Match of the Day’s Joe Hart discusses Manchester City’s Marc Guehi and his performance in midfield, with plenty of praise for the centre half in a different position against Bournemouth.
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic kept his plan to topple Manchester United on their Premier League return under wraps for weeks, assistant head coach Dean Holden told Match of the Day.
The Tigers produced a sensational 2-0 opening-weekend win over Michael Carrick’s side on Saturday while deploying a back five.
Hull were making their first Premier League appearance in nine years after coming up through the play-offs last year.
First-half goals from defenders Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy gave them their first league win over United since 1974.
Jakirovic altered his tactics for the game, having watched a couple of United’s pre-season matches, including the 4-2 defeat by AC Milan, engineered by former boss Ruben Amorim, when he repeatedly switched play to his wing-backs, which United’s defence failed to cover.
When quizzed on the tactic, Holden told Match of Day: “We certainly didn’t copy Ruben Amorim.
“Serg had it in the back of his mind for three or four weeks that he was thinking of playing a back five. He didn’t want to give anything away in pre-season, so we played a back four.
“The easiest thing to do in preparation was using some of the Milan clips and Leeds the week before played a back three too, so that helped us with players where the systems looked similar.”
Hull’s win over United, who finished third in the Premier League last season, is perhaps even more remarkable given the Tigers only had 28% of possession.
But seeing limited amounts of the ball is not a cause for concern for Hull says Holden.
“We are comfortable without the ball, so it is not like we are coming up here having dominated the Championship and now we have to change,” said Holden.
“We are comfortable in that mid-block, that is one of our biggest strengths. Counter-attack as well.
“Sunderland set the trend with Leeds in terms of teams who have come up, and for us, it is about belief.
“We have a group of lads who have done the hard yards, there is no real superstars in there.
“The manager is the same, very humble. Feet will be firmly on the ground.”
Jakirovic’s Hull were favourites to finish bottom of the Premier League, having only squeezed into the play-offs on the final day of last season.
They then became the first team to finish sixth and win the play-offs in 16 years – beating Middlesbrough in the final.
Just 15 months ago the Tigers had been close to being relegated to League One, only staying in the Championship on goal difference in 2024-25.
Three of the team who started their 1-1 draw against Portsmouth on the final day that secured their Championship status were in the team which beat United.
Former Oldham Athletic, Bristol City and Charlton manager Holden joined the Tigers that summer.
“We are aiming to stay in the league. It is the hardest thing to do and then you build on top of that,” Holden added.
“But a win at home in the first game is beyond anyone’s dreams really. The performance is the biggest thing, the confidence, the belief, will stand us in good stead.”
Nithya Raman has made Los Angeles’ struggle to combat homelessness a key plank in her mayoral campaign, yet her own record on the matter has itself become an issue with her ouster as head of the City Council committee seeking solutions to the crisis.
Mayor Karen Bass is at the helm of the city’s battle against homelessness, but since 2023 Raman has been the second-most powerful official as chair of the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. That changed this month, when council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a key Bass ally, split the committee in two and removed Raman as its chair, effective Sept. 1.
Raman claims that politics were at play, casting her removal as a hit job for her decision to challenge Bass. Harris-Dawson disputes that, saying Raman failed to lead the committee with the urgency needed to combat L.A.’s enduring homelessness crisis.
“The committee is behind in excess of more than 100 issues,” said Harris-Dawson in an interview. “There are very serious decisions to make over what happens with homelessness. We needed someone who could focus on that and get it done and get it done quickly and show ability to build consensus.”
Beyond the dispute over Raman’s leadership of the committee, there are clear policy disagreements between the mayor and the council member over the best way to combat the crisis.
A Metro bus passes by a man sleeping on the sidewalk on North Spring Street in downtown Friday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Raman contends that Bass’ signature program Inside Safe, which dismantles encampments and moves people living there into motels, hotels and interim housing, is overly expensive and unsustainable. On average, the cost of housing these individuals runs about $82,000 a year, according to city reports.
Raman has repeatedly signed off on funding for the program, but has become more critical of it in the last year.
Despite the city’s efforts, L.A.’s unsheltered homeless population — those living outdoors or in their vehicles — went up by 7.9% after two consecutive years of decreases, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported last month.
“The approach to homelessness that Mayor Bass has led and defended has brought us here,” Raman said after LAHSA’s report was released.
Raman has called for the use of time-limited subsidies, or rental vouchers, to house homeless Angelenos in private residences — at a city-estimated cost of $30,000, less than half the price of an average Inside Safe bed. Raman says she would “significantly expand” the city’s investment in the vouchers if she became mayor.
“For the same amount of money, we could rent three apartments using a short-term rental voucher and provide intensive services — housing more people in a program that has delivered much better outcomes,” Raman says in her mayoral policy platform on homelessness.
Even so, the more than $60-million voucher program Raman has already pushed through her committee has so far struggled to get off the ground under a tight timeline, and Raman’s critics have seized on the delay as evidence of the council member’s ineffectiveness.
Pedestrians pass by a homeless encampment along the 101 northbound offramp, at right, near City Hall Friday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
A city consultant on the program set a goal of having 600 households moved into leases by July 1 of this year, and 2,000 households moved in by next April. But as of that July 1 date, only three households had moved into homes via the vouchers, housing officials said in a report.
By Aug. 13, however, the number had jumped to 54 households, “with new move ins happening nearly every day,” the housing department said in a report.
Bass’ campaign spokesperson, Alex Stack, cited the sluggish start to the program and said subsidies are only a small part of the fight against homelessness.
“It’s not the silver bullet Raman’s selling,” Stack said.
In an interview, Raman said that the contracting process slowed the start of the program, but that time-limited subsidies are a great way to free up space in city shelters by moving those people into private housing.
“This is a cost-effective program that has very good outcomes in the past in terms of percentage of people moving on to permanent housing,” she said.
Nithya Rama listens to a question at the mayoral debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
(David Butow / For The Times)
Raman added that the council will continue to monitor data from the program and make fixes as needed if it doesn’t move fast enough.
Homeless services providers working with the city on the program said part of the challenge has been getting a completely new program off the ground.
