stays

KIP with the kids in a two-bedroom lodge at The Mole Resort or try the boujee airport hotel alternative of a grand Italianate mansion.

In search of the perfect pit stop, Lifestyle Editor Catherine Bennion-Pedley found out all that both had to offer.

The Mole Resort

As I slam on the car brakes, my kids Poppy, seven, and Raffy, four, shout: “Woah!” In the middle of the road is a local walking her dog – which happens to be the size of a small pony.

Yep, it’s safe to say rural Devon is proving to be an eye-opener for us all.

We’re kipping at The Mole Resort, a country-house hotel that had a spruce-up a couple of years ago, set in 125 acres of rolling countryside.

Our two-bedroom, two-bathroom lodge in the grounds comes with floor-to-ceiling views of a verdant meadow and a hot tub, which proves particularly restorative after the long drive.

I WOOD

I found the perfect woodland staycation for Center Parcs vibes without the price tag

HOMESTAY

Record year for staycations predicted – here are our top holiday spots in 2026 

Another huge win is the raft of activities on site – from pickleball to pétanque, disc golf to axe-throwing, and archery to pottery painting.

Talking of which, the kids adore painting egg cups, £14 each, and are thrilled to pick up their newly glazed souvenirs the next morning.

There’s also a restaurant, games room and health club with a pool – though this has seen better days.

The village it sits in, Chittlehamholt, is also home to excellent 16th-century pub The Exeter Inn.

Owners Hazel and Steve welcome visitors like family, as does their gorgeous cockapoo Frankie.

Flavour-packed dishes like Peking duck bon bons with hoisin, £9.50, and beef and ale pie topped with stilton, £17, are spot-on.

As are the proper puds – pick spiced sticky toffee, £8.50, for the win.

With more than 80 gins and local ales aplenty, you won’t go thirsty, either (Exeterinn.co.uk).

Just 20 minutes’ drive away is another absolute gem – Quince Honey Farm, which brings joy even on the drizzliest day.

Here, we roll our own beeswax candles, forage for wildflower seeds and taste five varieties of the golden stuff – the dandelion honey is crowned our fave.

Entry per adult and child over five costs £10.80 (Quincehoneyfarm. co.uk).

Leaving armed with brilliant bee facts, we all agree this pretty nook of Devon makes for a super stop-off en route to a beach break.

Stays in a two-bedroom lodge at The Mole Resort cost from £120 per night (Themoleresort.co.uk).

Down Hall Hotel

I’m not a huge fan of airport hotels, which is why the boujee alternative of a grand Italianate mansion in the Essex countryside instantly appeals.

Less than 20 minutes’ drive from London Stansted, its rural setting will help you to properly relax before take-off.

A giant chessboard, tennis courts and a mini football pitch in the expansive grounds keep the whole gang entertained.

Meanwhile, the newly opened Barn Spa offers mini-me treatments, including head and scalp massages, from £25 per child, and the recently refurbed family rooms come with a Nintendo Switch, so the kids are more than alright.

Tuck into dinner treats, such as crab with apple gel, cucumber and nasturtiums, £16.50, followed by venison loin with a dark-chocolate jus, £41, at The Garden Room, which holds two AA Rosettes.

And it would be rude not to try the moreish house cocktail – a Down Hall Bramble, made with the hotel’s own garden gin, £15.

When in Rome (or Essex) and all that. . .

Family rooms at Down Hall Hotel cost from £212 per night (Downhall.co.uk).

Energy markets remain on tenterhooks as the prospect of prolonged war in the Middle East grows.

Oil prices have again risen above $100 per barrel as energy markets see little relief amid the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in a generation.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged more than 9 percent on Thursday as traders weighed the prospect of weeks, or even months, of turmoil in energy markets as the United States and Israel wage war on Iran.

Brent futures, which are traded outside of regular market hours, were priced at $101.13 as of 03:00 GMT.

Asian stock markets, including exchanges in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, opened sharply lower on Friday, following steep losses on Wall Street overnight.

The latest surge in oil prices came after Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei pledged to maintain the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports about one-fifth of global oil supplies.

In a statement read out on his behalf on Iranian state television, Khamenei described Tehran’s threats against shipping in the waterway as a “lever” that “must continue to be used”.

US President Donald Trump struck a similarly defiant tone on Thursday, posting on Truth Social that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was of “far greater interest and importance” than rising oil prices.

‘Lack of tangible goals in this war’

Traffic through the strait has effectively ground to a halt due to Iranian threats, with only a handful of vessels passing through each day, many of them claiming links to China, Iran’s key economic partner.

