dawn

May 30 was meant to be the day of a new beginning for Rangers.

New investment. New regime. New manager en route. A new outlook, all triggered by the arrival of a US-based consortium vowing to get the club “back to the top”.

Already the Trumpesque “Make Rangers Great Again” merchandise seen back then has been parked. The star-spangled banners in the Ibrox stands now replaced with statements of protest, accompanied by howls of dissatisfaction.

Five harrowing months on from when the group led by Andrew Cavenagh walked in the big door in the Bill Struth Stand, the feel-good has been has been banished amid interminable disappointment.

It’s been catastrophic so far. A new head coach, Russell Martin, has been and gone – smuggled away in the back of a car – after 123 days.

The process of appointing his replacement garnered ridicule as candidates were in and out like a managerial Hokey Cokey, all before Danny Rohl re-emerged to take charge after earlier withdrawing from the race.

Fans have been seen accosting board members in hotel lobbies and airports, while on the pitch the team languish 14 points off the Premiership summit as Europe continues to to be a traumatic experience.

The latest torturous episode came courtesy of a Roma team who played most of their 2-0 Europa League victory at Ibrox in second gear.

In truth, there was no real need to reach for a third against a Rangers team which was again complicit to stay anchored on zero points.

There have been flickers of improvement under German Rohl, who has won two of his first five games.

Some Rangers fans will be willing for a January window to come quickly, but is there any real faith that it will be their saving grace?

Hope for peace

TODAY marks the dawn of a new era of hope for the Middle East.

As US Vice-President JD Vance said yesterday, a truce brokered by Donald Trump has brought the region to “the cusp of true peace”.

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While other world leaders postured and bewailed, the US President used his extraordinary power of persuasion to force Hamas and Israel to strike a deal to end two years of bloodshed.

It means thousands of Palestinians will return to what is left of their homes and get the food and medical aid they need, and Israelis can welcome back loved ones taken hostage during the terrorist massacre which started the conflict.

The 19th Century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck once said that politics is “the art of the possible”.

But hard-nosed businessman President Trump has proved it can also be “the art of the deal”.

The path to lasting peace is still littered with pitfalls.

Hamas must be made to disarm and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will have to be persuaded to drop his opposition to a future, self-ruling Palestinian state.

More tears will be shed in the days to come.

Much trauma awaits Israeli families whose loved ones return alive but emaciated or, tragically, in body bags.

There will also be anger if terrorist killers are freed as part of the deal.

Yet despite these hurdles, this is the brightest glimmer of hope the region has seen in a generation.

And if, one day, it leads to a lasting peace, the whole world will rejoice.

Win for justice

THE phrase “justice must be seen to be done” is as relevant today as when it was first uttered in court a century ago.

That is why The Sun challenged an order banning a child rapist from being identified as an asylum seeker.

In a shocking example of two-tier justice, both the prosecution and the offender’s lawyer had opposed our attempt to report his status.

But this newspaper chalked up a landmark victory for open justice and Press freedom by fighting to have the order overturned.

Judge Maria Lamb gave an instant ruling that we were right.

The jury took just two-and-a-half hours to convict the serial offender.

A double triumph for common sense.

Silly Mili

ED Miliband’s fixation with Net Zero gets more desperate and costly by the day.

The Energy Secretary is targeting well-off families with £7,500 “bribes” to fit green heat pump systems most of us can’t afford.

His barmy campaign confirms what we already knew about Mr Miliband’s obsession with meeting unrealistic carbon emission targets.

It’s a waste of money — and he is a waste of space.

The contradictions of mixed martial arts brawler Mark Kerr can’t be contained by a ring, an octagon or a film. A vulnerable man with a brutal career, he went undefeated on the mat while struggling in his private relationships and public addiction to painkillers, which he bravely revealed in John Hyams’ 2002 HBO documentary “The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.” In that footage, shot between 1997 and 2000, you’re continually startled by how Kerr could clobber his opponents until some lost teeth — putting himself in a mental state he once likened to being a shark in a feeding frenzy — and then after the bell, flash a smile so wide and happy, it split his own head in half.

