Incident is latest in months of intense violence between rival drug cartel members.
Twenty bodies, several of them decapitated, have been found on a highway bridge in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, Mexican authorities say, as rival drug cartel factions fight one another in the area.
The Sinaloa state prosecutor’s office reported a grisly scene on Monday: Four headless corpses were found on a roadside, 16 bodies were discovered inside an abandoned vehicle near the state capital, Culiacan, and five human heads were found inside a bag.
Authorities said the bodies were left with a note, apparently from one of the cartel factions – though the note’s contents were not immediately disclosed.
Feliciano Castro, the Sinaloa government spokesperson, condemned the killings and said authorities needed to examine their strategy for tackling organised crime with the “magnitude” of the violence seen.
“Military and police forces are working together to reestablish total peace in Sinaloa,” Castro said. Most in the state, however, say authorities have lost control.
Sinaloa has been gripped by months of violence fuelled by rival drug traffickers vying for control of routes used to produce and transport narcotics, including fentanyl, that are often destined for the United States.
The groups are split between members loyal to Sinaloa Cartel co-founders Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
The violence peaked after the arrest in July 2024 of Zambada, who is on trial in the US. The US announced it had arrested 76-year-old Zambada and 38-year-old Joaquin Guzman Lopez, “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, at an airport near El Paso, Texas.
Zambada accused Guzman Lopez of kidnapping him in Mexico and flying him to the US in a private plane against his will.
“El Chapo” has been serving a life sentence in the US for drug trafficking since 2019.
Guzman Lopez pleaded not guilty last July to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago.
In September, Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, murder and other charges in a New York court.
The violence in Sinaloa has killed more than 1,200 people, according to official figures.
Criminal violence, most of it linked to drug trafficking, has claimed about 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left more than 120,000 people missing.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dave Roberts has a high bar for his $400 million baseball team.
Sure, the Dodgers entered Friday winners of 13 of their 17, tied for the best overall record in baseball and leading the National League West by six games.
Sure, they already have one guaranteed All-Star in Shohei Ohtani, and seven other finalists who advanced to the second stage of fan voting that will begin next week.
But, in the eyes of their manager, “I still just don’t believe we’re playing our best baseball,” Roberts said Friday afternoon. “I don’t think we’ve played complete baseball for a stretch.”
On Friday night, the Dodgers still weren’t at their best. Dustin May managed just four innings in a four-run start. The lineup produced only four total hits. Teoscar Hernández made a defensive blunder in the outfield. And the bullpen danced in and out of trouble down the stretch.
But right now, amid this soft portion of the team’s schedule, flawed performances have often still been enough.
And in Friday’s 5-4 win over the badly slumping Kansas City Royals, that once again proved to be the case.
Shohei Ohtani hits a home run in the first inning against the Royals on Friday.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
For all the Dodgers’ shortcomings, they did just enough to compensate in a series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
May gave up a run in the first after letting three straight batters reach with two outs, but not before Ohtani opened the scoring with a leadoff blast.
Hernández let a hard-hit but catchable line drive get over his head in right field in the third, fueling a three-run Royals rally that was punctuated by Bobby Witt Jr.’s two-run blast. But that was sandwiched by a two-run homer from Max Muncy in the second, and a game-tying triple from Ohtani in the fifth.
Mookie Betts eventually put the Dodgers in front one at bat after Ohtani’s triple, singling him home to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
And though May’s high pitch count forced him to exit early against the Royals (38-44), a worn-down Dodgers bullpen patched together five scoreless frames, escaping their biggest jam in the ninth when closer Tanner Scott induced a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was still enough to move the Dodgers into sole possession of the best record in the majors at 52-31.
That extended stretch of dominance is still eluding them. But for now, they’re finding ways to win anyway.
For 22 days, immigration enforcement officials have conducted sweeps in communities across the Los Angeles region, arresting an estimated 722 people between June 1 and June 10 alone.
For families and immigrant advocacy groups, determining the location of detainees has been difficult.
“In some cases it’s been 72 hours where we have not been able to identify where their family member is and when we do, sometimes they’re in the [Adelanto Detention Center],” said Flor Melendrez, executive director of CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a nonprofit labor advocacy group.
“Sometimes it’s too late and [the detainee is] calling from the Ciudad Juárez or Tijuana, where they have already been deported, and that’s within 72 hours.”
CLEAN has focused on representing workers in the car wash industry for 18 years, but in the last three weeks the group has shifted to helping families find workers who were taken during a raid and guide them toward supportive and legal services.
“When the children are asking if we are going to bring their parent back home and we have no way to even respond [with] where they are, it’s heartbreaking,” Melendrez said.
Here are the immediate steps you should take if your relative is arrested and detained by immigrant enforcement officials:
Reach out to these organizations for help
If your loved one was detained by immigration enforcement agents, reach out to immigrant advocacy groups that can provide referrals, information, resources (such as food and financial assistance) and, in some cases, direct support.
A network of local rapid response hotlines has been established to document immigration enforcement activity and help connect those affected to legal services and other types of support, according to the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.
Gather important documents and personal information
After or before you’ve made the call for help, gather these important documents that pertain to the detained family member:
Birth certificate
Medical records
Past visa applications
Receipt and approval notices for any immigration applications the person has previously submitted
You’ll also need to gather the following personal information that will be used either by you or your legal representation to locate your detained loved one:
A-Number, also known as “alien registration number,” which is assigned by the Department of Homeland Security to noncitizens who apply to live and work in the U.S. The seven- to nine-digit number can be found on a green card, work permit or other immigration document.
Country of birth
Personal information including full name and birthday
Your options when searching for legal representation
There is a coalition of organizations and pro bono attorneys working to support individuals who have been detained, but it can be challenging to get immediate help because there is an overwhelming need.
Because of the high demand for legal help, Public Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm, is currently prioritizing cases based on extreme need and often can only take a bond case or help with locating a detained person.
Public Counsel warned that families who have not been affected by immigration enforcement but need help with their immigration status should look for a lawyer now and begin the immigration process in case they are detained in the future.
Scammers try to confuse immigrants into thinking they’re an attorney by calling themselves a notario, notary public, accountant or consultant, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
In Latin American countries, a notario or notary public is an attorney or has legal training, but that’s not the case in the United States.
How to protect yourself from the scam:
Do not hire an immigration consultant or a notary. Only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can give you legal advice or represent you in immigration court. Immigration consultants — who may call themselves immigration experts, notarios, notaries public or paralegals — cannot do so, according to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s office.
