feels

Despite his austerity measures, the president’s party is expected to do well in the crucial October mid-term elections.

Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, has vetoed bills aimed at increasing pensions and disability spending, amid ongoing protests against his austerity fiscal policies, which are hitting many people in their day-to-day lives.

Milei’s administration announced the decision on Monday, less than three months before the crucial mid-term elections, saying the country does not have enough money to finance the legislation.

The vetoes can still be overturned by a two-thirds majority in the Congress, where politicians passed the laws in July.

The Argentinian president, whose party only holds a small number of seats in parliament, will hope for a repeat of last year, when he managed to successfully stop pension rises, thanks to support from the conservative PRO bloc.

In a statement published on X on Monday, the president’s office suggested that the now-vetoed laws had been approved by Congress in an “irresponsible manner”, without identifying funding sources.

It claimed that the spending rises would have amounted to 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 1.68 percent of GDP in 2026.

“This president prefers to tell an uncomfortable truth rather than repeat comfortable lies,” the president’s office said.

“The only way to make Argentina great again is with effort and honesty, not the same old recipes,” it added, echoing the “make America great again” rhetoric of the United States President Donald Trump.

Since taking office in December 2023, Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, has slashed federal spending in an attempt to reduce inflation.

As part of these largescale economic changes, his government has removed tens of thousands of civil service jobs and made drastic cuts to social spending and public works.

In 2024, Milei’s policies saw Argentina gain its first annual surplus in 14 years, and in June, Argentina’s monthly inflation rate fell below 2 percent for the first time since 2020.

However, the president’s measures have been blamed for tipping millions of people into poverty in the first half of last year.

Unemployment has also grown, and prices are up 40 percent year-on-year, conditions which have led people to protest.

Researchers say pensioners, who have been at the centre of weekly demonstrations, are the hardest-hit group.

Despite the public protests, polls show that Milei’s party holds a sizeable lead ahead of October’s mid-term elections, which will be seen as a referendum on his first two years in office.

When 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020, it ripped through the city, killing more than 218 people. Among them was three-year-old Alexandra Naggear.

Five years later, the investigation into who is at fault for the blast has been delayed, and at times derailed, by political interference.

“The most important thing for us is not for the decision, but for full justice to happen,” Tracy Naggear, Alexandra’s mother and a key activist advocating for the blast’s victims, told Al Jazeera by phone. “And we won’t accept a half-truth or half-justice.”

As the fifth anniversary of the tragedy approaches, there is some optimism that the judicial investigation is finally moving in the right direction after facing obstacles, mostly from well-connected politicians refusing to answer questions and the former public prosecutor blocking the investigation.

A decision from the lead prosecutor is expected soon, activists and legal sources familiar with the matter told Al Jazeera. And while the road to justice is still long, for the first time, there is a feeling that momentum is building.

Justice derailed

“You can feel a positive atmosphere [this time],” lawyer Tania Daou-Alam told Al Jazeera.

Daou-Alam now lives in the United States, but is in Lebanon for the annual commemoration of the blast, which includes protests and a memorial.

Her husband of 20 years, Jean-Frederic Alam, was killed by the blast, which was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in modern history.

Daou-Alam is also one of nine victims suing the US-based company TGS in a Texas court for $250m, claiming it was involved in chartering the Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged ship that carried the ammonium nitrate into Beirut’s port in 2013.

She told Al Jazeera that the case is more about  “demanding accountability and access to documents that would shed more light on the broader chain of responsibility” than it is about compensation.

The population of Beirut is used to facing crises without government help. Numerous bombings and assassinations have occurred, with the state rarely, if ever, holding anyone accountable.

Frustration and a sense of abandonment by the state, the political system, and the individuals who benefit from it already boiled over into an uprising in October 2019, less than a year before the blast.

In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, residents cleaned up the city themselves. Politicians who came for photo opportunities were chased out by angry citizens, and mutual aid filled the gap left by the state.

The end of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1990 set the tone for the impunity that has plagued the country ever since. Experts and historians say militia leaders traded their fatigues for suits, pardoned each other, awarded themselves ministries and began rerouting the country’s resources to their personal coffers.

Preliminary investigations found that the explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port in improper conditions for six years.

They also found that many top officials, including then-President Michel Aoun, had been informed of the ammonium nitrate’s presence, but chose not to act.

Judge Fadi Sawan was chosen to lead the full investigation in August 2020, but found himself sidelined after calling some notable politicians for questioning. Two ministers he charged with negligence asked that the case be transferred to another judge.

A court decision, seen by Reuters, claimed that because Sawan’s house had been damaged in the blast, he would not be impartial.

Replacing him in February 2021 was Judge Tarek Bitar. Like Sawan, Judge Bitar called major political figures in for questioning and later issued arrest warrants for them. Among them are Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeiter, close allies of Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who still refuse to respond to Judge Bitar’s requests and claim they have parliamentary immunity.

Despite much popular support, many of Judge Bitar’s efforts were impeded, with Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces at times refusing to execute warrants and the former Court of Cassation public prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat, ordering his investigation halted.

A new era

In early 2025, Lebanon elected a new president, Joseph Aoun, and a new prime minister, Nawaf Salam.

In their inaugural addresses, both spoke about the importance of finding justice for the victims of the port explosion.

“The current justice minister seems determined to go all the way, and he has promised that the judge will no longer face any hurdles and that the ministry will provide all help required,” Karim Emile Bitar, a Lebanese political analyst with no relation to the judge investigating the port explosion, told Al Jazeera.

Human Rights Watch reported in January 2025 that Judge Bitar had resumed his investigation, “after two years of being stymied by Lebanese authorities”.

On July 29, Salam issued a memorandum declaring August 4 a day of national mourning. On July 17, Aoun met with the families of victims killed in the explosion.

“My commitment is clear: We must uncover the whole truth and hold accountable those who caused this catastrophe,” Aoun said.

Oueidat, the former public prosecutor, was replaced by Judge Jamal Hajjar in an acting capacity in 2024, before being confirmed as his successor in April 2025.

In March 2025, Hajjar reversed Oueidat’s decisions and allowed Judge Bitar to continue his investigation.

Legal experts and activists have been pleased by the progress.

“Actual individuals implicated in the case are showing up to interrogations,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera. Among them are Tony Saliba, the former director-general of State Security, Abbas Ibrahim, former director-general of the General Directorate of General Security, and Hassan Diab, prime minister at the time of the explosion.

But this is still not enough for those wanting justice to be served after five years of battles, activists and experts note.

“We are asking for laws that are able to protect and support the judiciary and the appointments of vacant judge [posts], so these things will show the government is on our side this time,” Daou-Alam said.

Even with the new government pushing for accountability, some are still trying to disrupt the process.

Hassan Khalil and Zeiter still refuse to appear before Judge Bitar, and a fight has emerged over the country’s judicial independence.