That’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s whole thing, too: Kill ’em with charm. So it’s as all-natural as his daily diet of organic chicken breast that the wrestler-turned-blockbuster-star would want to play Kerr in his own pursuit of excellence. He’s overdue for a sincere indie movie. Fair enough. Yet bizarrely, Johnson and writer-director Benny Safdie (“Uncut Gems,” “Good Time”), working solo without his brother Josh, have decided to simply shoot Hyams’ documentary again.

These two high-intensity talents, each with something to prove, seem to have egged each other on to be exhaustingly photorealistic. Johnson, squeezed into a wig so tight we get a vicarious headache, has pumped up his deltoids to nearly reach his prosthetic cauliflower ears. And Safdie is so devoted to duplicating the earthy brown decor of Kerr’s late-’90s nouveau riche Phoenix home that you’d think he was restoring Notre Dame. In setting out to establish his own style, Safdie just mimics another.

Their version of “The Smashing Machine” tells the same story that Hyams did, across the same years with the same handheld aesthetics and rattle-snap jazz score (by composer Nala Sinephro). It’s stiff karaoke that earns a confounded polite clap. That can’t possibly have been the intention, yet even the songs used as needle-drops are conspicuously borrowed: covers of the country crooner Billy Swan singing Elvis, and Elvis singing Frank Sinatra. Meanwhile, Johnson’s Kerr huffs up a set of stairs in a training montage that already belongs to “Rocky.”

Once again, Kerr gets shaken by his first defeat to Igor Vovchanchyn (played by Oleksandr Usyk, the current heavyweight boxing champion) in Japan’s Yokohama Arena, and responds by bottoming out, getting sober and committing to win his next tournament. All the while he bickers with his on-again, off-again alcoholic girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt), who gets blamed for everything that goes wrong in the ring. A teeth-grindingly mismatched couple, they can’t get through a conversation without arguing. Even trying her best to empathize, she’s overbearing. When Dawn alerts his friend and colleague Mark “The Hammer” Coleman (MMA fighter Ryan Bader in his acting debut) that her battering ram of a boyfriend was drinking before a bout, Coleman snaps at her for letting him act so stupid.

Safdie frames Dawn as a force of domestic destruction (although Kerr tears down doors like wet cardboard). In her introduction, she — horrors! — makes his smoothie with the wrong milk and, a beat later, insists on cuddling the cat on their leather sofa. A shattered Japanese kintsugi bowl is a newly added visual metaphor of their relationship, as is Dawn’s attempt to fix it with Krazy glue, a wink-wink at her emotional volatility. Still, we never understand what holds them together. Blunt is stuck in a reprise of her Oscar-nominated supporting role in “Oppenheimer” as the drunk whose cruelty pardons the male lead’s flaws. Yeah, Mark fizzled in Yokohama, but boy was she awful.

What’s the point? Having stripped away most of the documentary’s narration and sit-down interviews with Kerr’s family and friends, the film barely explores anyone’s psychology — and Blunt’s railroaded Dawn loses her chance to speak for herself. “I don’t think you know a damn thing about me,” she snipes mid-screaming match. She’s right. We don’t know much about her either, nor any of the noisy things onscreen, from the bloodrush of combat to the pull of their co-dependent affair.

We’re supposed to find depth in Johnson’s weary, pinched grin as he appreciates the sunset on a flight to Japan or watches fans at demolition derby cheer just as loudly for mindless chunks of metal getting crushed. He’s quieter than the real Kerr, who could come across like a guileless chatterbox, and when he does talk, it’s often about the control he must exert on his body and his backyard — the diet, the exercise, the sobriety, the gardening — delivered with the conviction of someone giving motivational advice to the manosphere.

