding hands with the caption: “The strongest and most beautiful couple we know.”

Katie recently leapt to her man’s defence hitting out at “snakes” and “bitter people” amid rumours of Lee being a con-man.

She took to Instagram to post a furious message in defence of her new husband.

A loved up Katie added text to a clip which read: “@wesleeeandrews has given me more love more security more respect.

“And proven that everything that’s been said about him is absolute BS by bitter people and snakes in all areas.”

The Sun revealed how the self-proclaimed businessman lives a ‘Walter Mitty’ style existence in Dubai.

Lee was accused of using artificial intelligence to fake images of himself with tech billionaire Elon Musk and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

He also claimed on his LinkedIn profile to have been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015.

But a Labour source said: “We don’t have a board of advisors and he doesn’t work with us.”

Two of Lee’s exes also sent Katie stark warnings to stay away with one, Alana, telling her to “run for the hills.”

Despite Lee’s life seemingly unravelling the pair still seem set on moving into a home together.

Lee posted a mock-up of the lavish property on social media, which included his & her’s cars, rooms their for kids and their parents.

The room labelled “kids” comes amid recent hints that the former glamour model might be pregnant.

Lee and Katie’s dream home plans have emerged despite concern over their quickfire marriage from those closest to Katie.

After some 150 students walked out of Redlands schools early this month in support of immigrants they were dealt an unexpected consequence: a temporary suspension of school privileges as administrators enforced rules that forbid them from leaving a classroom without permission.

The punishment — the loss of access to sports, dances, performances and other school events — in a school system with a conservative-majority governing board stands in sharp contrast to the positive reception that student activism has received in some other California school systems, including Los Angeles Unified School District.

The disparate actions show how school officials throughout various states and school systems — in blue and red regions — have been dealing with a wave of student walkouts that began in late January as part of national protests over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

Redlands school officials said the suspension of privileges will remain in place until a student satisfies certain conditions, such as attending a session of Saturday school or performing four hours of community service.

“The superintendent’s message is consistent: We care deeply about our students, and we recognize that many young people are dealing and engaging with issues they see in the news and in their community,” said district Public Information Officer Christine Stephens. “Students have the right to express themselves peacefully. At the same time, the district must uphold its responsibility to maintain a safe, supervised learning environment during the school day.”

Districts that expressed support for students’ free-speech rights included those in San Francisco and Sacramento. In Palo Alto, district officials worked with schools to make sure students could carry out their announced walkout safely.

L.A. Unified officials have not set districtwide penalties for walkouts — and its leaders align with the students’ anti-ICE critique. Supt. Alberto Carvalho, an immigrant himself, has pledged to do all in the district’s power to maintain schools as sanctuaries for children of immigrant families — and activists patrol outside schools to help ensure safe passage to campus for parents and students.

At the same time, LAUSD educators have encouraged students to stay on campus for safety reasons. In L.A. there were reports of physical confrontations between officers and protesters after students walked out on Feb. 5 and on Feb. 13, when three federal agents were injured after some in the crowd threw objects at them.

State and education leaders in Texas and Florida outlined significant consequences for students and educators related to student walkouts. In Texas, state leaders have talked about possible suspension and expulsion for students, dismissal for educators and state takeovers for school districts.

The ACLU of Georgia sent a letter Jan. 29 expressing concerns to the Cobb County School District after it threatened out-of-school suspension, loss of parking and extracurricular privileges and warned of college admissions consequences for participation in walkouts.

The ACLU warned that the school system would be acting illegally if walkout participants were singled out for especially harsh treatment based on their viewpoints.

The young activists

Student high school activists — in Redlands and elsewhere — said they are willing to face consequences, if necessary, to stand up for what they believe by protesting the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“As organizers, it’s expected for us to take the first wave of retaliation,” said Redlands High School senior Jax Hardy. “So while we would be very disappointed in the district for doing such a thing, for us, it’s important to exercise our free speech rights to oppose a government that is encroaching on our human rights.”

Student leaders see their protests as a civics lesson in action.

“It’s necessary to act, because, if we don’t, who knows how things will escalate further,” said Redlands High junior Aya F, who goes by her last initial rather than her full legal name. “So that’s why we feel it’s important for us to stage this walkout.”

Redlands is about 60 miles east of downtown L.A. and enrolls about 20,000 students. In November 2024 a conservative majority was elected to the five-person Redlands Board of Education, aligning the board with key policies of the Trump administration. Redlands joined a handful of ideologically similar California boards in approving policies that would allow parents to challenge library books with sexual content and prohibit display of the rainbow pride flag, which is associated with the LGBTQ+ community.

But the district stated that its actions on the walkouts have no ideology attached.

“The district’s response is not based on the viewpoint, theme or content of a student’s expression,” Stephens said.

Students walk out despite punishment

Some Redlands students organized another walkout Friday and organizers said they expected representation from students at seven middle and high schools. Many showed up from Redlands High School. They carried “Stop ICE” signs and Mexican flags and blew whistles as they made a 15-minute trek to a downtown intersection that some refer to as “Peace Corner.”

“I haven’t seen this many people in Redlands do anything ever,” said sophomore James Bojado, who also said that, for days, administrators had attempted to dissuade students with threats of discipline.