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre, no more than five ships have passed through the waterway each day since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, compared with an average of 138 daily transits before the war. At least 16 commercial vessels have been attacked in the region since the start of the conflict, according to the UKMTO.

Tehran has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks, including a strike on Wednesday that crippled a Thai-flagged vessel off the coast of Oman.

Efforts to bring calm to the market have so far done little to tame prices, which are up nearly 40 percent compared with before the start of the war.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) announcement on Wednesday that member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles drew a tepid response among traders eyeing a daily shortfall in global supplies estimated at 15-20 million barrels.

The US Department of the Treasury’s issuance on Thursday of a temporary licence authorising countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil that has been stranded at sea also failed to move the market, with Brent crude staying above $100 a barrel after the Treasury announcement.

“The key problem is a lack of tangible goals in this war,” said Adi Imsirovic, an energy security expert at the University of Oxford.

“It makes it hard for oil traders to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of using the US Navy to escort commercial shipping through the strait, but the Pentagon has yet to conduct such operations amid concerns about the risks posed by Iranian attacks in the narrow waterway.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that Washington was “not ready” to provide navy escorts but that such operations could begin by the end of the month.

“It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said.

THERE’S still time to book a cheap Easter break for all the family from just £6.20 per person per night.

Unity Holidays has a new offer for families across all three of its sites in Somerset, the Skirlington Coast in Yorkshire and Seven Lakes in Lincolnshire.

Unity Holidays which has three parks across the country is offering families a three or four-night break during the school holidays at Easter time from £149.

The price of £149 is based upon a family of up to six people staying in a Bronze caravan across four-nights which works out as £6.20pppn.

A Bronze caravan has two to four bedrooms and is open plan with a large living area.

It has central heating, Wi-Fi, fully equipped kitchen for self-catering and free parking.

GO SEA IT

£9.50 holiday spot with shipwrecks, seals offshore & horseshoe-shaped waterfalls

SIGHT SEA

£9.50 holidaymakers’ favourite Skegness activities… away from the beach

There is also a space for tourers and campers with three-night weekend breaks for a family of four starting at £150.

At Unity Beach in Brean, Somerset, there’s plenty to do like exploring the Splash Waterpark, soft play, it also has a 9-hole golf course.

The site even has its own theme park with over 40 rides including rollercoasters, dodgems, a carousel and ghost train.

There are lots of places to eat on-site like the recently renovated Wonky Donkey pub and restaurant, with a new pavilion, sports bar and arcade.

At the Wonky Donkey, visitors can expect traditional pub food like mac n’ cheese and scampi and chips.

It’s also minutes from the coastline so guests can also enjoy paddling in the sea and making sandcastles on the beach.

Skirlington Coast in East Yorkshire also has a Wonky Donkey pub along with a traditional chippy which can be enjoyed with a seaside view.

It has a heated indoor swimming pool with new activities for 2026, which include Bumper Boats, mini jets and pool party.

It has an arcade with plenty of games, fishing lakes and plenty of countryside to explore.

Like Brean, the Skirlington Coast park has a beach which is ideal for sunbathing in the warm weather, and even fossil hunting.

Seven Lakes is set amongst 200 acres of lakes and woodland in Lincolnshire.

Here, the Head to The Dog & Duck is where guests can enjoy a relaxed breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Each park has plenty of daytime activities, swimming and live evening entertainment.

Guests can get out on the water too on paddleboards, rowing boats, kayaks and even its huge aqua park with inflatables.

It’s an ideal spot for fishing too whether that be newcomers or experienced anglers.

Later on in the year and there will be even more to do at Unity Beach in Brean as part of its £10.2million expansion.

In time for the summer holidays, will be a new lido surrounded by private cabanas and outdoor dining area.

The existing flumes and water rides will remain, and the outdoor pool is expected to open in July 2026.

For more on holiday parks, here are 14 of the best in the UK from £19 a night – including beach resorts and huge waterparks.

And here are 10 of our favourite £9.50 holiday parks in the UK.

Jordan Rivers, who is running to represent a harbor-area district on the Los Angeles City Council, said he will continue his campaign after a report surfaced that he stabbed a neighbor when he was 12.

Rivers, 22, is the sole challenger to incumbent Tim McOsker in the June 2 primary election.

In a lawsuit, Nicholas Parszik and his parents alleged that Rivers stabbed Nicholas, then 8, while the two boys were playing video games in the garage of Nicholas’ San Pedro home on July 30, 2016.

