Thousands

As many as 48,000 airline passengers are set to be affected by a nationwide strike on Tuesday

Tens of thousands of passengers are facing travel chaos as a nationwide strike brings Belgium to a standstill.

Two of the country’s main airports have confirmed mass cancellations for Tuesday, October 14, with flights grounded and severe delays expected.

At Brussels Airport – the country’s biggest – all departing flights have been cancelled, while around half of all arrivals have been scrapped. Brussels Charleroi Airport, which is a key base for budget airlines like Ryanair, has also confirmed that all flights – both arrivals and departures – will be cancelled on Tuesday.

The strike was called by Belgium’s trade unions in protest against government austerity measures. Metro, bus and tram services across the country are also expected to be severely disrupted.

Brussels Airport spokesperson Jeffrey Franssens said on Monday that 115 of 238 scheduled arrivals have been cancelled. Two weeks ago, the airport announced that all 234 departures had been scrapped due to a planned walkout by “a large number” of G4S security staff.

The airport warned of “major disruptions” on the day of the strike, adding that both Monday and Wednesday would be particularly busy as passengers try to rearrange travel plans.

Charleroi Airport said on its website: “Passengers affected scheduled to fly via Charleroi on 14 October will be contacted in the coming days by their airline for a rebooking or refund.”

A total 48,000 passengers will be affected by the strike – 33,000 of whom were scheduled to depart and 15,000 of whom were scheduled to arrive – The Brussels Times reports.

Union representatives said they expect a massive turnout at their demonstration in Brussels. “We want to send a strong signal,” said ACLVB spokesperson Kurt Van Hissenhoven.

Getty Images

BBC News

‘Dropped off the internet’

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are held in Israeli jails – most of them without charge.

And as the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is centred on the release of detainees, about 2,000 of them are due to be released.

But the mistreatment of detainees by Israeli forces has been documented for decades.

So in addition to international law, is Israel breaking its own laws in its arrest and treatment of prisoners? Why did it arrest and torture so many people during its war on Gaza? And is it using mass detention to maintain its occupation?

Presenter: Neave Barker

Guests:

Naji Abbas – Director of the Prisoners & Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights-Israel

Ubai Aboudi – Executive director at Bisan Center for Research and Development, held in administrative detention in Israel without trial

Milena Ansari – Israel and Palestine assistant researcher at Human Rights Watch

There’s something about Thai cuisine that is warm and welcoming.

Perhaps it’s the fire that bird’s eye chili brings to a dish, or maybe the bold punchiness of tom yum soup.

My colleague and food critic Bill Addison referred to Thai as “a pillar cuisine of Los Angeles.”

And why not?

The city boasts the world’s largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Those who open restaurants open our palates to a diverse range of flavors and sensations from their micro-regional cooking styles.

Addison is wary of using the term “best.” Instead, he crafted a list of his 15 favorite Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. Here, we’ll highlight a handful of those choices, in Addison’s own words.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Anajak Thai (Sherman Oaks)

If you’ve had any passing interest in Los Angeles dining culture this decade, you probably know the story: Anajak Thai was founded in 1981 by chef Ricky Pichetrungsi, whose recipes merge his Thai upbringing and Cantonese heritage, and his wife Rattikorn.

In 2019, when Pichetrungsi suffered a stroke, the couple’s son Justin left a thriving career as an art director at Walt Disney Imagineering to take over the restaurant.

It changed his life, and it changed Los Angeles, with Justin’s creative individualism — specifically his Thai Taco Tuesday phenomenon.

That’s when the menu crisscrosses fish tacos lit up by chili crisp and limey nam jim with wok-fragrant drunken noodles and Dungeness crab fried rice. Add what has become one of L.A.’s great wine lists, and the restaurant has catapulted into one of the city’s great dining sensations.

The restaurant closed for a couple of months over the summer for a renovation, revealing a brighter, significantly resituated interior — and introducing an open kitchen and a second dining room — in August.

The menu didn’t radically alter: It’s the same multi-generational cooking, tracing the family heritage, leaning ever-further into freshness, perfecting the details in familiar dishes.

Fried chicken sheathed in rice flour batter and scattered with fried shallots, the star of the Justin-era menu, remains, as does the sublime mango sticky rice that Rattikorn makes when she can find fragrant fruit in season and at its ripest.

(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)

Ayara Thai (Westchester)

Owner Andy Asapahu grew up in a Thai-Chinese community in Bangkok.

Anna Asapahu, his wife, was raised in Lampang, a small city in the verdant center of northern Thailand.

They melded their backgrounds into a sprawling multi-regional menu of soups, salads, noodles and curries when they opened Ayara in Westchester in 2004.

Their daughters Vanda and Cathy oversee the restaurant these days, but Anna’s recipe for khao soi endures as the marquee dish.

Khao soi seems to have become nearly as popular in Los Angeles as pad Thai. This one is quintessential: chicken drumsticks braised in silky coconut milk infused with lemongrass and other piercing aromatics, poured over egg noodles, sharpened with shallots and pickled mustard greens and garnished with lime and a thatch of fried noodles.

The counterpoints are all in play: a little sweetness from palm sugar and a lot of complexity from fish sauce, a bump of chile heat to offset the richness.

Pair it with a standout dish that reflects Andy’s upbringing, like pad pong kari, a stir-fry of curried shrimp and egg with Chinese celery and other vegetables, smoothed with a splash of cream and served over rice. The restaurant has a spacious dining room.

Note that lunch is technically carry-out only, though the family sets up the patio space outside the restaurant for those who want to stick around.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

Holy Basil (Atwater Village)

Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal “Joy” Yuon run two wholly different Holy Basils.

Downtown’s Santee Passage food hall houses the original, a window that does a brisk takeout business cranking out Arpapornnopparat’s visceral, full-throttle interpretations of Bangkok street food.

His pad see ew huffs with smokiness from the wok. The fluffy-crackly skin of moo krob pops and gives way to satiny pork belly underneath. Douse “grandma’s fry fish and rice” with chile vinegar, and in its sudden brightness you’ll understand why the dish was his childhood favorite.

