Bad weather, tourism protests, and war conflicts have had drastic financial implications for holidaygoers worldwide.

But where is it safe to travel to in Europe at the moment?

Hi Lisa, Cyprus is not under FCDO advice against travel, so your holiday is planned to go ahead as normal, and customers in resort are continuing to enjoy their time away 🙂 ^Jo

— tuiuk (@TUIUK) March 17, 2026

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Which European countries may currently be at risk due to conflict or safety concerns?

Jason Margulies, a personal injury lawyer, maritime, cruise ship and resort/vacation injury lawyer at Lipcon , Margulies & Winkleman, said: “Risk can vary drastically by country and region, and understanding what those risks are is key to trip planning.”

Amid Do Not Travel warnings for Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, he also highlighted how France, Belgium, and Germany also have elevated terror concerns, especially for public areas, tourist hotspots, and transit hubs.

He added: “Some areas, like Cyprus and Turkey, have seen recent incidents related to the conflicts, and those may also give you pause for travel.

“Even when the risk is low, it should come down to your own comfort level for the risk you want to take on.”

The Royal Navy’s radar in the sky🚁

🚨Merlin helicopters provide airborne early warning for the UK’s aircraft carriers — detecting aircraft, missiles and drones from miles away

One has recently been deployed to Cyprus amid rising tensions in the region pic.twitter.com/4Q7NblrRNG

— BFBS Forces News (@ForcesNews) March 12, 2026

What factors contribute to elevated risk in these destinations?

Margulies continued: “The current advisories for Western Europe are elevated due to terrorism, and attacks can happen with little warning in areas frequented by tourists, from markets and train stations to hotels, restaurants, and major events.

“Proximity to active conflict areas elevates the risk for travelling into these areas, though travellers shouldn’t forget that the usual crime-related risks that tourists face are always around.

“As for those going on cruises, check your itinerary to decide if you feel comfortable sailing to European ports that are close to the conflict zones, particularly Izmit, Turkey.

“While it is concerning, it’s not a crisis, and awareness, along with travel insurance in the event you want to cancel or change plans, is the best focus for any of these destinations.”

Tenerife and Lanzarote placed on warning list for tourists

The Canary Islands have been placed on the Fodor ‘No List’ amid anti-tourism protests, environmental concerns and pollution impacting beaches.

Fodor provides travel guides and online tourism information for English-speaking tourists.

During the first six months of 2025, the Canary Islands welcomed more than 7.8 million tourists and more than 27 million airport passengers.

But residents have protested in the streets of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote over the past two years against the usual influx of travellers to the sunny, hot islands.

The Friday letters page is surprised GTA 6 no longer has the most watched trailer record, as one reader laments the death of Red Storm Entertainment.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Crimson letter day
Can’t say I’m surprised at the negative Crimson Desert reviews. Although I guess I should call them ‘mixed’ which seems to be what we’re supposed to say when all the trustworthy sites mark it down and the ones you’ve never heard of give it 9/10.

The graphics do look good, and I can’t pretend I wasn’t swayed by them when I was watching the trailers, but I’m very suspicious of any game that’s claiming to be the next big thing, and it’s made by a developer with very little experience in the genre.

When you know they’ve only ever made an MMO before the whole game seems like exactly what you’d expect from that. Its Metacritic score is lower than some people seem to have expected, so I think it’s clear it’s not a great game, but from what I’ve read the score isn’t low enough.

I also have a really bad feeling about the console versions. The fact that there’s not a single review of the PlayStation 5 version is giving me Cyberpunk 2077 vibes and that’s not going to be a pretty sight.
Hammeriron

Not awful
Can anyone explain to me why anyone thought Crimson Desert was going to be amazing? I’m going to assume it was nonsense whipped up by streamers and YouTube, since as I write this it’s doing really well on Twitch, but why? Surely they haven’t run out of things to talk about or were they just doing advertising for the company?

It may seem harmless but they’re talking people into paying £50+ for a game that doesn’t sound like it’s any good. And we haven’t even seen what it looks like when it runs on consoles, so I can’t wait for that obvious disaster to be revealed.