“It’s definitely been slower than I think most people anticipated,” said Sasha Morozov, the regional director of supportive services for PATH, a nonprofit contracting with the city for the program.
But Morozov said the program is speeding up now and she believed the 2,000 slots will be filled on time.
A key plank in Raman’s platform
Raman said she ran for council largely to take on the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. She says she is running for mayor for the same reason.
She’s cited a 49% drop in street homelessness in her district over the past year as a clear sign that she is equipped to bring down homelessness citywide. Bass counters it was her efforts through Inside Safe that brought homelessness down in Raman’s district.
People living on the street in downtown L.A. gather cardboard for shelter during a heat wave last month.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
While chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Raman established monitoring of all the city’s spending on homelessness and tracking of 35 key performance metrics to see how effective the city’s investments are. She also stewarded the creation of a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the city’s Housing Department that is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the city’s homelessness system.
Her critics say that Raman’s tenure atop the committee hasn’t adequately met the moment facing the city of Los Angeles — with the Trump administration and county both moving to cut funding from LAHSA, the joint city-county authority responsible for homeless services. Meanwhile, the city is still managing a landmark federal lawsuit settlement, which requires it to invest in thousands of new shelter beds in its response to homelessness.
“She’s been in this building … longer than Karen Bass,” said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who served on the committee under Raman. “It’s convenient now for her to saddle all blame on the mayor when she rubber-stamped Inside Safe and stood in lockstep with the mayor.”
Mayor Karen Bass, left, and City Council member Monica Rodriguez at City Hall.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Rodriguez has specifically accused Raman — as chair of the committee — of slow-walking Rodriguez’s proposal from 2024 for the city to study a plan to separate itself from LAHSA and form its own department that would directly contract with homeless services providers.
Rodriguez said it took Raman months to schedule her motion in committee and that, while it was pending, the county removed most of its funding from LAHSA.
“The city has been left flatfooted because she wouldn’t lead our conversation. She wouldn’t schedule our items. She set us up for failure,” Rodriguez said.
While Rodriguez’s motion was waiting on a report, Raman made her own proposal to create a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the Los Angeles Housing Department to keep track of the city’s more than $1-billion annual investment in homelessness response.
The council moved that bureau forward last year, and a spokesperson for the Housing Department said that seven positions have been hired within the bureau handling contracts and data oversight.
Harris-Dawson said a seven-person bureau isn’t adequate.
Raman said the bureau was a starting point that could one day lead to a department, which she said would be expensive and take a long time to stand up.
“This was not precluding [the creation of a department],” Raman told The Times. “This was trying to speed up that staffing faster than the departmental process normally takes in this city.”
Raman said she talked to Bass about creating a department for homelessness in late 2023 or early 2024, but the mayor told her to move ahead with the bureau instead. Bass representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paige Sterling, a spokesperson for the mayor, said that Bass and Raman discussed the bureau in 2025, during the budget process. The mayor opposed a standalone department at the time because it “would add to the bureaucracy,” and the bureau was a compromise, Sterling said.
“The mayor signed a budget with funding and positions for the bureau, which begins to give the city the capacity it needs to start overseeing homelessness as we evaluate what the future governance of this issue looks like,” Sterling said.
Raman has touted the bureau as a success that provides clear oversight of how the city spends its money, but has also claimed that the mayor’s office has moved too slowly to staff the bureau. The Housing Department still hasn’t hired an assistant general manager to oversee it.
The rotunda at L.A. City Hall.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Canceled meetings and frustrated colleagues
Raman hasn’t been endorsed for mayor by any of her colleagues on the council, and some of those who served on her homelessness and housing panel say she did a shoddy job as its chair. They complain that she frequently canceled meetings and allowed hundreds of motions to pile up without getting moved through council.
“It had started to feel less like a policymaking body and more like a scholastic seminar — a lot of philosophizing, a lot of talk about feelings, but not enough substantive questions or direction on policy to present to staff,” Councilmember Imelda Padilla said in a statement to The Times.
In response, Raman said her committee focused on data to make sure the city’s investment in fighting homelessness is paying off.
“That doesn’t feel scholarly to me, that feels like oversight and accountability — exactly what the public is asking for for one of our largest investments as a city,” she said.
The full council, meanwhile, has agreed to review its relationship with LAHSA and the county, and to study creating a new department to centralize homelessness oversight.
“This conversation that we’re having about this … is long overdue,” said Councilmember John Lee.
Raman will have a seat on the new homelessness committee, but it will be chaired by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. Padilla was named chair of the new Housing Committee.
Raman’s final meeting as committee chair was supposed to be Wednesday.
Match of the Day’s Mark Chapman, Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney discuss Arsenal’s quality against Coventry City, praising the hosts but stressing that Frank Lampard’s side shouldn’t be judged.
She was “an assassin,” a “very skilled politician” who “made mincemeat of Nithya throughout the debate, both stylistically and substantively.”
If you think that assessment came from a Bass supporter, think again.
The words come from none other than Spencer Pratt, the erstwhile mayoral candidate, a Republican who routinely referred to Bass as Basura (that’s trash in Spanish) during the primary campaign.
There was no mention of Basura in Pratt’s Substack recap of Wednesday night’s debate before the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. To be sure, his post was titled “Surviving the Dumb and Dumber Debate,” but even so Pratt praised the mayor’s performance against Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Not that he was thrilled by the prospect of four more years with Mayor Bass, however.
“A Karen Bass Mayorship is depressing,” he wrote. “A Nithya Raman Mayorship is terrifying.”
Pratt suggested Bass was borrowing from his own playbook, citing her comments saying street vendors shouldn’t be on the sidewalk outside restaurants and her call for the long-term involuntary hospitalization of people on the street who pose a threat to themselves. Bass herself said that backing involuntary hospitalization was a “controversial thing to say.”
Pratt didn’t respond to a text from The Times about whether he was considering endorsing the mayor in the runoff.
Bass is likely to welcome conservative voters during the Nov. 3 general election as she faces off with Raman, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
And it’s not just Pratt who seems to be leaning toward Bass from the right.
Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass in 2022, referred to her as a “very good partner” when he recently celebrated the reopening of his Palisades Village shopping center. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In The Heights
Raman traveled to Boyle Heights Monday to join activists calling for Lineage to leave the neighborhood after the devastating fire at the company’s warehouse in June.
It wasn’t Raman’s first visit to Boyle Heights since the blaze, but it was her first public appearance and news conference.
“Lineage shouldn’t be permitted to open this warehouse again,” Raman said to cheers from the crowd.
Bass followed suit Thursday, after Lineage blew past its own self-imposed deadline for cleanup.
They “do not deserve to rebuild,” Bass said in a statement, while also calling on city lawyers to pursue litigation, a lien and other legal options for cost recovery against Lineage. Bass had already ordered the company’s building permits delayed at the end of July.
Raman was joined at the news conference by Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment — a group that has endorsed her — to call for the closure of the facility.
Raman also called for Lineage to pay for Boyle Heights residents’ healthcare, for environmental testing, cleaning and relocation assistance, lost wages and more.
“Families and taxpayers should not be left with the bill when a corporation runs up the tab,” she said.
Raman’s news conference appeared to draw the ire of at least one council colleague, Ysabel Jurado — who represents Boyle Heights.
Jurado didn’t mention Raman by name, but after winning council support for a motion Wednesday continuing the state of emergency in Boyle Heights, she thanked her colleagues who called and texted before they “did a press conference about the issue.”
Jurado spokesperson Mason Santa Maria declined to say whether the remark was directed at Raman. Raman spokesperson Liz Garcia said Raman was invited to the presser.
Jurado, who has endorsed Bass, did not attend.
No shows at H&H
Raman has been outspoken about her removal from the chairmanship of the council’s housing and homelessness committee, suggesting she is being punished by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson for challenging Bass.
Harris-Dawson rejects that narrative, saying the committee needed a chair who can focus undivided attention on the crisis.
Raman doesn’t officially lose that post until the end of the month. So on Wednesday, she was still listed as chair of the committee’s 2 p.m. meeting. But she wasn’t there, and neither were two of her colleagues.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield took the gavel instead, delaying the session until 3 p.m. in the hope that a third member would show up to join him and Councilmember Tim McOsker, giving the committee a quorum.
An hour later, Blumenfield came back.
“This meeting is going to have to be canceled for today,” he told the audience. “So I apologize for making you wait.”
Raman spokesperson Stella Stahl, in an email, said her boss already had other plans, with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. debate happening later that same day.
“At the time, Nithya was near Sherman Oaks and had pre-planned campaign activities in advance of the mayoral debate,” Stahl said.
Stahl said the committee had a “last-minute cancellation from a council member who was expected to attend,” but didn’t provide a name.
Jurado, who takes over as chair of the newly renamed homelessness and health committee next month, also wasn’t there. Her spokesperson said Raman’s team was told the previous week that Jurado had a personal matter and couldn’t attend.
Devyn Bakewell, a spokesperson for Councilmember Heather Hutt, said her boss let Raman know Wednesday morning that she would not make it to committee due to a family issue.
The committee won’t meet again until next month. Raman will remain on the panel.
You’re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter
Sign up to make sense of the often unexplained world of L.A. politics.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
State of play
— SHAM SURVEY: The Times broke the story of the faked poll in the Los Angeles mayor’s race that purported to show Bass leading Raman by around 12 percentage points. The poll was faked as a “social experiment,” according to Median Strategies Polling, the group behind the fake survey. The creator of the fake poll revealed himself to the Guardian on Thursday as 21-year-old Rahil Prakash.
— FLIP IT AND REVERSE IT: The Los Angeles City Council has rescinded camping bans on a dozen locations in Hollywood, Echo Park and Silver Lake at the urging of the area’s council member, Hugo Soto-Martínez, who called the bans ineffective in addressing homelessness.
— THE RUMBLE IN THE VALLEY: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman slammed each other Wednesday over their handling of homelessness, public safety and many other issues during the first face-to-face debate of the Nov. 3 election campaign.
— THE BEST LANE PLANS: A long-running dispute between cemeteries and bike-lane and safe streets advocates in the San Fernando Valley has escalated to become a campaign issue in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
— LIGHTS, CAMERA, INACTION: Despite improvements to the state’s tax incentive program, Los Angeles and California continue to struggle to keep movies, television series and even game shows from fleeing elsewhere. Production levels have failed to bounce back since the pandemic and the labor strikes by writers and actors, and they remain at historic lows.
— HEALTH WOES: Hundreds of Boyle Heights residents suffered health problems after a fire at a cold storage facility burned stubbornly for days, including respiratory infections, eye disorders and persistent cough, according to a new study.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? This week the mayor’s signature program was in Eunisses Hernandez’s district in Westlake, where it moved 37 people indoors from Ocean View Avenue and Lake Street.
On the docket next week: After a Saturday meeting, the Democratic Socialists of America will vote next week on whether to endorse Raman for mayor.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Former historic coastal port Parrog beach, on the south side of the estuary, is now a popular spot for recreational boating.
The small sandy beach is close to the town’s galleries and independent craft shops that the area is renowned for.
History buffs should explore the remains of Iron Age forts and cairns, plus Pentre Ifan, one of the most significant Neolithic monuments in Wales.
HIDDEN GEM
Steeped in history, The Sailors’ Safety at Pwllgwaelod Beach on the Pembrokeshire coast is an old smugglers’ pub dating back to 1593.
The menu highlights the best of local Pembrokeshire seafood with a focus on foraged ingredients from the local shores and hedgerows.
Dine in the cosy restaurant or relax with a drink in the bar while soaking up centuries of maritime history.
The city has some very cosy pubsCredit: AlamyThe Pembrokeshire coastline is one of the UK’s most beautifulCredit: Alamy
BEST VIEW
Ancient volcano Carningli, also known as the Hill of the Angels, rewards walkers for the half-hour climb to the 1,138ft summit with stunning 360-degree views.
On a clear day it’s possible to see over the Pembrokeshire coastline and even towards the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland.
RATED RESTAURANT
At the heart of Newport, the Golden Lion has been serving drinks to travellers since the 1600s.
It is now a cosy pub with an extensive menu making the most of the local fare including Welsh beef and freshly caught local seafood.