Do not give your original important documents to anyone, unless you see proof that the government requires the original document, according to the FTC.
You can verify whether a lawyer is legitimate by searching for them on the State Bar of California website and determining if they have an active law license.
How to locate your detained family member
If your relative is arrested in Los Angeles, they will likely be taken to the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles — sometimes called “B-18” — which is located at 320 Aliso St., according to Public Counsel.
Call the detention center at (213) 830-4900 or (213) 830-7911 and provide the operator with your relative’s A-Number, according to Public Counsel.
You can also try locating your relative by using the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE Detainee Locator System online or call (866) 347-2423, but be warned that immigration officials often won’t provide detainee information over the phone and might not update their online data regularly.
Whether you use the ICE online locator or call, you’ll need to provide the detainee’s A-Number and country of birth, or their full name and both country and date of birth.
If you cannot locate your family member through this process, you can contact the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office closest to where the person was picked up.
Los Angeles Field Office: 300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012; (213) 830-7911. This office’s area of responsibility includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
San Diego Field Office: 880 Front Street, #2242, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 436-0410. This office’s area of responsibility includes San Diego and Imperial counties.
San Francisco Field Office: 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 365-8800. This office’s area of responsibility includes Northern California, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan.
Another option for locating your detained relative is contacting their country’s consulate.
Raíces Con Voz is a grassroots organization in Boyle Heights that is providing grocery and essential items to those in the community who feel they are unable to leave their homes due to recent ICE activity. For assistance, send the group a direct message on Instagram.
World Harvest Charities and Family Services’ Cart With a Heart program is providing families who are sheltering in place with grocery carts full of fresh produce, protein, pantry supplies and more. For assistance, call (213) 746-2227.
La Puente Mutual Aid delivers essentials to community members without asking for a name or address of the person in need, for free. Email [email protected] with a code name, your neighborhood, a safe drop spot and items needed.
The El Monte Business Alliance is offering food assistance and baby products to those in need through their new program El Monte Cares. For help, call (800) 622-4302.
Immigo Immigration Services delivers necessary items to families in need. Call (818) 730-0140 for assistance.
The couple was horrified to stumble upon a mammoth rat had broken into their room in the dead of night with the man thinking his girlfriend was ‘just imagining things’
Kiran Morjaria appeared on BBC This Morning earlier this year(Image: BBC)
A British doctor on holiday in Sri Lanka was “horrified” when his girlfriend woke him in the middle of the night convinced something was inside their room.
When he turned on the lights to reality was disgusting – a rat the size of a small cat was in their luxury hotel room.
Kiran Morjaria, a doctor and Youtuber, shared a truly horrifying story with his 32,000 TikTok followers that will leave anyone wanting to sleep with the lights on during your next getaway.
He said: “When I was in Sri Lanka last year my girlfriend is terrified of insects and that sort of thing. She got me up and said ‘I can hear something’ in the middle of the night. I said ‘You are just imagining it – there is nothing here.’”
However, 10 minutes later his girlfriend woke him up again – certain there was something in the suite with them. Kiran continued: “About ten minutes later she gets me up again and says ‘I can definitely hear something in the room so I get up and turn the light on.’”
It is at this point Kiran saw the enormous rat that has been with them all along. He said: “And there I see the biggest rat I have ever seen in my life. I’m talking literally the size of a small cat.”
What the mammoth rat was doing was even more “horrendous”. Kiran said the rodent was “nibbling on our clothes inside the room.”
Kiran asked his followers to share their own horror stories in the comments – and some of them were gruesome.
Kiran shared his holiday horror story (Image: TikTok/ kiran.morjaria)
One described the severe embarrassment she experienced at the hands of her kids’ nappy mishap. She said: “We had the entire swimming pool closed off as our new-born baby pooped in his swim nappy and its was explosive upset tummy we was very embarrassed.”
Euan’s story was explosive in a different way. He shared: “At Nantes airport my T-shirt got swabbed for explosives multiple times and came back and cause I was playing with cap guns the day before.”
Meanwhile Katy barely made it out of the airport before her holiday was turned upside down – narrowly escaping death. She said: “Leaving JFK airport for Manhattan, Taxi speeding, 60mph head on collision, Police said we’re lucky not going home in a body bag, taken to Queens Hosp!”
The giant rat had the couple shocked (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
One commenter chimed in regarding Kiran’s tale saying they would have struggled to get back to sleep. They said: “Arrrrrhhh (not even scared of rats normally but I’d have screamed and not slept.”
British holidaymakers Mark and Karen Gregory, both 50, are frequent Benidorm-goers and usually opt to stay at apartments – but their accommodation often overlooks major hotel pools
Holidaymakers at a Benidorm hotel have been filmed participating in a frantic “sunbed dash”, where every available lounger is claimed within a staggering three minutes.
Frequent Spain holidaymakers Mark and Karen Gregory, both 50, typically opt for apartment accommodations that often overlook major hotel pools, giving them a front-row seat to the morning mayhem.
During their May trip, the couple from Swansea, Wales, captured multiple instances of sun-hungry Brits racing to secure the best sunbeds. Mark, who runs an online sales business, recounted: “We saw people queuing from first thing – the queues were horrendous! People were properly running in.
“One hotel we did stay in, the pool opened at 8.30am and by 8.33am every bed had a towel on. I think it happens everywhere – just because hotels don’t have as many beds as they do guests.”
The pair prefer to observe the chaos rather than participate. Mark added: “We don’t partake at all, we just observe. I know it’s a bugbear for a lot of tourists – but we just find it funny.”
Making sure you have a good spot by the pool or beach is serious business. And the stakes are high.
The team at travel insurance comparison site Tiger.co.uk have warned Brits heading on Spain holidays to think twice before laying out a towel on the beach, as it could actually land you facing some hefty extra charges.
They explained: “In popular areas of Spain like Barcelona and Costa Blanca, tourists can now be fined €250 for reserving sunbeds, meaning waking up early to bag a spot for you and the family is no longer allowed. This rule was introduced following numerous complaints about sunbeds being reserved for hours with no one in sight.”
The rules were brought into force last year, in a bid to stop tourists from reserving spots on public beaches with towels and sunbeds, despite then not returning for hours a time – meaning other visitors had to make do with leftover space, causing issues such as fights breaking out, or crowding.
The fines don’t always stop poor behaviour, however.
While having a late-night chinwag on their balcony in Magaluf, Spain, Mandy Boyd spotted some lads she thought were having a cheeky swim in the pool. But upon closer inspection, the 34-year-old realised the young men were trying to nab the best beds at 2am, despite the fact that the pool wasn’t due to open until 9am the next day.
