Great Britain earned their first win of the 2027 Fiba World Cup qualifiers with a 90-82 victory over Iceland.
GB were beaten on the buzzer in an 89-88 defeat by Lithuania in their Group D opener last Thursday but were much more in control against the Icelanders at the Laugardalsholl in Reykjavik.
The scores had been level at 17-17 at the end of a competitive first quarter between two sides separated by just three places in the Fiba rankings with GB 43rd to Iceland’s 46th.
However, GB seized the initiative and had an 18-point cushion at 69-51 heading into the final quarter.
Iceland reduced the deficit to eight points with one minute 47 seconds left on the clock, but GB held their nerve after a timeout to kill the home side’s hopes of a late fightback.
Carl Wheatle led the way for GB with a game-high 22 points while Myles Hesson and Quinn Ellis chipped in with 17 and 16 respectively.
Martin Hermannsson top scored for Iceland with 18 points while Tryggvi Hlinason collected 17.
All four teams in the group will face each other twice in the first round of the qualifiers before the top three qualify for the next stage.
Imran Sherwani, who led Great Britain to hockey gold at the 1988 Olympics, has died at the age of 63.
He scored twice in the final as GB beat West Germany 3-1 in Seoul – his second goal prompting a famous reaction from BBC commentator Barry Davies, who said: “Where were the Germans? But frankly, who cares!”
Rich Beer, chief operating officer of Great Britain Hockey, said: “Imran Sherwani will forever be remembered as one of the true icons of England and Great Britain Hockey.
“His talent, leadership and humility inspired generations of players and fans alike.”
Sherwani represented GB and England a combined 94 times, and worked as director of hockey at a school in Staffordshire.
He came from a sporting family – his father played hockey for Pakistan and his great uncles played for Stoke City and Port Vale.
In the world’s most fragile states, war is no longer merely a political tragedy, it is an economic opportunity for those positioned to profit. From the mountains of northern Myanmar to the gold fields of Sudan, a common pattern has emerged: when governance collapses, external powers rush in to secure the minerals, metals, and strategic commodities that the global economy demands. These regions become places where human suffering and environmental destruction become collateral for uninterrupted flows of resources. Two cases stand out in late 2025, Myanmar’s rare earth boom, fueled by Chinese demand, and Sudan’s gold boom, powered by the United Arab Emirates, together reveal a disturbing truth about the global marketplace; world’s green and gold transitions are being built atop the ruins of countries trapped in conflict.
Myanmar: The Human Cost of a Resource Rush
In early 2025, a young man named Sian traveled deep into the mountains of Shan State, Myanmar, desperate for work in a country where the formal economy has collapsed and nearly half the population lives on less than two dollars a day. He was lured by rumors of wages unheard of in today’s Myanmar, $1,400 a month at new rare-earth mining sites run by Chinese companies in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the most powerful of Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups. After hours riding a motorbike through dense forest, he arrived at a mine and was hired for a daily pay of about $21. His job was brutal: drilling boreholes and installing pipes for in-situ leaching, a method that involves pumping acidic solutions directly into mountainsides to dissolve and extract elements like dysprosium and terbium, metals that are vital for electric vehicles, wind turbines, advanced radar systems, and nearly every technology central to the green-energy revolution.
The process leaves behind poisoned rivers, contaminated soil, landslides, respiratory diseases, and entire villages unlivable. Researchers and civil society organizations have documented extensive damage: deforestation, chemically burned waterways, collapsed hillsides, and workers buried in mud after heavy rainfall liquefies the weakened terrain. “The toxic effects of rare-earth mining are devastating,” says political geographer Jasnea Sarma. “These communities endure the harm so that others may benefit.”
Yet the industry is thriving. China has cracked down on domestic rare-earth extraction due to environmental damage, but it has not reduced its demand. As a result, the extraction simply shifted across the border into Myanmar, where environmental regulations are weak, labor is cheap, and local armed groups, desperate for revenue, grant Chinese firms access in exchange for payments or profit-sharing.
Satellite imagery analyzed by Myanmar Witness and the Stimson Center shows hundreds of rare-earth mining sites exploding across Shan State, particularly in areas controlled by the UWSA and other China-aligned ethnic armies. Chinese customs data confirms the trend: between 2017 and 2024, roughly two-thirds of China’s rare-earth imports came from Myanmar. In effect, Myanmar has become the hidden engine of the world’s tech economy and its most toxic dumping ground.