The historic atmosphere and quality ingredients make it a favourite with both locals and visitors.
BEST BAR
Whether a keen golfer or not, The Cat Rock Cafe is the place for sundowners and stunning coastal views.
Located at the 18-hole Newport Links Golf Club, designed by pro golfer and course architect James Braid, it’s a three-minute walk from Newport Sands.
COTTAGE PICK
Set on Main Street, in the heart of the bustling town, Welford House sleeps six and features a stunning Mediterranean-style paved courtyard.
A seven-night stay starts at £680.
For something more rural, Ty Top is a delightful two-bedroom end-of-terrace stone cottage set on an ancient track beneath Carningli mountain.
A seven-night stay starts at £535. See coastalcottages.co.uk.
A PRETTY Italian city has banned riding bikes in certain areas – after the mayor was hit by one.
Como is known for its historic city centre with a Gothic-Renaissance cathedral and alpine backdrop.
Como is banning bikes in its city centreCredit: AlamyThe ban will apply to around 30 streets in the cityCredit: Alamy
But many use bikes to get around the city and now the Mayor of Como, Alessandro Rapinese, is introducing a bike ban in parts of the city after he was hit by an electric bike.
From September, bikes will be banned across around 30 streets.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
The bike ban applies to both electric and push bikes.
According to Italian media Ansa, the Mayor said: “People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.”
He added: “In this case, I didn’t even end up in the hospital.
“I was hit by a bike. I gathered information, and that’s where the measure came from.”
The new bike rules are part of a wider traffic plan which will create a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) to manage tourists better as well as implement stricter rules on vehicles in the city.
Other rules introduced include some vehicles requiring an annual permit and a €3 (£2.60) permit for daily entry to the city.
It comes after the Mayor was hit by an electric bikeCredit: Alamy
And tourists staying in hotels can only drive in the city centre if their accommodation has parking.
Deliveries can also only occur between 6am and 11pm.
Locals are outraged with the decision and have pledged to organise a protest on September 12.
Como isn’t the only Italian spot to place restrictions on bikes – Palermo has also restricted bikes in some areas since 2023.
Having just been promoted from the National League South, Bromley finished 14th in the National League in the 2015-16 season.
That same year, Leicester City were upsetting the odds with their famous Premier League title win.
Such has been the rise of Andy Woodman’s Bromley, they can expect plenty more comparisons like that this season and, such has been the Foxes’ fall from grace, they will get similar.
While the Ravens are delighted to be in League One, Leicester are still rubbing the bruised ego which followed their disastrous relegation from the Championship on the back of demotion from the Premier League, amid various financial woes and points deductions.
Now under Russell Martin, rather than opening their home campaign against Arsenal, Liverpool or even Brighton, it is Burton Albion who will make the short trip to the King Power Stadium (15:00 BST) and home fans will find Gary Bowyer’s side have little respect for reputations.
Bromley’s home opener against Cambridge United (15:00 BST) may well be a re-run between two promoted sides from last season, but the hosts have already served notice of their intentions with their 1-0 win at Barnsley last weekend.
Helping to choose that perfect family-friendly getaway this summer, an easyJet pilot has named a lesser-known holiday destination that has plenty to do for kids
This UK city has been hailed as the best lesser-known family holiday destination(Image: Getty Images)
An easyJet pilot has revealed the lesser-known holiday destination that is best for kids this summer – and it’s in the UK!
During the summer holidays, millions of Brits are jetting off abroad to European hotspots, whether that’s to soak up the sun-soaked rays in the Canary Islands or to enjoy an affordable escape in Turkey at one of their many child-friendly resorts. Yet there’s one UK destination that has been hailed as a great option for families this summer.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, easyJet Captain Matt Clutterbuck revealed: “A lesser-known family holiday destination is Belfast. There is so much for kids to do, and of all the places we have travelled in the world, that holiday sits near the top of the list of their favourite holidays.”
He shared: “From the W5 science museum and the Titanic Experience to the Giant’s Causeway. The city has plenty for adults too, with live music, great food and friendly people.
“We travelled with easyJet holidays and stayed in Wilton House, which was the perfect accommodation for a family. We hired a car rather than a transfer, which meant we could venture out and explore the countryside.”
Belfast can be conveniently reached in just over an hour’s plane journey from London airports, with flights starting from just £15 one-way, according to Skyscanner. The capital of Northern Ireland hosts the renowned indoor St. George’s Market, packed with culinary delights, crafts and music, and also offers a step back in time along its cobbled lanes in the Cathedral Quarter.
For those still eager to jet off abroad, Matt disclosed: “I think our favourite family holiday destination is Turkey. With amazing food, culture and people, we have always had a brilliant time there. It is a very family-oriented culture, and they always make a fuss of the children.”
Last month, the airline and package holiday provider teamed up with Life360, the family connection and safety app, to offer easyJet customers complimentary Teddy Trackers when heading on holiday. The scheme is designed to help families keep tabs on their children’s favourite toys via the Life360 app throughout their trip, as 87% of parents admitted they worry about their child losing a beloved toy while travelling, while 49% revealed they had already been through the heartbreaking experience.
On the Teddy Trackers initiative, Matt shared: “I think this campaign will not only help children, but parents too. One of the biggest stresses on our holidays was making sure both kids had their cuddly toys with them. It seemed we were constantly doing a teddy roll call to make sure they hadn’t been left in a shop, on a bench or in a restaurant, and we weren’t alone because nearly 4 in 5 parents say their child’s favourite toy travels with them on most, if not every, family holiday.
“Hundreds of thousands of cuddly toys will travel on holidays this summer, so parents will have that extra peace of mind knowing that their child’s cuddly toy can be tracked, putting an end to the heartbreak of losing them. Hopefully, the Teddy Trackers offer parents extra peace of mind, helping ensure these special companions always find their way home and offer comfort to children knowing their beloved companion will be easily traceable if lost.
“The trackers are now available for free at London Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast International.”
Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Joining Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2023 on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, the then 24-year-old Marmoush found form in his first season with the German side scoring 17 times across all competitions.