If you squint, there’s an idea here that his personal needs set an unyielding tempo in their home, a notion Johnson must resonate with as someone who sets his morning alarm for 3:30 a.m. But we become better acquainted with how light ripples across Johnson’s shirtless back in a tracking shot than with whatever’s going on in his character’s head. More often than not, we’re just watching him walk around in a skin suit of Kerr, trying and failing not to see the movie star underneath. I wonder if Johnson might have channeled the open-faced Kerr better without the fake eyebrows, if he’d trusted his own inner glow instead of immediately going for the dramatic kill.

Look at how dutifully Safdie and Johnson have worked to re-create this world, the movie seems to be saying. Appreciate the intentionally cruddy camerawork by Maceo Bishop that duplicates Hyams’ low-budget limitations. Enjoy how costume designer Heidi Bivens has put Johnson in another silver-buckled black leather belt similar to the one in his infamous, much-memed Y2K-era photo, the one with the turtleneck, chain jewelry and fanny pack. You know without doing the math that, at this time, 39-year-old Safdie was in his early teens, an age that’s a sweet spot for nostalgia. This is his chance to go back to the future. No wonder he doesn’t want to change a thing.

But “The Smashing Machine” should be about change. For the MMA, this was an era of evolution as it transitioned from a contest of raw strength to one of endurance and skill. Former collegiate wrestlers like Kerr and Coleman could no longer win with their signature ground-and-pound techniques. Organizers forbade several of their key moves as their brusque victories weren’t telegenic. Kerr’s early contests often ended in less than two minutes, an oops-I-missed-it-grabbing-a-beer brevity that would have made pay-per-view buyers grumble. Headbutts were disallowed in part to draw the action out, and also because John McCain didn’t want what he called “human cockfighting” on TV.

These underlying tensions were just coming into focus. The original documentary felt blurry because Hyams didn’t yet know how the off-camera legalities would play out. He would have never guessed that the once-maligned Ultimate Fighting Championship league, purchased in 2001 for $2 million, would become a powerhouse with the clout to ink a $7.7-billion television deal just this summer. He also didn’t know that the cash payments Kerr earned in Japan would be revealed to have the yakuza’s fingerprints on them, or that Kerr’s opioid addiction was start of a burgeoning national health crisis that would soon have America in a chokehold.

Surely, Safdie with his two decades of perspective and his own knack for movies about hard-charging, charismatic screwups like Adam Sandler’s gambling addict Howard Ratner in “Uncut Gems” has something to add? Nope, just tell the same tale twice.

Hyams stopped filming in May 2000, at a point when it appeared that Kerr had chosen love over war. Safdie is aware that Kerr would live on to make more choices and that love doesn’t win, either. But despite the benefit of hindsight, Safdie doesn’t seem to have considered that the old narrative no longer fits. He just updates the title cards on the end: a sentence about Kerr and Dana’s future, a note that today’s MMA stars are better paid, a point undermined by a shot of the actual Kerr climbing into an exorbitantly glossy new truck. Turns out Kerr has been a car salesman for the last 15 years, but you wouldn’t know that leaving “The Smashing Machine.” You wouldn’t know why this movie existed at all.

Displaced Gaza City residents recount being chased by Israeli quadcopters after being forced to flee their shelters.

It’s time to revisit the age-old question that’s been debated for years: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Lionsgate will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “Twilight” novels by bringing the entire film saga back to the big screen from Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, The Times confirmed.

The love triangle tale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — a human, a vampire and a werewolf, respectively — grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide during its first run, according to Box Office Mojo.

The films, based on the four-part book series written by Stephenie Meyer, follow the story of Bella Swan (Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson). Their relationship is tested by Edward’s instinct to harm her and by Bella’s friend Jacob Black (Lautner), who belongs to a rival werewolf clan.