“We can only get justice if the judiciary acts independently so that they can go after individuals and so the security services can act independently without political interference,” Kaiss said.

Time for accountability

The last few years have been a turbulent period of myriad crises for Lebanon.

A banking collapse robbed many people of their savings and left the country in a historic economic crisis. Amid that and the COVID-19 pandemic came the blast, and international organisations and experts hold the Lebanese political establishment responsible.

“The time has come to send a signal to Lebanese public opinion that some of those responsible, even if they are in high positions, will be held accountable,” political analyst Bitar said.

“Accountability would be the first step for the Lebanese in Lebanon and the diaspora to regain trust,” he said, “and without trust, Lebanon will not be able to recover.”

Still, Bitar maintained, progress on the port blast dossier doesn’t mean every answer will come to the forefront.

“This crime was so huge that, like many similar crimes in other countries, sometimes it takes years and decades, and we never find out what really happened,” he said.

Blast victim Tracy Naggear noted that “[our] fight… is mainly for our daughter, for Alexandra, of course”.

“But we are [also] doing it for all the victims and for our country,” she said. ‘[It’s] for every single person that has been touched by the 4th of August, from a simple scratch to a broken window.”

“It was a hard effort and spending 12 and a half laps out there is a bit different and a bit more than I’m expecting, but that mile push hopefully shows I’m strong enough for five weeks time.”

Kerr pointed out the strength of British middle distance running.

“This title’s been British for about three or four years and it’s hopefully going to stay British for the next couple of years and it’s my job to do that,” he said after his win at the event in Birmingham that doubled as the British trials.

“We have a fantastic set of 1500m guys going after it as well, so we are in a great spot in the UK.”

Gourlay proved himself best of the rest and said “it feels great” after beating Englishman Elliot Giles in a sprint finish to secure the British title for the fourth time in six years.

“It’s a bit surreal having that longevity with all the people that have been coming and going through this event,” he told Scottish Athletics.

“It’s always the challenge to come and take care of business here in terms of qualification for the world championships, but the goal was certainly to win and it feels satisfying to do that today.

“To win the last three is quite something given the people I’ve ended up being up against over these years.”

Jemma Reekie booked her 800m place in the team for Tokyo, but the Scot had to be content with second spot behind in-form Englishwoman Georgia Hunter Bell.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Schenini took gold in the long jump, Kirsty Law won silver in the discus and Bera Ajala was third in the men’s triple jump.

The picturesque river has been described as the ‘most beautiful wild swimming spot’

The Peak District is a wild swimmer’s paradise, famous for its stunning walks and waterfalls. One unmissable spot is Three Shires Head. As the meeting point of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire on the River Dane, it makes a perfect day trip from cities such as Manchester and Sheffield.

Or, if you’re lucky enough to live even closer, it’s a wonderful afternoon out. Visitors say that it “feels like a hidden world” with “views that make you stop in your tracks.”

The picturesque setting makes the perfect backdrop for a scenic walk, picnic, or swim – if you can brave the cold water. I visited for the first time recently, keen for a cooling dip on a warm July day, and it’s already one of the best things I’ve done all summer.

After parking in a nearby lay-by, it took us approximately 30 minutes to walk the rocky path that descends to the river. It was well worth the effort when we reached the pools and the small waterfalls found near the packhorse bridge.

Understandably, it was very busy when we arrived around midday on a Saturday, with groups playing music and families enjoying ball games. So if you’re looking for a tranquil swimming spot, you’ll likely need to wait until the end of the summer season. Alternatively, you could plan an early morning visit to secure a quiet spot around one of the smaller pools, perfect for a dip or a chilled morning spent taking in the fairytale scenery.

Everyone in my group agreed we’d love to go back another time, so it’s somewhere I’d definitely recommend if you’re planning a wild swim and you’re comfortable with the sloped, rocky walk. Just remember to take care and pack any essentials you’ll need, such as water bottles.

Praising the spot on TripAdvisor, one visitor wrote: “An amazingly beautiful place with walks all around. Great for open air bathing. Take care though, the water is cold so know your stuff.”

Sharing advice, someone else said: “Lots of reviews have said it is a bit of a walk to get here, but I found a website that suggested a short route, which took about 15/20 minutes. There was plenty of parking in the lay-by.

“Slight climb down a ladder, but OK if you have good mobility. The walk is through fields with sheep so if you have a dog, please keep them on lead (like we did). We found a little spot where nobody else was, but we were there early, and people started to arrive by midday.

“It was a really hot day, but the water was still quite chilly. There are some lovely little waterfalls and the water is clean. There’s no shops nearby so make sure you take everything you need for the time you plan to spend there- drinks, food, suncream etc.”

Meanwhile, an impressed visitor said: “Three Shires Head feels like a hidden world, waterfalls, old packhorse bridges, and proper peace and quiet. It’s a stunning spot for a ramble, with views that make you stop in your tracks. A proper breath of fresh air.”

The closest postcode for Three Shires Head is SK11 0BQ, and there is free parking in the lay-by on the A54. The closest train station, Macclesfield Station, is 25 minutes away. However, you will need a car to drive from the station.

Wild swimming can be dangerous. Always be aware of the risks and follow safety recommendations.

In 2012, Cassidy Krug competed in her first and last Olympics. Raised by two diving coaches, Krug was in diapers when she started dreaming of competing.

At 27 years old, she had a shot at the Olympic bronze medal but landed in seventh place instead. Krug decided to retire, something she’d already been considering for three years. But how do you move forward in life when diving is the only thing you’ve ever known?

Shelf Help is a wellness column where we interview researchers, thinkers and writers about their latest books — all with the aim of learning how to live a more complete life.

Krug tried to replace her passion for diving with a corporate career. But after seven years in advertising and brand strategy, she felt lost and without the purpose and motivation she’d once felt for her sport. Fascinated by the endless options of what to do next, Krug wrote “Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Biggest Transitions.”

The Times spoke with Krug about why we’re so resistant to uncertainty and what tools we can use to get comfortable with change.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Why do you think transitions are an important part of life?

Transitions are an important part of life because they’re an inevitable part of life. An author named Bruce Feiler estimates that we have three to five “lifequakes” in our lives — major shifts that change our habits, our identities, our communities and our sense of purpose. These shifts are even more frequent now that it feels like the pace of change in the world is speeding up. The more we can embrace change, rather than try to hold on to our old ways, the more set up we will be to adapt and move forward.

“During a transition, we often need to change our definition of success,” says Cassidy Krug, author of “Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Biggest Transitions.”

(Natalie Fong)

For this book, you interviewed people going through all kinds of life transitions, from changing careers to leaving prison. What did you find to be universal truths about these transitions?