For villagers, this boom is a slow-moving catastrophe. People report respiratory ailments, skin rashes from chemical exposure, and contaminated water sources. The deadliest risks are landslides triggered by aggressive deforestation and chemical injection into the hillsides. A 2024 study of rare-earth mining areas in Kachin State found extreme levels of ammonia, radioactive elements, and dissolved heavy metals in local waterways, conditions researchers describe as “entirely unsuitable for human consumption or agriculture.”
What makes Myanmar particularly vulnerable is not just poverty or geography, but political breakdown. Since the 2021 military coup shattered national governance, armed groups have expanded their autonomy, Chinese companies have expanded their presence, and Myanmar’s natural resources have been strip-mined with almost no oversight. In this vacuum, the global economy finds a steady supply of strategic minerals at the lowest possible cost, while local communities absorb the full environmental and human toll
How the UAE is Cashing In on Sudan’s War
If Myanmar reveals how civil wars feed the green-energy transition, Sudan reveals how they feed the financial one. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Amid mass displacement, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, widespread starvation, and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, another story has quietly unfolded: the UAE’s deepening role as the central hub for Sudan’s conflict gold.
Sudan is Africa’s third-largest gold producer, and gold has become the lifeblood of the RSF’s war machine. Investigations by the UN, Global Witness, and multiple governments show that the UAE has been the primary destination for Sudanese gold for years, even as the war intensified. Much of this gold is smuggled out of conflict zones in Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile, which are areas where the RSF maintains control through massacres and forced displacement. Once the gold reaches Dubai, it is refined, laundered through opaque supply chains, and sold into global markets.
The UAE denies wrongdoing, but the pattern is unmistakable. Gold shipments spike when fighting escalates. The RSF’s ability to sustain operations depends heavily on gold revenues. And the UAE’s own global gold-trading infrastructure, built on lax regulations, low taxes, and discreet financial systems, makes it the ideal partner for armed groups seeking to convert looted resources into weapons and cash.
Sudan mirrors Myanmar in a darker way: where Myanmar supplies the materials for the world’s green future, Sudan supplies the materials for its financial present, stabilizing gold markets, supporting global luxury demand, and solidifying the UAE’s status as an international trading powerhouse. In both cases, the profits flow outward, while the devastation remains local.
Foreign Wars as a Business Model
The parallels between Myanmar and Sudan reveal a broader pattern of 21st-century extraction economics. War and political collapse weaken regulation, eliminate oversight, and create desperate labor pools. Armed groups become local gatekeepers, selling access to mines or smuggling routes. Foreign corporations and governments capitalize on the chaos to secure strategic resources cheaply.
In Myanmar, ethnic armed groups benefit from mining revenues while China secures rare earths vital for its technology sector. In Sudan, the RSF funds its military operations through gold smuggling while the UAE strengthens its global commodities market.
This model is not new. But the urgency of the green transition and the volatility of global commodity markets have made it more aggressive than ever. The world wants cheap inputs for clean energy, financial reserves, and technological superiority. Conflict zones deliver them, evidently at enormous human cost.
The Moral Cost of The Green and Gold Transitions
The stories of Sian in Shan State and the civilians trapped in Sudan’s war zones expose a deeper contradiction at the heart of global development. The world says it wants sustainable energy and ethical supply chains. Yet the materials needed for these transitions are often sourced from places where sustainability and ethics are impossible.
Myanmar, Sudan, Congo, Bolivia, and other resource-rich conflict states are the hidden foundation of modern life in first world countries. Their suffering directly creates the conveniences and technologies that wealthier countries take for granted.
Until the international community demands transparency, enforces sanctions on conflict-linked commodities, and insists that the green future not be contradictorily built on burned earth, Myanmar and Sudan will remain cautionary tales and examples of what happens when the world’s hunger for resources meets its willingness to ignore suffering.
Why not ride the hot hand of London derby hero Eze?
His hat-trick against Spurs was not out of the blue and he makes this team of the week before because of his underlying statistics.
With 31 shots in 11 starts, Eze leads the way among Arsenal players. He had six in the derby alone.
The only note of caution is that he is yet to have a ‘big chance’ this season. While he has 21 shots in the box, they tend to be from near the edge of the area. His goals against Spurs were all from about 15-16 yards out.
But when you are that good shooting from range, is it really an issue?
Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest, £7.3m – Brighton (h)
Speaking of hot streaks, Gibbs-White has three goals in three games for Sean Dyche’s revitalised Forest.
He scored a 10-pointer in this team of the week in his most recent home game against Leeds, so he comes back in.
Forest have a nice fixture run coming up too, with Wolves away next.
Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa, £6.9m – Wolves (h)
It would be negligent not to target Wolves this week – they have lost five in a row and conceded 27 goals in 12 games.