Several Redlands police vehicles patrolled the rally area, slowly rolling by.

A man in a sun hat shouted: “Why don’t you fly the American flag? Are you ashamed of America?”

“Leave us alone!” a chorus responded.

“My mom and my dad are immigrants,” said sophomore Carmen Robles. “Why deport families that care about America back to where they came from?”

At the rally, student demands included an ironclad district commitment that ICE will never be allowed on campus. Students also called for the abolition of ICE and spoke of wanting the school board to rescind what they regard as anti-LGBTQ+ policies. These include the flag ban and the book restriction policy.

During the Friday Redlands rally, there were a few tense minutes when a student in a MAGA hat was pelted by water bottles. The student spoke to police but also said he wasn’t hurt.

A person wearing a MAGA hat gets water and pizza thrown at him during a student walkout and protest in Redlands.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Adult volunteers were on hand with the goal of keeping things safe and positive. Parent Toni Belcher said that students have a right to be heard.

“I’m happy to see all these kids trying to get their voice to matter,” Belcher said. “If it doesn’t now, it will. … They’re starting early.”

What the law says

The right of students to express themselves begins with the U.S. Constitution.

“You do not lose your right to free speech just by walking into school,” according to guidance from the American Civil Liberties Union. “You have the right to speak out, hand out flyers and petitions and wear expressive clothing in school — as long as you don’t disrupt the functioning of the school or violate the school’s content-neutral policies.”

A walkout, however, could be treated as a disruption. But greater punishment cannot be applied based on the nature of the views expressed.

Redlands Unified believes it is complying with that legal standard.

California law offers some additional protection for student protests, but it’s not unlimited.

A California law, which took effect in 2023, allows a middle or high school student to miss one day of school per year as an excused absence for a “civic or political event.” This includes, but is not limited to, “voting, poll-working, strikes, public-commenting, candidate speeches, political or civic forums and town halls.”

The bill’s author, then-state Sen. Connie Leyva, said at the time that the law “emphasizes the importance of getting students more involved in government and their community by prioritizing student opportunities for civic learning and engagement both within and outside their education.”

One caveat is that the law requires that “the pupil notifies the school ahead of the absence.”

Students exercising this right must be allowed to make up missed schoolwork without penalty. There are potential gray areas — such as whether a large-scale school walkout — which organizers intend to be dramatic — would fall outside this protection because students don’t formally check out, for example.

One Redlands parent said he notified the school that his son had permission to take part in an earlier walkout after the walkout. But his son was still penalized because, the parent said, he was not allowed to grant permission for his son retroactively.

State law does require advance notice, but it does not say parental permission is required for that one protected civic activity day per year. The law also stipulates that schools, at their discretion, can allow additional excused absences for civic participation.

The parent, who did not want to be named out of concern for retaliation, said his son was placed on a “No-Go List” for extracurricular activities and events.

The Irish Rugby Football Union had to turn off comments on a social media post which congratulated debutant Edwin Edogbo, following replies which contained racial abuse.

Munster forward Edogbo came off the bench and played the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s 20-13 victory over Italy in the Six Nations.

The IRFU confirmed in a statement that the comments made on the social media post on Saturday are now subject to investigation.

“We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with Signify and the relevant authorities to report it,” the full IRFU statement read.

“We will also continue to fully support all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are under way alongside our partners Signify.

“It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero tolerance policy towards racism of any form.”

The 23-year-old lock has made 24 appearances for Munster and has registered 30 points.

After that nervy victory on Saturday, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell praised the debutant’s contribution in his post-match news conference.

“Well, we need to celebrate Edwin’s first cap, that is for sure as it is one amazing story,” Farrell said.

“I am so pleased we were able to get a win and show some fight to get a win for him because his story is a phenomenal one so we will celebrate that with him.”

One airline has launched an incredible family deal that will see children aged up to 11 fly free to a European hotspot this summer. Make sure you don’t miss out on the offer

Plenty of us are daydreaming about a family summer holiday after the miserable conditions we’ve been battling lately, and if you’re itching to whisk the kids off for a European coastal adventure, you’ll want to listen up as one airline has launched an absolutely brilliant offer on flights.

Aegean Airlines is currently running a superb travel promotion for families, allowing youngsters to jet off to a European destination without paying a penny. The news was shared on Instagram by baby travel guru Diana, who posts under the handle @babylifewithdiana. She shared a reel with her 79,800 followers, showcasing clips from a gloriously sunny family holiday.

Text across the screen read: “Every parent needs to know this!

“Kids fly for free in Greece in 2026.”

Expanding on this in the caption, she wrote: “Forget everything what you’re doing! Aegean Airlines has launched an amazing offer for families.

“Kids will travel free to Greece this summer.”

However, there are a few strings attached if you’re hoping to snap up this bargain.

Bookings need to be made by February 19th, 2026 and you’ll need to jet off between March 1st, 2026, and November 30th, 2026.

The offer is valid for youngsters up to 11-years-old.

Through this promotion, children and babies fly at no cost, whilst other family members bag up to 30% off their tickets.

The Aegean Airlines offer is valid across all direct and connecting flights to and from any international or Greek destination. The announcement sparked excitement amongst users, racking up more than 3,000 likes.