There are five films in the series: “Twilight” (2008); “New Moon” (2009); “Eclipse” (2010); “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (2011); and “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” (2012). Round-table chats with Meyer, producer Wyck Godfrey, former co-president of Lionsgate Gillian Bohrer and others will accompany each film.

As part of the festivities, Meyers is scheduled to be the honored guest at this year’s Forever Twilight in Forks Festival, an annual celebration in Forks, Wash., the setting of the book series. The fest will take place Sept. 11-14.

The films have remained in pop culture through TikTok trends where fans announce their “gay awakening” using scenes of Bella. Stewart, who came out as queer and married screenwriter Dylan Meyer in April, said the films are “gay” during an interview with Variety in January.

“It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love,” the actor said.

Stewart starred in last year’s romantic thriller “Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) and will next appear in her wife’s directorial debut, “The Wrong Girls,” which is written by the couple.

Pattinson played the titular character in 2022’s “The Batman.” He last appeared in Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi comedy “Mickey 17” (2025) and will appear later this year in Lynne Ramsay’s psychological dramedy “Die, My Love.”

Lautner took a few acting jobs after the end of the saga, in films such as “Grown Ups 2” (2013) and “The Ridiculous 6” (2015), but his most recent credit was in Netflix’s “Home Team” (2022).

“They can’t just go all foreign and bring in a host of Kiwis and South Africans, so they’re going to make sure that they’re clever,” says Noon.

“I think they’re conscious of trying to get enough quality guys to get through the season, but with a view that actually there’s a long-term project. With a bit more time and patience they can get the guys they want, as opposed to who is available.”

Red Bull’s entry into the Prem marks the end of a year-long search for a buyer for Newcastle.

Early last autumn, long-time club owner Semore Kurdi brought in A&W Capital, specialists in the sale of sports teams, to find someone to take the club on.

It was a pressing concern not just for Kurdi, who has put many millions of his own money into the club since becoming owner in 2011, or Newcastle, but the league as a whole.

After the demise of Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish, another club going under would have reduced the Prem to nine clubs. Each round would involve only four fixtures and the gate receipts and product for broadcasters and sponsors would shrink.

The situation was so stark that earlier this year Sky News reported, external the other Premiership clubs, along with CVC Partners who part-own the league, were prepared to loan Newcastle £4m to keep them upright.

Red Bull’s investment is a vastly preferable option for all involved.

Newcastle’s dire circumstances and Kurdi’s desire to see the club in good hands meant Red Bull could cut a deal with little initial cost beyond taking on responsibility for the club’s £39m debts.

Prem Rugby has been understandably eager to facilitate an acquisition that solves a short-term problem and fits long-term goals.

The league has rebranded from the Premiership to target a younger demographic, one that ties in well with Red Bull’s consumer base.

It also hopes to switch to a franchise model, perhaps as soon as 2026-27, doing away with on-pitch relegation. Such a move would reduce the risk of investing in distressed assets such as Newcastle, something that can spook potential owners.

Even the plan to rename Newcastle Falcons as Newcastle Red Bulls was simple and supported.

Red Bull ran into stiff opposition from the German football federation over their renaming of RB Leipzig in 2009. The RB officially stands for RasenBallsport, rather than the energy drink that bankrolled the team’s rise up the leagues, as a concession to officialdom.

English rugby, which has seen plenty of rebrands and title sponsors since the dawn of professionalism, has no such qualms.

On the surface, all this seems positive. Certainly, reports from inside the club say the sports science team were delighted with the numbers from the early training sessions after Amorim’s players returned for the start of pre-season on 7 July.

This, they reasoned, suggested the players had stuck to a pretty detailed and strict fitness programme to work on during their time off.

This is Manchester United, so there were some commercial appearances, but they have reduced from previous tours.

In fact, potentially the most significant commercial event as far as the club was concerned had no player involvement at all as Lord Coe, chair designate of the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for the Old Trafford regeneration project, was part of a delegation who addressed an audience of Wall Street investment banks and US financiers in New York to try to generate interest in helping to fund the planned £2bn new stadium project.