Of course, the second stage will be people who were tricked into buying it pretending to everyone else that it’s actually really good or ‘not that bad’. I don’t know about you I demand a bit more than that for my entertainment.
Lee Perrin

Losing the crown
Interesting that GTA 6 had its trailer record broken by what I would’ve thought was a relatively ordinary new Marvel movie. I’m sure it will do well, but it won’t do as much as the last Spider-Man film (because it was a crossover) and I doubt it’s going to be a cultural moment like Avengers: End Game or something like The Force Awakens. GTA 6 is absolutely on par with those sort of things though, so I’m surprise it’s not still number one.

I guess population growth alone will mean the number always goes up but with cinema attendances down… it’s just not something I would’ve betted on. I’m not going to say something daft like GTA 6 isn’t going to do well but this is the first sign we’ve had that it does have its limits. But to be fair that surprisingly sensible Take-Two boss does seem to realise that.
Dustin

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Beyond monsters
Been playing Pokemon Pokopia since launch. My, that game is a compulsive one, right?

Anyway, got me thinking, when is a pocket monster not a pocket monster and it’s just an animal? When a bird can fly and dart about quickly, isn’t it just a bird? No room for you in my pocket, pigeon! And if a squirrel doesn’t have a flaming tail or the ability to bend spoons with its mind then isn’t that just a fluffy rodent?! Kicked from the team ya furry rat!

Is there a discernible difference, or was Ash just going around enslaving wildlife for 25 years?
big boy bent
Currently playing: Pokopia and Thank Goodness You’re Here!, was chuckling away as I mowed the park with the daisies because I knew what was coming… I love you… I love you… I love you…. ha ha ha! Looking forward to more.

GC: Pokémon are fully sapient, unlike ordinary animals. No more so than in Pokopia, where they communicate with each other like a human would and perform complex tasks.

BSAA Dispatch
I hope Leon and Ada have hooked up, I think that would be neat. I think other than Barry Burton none of the other characters are confirmed to have a partner of any kind? I love Resident Evil and I would very much support a game that was not a survival horror. Something that was more comedic, sure, but also something that was more dramatic, with time for everyone to sit around and chat.

I don’t even know if half of these people have even met each other. Does Leon know Jill? Does Claire know anyone that isn’t Chris? Why has Sheva never come back and do they keep in touch?

I’m imagining some kind of visual novel/point ‘n’ click thing. Maybe something like Dispatch, where action is happening but it’s all about how the people are behind the scenes, I think that’d be a great idea.
Lobbie

La fin
Very sad to hear about the death of Red Storm Entertainment. I used to love the early Rainbow Six games, back when they were primarily tactical games, with action only as a minor aspect. Those days are obviously long gone but then so too is the whole franchise. Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon are both dead, and so is all the experimental stuff like EndWar and H.A.W.X.

Rainbow Six itself is essentially dead, with Siege being all that’s left of it, and it has nothing in common with the old games. The only other thing is The Division, which I would’ve sworn is also dead but apparently has a third game on the way, but either way it’s just another live service game.
As an adult, I have to admit I do look on the games in a different light.

They’re very right wing (as Tom Clancy was himself, even if he wasn’t a nut about it) and the whole gun fetish thing is kind of distasteful in the current age. As was said, it’s completely different to what Ubisoft used to be about and in that sense I’m not as sad to see the end of it all.

Let’s face it, if they were to bring these franchises back it’d be in name only, like Ghost Recon Wildlands, so what’s the point? I wouldn’t have shut down Red Storm but I would’ve had them making something that was a bit more political nuanced and not so much trying to appeal only to Americans.

I don’t have much faith that Ubisoft can make it through the next few years but if they do I hope they can get back some of what made them interesting in the early 2000s. Military games are fine, but they have to make them more than just shooting galleries. They need a more European perspective, not an American one.
Claborn

Petition for a petition
Can confirm that boost mode on the Switch 2 is really good. It’s the only thing that’s got me off Pokémon Pokopia (for a while) and while it is a shame that not all games are affected equally, I do think it’s a good start.

I would definitely sign the petition for a Switch 2 edition of Astral Chain, but I realise that’s never going to happen. I would love to hear of a sequel though, because I thought the original did better than expected. PlatinumGames seemed like they were in trouble for a while there but Ninja Gaiden 4 reviewed well, so hopefully they’ve still got the juice.
Luminous

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Cheap graphics
I found the DLSS 5-ified images revealed the other day a bit off putting to be honest.