There were two: that transitions take away our sense of community, and that during a transition, we often need to change our definition of success. Stanley — the man I interviewed who left prison after 20 years — told me that when he did, he lost the sense of camaraderie he felt while there. He also realized that he’d previously defined success by having a family and a stable job. When he left prison, he needed to redefine success to include the impact he’d had on other people’s lives while in prison. Though my experience was not the same, I also felt a huge loss of community and the need to redefine success while leaving diving.

In the book, you write that as humans, we are resistant to change and feel a need for certainty. Why are we so resistant to such an inevitable part of our lives, and how can we overcome this?

We often waver between the need for stability and a desire for change and growth. Right now, as a society, our expectations for certainty are ever-increasing. Twenty years ago, there were no dating apps that could assess my compatibility with a partner and no Yelp reviews that could predict if I’d like where I chose to eat dinner. Now with generative AI, there are many more avenues that market a false sense of security, and I think those avenues give us even more anxiety when it comes to the inevitable moments when we are uncertain. One way to fight that need for certainty is to put ourselves in difficult and uncertain situations. The ability to live in uncertainty is a muscle: The more we rely on external things to give us a sense of certainty, the less capable and the more anxious we feel when we don’t have those crutches around.

In the book, you write that a transition never ends. What do you mean by that?

I used to think of transitions as beginning, middle, end. Instead, psychologists use the phrases moving into, moving through, and moving out of to describe transitions, acknowledging that they rarely yield a clear-cut endpoint. My friend Nora, whom I write about in the book, expected that once she was in remission from cancer, she would move forward and thrive. In reality, she’s in remission, but she has brain fog, fatigue and lingering health issues that will change her life moving forward. The damaging and false expectation is that transitions end. Often, in reality, we don’t return to our previous state, and our transition instead ripples into our future — but that rippling change means ongoing growth and forward movement.

In Cassidy Krug’s “Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Biggest Transitions,” interviewees range from a cancer survivor to injured athletes to a man starting over after 20 years in prison.

(Cassidy Krug)

How can we move forward after leaving something important to us behind?

Rituals are a great way to honor what we’re leaving behind, commemorate how it shaped us and help incorporate the lessons from it into our evolving identities. Just like holding a funeral for a lost loved one, people find creative ways to honor different parts of their lives coming to a close. One woman I interviewed who struggled with infertility threw herself a menopause party complete with tampons wrapped in ribbons and women telling their first period and menopause stories. [Author] William Bridges said that change is something that happens to us, and transition is how we choose to react to that change. I think there’s a third step to that — how we interpret that transition — and rituals can help us do so in a way that moves us forward.

What would you recommend someone do when they’re paralyzed by the thought of an upcoming change?

Firstly, I’d recommend someone reframe their anxiety by spinning those fears into opportunities. “I’m afraid to leave this job because I don’t know what will happen” can become “If I leave, there will be so many opportunities open for me, and I’m going to have my own back.” Secondly, it’s important to start with something small and concrete. The idea of finding a new passion is paralyzing, but asking yourself what you’re interested in and finding a small step you can take in the direction of exploring that interest feels much more manageable.

What would you say to someone who’s not sure if they’re ready to make a big jump?

An author named Annie Duke wrote a book called “Quit” — in it, she writes that by the time a decision appears to be 50/50, it is probably better for your upcoming happiness if you move on. We have a societal bias towards grit, and every success story seems to be of someone who had an idea and then overcame obstacles and then succeeded. Stories forget to include all the things that person quit before they chose and invested in the right path. We don’t quit nearly as often as we should, so if you’re thinking about quitting something, do it.

Now that you’ve finished writing your book, you’re going through a period of transition again. How do you feel about it this time around?

There’s grief and loss associated with all transitions. Something I have to remind myself of with each transition I face is that there will be a period where I don’t know what’s next, and that’s normal. Things aren’t supposed to last forever, and I have to remind myself to breathe into the opportunity that temporariness brings, rather than the fear. I think many of us are overwhelmed by possibilities — there are many things we could do, but we don’t know which path to take. I’m in the aftermath of a project I felt so certain about, and my instinct is to wait for that certainty to hit me again before taking a step in any direction. But if I do that, I’ll be waiting forever. What I need to do is ask myself is, “What am I curious about? What is driving me?” and then invest time into exploring it — that is how I’ll figure out what my passion is going to be next.

(Maggie Chiang / For The Times)

Floating in the vastness of unknowable space, our miniscule planet contains all of our stories — victories and tragedies orbiting around a dying star. But what if we could leave it all behind and start anew elsewhere? To migrate if you will.

Elio Solís (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) dreams of leaving Earth — he feels he doesn’t belong. As day turns to night, the eponymous orphaned boy in Pixar’s new intergalactic adventure looks up at the sky and wonders if perhaps somewhere out there, on another levitating rock or among a still undiscovered alien race, he might feel more at home.

The animated voyage, with its themes of alienation and aliens, arrives at a time when immigrants in this country, and Latinos at large, have become the target of brutal ICE raids that ignore due process and racially profile citizens and undocumented people alike.

In turn, the production of “Elio” also illuminates the regressive political climate in this country. Last week, a piece published by The Hollywood Reporter claimed that leadership at Pixar erased the protagonist’s queer identity, prompting the original writer-director Adrian Molina to exit the project, with Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian stepping in to co-direct “Elio.” Had his take come to fruition, Molina, who is Mexican American, would have become the first Latino and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to solo direct a movie for Pixar.

Still, the version that did make it to the screen, where Elio feels ostracized because of his obsession with extraterrestrial life and all its possibilities, remains relevant. Though not overt about his ethnicity, the movie features visual nods to Elio’s Latino upbringing: a Day of the Death altar (pertinent since Molina co-directed “Coco”), a Spanish language song on the radio and colorful conchas as part of a feast.

It’s not a stretch to think that the premise of a Latino kid alienated for who he is and who believes that he won’t ever feel fully accepted in the place he calls home could speak to millions of Latino children across this country; especially here in California, witnessing the disturbing, life-threatening consequences of the administration’s policies.

Elio (voice of Yonas Kibreab), left, and Glordon (voice of Remy Edgerly) in Disney and Pixar’s “Elio.”

(Disney/Pixar)

Kids who must be wondering why there are masked men violently abducting people that look like their family members solely based on their appearance, or why their parents don’t want to leave the house, or why the vendor near their school hasn’t shown up in weeks.

They might be devastated to learn via online chatter that the people in charge of this country don’t want them to feel like they belong, even if they were born here. Now think about the children whose parents were among those taken. Words fail to estimate the trauma they must be experiencing without any certainty of when or if they’ll be reunited.

How do you explain to a child that the president of the United States is gleefully targeting anyone he deems looks “illegal,” regardless of their immigration status? That millions of people in this country harbor such hatred against immigrants that they cheer on an ill child being deported, children crying for their mothers and people dying in detention centers?