Their sit-down restaurant in Atwater Village is a culmination of their ambitions. The space might be small, with much of the seating against a wall between two buildings, but the cooking is tremendous.

Arpapornnopparat leaps ahead, rendering a short, revolving menu of noodles, curries, chicken wings, fried rice and vegetable dishes that is more experimental, weaving in elements of his father’s Chinese heritage, his time growing up in India and the Mexican and Japanese flavors he loves in Los Angeles.

One creation that shows up in spring but I wait for all year: fried soft-shell crab and shrimp set in a thrilling, confounding sauce centered around salted egg yolk, browned butter, shrimp paste and scallion oil. In its sharp left turns of salt and acid and sultry funk, the brain longs to consult a GPS. But no map exists. These flavor combinations are from an interior land.

If you enjoyed those selections, check out the full list here. Happy dining.

The week’s biggest stories

(Carlin Stiehl/For the Times)

Palisades fire and other blazes

Trump administration policies and reactions

Crime, courts and policing

More big stories

This week’s must-reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Going out

Staying in

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Oct. 12 (UPI) — Thousands of people in New Jersey are without power Sunday as a strong nor’easter sweeps across the region with heavy, flood-producing rains that are forecast to last into Monday morning.

Along with major coastal flooding in the region, forecasters are warning residents of the potential for wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

The state’s Jersey Shore area is a particular concern and could experience major flooding, forecasters say.

The storm system’s damaging winds will strengthen as it approaches New York, and a “High Wind Warning” has been issued for eastern Long Island and the Jersey Shore from today into Monday.

In New Jersey, forecasters say rising water could bring heavy flooding in areas along the Delaware River waterfront, Camden and Gloucester County lowlands, the Atlantic City area and in communities along Delaware Bay.

Weather forecasters warn that residents in the region could see more downed trees and wind gusts that could lead to more power outages. New York City could see wind gusts of up to 50 mph later Sunday, as well.

Philadelphia could experience moderate to major flooding in tidal zones, especially during high tides Sunday night, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, Atlantic marine conditions are forecast to be severe, with gale to storm-force winds, rough seas, and dangerous surf and rip currents along beaches.

A storm called a nor’easter is a weather system that churns along the East Coast of the United States with winds that typically come from the northeast. These storms may occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most destructive between September and April.

Tens of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians are making their way back to devastated areas in northern Gaza as Israeli forces stop operations as agreed under phase one of the ceasefire plan with Hamas, and partially withdraw.

Gaza’s al-Rashid Street, which has witnessed massive population movements northward and southward over recent months as Palestinians fled Israeli attacks, is once again witnessing a tide of humanity on the move.

Now, with the ceasefire in effect and Israeli forces withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor that previously divided the road, tens of thousands of Palestinians are journeying north – hoping this time to return permanently.

“Once again [displaced Palestinians] are taking the same exact road, the only lifeline for Palestinians now to go back to their homes in Gaza and the northern part [of the enclave],” reported Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud from the central Gaza coastal highway.

Mahmoud noted that the critical highway has been extensively damaged by Israeli bulldozers, creating a difficult passage for those carrying their belongings.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Al Nuseirat, Gaza, said: “Since this morning, we have seen families walking towards Gaza City. We saw children, women, elderly, cars, vans, donkey carts loaded with furniture. Families removed their makeshift tents to take and reset them over the ruins of their destroyed homes in Gaza City.”

These residents were originally forced to abandon Gaza City due to bombardment, only to find overcrowded conditions in central and southern Gaza upon arrival.

“While this return marks a historic moment, it must be accompanied by substantive measures to address the humanitarian crisis,” Abu Azzoum added.

Most returnees are discovering barely any intact buildings in Gaza City following Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground invasion there. There is now an urgent need for temporary shelters and mobile housing units for these returning families.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 67,211 people and wounded 169,961 since October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in southern Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks and about 200 were taken captive.

Russian drone and missile strikes have wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential buildings and caused blackouts across swaths of Ukraine, authorities have said.

In the latest mass attack targeting the energy system as winter approaches, electricity was interrupted in nine regions, and more than a million households and businesses were temporarily without power across the country on Friday.

In southeastern Ukraine, a seven-year-old was killed when his home was hit, and at least 20 people were injured. In Kyiv, an apartment block in the city centre was damaged by a projectile, while on the left bank of the Dnipro River that divides the capital, crowds waited at bus stops with the metro out of action, and people filled water bottles at distribution points.

“We didn’t sleep at all,” said Liuba, a pensioner, as she collected water. “From 2:30am, there was so much noise. By 3:30, we had no electricity, no gas, no water. Nothing.”

According to Ukraine’s energy ministry, more than 800,000 customers temporarily lost power in Kyiv.

Moscow’s attack overnight and into Friday fell on the third anniversary of Russia’s first large-scale attack on energy facilities, months after Moscow invaded in February 2022, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s latest strikes a “cynical and calculated attack”, and urged allies to respond with concrete measures.

“What’s needed is not window dressing but decisive action – from the United States, Europe, and the G7 – in delivering air defence systems and enforcing sanctions,” he said in a statement on X.

The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks, building on earlier bombing campaigns over the previous three winters that left millions without heating in frigid temperatures. Russia said its forces had hit energy sites supplying power to Ukraine’s defence industry.

The Ukrainian air force said the Russian barrage comprised 465 drones and 32 missiles, adding that 405 drones and 15 missiles were downed.

A source in Ukraine’s energy sector told the AFP news agency that the intensity of attacks was higher compared to last year, and that cloudy weather overnight had allowed drones to evade Ukrainian air defence systems.

Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian forces had targeted “critical infrastructure”.

“This was one of the largest concentrated strikes against energy facilities,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

It was the fourth attack in a week against the facilities of Ukraine’s biggest private electricity provider, DTEK, its CEO Maxim Timchenko said.

Late on Friday DTEK said it had restored power to at least 678,000 households and companies in Kyiv after the massive Russian aerial attack.

“DTEK power engineers continue to intensively restore electricity to Kyiv residents,” the company said on Telegram.

Children ‘rejoined’ with families

The Russian attack came as United States First Lady Melania Trump announced that eight children displaced by the war had been reunited with their families following negotiations between her team and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s.