The quartet of girls watched as the lads dragged out their sunloungers to try and secure prime spots. Mandy and her mates patiently waited on the balcony for the perfect moment to dash down and swipe the towels.
A London-bound Air India plane carrying more than 240 people crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday. The plane in question was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was the subject of recent whistleblowing claims
10:02, 13 Jun 2025Updated 11:34, 13 Jun 2025
Passengers are wondering how to find out if they’re booked onto a Dreamliner (Image: motive56 via Getty Images)
Tragedy struck when an Air India aircraft destined for London with over 240 souls on board met a catastrophic end shortly after takeoff on Thursday.
The incident involving the Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 referred to as Dreamliner, occurred when it crashed into a residential zone barely five minutes following its departure.
In response to the news, a Boeing spokesperson said the company was aware of the crash reports and is “working to gather more information.”
This marked the inaugural fatal accident involving a Boeing 787, a modern widebody, twin-engine jet also recognised as the Dreamliner. However, this adds to the recent spate of misfortunes for Boeing, with the majority linked to the 737 Max, one of their different models.
The first Boeing 787-8 was delivered to an airline in 2011(Image: DigiPub via Getty Images)
The crash has led many to question whether flying on a Dreamliner is safe, how they can find out if they’re booked onto one and if they’re able to choose a different aircraft if they are. Here’s everything you need to know:
Is flying on a Dreamliner safe?
Up until now, the Dreamliner 787-8 had recorded no fatalities, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The plane involved in the crash was built in 2013, with Air India flying nearly three dozen of the jets. The first Dreamliner was delivered in 2011.
It will take a long time to find out what the cause of this crash was, although crashes tend to be the result of multiple different factors such as bird strikes, pilot error, manufacturing defects and inadequate maintenance.
Dreamliner’s safety record has come under an unusual amount of scrutiny in recent years. Deliveries of the plane were paused for more than a year until the summer of 2022 so that manufacturer Boeing could address quality concerns on some of the aircraft, the New York Times reports.
This included filling paper-thin gaps in the plane’s body and replacing some titanium parts that were made with the wrong material.
In response to whistle-blower claims that parts of the body of the Dreamliner were not properly fastened together, Boeing publically claimed that there was no evidence of this following extensive testing. The manufactuer released testing data which showed that one 787 test airframe had shown no signs of fatigue after the equivalent of 165,000 flight cycles, the NYT reports.
Back in 2022, the longest-serving Dreamliner in actual service had flown only a tenth as far as the test plane.
What tests are carried out to ensure planes are safe to fly?
All planes, including Boeing, are required to undergo comprehensive safety checks involving pre-flight inspections, maintenance programs and regulatory oversight. Among the required checked are daily and pre-flight inspections by engineers and pilots, and scheduled maintenance checks. These involve regularly checking machines and replacing parts to maintain performance, increase efficiency and ensure reliability.
While it may feel like it thanks to a series of high profile incidents, the short answer is no. Travel via commercial aircraft remains one of the safest forms of travel.
A 2017 Harvard study placed the odds of dying in a plane crash at one in 11 million, compared to one in 5,000 for a car crash. An International Air Transport Association annual safety report published this year found that commercial air travel is getting safer, generally speaking.
The accident rate last year was better than the five-year average, but worse than the best year recorded in 2023.
How can I find out if I’m flying on a 787-8?
Almost all airlines list the type of aircraft they’ll be using during the booking process. If you’ve already booked, you can use third-party sites like SeatGuru and FlightRadar24 to look up the aircraft type after you’ve booked by tapping in your flight number.
Can I cancel my flight if I’m worried about the plane type?
If you call up your airline and explain that you don’t want to fly on a certain type of airline, they may help you switch flights. But that would be up to them to decide. They’d have no legal obligation to do so unless you bought a flexible fare or very good travel insurance that specifically allows you to change your flight.
WASHINGTON — When Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to unleash the largest deportation campaign in U.S history, he said his second administration would start by going after people with criminal records.
But now, disappointed with the pace of arrests, the Trump administration is following through on his campaign promise: targeting anyone deportable.
Raids in California have taken place at courthouses, during scheduled check-ins with immigration authorities, at clothing factories, Home Depots, car washes, farms and outside churches. But officials say the state is hardly being singled out. Raids are coming for other sanctuary jurisdictions, too, said Tom Homan, President Trump’s chief advisor on border policy.
“This operation is not going to end,” he told The Times.
Across the country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is stepping up new strategies and tearing down precedent to meet the White House’s demands. Homan acknowledged the pace of deportations had not met expectations and that while the administration still prioritizes removing those who threaten public safety and national security, anyone in the country illegally is fair game.
“I’m not happy with the numbers,” he said. “We need to find these people.”
Arrests are being made in places previously considered off limits, and the administration earlier this year rescinded a policy that prohibited enforcement actions in hospitals, schools or houses of worship. Agents who typically focus on drug and human trafficking are seeing their duties shifted to immigration enforcement.
The government is also now appealing to the public to help find and deport people in the country without authorization. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, released a poster on social media this week that depicts Uncle Sam urging people to call a hotline to “report all foreign invaders.”
And in Los Angeles, the National Guard and U.S. Marines were mobilized without the consent of state and local leaders — a tactic that Trump administration officials said could be repeated elsewhere. Trump claimed the deployments have been effective — “Los Angeles would be a crime scene like we haven’t seen in years,” Trump said Thursday — but local leaders have said the protests against ICE raids had not gotten out of control and that Trump’s actions only inflamed tensions.
As protests reached their seventh day in Los Angeles, incidents of violence lessened, though some tensions remained. Even so, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote Wednesday on X that “America voted for mass deportations. Violent insurrectionists, and the politicians who enable them, are trying to overthrow the results of the election.”
California Democrats say the enforcement actions are about retribution against the state for its policies that protect immigrant residents, as well as an attempt to distract the public from congressional Republicans’ attempts to pass the president’s tax-and-spending bill, which would add more than $150 billion for immigration and border enforcement. They say the president is testing the bounds of his authority and wants protests to spiral so that he can crack down further by invoking the Insurrection Act to establish martial law.
Invoking the Insurrection Act would allow military troops to arrest civilians. Further unrest, Trump critics say, would be welcomed by the president.
“This is about if it bleeds, it leads,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles). “So he has created and manufactured violence so that he can have a show on the television. But other people — older people, folks who are disabled, young people — are going to be bleeding when Medicaid gets cut, when people are evicted from their homes.”