“I voted for this,” they write on social media endorsing the inhumane atrocities their government is committing against people they consider “criminals.” But their rigid version of legality only applies to immigrants from underprivileged backgrounds, those who have no choice but to cross borders without documents in order to survive, to aspire to a dignified life. The “right way” is not available to the poor, and those in power know it.

Down here in our chaotic reality, the villains currently have the upper hand. But up in space, nobody asked Elio for a passport or questioned the validity of his existence. On the contrary, the leaders of other planets, who gathered in a striking locale known as “Communiverse,” take his claim that he is the leader of Earth at face value and the singular boy rises to the occasion. Elio helps deescalate a conflict with a space warlord and reconnects with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) by befriending and then saving the life of the warlord’s young son.

Unfortunately, “Elio” has become Pixar’s biggest box office failure, despite being one of the studio’s best reviewed releases in recent years. Grosses were low globally, perhaps as a result of poor marketing or because audiences have been conditioned to wait for Disney’s animated films to hit streaming rather than seeing them in theaters.

But while that outcome can’t entirely be attributed to Latinos not going to the movies, when millions who are part of the audience that most devoutly purchase tickets in this country — we see movies even though the movies don’t often show us — are frightened to step outside their door, one can’t help but wonder if the numbers for “Elio” would be at least slightly different if the ICE raids were not terrorizing the community. If people are afraid to even go to the grocery store, movie theaters are certainly not a priority.

This country takes Latinos for granted, including how our money impacts Hollywood.

I hope that “Elio” lands in front of Latino children soon, and that they see that the hero who saves not only himself but the entire planet is a Latino boy who ultimately redefines the meaning of home on his own terms. Amid the horrors, I also wish for them to not feel alone, and that they know thousands of people have taken to the streets to speak up for them.

People who believe they do belong here, that they are not “aliens” or “invaders,” but integral part of this country. And that their parents and others in their lives, documented or not, deserve dignity and compassion, no matter what the overlords do to deny them.

Just such an opportunity comes in Kobe on Saturday, as Wales look to level the series in their final game of the season.

Wales are aiming to ensure they do not go a full international campaign without a win after suffering nine defeats in 2024-25.

“At the moment we’re in this big losing streak but that one win will give them a bit of confidence to kick on,” said Jones.

“It’s the last week of the season, which is always tough, but there’s a carrot at the end of it.

“They’ve got five weeks off after this now, so they’ve put everything into this last game and hopefully we’ll get the result we want.”

While the players get five weeks off, Jones will be straight back to the day job at Harlequins on Monday morning after having had two stints with Wales during the Six Nations and summer tour.

Jones was brought into the Wales set-up by Warren Gatland, who then left his role after defeat against Italy in Rome in February, with Matt Sherratt taking over as interim head coach.

Jones was retained for the summer tour, with his Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson also brought in on a temporary basis to look after the forwards.

Despite all the trauma, with six defeats and no wins so far while he has been involved, Jones has no regrets about his international return, after playing his final game for Wales in 2014.

“I’ve loved it, it’s been brilliant,” said Jones.

“It’s been just over a decade since I last played for Wales and I loved representing my country.

“Playing for them for 11 years changed my life. The chance to represent them as a coach has been just as special.

“It’s been frustrating. It’s been pretty strange with Gats bringing me in where I had god knows how many questions over whether we get on anymore.

“Next thing he’s gone, so that was strange.

“I have enjoyed it but then I just get straight back into it with Harlequins on Monday and I might be a bit jet-lagged.”

Tired, maybe, but Jones will hope he has the memory of that long-awaited Wales win to give him a boost.

The small village in Wales is no typical UK beach location

Brits longing for an idyllic escape might consider jetting off to distant exotic destinations, but there’s an overlooked treasure right on our doorstep. Portmeirion, tucked away along the Dwyryd Estuary in North Wales, breaks the mould of your average UK coastal spot.

Wander into this village and you could easily believe you’ve landed in Italy, thanks to its captivating array of Mediterranean-style buildings, sun-kissed beaches, and charming boutiques. And the icing on the cake?

It’s reportedly home to some of the UK’s most reasonably priced fish and chips. Last year’s statistics show that visitors typically spend just £8.57 on this beloved dish, according to Capital on Tap.

This placed the coastal gem as the third most economical for fish and chips, trailing only behind Southwold in Suffolk and New Brighton in Wirral. What’s more, it’s got great TV history behind it, having been the location for the filming of hit British TV show The Prisoner.

Portmeirion has also caused quite a stir online, too. Influencer Meera Pankhania is among those smitten with its scenic beauty. “My boyfriend and I were meant to go to Portugal that weekend but as it went on Amber list, we visited here as an alternative and then climbed Mount Snowdon,” she said in a previous TikTok reported by the Mirror.

“We stayed there for two days and while I’ve never visited Italy myself, I felt like I was in Lake Como. To arrive at the place, you travel through some beautiful roads and beautiful scenery.”

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Located in the heart of Gwynedd, the enchanting village of Portmeirion was brought to life by visionary architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who devoted five decades to shaping the site after purchasing the land in 1925.

Today, the village boasts a remarkable assortment of nationally significant listed buildings, including the stunning Grade I Listed Portmeirion Town Hall, built in 1938. However, you might be shocked to learn that Portmeirion doesn’t have any permanent residents, as its primary focus is on catering to tourists and holidaymakers.

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In fact, the village operates on a schedule, generally opening its doors to visitors from 9.30am to 6.30pm, seven days a week, during the peak summer season. Beyond its impressive infrastructure and unbelievable chippy prices, tourists also sing praises about Portmeirion’s afternoon teas too.

In 2024, one visitor took to TripAdvisor to share their thoughts on this, writing: “The best afternoon tea in the world, in the one of the nicest places. The village is stunning and we really made the most of it, being amongst the last to leave.

“We had afternoon tea in the hotel, which was absolutely delicious.” Meanwhile, another added: “There is no other place in England like this, it is so SO unique and amazing.

“If you only visit ONE place before you die, hopefully not just yet! then come here. It is SO lovely! We spent hours here, we did have afternoon tea here and if the weather had been better and we could have gone on the coastal and woodland walks, we would happily have stayed from opening to closing time.”

So, it seems that for those seeking an affordable beach escape this summer, Portmeirion might just be the perfect destination.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below

Tehran, Iran – The highways leading into Tehran are busy again, filled with cars carrying families, suitcases, and the cautious hope that home might finally be safe. After 12 days of war that killed more than 600 Iranians and displaced hundreds of thousands from the capital, a ceasefire announced on Monday has begun drawing residents back to a city still scarred by Israeli air strikes.

For many returning to Tehran, the relief of sleeping in their own beds is tempered by the constant fear that the bombing could resume at any moment.

“Coming back home after all these days, even from a place where you had physical safety, feels like heaven,” said Nika, a 33-year-old graphic designer who spent nearly two weeks sheltering with her husband at their relatives’ home in Zanjan, some 286 kilometres (177 miles) northwest of the capital. “But I don’t know if the ceasefire will last or not,” she said.