If you are feeling brave then Donyell Malen is Villa’s most explosive midfield option, with the highest expected goals (xG) of 2.08 this season, four big chances (three more than any other midfielder) and three goals.
But his gametime is not guaranteed and Rogers showed with last week’s double at Leeds what a key part of Villa’s attack he is. His goal and assist threat make him an easy choice this week.
Phil Foden, Manchester City, £8m – Leeds (h)
Since his two goals against Manchester United in week four, Foden has only one assist, but that does not tell the full story of some fine performances.
For a start, he has created 20 chances. He has had more shots in that period than any City player except Haaland – 14 – and has an xG of 1.29.
This game against struggling Leeds is surely the moment Foden turns underlying data into returns.
Dango Ouattara, Brentford, £6m – Burnley (h)
Burnley have the leakiest defence in the league away from home and are a team to attack this week.
It is a toss-up between Outarra and Kevin Schade for a midfield spot. Per start, they have almost an identical xG of 0.27 and 0.28.
What swings it Outtara’s way is his 0.88 big chances per 90 minutes compared to Schade’s 0.33.
If you have watched Outarra recently, he always seems to be getting chopped down in the box, so his assist potential is high.
The crunch of frost underfoot, lungfuls of crisp fresh air, landscapes sparkling in shafts of sunlight; a good winter walk is one of life’s simple pleasures. We want to hear about where you love to walk at this time of year in the UK. Perhaps it’s a bracing coastal path, a meandering woodland hike or a riverside trail. If there’s a lovely pub or cafe on the route so much the better!
The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planetwins a £200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property – the company has more than 3,000 worldwide. The best tips will appear in the Guardian Travel section and website.
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US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met in the Oval Office on Friday after weeks of trading barbs. Trump, who described their meetings as “productive,” gave Mamdani a warm welcome, and said he’ll be “cheering for” the 34-year-old incoming mayor.
WITH the UK’s weather’s getting wet and windy, I’ve found the perfect indoor attraction to go for all ages, right in the middle of the country.
As your kids get older, the normal soft play options just don’t hit the spot anymore – but thankfully some have had a glow up especially for teens.
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I took my kids to a ‘soft play’ that is great for all agesCredit: Catherine Lofthouse
So we visited Flip Out Coventry, which opened last Christmas, to see if it would get the thumbs up from my teen, tween and tiny.
Based in a former department store in a city centre shopping mall, you enter through a hall of mirrors and an arcade before exploring 13 attractions set over two floors of fun.
With a ninja warrior course, laser tag, bumper cars and drift trikes, I hardly saw the older two while we were there.
You know you’re onto a winner when the bank of PS5s loaded with games like Minecraft and Fifa don’t even get a look in, because your youngsters are too busy running from attraction to attraction.
I think the dark space and graffiti vibe of the upper floor really appealed to my 11-year-old and 13-year-old, feeling a bit more grown-up than the bright lights and primary colours of soft plays aimed at younger children.
But there was still lots to love for primary aged children here too.
My six-year-old enjoyed the inflatables, roller rink and football zone.
He was just tall enough to drive a dodgem by himself, so he spent a while whizzing around to his heart’s content.
The roller rink was a good chance for him to try out skating, with plenty of boots in all sizes.
And the drop slide to get from one storey to the other was a fun alternative to taking the stairs.
For little ones, there’s a dedicated toddler soft playnext to the cafe area, so they can play in safety while tired parents have a rest nearby, hot drink in hand.
Family tickets for two hours are normally £65 for four people or £80 for five.
But we bagged an absolute bargain on a discount days out website, buying a half price family pass for £32 – £8 per person for two hours of unlimited activities.
My spectator ticket meant I couldn’t take part in the activities, but you can redeem your £3 entry back against refreshments from the on-site diner.
It’s handy if you’ve got kids who are old enough to play by themselves but you want to stay close by to supervise.
I barely saw them for hours, they were having so much funCredit: Catherine LofthouseThere is still enough for little ones, but I loved the addition of the older teen areasCredit: Catherine Lofthouse
Looking at similar attractions elsewhere, you’d be paying around £8 to £10 per activity per person on a UK holiday park, so it’s great that you’ve got so much included in the price here and all under one roof.
If you’re not sure how your little ones will take to roller skating or if they will enjoy laser tag, you can let them have a quick go here and you won’t have wasted your money if it’s not their cup of tea, because they can move on to another activity.
The only downside to visiting the Coventry location is that it doesn’t have any trampolines, unlike a lot of its 35 sister sites across the UK.
A new Flip Out has only just opened in Leeds and there’s two more on the way in Wales and Scotland, so this could be a great indoor option, wherever you are in the country.