Trump said that Putin had responded to a letter sent via her husband, President Donald Trump, at a summit in Alaska in August.

“My representative has been working directly with President Putin’s team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine. In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours,” she said in a short, six-minute speech from the White House on Friday.

US President Trump’s own efforts to broker an end to Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine have stalled, as a series of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations this year ended.

Trump said on Thursday that Washington and NATO allies were “stepping up the pressure” to end the war in Ukraine.

But the Kremlin said that momentum towards reaching a peace deal had largely vanished.

THE NOTORIOUS “Tinder Swindler” has claimed from his jail cell that he doesn’t remember “conning women out of hundreds of thousands.”

Simon Leviev, 35, has spoken out for the first time since his arrest in Georgia for alleged fraud.

10

10

10

Talking from his prison cell, the Israeli scammer admitted to a local celebrity lawyer Mariam Kublashvili that he is no angel but has no recollections of the alleged crimes he has been accused of, reports MailOnline.

The infamous scammer has appointed Ms Kublashivili as his new lawyer, who has since likened him to The Wolf of Wall Street.

Like the disgraced stockbroker played by Leonardo di Caprio, she believes Leviev has turned over a new leaf.

His latest claim follows an arrest made last month under mysterious circumstances following an Interpol Red Notice for alleged fraud in Germany.

Mr Leviev was cuffed at Batumi International Airport, Georgia, on September 14th.

He is currently being held in Kutaisi Penitentiary Establishment No 2 and awaiting extradition proceedings.

If convicted, he could face up to ten years behind bars.

Yesterday, Mr Leviev spoke out via Ms Kublashivili for the first time since the dramatic arrest, where he has claimed to have no recollection of this.

He said: “Under the circumstances, I believe I’m either being set up or there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”

Leviev, whose real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut, became the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary after he spent years luring women on dating app Tinder, while posing as an heir to the Leviev diamond fortune.

He told his victims he was the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev – but he has no relation to the family whatsoever.

He was arrested in 2019 in Greece then extradited to Israel where he served a 15-month sentence for fraud, forgery and theft.

His legal team are now questioning why an Interpol notice was triggered when he entered Georgia without the Germans first going to authorities in his homeland.

Mr Leviev’s Israeli lawyer Sharon Nahari said: “To arrest him in a third country, rather than addressing the matter openly through Israel, is unfair and unacceptable.”

Mr Nahari also characterised the case as “disproportionate” and “based on weak evidence.”

10

10

10

The newly appointed Ms Kublashvili added that she fears he will not receive a fair trail due to a pre-existing biased narrative.

Referencing The Wolf of Wall Street, she claimed that Mr Leviev is now a very different person.

She highlighted that since 2022 he has embarked on a new and completely legal career and published his own memoir.

In addition to fighting his extradition, Ms Kublashvili also hopes to move Leviev from his current prison to one in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi.

She claims that the current conditions he is being held in fail to meet basic hygiene standards.

Ten years on from being conned out of thousands, Mr Leviev’s victims remain traumatised.

While the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler brought their story to the world, the women he affected say the aftermath and the long road to recovery were far more difficult than anyone could have imagined.

“I’m still traumatised,” Cecilie, 36, told The Times.

Cecilie was conned into taking out nine loans totaling $250,000 (£190,000), and was hounded by creditors to the point where she contemplated suicide. 

She eventually sought help at a psychiatric unit and has spent the last seven years in therapy. 

She “never wanted to be on” antidepressants but explains that she “needed them.” 

Pernilla, 38, also contemplated suicide after learning the truth about the man she once considered a friend.

She lost the $45,000 (£33,840) she had saved for a home deposit and then doubled that amount in legal fees when she tried to take her bank to court. 

The pair have since released a book, Swindled Never After: How We Survived (and You Can Spot) a Relationship Scammer, deep dives into their traumatic journey in a bid to prevent others from falling for the same cruel tricks.

10

10

10

10

Huge numbers of people have turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory.

Police in Rome said about 250,000 people attended a fourth consecutive day of protests on Saturday after Israel intercepted the 45-boat flotilla trying to reach Gaza last week.

Protesters in the Italian capital, including families with children, shouted: “We are all Palestinians,” “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide” as many carried Palestinian flags and wore black-and-white-chequered keffiyehs.

In Spain, about 70,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona, according to the police, while the government in Madrid reported nearly 92,000 marched in the capital.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted on Wednesday, departed Barcelona in early September and had been seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where a United Nations-backed hunger monitor says famine has taken hold. About 50 Spaniards on the flotilla have been detained by Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public television in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

Marta Carranza, a 65-year-old pensioner demonstrating in Barcelona with a Palestinian flag on her back, said Israel’s policy “has been wrong for many years and we have to take to the streets”.

Elsewhere, several thousand people marched through the centre of Dublin to mark what organisers described as “two years of genocide” in Gaza. Along with Ireland, Spain is among the fiercest European critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

In Ireland, speakers called for sanctions on Israel, an immediate end to the conflict and Palestinian involvement in any ceasefire plan.

In London, police said they made at least 442 arrests at a gathering in support of the proscribed Palestine Action group.

In Paris, where about 10,000 people gathered, a spokesperson for the French contingent of the Sumud Flotilla, Helene Coron, told the crowd: “We’ll never stop.”

“This flotilla didn’t get to Gaza. But we will send another, then another until Palestine and Gaza are free,” she said.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government has been criticised for its inaction regarding the siege of Gaza. On Saturday, Meloni accused demonstrators of defacing a statue of Pope John Paul II with graffiti in front of Rome’s main railway station, calling it a “shameful act”.

On September 14, about 100,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators forced the final stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in the Spanish capital to be halted because an Israeli team was competing. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be barred from international sport over the war in Gaza, just as Russia has been penalised over its invasion of Ukraine.

In September, Spain announced it would ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

THOUSANDS of pensioners will be able to apply for a winter cash boost worth up to £300 in just days.

More than nine million people are set to get the Winter Fuel Payment to help with their energy bills over the colder months.

1

Most people who are eligible will get the payment automatically, and will receive letters in the post from the DWP in October and November telling them how much cash they will receive.