The conflict that upended millions of lives began at dawn on June 13, when Israeli warplanes launched what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. What followed was an unprecedented exchange of fire between the two regional powers that brought direct warfare to the heart of Tehran for the first time in decades.

As Israeli attacks on residential areas intensified and warnings from American and Israeli officials to evacuate Tehran grew louder, many residents, fearing for their lives, were forced to flee the capital for the relative safety of other cities and villages.

For many of Tehran’s inhabitants, abandoning their lives was a soul-crushing decision.

“I had an incredibly busy life before the war,” said Saba, a 26-year-old university student. “I lived in Tehran, had a full-time job, was studying, and since I lived alone, I managed all my household chores. When the war started, for a few days, I couldn’t believe this routine was coming to a halt. I still went to work, went out for shopping or to a cafe. But at some point, you couldn’t deny reality anymore. Life was stopping.”

By the fifth day, the war forced her to leave.

“First, my university exams were postponed, then my workplace told us to work remotely, and one by one, all my friends left Tehran. I felt a terrible loneliness,” she recalled. “I kept myself busy during the day, but at night, when the sounds of bombing and air defences began, I couldn’t fool myself any longer.”

Unable to secure a car, her father drove from her hometown of Quchan, a city near Mashhad in northeastern Iran, to bring her to the family’s house, where she stayed until the ceasefire.

‘The nights were unbearable’

According to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 610 people were killed and 1,481 wounded during the conflict, with more than 90 percent of the casualties being civilians.

“Initially, I had decided to stay in Tehran and keep the company running,” said Kamran, a businessman and CEO of a private firm in the capital, who requested anonymity due to security concerns. “There was bombing and the sound of air defence, but life was manageable during the day. The nights, however, were truly unbearable,” said the father of two.

Many fled the city in the very first days of the war. At that time, two major obstacles plagued their departure: long queues at petrol stations made it difficult to secure enough fuel for the journey, and the main exit routes from the city were choked with heavy traffic from the sheer volume of cars trying to get out.

Now, since the ceasefire was declared, many who had abandoned Tehran have begun to make their way back.

“After 11 days of living in a place where there was no sign of war, but wasn’t home – no privacy, no peace of mind – coming back to my own house felt like heaven,” explained Nika.

“After years of being accustomed to the silence of my own home, enduring life with 11 other people in an environment that was never quiet was incredibly difficult,” she said. She returned to her two-bedroom flat in Tehran as soon as the ceasefire was declared.

“I don’t know if the ceasefire will last or not,” Nika admitted. “But even if it doesn’t, I don’t think I want to leave my home again.”

Uncertain future

Not everyone was lucky enough to return to an intact home.

Keyvan Saket, a renowned Iranian musician, had learned of his home being hit by an Israeli missile while sheltering with his family in a nearby town. Yet, his neighbour’s call delivering the grim news did not keep him from rushing back after the ceasefire was declared.

According to Saket, one of the bombs fired at his residence failed to detonate, a stroke of fortune that spared further destruction. But it barred him and his family from entering their home due to safety concerns. “Once the issue was resolved and we were allowed inside, we faced an unsettling scene,” he said. “The doors and windows were shattered, the building’s facade was obliterated, and household appliances like the washing machine and refrigerator were severely damaged. The attack was so intense that even the iron doors of the building were mangled.”

Saket’s voice carried a deep sorrow as he reflected on the toll of the conflict. “With every fibre of my being, I despise war and those who ignite it,” he said, lamenting the loss of a home he cherished. “War is the ugliest of human creations.”

Since the ceasefire took effect, both sides have accused each other of violations, and fear of renewed violence has been high. Iran has reported continued Israeli attacks for several hours after the agreement, while Israel claims to have intercepted Iranian missiles post-ceasefire. In the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire announcement, strikes continued on both sides, with Israeli forces hitting targets in Tehran, including the notorious Evin Prison, and Iranian missiles striking areas in Israel.

Hamed, a political science student, believes the situation is precarious. “This feels like a recurring nightmare to me,” he said. He had returned from the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, where he was displaced to, on the day the ceasefire was announced, but was worried he might have to abandon his home and life all over again. “I really don’t want to have to pack my things and leave my home without knowing when, or if, I can come back.”

Despite this underlying anxiety, the streets of Tehran are visibly busier than before the ceasefire. As companies end their remote work policies and recall employees, there is evidence of a cautious, determined return to life in the capital.

Infrastructure damage across Tehran was significant, with attacks striking multiple provinces, including Alborz, East Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Fars, Kermanshah, and the capital itself. The Israeli military claimed to have struck more than 100 targets across Iran during the 12-day conflict.

In the early mornings, the hum of traffic weaves through Tehran’s wide boulevards once more. “Seeing others return to the city alongside me, watching cafes and restaurants reopen, and feeling life flow back into the streets – it truly lifts my heart,” said Saba, her eyes bright with cautious optimism. Yet, as the city stirs back to life, the shadow of an uncertain ceasefire looms, a quiet reminder that this fragile revival could be tested at any moment.

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.

I was driving while listening to the news Sunday when I heard House Speaker Mike Johnson justify President Trump’s move to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

“We have to maintain the rule of law,” Johnson said.

I almost swerved off the road.

Maintain the rule of law?

Steve Lopez

Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.

Trump pardoned the hooligans who ransacked the Capitol because he lost the 2020 presidential election. They clashed with police, destroyed property and threatened the lives of public officials, and to Trump, they’re heroes.

Maintain the rule of law?

Trump is a 34-count felon who has defied judicial rulings, ignored laws that don’t serve his interests, and turned his current presidency into an unprecedented adventure in self-dealing and graft.

And now he’s sending an invading army to Los Angeles, creating a crisis where there was none. Arresting undocumented immigrants with criminal records is one thing, but is that what this is about? Or is it about putting on a show, occupying commercial and residential neighborhoods and arresting people who are looking for — or on their way to — work.

Protesters and members of the National Guard watched one another in front of the federal building in Los Angeles on Monday.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that U.S. Marines were on high alert and ready to roll, and in the latest of who knows how many escalations, hundreds are headed our way.

What next, the Air Force?

I’m not going to defend the vandalism and violence — which plays into Trump’s hands—that followed ICE arrests in Los Angeles. I can see him sitting in front of the tube, letting out a cheer every time another “migrant criminal” flings a rock or a scooter at a patrol car.

But I am going to defend Los Angeles and the way things work here.

For starters, undocumented immigration is not the threat to public safety or the economy that Trump like to bloviate about.

It’s just that he knows he can score points on border bluster and on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), so he’s going full gasbag on both, and now he’s threatening to lock up Gov. Gavin Newsom.

To hear the rhetoric, you’d think every other undocumented immigrant is a gang member and that trans athletes will soon dominate youth sports if someone doesn’t stand up to them.