If you are heading to Coventry, Flip Out is just around the corner from The Wave, one of the UK’s largest indoor water parks.
While you’re in the area, I would recommend checking out Coventry’s Charterhouse, which was taken on by the National Trust earlier this year.
It’s a small but fascinating medieval monastic house, with a public playground just on the doorstep.
Also on my Coventry to-do list is adventure playground Hermit’s Hollow at Coombe Abbey Park, which has just become free to enter.
With family fun to be had at new attractions like Flip Out and Hermit’s Hollow, plus a refresh for established sites like Charterhouse and the Herbert, being sent to Coventry is a pleasure and not a punishment nowadays.
Next time its raining, try out one of the 35 Flip Outs in the UKCredit: Catherine Lofthouse
The final film of the late Glenda Jackson and, if he remains true to his word, of Michael Caine, “The Great Escaper” has made its way to America two years after its U.K. release. Premiering Sunday under the umbrella of the PBS series “Masterpiece Theatre,” the film tells the true-life story of Bernie Jordan, who, at 89, set off unaccompanied and unannounced from an English retirement home to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. (This event also inspired a Pierce Brosnan film, “The Last Rifleman,” which came out about the same time.) Love and time and duty are its themes. Written by William Ivory and directed by Oliver Parker, it’s a simple story, simply told — sweet, but not saccharine, and moving even when you know what’s coming.
Bernie (Caine) lives with his wife, Rene (Jackson), in a care home by the sea in the town of Hove. She needs more medical attention than he, but both have their wits about them. Having missed securing a spot among the groups traveling to Normandy, Bernie, a Royal Navy veteran, with Rene’s encouragement, decides to go it alone. Though he uses a walker and can seem tired or abstracted at times — he has much on his mind, and a specific mission to fulfill — the trip itself is not especially hard on him. It becomes all the easier once he meets, on the ferry across the English Channel, Arthur Howard-Johnson (John Standing, very fine), an RAF veteran who offers him a place with his group and a bed in his hotel room. As the film goes on, he becomes more and more focused, growing alert and lively and taking charge of Arthur, who had earlier taken charge of him. Each, it will transpire, carries a burden of guilt dating from the invasion.
Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson in “The Great Escaper.”
(Rob Youngson / Masterpiece, Pathé, BBC Films)
Back in Hove, the staff, represented by aide Adele (Danielle Vitalis) and manager Judith (Jackie Clune), is not immediately aware of Bernie’s absence — he’s allowed to come and go — and Rene, who has a tendency to fence with them anyway, is keeping quiet in order to give him time to get away. When they learn he’s missing, a search begins; eventually, Rene lets the truth slip, the exploit hits the press and Bernie, unaware of any of this, is given the nickname “The Great Escaper.” He’ll return home an annoyed celebrity.
Flashbacks, with Will Fletcher as young Bernie and Laura Marcus as young Rene, recall the couple’s wartime meeting and Bernie’s interactions with a young soldier on D-Day. Integrated as memories, they enrich the present action without overexplaining it.
Jackson and Caine, you may know or should learn, were icons of British thespian glamour in the 1960s and ’70s, she in “Marat/Sade,” “Women in Love” and “Elizabeth R,” he in “Alfie” and the Harry Palmer films (“The Ipcress File,” et al.); in 1975, they starred together in Joseph Losey’s “The Romantic Englishwoman,” co-written by Tom Stoppard. Always politically active, Jackson took off 23 years from acting, from 1992 to 2015, to serve as a member of Parliament, and returned to play “King Lear” in London and on Broadway and win a Tony for a revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” Caine, notwithstanding some slow times, made movies all along, all sorts of them, playing Scrooge in “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” Mike Myers’ father in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and Alfred in the Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy and parts in five other Nolan films. Watching “The Great Escaper,” you’re seeing history.
Neither has lost a step. (I find it pleasant to remember that, however frail or confused an older character may be, the person playing them is doing a job that requires strength and thought.) Given both the eminence of the actors and their age — Caine was 90 when “The Great Escaper” premiered, while Jackson, 87, died shortly before — it’s hard not to watch with a double consciousness of the players and the parts. But rather than a distraction, it redoubles the impact. Jackson and Caine wear their years proudly; there’s no vanity in their performance or their appearance. The couple’s eventual reunion is deep and real and, like their whole relationship, gorgeously ordinary.
“It’s been tough to deal with at times and it’s made me not want to be playing and competing at times throughout the year,” he said.
“It’s definitely a lot in the stomach – you feel sick to your stomach. I’ve been struggling to sleep and then, because of the feeling in the stomach, struggling to eat well, eat enough.
“It’s almost like a feeling of dread – that something bad is going to happen.”