While clearly a lot better in the amount of detail over the original images I do think they all were overly bright and had that artificial, unnatural feel you see with a lot of AI.

While not AI, the first thing that sprang to my mind was the awful, garish, pimped up remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved. I’ve played the game several times since and always use the original graphics, just at a higher resolution, as I think they look much better and atmospheric than the technically better, more detailed, retina burning newer graphics.

I’m sure DLSS 5 and its implementation will improve though and look more natural. It’ll probably be useful for a lot of smaller devs to punch above their weight in the graphics department.

I quite like that Take-Two guy but GTA 5 is generally considered the highest grossing entertainment product ever, with something like $10 billion in revenue. He’s got a bit more resources at his disposal than nearly everyone else.
Simundo

GC: That doesn’t seem like a good reason to put up with AI slop. Many lower budget and indie titles are visually impressive already, the idea of losing that in favour of a generic AI look is an awful thought.

Inbox also-rans
Why would Sony change the name of PlayStation Network? PSN is a perfectly good acronym and unlike most Xbox names it means what is. I’ll put it another way: I’m jealous of how many millions of dollars some marketing consultant charged to change it to PlayStation Online, or whatever it’ll be.
Cinder9

I am also very keen to know what Persona 6 is like. I’d be going through the roof now, annoyed at the lack of news, but I remember it was exactly like this waiting for Persona 5. That was worth it so hopefully this will be too.
Tater

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New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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MORE: Games Inbox: Are people right to criticise Nvidia’s DLSS 5 tech?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Starfield a good game?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Requiem the best Resident Evil game?

Marks & Spencer brought back its Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Cream Biscuity Egg this Easter and I tried the viral chocolate egg to see if it lived up to the hype

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Each season, it appears, a Marks and Spencer item becomes a sensation. Be it their strawberries and cream sandwich, their Dunked N’ Loaded doughnuts or loaded cookies, there’s invariably a culinary creation from M&S making waves across social media. Last year, the multinational clothing, food and homeware retailer launched the ‘Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Cream Biscuity Egg’, a sizeable hollow custard cream-shaped ‘egg’ that rapidly gained traction on social media platforms alongside Waitrose’s ‘No.1 Chocolate Croissant’.

This year, the custard cream Easter egg has returned, and I embarked on a mission to determine whether it lives up to the hype. Securing my egg proved challenging. I popped into my local M&S Food Hall on a Sunday and instantly wished I hadn’t when confronted by the crowds. The Easter chocolate aisle was heaving with customers browsing the supermarket’s vast array of chocolate eggs, ‘Big Daddy’ chocolate bars and chocolate-shaped animals.

I succeeded in snatching the custard cream Easter egg from the top shelf and was instantly taken aback by its lightness. I’d anticipated the box would feel heavier; nonetheless, it proved easier to carry home than I’d imagined.

At £12 for 320g, I think it’s reasonably priced for a novelty Easter product. By comparison, Waitrose’s No.1 Almond Croissant egg retails at £15 for 275g. The packaging proved robust, featuring an elegant golden-yellow box and a protective plastic casing for the custard cream egg. Even after a 20-minute walk followed by a 20-minute train ride home, the egg remained completely intact.

The chocolate egg is decorated with crispy biscuit fragments, filled with luxurious white chocolate and a custard truffle. Being a custard cream enthusiast, I couldn’t wait to sample the egg. My hopes were high; I anticipated the crispness of a shortcake biscuit, a sweet yet creamy custard truffle, and smooth chocolate to bring it all together, reports the Express.

When unwrapping the egg, the size took me aback. I’d anticipated something slightly larger, though after tasting it, I understood why this wasn’t necessary.

If a single word summed up my experience with the egg, it would be sickly. I have a massive sweet tooth and adore chocolate; I’ve even sampled numerous chocolate bunnies from British supermarkets to find the best one, yet this egg pushed things too far.

The taste resembles Kinder chocolate, a blend of white and milk chocolate with the odd biscuit fragment scattered throughout. The custard truffle proved excessively sweet alongside the white chocolate and failed to deliver a robust vanilla flavour. It’s possible the flavour was there, but it was overwhelmed by the overly-sweet white chocolate.