I can already read the mail that hasn’t yet arrived, so let me say in advance that I do indeed understand that breaking immigration law means breaking the law, and I believe that President Biden didn’t do enough to control the border, although it was Republicans who killed a border security bill early last year.

I also acknowledge the cost of supporting undocumented immigrants is substantial when you factor in public education and, in California, medical care, which is running billions of dollars beyond original estimates.

But the economic contributions of immigrants — regardless of legal status — are undeniably numerous, affecting the price we pay for everything from groceries to healthcare to domestic services to construction to landscaping.

Protesters shut down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Last year, the Congressional Budget Office concluded that a surge in immigrants since 2021 — including refugees, asylum seekers and others, legal and illegal — had lifted the U.S. economy “by filling otherwise vacant jobs,” as The Times reported, and “pumping millions of tax dollars into state, local and federal coffers.”

According to a seminal 2011 study by the Public Policy Institute of California, “many illegal immigrants pay Social Security and other taxes but do not collect benefits, and they are not eligible for many government services.”

In addition, the report said: “Political controversies aside, when illegal immigrants come, many U.S. employers are ready to hire them. The vast majority work. Estimates suggest that at least 75 percent of adult illegal immigrants are in the workforce.”

Trump can rail against the lunatic radical left for the scourge of illegal immigration, but the statement that “employers are ready to hire them” couldn’t be more true. And those employers stand on both sides of the political aisle, as do lawmakers who for decades have allowed the steady flow of workers to industries that would suffer without them.

On Sunday, I had to pick up a couple of items at the Home Depot on San Fernando Road in Glendale, where dozens of day laborers often gather in search of work. But there were only a couple of men out there, given recent headlines.

A shopper in the garden section said the report of federal troops marching on L.A. is “kind of ridiculous, right?” He said the characterization by Trump of “all these terrible people” and “gang members” on the loose was hard to square with the reality of day laborers all but begging for work.

I found one of them in a far corner of the Home Depot lot, behind a fence. He told me he was from Honduras and was afraid to risk arrest by looking for work at a time when battalions of masked troops were on the move, but he’s got a hungry family back home, including three kids. He said he was available for any kind of jobs, including painting, hauling and cleanup.

Two men in a pickup truck told me they were undocumented too and available for construction jobs of any type. They said they were from Puebla, Mexico, but there wasn’t enough work for them there.

I’ve been to Puebla, a city known for its roughly 300 churches. I was passing through about 20 years ago on my way to a small nearby town where almost everyone on the street was female.

Where were the men?

Protesters shut down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

City workers repair broken windows at LAPD headquarters on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

I was told by a city official that the local economy was all about corn, but local growers couldn’t compete with American farmers who had the benefit of federal subsidies. So the men had gone north for work.

Another reason people head north is to escape the violence wrought by cartels armed with American-made weapons, competing to serve the huge American appetite for drugs.

In these ways, and more, the flow of people across borders can be complicated. But generally speaking, it’s simply about survival. People move to escape poverty or danger. They move in search of something better for themselves, or to be more accurate about it, for their children.

The narratives of those journeys are woven into the fabric of Los Angeles. It’s part of what’s messy and splendid and complicated about this blended, imperfect corner of the world, where many of us know students or workers or families with temporary status, or none at all.

That’s why this overheated invasion looks so ugly and feels so personal.

We’re less suspicious of our neighbors and the people we encounter on our daily rounds than the hypocrites who would pardon insurrectionists, sow division and send an occupying army to haul away members of our community.

[email protected]

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had a “good conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call about Ukraine’s recent drone attack and Iran.

Following Ukraine’s major drone attack deep on air bases inside Russia, Trump reported that Putin told him Russia “will have to respond”.

Trump also warned in a social media post that the phone call, which lasted more than an hour, would not “lead to immediate Peace”.

The two leaders also discussed Iran, and Putin suggested he could help with nuclear talks with the country.

The conversation between the two leaders marks the first since Ukraine launched an audacious attack striking Russian air bases on 1 June, targeting nuclear-capable long-range bombers.

In his post, Trump said that Putin told him – “very strongly” – that he “will have to respond to recent attacks on the airfields.”

Last week, Trump appeared to set a two-week deadline for Putin, threatening to change how the US is responding to Russia if he believed Putin was still “tapping” him along on peace efforts in Ukraine.

The comment was one of a string of public critical remarks by Trump, who earlier had said that Putin had gone “absolutely crazy” and is “playing with fire” when Russia intensified drone and missile attacks on targets in Ukraine.

Trump made no mention of a deadline or his previous remarks in Wednesday’s post on his Truth Social platform.

The post also comes just days after a second round of direct peace talks between the warring sides, held in Istanbul, ended without a major breakthrough, although the two sides agreed to swap more prisoners of war.

Ukrainian negotiators said Russia rejected an “unconditional ceasefire” – a key demand of Kyiv and its Western allies including the US.

The Russian team said they’d proposed multi-day ceasefires in “certain areas” of the frontline in Ukraine, although they gave no further details.

Trump has previously – and repeatedly – said he believes the two sides are making progress, despite ongoing fighting on the frontline and aerial attacks carried out in both Russia and Ukraine.

Additionally, Trump said that on the call he and Putin discussed Iran, and he believed the two “were in agreement” that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”.

The US reportedly proposed Iran halt all production of enriched uranium – which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons – and instead rely on a regional consortium for supplies. Iran has not yet responded to the plan presented at talks last Saturday.

According to Trump, Putin “suggested that he will participate in discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion.”

“It is my opinion that Iran has been slow walking their decision on this very important matter,” Trump wrote. “We will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time.”

Flies hovered over the blackened and swollen bodies of men and boys, lying side-by-side on a piece of tarpaulin, in blood-soaked combat fatigues, amid preparations for a rushed cremation in the Tamu district of Myanmar’s Sagaing region, bordering India.

Quickly arranged wooden logs formed the base of the mass pyre, with several worn-out rubber tyres burning alongside to sustain the fire, the orange and green wreaths just out of reach of the flames.

Among the 10 members of the Pa Ka Pha (PKP), part of the larger People’s Defence Forces (PDF), killed by the Indian Army on May 14, three were teenagers.

The PKP comes under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG), Myanmar’s government-in-exile, comprising lawmakers removed in the 2021 coup, including legislators from Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.

It mostly assists the PDF – a network of civilian militia groups against the military government – which serves, in effect, as the NUG’s army.

The Indian Army said that on May 14, a battalion of the country’s Assam Rifles (AR) paramilitary force patrolling a border post in the northeast Indian state of Manipur, killed 10 men armed with “war-like stores” who were “suspected to be involved in cross-border insurgent activities”. The battalion, the Indian Army said, was “acting on specific intelligence”.