He may allow himself an occasional social hit but will otherwise switch off from tennis until the spring.
Salisbury has plenty of plans in place, including a safari in Kenya, a skiing trip with his girlfriend’s family, and Christmas at home – which is not always possible for tennis players before a season which starts in Australia in early January.
The current world number 10 played the whole of this season with fellow Briton Neal Skupski, and even though they did not win a title, they were runners-up at six events including the French Open, the US Open and last week’s ATP Finals in Turin.
“I wouldn’t say it affected my tennis that much,” Salisbury said of his anxiety.
“We’ve played well, especially the past six months. I feel like I’ve dealt with it well and managed to get myself into a good enough state on court to perform well in most of the matches that I have played.
“But I think it’s taken an extra toll emotionally and mentally to do that. It’s meant that it’s just not been enjoyable being at a lot of the tournaments that I have played.
“I haven’t spoken to too many people about the struggles that I have had – mainly my team, friends and family, so not too many people in the tennis world.
“I think a lot of people don’t want to share too much because they don’t want other people to know about that, when you are having to go and compete against them.
“But to be honest I don’t really mind if people do know. I’m sure it’s something which a lot of other people are having to deal with and I don’t think it would have any impact on me, as if anything over the past year it’s made me mentally stronger than before.”
I stood atop a lookout point in the heart of Los Angeles County watching the sunset paint downtown L.A. a deep orange.
I was amazed to be alone in the outdoors just before 5 p.m. in America’s second-largest city. I took in more of the panoramic view before me. I could see Mt. Baldy turning a hazy pink as the sun coated the rest of the San Gabriel Mountains in a scarlet hue. I spotted thick clouds moving in over the South Bay. It’d be foggy later.
I’d usually need to travel to Griffith Park or Debs Park for similar views, but that evening’s location was the lesser-known Elephant Hill Open Space, a rolling landscape in El Sereno that local activists hope becomes L.A.’s next great park. But that’s only if they can save it in time.
Mt. Baldy is visible in the distance from a hiking trail in Elephant Hill Open Space in El Sereno.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
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Elephant Hill Open Space is a 110-acre plot of undeveloped land in El Sereno that residents have advocated, for more than 20 years, to be developed into a public park like nearby Debs Park or Ascot Hills with hiking trails, benches and overlook points.
Their final challenge, though, if the entire 110 acres is to be saved from development, is persuading about 200 different land owners to sell their parcels of Elephant Hill to a public agency — and at fair market rate.
Newly installed steps near the Elephant Hill test plot lead hikers toward panoramic views of L.A. County.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
About 25 acres are owned by government agencies. Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, a local government agency focused on protecting open spaces, manages 8.37 acres at Elephant Hill and is in the process of buying another 2.4 acres. The city of L.A. owns about 15 acres after buying around 20 acres in a 2009 settlement with a developer who wanted to build luxury homes on the hillsides. (The city later sold five acres to MRCA.)
In recent years, MRCA has received about $4.2 million, including $2 million last month from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, to research and buy more land, build a 0.75-mile trail to bring in more hikers, and install gates and boulders to prevent illegal off-roading.
Sarah Kevorkian, deputy chief of wildfire resilience at MRCA, said her agency is required by law to buy land at fair market rate, making it hard to compete in a “cutthroat” market with private developers who can offer landowners more money.
“The number of individual landowners is an added layer of complexity, and I don’t think that exists in other places, not like this,” Kevorkian said.
A view looking east from Elephant Hill’s new hiking trail.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Still, she remains optimistic, regularly checking land sales websites to see whether any Elephant Hill owners have posted their properties. Community members are quick to call her if they see a “for sale” sign go up.
“I immediately will call,” Kevorkian said. “I called this one person, and they said, ‘Yeah, we have an offer, we’re going with it.’ … I said, ‘If anything changes, call me back.’ They didn’t, but I just had a feeling.”
The land was next to the hiking trail that MRCA was installing. It’d be such a perfect parcel to snag.
Kevorkian called the property owner back a few weeks later, and they told her the deal had fallen through. “It was such an awesome win,” she said.
Mt. Wilson is visible from the Elephant Hill Open Space in El Sereno.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
And anyone who visits can easily see why.
I first visited Elephant Hill a few weeks ago with Elva Yañez and Hugo Garcia, co-founders of Save Elephant Hill. They started their efforts in late 2003 to try to fight off private developers. Both live within walking distance of the open space.
We started our hike on the western side of Elephant Hill, with an aim of seeing the beginnings of Elephant Hill’s first official hiking trail, which MRCA expects to complete next year with way-finding signage, boulders and more.