For me, the proportions were skewed; it required more biscuit, less white chocolate and perhaps a slightly more bitter chocolate – maybe a dark milk chocolate or a 50% dark chocolate to offset the sweetness and let the custard truffle take centre stage. I can’t dispute that the quality of the chocolate was top-notch. It was creamy and had a premium taste, but the overly sweet white chocolate detracted from it.

The most striking feature of this egg is its visual appeal. It boasts the traditional patterns of a custard cream, the iconic M&S logo, and, as mentioned earlier, remained flawlessly intact. In fact, cracking open the egg proved somewhat challenging.

In summary, I’d say this as a novelty item. It’s fun and would serve as an excellent Easter present for someone with a preference for sweeter chocolate. For me, this prioritises style over substance; I’d opt for a simple custard cream any day.

Rylan Clark has had various presenting roles on This Morning since 2013, one year after he came fifth on The X Factor, which for some time was a direct rival to Strictly Come Dancing

This Morning host Rylan Clark is tipped to become one of the new faces of Strictly Come Dancing.

It is believed Rylan, 37, would be “a ratings winner” for the BBC programme, which is looking for two new presenters to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. The duo left at the end of the last series, following 21-year and 15-year stints respectively, and speculation has swirled about their replacements.

Now, it is thought Rylan is likely to waltz into one of their places, having enjoyed a successful career in presenting since 2013 when he had is first role on This Morning. He first gave gossip from The X Factor on the ITV programme, and then had a relief presenter post before becoming more regular.

An insider said: “He has so many loyal fans. If he gets the job they will most certainly tune in to Strictly. He will be a ratings winner and the BBC know it.”

READ MORE: Giovanni Pernice to spill on Strictly chaos in tell-all book on his departureREAD MORE: Vicky Pattison’s huge earnings as she enjoys best paid year yet after Strictly

Rylan could team up with The One Show host Angela Scanlon, who we reported is also set to have an audition for one of the Strictly vacancies. Insiders believe the pair would have strong chemistry and offer Strictly an exciting revamp.

“Rylan has a long-standing association with the show, and Angela has been a contestant. The main thing is they’d be a totally new pairing – no baggage, no former shows, uniquely Strictly. On top of that, they want to be sure that an all-female presenting line-up isn’t replaced by an old-fashioned male-female duo where the man takes on a dominant role,” one insider told the Daily Mail.

Another source told the outlet: “For Rylan it is his dream job. He loved It Takes Two and the viewers loved him. It would be a no-brainer.”

Rylan, who grew up in Stepney, east London, has already anchored Eurovision coverage for the BBC. The media personality is said to be “very keen” to be paired with Angela, who was a contestant on Strictly in 2023. She was the ninth contestant to be eliminated after dancing with Carlos Gu.

It is believed Rylan still faces screen tests in April so producers can assess his chemistry with any possible co-stars, including Irish broadcaster Angela. Rylan fronted It Takes Two between 2019 and 2023, and he has hosted his own Rylan On Saturday show on Radio 2.

But other names in the frame are One Show host Alex Jones, Zoe Ball and Bradley Walsh, presenter of The Chase. Speculation has already linked the current professional dancer Johannes Radebe to the presenting gig.

​David Skaith, the elected Labour mayor, has responded to criticism from Conservative councillors who said he “hasn’t shown his face at all” regarding a pilot scheme that could force businesses in Scarborough to let out their vacant properties.

​The “carrot and stick” pilot project in Scarborough was approved by North Yorkshire Council’s executive committee this week, and could see it use compulsory purchase orders to address the “blight of empty and increasingly derelict properties” on high streets.

​A spokesperson for David Skaith said it was “disappointing” that he “has never been approached about this programme”.

​At a meeting of NYC’s executive committee in Malton on Tuesday, ​Conservative councillor Richard Foster, executive member for managing the environment, said: “The mayor is supposed to be the man of economic development and he doesn’t appear to be anywhere, or taking on the liability or the costings, and I find that a bit strange.