However, certain pensioners will need to apply to get the benefit.

You can apply either by post or over the phone, and the DWP phone lines to make a claim open on October 13.

Postal applications opened earlier on September 15.

Pensioners have until March 31 2026 to make a claim.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said that anyone claiming the following benefits does not need to make a claim:

• State Pension
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Attendance Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Carer’s Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Income Support
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• awards from the War Pensions Scheme
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit
• Industrial Death Benefit

If you don’t receive any of these benefits, you’ll need to claim manually if you’ve not got the Winter Fuel Payment before, or if you’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment.

While the highest amount of free support is £300, the total will depend on when you were born and your circumstances on the qualifying week, which is between September 15 and 21 of this year.

Pensioners born before September 22, 1959, with an income of £35,000 or below will be eligible for between £100 and £300 to help towards heating bills.

Those hoping to receive the cash must be 66 by the end of the qualifying week.

You won’t be eligible for the payment if you earn more than £35,000 a year, and HMRC will claw back the automatic payment made to you through your tax code or tax return.

Your income can come from a range of factors including, your private pension and state benefits.

Other people who won’t be eligible include those who:

• live outside England and Wales
• were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025 and the year before that
• need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave says that you cannot claim public funds
• were in prison for the whole of the week of 15 to 21 September 2025

The Winter Fuel Payment was axed for 10million pensioners last year, with only those on certain benefits qualifying.

But the government was forced to perform a U-turn after a huge public outcry, with the funding now being reinstated for millions.

The gov.uk website provides further guidance on the scheme and how to make a claim.

Pensioners are also being warned to be wary of text messages from scammers posing as the DWP, who try to get you to click on a fake link to make a claim.

These are not official DWP messages and should be deleted, the government has said.

The Winter Fuel Payment is separate from the Warm Home Discount, which offers struggling households £150 off their electricity bill.

The money is not paid to you, and households that are eligible will have the discount applied to their bill by their energy provider.

What energy bill help is available?

There’s a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you’re struggling to get by.

If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.

This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.

If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.

Several energy firms have schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.

But eligibility criteria vary depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.

For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.

British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.

You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.

EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.

Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).

The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill.

Some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.

Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

About two months ago, my cousin Guillermo happily ventured from picturesque Cuernavaca, Mexico, to 95-degree Southern California.

He took his wife and two young kids to Disneyland, Universal Studios, the zoo, the beach and a Dodger game over a week span and then gleefully returned home. He spent about $6,000 for what he hoped was a lifetime of stories and memories.

His actions were pretty normal for a tourist though his timing was not.

Tourism to Los Angeles and California, in general, has been down this summer, representing a blow to one of the state’s biggest industries.

Theories as to why people aren’t visiting were explored this past week by my colleague Cerys Davis.

Davis spoke with experts and provided the scoop. Let’s take a look at what she wrote.

What the numbers say

International tourist arrivals to the state fell by 8% in the three months through August, according to data released Monday from Visit California. That is more than 170,000 fewer global tourists than last year. This is critical because international tourists spend up to eight times more per visit than domestic tourists.

Of all the state’s international travelers, arrivals from Canada fell the most (32%) in the three summer months.

Empty landmarks

On Hollywood Boulevard, there are fewer tourists, and the ones who show up are spending less, said Salim Osman, who works for Ride Like A Star, an exotic car company that rents to visitors looking to take a luxury vehicle for a spin and snap the quintessential L.A. selfie.

This summer, he said foot traffic dropped by nearly 50%.

“It used to be shoulder to shoulder out here,” he said, looking along the boulevard, normally teeming with tourists.

Business has been slow around the TCL Chinese Theatre, where visitors place their hands into the concrete hand prints of celebrities like Kristen Stewart and Denzel Washington.

There were fewer people to hop onto sightseeing buses, check out Madame Tussauds wax museum and snap impromptu photos with patrolling characters such as Spider-Man and Mickey Mouse. Souvenir shop operators nearby say they have also had to increase the prices of many of their memorabilia because of tariffs and a decline in sales.

Many of the state’s most prominent attractions are also experiencing dry spells. Yosemite National Park reported a decrease of up to 50% in bookings ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

Theories as to what’s keeping tourists away

The region’s economy and image suffered significant setbacks this year.

Shocking images of the destructive Eaton and Palisades fires in January, followed by the immigration crackdown in June, made global news and repelled visitors like friends of Australian tourists Geoffrey and Tennille Mutton, who didn’t accompany the couple to California this summer.

“A lot of people have had a changed view of America,” Geoffrey said as his family enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s ice cream outside of Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. “They don’t want to come here and support this place.”

Meanwhile, President Trump’s tariff policies and other geopolitical posturing have convinced many international tourists to avoid America, particularly Canadians, said Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte.

“We’ve hurt our Canadian friends with actions that the administration has taken. It’s understandable,” he said. “We don’t know how long they won’t want to travel to the states, but we’re hopeful that it is short-term.”

President Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and his decision to hit Canada with tariffs have not endeared him to Canadian travelers. Meanwhile, media overseas have been bombarded with stories of capricious denials and detentions at U.S. border crossings.

Visitors from China, India, Germany and Australia also avoided the state, according to the latest data. That has resulted in a dip in traffic at most Los Angeles area airports. Cynthia Guidry, director of Long Beach Airport, said reduced airline schedules, economic pressures and rising costs also hurt airport traffic.

Viva Mexico (tourists)!

Despite the southern border lockdown and the widespread immigration raids, Mexicans were a surprising exception to the tourism slump. Arrivals from our southern neighbor were up about 5% over the last three months from 2024.

I asked my cousin, Guillermo, about his travel motivations.

He noted his desire to see family but also to visit many of Southern California’s jewels. He added that planning for this trip started a year earlier too.

Asked if he’d reconsider visiting California in the future, he delivered a timeless response.

“If there’s a deal, I’ll go.”

For more, check out the full story here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

Explosion at Chevron’s El Segundo Refinery

Crimes, courts and policing

Media and tech news

Entertainment news

Unexpected deaths

More big stories

This week’s must-reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

Staying in

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

TENS of thousands are without power as Storm Amy’s 90mph gusts and torrential rain lash Britain leaving one dead.