We headed up the steep terrain, quickly passing the latest disputed development — a truck garden that’s drawn the ire of Save Elephant Hill and other conservation groups for its owner’s choice to chop down protected native trees, as reported by L.A. Taco.
A tree canopy provides shade over the hiking trail in Elephant Hill Open Space in El Sereno.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
We took the trail’s switchbacks and then paused to catch our breaths in the shade of hollyleaf cherry, black walnuts and other trees creating a dense canopy. There, the hills blocked the noise from the roads and city. It’d be the perfect place for a picnic table, bench or both.
Next, we walked down newly installed steps to reach the Elephant Hill test plot, a lush experimental restoration garden where volunteers have planted hundreds of native flowers and shrubs and close to 100 trees. The land looks grateful.
Bees buzzed around the sugar bush and coyote brush. Unlike other parts of the park that remain overwhelmed with invasive mustard, trees of heaven and castor bean, this area is thriving with drought-tolerant and, in some cases, fire-resistant native plants.
A native sunflower in the test plot garden, from left, a shaded path in Elephant Hill, and a white-crowned sparrow perched in the test plot garden.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Yañez said during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and Garcia realized they needed to expand their list of allies for Elephant Hill. “We’re not naturalists. We’re not traditional environmentalists. We’re not native plant people,” she said. “We realized at a certain point that we have to activate this space. We have to get people on it to start building that support.”
Joey Farewell, an estate planner who lives nearby and manages the test plot, said, with Yañez and MRCA’s blessing, the test plot volunteers installed the garden in fall 2022 and have seen it thrive, largely without watering outside of what’s needed to first establish new growth.
The test plot started as 3,000 square feet and has expanded to 10,000 square feet of native plant, said Jennifer Toy, director of nonprofit Test Plot, which has 16 experimental gardens around L.A. At Elephant Hill, volunteers have cleared about 20,000 square feet of invasive species, she said.
“It’s not a huge area, but each year we think about” what they can do next, Toy said. “It’s a work in progress.”
And it’s a powerful proof of concept of what Elephant Hill could look like with investment.
Farewell, who is the conservation co-chair of the L.A. and Santa Monica Mountains chapter of the California Native Plants Society, said most people don’t realize what a dynamic landscape Elephant Hill is, including its water features.
“My kids would play by the brook” after heavy rains, Farewell said. “You could reach your hand into one of the springs that fed the stream and feel the water bubbling out of the ground.”
The view of downtown L.A. from a high point at the Elephant Hill Open Space in El Sereno.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
Yañez wants more local children to have similar experiences. Elephant Hill sits among a neighborhood plagued by environmental racism, she said. Green space isn’t readily available, but with the development of Elephant Hill into a park, it could be.
Yañez said she understands the need for more housing in L.A., but Elephant Hill has repeatedly proven an unsafe option. In the late 1980s, townhouses in a nearby development started falling into the ground, causing major structural damage. Around 2006, a developer was using a backhoe to build a fence around his property when the heavy machinery fell deep into a spring. Neighbors referred to it as a “sinkhole.”
“When you look at the big picture of climate change and lack of access to park space in communities like El Sereno, it’s kind of a no-brainer — and it’s very difficult to build here. In fact, it’s not safe,” Yañez said. “All the factors come together and make a pretty strong case on their own for conservation. Plus, I think the community deserves access to open space on these hillsides.”
3 things to do
Volunteers repair habitat in the Bolsa Chica Conservancy in Huntington Beach.
(Erika Moe / Amigos de Bolsa Chica)
1. Address messy nests in Huntington Beach Amigos de Bolsa Chica needs volunteers from 8:15 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday to restore nest habitat for the threatened western snowy plover and endangered California least tern. Participants will remove invasive and overgrown plants in an area of the reserve off-limits to the public. Register at amigosdebolsachica.org.
2. Craft s’mores ’round the campfire in Culver City The Nature Nexus Institute will host a fall harvest event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook featuring a campfire and drum circle. Guests can also take guided nature strolls, listen to storytelling and make s’mores around a campfire. Register at docs.google.com.
3. Nurture native plants in the Hollywood Hills The Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife needs volunteers from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday for a habitat restoration project in the Hollywood Hills. Participants will weed and water young native wildflowers, trees and shrubs, and install humane protection from deer and gophers. Register at clawonline.org.