The Indian soldiers were stationed at the border in Chandel, a district contiguous with Tamu on the Myanmar side of the frontier. Manipur has been torn by a civil war between ethnic groups for the past two years, and Indian authorities have often accused migrants from Myanmar of stoking those tensions.

However, disputing the Indian version of the May 14 events, the exiled NUG said its cadres were “not killed in an armed encounter within Indian territory”. Instead, it said in a statement, they were “captured, tortured and summarily executed by” Indian Army personnel.

For nearly five years since the coup, political analysts and conflict observers say that resistance groups operating in Myanmar, along the 1,600km-long (994 miles) border with India, have shared an understanding with Indian forces, under which both sides effectively minded their own business.

That has now changed with the killings in Tamu, sending shockwaves through the exiled NUG, dozens of rebel armed groups and thousands of refugees who fled the war in Myanmar to find shelter in northeastern Indian states. They now fear a spillover along the wider frontier.

“Fighters are in panic, but the refugees are more worried – they all feel unsafe now,” said Thida*, who works with the Tamu Pa Ah Pha, or the People’s Administration Team, and organised the rebels’ funeral on May 16. She requested to be identified by a pseudonym.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has moved over the past year to fence the international border with Myanmar, dividing transnational ethnic communities who have enjoyed open-border movement for generations, before India and Myanmar gained freedom from British rule in the late 1940s.

“We felt safe [with India in our neighbourhood],” said Thida. “But after this incident, we have become very worried, you know, that similar things may follow up from the Indian forces.”

“This never happened in four years [since the armed uprising against the coup], but now, it has happened,” she told Al Jazeera. “So, once there is a first time, there could be a second or a third time, too. That is the biggest worry.”

‘Proactive operation or retaliation?’

On May 12, the 10 cadres of the PKP arrived at their newly established camp in Tamu after their earlier position was exposed to the Myanmar military. A senior NUG official and two locals based in Tamu independently told Al Jazeera that they had alerted the Indian Army of their presence in advance.

“The AR personnel visited the new campsite [on May 12],” claimed Thida. “They were informed of our every step.”

What followed over the next four days could not be verified independently, with conflicting versions emerging from Indian officials and the NUG. There are also contradictions in the narratives put out by Indian officials.

On May 14, the Indian Army’s eastern command claimed that its troops acted on “intelligence”, but “were fired upon by suspected cadres”, and killed 10 cadres in a gunfight in the New Samtal area of the Chandel district.

Two days later, on May 16, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of Defence said that “a patrol of Assam Rifles” was fired upon. In retaliation, they killed “10 individuals, wearing camouflage fatigues”, and recovered seven AK-47 rifles as well as a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Five days later, on May 21, the Defence Ministry identified the killed men as cadres of the PKP. The ministry spokesperson further noted that “a patrol out to sanitise the area, where fence construction is under way along the [border], came under intense automatic fire”, with the intent “to cause severe harm to construction workers or troops of Assam Rifles to deter the fencing work”.

Speaking with Al Jazeera, a retired Indian government official, who has advised New Delhi on its Myanmar policy for a decade, pointed out the dissonance in the Indian versions: Did Indian soldiers respond proactively to intelligence alerts, or were they reacting to an attack from the rebels from Myanmar?

“It is difficult to make sense of these killings. This is something that has happened against the run of play,” the retired official, who requested anonymity to speak, said. The contradictions, he said, suggested that “a mistake happened, perhaps in the fog of war”.

“It cannot be both a proactive operation and retaliation.”

Al Jazeera requested comments from the Indian Army on questions around the operation, first on May 26, and then again on May 30, but has yet to receive a response.

Thura, an officer with the PDF in Sagaing, the northwest Myanmar region where Tamu is too, said, “The [PKP cadres] are not combat trained, or even armed enough to imagine taking on a professional army”.

‘Taking advantage of our war’

When they were informed by the Indian Army of the deaths on May 16, local Tamu authorities rushed to the Indian side.

“Assam Rifles had already prepared a docket of documents,” said a Tamu official, who was coordinating the bodies’ handover, and requested anonymity. “We were forced to sign the false documents, or they threatened not to give the corpses of martyrs.”

Al Jazeera has reviewed three documents from the docket, which imply consent to the border fencing and underline that the PDF cadres were killed in a gunfight in Indian territory.

Thida, from the Tamu’s People’s Administration Team, and NUG officials, told Al Jazeera that they have repeatedly asked Indian officials to reconsider the border fencing.

“For the last month, we have been requesting the Indian Army to speak with our ministry [referring to the exiled NUG] and have a meeting. Until then, stop the border fencing process,” she said.

Bewildered by the killings, Thida said, “It is easy to take advantage while our country is in such a crisis. And, to be honest, we cannot do anything about it. We are the rebels in our own country — how can we pick fights with the large Indian Army?”

Above all, Thida said she was heartbroken. “The state of corpses was horrific. Insects were growing inside the body,” she recalled. “If nothing, Indian forces should have respect for our dead.”

Border fencing anxieties

Angshuman Choudhury, a researcher focused on Myanmar and northeast India, said that conflict observers “are befuddled by these killings in Tamu”.

“It is counterintuitive and should not have happened by any measure,” he said.

The main point of dispute, the border fencing, is an age-old issue, noted Choudhary. “It has always caused friction along the border. And very violent fiction in the sense of intense territorial misunderstandings from groups on either side,” he said.

When New Delhi first moved last year to end the free movement regime, which allows cross-border movement to inhabitants, Indigenous communities across India’s northeastern states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh were left stunned. Members of these communities live on both sides of the border with Myanmar – and have for centuries.

Political analysts and academics note that the border communities on either side reconciled with the idea of India and Myanmar because of the freedom to travel back and forth. Erecting physical infrastructure triggers a kind of anxiety in these transnational communities that demarcation on maps does not, argued Choudhary.

“By fencing, India is creating a completely new form of anxieties that did not even exist in the 1940s, the immediate post-colonial period,” Choudhary said. “It is going to create absolutely unnecessary forms of instability, ugliness, and widen the existing fault lines.”

Last year, the Indian home minister, Amit Shah, said that border fencing would ensure India’s “internal security” and “maintain the demographic structure” of the regions bordering Myanmar, in a move widely seen as a response to the conflict in Manipur.

Since May 2023, ongoing ethnic violence between the Meitei majority and the Kuki and Naga minority communities has killed more than 250 people and displaced thousands. The state administration has faced allegations of exacerbating the unrest to strengthen its support among the Meitei population, which the government has denied.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the Manipur state government, also under the BJP, have blamed the crisis in Manipur in part on undocumented migrants from Myanmar, whom they accuse of deepening ethnic tensions.

Now, with the killings in Tamu, Choudhary said that Indian security forces had a new frontier of discontent, along a border where numerous armed groups opposed to Myanmar’s ruling military have operated — until now, in relative peace with Indian troops.