One person enthused: “What a deal,” whilst another added: “On our bucket list.”

Which Greek destination works best for families with kids?

Greece makes for a brilliant family getaway suitable for youngsters of every age – offering gorgeous beaches, safe bathing spots, engaging pursuits, cultural experiences, and delicious food all wrapped up in glorious sunshine. Here are some top picks for a family-friendly Greek escape:.

Crete

• Greece’s biggest island boasting golden sandy shores and tranquil shallow waters ideal for youngsters.
• Plenty of family-oriented activities: boat excursions, water parks, gentle walks, and historic attractions like Knossos.
• Accommodation and hotels frequently feature kids’ clubs, splash pools, and family suites.
• Perfect if you’re after diversity and an extended break with abundant exploration opportunities.

Corfu

• Renowned for gentle, secure beaches with shallow waters, Corfu is perfect for tiny tots.
• Family highlights include Aqualand Waterpark offering slides suitable for all age groups.
• Picturesque towns, seafood tavernas, and convenient transport links make getting about straightforward.
• Ideal for families seeking both seaside entertainment and cultural landmarks.

Rhodes

• Blends medieval settlements and kid-friendly beaches like Faliraki with ample room for play.
• Pursuits in Rhodes include wildlife farm visits, aquariums, and straightforward day-trips across the island.
• Excellent if your children enjoy combining history with coastal adventures.
• Naxos Long sandy beaches with shallow water near towns like Naxos Town (very walkable).
• Less crowded than some islands but still plenty of tavernas and activities.
• Perfect for a relaxed holiday, especially with younger children.

Zante

• Beautiful sandy shores in places like Tsilivi and Alykanas with shallow water.
• Chance to see loggerhead sea turtles in the National Marine Park – exciting for kids.
• Great if your family enjoys nature and wildlife.

New US court documents reveal ties between a key figure behind the Oslo Accords and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including financial links and visa favours. The revelations have sparked political fallout in Norway and renewed scrutiny of the Palestinian peace process’s legacy. Al Jazeera’s Nour Hegazy explains.

Anti-abortion groups are promoting ‘baby boxes’ in the US, facilities where vulnerable mothers can surrender their newborns anonymously. Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle explains the initiative.

Corrie fans joked ‘someone is getting fired’ after the groundbreaking flashforward episode was uploaded to YouTube on Friday, giving away vital details ahead of tonight’s show

Bosses at Coronation Street were left reeling after accidentally leaking tonight’s flashforward episode days before the top secret show was due to air.

Fans were stunned after finding out which five characters are in the firing line early, with one set to be murdered in April. This morning, Corrie put out the names of those at risk of a grisly death as the identities of the ITV soap’s stars who could meet their end were announced.

Groomer Megan Walsh, manipulative Theo Silverton and family-wrecker Carl Webster could soon be getting their comeuppance with quirky landlady Maggie Driscoll and suspicious newcomer Jodie Ramsey also picked as possible murder victims. But some viewers found out days ago.

The programme, which is set to air tonight, was briefly uploaded on the YouTube on Friday before being hauled offline. It didn’t go unnoticed as one fan took to X to write: “Someone at Corrie leaking Mondays episode on a Friday afternoon oh dear someone’s getting fired.”

The groundbreaking episode begins with a police interview taking place on April 23. A a shocked and Betsy Swain is seen telling detectives about finding the dead body of someone she knows.

Dressed in wedding clothes, the cop’s daughter explains that she had been at the marriage of her mum Lisa Swain to Carla Connor, but was heading into town when she made the shocking discovery. As the episode returns to the present day we begin to see how the behaviour of the five characters could lead to their possible death two months later.

Twisted teacher Megan is caught up in a web of lies as she continues to groom impressionable teen Will Driscoll. Doing anything to protect her family, Maggie gives a fake alibi for Will to stop him being charged with the Christmas Day attack on Daniel Osbourne.

Carl has burnt all his bridges when he let Debbie take the blame for the Corriedale accident which saw Billy Mayhew perish. Since finding out Debbie is actually his mum and not his sister, Carl has pressed the self-destruct button and as he continues to goad both family and neighbours – he would have no shortage of people looking to settle a score.

Theo’s coercive control over Todd has reached new lows and with their wedding looming, will Todd finally confide in his friends about what has been going on before it is too late?

Despite initial reservations, the Platts have welcomed Shona’s estranged sister Jodie Ramsey into their home. But Jodie has been keeping secrets from them, and it seems she has got mixed up with some pretty shady characters in her past. Will trouble follow Jodie to Weatherfield, or could she upset people closer to home with her behaviour?

As the episode comes to a close we flash forward again to April 23 and the five characters are on the cobbles as Lisa and Carla’s wedding fireworks light up the night sky.

As the lights flicker a battered and bruised Carl, frantic Jodie, a menacing Maggie, a bloody-nosed Megan and a furtive Theo stare into the darkness. In the final moments the terrified scream of Betsy Swain fills the air – but which Weatherfield resident will be the murder victim?

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

A BUDGET hotel chain with self-serve bars and private pod rooms is looking to open in the UK.

There’s talk of the brand, LyLo, opening several sites across the country, and it has its sights set on Southwark in London.

Hotels in the city, and across most of the UK can be expensive – but if it opens in the UK LyLo is set to be very affordable.