The must-read
A sign stands in the middle of the fire-ravaged remains of the ranch house at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. The park reopened Saturday.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Hikers rejoice! Will Rogers State Historic Park reopened Saturday after being closed for 10 months following the devastating Palisades fire in January. Times staff writer Hailey Branson-Potts reported that 4.2 miles of the park’s trails are now open while 4.8 miles remain closed. Unfortunately, the segment of the Backbone Trail — a 67-mile trek from Point Mugu State Park to Will Rogers — that runs through the park will remain closed because the fire destroyed the Chicken Ridge Bridge. The Rivas Canyon Trail and Rustic Canyon Trail will also remain closed. The looping trail to Inspiration Point will be partially open, although parks officials might sometimes close it for trail work.
I am glad, slowly but surely, we’re getting to return to some of our favorite places closed by fire.
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s — no, it’s a bird! It appears that a bald eagle was spotted flying over the Audubon Center at Debs Park last Thursday. “Could it be?!” the Audobon Center posted on Instagram. The answer is yes, it really could have been! On the citizen science app iNaturalist, users have reported almost 1,000 bald eagle observations in L.A. County, including one over Debs Park in 2017 and others in nearby GlassellPark and Pasadena. Perhaps the Steve Miller Band was correct about our national bird’s flight pattern: “I want to fly like an eagle / To the sea.” May your spirit carry you through this week, friends!
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
Great Britain’s Patrick Dever came an impressive fourth on his marathon debut in the men’s race in New York as Benson Kipruto beat Alexander Mutiso in a dramatic photo finish to claim victory.
Preston Harrier Dever, who finished in a time of two hours eight minutes and 58 seconds, was part of a four-man group before Kipruto and Mutiso broke clear in the latter stages.
Mutiso nearly overtook his fellow Kenyan on the line but Kipruto held him off to win as both were given a time of 2:08.09. Their compatriot Albert Korir was third in 2:08.57.
Hellen Obiri set a course record to win the women’s race in New York as the 35-year-old Kenyan claimed victory in 2:19.51.
The previous record of 2:22.31 had been set by Margaret Okaya in 2003.
Sharon Lokedi was second in 2:20.07 and fellow Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui was third in 2:20.24, while Great Britain’s Jessica Warner-Judd was seventh on her debut over the distance in 2:24.45.
Great Britain’s David Weir came second (1:34.09) behind Switzerland’s Marcel Hug (1:30.16) in the men’s wheelchair race.
Briton Eden Rainbow-Cooper (1:59.30) was seventh in the women’s wheelchair race, which was won by American Susannah Scaroni (1:42.10).
When much of Altadena burned in January, it affected not just the city’s homes but also its businesses. Popular local shops went up in flames just like everything else, and work-from-home artisans — displaced from not just their residences but also their work spaces and all the materials contained within — were suddenly without a place to live or a place to work.
On the Westside, the Palisades fire, also in January, tore through Pacific Palisades and Malibu, forever changing the fabric of these tight-knit neighborhoods and small businesses. Although rebuilding efforts are underway, progress and construction are expected to take several years as residents and business owners deal with permit approval, insurance hindrances and inflation.
Even now, local businesses that remain have struggled to regain a foothold.
With the giving spirit in mind this holiday season, we’ve put together this list of gifts from Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu businesses, all of whom were affected in some way by the Eaton and Palisades fires. Purchase one of these items and you’ll spread good cheer (and good money) around areas that still need all the help they can get.
If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability of items and experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.
From gorgeous Getxo to the City of Love, you won’t want to come home from these mint mini-breaks
Find foodie heaven near BilbaoCredit: Supplied by PR
SPAIN – Palacio Arriluce Hotel, Getxo
Commissioning Editor Martha Cliff and fiancée Lauren found foodie heaven near Bilbao.
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THE PAD
Check in and zone out at the Palacio Arriluce
Perched on a striking cliffside overlooking the Bay of Abra in Getxo and with a beauty of an outdoor pool, this 18th-century boutique gem sits in a palatial setting and offers the perfect blend of historical charm and contemporary elegance.
Craving vistas of the rolling Basque mountains? You’ve got it. Want to gaze at boats bobbing in the harbour? No problem. A city view more your vibe? It’s got that, too.
Be sure to eat breakfast – think other-worldly Spanish tortilla and Iberico ham – on the terrace to take full advantage.
Meanwhile, come dinner at Delaunay, try local specialities such as grilled kokotxas (hake chin) on stewed spider crab, £35, and Iberian pork shoulder with passionfruit, £31.
Make sure you’re there on a Thursday to join locals in Getxo for “pintxo pote”, a foodie’s dream bar crawl and Basque country tradition.
Restaurante Ixta Bide offers four pintxos (small savoury snacks) – our fave was pintxo de txaka, akin to a mini crab sandwich – and two vinos for a mere £9.
Just don’t expect to bag a seat! Wind your way up the steps of Algorta to reach Arrantzale and finish on its perfectly salted pork belly (Arrantzale.com).
