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With crystal-clear waters and 320 days of sunshine per year, this stunning but often-overlooked Costa Blanca destination is the ultimate antidote to Spain’s busiest resorts

Millions of British holidaymakers flock to the Costa Blanca every year, usually making a beeline for the bustling city of Alicante (which shares its name with the wider province) or the famous, neon-lit strip of Benidorm.

However, if you are willing to venture just 45 minutes up the coast, you will find a spectacular “secret paradise” that most tourists completely overlook.

Javea – also known as Xabia in Valencian – is a picturesque coastal town rapidly gaining a reputation as the region’s best-kept secret.

Local YouTuber ‘Benidorm by Ana’ recently showcased the stunning spot in a video tour, admitting the striking shoreline and crystal-clear waters left her totally “surprised and impressed”.

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Passing tourists often bypass the town for busier hubs like Altea and Calpe, but expats have firmly staked their claim on the area. In fact, over half of Javea’s population is made up of foreigners, with British nationals accounting for a whopping 26%.

“It’s easy to see why so many people choose Javea to live here all year long,” Ana noted, praising the town’s phenomenal weather. Basking in an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, it is the perfect spot for an autumn or winter escape.

The culinary scene is just as much of a draw. Whether you want a cheap and cheerful bite or “authentic fancy restaurants with gorgeous views of the sea or in the middle of the forest,” the town caters to every taste.

Foodies absolutely must try Cruet de Peix, a rich local fish stew, and cocas – savoury flatbreads traditionally topped with salted fish and roasted peppers. And instead of the usual paella, make sure to order fideuà, a mouthwatering regional variation made with short pasta instead of rice.

Praising the way the town balances its heritage with its popularity, Ana concluded: “It’s a place where I would say tradition blends seamlessly with a modern touch.”

How to spend your time in Javea

Step back in time: Javea’s historic Old Town is a maze of narrow, winding streets and distinct stone buildings. Ana praised its undeniable “historic charm”, making it a must-visit for architecture lovers.

Discover secret bays: While the main sandy beach of Playa del Arenal is great for sunbathing, the real magic lies just along the coast. The area is dotted with hidden, rocky coves boasting crystal-clear water that is perfect for snorkelling.

Taste the local life: Time your visit right and you can wander around Javea’s bustling weekly markets and cultural fairs, which are packed with authentic local produce and artisan goods.

Hit the trails: Want to escape the town entirely? The surrounding landscape features incredible coastal hikes and lush forest trails that offer sweeping, panoramic views out over the Mediterranean.

The latest Big Brother series is airing its final episode on ITV

Fans of Big Brother were quick to point out a ‘missing’ housemate.

Following eight weeks of drama, unexpected clashes and changing themes to challenge more than a dozen housemates, the latest series is coming to an end. Will Best and AJ Odudu host the live final yet again as they finally reveal what the fans’ decision.

Viewers couldn’t wait to find out who would take home the huge £100,000 prize on Thursday night (November 5). Those entering the final day following a shock double eviction included Twinks, Rochelle, Yasmin, Samuel, Lynx and Catrin

However during the extended episode, fans were left distracted as they could not help but notice one former housemate was nowhere to be seen.

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Early in the show, Will and AJ reminded fans that a special reunion episode will be aired by ITV on Friday. In it, the housemates will be gathered together in the house once again as they dissect the entire series and all its drama.

As they mentioned this the camera cut to a group shot of all the evicted housemates. Fans could immediately spot the likes of Harry, Chelsey, Millie and even Charlotte who quit after just two weeks in the house.

Even those who recently left including Frankie and Omar were spotted. However, viewers immediately called out one person who was notably absent from the line-up – Philip.

The 53-year-old Scouse influencer otherwise known as the Queen of Scottie Road seemingly skipped the final. As a result. he will not feature in the reunion.

It didn’t take long for fans watching along at home to make their exact feelings known. One took to social media and shared: “Philip skipping the reunion he’s FUMING.”

Another posted: “How did I know Philip wouldn’t be there. Sat in a corner sulking somewhere.” Someone else added: “Notice how Philip is missing.” One person replied: “In my opinion it’s a pity Philip seems to have been pushed out of the limelight, he was very entertaining first half of the show and provided the laughs. He is appearing in panto and I wish him all the best.”