Its ethos is ‘lower prices and higher comfort at the centre of everything’.

If priced like they are in Australia and New Zealand, a stay in a pod could cost as little as £20.24 (AUD$39).

LyLo promises fuss-free check-in, on-site drinks and eats, WiFi, workspaces, and spaces to play encouraging guests to socialise with various events.

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Some of current pod hotels even have rooftop spots where guests are welcome to relax and play games.

LyLo also holds events like welcome drinks, pop-up dinners, local tours, surprise gigs, wellness activities and film screenings.

Some of the LyLo hotels like the ones in New Zealand’s Queenstown and Australia’s Brisbane, even have their own self-pour cocktail and beer wall.

Guests have to show ID to the bar manager, load up their hotel card, then tap and pour – when the balance runs low, just top up and carry on.

Visitors can help themselves to lager, beer, cider and even cocktails like espresso martinis on tap.

For those who need some peace and quiet for work, the hotel also offers a range of ‘quiet spaces’.

Each hotel has a kitchen fully kitted out with ovens, microwaves, fridges, freezers and plenty of cutlery.

At the current sites, guests can either stay in self-contained pods or private rooms.

Visitors can rent out a self-contained pod with a king size mattress, USB charging port and WiFi.

These pods are within a shared room which can sleep up to 10 guests – so each cabin comes with its own privacy screen.

There’s also the option for a female-only space.

Guests can also opt for a private room, or an ensuite room which comes with private bathroom facilities.

If travelling with a number of travellers, there’s also an option to book out a full room of pods for one large group.

LyLo managing director Tim Alpe said: “We are thrilled to introduce LyLo to Europe, with London as the perfect city to launch our first property.

“Our innovative pod hotel concept has already proven successful in New Zealand and Australia, and we are confident that the European market will embrace our unique blend of affordability and community-focused design.

“London’s dynamic and diverse traveller base makes it an ideal location to begin this exciting new chapter, and we look forward to bringing LyLo’s fresh approach to hospitality to the city.”

The brand currently operates 608 pods across New Zealand and Australia.

Here’s another cheap pod hotel that’s already opened in London…

Travel Writer Helen Wright recently spent the night in London’s newest pod hotel – Zedwell – here’s how it went…

“Zedwell is one of the city’s newest hotels to open, right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus. Being so central, you can normally expect hotels to have high prices – the nearby Ritz and the W Hotel can command nightly rates of £500 or more.

“Not Zedwell – the new hotel claims to be the world’s biggest capsule hotel, and with that, comes the small price of just £30 a night. That definitely makes it the cheapest hotel room in the city (unless you want to bunk up in an 18-bed dorm).

“Inside, decked out with a modern concrete and timber design, there are nearly 1,000 individual sleep capsules over five floors. Guests use an iPad to self-check in, before being directed to one of the correct floor and room.

“Each dorm needs a key card to access, too, so you can only enter the dorm you are assigned, which definitely makes it feel secure. It’s a twist on the traditional ‘dorm style’ hostel set up as each guest gets privacy and security of being tucked up in your capsule, with the ability to lock it from the inside. 

“Inside, I was surprised to find a cute little space, with mood lighting and welcoming interiors. Each capsule is made from oak and come with a single Hypnos mattress, Egyptian cotton bedding, individual mini aircon or heat, smart climate control, noise reduction, and ambient lighting.

“There is also a plug socket inside, two USB plugs and a mirror.  Make sure to bring your own padlock too, so you can lock your pod if you plan on going out (although reception let you buy them on-site as well).

“There are clean common areas, which felt more adult then teen-backpacker, which includes a lounge and co-working space. I was impressed with how clean the communal bathroom and toilet area as well, with light jazz music playing overhead.”

For more budget hotels that are currently open in the UK, check out the new 532-room that’s just opened in one of the priciest tourist destinations.

And one writer reveals how she takes her family on city breaks all over the UK – and stays at this budget accommodation for just £6 each night.

The provided text is a digital excerpt from the Occasional Digest that focuses on the significance of Family Day, a Canadian provincial holiday observed in February. It explains that this day allows the majority of the Canadian population a break from work to prioritize personal relationships. The source highlights that Alberta pioneered the holiday in 1990 under Premier Don Getty, who reportedly introduced it following a private family crisis. Beyond this local history, the page serves as a broader news aggregator, displaying headlines regarding international politics, religious events like Ramadan, and entertainment updates. Collectively, the document functions as a current events snapshot from … 

President Trump and his allies are questioning ballot security. Democrats are warning of unconstitutional federal intervention. Experts and others are raising concerns about partisan redistricting and federal immigration agents intimidating people at the polls.

Voter trust in the upcoming midterm elections, meanwhile, has dropped off sharply, and across party lines, according to new research by the UC San Diego Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections.

Out of 11,406 eligible voters surveyed between mid-December and mid-January, just 60% said they were confident that midterm votes will be counted fairly — down from 77% who held such confidence in vote counting shortly after the 2024 presidential election.

Shifts in voter confidence are common after elections, with voters in winning parties generally expressing more confidence and voters in losing parties expressing less, said Thad Kousser, one of the center’s co-directors. However, the new survey found double-digit, across-the-board declines in confidence in the last year, he said.