While public attention has focused on the arrests of employees, the administration says it’s also looking at employers who hire workers in the country illegally.
“It’s not just about arresting illegal aliens, it’s about holding employers responsible too — but there’s a burden of proof,” Homan said. “If we can prove it, then we’ll take action.”
One former Homeland Security official in the Biden administration said immigration laws could be enforced without escalating public tension. “Why aren’t they doing I-9 audits instead of just going after people?” said the former official, Deborah Fleischaker, of forms used to verify an employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the U.S. “There are ways to do this in ways that are less disruptive and calmer. They are choosing the more aggressive way.”
In many ways, the current immigration crackdown reflects exactly what Trump said during the presidential campaign, when he declared that millions of people would be deported.
The new expansive approach appears to be a response to a late May meeting, first reported by the Washington Examiner, in which Miller lambasted dozens of senior ICE officials, asking them “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?”
“Well, now they’re all of a sudden at Home Depots,” Fleischaker said.
Homan said the agency has recently arrested around 2,000 people a day, up from a daily average of 657 arrests reported by the agency during Trump’s first 100 days back in office. The increase is reflected in rising detention numbers, which have topped 50,000 for the first time since trump’s first presidency, according to TRAC, a nonpartisan data research organization.
Asked about complaints of overcrowding and substandard conditions in detention facilities, Homan acknowledged some facilities are overcrowded during intake. Some of the immigrants detained in California since Friday have been transferred to other states, he said.
“California has been pretty stringent and they want to shut down immigration detention,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’re releasing these people. The less detention space we have in California, the more action they take in not helping us with detention beds, then we’ll just simply move them out of state.”
The work of immigration agents — sometimes hours of surveillance for a single target — can be slow. Jason Houser, who was ICE’s chief of staff under the Biden administration, said law enforcement agents, when given quotas, will always find the easiest way to fulfill them.
Miller, he said, knows ICE “doesn’t have enough resources or staff to get them to a million removals” by the end of the year.
Houser said that’s where the military troops come in. Homeland Security officials said military personnel already have the authority to temporarily detain anyone who attacks an immigration agent until law enforcement can arrest them. Houser predicted that soldiers could soon begin handling arrests.
Critics of the administration’s tactics, including former Homeland Security officials, said the White House’s strategy boils down to frightening immigrants into leaving on their own. It costs a few hundred dollars a day to detain an immigrant; deportation can cost thousands, and some countries are reticent to accept the return of their citizens.
“They arrest one, they scare 10,” said one former senior ICE official. “That’s a win.”
The former official, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely, said that’s an about-face from the Biden administration, during which agents answered to lawyers and precedent.
“Everything was vetted and vetted … to the detriment in some ways of the agency,” the former official said. “But to see them just doing whatever they want when they want, it’s a little stunning and it’s like, look at all the things we could’ve done if we had that attitude. But they seem to have so little regard for consequences, lawsuits, media, public opinion — they have no constraints.”
Homan said protests in Los Angeles have made enforcement actions more dangerous but have not prevented agents from making as many arrests as planned.
“If the protesters think they’re going to stop us from doing our job, it’s not true,” he said. “We’re going to probably increase operations in sanctuary cities, because we have to.”
Ben Crook’s post mortem revealed he had suffering horrendous injuries after ‘falling from height’
15:01, 10 Jun 2025Updated 15:08, 10 Jun 2025
Ben Crook was reported missing in Turkey in an appeal circulated online(Image: Wales Online)
A dad tragically died after falling from a height whilst on holiday in Turkey, following his removal from a flight due to drunken behaviour and subsequent separation from his family. The devastating news of his death was only discovered when his father travelled to Turkey to investigate his whereabouts.
Ben Crook, 32, was reported missing after he jetted off to Antalya with his partner Jess Jenkins and their two children on September 23. After consuming alcohol and cocaine, he exhibited erratic behaviour on the flight, shouting at an air steward and smashing both his and Ms Jenkins’ mobiles, according to the inquest.
Upon landing in Turkey on September 24, Mr Crook, from Abertridwr, Caerphilly, was escorted off the plane and separated from Ms Jenkins. She was instructed to leave the airport and took a taxi to their hotel with the children.
The inquest at Gwent Coroner’s Court on Tuesday revealed that Mr Crook never made it to the hotel, reports Wales Online.
Following his son’s disappearance, Mr Crook’s father journeyed to Turkey and uncovered the tragic news that his son had died after falling from a height and sustaining fatal injuries.
A post mortem examination conducted at the Antalya Forensic Institute confirmed that Mr Crook had suffered external injuries and lacerations consistent with a fall. He passed away at Antalya Training and Research Hospital at 2.15am on September 25, the inquest heard.
Following repatriation of Mr Crook’s body to the UK, a further post-mortem examination was performed at Grange University Hospital by Dr Majid Rashid on October 22, revealing that he had suffered severe head injuries, bruising on his upper limbs, cuts, and multiple abrasions to his abdominal wall. A chest incision suggested a tube had been inserted to drain fluid.
The examination also found a fractured skull vault, brain damage, and bleeding, as well as a fractured pelvis on both sides.
Toxicology reports showed the presence of cocaine, alcohol, ketamine, and cocaethylene in Mr Crook’s blood, with ketamine likely administered during treatment.
Dr Rashid determined the cause of death to be a fractured skull and pelvis due to blunt trauma from a fall.
In a statement read aloud in court by senior coroner Caroline Saunders, Ms Jenkins stated that Mr Crook had started drinking before arriving at the airport and purchased duty-free alcohol to consume at their hotel.
Due to a flight delay, the couple began drinking duty-free alcohol, with Ms Jenkins describing her partner as a “nervous flier” but mentioning they were “chatting and joking” before takeoff. During the flight, she revealed that Mr Crook’s demeanour altered and he started yelling at a male steward, demanding booze.
He subsequently smashed both his and Ms Jenkins’ mobiles, leading to him being escorted off the plane and separated from his partner.
Discussing Mr Crook’s substance abuse, Ms Jenkins stated her partner used cocaine recreationally, only indulging when he had been drinking.
Mr Crook’s sister Amy disclosed that her brother had struggled with drugs and alcohol, with his consumption escalating in the months preceding his death.
She also mentioned her brother’s mental health struggles, exacerbated by his drug and alcohol use, but Ms Crook insisted there were no signs he would take his own life, leaving his two children fatherless.
Upon returning from Turkey, Mr Crook’s father discovered a message in his Facebook Messenger spam folder, seemingly from his son, who was trying to ascertain the name of the hotel where his partner was staying. There was an additional message again requesting contact.