He then scored 15 Bundesliga goals from 8.9 expected goals (xG) during the first half of 2024-25, while registering nine assists in 17 league appearances. Across all competitions before leaving Germany, he had 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
Set-pieces were another notable part of his game. Marmoush became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2019 to score directly from a free-kick in three consecutive competitive matches. Manchester City then paid £59m for him in January 2025.
The early signs were encouraging. Marmoush scored his first career hat-trick against Newcastle, struck the winner in City’s FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth and then scored from long range against the same opponents in the Premier League. It was judged to be the goal of the season.
But there were difficult moments too.
With City trailing Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final, Erling Haaland handed Marmoush the ball for a penalty. His effort was saved by Dean Henderson as City went on to lose at Wembley.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha does not believe that moment should define Marmoush’s spell at the club.
“When I see Marmoush, I don’t see the penalty miss,” Onuoha told BBC Sport. “I see the strength he has with some of the runs he makes in behind.”
The mayor of Como has banned riding bicycles in certain areas of the historic Italian city after he was hit by an electric one.
Alessandro Rapinese said the ban was necessary to improve public safety. It means from September, cyclists will have to dismount through an area of around 30 streets.
He told Italian news agency Ansa: “People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.”
Several other local authorities around Europe, including in the UK, have restricted where and how e-bikes and other single-person vehicles can be used.
The measure put forward by Rapinese is part of a package of new traffic regulations, establishing a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) to manage tourist growth, and which impose stricter rules on cars and vans in the city centre.
Many of the roads covered by the ban are the widest in the old town and are popular with delivery drivers.
The measure applies to both electric and push bikes, as the Italian highway code does not distinguish between models.
Rapinese explained his decision in a video as part of a series of online videos he produces himself, known as RapiNews24.
He recounted an incident in which he had been leaving city hall in July and collided with an e-bike shortly after his administration had discussed traffic restrictions in the city centre.
The cyclist involved in the collision has not been identified.
“In this case, I didn’t even end up in the hospital,” Rapinese said. “I was hit by a bike. I gathered information, and that’s where the measure came from.”
Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid travelled along one of the main supply roads to Sudan’s besieged city of el-Obeid, where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering as the Rapid Support Forces continue attacks on aid trying to reach them.
Democrats on Thursday narrowed the list of potential host cities for their 2028 presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Trump.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement the cities put forward “incredibly strong bids,” and he promised the convention would be an “inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee.”
A final decision is expected to be made later this year by party leaders. Republicans have already chosen Houston for the site of their 2028 convention.
The Democratic convention, scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028, traditionally gives the party a chance to formally introduce its nominee to the country, rally the base and kick-start the most intense period of campaigning ahead of the general election.
The party didn’t specify why Atlanta and Chicago, which was the site of the 2024 convention, were eliminated. Officials visited all five cities in April and May, considering logistical and fundraising capacity among other factors.
The three finalists are liberal strongholds surrounded by the type of suburban areas that have become increasingly important to the party in recent elections. They also provide access to fundraising and key demographic and interest groups, like labor unions.
While Colorado and Massachusetts have gone Democratic in recent presidential elections, Pennsylvania has been among the biggest battlegrounds. Trump, a Republican, won Pennsylvania in 2024.
Philadelphia last hosted the convention in 2016, Denver in 2008 and Boston in 2004.
Before the presidential primary gets into gear, Democrats are looking at this year’s midterm elections as an opportunity to flip the narrowly divided Republican-led House and maybe take back control of the Senate.
Democrats face fundraising disadvantages compared with Republicans, along with financial debt, and Martin has confronted criticism over his stewardship of the party.
During a recent DNC meeting in Texas, Martin downplayed the critics and called for the party to unite as it tries to win the midterms and look ahead to 2028 and the end of Trump’s second term.
Her Honor just needed to do more of the same: hail her own accomplishments, deliver well-timed zingers and keep as cool as a cucumber while baiting Raman into self-immolation.
Bass did none of that, while Raman stepped up the way she needed to.
This time, the challenger offered concrete answers instead of word salads. She mostly stuck to the allotted time limits while Bass repeatedly whined that she wasn’t given enough time. Raman effortlessly turned the mayor’s rhetorical traps around like Bugs Bunny twisting Elmer Fudd’s rifle right in his face.
Take the moment when Bass pointed out that Raman had missed the second-most votes among councilmembers during her six years in office. Raman responded that she missed many meetings while representing the city on the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other governmental boards. Bass’ clap-back — that Raman’s colleagues also had other official responsibilities yet “they find their way to work” — drew “ooohs” from the audience at the debate, put on by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
If this were still the primary, Raman would have flustered her way to a non-answer. This time, she calmly said that she must not be such a bad councilmember, since Bass had appointed her to those boards.
“Well, we really need to look at that,” Bass stammered before asking Raman if she was “getting ready to resign” from them.
“I’m sorry?” Raman asked off mic as Bass challenged her to step down from all her boards. “No,” Raman then said firmly before shrugging and letting the moderator move on to the next question.
The moment was par for the mayor’s night.
Again and again, Bass went after Raman in the pettiest, most personal ways. She kept mocking the MIT graduate as a clueless egghead with no idea what’s going on in the city, stating twice that Raman governed as if L.A. were “an academic institution” — a line that sounded like a MAGA talking point and that was originally trotted out by Councilmember Imelda Padilla.
Bass tried to paint Raman as a member of an ineffectual city establishment, not a newcomer, which fell flat, considering that Bass has held one elected office or another for 22 years while Raman has been in politics only since 2020.
Bass frequently resorted to her trademark nervous laughter and repeated obviously crafted lines with all the enthusiasm of someone gulping down cod oil. Her furrowed brow and exasperated looks, which she had effectively used in previous debates, made her come off as embittered, tired and unable to defend the indefensible mess that has been her first term.
At one point, the mayor even compared street taco vendors to homeless encampments, with both supposedly disrupting the fabric of a well-run city.
Somewhere, Jonathan Gold is shaking his head in disgust.
“You have lots of plans and lots of ideas but have done very little,” Bass told Raman at another point.
And what have you done, Mayor Bass?
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass speaks with a woman after the end of a mayoral debate against challenger Nithya Raman in Sherman Oaks.