The first named storm of the season has swept into the country with yellow weather warnings covering the whole of Britain on Saturday.

11

11

11

11

11

Irish Police confirmed on Friday that a man in his 40s had died following a “weather related incident”.

While 234,000 homes were also left without power across the island of Ireland as Storm Amy brings widespread disruption.

The highest wind speeds so far have been recorded in the Hebrides Islands, Scotland, at 96mph with 92mph gusts recorded in Co Londonderry in Northern Ireland, say the Met Office.

An amber wind warning has been issued for the north of Scotland until 9pm on Saturday with yellow warnings covering the whole of Scotland, the north of England and north Wales until the end of the day.

A yellow wind warning will run until 7pm for the rest of England and Wales.

Additionally, yellow warnings for rain are in place in north and west Scotland until midnight and in Northern Ireland until noon.

Travel chaos has also been sparked across the country with road closures and disruption to public transport.

Train operator, Avanti West Coast, warned of “short notice changes” on Saturday and “strongly recommended” customers making journeys north of Preston to check updates before travelling.

In Scotland, ScotRail suspended services on Friday night and anticipated the disruption would extend in Saturday and possibly Sunday.

Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran said more than 60 incidents of flooding, fallen trees and debris on the tracks were reported across the network in the first two hours of the storm.

“Storm Amy has hit parts of the country much harder and more quickly than expected,” he said.

National Rail is carrying out safety checks for obstructions on the line and damage to infrastructure, warning of possible disruptions throughout the UK on Saturday.

Elsewhere, CalMac Ferries also said it expect many services to be disrupted on Saturday into Sunday with many routes already cancelled.

11

11

11

The iconic Severn Bridge between Gloucestershire and Wales was also forced to close overnight due to strong winds.

While parts of the A19 Tees Viaduct, the A66 in Cumbria and the A628 near Manchester were all closed to high-sided vehicles.

Traffic Scotland has also reported a long list of road closures with Forth Road Bridge closed in both directions.

The Skye Bridge, Queensferry Crossing and Clackmannshire Bridge were also closed to high-sided vehicles.

They also reported a number of road closures due to falling debris and overnight flooding including the M9 eastbound near Stirling.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 30 flood warnings in place on Saturday with the Environment Agency issuing six in the north of England one in north Wales from Natural Resources Wales.

Belfast International Airport said it was expecting delays on Saturday and advised passengers to check with their airlines.

All eight of London’s royal parks, including Hyde Park and Richmond Park, will also be closed on Saturday due to the strong winds.

In a statement on its website, the Royal Parks said: “Due to severe wind gusts caused by Storm Amy, all of the royal parks, plus Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens will be closed on Saturday October 4.

“This closure includes all park roads and cycleways, cafes and kiosks, parks sports venues, the Serpentine lido and boating lake, and the royal parks shop.”

“The safety of visitors and staff is our top priority,” the Royal Parks added.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience that these closures may cause.”

It said opening times on Sunday will be delayed because of safety inspections.

The Met Office said wind and rain was expected to ease throughout the evening for much of the country, but severe gales are forecast to continue in north east Scotland with a yellow warning for wind in place from midnight until 9am on Sunday.

Sunday is expected to turn dry and less windy with sunny spells for most areas, but outbreaks of rain developing in the north west.

11

11

11

Several people are dead or missing in Vietnam where thousands of residents were still being evacuated as Typhoon Bualoi made landfall sooner than forecast.

TRADESPEOPLE are struggling to expand their businesses because of growing costs, bureaucracy and hiring pressures, a new study suggests.

A survey of 850 tradespeople working across the UK by Checkatrade showed they were eager to contribute to the Government’s plan for growth, but challenges were preventing them from doing so.

1

Four out of five of those surveyed said rising costs of materials and tools, plus increased levels of tool theft, were preventing them from growing their business.

A similar number blamed rising taxes, such as the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions.

In April the Government increased the rate of National Insurance contributions from 13.8% to 15%.

It also lowered the threshold at which employers start paying National Insurance from £9,100 to £5,000.

This has piled further pressure onto tradespeople already struggling to make ends meet.

Jambu Palaniappan, chief executive of Checkatrade, said: “The UK is a nation dependent on the trade industry — from carpenters to electricians, decorators to roofers.

“The 900,000 people behind it couldn’t be more important for propelling our economy.”

He said that the research shows how eager tradespeople are to contribute to the Government’s growth agenda.

As part of the plan the Government wants to improve the UK’s rate of economic growth and boost national productivity.

But while there is lots of optimism and significant opportunities for growth, there are still significant challenges tradespeople face.

Palaniappan said: “The Government needs to work with industry to close skills gaps, ensure apprenticeships work for small businesses, and do everything they can to reduce the burdens, the costs, and the taxes that can stifle tradespeople’s growth.”

What support is available?

If you are self-employed and are struggling with the higher cost of living, then there is support available to you.

Universal Credit

One way is to top up your income with Universal Credit.

You can apply if you need to top up your income and have low income and savings.

But you won’t be eligible if you live with a spouse or partner and have combined savings of more than £16,000 or your partner earns too much.

You can check if you are eligible and your claim is likely to be successful by using a benefits calculator.

Turn2us and Entitledto both offer calculators that can help you check whether you qualify.

You will need to attend a gateway interview with a DWP work coach so they can check that being self-employed is your main job.

They will also confirm if you are making a profit or are expected to if you’ve just started out.

This means you’ll need to provide evidence such as receipts, a business plan, copies of invoices, trading accounts or proof you’ve registered as self-employed with HMRC.

If you don’t have enough evidence, then they may decide that you’re not “gainfully” self-employed.

You will need to look and be eligible for other work while you get Universal Credit.

For more information and to apply visit the GOV.UK website.

Employment and Support Allowance

If you’re self-employed, then you can’t claim Statutory Sick Pay.

But if you’ve paid enough National Insurance, then you may be able to claim the new-style Employment and Support Allowance if you’re ill.

If you qualify for the benefit, then you can claim it regardless of your household income or savings.

But if you haven’t paid enough National Insurance, then you may be able to claim the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit.