Members of Mr Crook’s family received communication from several unidentified individuals in Turkey who claimed they had seen the deceased prior to his death.
One individual who got in touch with Ms Jenkins claimed: “Hello, we have just seen your post about Ben being missing. We saw him on September 24 at lunchtime. He approached me and my husband for help while walking near Kaleici Harbour. He said he smashed up his phone and had brought a new one but it was not ringing for some reason. He used my phone to send a message to his friend and we gave him our number if he needed more help. He looked shaken and hungover. After the Facebook message and ringing his friend, he crossed the harbour and walked, we presumed, to the police station for help.”
Messages later followed from others, which included photographs apparently of Mr Crook lying on the ground at the base of a building.
There were suggestions he fell while smoking on 24 September, but there was no sign of third-party involvement.
Ms Saunders delivered her conclusion: “(Alcohol and drugs) may have caused disorientation and poor judgement but this is insufficient to determine he fell as a result of the drugs he had taken.”
She decided: “I find the fall was an accident, the exact details of which are unknown..”
Her final conclusion read: “On September 24, 2024, Ben Crook fell from height whilst on holiday in Turkey and sustained severe head and pelvic injuries and died on September 25, 2024. The conclusion I reach is that of an accident.”
Ben Crook was reported missing in Turkey in an appeal widely circulated online(Image: Wales Online)
DEAR DEIDRE: IF my best pal finds out that I’m having an affair with his mum, it will ruin our friendship and tear his family apart.
I’m 20, the same age as my mate. He has two siblings, aged 17 and 15.
I’ve known his mum, who is 49, since I was a kid. She used to pick me up from school sometimes when my mum was working late.
She was our biggest supporter when we played football for our local team, always ready with encouragement and snacks.
When we were in our early teens, her husband cheated on her.
My mate told me how she didn’t cope well, but within the year she’d moved on with another guy, who she was with for three years.
But that relationship also ended when he moved abroad for work.
Soon after, I bumped into her in a new cafe in town.
I helped her carry her shopping home, chatting all the way.
When we got there, she asked me to do a little DIY job while I was there.
My mate is away at training college so isn’t around to help her.
She also asked me if I could do a few other repairs for her and I agreed to do them.
Dear Deidre After Dark- Understanding open relationships
The next time I went round, though, we began flirting.
Before I knew it, we were kissing and cuddling. We went to her bedroom — she led me there by the hand.
We ended up having the most awesome sex. Afterwards, she said it was a one-off not to be repeated.
However, we have had sex many times since then.
She is really worried that my mate will find out, but we are very careful — and so far our secret is safe.
I love her, but she says I need to find a woman my own age. I worry that someone will get hurt and it’s likely to be me.
DEIDRE SAYS: This relationship won’t ever work. She’s running a home with no partner to give her support, but she should know better than to seduce her son’s friend.
Your mate would be devastated if he knew what his mother is doing, and you stand to lose his friendship if he ever finds out.
You don’t have to give in to temptation. Don’t go round to her house again.
Get out with friends your own age and give yourself the chance of a more equal relationship.
You’ve had a lucky escape and got away with it.
Put it down to experience and get on with enjoying your life.
Get in touch with Deidre
Every problem gets a personal reply, usually within 24 hours weekdays.
I STILL FEEL ANGER OVER CHEATING EX
DEAR DEIDRE: I CANNOT stop feeling angry with my ex-wife – who I broke up with after coming home early one day and seeing her in bed with another guy.
I am 36. I thought we had a great relationship, but clearly I was wrong.
We had been married for five years and were talking about starting a family.
But she began going out regularly, getting drunk and not coming home until the early hours.
After I caught her cheating, we divorced. She has remarried and has a baby. I have moved on, too, and am now with a wonderful woman.
Our mutual friends have accepted my ex’s new husband, yet they don’t seem to want to know my partner, who has done nothing wrong. It feels like I am being punished for her affair when I am completely innocent.
My ex’s life seems to be going so smoothly. She hasn’t suffered in the way I did and I sometimes wish she had. Why can’t I just move on?
DEIDRE SAYS: The fact you are still hurt and angry over the loss of your marriage is understandable. You were betrayed in the worst way possible.
Counselling could help you to find peace and contentment with your new partner and leave the past behind. My support pack, How Counselling Helps, explains more.
Unfortunately, many people feel pressured to choose sides when a couple divorce.
Building up new friendships will help shift your focus from this pain.
WORRIED TO DATE WITH STD
DEAR DEIDRE: AFTER my ex gave me genital herpes, I worry my chances of dating someone new are ruined. I am devastated.
I am a 24-year-old single woman. I was with my boyfriend for two years, but I discovered through a mutual friend that he had been cheating on me all the time we were together.
And he gave me herpes. I am so ashamed because I know the stigma around this condition. The thought of telling someone new is so daunting, but saying nothing is putting them at risk of going through the same nightmare.
It is all I think about from the minute I wake up until I go to sleep at night.
It is really knocking my confidence as I’m scared about what any guy’s reaction will be. I think they are likely to run a mile.
I feel very alone and it’s never off my mind. My mum keeps telling me not to worry about it as it’s very common.
It is stopping me from even attempting to date and getting close to someone.
DEIDRE SAYS: There is no reason to avoid meeting new partners. You can have a safe sex life without passing on the virus.
Don’t feel ashamed about what has happened, herpes is a common virus.
You can get detailed advice from the Herpes Viruses Association (herpes.org.uk, 0845 123 2305), who can help you get on with your life.
My support pack, Raising Self-Esteem, will give you a confidence boost.
SILLY GAME HAS RUINED SEX LIFE
DEAR DEIDRE: A DRUNKEN game of truth or dare went disastrously wrong when I admitted to my husband that my ex had a bigger penis than him.
I bitterly regret blurting this out and, since then, our once regular, amazing sex life has virtually died out completely.
I am 33 and my husband is 35. We have been married for eight years.
He was so hurt and admitted that something inside him just switched off and destroyed his sex drive.
Apart from the lack of sex, we have a wonderful relationship.
We are very tactile and always have lots of kisses and cuddles.
He is my best friend and always calls me every day when he is at work to say that he loves me. I know that I have let him down terribly.
Since that night, sex has dwindled to a couple of times a year at best.
And it’s always me who initiates it when my husband has had a few drinks. He admits he probably needs help, but he never does anything about it.
It is so frustrating. I feel like I am being punished even though I have apologised for my mistake many times.