(David Butow/For the Times)
I’ve really tried to like Bass. Her trajectory from South L.A. activist to nonprofit founder to Sacramento, Washington and City Hall is impressive and important. Yet when Angelenos needed her to rise and succeed as their city faced one crisis after another during these past four years, Bass stumbled and stumbled again. Her flop of a debate performance left her sounding like someone with no vision or kindness — career suicide for someone who has made her reputation on both traits.
At this point, the architects of Bass’ campaign need to burn sage to drive out bad spirits or just bow out altogether. Any time something could go wrong, it has.
Bass placed first in the primary with 34% of the vote — an abysmal number for a Democratic incumbent in a deep blue city. Her campaign’s cynical gambit to boost washed-up reality TV star Spencer Pratt into the general election, because he’d be an easier opponent than Raman, failed. The Lineage fire in Boyle Heights brought back memories of the deadly Palisades inferno, angering a voting bloc Bass desperately needs — Latinos.
Then came news this week that a poll the Bass campaign had promoted, claiming that she held a commanding lead over Raman, turned out to be fake. Bass came out looking like someone incapable of overseeing paint dry, let alone running America’s second-largest city.
And now, this debate.
The audience, which was heavily pro-Bass, eventually started applauding more and more of Raman’s responses. Bass, desperate to trip up her opponent, talked over her so much that the councilmember responded with the line of the night and possibly the race:
“You gotta let me answer, Mayor Bass. This is my time.”
Raman still faces an uphill battle. Nearly all of the city’s power structure — elected officials, labor unions, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, business owners and even the three other democratic socialist councilmembers — has endorsed Bass. The mayor has outpaced Raman in fundraising. Raman has to win over voters who supported Pratt’s conservative stances while not alienating her progressive base. She did herself no favors with the Democratic Socialist of America’s local chapter, which didn’t endorse her in the primary and will decide next week whether to endorse her in the general election, by stating that the city needs to maintain the current size of its police force.
But in Wednesday night’s debate, she offered voters a distinct choice between how she would run L.A. and how Bass has.
Councilmember Nithya Raman speaks with staff and supporters after a mayoral debate with incumbent Karen Bass in Sherman Oaks.
(David Butow/For the Times)
All the mayor could sputter in her closing remarks was that Raman “does not have the support of [any] of her colleagues” — yet another line she had repeated ad nauseum.
When it was her turn, Raman said she keeps hearing from residents “that this city feels rudderless.”
“I have news for you, Angelenos. You’re right,” she continued. “No one is in charge right now.”
Then, instead of launching another fusillade against Bass, Raman went for something few people associate with L.A. nowadays:
Hope.
“You have every right to expect more from your city,” Raman proclaimed, her voice strong and clear. She urged Angelenos to “raise our expectations” of what’s possible and strive for a city that’s “affordable, functional, safe, joyful, ambitious.”
A few months ago, that would have sounded like the delusional ramblings of someone with no chance at winning. After tonight’s debate, Raman seems like L.A.’s final, best chance.
An Israeli strike on Gaza City’s police headquarters has killed the women’s police chief, several officers, and a 13-year-old girl. The attack comes two days after US envoy Jared Kushner ended a trip to the region that failed to push forward the Gaza ‘ceasefire’.
Everyone in the Premier League wants clarity and a speedy resolution in the case against Manchester City which features more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules, says Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick.
An independent commission is yet to publish a ruling, more than a year and a half after a disciplinary hearing concluded, and three and a half years since City were first charged.
City have always denied wrongdoing.
When asked if the length of time the process was taking was frustrating Arsenal, Garlick told BBC Sport: “It has gone on for a while.
“Everybody – the league and the teams – would want the clarity around what’s going to happen next.
“But it’s not something that I can control. It’s not something that I can speculate on.
“And I just hope that there is a solution very quickly.”
Garlick’s comments come on the eve of the new season and after Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “I do accept it’s taking longer than expected, and I understand that people want to find out as soon as possible what’s going on, but I simply can’t provide that.”
Describing the case as “hugely complex”, Masters added: “Our rules are very clear – we have to follow the process, and there’s only one real clear route through, which is to allow that process to reach its natural conclusion.”
Privately, officials at a host of other Premier League clubs BBC Sport has spoken to in the past 24 hours have also expressed their frustrations, while acknowledging that this is an independent process which is running on its own timetable.
One said the Premier League should be “actively seeking to put in place a better system” to ensure speedier resolutions.
Another made the point that given that the league spent £45m on legal bills during the 2023–24 season on disputes over its financial regulations, there are mounting concerns at the spiralling costs of such a long legal fight.
SACRAMENTO — A state lawmaker from San Diego has proposed fast-tracking the construction of an arena and housing project, drawing criticism from opponents who argue the site is not suitable for large-scale development because of flooding.
State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-La Mesa) wrote a letter last week to a powerful Assembly chair that outlines proposed amendments to Senate Bill 344 to help Midway Rising, a project backed by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, avoid potential lawsuits related to its environmental review.
“As amended, SB 344 would deem the Midway Rising Specific Plan Subsequent Environmental Impact Report to be in full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA,” Weber Pierson wrote to the Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, chair of Assembly Rules Committee.
“In order to promote the swift and deliberate development of affordable housing in the City of San Diego, an urgency clause is needed for this measure.”
Developers are seeking to replace the decades-old Pechanga Arena, and build a new 16,000-seat facility, 4,254 homes, including up to 2,000 affordable units, and commercial and outdoor space. The site is south of Mission Bay.
Parts of the development could rise to a maximum height of 25 stories, according to project’s environmental impact report.
Sports teams, including minor league hockey team the San Diego Gulls, play at the Pechanga Arena. The arena is surrounded by parking lots, which are used for weekend swap meets.
The Assembly Rules Committee on Monday approved an urgency clause to Senate Bill 344, which mean it needs a 2/3 vote of both houses to pass and would go into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.
Weber Pierson told the Times Monday that the amendments intended to help Midway Rising “haven’t crossed” the desk, meaning that the language hasn’t been inserted into Senate Bill 344. If the amendments go into the bill, “then at that point, I think we can have a conversation,” she said.