​“It’s a Labour policy and I thought the Labour mayor would have been all over this, but he hasn’t shown his face at all, which I find poor. After all, he’s the mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and that includes Scarborough.”

​​Fellow executive member, Cllr Mark Crane, said: “I completely agree with you about David Skaith.”

​A spokesperson for Mr Skaith said: “Scarborough is prime for development and town centre renewal, the mayor stands ready to support North Yorkshire Council and others to deliver this.

“The mayor has never been approached about this programme, which given his investments in high street projects in Scarborough and beyond, is disappointing and a missed opportunity by the council to align funding and support.“

​Scarborough has the highest town centre vacancy rate in the county at 18.6 per cent, followed by Malton at 17.1 per cent, while Whitby has a vacancy rate of just 7.6 per cent, according to a North Yorkshire Council report.

​NYC said its previous strategies, including offering fully funded vinyl wraps for vacant properties, had failed.

​​The scheme will see the introduction of new powers that allow local authorities to require landlords to rent out “persistently vacant commercial properties to new tenants such as local businesses or community groups”.

​​Properties that have been vacant for more than 366 days in the past two years would be eligible if they are deemed suitable for high street use, such as retail, offices, public services, hospitality, entertainment, or light industry.

​The council said that the properties would also need to be considered beneficial to the local economy, society, or environment if occupied.

​​Labour councillor Liz Colling, chair of Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee, said: “It’s a marvellous opportunity and there are plenty of places that are vacant.”

​Nic Harne, NYC’s corporate director for community development, said: “These are very new powers and just by bringing this in, we can bring landlords to the table.”

​​​A report prepared for the executive committee meeting stated: “Increasingly, the condition of the town centre of Scarborough, in particular Huntriss Row, where there is a concentration of vacant premises, is being raised with the council.

“Given the lack of impact of earlier initiatives, the limits of existing powers and the local imperative to tackle the issue, it is proposed the council pilots the use of the new high street rental auction (HSRA) powers to compel landlords to improve the vacant premises and secure new tenants.”

While the Europa League will continue to offer respite from an otherwise difficult season for Forest, the additional games present challenges.

Forest will take on Porto in the quarter-final on 9 and 16 April, welcome Aston Villa to the City Ground in between the two legs and then host Burnley the following weekend.

Winning games means positive momentum and that can only be a help when it comes to fighting to stay in the league.

But it also means more games and Pereira, who is set to take charge in his first European quarter-final, must find the balance between keeping his side in the top flight and managing the demands of competing in Europe.

“When we win it’s different,” Pereira said.

“The spirit is different, the energy is different and the boys deserve it because they are a fantastic group, very good players and with team spirit, character – we showed everything today.

“I don’t have any doubt that we have the quality and we will compete to achieve our targets.”

Yates added: “That winning feeling is special, you want to keep that momentum going.

“Momentum at this stage of the season is huge. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. Recover now, focus on Tottenham now and keep building, keep getting those wins.

“It’s not over yet, we’re still dreaming.”

When a gym owner in a small Himalayan town faced off a Hindu mob targeting a Muslim shopkeeper earlier this year, he quickly turned into an unlikely national figure – and the inspiration for a series of small acts of kindness and solidarity that many would come to regard as a turning of the tide against sectarian hatred in India.

Deepak Kumar’s intervention in the confrontation between members of the Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal and the Muslim shopkeeper in Kotdwar, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, took place on 26 January.

The Bajrang Dal is one of the prominent groups in the Hindu nationalist network informally known as the Sangh Parivar. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party is part of the same ecosystem.

The Bajrang Dal mob had confronted Vakeel Ahmed, an elderly clothing shop owner, demanding that he remove the word “Baba” from the name of his store, Baba School Dress and Matching Centre.

They claimed that “Baba” referred to Siddhabali Baba, a local temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Hanuman, and that a Muslim should not use it.

Kumar stepped in after noticing a crowd gathering outside Ahmed’s shop.

“I did not like these young men talking so rudely with an elderly man. They were targeting him because of his religion. They were targeting Muslims,” he later told the BBC.

When the mob asked his name during the confrontation, he responded with what would soon become an internet phenomenon: Mohammad Deepak.

Mohammad is a Muslim name, Deepak typically Hindu.