I am missing the sensual closeness and intimacy of sex. My friends all say we are lucky to be so in love and happy. If they knew the truth, they would be shocked.
DEIDRE SAYS: If your husband already had insecure feelings about his size, then your confession would intensify that.
You have apologised and I assume that you have never complained about your sex life before this.
Reassure your husband that being a great lover is about skill, not penis size, and you are more than happy.
Tell him how much you miss being intimate and want to get your sex life back to normal. My support pack on Penis Size will reassure him.
Watch what you drink in future, to avoid being insensitive.
A SHOPPER has been praised for sharing their haul after nabbing laundry essentials for a quarter of the normal price in Asda.
The thrifty person took to Facebook to post about their epic find, after a trip to their local supermarket.
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One chuffed shopper took to Facebook to share their epic laundry findsCredit: extremecouponingandbargainsuk/facebook
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They nabbed the amazing deals at their local Asda in RetfordCredit: Getty
In a post on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on the social media site, they shared a snap of the purchases and reveal the discount they got at the till.
She said: “Asda often has an alcohol offer on: buy six bottles and save 25%.
“The offer includes selected bottles with red, white and rose options, as well as prosecco. There are usually lots of popular bottles included, for example, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot and Freixenet Prosecco D.O.C.
“Obviously, the more expensive the bottles you choose, the more you save.”
Join Facebook groups
The savvy saver also recommends that fans of Asda join Facebook groups to keep in the know about the latest bargains in-store.
Eilish said: “I recommend joining the Latest Deals Facebook Group to find out about the latest deals and new launches in store.
“Every day, more than 250,000 deal hunters share their latest bargain finds and new releases.
“For example, recently a member shared a picture of Asda’s new Barbie range spotted in store.
“Another member shared the bargain outdoor plants she picked up, including roses for 47p, blackcurrant bushes for 14p and topiary trees for 14p.”
“It is in our store as well, it’s all deleted lines,” someone else said.
“They went down last week at my store,” another added.
“The colleagues had most of them so might be the same in other stores.
“Doesn’t get a chance to go out on the shop floor!”
DO you know someone who should be crowned Britain’s best dad?
To celebrate Father’s Day on June 15, we are launching a search for the bravest, kindest or most devoted dad out there.
Perhaps you know a real-life superhero who is always helping others, or maybe a superstar who has raised a fortune for charity.
The one lucky winner will be showered with nearly £7,000 worth of fantastic prizes, including four tickets worth £1,000 in total to the star-studded Butlin’s Big Weekender music festival this summer, where the headline acts include Chesney Hawkes, Blue and Billy Ocean.
Safari tent
On top of that, Britain’s top pop will be spoiled rotten with a £500 relaxing trip to Celtic Manor hotel in Newport — with dinner, bed and breakfast for two and a round of golf all thrown in for good measure.
We are also giving away a £700 stay in a luxury safari Tent at Lovat Parks in Cornwall or the New Forest.
Also up for grabs are four tickets to the spooktacular Shocktober Fest, Europe’s largest Scream Park held in Sussex this Halloween — worth £150 each.
And there is a family set of four Micro Scooters to be won, worth £1,000, along with a £1,200 home technology upgrade from Netgear, £400 of fabulous Rock Face men’s grooming products, a £149.99 top-of-the-range Instant Pot Grind and Brew coffee machine, family-sized multi-cooker worth £250, a brand new Char-Broil gas barbecue worth £665 and the Vax SpotWash Home pet and car cleaning kit, worth £220.
To win the lot, tell us why your dad, or someone you love just like a father, deserves all these prizes!
How to enter
Email s[email protected] with “Dad Idol” in the subject line telling us why you believe he is a super dad.
Include your name, address and contact number together with a photo.
Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka – On a beach in northeastern Sri Lanka, Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani laid out some of her family’s favourite food items on a banana leaf. She placed a samosa, lollipops and a large bottle of Pepsi next to flowers and incense sticks in front of a framed photo.
Jeevarani was one of thousands of Tamils who gathered on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war in Mullivaikkal, the site of the final battle between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group that fought for a Tamil homeland.
As on previous anniversaries, Tamils this year lit candles in remembrance of their loved ones and held a moment of silence. Dressed in black, people paid their respects before a memorial fire and ate kanji, the gruel consumed by civilians when they were trapped in Mullivaikkal amid acute food shortages.
Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani’s food and family photo, displayed at the commemoration on May 18 to mark 16 years since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
This year’s commemorations were the first to take place under the new government helmed by leftist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected president in September and has prompted hopes of possible justice and answers for the Tamil community.
The Tamil community alleges that a genocide of civilians took place during the war’s final stages, estimating that nearly 170,000 people were killed by government forces. UN estimates put the figure at 40,000.
Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which itself led violent uprisings against the Sri Lankan government in the 1970s and 1980s, has emphasised “national unity” and its aim to wipe out racism. He made several promises to Tamil voters before the elections last year, including the withdrawal from military-occupied territory in Tamil heartlands and the release of political prisoners.
But eight months after he was elected, those commitments are now being tested – and while it’s still early days for his administration, many in the Tamil community say what they’ve seen so far is mixed, with some progress, but also disappointments.
Krishnan Anjan Jeevarani was one of thousands who gathered on a beach in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, on May 18 to commemorate the Tamils who were killed and disappeared during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
No ‘climate of fear’ but no ‘real change’ either
In March 2009, Jeevarani lost several members of her family, including her parents, her sister and three-year-old daughter when Sri Lankan forces shelled the tents in which they were sheltering, near Mullivaikkal.
“We had just cooked and eaten and we were happy,” she said. “When the shell fell it was like we had woken up from a dream.”
Jeevarani, now 36, buried all her family members in a bunker and left the area, her movements dictated by shelling until she reached Mullivaikkal. In May 2009, she and the surviving members of her family entered army-controlled territory.
Now, 16 years later, as she and other Sri Lankan Tamils commemorated their lost family members, most said their memorials had gone largely unobstructed, although there were reports of police disrupting one event in the eastern part of the country.
People queue on May 18 to pay their respects at a commemoration of Tamil victims of the Sri Lankan civil war at Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
This was a contrast from previous years of state crackdowns on such commemorative events.
“There isn’t that climate of fear which existed during the two Rajapaksa regimes,” said Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, referring to former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brothers who between them ruled Sri Lanka for 13 out of 17 years between 2005 and 2022.
It was under Mahinda Rajapaksa that the Sri Lankan army carried out the final, bloody assaults that ended the war in 2009, amid allegations of human rights abuses.