The fact neither Coe nor chief operating officer Collette Roche, who spoke at length to travelling media about the stadium plans in Los Angeles 12 months earlier, met the press this time suggests strongly nothing significant has changed and the feeling is growing United will not meet an initial five-year timeline minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe spoke of in March.

That is not Amorim’s concern, of course.

He must deliver on the pitch. And to that end, United did look much better than last season.

It was obvious the much-discussed three-man defence splits when Amorim’s team have the ball so, when the build-up begins, the right and left-sided defenders operate as normal central defenders with the middle man of the three – Matthijs de Ligt is in pole position for that role – moves into midfield alongside the deeper of the two chosen for those jobs.

Matheus Cunha definitely brings more invention to Amorim’s attack and Amad Diallo, if selected, is a massive danger offensively at right wing-back, even if questions are asked defensively.

It is clear Amorim feels he can find an upgrade on Rasmus Hojlund, even if many would argue a better use of the funds United do have would be to find someone who can bring physicality and energy to midfield.

Watching the industry of Bournemouth’s Alex Scott emphasises it is a significant weakness in Amorim’s squad.

Nevertheless, as tours go, this has been a fairly calm one. Amorim’s group of players, in general, seem happy enough and the positive spirit needed for any team to be successful does exist.

Yet the reality of modern football is that everything in seen through, and judged by, the prism of results.

The walk through might be an advancement. If United win it will be seen that way. If they lose it will be written off as a terrible idea – even though it is the exactly the same process.

Conceding the winning goal to Tottenham in the Europa League final through a flick off Brennan Johnson – that took a deflection at close range off Luke Shaw and then squeezed in at the corner despite Onana’s desperate attempt to keep it out – has nothing to do with training and everything to do with the small margins managers across the league talk about.

This does seem to be a better United. Amorim is getting his ideas across.

But Arsenal’s upcoming visit to Old Trafford and the 37 Premier Leagues games afterwards will decide whether the progress is real or if pre-season 2025 was just another false dawn.

Dozens killed on Saturday include 38 Palestinians seeking aid at controversial distribution sites, according to sources.

Sixty-two Palestinians, most of them aid seekers, have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since dawn on Saturday, hospital sources in the besieged enclave have told Al Jazeera.

The death toll includes 38 Palestinians seeking aid at distribution sites operated by the controversial United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The deaths are the latest killings reported near GHF-operated sites, despite Israel’s announcement last week that it would begin implementing “tactical pauses” in fighting in some areas to allow Palestinians greater access to humanitarian aid.

Israel announced the start of the daily pauses in military operations on July 27. However, 105 Palestinians were killed while seeking food on Wednesday and Thursday alone, the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory said on Friday.

As of Friday, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid, according to the human rights office.

Another 169 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation or malnutrition since the start of Israel’s war in October 2023, according to figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Palestinians in the enclave have reported numerous cases of Israeli soldiers and American security contractors hired by the GHF deliberately firing on aid seekers in the vicinity of the distribution sites.

Facing growing international condemnation over the conditions in Gaza, Israel has in recent days allowed airdrops of aid into the enclave by countries including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Spain, Germany and France.

But humanitarian groups, including the UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, have warned that the airdrops are insufficient and called on Israel to facilitate the free flow of assistance via land.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said that just 36 aid trucks entered the enclave on Saturday, far short of the 600 trucks it said were needed to meet the humanitarian needs of the population.

In Khan Younis, a Palestine Red Crescent Society staffer was killed and three others wounded by an Israeli attack on its headquarters, according to the aid group.

“One Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff member was killed and three others injured after Israeli forces targeted the Society’s headquarters in Khan Younis, igniting a fire on the building’s first floor,” the PRCS said in a post on X on Saturday.

Reporting from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah earlier on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said that Palestinians have not seen any improvement in their situation despite the recent deliveries of aid.