While day-tripping, step into one of Bilbao’s oldest bars, Café Iruña, just a hop from Arbando metro station.
Dating back to 1903, the beautiful tiling is reason enough to visit, but coffee for just £1.75, is a big pull, too.
Or opt for a glass of the local txakoli white wine, £2.70, instead (Cafeirunabilbao.com).
DON’T MISS
The works inside Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum are, of course, breathtaking, but the building itself and its surrounding sculptures – including Puppy, a massive dog made of flowers by American artist Jeff Koons – are worth the trip alone.
Fly to Bilbao from London Gatwick and Heathrow with Vueling from £56 return (Vueling.com).
FRANCE – Hôtel Dame des Arts, Paris
Creative Director Mark Hayman and wife Margaret fell for cocktails and culture in the French capital.
Fall for cocktails and culture in the French capitalCredit: Getty Images
THE PAD
Rest easy at Hôtel Dame des ArtsCredit: LUDOVIC BALAY
This sleek bolt-hole in the city’s Latin Quarter has shaken off its Holiday Inn past to channel full Hollywood glamour.
Think rich woods, bamboo accents and pretty palms, with rooms that feel like film sets, thanks to glass dividers, velvet finishes and luxe bathrooms made for long soaks.
Downstairs, Pimpan serves up bold Franco-Mexican fusions on a leafy terrace – highlights include beef tartare with piquillos, £12.50, lamb shoulder with harissa, £25, and hibiscus-poached pear, £11.
But the real scene-stealer is the rooftop bar, where 360-degree skyline views stretch from the Eiffel Tower to Sacré Cœur – even locals come here for the vistas.
Order a Spritz del Arte (Aperol, mango liqueur, rum and prosecco), £17, or the punchy Uno Mas margarita, £14, pop on your biggest sunglasses and watch the city turn blush at sunset.
There’s also a sauna and a gym kitted out with sculptural wooden equipment for those partial to a designer workout.
EXPLORE
Explore the history of Notre-DameCredit: Getty Images
First time in Paris? Glide down the Seine aboard the Batobus – this hop-on-hop-off riverboat is a relaxing (and photogenic) way to tick off major sights like the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre.
For more treasure-hunting, swing by the flea market off Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine – a weekend haven of vintage mirrors, mid-century ceramics and nostalgic postcards.
There’s no entry fee, just bring cash and your best haggling game.
Then head to the Panthéon, a neoclassical gem where Voltaire, Rousseau and Marie Curie lie in dramatic crypts beneath a rooftop dome offering jaw-dropping views.
Lively, retro-chic Brasserie Dubillot’s espresso martinis, £10.50, are a must, but equally good is the sausage and mash with truffle sauce, £16, steak-frites, £21, and the perfect crème brûlée, £8 (Lanouvellegarde.com/brasserie-dubillot).
Craving something casual? PNY serves next-level burgers with aged beef, brioche buns and toppings like smoked cheddar and pickled jalapeños, from £11.50 (Pnyburger.com).
Or just nab a pavement perch at Café Saint-André for a croque monsieur, £10.50, a glass of sancerre, £7, and some world-class people-watching.
Double rooms at Hôtel Dame des Arts cost from £226 per night (Damedesarts.com).
Psst…
Fancy something a little more party? Rixos Premium Dubai JBR sits in one of the UAE city’s buzziest neighbourhoods, with captivating views of Ain Dubai, the world’s biggest ferris wheel.
Suave rooms come with huge tubs, rain showers and espresso machines, from £304 per night (Rixos.com).
Rixos Premium Dubai JBR sits in one of the UAE city’s buzziest neighbourhoodsCredit: SuppliedThe suave rooms have captivating views of Ain Dubai, the world’s biggest ferris wheelCredit: SuppliedHead to Aussie beach club Byron Bathers for great foodCredit: Byron Bathers Club/Instagram
Downstairs is Azure Beach Club with its large pool, pumping soundtrack, outdoor gym and private beach (Azure-beach.com/dubai).
The breakfast buffet is, in true Dubai style, eye-poppingly big – you can even blend your own fresh peanut butter.
Plus, you’re half an hour’s cab ride from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, for that classic Dubai selfie – viewing platform visits cost from £37 per person (Burjkhalifa.ae).
When you’re craving a chilled day, head to Aussie beach club Byron Bathers for lobster linguine, £37, and burrata pizza, £17, with excellent Whitsunday spritzes – an exquisite blend of grapefruit bitters, strawberry shrub, pink grapefruit, citrus vodka, Aperol and prosecco, £14 (Byronbathers.com).