Rivers “stabbed Nicholas repeatedly around the neck and shoulder areas,” inflicting “severe and life threatening physical and emotional injuries,” the lawsuit said.

On Monday, Rivers said it was an “accident” that happened a decade ago.

“I do not believe that past situations or indeed past mistakes define or determine who a person is or what they are,” he said in a statement.

Rivers, who is Black, said that an initial media report about the lawsuit had “a racial undertone” and seemed meant to damage his reputation ahead of the election.

The California Post first reported the lawsuit on Monday, which was also the last day for candidates to withdraw paperwork to run for office.

McOsker is seeking a second term representing District 15, which includes Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Watts and Wilmington.

“I am saddened and troubled that this happened here in our community, and my heart breaks for the victim and his family. I hope they have gotten the care needed. My office will be here to provide advocacy and support for anybody who has been traumatized by this incident,” McOsker said in a statement.

Asked whether Rivers should withdraw, McOsker campaign consultant Dave Jacobson said, “Only Mr. Rivers could decide whether to run, and only he can decide whether he should stay in the race.”

Rivers, who listed his occupation as “community organizer” on campaign filings, has not reported any campaign donations. By Dec. 31, McOsker’s campaign had raised over $190,000, according to the city’s Ethics Commission.

Juvenile criminal records are sealed. Rivers said that law enforcement “got involved” but that he did not serve time in juvenile hall.

Paul Parszik, Nicholas’ father, said he was doing dishes when he heard screaming from the garage and Nicholas ran into the house with stab wounds on his neck and shoulders.

Paul Parszik recalled shoving his fingers into the wounds to staunch the bleeding.

Nicholas fully recovered and is about to turn 18, his father said, but still has physical scars.

In an interview with The Times, Rivers denied attacking Nicholas. He said he had been cooking and accidentally brought a cooking knife to the younger boy’s home.

He forgot that he had put the knife under a video game controller, and the two began “play fighting,” he said.

Rivers said he didn’t notice anything was wrong until Nicholas was already injured.

Rivers’ mother, Eunice Rivers, wrote in a 2016 filing in the lawsuit that her son “was eating an apple and had a small peeler in his hand to cut his apple when the Plaintiff started wrestling with the Defendant. While wrestling Plaintiff Nicholas was injured.”

Eunice Rivers settled the case, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, for $10,000 in 2018. The settlement did not include an admission of fault.

In an October court filing, Paul Parszik claimed that Eunice Rivers never paid the settlement and owes $7,941.71 in interest.

Parszik said the lawsuit was primarily intended to pressure the Rivers family to move away, which they did not do.

He plans to attend Rivers’ campaign rallies.

“I can’t wait to go home and go to his first rally and say, ‘Hey, you stabbed my kid and you have no remorse,’” he said.

March 6 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s consumer prices rose 2.0% in February from a year earlier, extending a six-month run of inflation at or above 2% as officials warned that rising oil prices linked to Middle East tensions could add fresh upward pressure in coming weeks.

The consumer price index stood at 118.40 in February, government data showed Thursday. The annual increase matched January’s rate and met the government’s inflation target, but the February figures did not yet fully reflect the late-month jump in global oil prices after the regional conflict intensified.

Service prices helped drive the increase. Personal services rose 3.5%, the sharpest gain in more than two years, while agricultural, livestock and fishery products rose 1.7%. Livestock prices climbed 6.0%, and the living-cost index, which tracks frequently purchased items, rose 1.8%.

Petroleum prices fell 2.4% from a year earlier, helping contain headline inflation in February. Officials said that decline was tied to earlier movements in international crude prices and that the latest Middle East shock had not yet been reflected in the monthly data.

Government officials said Lunar New Year holiday demand also pushed up prices for travel, lodging and livestock products.

The outlook has become more uncertain since the end of February. Nationwide gasoline prices moved above 1,800 won ($1.35) a liter, while prices in Seoul topped 1,900 won ($1.43), according to local reports citing Opinet, the Korea National Oil Corporation’s fuel price system.

President Lee Jae-myung has ordered officials to prepare a fuel price ceiling system, and the government has said it could invoke legal authority to set temporary maximum prices if fuel costs rise sharply. The industry ministry has also issued an early-stage alert for crude oil and natural gas supply conditions.

Analysts say higher crude prices and a weaker won could lift inflation in the coming months. ING said it raised its 2026 South Korea inflation forecast from 2.0% to 2.2%, estimating the recent oil shock could add 0.2 to 0.4 percentage point to consumer prices.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260306010001666