The deaths, he said, could change the rules of engagement between Indian forces and those groups. “Remember, other rebel groups [in Myanmar] are also watching this closely,” he said. “These issues can spiral quickly.”

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack proclaimed “with Jimmy we feel we absolutely got the right guy” as he spoke mid lap of honour around the Hampden pitch.

Thelin showed a tactical awareness coming into the final. He gave his players two days off for him to come up with a game plan to topple Celtic – and it worked.

A change in personnel, a change in system, a change of approach anchored in pragmatism. No wonder given how Brendan Rodgers’ team had dismantled Thelin’s men at will on occasion this season.

The Swede also demonstrated bravery in doing so. To recognise something isn’t working is one thing. To do it and roll the dice as you stand on the brink of history, it’s quite something.

It’s a gamble that has paid off to the tune of immortality and £6m, the latter coming with the guarantee of European football until December in either the Europa or Conference League.

How much of it Thelin gets to invest remains to be seen – not least given he was backed heavily in January – but he’s earned the right to go again with this Aberdeen team with a sense of optimism behind him.

Cormack was persistent in his pursuit of Thelin and his man has presided over a maiden season that began with a blistering run and closed with a trophy in the cabinet. One that’s not resided there for a generation.

The frostiness of a winter of dismay will thaw out in the glow of a Union Street bus parade on Sunday.

Post mortems about being dismembered by St Mirren will be marked as an irrelevance amid the glory, all lost in a sea of red and white flags and scarves.

There will be a new set of challenges ahead for Thelin and his team – and a new set of expectations. But that’s for another day.

After this season and the most draining of days, the Pittodrie manager deserves to live in the here and now. Even just for a moment.

“You see how much it means to everyone,” he told BBC Scotland.

“That’s why football is so amazing. To be strong in the difficult times, keep believing and keep trying everything you channel every day.

“We have a lot to look forward to.”

The village of Dionysos close to Sitia in Crete has slowly emptied of its residents and is now empty and abandoned but for a handful of families and squatters who remain there

An eerie abandoned village where something feels “not quite right” sits empty and crumbling, but for a handful of remaining residents.

The abandoned Dionysos village sits along the coast from Sitia in Crete. As you approach the flock of buildings on the hillside you will notice that it “looks different somehow. Something looks wrong, somehow lost,” an explorer for We Travel wrote recently.

Until the mid 2010s, the village was a thriving holiday destination. It has a prime location on the coastline scorched by summer sun. To the untrained eye, there is nothing amiss about the cluster of holiday homes and hotels that sit at the foot of the parched, dusty hillside.

Indeed, what is and what went wrong is something of a mystery. At some point in the last decade people stopped coming to Dionysos.

READ MORE: Brits warned of holiday islands summer of chaos as hotel staff plan mass walk-out in days

Some claim that the resort village was built on the wrong part of Crete, away from any nightlife and too far from the airport. When certain sea currents begin to flow, rubbish is washed onto the beach – not something sunseekers want to deal with.

“It was and remains the worst beach in the Mediterranean,” a local source told Greek outlet B2 Green. According to the publication, the owner’s unstable finances eventually led to the collapse of the settlement, with only three-quarters of the 470 properties built there ever sold.

For a period, the 200 or so families who lived there turned Dionysos into a relatively buzzy resort town which welcomed in guests during the summer months. Slowly however, the communal areas around the properties began to crumble when responsibility to manage them was moved from the developer to the villagers. As more people left, things became more unkempt.

Today plants are growing through cracks in the rocks and the streets are untidy. A large central swimming pool is empty of water but increasingly full of dust. Now, just 10 families call Dionysos their fulltime home.

Recently, photographer Marco Petrini visited the “nearly deserted” village where some apparent squatters are now occupying some buildings.

“Upon my arrival, I began to wander around, and the sound of distant voices and some old, rusty cars parked here and there, indicated the presence of people, but I wasn’t sure about my safety, since I was alone and I had my gear with me (camera, lenses, drone, etc.)” Marco explained.

“Believe it or not, it turned out some of these houses (although very few) were still inhabited, and I didn’t want to intrude too heavily. Therefore, although I would have loved to set up my tripod and capture multiple exposures and different compositions, I opted for handheld photography.

“At one point, I noticed someone approaching me, but I couldn’t decipher her intentions… She began to talk to me in Greek, and while I couldn’t understand what she was saying, from the tone of her voice it was clear that I was not welcome there, prompting my decision to leave.”

Journalist Lexi Taciak described the village as having an “uncanny valley” feel to it. “From far away the village looks pretty normal, but the closer you look the more clues you see that it is deserted and that something is not quite right. The juxtaposition between the cheerful colors, playful lines, dynamic light, and the conditions of the village is really interesting to see,” she added.

Have you been to an abandoned place you think we should cover? Email [email protected]

It’s not the summer destination you’d expect from the head of the Catholic Church, but Pope Leo XIV’s friend has revealed his favourite summer destination

Surfing, beaches, camping and long road trips – not your typical summer for the man leading a billion Catholics. But for Pope Leo XIV, that lifestyle feels like a second home.

While Rome is now where he lives, it was in Australia where he truly enjoyed spending his down time. The 79-year-old has visited Australia many times and is said to have fallen in love with its lifestyle – its beach culture, vast roads and famous laidback spirit.

A close friend revealed it wasn’t just the beaches he fell in love during his trips, but he genuinely connected with the country’s pace and spirit. Father Banks, originally from Melbourne is a close friend of Pope Leo XIV revealed he visited the country many times and “loved the beaches”.

Banks has lived in Rome for the past 12 years and has witnessed how the Pope’s bond with Australia has grown stronger over time. “He felt very much at home in Australia, as a second home,” he added. “He enjoyed being in our company.”

But it wasn’t only the sun that he enjoyed, Pope Leo also saw the beauty in the country’s scale and silence. “He enjoyed driving from Brisbane to Sydney,” Father Banks said. It was the “the loneliness of the distances” that he was really drawn to.

However his connection with Australia was deeper than holidays. He once visited during World Youth Day – a Catholic gathering, typically held every few years. In 2008, it was hosted in Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse.

Over that time, he also stopped at St Augustine’s College in Brookvale and met students and staff in a warm, down to earth exchange. “He has many great memories of Australia,” his friend added.

Australia is known for the relaxed atmosphere, surf scene and beautiful nature, which may seem a world away from the Vatican, but it seems the contrast is exactly why the new Pope loved it.

The country offered something he often didn’t find elsewhere, a place to slow down and just be – enjoying the outdoors and easygoing attitude. Whether it was the freedom of an open road or the casual warmth of a location conversation, Australia gave Pope Leo something beyond a holiday – it gave him a feeling of home, according to Father Banks.

Pope Leo was appointed last week and as he steps into one of the most powerful spiritual roles in the world, the memories he made in Australia will undoubtedly stay with him.

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