“In the markets, you barely find food. Whatever is available is very, very expensive, and Palestinians are still forced to risk their lives to get whatever they can get,” Khoudary said.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, on Saturday said Gaza was experiencing a famine that had been “largely shaped” by the attempts to replace the UN-led aid system with the “politically motivated” GHF.

“Sidelining & weakening UNRWA has nothing to do with claims of aid diversion to armed groups. It is a deliberate measure to collectively pressure & punish Palestinians for living in Gaza,” Lazzarini said in a post on X.

UNICEF has warned that malnutrition in Gaza has exceeded the threshold for famine, with 320,000 young children among those at risk of acute malnutrition.

“We are at a crossroads, and the choices made now will determine whether tens of thousands of children live or die,” Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations, said in a statement on Friday after a recent visit to Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

On the eve of the FIFA Club World Cup final, the governing body’s president hails a ‘golden era’ for the club game.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino triumphantly declared the Club World Cup to be “the most successful club competition in the world” on Saturday before this weekend’s final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

The first 32-team edition of the tournament faced criticism in the build-up for stretching demands on elite players and has been played out in baking temperatures in the United States that have raised concerns for the health of those involved.

There were also doubts about the level of interest the competition would generate among fans, but Infantino said he was satisfied with the attendance at matches, despite many games being far from sold out, and claimed it had been a major success financially.

“The golden age of club football has started. We can definitely say this FIFA Club World Cup has been a huge success,” Infantino told reporters at Trump Tower on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, where FIFA has just opened an office.

“We heard that financially it would not work, that nobody is interested, but I can say we generated almost $2.1bn in revenues, for 63 matches,” he said.

“That makes an average of $33m per match – no other club competition in the world comes close.

“It is already the most successful club competition in the world.”

Former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has been one of the leading voices against the tournament, calling it “the worst idea ever implemented in football” in a recent interview.

But the head of world football’s governing body dismissed suggestions that Klopp might be speaking for most observers in Europe.

“We shouldn’t say that the opinion of Europe on this is very bad because it is not true,” said Infantino, who was appearing on a stage alongside numerous footballing greats, including the Brazilian Ronaldo.

“All the teams who have come here have been happy – some teams who didn’t come here because they didn’t qualify were calling us to see how they could qualify.

“Of course, I would have liked to have Liverpool here, Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, Tottenham, AC Milan, Napoli … but you have to qualify and there are different criteria.”

The next Club World Cup is due to take place in 2029, with Infantino refusing to commit when asked whether the tournament could be played every two years or be expanded to feature more teams.

“We created something new, something which is here to stay, something which is changing the landscape of club football,” he added.

Sunrise with ancient gods in Anatolia

Rising from the rugged heart of Anatolia, Mount Nemrut offers one of the world’s most surreal sunrise experiences. Here, colossal stone heads of ancient gods and kings gaze silently across the highlands, remnants of a long-lost kingdom. As the first rays of dawn paint the statues gold, visitors are transported into an almost mythic realm. Begin your journey in Gaziantep, often called Turkey’s culinary capital. Savour rich baklava and spicy kebabs before setting out through the hills toward Nemrut. After experiencing the mountain’s majesty, continue to Göbekli Tepe – considered the world’s oldest temple complex, predating Stonehenge by millennia.
Ickin Vural

Join the locals and eat at a büfe

It’s become a little more expensive in Turkey recently, so my tip is: eat at the büfeler, where the taxi drivers eat. You find them at every bus station in every town and village. A light lunch of rice with kuru fasulye (beans) on top, perhaps a side of vegetable stew (despite all those kebab shops, Turkish people don’t eat as much meat as we like to think), and an ayran (yoghurt drink) on the side would be my idea of a perfect lunch. Afiyet olsun! (enjoy your meal), as they say in Turkey.
Anna