While one viewer commented: “I didn’t see Philip there? I did not enjoy him in the house but I hope he is okay and taken care of.” A viewer even joked: “No Philip at the Big Brother final. Times must be hard and his friends few.”

Big Brother is streaming on ITVX.

Hawkins, 24, and Scarlets partner Eddie James have developed as Wales’ first-choice centre pairing during the past 12 months.

Wales head coach Steve Tandy has selected five different starting centre partnerships in 13 games since taking charge in September 2025.

Hawkins and James are the most prolific pair, having been together for seven games which include victory in an uncapped match against Barbarians.

Tandy did go back to Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn for the 43-0 defeat by South Africa in July, but the Scarlets pair have been the preferred option.

“Eddie and I have a good relationship on and off the field,” said Hawkins.

“That is starting to grow on the pitch with the more opportunities we get together.”

The make-up of the Wales midfield has caused debate with Tandy and attack coach Matt Sherratt wanting a creative ball-playing inside centre like Hawkins or Thomas.

This leaves James as the physical presence at outside centre with Tandy stating he sees his long-term future as a Test 13.

Many observers believe James should be considered as a 12 but Wales are determined to keep their creative options open.

With Thomas missing because of a calf injury, Hawkins appears to be competing for the Wales’ 12 jersey with uncapped Dragons centre Aneurin Owen, although Llewellyn has also featured at inside centre for Gloucester this season.

“The ball-playing stuff is stuff I enjoy doing but you still need to go forward as well and I feel like I can also produce that side of it,” said Hawkins.

“Matt [Sherratt] likes you always in and around that first receiver position so you are always in those decision-making roles.

“You’ve got to be comfortable on the ball and making decisions at high speed.

“But there’s not always going to be opportunities to ball play, so you’ve got to try and have a bit of a rounded game.”

Hawkins has also been employed as an outside-half by Scarlets but he sees his future at 12.

“It gives me a lot more respect for the 10s, having been in there, with all the work they do,” he added.

“It probably helps me when I play centre from being a 10, I know what they need from me a little bit more, so the information and communication I’m feeding helps the whole team.”

Lamine Yamal was tipped for the Ballon d’Or which went to Harry Kane, but his Barca boss ‘proud’ of teenager’s reaction.

Lamine Yamal has “reacted very well” following the disappointment of the Ballon d’Or being awarded to Harry Kane, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Friday.

Despite winning La Liga with the Catalan club and lifting the World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old winger came third in the vote for the best player in the world on Monday, behind Kane and Kylian Mbappe.

“Harry Kane deserved it, but you already know what I think about Lamine. He’s at the level required to win this award,” Flick said ahead of the La Liga leaders’ home match against Alaves.

“I’m very proud of Lamine. He reacted very well and was very focused in training.

“That’s the way to respond. His mentality is very good for the team.”

Yamal will have a chance to put any lingering disappointment behind him on Saturday when Barcelona look to correct course at home to Alaves following two high-profile defeats.

After winning their first 11 matches in all competitions, Barcelona were flying but then came undone when they travelled to PSG in the Champions League last Tuesday.

That 4-2 reverse in the French capital was swiftly followed by a Mbappe-inspired 2-1 loss at home to Real Madrid in La Liga last weekend.

“The most important thing tomorrow is to win,” Flick said.

“The team is playing well and we believe in our strengths. I’ve seen a good training session and a positive mood. We have to show that tomorrow.

“Alaves are a team that know how to defend well, but we’re Barca and we want to show our best version.”

Barcelona still hold a two-point lead at the top of La Liga ahead of their meeting with Atletico Madrid.

While the German coach admitted he does not like losing, he insisted that the campaign is “a long road”.

“It’s at the end of the season that we can win trophies,” he added.

“We have to deal with it. We could have won, but we have to accept defeat and learn from it.”

Maiduguri, Nigeria – For more than 15 years, Kashim Mohammed has hoped that his younger sister, Falmata Mohammed, is still alive.

Falmata disappeared in 2011 while travelling with her mother from Maiduguri, the capital of northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State, to Port Harcourt in the south. According to Kashim, the two women were abducted by unidentified gunmen.

Years later, a man approached Kashim at Baga Road Market in Maiduguri with news that briefly revived the family’s hopes of finding the women. He claimed Falmata had been found in Benin and was searching for her relatives.