Brad Termini, the chief executive of Zephyr, one of Midway Rising’s development partners, said the proposed legislation “will help prevent frivolous lawsuits from causing unnecessary delays and keep the project on track to break ground next year, accelerating the delivery of much-needed housing in San Diego.”
The Kroenke Group didn’t immediately provide comment. Kroenke, the owner of the Rams, was announced as the major investor in Midway Rising in 2023.
Former San Diego Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, a longtime critic of the proposal, called the proposed amendments “reckless and rushed.”
“It removes the opportunity for the public and organizations to weigh in,” said Saldaña.
State lawmakers routinely carve out environmental exemptions for proposed sports stadiums, sometime in the closing days of the legislative session. The legislature has until the end of August to pass or reject scores of bills.
Former Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) led his colleagues in passing a bill in 2013 that helped the Sacramento Kings arena by limiting environmental lawsuits. The new arena for the Golden State Warriors basketball team in San Francisco also benefited from CEQA reforms passed by state lawmakers in 2011.
The landmark 1970 legislation is credited with helping to protect the state’s environment, but it is also criticized for blocking development.
Since it passed, the CEQA has been a consideration in how most major projects get approved in California. The law requires the disclosure of any effects a development might have on the environment, an evaluation of alternatives and, in many cases, proposed changes that would reduce those environmental effects to a level of insignificance.
Weber Pierson also previously authored Senate Bill 958, another bill that will help the arena, that is awaiting a vote in the Assembly.
That bill states that the environmental impacts of a project that are associated with increased building height, including noise, shadows, or the potential to attract wildlife, shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment.
The bill only applies to specific developments, including those that are proposed on an graded infill site and those that pay construction workers a prevailing wage.
Weber Pierson said that SB 958 “is not special-interest legislation” during a Aug. 9 public forum about the project, describing it a broad-based housing tool, according to the Peninsula Beacon.
The publication reported that the forum “got testy at several points, with some audience members openly booing” the speakers.
Eric Law, chairman of the Penisula Community Planning Board, criticized the state senator’s proposed amendments in an interview Monday.
“The continued efforts to push legislation specific to Midway is misguided and unneeded,” said Law, whose group provides input to the city on planning issues.
Law said his group isn’t opposed to development, but wants the city to stick to the current three-story limit for the area.
“We absolutely endorse the idea of redevelopment — that place is kind of an armpit,” Law said of Pechanga Arena. “They need affordable housing and better housing — you just don’t need to do it over 30 feet.”
The San Diego City Council still needs to approve the project.
Saldaña said the developers are ignoring the growing sea-level rise that is causing nearby street flooding.
Saldaña said she was out Tuesday night in the area with volunteers from community planning groups, including Law, and witnessed groundwater “literally coming up and flooding the streets.”
“Not a drop of rain had fallen,” she said. “It’s just the higher sea level pushing the groundwater to the surface.”
Weber Pierson told the Times that Saldaña should bring her concerns about flooding to the developer and city officials.
In a nondescript black building in downtown L.A.’s Arts District, rich sounds of sax and bass filled the air for hours. Inside, surrounded by the paintings and posters of iconic musicians, albums and films, dozens of people gathered for a night designed to prove a simple point: You can’t “cancel” jazz.
On Thursday night, eight jazz artists and groups performed a pop-up show, including Okay Coleman!, the Don Brown Collective, Joy Guerilla, and Genghis Don, who also organized the event. All of these artists had one thing in common: They were billed to perform on the now-canceled inaugural L.A. Jazz Festival.
The planned 17-day event was supposed to kick off on Aug. 7 and feature dozens of performances spread throughout every City Council district. Organizers hoped the shows would draw 250,000 attendees and inaugurate the city as a home for jazz events on par with New Orleans and Montreal. The festival was to include a final show headlined by Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Charlie Wilson, Parliament Funkadelic and Raphael Saadiq at Dockweiler State Beach.
“When I got booked for it, I was really excited,” Genghis Don said. “It was one of the bigger festivals I’ve done so far in my career.”
Glen Turner of Joy Guerilla performs at the “Can’t Cancel Jazz” event Thursday.
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
Then, the festival was abruptly canceled due to “last-minute public safety and municipal costs.”
But Don was determined for the show to go on. He partnered with Tída Norasingh of JIJI’s Jazz Club to host the “Can’t Cancel Jazz” pop-up show at Slow Jamz Gallery — a musical experience that was curated in less than 72 hours, according to Don.
“It all came together thanks to so many people who were involved in this,” Don said. “I really couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
The crowd, which leaned younger in part because the event allowed attendees 18 and older, trickled in around 7 p.m., and by 9 p.m., the party was in full swing. It was easy to see how audience members connected with the music by the way they cheered, danced and sang along through the night.
The pop-up show struck a balance between creating an accessible, music-forward environment for fans and providing support for the musicians who had been affected by the cancellation. The event’s entry fee was $20, while the nonalcoholic bar accepted additional donations. Some artists also had merch available for sale on site.
While “Can’t Cancel Jazz” may have been a response to the L.A. Jazz Festival being called off, it wasn’t aiming to replace it. Instead, the pop-up offered something more intimate. At times, the music overtook the gallery, completely captivating the attention of the room. At other moments, conversation and connection were happening right outside on the balcony between attendees, some of whom were meeting each other for the first time.
The result was something distinctly authentic with an underground quality that would have been hard to replicate at a sprawling, weeks-long festival.
“This was more so a test of L.A.’s community,” Don said. “They showed out, people came, the artists came together, and you know that’s the true definition of community.”
Carson High, the defending City Section Open Division football champions, starts out as No. 1 in the City Section rankings by The Times.
The Colts worked on their strength in the off season after failing to stop the run in a state playoff loss to Delano Kennedy.
The rankings:
1. CARSON. The Colts are getting ambitious, with an opening game against San Diego power Lincoln.
2. CRENSHAW. There’s speed, experience and even more depth on a team that made it to City final in 2025.
3. BIRMINGHAM. An improved passing attack makes the Patriots more dangerous going into opening game against Hart.
4. SAN PEDRO. Returning quarterback Seth Solorio and some good linemen should make the Pirates much better.
5. GARFIELD. The return of running back Ceasar Reyes is a big deal.
6. KING/DREW. The talent is there but the offense has to score points in big games for a breakthrough win.
7. SOUTH GATE. In quarterback Michael Gonzalez, the Rams can build around him and score points in bunches.
8. CLEVELAND. Cavaliers can be a big surprise with returnees at quarterback and running back.
9. EL CAMINO REAL. By midseason, when a couple transfer students become eligible, this will be a dangerous team. Watch out for sophomore Kymani Williams, headed for All-City honors.