According to voting experts, such drops in confidence and fears about voter intimidation are alarming — and raise serious questions about voter turnout in a pivotal midterm election that could radically reshape American politics.

While 82% of Republicans expressed at least some confidence in vote counting after Trump’s 2024 win, just 65% said they felt that way in the latest survey. Among Democrats, confidence dropped from 77% to 64%, and among independents from 73% to 57%, the survey found.

“Everyone — Democrats, Republicans, independents alike — have become less trusting of elections over the last year,” Kousser said, calling it a “parallel movement in this polarized era.”

Of course, what is causing those declines differs greatly by party, said Kousser’s co-director Lauren Prather, with distrust of mail ballots and noncitizens voting cited by half of Republicans, and concerns about eligible voters being unable to cast ballots because of fear or intimidation cited by nearly a quarter of Democrats.

Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly alleged that mail ballots contribute to widespread fraud and that noncitizen voting is a major problem in U.S. elections, despite neither claim being supported by evidence.

Dean C. Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, oversees the registering of voters, maintaining voter files, administering federal, state, local and special elections and verifying initiatives, referenda and recall petitions.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Many Democratic leaders and voting experts have raised concerns about disenfranchisement and intimidation of eligible voters, in part based on Republican efforts to enforce stricter voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements, and Trump suggesting his party should “take over” elections nationwide.

Others in Trump’s orbit have suggested Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be deployed to polling stations, and the FBI recently raided and seized ballots from Fulton County, Ga., long a target of Trump’s baseless claims of 2020 election fraud.

Prather said that research has long showed that “elite cues” — or messaging from political leaders — matter in shaping public perception of election security and integrity, so it is no surprise that the concerns being raised by Trump and other party elites are being echoed by voters.

But the survey also identified more bipartisan concerns, she said.

Voters of all backgrounds — including 51% of Democrats, 48% of independents and 34% of Republicans — said they do not trust that congressional districts are drawn to fairly reflect what voters want. They primarily blamed the opposing party for the problem, but nearly a quarter of both Democrats and Republicans also expressed dissatisfaction with their own party leaders, the survey found.

Various states have engaged in unprecedented mid-decade redistricting to win more congressional seats for their party, with Republicans seizing advantage in states such as Texas and Democrats seizing it in states such as California.

Voters of all backgrounds — including 44% of Democrats, 34% of independents and 30% of Republicans — also said they believe it is likely that ICE agents will be present at voting locations in their area, though they did not all agree on the implications.

Half of Democrats said such a presence would make them feel less confident that votes in their area would be counted accurately, compared with fewer than 14% who said it would make them more confident. Among Republicans, 48% said it would make them more confident, and about 8% less confident. Among independents, 19% said more confident, 32% less confident.

Perceptions of ICE at polling locations also varied by race, with 42% of Asian American voters, 38% of Hispanic voters, 29% of white voters and 28% of Black voters saying it would make them feel less confident, while 18% of Asian American voters, 24% of Hispanic voters, 27% of white voters and 21% of Black voters said it would make them feel more confident.

Among both Black and Hispanic voters, 46% said they expect to face intimidation while voting, compared with 35% of Asian American voters and just 10% of white voters. Meanwhile, 31% of Hispanic and Asian American voters, 21% of Black voters and 8% of white voters said they are specifically worried about being questioned by ICE agents at the polls.

A man waits in line to vote at Compton College in November.

(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

Kousser said voters’ lack of confidence this cycle reflects a remarkable moment in American politics, when political rhetoric has caused widespread distrust not just in the outcome of elections, but in the basic structure and fairness of how votes are collected and counted — despite those structures being tested and proven.

“We’re at this moment now where there are people on both sides who are questioning what the objective conditions will be of the election — whether people will be able to freely make it to the polls, what the vote counting mechanisms will be — and that’s true sort of left, right, and center in American politics today,” he said.

Prather said research in other countries has shown that distrust in elections over time can cause voters to stop voting, particularly if they think their vote won’t be fairly counted. She does not think the U.S. has reached that point, as high turnout in recent elections has shown, but it is a longer-term risk.

What could have a more immediate effect are ICE deployments, “especially among groups that have worries about what turning out could mean for them if they expect ICE or federal agents to be there,” Prather said.

Election experts said voters with concerns should take steps to ensure their vote counts, including by double-checking they are registered and making a plan to vote early, by mail or with family and friends if they are worried about intimidation.

What voters should not do if they are worried about election integrity is decide to not vote, they said.

“The No. 1 thing on my list is and always will be: Vote,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law. “That sounds maybe trite or simple, but the only way we hold on to our democracy is if people continue to participate and continue to trust it and put their faith in it.”

Registrar voter staff members process ballots at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana in November.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“Now is the time to buckle down and figure out how to fortify our protections for fair elections, and not to give into the chaos and believe it’s somehow overwhelming,” said Rick Hasen, an election law expert and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Law.

“I don’t want people to feel like nothing is working, it’s all overwhelming and they are just being paralyzed by all the news of these attacks, these threats,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU. “There are a huge range of folks who are working to ensure that these elections go as smoothly as possible, and that if anything comes up, we are ready to respond.”

Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant in California, said the erosion of confidence in U.S. elections was “a deliberate strategy” pushed by Trump for years to explain away legitimate election losses that embarrassed him, and facilitated by Republicans in Congress unwilling to check Trump’s lies to defend U.S. election integrity.

However, Democrats have added to the problem and become “the monster they are fighting” by gerrymandering blue states through redistricting measures such as California’s Proposition 50, which have further eroded American trust in elections, Madrid said.

Madrid said that he nonetheless expects high turnout in the midterms, because many voters have “the sense that the crisis is existential for the future, that literally everything is on the line,” but that the loss of trust is a serious issue.

“Without that trust, a form of government like democracy — at least the American form of democracy — doesn’t work,” he said.

Trump — who in a post Friday called Democrats “horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS” for opposing voter ID laws that most Americans support — has long called on his supporters to turn out and vote in massive numbers to give him the largest possible margin of victory, as a buffer against any election cheating against him. One of his 2024 campaign slogans was “Too Big to Rig.”

In recent days, some of Trump’s fiercest critics — including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — have made a similar pitch to Democrats.

In an interview with The Times, Schiff said that he is “deeply concerned” about the midterms given all of Trump’s threats, but that voters should understand that “the remedy here is to become more involved, not less.”

“The very best protection we’ll have is the most massive voter turnout we’ve ever had,” he said. “It’s going to be those with the most important title in our system — the voters — who end up saving this country.”

Tuesday’s live TV and streaming broadcasts for the Milan-Cortina Olympics unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. All times Pacific. 🏅 — medal event for live broadcasts.

MULTIPLE SPORTS
8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Figure skating, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, short track speedskating and more. | NBC

CURLING
Men (round robin)
12:05 a.m. — U.S. vs. China | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Czechia vs. Germany | Peacock
3 a.m. — U.S. vs. China (delay) | USA
Women (round robin)
5:05 a.m. — Denmark vs. U.S. | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Italy vs. Japan | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — South Korea vs. Switzerland | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Sweden vs. Canada | Peacock
Men (round robin)
10:05 a.m. — U.S. vs. Italy | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Canada vs. Britain | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Germany vs. Switzerland | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Sweden vs. Norway | Peacock
Men (round robin)
6:30 p.m. — U.S. vs. Italy (delay) | USA

BIATHLON
5:30 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay | Peacock
6:05 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay (in progress) | USA

BOBSLED
10 a.m. — Two-man bobsled, Run 3 | Peacock
12:05 p.m. — 🏅Two-man bobsled, final run | Peacock
2:30 p.m. — Two-man bobsled, runs 3-4 (delay) | USA

FIGURE SKATING
7:20 a.m. — Women’s short program, warm-up | Peacock
9:30 a.m. — Women’s short program, Part 1 | USA
11:40 a.m. — Women’s short program, Part 2 | NBC

FREESTYLE SKIING
1:45 a.m. — Women’s aerials, qualifying | USA
4:30 a.m. — Men’s aerials, qualifying | Peacock
8 a.m. — Men’s aerials, qualifying (delay) | USA
9 a.m. — Men’s and women’s aerials (re-air) | NBC
10:30 a.m. — 🏅Men’s big air, final | NBC

HOCKEY
Men (qualification playoff)
3:10 a.m. — Germany vs. France| Peacock
3:10 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Italy | Peacock
7:40 a.m. — Czechia vs. Denmark | Peacock
12:10 p.m. — Sweden vs. Latvia | USA

NORDIC COMBINED
12:10 a.m. — Men’s ski jump, large hill | Peacock
1 a.m. — Men’s ski jump, large hill (delay) | USA
4:45 a.m. — 🏅Cross-country, 10 kilometers | Peacock
6:50 a.m. — Cross-country, 10 kilometers (delay) | USA

SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING
5:30 a.m. — Men’s and women’s team pursuit, semifinals | USA
7:20 a.m. — 🏅Men’s and women’s team pursuit, finals | USA

SNOWBOARDING
4 a.m. — 🏅Women’s slopestyle, final | USA
9:45 a.m. — Women’s slopestyle, final (re-air) | NBC

It’s a cheap holiday but is it worth it?

While doom scrolling and sipping a large glass of cava, I came across a deal that stopped me mid gulp: a mystery holiday for just £79. As a travel writer and podcaster, I’m constantly planning work trip itineraries, so I rather fancied the thought of letting someone else decide where I’m going. What could possibly go wrong?

If, like my husband, you are wondering what a mystery holiday is, allow me to explain. The popular Wowcher deal promises return flights and two nights in a hotel somewhere abroad for a low price. It was £79 per person when I booked it on a deal, but it’s normally £99 per person. It could be Dubai, New York, the Maldives, Las Vegas or Mexico, or European destinations such as Paris, Monaco, Sicily, and Lake Como.

Your destination is allocated via a randomised draw and is subject to availability. Every booking is randomly assigned to one of three tiers. Six holidays sit in Tier 1. Twelve in Tier 2. And a whopping 1,982 in Tier 3. That is 2,000 packages in total, enough for 4,000 travellers, all distributed by draw.

Tier 1 means the headline, long-haul, brag-on-Instagram trips, but the vast majority are European weekend breaks. You just have to make peace with the fact that you may end up posting sunset shots from Tier 1 Barbados or in an adequate three-star hotel in a European city. You have to decide if it’s worth the risk.