Exploring the vibrant city of Eskişehir

Eskişehir is a vibrant, studenty city less than an hour and a half’s train ride from Ankara. Its name (“old city”) is a clue to the age of the place – it was founded around 1,000BC – but unlike some of the much more visited ruins and ancient cities in Turkey, it is very much a forward-looking, 21st-century place. The Odunpazarı houses in the oldest part of the city are beautifully multicoloured – it is a perfect area to enjoy an obligatory Turkish coffee and piece of lokum (Turkish delight).
Michael Kuipers

Authentic Turkish charmers near Ephesus

Discover two gems near exquisite Ephesus: Alaçatı, on the coast near İzmir, is a picturesque, sleepy village complete with fresh fish restaurants and sandy beaches; a bit further south is Şirince, a beautiful flower village that stays fresh even through July heatwaves. You can explore the coast, visit thermal baths in spectacular Pamukkale, and Ilıca, or head to the Greek island of Samos for the day, while still savouring the joy of a simpler and more authentic Turkey.
Thomas

Lesser visited Lycian ruins around Kaş

Just above the popular seaside town of Kaş, tucked high in the hills, lie the ancient ruins of Phellos. The steep hike can be tough – especially in the heat – but the reward is worth it. Massive Lycian tombs and weathered stone ruins appear unexpectedly, like a scene from Indiana Jones. With no crowds or noise, it’s an off-the-beaten-track adventure into ancient history. If you’re seeking something beyond beaches and tourist spots, Phellos offers solitude, mystery and a stunning glimpse into a forgotten world.
Pinar Greenwood

Mardin’s heady mix and sweeping views

My top secret Turkey tip would be Mardin, in the south-east. Honey-coloured houses on a hilltop cascade down to the Mesopotamian plateau, and just about every hotel has a terrace with sweeping views across to Syria. The history is a mix of Assyrian, Armenian, Chaldean and, of course Turkish, with museums, medreses and narrow streets. It’s a taste of the Middle East but with the safety of travel in Turkey. And the food …
Ann Ozsivadjian

Chilled dining in Antalya’s waterside retreat

The Dim River lies on the outskirts of Alanya, in the Antalya region. A short taxi or bus ride will transport you from the bustling seaside town to a cascading waterfall which flows from the Taurus mountains to the Mediterranean Sea. Trees and natural vegetation provide shelter from the searing summer sun, while the waterside restaurants offer traditional Turkish food and drinks. Relax at tables nestled in the trees, perch at the water’s edge, or take a dip in a pool filled with icy mountain water – if you dare!
Natalie

Paddling off the Lycian coast from Fethiye

Sea kayaking along Turkey’s wild south-west coast from Fethiye is an unforgettable experience. Paddle past hidden coves, ancient ruins and dramatic cliffs, before friendly local guides prepare delicious traditional Turkish meals, and the sunsets glow deep red over crystal waters. Fethiye is a culturally rich town nestled between mountains and the sea, and the perfect launch point for a trip. If you’re after beauty, solitude and authentic connection, this is paradise.
Mikey

Hike to stunning ancient Termessos

We visited Antalya in February, and viewing some of the ancient sites on a crisp, sunny day with snow on the mountains in the background was brilliant. But the highlight of our trip was taking a hike in the Mount Güllük-Termessos national park to see the ancient Solymi city of Termessos, and particularly the stunning theatre, set atop the mountain with panoramic views. You pass many interesting ruins on the way up, but this is the jewel in the crown. We went on our own, but if you want to make a day of it I’d suggest joining a hiking group for an in-depth exploration.
Alison

Winning tip: timeless charm at Akyaka

On a spontaneous road trip through Turkey’s south-west, I stumbled upon Akyaka – a peaceful, pine-fringed village untouched by mass tourism. The Azmak River, so clear it seemed unreal, flowed past riverside cafes where I watched turtles drift by. Locals welcomed me like family, and evenings meant fresh seafood and golden sunsets. The architecture – wooden houses with carved balconies – gave the town a timeless charm. Paddleboarding on the calm sea at sunrise was a moment I’ll never forget. Debbie Skudra

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile sex trafficking and RICO trial came to a close on Wednesday, prompting a variety of reactions from other musicians, accusers, supporters and social media critics.