But the man disappeared without leaving contact details. Kashim said he has never been able to establish whether the information was genuine.

“From then until now, nobody knows anything about the man who brought the information,” he said.

Kashim, 39, chairs the Association for the Well-being of Displaced and Missing Persons’ Families, a community organisation based in Bolori II, Ngarnam ward, Maiduguri. He said years of violence have torn his family apart.

“As a result of the violence, I lost my sister from the same father,” he said.

Their father, Mohammed Kolo, worked at Maiduguri’s State Specialist Hospital. Kashim said his father died at 60 from an illness he attributed to high blood pressure without learning what had happened to his daughter.

Kolo had refused to abandon hope that she would return.

“Our father always said, ‘Wherever she is, I believe my daughter is alive,’” Kashim recalled.

A brother still searching

For Muhammad Alhaji Bashir, the disappearance of his elder brother, Adam Muhammad Bashir, known as Bakura, has left a similar void.

Muhammad, 29, said Bakura went missing around 2012 or 2013 when Muhammad was about 14. His brother, then believed to be in his early 20s, sold cosmetics in a Maiduguri market and was studying civil engineering at Ramat Polytechnic, according to Muhammad.

“I sincerely lost my brother as a result of the Boko Haram crisis,” Muhammad said.

Boko Haram’s armed rebellion began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009. The conflict has devastated communities through attacks, abductions and displacement, leaving families searching for relatives whose fates remain unknown.

Muhammad said Bakura’s family searched across Maiduguri. A rehabilitation centre offered them some hope.

“Whenever we heard that rescued people had been brought to the rehabilitation centre in Bulumkutu, we went there with Bakura’s pictures, but unfortunately, nobody recognised him,” Muhammad said.

Muhammad said his father and stepmother, who was Bakura’s mother, later died from illnesses the family attributed to hypertension. He and other relatives continue to search, without confirmation of whether Bakura is alive or dead.

Thousands of families, thousands of questions

The two families’ experiences reflect the uncertainty facing relatives of people who have disappeared during more than a decade of conflict in northeastern Nigeria.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, has supported efforts to trace missing people and reconnect separated families.

Local advocates for missing people cited an estimate of 17,000 people missing across northern Nigeria, many of them linked to the conflict involving Boko Haram and its aftermath. Kashim said his association’s records indicated that about 10,000 people are missing in Borno State alone. He added that many families have yet to register their missing relatives.

The sources for the estimates cited by advocates and the association, their geographical coverage, reporting periods and methods of compilation have not been independently established for this article.

Behind the estimates are families who have spent years searching, parents who have died without learning what happened to their children and children growing up without a parent.

Some people reportedly disappeared during attacks on their communities. Others became separated from relatives while fleeing violence or travelling between towns. Families search hospitals, displacement camps and centres receiving people rescued from conflict areas, often following leads that prove impossible to verify.

Even when names, photographs and personal details are submitted to organisations involved in tracing missing people, locating relatives can take time.

An association born out of loss

Kashim said his search for Falmata helped motivate him and other affected families to establish their association in 2023. He said the organisation obtained registration with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission in 2025.

Members meet monthly to share information and discuss their circumstances. Some families have reported losing eight or nine relatives, according to Kashim.

“In our community of Bolori II, we have many families who lost their relatives as a result of years of violence that ravaged northeastern Nigeria,” he said.

Kashim said the group sometimes receives notices from the Red Cross containing names and details of missing people. These can give families leads to pursue although they do not necessarily mean a relative has been located.

The association also supports children affected by the disappearances. Kashim said it was assisting about 600 orphaned children from affected families. Some attend school while others have dropped out because their relatives cannot afford to pay for their education or other basic needs.

“We are now suffering because of the harsh living conditions,” he said, adding that the ICRC had distributed relief items to some families.

When a missing person is a parent or breadwinner, relatives must cope with lost income while trying to provide food, shelter and schooling for children. The association’s work has consequently expanded beyond tracing missing people to helping families manage the hardships their disappearances leave behind.

Floods add to the losses

The search became harder for some families after devastating floods struck parts of Maiduguri in 2024.

Kashim said floodwaters submerged parts of Ngarnam and destroyed photographs that families had kept to help identify missing relatives.

Photographs can be vital when families try to identify people who have been rescued, displaced or found in unfamiliar communities. Without them, relatives must rely on names, physical descriptions and memories.