Darling husband was not wildly enthusiastic about paying to be surprised, but I deployed my usual negotiation technique: talking until he loses the will to live. We bagged the deal at £79 each in a special offer, and we were in the game.

Obviously, the odds of us swanning off to Dubai were, frankly, casino-level, but I chose optimism. I was determined we would escape the British drizzle and emerge somewhere glamorous.

Credit card in hand, I effectively gambled our annual leave on Wowcher and waited for the universe to reward my impulsiveness.

Shortly after paying, a code and redemption link arrived in my inbox, which felt very exciting. I entered our details into the site, selected our preferred departure airport, and discovered that flying from anywhere other than London costs extra, and if you want to take more than a t-shirt and a pack of fem wipes, you’ll have to pay for a bag. Of course.

Then came the grand reveal. I was mentally picturing us in the Caribbean, toes in turquoise waters, sipping piña coladas. Then I clicked. It was the Costa del Sol. I screamed the F word. And it wasn’t “fantastic!”

After my minor meltdown, I regrouped. Spain in February would be great, a chance of blue skies, tapas and cocktails by the sea. Given that it has rained every single damn day in Britain for weeks, this trip was destined to be the sunny salvation my vitamin-D-deficient heart deserved.

I pictured balmy afternoons in a cute seaside resort with an ocean view where I could watch epic sunsets. This is what I told myself as I boarded our delayed Ryanair flight in the freezing cold.

I stayed positive through the turbulence. Nothing could ruin my holiday. Then the captain spoke: “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking from the flight deck. As we begin our descent, I’d like to give you an update on the weather conditions. The area is currently experiencing adverse weather, including heavy rain and strong winds.”

And that was it. Right there. Right there, that was the moment I officially abandoned all hope. I was landing in the middle of Storm Leonardo rather than in lovely Spanish sunshine. Things could not possibly get worse, until they absolutely did.

It turns out that Wowcher’s concept of a ‘minimum three-star hotel stay’ differs from mine. While I had imagined a cutesy hotel with an ocean-view terrace, what we got was a tired-looking budget apartment block in Benalmadena town that clearly hadn’t been updated since the 90s. To be fair, our apartment was fairly clean and of a decent size, but it was extremely basic.

No balcony, toiletries or even coffee. There was also the threat of “fines” if you left the light on when you went out, and you had to check out before 10 a.m. This was a bare bones stay for the budget traveller, not the mid-tier relaxing break I had hoped for.

I’m not sure what I was expecting for £79, but I was now fully in a negative spiral as Storm Leonardo raged outside, rain lashing and wind howling.

Husband, after living with my particular brand of travel chaos for 12 years now, seemed surprisingly calm about the whole thing, almost as if it had fully met his expectations for a holiday for less than £100. It’s always irritating when he’s completely right.

Undeterred, I confidently announced we would visit the aquarium, the perfect place for a wet and windy Wednesday. Surely penguins would cheer me up.

“Due to Storm Leonardo, the aquarium is closed”, the sign taped to the door read. Rightio. Of course. To the pub then. “Sorry love, we don’t do Sauvignon blanc.” Must. Not. Scream.

So why, you might reasonably ask, didn’t we admit defeat, check out, and head home? To take a short break from being a negative Nancy, the answer is that when the sun made appearances in between downpours, Benalmadena town really isn’t that bad.

The town is divided into three main areas: the traditional hilltop Pueblo, the central Arroyo de la Miel, and the seaside Costa, and there’s plenty to do here.

Sure, like most places in the Costa del Sol, you have bars for boozed-up Brits with blaring music, souvenir stores hawking tat, and vape shops, but there’s also a gorgeous seafront, swish marina and tasty tapas.

When the weather is behaving, plod along the 10-kilometre stretch of sandy beaches, including Blue Flag options like Santa Ana Beach. The palm tree-lined promenade is also dotted with ocean-view restaurants and bars where you can buy an Aperol Spritz and watch the waves.

Puerto Marina is also worth a visit. The major, uniquely designed marina features shopping, dining, and the Sea Life aquarium (when it’s not closed due to rain, despite the marine life living in tanks).

Attractions in the area include the 33-metre-tall Buddhist Stupa, Colomares Castle, and the Teleférico (cable car) to Mount Calamorro for panoramic views.

If you want a slice of more ‘authentic Spain’, wander away from the seafront, and you’ll soon stumble across tapas bars and restaurants like Asador Casa Miguel serving Andalusian dishes. The Iberian pork medallions were exceptional.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can always hop on a cheap, 30-minute train to Málaga, a historic port city packed with culture and excellent eats.

Explore the palm-dotted city, and you’ll find astonishing historical sites, such as Alcazaba (Moorish fortress), a Roman Theatre, and a 16th-century cathedral. There are also over 30 museums here, including the Picasso Museum and the Carmen Thyssen Museum.

As the weather alternated between rain and sunshine, we found that a trip to Málaga was an excellent way to escape the rain, and the sun also came out.

We spent a delightful few hours visiting cultural heavyweights like the Picasso birthplace and the Roman Theatre and eating our way around the buzzing Mercado de Atarazanas (Malaga food market).