“But has anything changed substantively [under Dissanayake]? Not yet,” said Satkunanathan.
Satkunanathan cited the government’s continued use of Sri Lanka’s controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and a gazette issued on March 28 to seize land in Mullivaikkal as problematic examples of manifesto promises being overturned in an evident lack of transparency.
Kanji – a gruel eaten by Sri Lankan Tamils under siege during the civil war – is served at the commemoration to those lost and disappeared [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
Despite his pre-election promises, Dissnayake’s government earlier this month denounced Tamil claims of genocide as “a false narrative”. On May 19, one day after the Tamil commemorations, Dissanayake also attended a “War Heroes” celebration of the Sri Lankan armed forces as the chief guest, while the Ministry of Defence announced the promotion of a number of military and navy personnel. In his speech, Dissanayake stated that “grief knows no ethnicity”, suggesting a reconciliatory stance, while also paying tribute to the “fallen heroes” of the army who “we forever honour in our hearts.”
‘We walked over dead bodies’
Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, a 60-year-old retired principal, said casualties in Mullivaikkal in 2009 were so extreme that “we even had to walk over dead bodies.”
She said government forces had used white phosphorus during the civil war, a claim Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly denied. Although not explicitly banned, many legal scholars interpret international law as prohibiting the use of white phosphorus – an incendiary chemical that can burn the skin down to the bone – in densely populated areas.
Kathiravelu Sooriyakumari, pictured with her daughter at the commemoration in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, lost her husband during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
Sooriyakumari’s husband, Rasenthiram, died during an attack near Mullivaikkal while trying to protect others.
“He was sending everyone to the bunker. When he had sent everyone and was about to come himself, a shell hit a tree and then bounced off and hit him, and he died,” she said. Although his internal organs were coming out, “he raised his head and looked around at all of us, to see we were safe.”
Her son was just seven months old. “He has never seen his father’s face,” she said.
The war left many households like Sooriyakumari’s without breadwinners. They have experienced even more acute food shortage following Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis and the subsequent rise in the cost of living.
“If we starve, will anyone come and check on us?” said 63-year-old Manoharan Kalimuthu, whose son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker to relieve himself and being hit by a shell. “If they [children who died in the final stages of the war] were here, they would’ve looked after us.”
Kalimuthu said she did not think the new government would deliver justice to Tamils, saying, “We can believe it only when we see it.”
Manoharan Kalimuthu’s son died in Mullivaikkal after leaving a bunker and being hit by a shell during the civil war [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
‘No accountability’
Sooriyakumari also said she did not believe anything would change under the new administration.
“There’s been a lot of talk but no action. No foundations have been laid, so how can we believe them?” she told Al Jazeera. “So many Sinhalese people these days have understood our pain and suffering and are supporting us … but the government is against us.”
She also expressed suspicion of Dissanayake’s JVP party and its history of violence, saying she and the wider Tamil community “were scared of the JVP before”. The party had backed Rajapaksa’s government when the army crushed the Tamil separatist movement.
Satkunanathan said the JVP’s track record showed “they supported the Rajapaksas, they were pro-war, they were anti-devolution, anti-international community, were all anti-UN, all of which they viewed as conspiring against Sri Lanka.”
She conceded that the party was seeking to show that it had “evolved to a more progressive position but their action is falling short of rhetoric”.
A memorial fire is lit to commemorate the Tamil victims of the Sri Lankan civil war, in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, on May 18 [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
Although Dissanayake’s government has announced plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission, it has rejected a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes, much like previous governments. Before the presidential elections, Dissanayake said he would not seek to prosecute those responsible for war crimes.
“On accountability for wartime violations, they have not moved at all,” Satkunanathan told Al Jazeera, citing the government’s refusal to engage with the UN-initiated Sri Lanka Accountability Project (SLAP), which was set up to collect evidence of potential war crimes. “I would love them to prove me wrong.”
The government has also repeatedly changed its stance on the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which promises devolved powers to Tamil-majority areas in the north and east. Before the presidential election, Dissanayake said he supported its implementation in meetings with Tamil parties, but the government has not outlined a clear plan for this, with the JVP’s general secretary dismissing it as unnecessary shortly after the presidential election.
Krishnapillai Sothilakshmi’s husband, Senthivel, was forcibly disappeared in 2008 during the Sri Lankan civil war. She hopes the new government will help her find out what happened to him [Jeevan Ravindran/Al Jazeera]
‘We need answers’
“Six months since coming into office, there’s no indication of the new government’s plan or intention to address the most urgent grievances of the Tamils affected by the war,” Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International, said. “And the truth about the forcibly disappeared features high on the agenda of those in the North and the East.”
Still, some, like 48-year-old Krishnapillai Sothilakshmi, remain hopeful. Sothilakshmi’s husband Senthivel was forcibly disappeared in 2008. She said she believed the new government would give her answers.
A 2017 report by Amnesty International [PDF] estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s. Although Sri Lanka established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2017, there has been no clear progress since.
“We need answers. Are they alive or not? We want to know,” Sothilakshmi said.
But for Jeevarani, weeping on the beach as she looked at a photograph of her three-year-old daughter Nila, it’s too late for any hope. Palm trees are growing over her family’s grave, and she is no longer even able to pinpoint the exact spot where they were buried.
“If someone is sick, this government or that government can say they’ll cure them,” she said. “But no government can bring back the dead, can they?”
This Coronation Street star turned a few heads after he was spotted at this year’s film festival – not least the hordes of Corrie fans who have yearned for his return to the cobbles
Ryan Prescott made a beeline for this year’s Cannes Film Festival(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Coronation Street fans were left stunned as one of the soap’s beloved actors swapped the Weatherfield cobbles for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Ryan Prescott, who is best known for playing Ryan Connor, was recently spotted on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.
Despite not revealing why he was attending the star-studded event, fans confessed they’ve “missed” seeing the 36-year-old on their TV screens recently, but agreed he looked fantastic mingling with the celebs. Ryan, who has also had stints in Emmerdale and Doctors, looked incredibly smart in a black suit and bow tie, posing with friends and soaking up the atmosphere of the annual festival, which runs until May 24.
Sharing snaps on Instagram, he simply captioned them: “CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025.” Fans were quick to compliment the actor’s appearance after the photos were posted.
One fan commented: “Miss you when you’re not in Corrie but pleased you are having an amazing time,” while another added: “Looks like you are having a great time! You also clean up nice!”
A third chimed in: “Chuffed for you,” while a fourth fan remarked: “Looking dapper my brother.”