To be eligible your savings must be less than £16,000.

If you live with a partner, then their income will also be taken into account as part of the claim for Universal Credit.

For information on if you qualify for Employment and Support Allowance and what to do if you don’t visit GOV.UK.

Cut your tax bill

You could be missing out on key tax allowances that could save you hundreds of pounds a year.

If you work from home, then you may be able to claim for costs associated with work, such as business phone calls, gas and electricity.

If you work from home between 51 and 100 hours a month, then you could get £18.

Meanwhile, if you work for more than 101 hours a month from home, then you could get £26 a month – or £312 a year.

If the amount of time you work from home varies month-to-month, then you can claim the relevant amount for that month.

To apply visit the GOV.UK website.

You may also be able to claim tax relief on your mileage if you drive a car or van for work.

You can claim 45p tax relief on every mile you do for the first 10,000 miles a year of business journeys.

If you travelled this distance in a year, you would get £4,500 in tax relief a year.

If you drive more than 10,000 miles, then you can claim 25p tax relief per mile.

You can also get an additional 5p per mile in relief if you carry a passenger.

You can log the number of miles you do and add reminders to report your mileage using apps including driversnote and Fuelio.

To use these apps just download them from the app store and create an account.

Read our helpful guide for more advice on how to cut your tax bill if you’re self-employed.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

One of the joys of living in California is that you’re never too far away from a great meal.

And the variety of Mexican and Salvadoran cuisine throughout the Golden State is unsurpassed.

Once again, our friends on the LA Times Food team have released a well-researched and delicious list to confirm California’s status as a national food mecca.

Critic Bill Addison spent more than a year traveling throughout the state, tasting and compiling selections for the 101 Best Restaurants in California guide.

In his latest article, he’s highlighted 15 of the best Mexican and Salvadoran spots throughout the Golden State, highlighting popular haunts and hidden gems.

Look, this doesn’t have to be a tacos-versus-pupusas debate (sorry, Brad Pitt is correct). We can enjoy both and other plates on this list.

Here’s a few recommendations from Addison’s guide.

(Bill Addison/Los Angeles Times)

El Molino Central (Sonoma)

A molino is the specific mill used to grind nixtamalized corn into masa, which has been the focus of Karen Taylor’s businesses for decades.

In 1991, Taylor started Primavera, a Bay Area wholesale operation built around tamales and tortillas, and a name under which she sells life-giving chilaquiles for breakfast on Saturday mornings at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza farmers market.

Nearly 20 years later, she translated what she’s learned about fresh masa into a tiny restaurant in the Boyes Hot Springs section of Sonoma County.

A portion of the menu flows with the seasons: in the summer, light-handed sopes filled with chicken tinga and chile rellenos filled with epazote-scented creamed corn arrive; winter is for butternut squash and caramelized onion enchiladas; and spring brings lamb barbacoa tacos over thick, fragrant tortillas.

Among perennials, look for the chicken tamale steamed in banana leaves and covered in chef Zoraida Juarez’s mother’s recipe for mole — hers is the color of red clay, hitting the palate sweet before its many toasted spices and chiles slowly reveal their flavors.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Popoca (Oakland)

At the most visionary Salvadoran restaurant in California, Anthony Salguero refashions his culture’s version of the beverage chicha, fermented with corn and pineapple, into a sticky, intricately sour-sweet glaze for grilled and braised chicken.

He shaves cured, smoked egg yolk over herbed guacamole as a play on the boiled eggs that often accompany Salvadoran-style guac. He serves a half Dungeness crab with tools to extract the meat and a side of alguashte, an earthy seasoning of toasted pepitas, to accentuate the crab’s sweetness.

Nicaraguan chancho con yuca, a slow-cooked pork stew, is the inspiration for a walloping pork chop marinated in achiote, grilled above glowing almond logs and poised at an angle, like a rakishly worn hat, over braised yuca and red cabbage.

Salguero ran the eatery Popoca as a pandemic-era pop-up in Oakland before finding a more permanent home (brick walls, pale wood floors, shadowed lighting) in the city’s downtown. While he focuses on reimagining the traditions and possibilities of Salvadoran cooking, he doesn’t abandon El Salvador’s national dish: The pupusas are exceptional, made from several versions of masa using corn he buys from Mexico City-based Tamoa.

(Ron De Angelis/For The Times)

Barbacoa Ramirez (Arleta)

Lamb barbacoa — when cooked properly for hours to buttery-ropy tenderness — is such a painstaking art that most practitioners in Southern California sell it only on the weekends.

In the Los Angeles area, conversations around sublime lamb barbacoa should start up in the north San Fernando Valley, at the stand that Gonzalo Ramirez sets up on Saturday and Sunday mornings near the Arleta DMV. You’ll see him and his family wearing red T-shirts that say “Atotonilco El Grande Hidalgo” to honor their hometown in central-eastern Mexico.

Ramirez tends and butchers lambs in the Central Valley. The meat slow-cooks in a pit overnight and, cradled in plush made-to-order tortillas, the tacos come in three forms: smoky, molten-textured barbacoa barely hinting of garlic; a pancita variation stained with chiles that goes fast; and incredible moronga, a nubbly, herbaceous sausage made with lamb’s blood.

Join the line (if it’s long, someone usually hands out samples to encourage patience) and then find a place at the communal outdoor table. Worried that options might run out, Addison said he tends to arrive before 9 a.m., an hour when Ramirez’s rare craftsmanship often inspires a mood where people sit quietly, holding their tacos as something sacred.

The week’s biggest stories

(Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

Trump administration, policies and reactions

Crime, courts and policing

Transportation and infrastructure

More big stories

This week’s must-reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by James Anthony)

Going out

Staying in

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

More than 100,000 people rallied in Berlin, protesting against German support for Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Demonstrators marched from Berlin’s City Hall to the Grosser Stern on Saturday, following a call from a broad coalition of some 50 groups, including pro-Palestinian organisations, Medico International, Amnesty International, and the opposition Left Party, for a large demonstration.

Organisers of the All Eyes on Gaza – Stop the Genocide rally demanded “an end to German complicity” in Israel’s genocidal war in the Palestinian enclave.