Kashim said some families now have little beyond remembered details and surviving records to help identify their relatives.

The floods added another obstacle to searches already complicated by years of conflict, displacement and uncertainty.

Waiting for an answer

For Kashim, finding Falmata would resolve a question that has haunted his family since 2011. His father died believing she might still return, and the family has never established whether the report of her discovery in Benin was true.

Muhammad’s search for Bakura continues without the parents who once helped him look for his brother.

Both families are appealing to anyone who may have information about their missing relatives. For them, finding an answer would mean more than ending a search: It would establish what happened to someone whose absence has shaped their lives for years.

Kashim’s message to his sister remains a plea for a reunion that his family has waited years to see.

“Falmata Mohammed, if you are alive anywhere in this world, we are the family of late Mohammed Kolo in Bolori II, Ngarnam. We are waiting for you,” he said.

Emma Finucane said she will “come back fighting” for gold medals after narrowly missing out on the top step of the podium for the third time at the Track Cycling World Championships, external in Shanghai.

Finucane, 23, was forced to settle for bronze in Sunday’s keirin after being pipped to the finish line by neutral athlete Alina Lysenko and Lea Friedrich of Germany after leading into the home straight.

She finished just 14 thousandths of a second off top spot, with her bronze adding to silver medals won in the team sprint and individual sprint – both won by Chinese cyclists.

Finucane was part of Great Britain’s team sprint gold medal-winning trio at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and Finucane says retaining that title in Los Angleles is the big aim.

She told BBC Sport: “To medal in all three races at the world champs, I’d never done that before.

“The confidence I have gained this week and the way I’ve been riding my bike, I can take that into the years to come.

“I’m actually really proud. I am frustrated not to be on the top step but I’ll come back fighting. You can beat yourself up about races but I am learning all the time.

“Ultimately we are learning for the Olympics, that’s a huge goal. I put myself in winning positions in every race and that’s something I am proud of.”

Finucane, who took bronze in both the individual sprint and keirin in Paris, won Britain’s first Olympic gold in the women’s team sprint alongside Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell.

In Shanghai, Rhianna Parris-Smith replaced the newly-retired Marchant in the team which was beaten by Chinese trio Jiang Yulu, Tong Mengqi and Yuan Liying.

Finucane says the strength in depth inside the British team will drive them to success at the LA Games in 2028.

She said: “We won the team sprint in Paris which is one of the best moments of my life and there are 10 girls back at home fighting to be in the team. That’s how we progress, and we will build on the momentum of this silver medal.

“Internal competition is how we win bike races. World records keep falling, we are pushing each other and it’s really exciting.”

Great Britain topped the medal table overall at the championships with 12 medals, including a hat-trick of gold medals for Anna Morris.

Some of 16 survivors treated for suspected shark bites, US coastguard says.

The search continues for 11 people still missing after a boat capsized off Mexico’s Baja California coast on Friday, as multiple survivors have been treated for suspected shark bites, according to the US coastguard.

“Several of the individuals rescued were suffering from severe injuries consistent with shark bites, and the Coast Guard provided life-saving first aid while en route [to] San Diego,” the coastguard said in a statement on Saturday.

Sixteen Mexican nationals were rescued on Friday. Survivors told officials there were 27 people on board.

The coastguard and US Navy used multiple aircraft and boats, along with assistance from the Mexican Navy, to search the area for the remaining passengers. An additional helicopter will be deployed later on Saturday, according to the coastguard.

A Mayday call was transmitted from someone on the boat at about 1am on Friday, coastguard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini said on the day.

A rescue helicopter reached the site about two hours later. It took about 90 minutes for the crew, which included a rescue swimmer, to pull the 16 people from the water, he added.

The boat went down about 225km (140 miles) west of Ensenada, Mexico, an area popular with fishing and leisure boats, but that is also frequented by smugglers.

Although the incident did not happen in US waters, coastguard official Charlie Valor said on Saturday they “were able to help, and that’s why we launched our assets”.

Fatal attempts to transport refugees and migrants from Mexico to the US have occurred in the past.

In May 2025, at least three people died when a boat flipped off the coast about 56km (35 miles) north of the US-Mexico border.

In 2023, eight people were killed in one of the deadliest maritime smuggling accidents off the US coast, when two boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog, and one capsized in the surf.