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How Ryan managed to secure a spot at the exclusive event remains a mystery. As one would expect, the Cannes Film Festival is typically reserved for film industry professionals and accredited participants.
The festival is now an exclusive affair with restricted access, necessitating a badge for entry, keeping most of the festivities out of reach for the average Joe. This year’s event launched with much fanfare on May 13 and will run this Saturday, drawing in A-listers such as Nicole Kidman and Amal Clooney.
Meanwhile, Ryan’s entrance to Coronation Street came in 2018 when he became the much-loved Ryan Connor, stepping into Sol Heras’s shoes as the third actor to take up the role.
Despite his character’s on-screen drama, Ryan’s off-screen life is seemingly tranquil. The Merseyside-born actor made waves when he appeared in Emmerdale as Flynn Buchanan – Aaron Dingle’s romantic pursuit – before gracing the streets of Weatherfield.
Ryan has now spent seven years at Weatherfield(Image: ITV)
Scoring the part was Ryan’s career milestone, leaving him initially gobsmacked by the limelight, even leading to fans hounding him for autographs post his stint in the ITV soap which lasted for 12 episodes.
Before hitting it big on the cobbles, Ryan secured parts in well-known shows such as Holby City, The Syndicate, Doctors and Casualty. But success didn’t come easy, as he encountered obstacles along the path to fame.
Confirming his Corrie gig opened the floodgates of online vitriol, with Ryan recounting to The Mirror: “I’ve had a few… you always get the occasional Facebook message. There’s always haters out there. Nothing too crazy but people give their opinion.
“Someone will say something like ‘I much preferred the other Ryan’, or something like that. I never reply. That’s where people go wrong.”
Aside from his TV appearances, the actor is quite the globe-trotter, frequently sharing snaps on Instagram from his globetrotting adventures. His passport boasts stamps from Thailand, Amsterdam, Monaco, and a significant part of the United States – yet he always finds his way back to his roots in the north of England.
Avoid the droves of bustling crowds with this pristine beach – located just 15 minutes away from one of Barcelona’s busiest hotpots – that has been described by one local as the ‘perfect escape’
One local has raved about a secluded beach just a stone’s throw from one of Barcelona’s busiest coastal spots(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A local has revealed the ‘perfect’ escape from Spain’s bustling beaches that most tourists struggle to find. Renowned for its Gaudí architecture, ubiquitous history, and fancy rooftop cocktail bars – Barcelona, located in Spain’s Catalonia region, has long been a tourist hotspot.
Last year, a staggering 15.6 million tourists flocked to cosmopolitan city, to soak up the sun and pretend they’re suddenly art and history connoisseurs. It’s a 100,000 decrease compared to 2023 overnight figures, but still means finding a beach where you’re not rubbing shoulders with a complete stranger an almost impossible feat.
Playa de Bogatell is a popular spot for sun-worshipping Brits, boasting sugar-like sands, cobalt waters, and a slew of sea-view eateries. However, in the peak seasons – the stretch of sand can become insufferably crowded.
Playa de Bogatell can become extremely crowded in the summer months(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Luckily, TikTok channel Explorebarcelona explained that just a stone’s throw from the busy beach lies a stunning shore that has somehow managed to escape the tourist limelight. “Most tourists will never find this place, but most locals know it’s the perfect escape,” the account said.
“Tired of crowded beaches, and overpriced drinks? Just walk 15 minutes further and you will find Platja Nova Mar Bella, a hidden gem where locals actually relax. [There are] no vendors, no noise, just clean sand, clear water, and space to breathe.”
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On TripAdvisor,Platja Nova Mar Bella has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews from impressed travellers.”The sand was light coloured tan with no rocks and clean surroundings,” one visitor hailed. “The drop off into the sea was substantial and with smooth rocks to walk into the water. Beverages were easily attained as were umbrellas to rent.”
Another agreed, commenting: “[It’s] quieter than beaches nearer the town. There are spacious toilets, bike racks to lock up rental bikes, and showers. It’s a relaxed unintimidating beach for people of all ages and all shapes and sizes!”
A third added: “Very nice tapas bar in the middle of the beach, very nice sand and clean water. Very convenient and free parking,” while a fourth penned: “The beach was closed to swimming because of high wind and surf conditions but that didn’t stop us from dipping our feet in the water and enjoying the sun!”
However, others argued the beach’s pristine reputation had already started to fade. One-star reviews complaining about ‘aggressive’ vendors and pickpockets have now started to tarnish the review site.
“The place is nice and clean,” one person wrote. “The only downside is the shoppers. [They’re] very aggressive and insistent… they had to be put back in their place vigorously.”
Others pointed out the beach was actually a nudist beach, despite a lack of notice boards. Many have branded the beach a ‘gay beach’, as it tends to attract LGBTQ+ visitors.
Do you have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] for a chance to be featured.
Every year on May 15, Palestinians around the world mark the Nakba, or catastrophe, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948.
Having secured the support of the British government for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, on May 14, 1948, as soon as the British Mandate expired, Zionist forces declared the establishment of the State of Israel, triggering the first Arab-Israeli war.
Zionist military forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands and captured 78 percent of historic Palestine. The remaining 22 percent was divided into what are now the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.
The fighting continued until January 1949 when an armistice agreement between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria was forged. The 1949 Armistice Line is also known as the Green Line and is the generally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank. The Green Line is also referred to as the (pre-) 1967 borders, before Israel occupied the rest of Palestine during the 1967 war.
Israel’s military occupation of Palestine remains at the core of this decades-long conflict that continues to shape every part of Palestinians’ lives.
Mapping the Palestinian villages Israel destroyed
Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist military forces attacked major Palestinian cities and destroyed some 530 villages. About 15,000 Palestinians were killed in a series of mass atrocities, including dozens of massacres.
On April 9, 1948, Zionist forces committed one of the most infamous massacres of the war in the village of Deir Yassin on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. More than 110 men, women and children were killed by members of the pre-Israeli state Irgun and Stern Gang Zionist paramilitary organisations.
Some six million registered Palestinian refugees live in at least 58 camps located throughout Palestine and neighbouring countries.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides assistance and operates hundreds of schools and health facilities for at least 2.3 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, 1.5 million refugees in Gaza, 870,000 refugees in the occupied West Bank, 570,000 refugees in Syria and 480,000 refugees in Lebanon.
The largest camps in each are Baqa’a in Jordan, Jabalia in Gaza, Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Yarmouk in Syria, and Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon.
More than 70 percent of Gaza’s residents are refugees. About 1.5 million refugees live in eight refugee camps around the Gaza Strip.