They also called for “an end to all military cooperation with Israel. This includes the import, export, and transit of weapons, ammunition, and other military equipment.”

“The actions of the Israeli government have long been described as genocide by experts and international organisations, and the International Court of Justice is investigating them as such. While it is clear that the Israeli military is committing mass atrocities in Gaza, the German government continues to deny the systematic violence,” organisers said in a statement.

The crowd chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “Viva Palestine”, holding up posters reading “Stop the genocide in Gaza”, “Never again for all”, and “Freedom for Palestine”. Many protesters also waved Palestinian flags.

They called for an immediate halt to German arms exports to Israel, for humanitarian aid access to Gaza, and for European Union sanctions against Israel.

A new survey released on Tuesday showed that 62 percent of German voters believe Israeli actions in Gaza constitute genocide, putting mounting pressure on the centre-right government to reassess its stance towards Israel.

The representative poll, conducted by YouGov, indicated that this sentiment crosses political lines, with 60 percent of voters from Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc viewing Israel’s military campaign as genocide against Palestinians. Among voters of the coalition partner Social Democratic Party (SPD), the figure was higher at 71 percent.

While Chancellor Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul have recently sharpened their criticism of Israel’s military offensive and blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, they have so far avoided using the term genocide, referring instead to the “disproportionate” use of force by the Israeli military. Nor have they decided to recognise the State of Palestine, as many other nations have in recent days, including France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Drug gang suspected in torture and murder of two young women, and a 15-year-old girl, in crime that shocks Argentina.

Clashes have erupted between demonstrators and police as thousands protested in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, to demand justice over the torture and killing of two young women and a teenager, which was livestreamed on social media by a purported drug gang.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets on Saturday to denounce the killings that shocked Argentinians after it was revealed that the murders were perpetrated live on the Instagram platform and watched by 45 members of a private account, officials said.

The bodies of Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, cousins aged 20, and 15-year-old Lara Gutierrez were found buried on Wednesday in the yard of a house in a southern suburb of Buenos Aires, five days after they went missing.

Investigators said the victims, thinking they were going to a party, were lured into a van on September 19, allegedly as part of a plan to “punish” them for violating gang code and to serve as a warning to others.

Police discovered a video of the triple murder after a suspect in the disappearance of the three revealed it under questioning, according to Javier Alonso, the security minister for the Buenos Aires province.

In the footage, a gang leader is heard saying: “This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me.”

Argentinian media reported that the torturers cut off fingers, pulled out nails, and beat and suffocated the victims.

While most of the protesters who took part in the demonstration on Saturday marched peacefully, some confronted police who responded by aggressively pushing them away using their batons and shields, according to video clips and images posted by the La Izquierda Diario online news site.

As they marched towards the Argentinian parliament with thousands of supporters, family members of the victims held a banner with their names, “Lara, Brenda, Morena”, and placards with the images of the three.

“Women must be protected more than ever,” Brenda’s father, Leonel del Castillo, was quoted by the AFP news agency as telling reporters at the protest. He had earlier said he had not been able to identify his daughter’s body due to the torture she had endured.

“It was a narco-femicide!” read a sign at the protest. Another declared, “Our lives are not disposable!”

The protesters also banged on drums as they marched and denounced the “inaction” of the administration of President Javier Milei against what they called the growing “narco” influence in the country.

An image posted on social media showed protesters burning an image of Milei and other political allies of his administration.

Antonio del Castillo, the grandfather of the slain 20-year-old cousins, was in tears, calling his granddaughters’ killers “bloodthirsty”.

“You wouldn’t do what they did to them to an animal,” he said.

On Friday, Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich announced the arrest of a fifth suspect in the case, bringing the total to three men and two women. The fifth suspect, accused of offering logistical support in the killing by providing a vehicle involved in the crime, was arrested in the Bolivian border city of Villazon .

Authorities have also released a photograph of the alleged mastermind, a 20-year-old Peruvian, who remains at large.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has disputed that the livestream occurred on its platform, according to the AFP, citing a company spokesperson.

As someone who’s lived in and visited family throughout the Inland Empire for years, I have seen firsthand the rapid growth that has changed the region.

When I travel to Yucaipa nowadays, the orange groves of my youthful weekend visits have long since been replaced by housing developments as the town has nearly doubled in 30 years.

My colleague Terry Castleman has been analyzing the demographic changes taking place in California but he recently took a deep dive into the explosive growth of income in the Inland Empire, in particular the south desert portion of Riverside County.

Castleman, a data reporter, noted that two of the top three communities that saw the greatest growth in average income in the state between 2017 and 2022 were in the Coachella Valley, perhaps best known for hellish summer temperatures, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

For this analysis, The Times considered only communities with more than 3,000 tax returns. I’ll address the cities with fewer returns shortly.

Thousand Palms saw average incomes rise more than 3.5 times over that span, from $12,700 in 2017 to nearly $45,000 three years later. In nearby Indian Wells, incomes nearly doubled, from $139,000 to $256,000.

Castleman analyzed what was happening in his full article. Let’s look at some of those findings.

The Coachella Valley is experiencing a desert bloom

Income levels in Thousand Palms were far lower than in Indian Wells — but each is getting richer from a regionwide perspective, said Kyle Garman, an agent for Keller Williams who has sold real estate in the Coachella Valley for eight years.

Part of the story is attributable to remote work, he said, but the valley has also undergone a shift from being primarily a tourist destination to a place to settle down.

“It’s not just Palm Springs, it’s not just people coming for the festivals, it’s the whole valley,” Garman said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, home prices were much lower and only about 35% to 40% of residents stayed for the hottest months of the year, he said. As more attractions and infrastructure have become available to residents, though, “people are sticking around more.”

So, who is moving in?

The average California household has a net worth between three and six times their adjusted gross income, meaning that the average Indian Wells resident probably became a millionaire between 2017 and 2022 as average household income skyrocketed to $256,000 from $139,000.

In the Coachella Valley, “the money’s coming from all over,” Garman observed. When the housing market was most competitive, around 2022 and 2023, cash buyers flooded in.

Now, they’re high earners who have relocated to towns that were formerly less tony. “This is the new norm,” he said.