10. VENICE. The late Angelo Gasca prepared his assistants to take over one day and now it’s their turn to show what they learned.
Others to watch: Hamilton, University, Eagle Rock, Franklin, Palisades.
Phil Parkinson bemoaned his team’s lack of ruthlessness – and the amount of stoppage time at the end of the game – after a 98th-minute equaliser denied Wrexham a Welsh derby victory at Cardiff City.
Parkinson’s side were on course to begin the new Championship campaign with a hard-fought win after Kieffer Moore’s third-minute goal at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wrexham missed chances to extend their lead – and twice hit the woodwork – on a night when they carried greater threat than their hosts only to be denied a win when Rubin Colwill smashed in a free-kick in the last act of the game.
“We’ve had chances to kill the game off. We haven’t taken them, the keeper’s made saves, but we haven’t really made him make a top-class save,” Parkinson said.
“We knew we could give Cardiff problems and time and time again. We did and really in the cold light of day, the game should have been out of sight, but it wasn’t.”
While Parkinson suggested his side could have managed the closing minutes of the game better, there was frustration over the timing of Cardiff’s goal.
The fourth official’s board showed six minutes of added time, with George Dobson fouling Joel Colwill in the last of those minutes before Rubin Colwill seized the chance to equalise.
“I’m not quite sure where they got six minutes from – I’m looking forward to asking [the officials about] that,” Parkinson said.
“However, giving cheap free-kicks away at this level, you can get punished and that’s what cost us tonight.
“All we had to do was stay calm in that moment and we’d be talking about three points.”
IF YOU are thinking about where to go on your next holiday, then you might want to consider Albania.
New research has found that Albania is among Europe’s fastest-growing holiday destinations.
Holiday bookings for Albania are on the riseCredit: Alamy
In fact, according to Thomas Cook, bookings are up a staggering 293 per cent year-on-year.
And it isn’t surprising as Albania has loads to explore including pretty beaches with crystal clear waters, a quiet capital city and cheap wine.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
Recently, even the cast of TOWIE were in the country, filming the latest series of the popular reality TV show in Drimadhë – a small village near the Llogara National Park on the Ionian coast.
Brits wanting to head to the under-the-radar country, can fly direct from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Liverpool during the summer.
Tirana is the capital but you won’t bump into loads of crowdsCredit: Alamy
The capital of Albania is Tirana and despite being the capital, you won’t find heads of crowds here.
The city can reach 35C in the summer and is even one of the sunniest cities in Europe with more than 2,500 hours of sunshine each year. Pints in the city cost as little as £1.50 too.
Travel reporter Cyann Fielding who visited the city recently, said: “One thing I really love about the city is it still feels completely undiscovered by Brits, lacking crowds and the typical souvenir shops on each corner that tend to come with that.
“In the heart of the city, visit Skanderbeg Square, where you’ll be able to get a clear view of the surrounding architecture – a mix of traditional Albanian villas and Soviet grey concrete buildings.
“If you want to earn your pint, climb the city’s very own pyramid, which has spectacular views of the mountains that border the capital.
“Make sure to also look out for ‘pillbox’ bunkers which are littered across the city – many of which have been turned into vibrant and quirky bars and cafes.”
You could stay at Hotel Elisa Tirana, Affiliated by Meliá with a spa, cafe and bar, for seven nights from £360 per person.
Maldives of Europe
Ksamil is known as the ‘Maldives of Europe’ with pretty beachesCredit: Alamy
Albania is also home to the so-called ‘Maldives of Europe’ in Ksamil, which earns the nickname from its pretty beaches with soft sand and crystal clear water.
You can head to Ksamil Beach, where you will also find the hand of Ksamil, which is a set of stairs up to a platform that is the palm of hand, hanging over the water.
If one beach isn’t enough, you can also head to Lori Beach ans Paradise Beach, which aren’t a long walk from Ksamil Beach. On Lori Beach you can also rent sunbeds and umbrellas.
In the town itself you will find a number of bars and spots to grab a bite to eat as well.
You could stay at the four-stay Ventus Hotel right by the beach for a week costing from £171 per person.
UNESCO World Heritage sites
There are historical destinations such as UNESCO World Heritage sites you can visit as wellCredit: Alamy
If you prefer exploring history, Albania has some beautiful historical towns such as Berat and Gjirokastra – which are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Berat dates back 2,400 years and is known as the City of a Thousand Windows with boxy white houses and numerous Byzantine churches from the 13th century.
Gjirokastra, on the other hand, can be found in the Drinos River Valley and is known for its ornate 17th century houses.
Known as the ‘City of Stone’, visitors can explore a 13th century citadel as well as an old bazaar, traditional marketplace.
You could stay at the Te Gjyshi at Grandfather Hotel for seven nights costing from £199 per person.
Durres
Or visit Durres, less than an hour from TiranaCredit: Alamy
Less than an hour from Tirana, you could head to the city of Durres.
In the city, you’ll find the Durres Amphitheatre, which is one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in the Balkans.
Make sure to also head to Durres Beach, which boasts a long stretch of golden sand as well as shallow waters ideal for families.
Stop by one of the restaurants along the seafront as well, to try out a catch-of-the-day grill, often with mussels and squid.
You could stay at the four-star Hotel Alion in Durres, Albania from £165 per person, including flights.
Golem
Golem is ideal for beach lovers with along stretch of coastlineCredit: Alamy
Golem is a great destination for beach lovers, thanks to being sat on a long stretch of the Adriatic coastline.
This pretty spot is also less than an hour drive from the airport.
Visitors can head along the seafront and find a boardwalk full of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.
Golem is also the perfect place to try out different water sports such as banana boat rides.
You could stay at the four-star Martiness Hotel in Golem for seven nights from £299 per person.