Here you’ll find stalls brimming with local produce where you can slurp fresh oysters on the shell for €3 and sip cava for under €4 a glass. Lush.

Despite the stormy weather, our time in Costa del Sol felt all too brief, and it was soon time to head back to the airport. I suppose that’s the issue with this particular Wowcher mystery deal: you’re given a narrow window in which to experience your destination. If the weather is glorious, you’re smug. If it’s biblical, you’re essentially on a layover with sangria.

But here’s the real lesson the Wowcher mystery holiday taught me. In travel, as in life, you get exactly what you pay for.

During my 20s, while backpacking on the cheap, I stayed in three-dollar-a-night hostels with sanitary conditions so questionable the Red Cross would have intervened.

I am older now. Wiser. More aware of thread counts. I like comfort and hotels with fluffy towels and working air conditioning.

I have learned, repeatedly, that if you book a budget break, you must be prepared for budget realities: inconvenient flight times, accommodation with “character,” and dire customer service.

So, is it worth booking? That depends entirely on your expectations. If you’re dreaming of ticking off a bucket-list long-haul destination, swanning into a five-star resort with seamless transfers and a welcome Bellini, perhaps do not gamble £99 on a surprise getaway.

Especially when the “extras” (baggage, seat selection, breathing near the aircraft) begin adding up. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here

However. If you’re game for a laugh, can persuade your partner or a few pals to embrace chaos, and, importantly, you enjoy a story more than a sun lounger, then it’s worth a punt for under £100.

Sure, you might end up with awful flight times, a dingy hotel and landing during a storm, but at least you’re not at work, right?

Book the deal. Surrender to the travel gods, pack lightly and manage expectations heavily. Who knows, you might get Thailand, or you could be jetting off to Benidorm. May the odds ever be in your favour.

Get your Wowcher Mystery Holiday Deal here.

In the streets of Cartagena, Colombia, cumbia musicians beat tambora drums and blow into flautas, women in red, yellow and blue ruffled dresses whisk by, and sweating food vendors push carts, their arepas sizzling.

Among the music and striking color of Cartagena, my dad handed me my first arepa. Arepas are the most essential dish of Colombia and neighboring Venezuela, centered around South America’s most treasured crop: corn.

To prepare an arepa, corn kernels are ground into flour or pre-ground corn flour is used (often the iconic yellow bag of Venezuelan brand P.A.N.), and mixed with water and salt. The soft dough is then fried, grilled or baked into a pancake-like shape. The result is delightfully simple yet endlessly customizable.

“My memory of arepas is eating them morning, afternoon and night,” said Yesika Baker, owner of Chamo’s Venezuelan Cuisine in Pasadena. “In Venezuela, the areperas are open 24/7.”

The arepa has deep roots. Before Colombia and Venezuela came to be known as separate territories, they were unified by Indigenous groups with similar culinary traditions. When the Spanish first arrived in South America, Indigenous women were cooking corn cakes similar to the modern arepa, meaning the tradition likely goes back thousands of years, according to University of Venezuela anthropology professor Ocarina Castillo.

Today, the arepa is popular in both countries. In Colombia, an arepa tends to be simple: topped with cheese by street vendors, filled with egg for a tasty breakfast or, most often, served as a side to a hearty meal. Some say the masa of a Colombian arepa tends on the thinner side as well.

“Growing up in Colombia, the arepa is like the Mexican’s tortilla. Everything comes with an arepita,” said Santiago Restrepo, owner of Sus Arepas in East L.A. “Venezuelans, on the other hand, use it like a pita — stuffed. With Venezuelan-style arepas, you can really have fun with the fillings.”

The Venezuelan arepa “rellena” or stuffed style, is one that you’ll see dominate this list, with an experimental appeal that makes them a favorite for Angelenos. One of Venezuela’s most popular arepas is the Reina Pepiada, which translates to “curvy queen” and is typically filled with shredded chicken, avocado, cilantro and mayonnaise. According to Castillo, the name is in honor of a real beauty queen, Susana Duijm, the first Venezuelan to win Miss World in 1955.

In Colombia and Venezuela, it’s common to eat arepas at least once a day, especially at breakfast. But for a dish so essential to millions of people, for a long time, arepas were underrepresented in L.A.’s food scene.

“When I first moved to L.A. [in the ‘80s], you couldn’t find arepas anywhere,” Restrepo said. “Up until 2020, I wouldn’t have considered them a popular dish here. But just in the past few years, they’ve exploded.”

Restrepo credits their meteoric rise to a photogenic appeal. If you’re an avid consumer of food content online, then you’ve likely seen the arepa rellena — after a typical wait time of 20 minutes, they come layered and overflowing with ingredients like shredded beef, stewed beans, melted cheese or plantains.

“A good arepa rellena is all in the fillings,” said Mercedes Rojas, chef of the Arepa Stand, which pops up at local farmers markets on the weekends.

From creative picks stuffed with mango and cheese to a Koreatown-inspired arepa with bulgogi and plenty of traditional options, this guide features nine standouts in L.A.’s growing arepa scene.

Although, for your sake, don’t try to ask which country created the arepa, or who does it best. “It’s a long fight, amiga,” Baker said. “From Venezuela or Colombia, we defend our arepas.”