Federal prosecutors accused the music mogul of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in his criminal trial, which began last month in New York. On Wednesday, jurors found Combs, 55, guilty on two counts of the prostitution-related charge but cleared him of the most serious charges: racketeering and sex trafficking.

The split verdict proved a victory for Combs and his legal team, with defense attorney Marc Agnifilo telling Judge Arun Subramanian, “Mr. Combs has been given his life by this jury.”

Rapper 50 Cent — who has trolled Combs on social media since disturbing allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder first surfaced in late 2023 — offered a less formal take on the verdict. “Diddy beat the Feds that boy a bad man!” the pugnacious “In Da Club” artist said on Instagram, in an early version of his post.

50 Cent reacted to the verdict by posting a seemingly AI-generated selfie. “[Combs] beat the RICO,” he said, likening Combs to organized crime boss John Gotti. For the record, Gotti was convicted in 1992 of murder and racketeering.

On Tuesday, 50 Cent seemingly hinted at Combs’ partial victory with another Instagram post. “Diddy just told me to tell Yall don’t worry about him, he gonna hold it down,” he captioned another AI-generated photo.

Singer Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) received praise from her legal team after Wednesday’s verdict. The “Me & U” artist dated Combs for about 11 years before their split in 2018. In November 2023 she sued Combs, becoming the first accuser to publicly raise allegations of rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking against Combs. During the weeks-long trial, a pregnant Cassie took the stand to testify about her relationship with Combs and the alleged sexual “freak-off” events he orchestrated.

Attorney Douglas Wigdor said in a statement to The Times on Wednesday that his client “paved the way” for Combs’ conviction. Combs faces up to 10 years in prison for each prostitution-related count. He has been in custody since he was indicted last year.

“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice. We must repeat — with no reservation — that we believe and support our client who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial,” Wigdor said. “She displayed unquestionable strength and brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion.”

Combs’ case “proved that change is long overdue,” added Wigdor, who also said his firm remains committed to “fight on behalf of survivors.”

Lisa Bloom, an attorney representing Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard in her sexual assault lawsuit against Combs, said on Instagram that “today’s split verdict is a disappointment” but noted the criminal case is different from the civil battle.

“We will continue to aggressively fight our case until we obtain full and complete justice for Dawn,” said Bloom.

Outside the courthouse, Combs supporters celebrated the Grammy winner’s partial victory by spraying baby oil on each other, according to video shared by NBC News reporter Matt Lavietes. Authorities notably seized narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant at Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles during the raids last year.

Several users on social media also expressed confusion and skepticism at the jury’s decision to acquit Combs on charges of sex trafficking. Citing the prostitution-related charges, one critic alleged in a tweet “that is QUITE LITERALLY SEX TRAFFICKING??? hello??”

“Someone [with] a law degree explain to me how that makes sense,” tweeted a second X user.

David Ring, an attorney who represents sexual abuse victims in some of the highest-profile cases, told The Times he felt “the government overreached” in their pursuit of RICO charges.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani also told The Times in an interview prior to Wednesday’s verdict that “the prosecution’s presentation was underwhelming.” He added that the high-profile case was “the most expensive prostitution trial in American history. What a huge win for the defense and a tremendous loss for the prosecution.”

Subramanian decided in a late afternoon hearing on Wednesday that Combs would remain behind bars until his sentencing, citing past violent incidents that his attorney acknowledged during the trial. The rapper was denied release on a $1 million bond. Subramanian suggested a sentencing hearing for Oct. 3, but Combs’ lawyers are seeking an earlier date.

Times staff writers Richard Winton and August Brown contributed to this report.