Garman pointed to a number of new Coachella Valley attractions that were drawing families — the Firebirds professional ice hockey team and Disney’s Cotino housing development.

Thousand Palms is unincorporated, drawing homeowners because, as one businessperson there put it: “Taxes are more reasonable, you have fewer regulations when you want to build.”

Notes that didn’t make Castleman’s cut

When Castleman looked at the income changes in smaller towns, he found some intriguing data.

He discovered staggering income jumps in towns like Helm, an unincorporated Fresno County village that has about 200 residents.

Between the 2017-2022 period, Helm saw incomes grow by 10 times, reaching near $200,000.

Castleman said many smaller towns throughout the state are disproportionately impacted by the moves of one or a handful of “big fish.”

“The experts told me that there was likely a big farm owner who reported huge losses one year and then huge gains the next year,” he said. “So, these towns can have wild fluctuations.”

For more, check out Castleman’s full story.

The week’s biggest stories

Crime, courts and policing

Trump policies and reactions

Entertainment and television news

More big stories

This week’s must-reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

Staying in

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

A visit to Lapland to see Father Christmas is just a pipedream for most people, with a short stay generally costing thousands – but there is a far cheaper way to experience the magic of the snowy wonderland without breaking the bank

Whether you want to admit it or not, Christmas really is on its way and it will be here sooner than you think.

Your flip flops may still be lingering redundant at the front door in the hope of some warm autumn sun but they’ll be joined by hats and scarfs very soon, which you’ll be throwing on to rush out and get those last minute Xmas gifts.

If you’ve always hoped one of them would be to take the kids (or just yourself) to Lapland to see the big fella in his homeland, but never believed you could afford it – there is a much less costly way to make those childhood festive dreams of a trip of a lifetime come true.

The Santa Village and the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland is where Santa has lived for centuries and is a top destination for those in search of the all round festive experience. The village in Rovaniemi is open every day of the year but many prefer to go during the Christmas period.

We took a look at costs for a family of four to stay at the village itself for two nights during December and it’s fair to say most families would be priced out.

The family suite (double bed and a sofa bed and armchair bed) was the only option available with the cheaper cottages having sold out. It came in at around £1,683 for both nights.

For anyone who wants to splash out even more there is a villa which can be rented in its entirety or it’s also possible to rent half of it as an apartment. The smaller of the two apartments comes in at just over £13,000 in total for four people staying two nights on December 15 and 16.

Admittedly the accommodation appears to be the height of luxury and includes breakfast. There’s even the option of a private chef preparing it for you for £262 extra per morning if you can’t be bothered to pop your bread in the toaster yourself.

Father Christmas himself will even make a VIP private visit to the apartment for around 30 minutes but he doesn’t come cheap either, he’s a busy man after all. You’ll have to fork out around £778 if you want Santa on your sofa.

Return flights with Syscanner from London Gatwick to Rovaniemi on 15 December – 17 December come in around £862 in total for reasonable times but still won’t land until 18.10 on the first night. Obviously you’ll pay more for kinder flight times that don’t involve getting up or home in the middle of the night.

If you went for the cheaper option for flights and accommodation you would be looking at a total cost of £2,545 or £13,862 for the high end apartment. These estimates DON’T include travel to and from the airport or the cost of any meals, refreshments or added extras such as husky or reindeer sled rides (the luxury apartment includes breakfast).

However those wishing there was a cheaper way to enjoy the winter wonderland, could consider arranging alternative accommodation and adding in an extra festive experience that will also save money. It is generally cheaper to fly to Helsinki from the UK. We found an early morning flight leaving Gatwick for £218 in total for four passengers on the same date, again via Skyscanner.

Once there you can pick up the overnight Santa Express (sadly he doesn’t actually drive the double decker train), which runs from Helsinki to snow-capped Lapland in the north.

The journey takes approximately 12 hours which means you can really relish the beauty of the Finnish landscape as you head towards Father Christmas. If you’re lucky you may even get to marvel at the natural stunning phenomena of the Northern Lights which are often visible here before being rocked off to sleep, waking up in the Arctic Circle the next morning.

This option combines travel and the first night’s accommodation in one, making it so much cheaper all round. Standard sleeper cabins start from £43 and cabins with showers start from £65. It is advised to book early and directly through the Finnish national rail company VR.

Recent travellers on the Santa Express have shared their experiences on Tripadvisor, where the train has a 4.2 rating: “This overnight train ride was a fun and unique way for our family to travel to Lapland. It added to the excitement of our trip and gave us a chance to relax before arriving in Rovaniemi,” one wrote. “We would recommend it to families looking for an authentic Finnish travel experience.”

Another family were also pleasantly surprised: “The rooms/cabins exceeded our expectations. Admittedly, we had concerns about selecting this mode of transport between Helsinki and Rovaniemi but we were looking forward to a new experience. It really did help establish a festive feeling as we embarked on our first trip to Lapland,” they shared.

Once you arrive in Rovaniemi you can head straight to the Santa Village, where entry is free. There’s not even a charge to meet the man himself in his big red house but prepare for queues at busy periods. Added extras such as a picture with him will come with a price tag though.

The Arctic Circle runs through the village and you can cross it in the central square – again totally free. Make some lifelong memories by taking your own pictures of the family jumping or hopping across the line in the sparkly surroundings.

There are plenty of other activities in the village, such as husky rides and snowmobile safaris but for those on a tight budget there’s lots of fun to be had simply soaking up the frozen landscape’s atmosphere after a special meet with Santa.

Once your day in the village is over, rather than staying on site, it’s possible to find much cheaper alternatives in Rovaniemi itself. We found an entire studio apartment on booking.com just 0.6 miles from the city centre for £260 for the whole family. After a restful night full of festive dreams, you can catch a flight back to Gatwick from nearby Rovaniemi airport. We found one with Skyscanner for £392.

Below are the totals for both Lapland trips and the savings that could be made. Estimates are for a family of four staying two nights between 15 – 17 December. Neither includes meals, refreshments or extras. Prices were correct at the time of writing:

Total for the Santa Village suite (cheaper of the two): £2,545

Total estimate for the alternative Lapland package using the Santa Express: £956

Saving of: £1,589