“By identifying myself as Mohammad Deepak, I wanted to tell them that I’m an Indian,” he told the broadcaster. “That this is India and everyone has the right to stay here, regardless of their religion.”

Almost a month later, when a dispute over religious practice emerged in Lucknow, similar images of solidarity circulated on social media.

It was the early days of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, and students at Lucknow University had arrived to pray at the campus mosque, only to find it locked and police stationed nearby. The students said they were given no explanation or warning that the mosque was to be closed.

So, on 22 February, a group of students started an unusual protest right outside the mosque: a few Muslim students stood in prayer as their non-Muslim classmates formed a protective human chain around them. A video of the prayer-protest spread on social media and the incident came to be celebrated as the latest example of ordinary citizens defying sectarian fissures in India.

Many observers quickly traced this act of religious solidarity to the confrontation involving the gym owner in Uttarakhand.

University officials said the Lal Baradari mosque was fenced off for safety reasons, the Indian Express reported. They claimed the medieval site was dilapidated and that fencing was installed to prevent people entering a potentially unsafe building.

However, students pointed out the mosque was fenced off soon after a visit to the university by Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the RSS, the mothership of the Sangh Parivar, and Pankaj Chaudhary, state president of the BJP.

“The building was sealed shut days after their visit without any executive order, illegally,” claims Shantam Nidhi, a master’s student. “This is totally ideological and RSS is targeting Muslims. The entire politics of RSS and BJP is hate politics.”

The Independent has reached out to the RSS, BJP and Bajrang Dal, as well as the university’s proctor, for comment.

“When I asked a professor why it had been sealed, he said he had no idea. By then police had come. I kept asking but no one told me anything. So I sat on a protest there. And I said if you have any notice to close it, then show it to me,” Taukeel Gazi, another student, says. “But the administration has so far not shown any such thing.”

Gazi had been praying at the mosque since 2020 and the practice predated him by decades. “I have completed my graduation and post-graduation from this university and, for about five years, I have been offering namaz here,” he says. “For about 100 years, people have been offering namaz here.”

That evening, Muslim students gathered outside the mosque to offer prayers. “Out of a lack of options, I had to offer Namaz outside. And the Hindu friends formed a human chain,” Gazi says.

Among those present was former Lucknow University student Shubham Kumar. “The Lal Baradari mosque is under the Archaeological Survey of India and not the university. For several years, our Muslim friends had been offering namaz there,” Kumar, who is now the state secretary of the National Students Union of India, an affiliate of the main opposition Congress party, tells The Independent.

“We were concerned that if our brothers read namaz outside the mosque, then police might charge them with batons and the right-wing groups might also assault them. So we thought that if there was an attack, then at least it would be first on us – those forming the human chain – and hopefully our friends offering namaz would not be assaulted while in prayer.”

Tensions flared when members of a student organisation affiliated with the RSS arrived at the site and shouted slogans. Police were then deployed on the campus to prevent clashes.

Students eventually ended the protest after submitting a memorandum to university authorities, though notices summoning participants to appear before a magistrate were subsequently issued. The mosque remains shut.

The Lucknow University protest is being seen as just one in a series of incidents where ordinary citizens stand up for others in their community, regardless of their respective religions.

Another took place in the western state of Rajasthan when villagers publicly challenged what they saw as the discriminatory conduct of a former ruling party lawmaker.

Former BJP parliamentarian Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria arrived in the village of Kareda Buzurg in February to distribute blankets, only to deny them to Muslim women.

According to local media reports, the women were asked their names before blankets were handed out. Any who gave names likely to identify them as Muslims were reportedly told to move aside.

One of the women, Shakuran Bano, in her 60s, told The Print she felt humiliated. “I didn’t want any blanket. But there was no need for this humiliation,” she said. “It was humiliating. He simply said he will not give blankets to Muslims.”

Bano says she attended the event at the urging of a neighbour and didn’t know that blankets would be distributed.

She says the organisers told the Muslim women to sit separately and Jaunapuria allegedly remarked that “those who abuse Modi have no right” to receive blankets, apparently referring to India’s prime minister. “Why would I abuse Modi? When did he hear me abuse him?” Bano asked.

What made the episode notable, however, was the reaction from the Hindu villagers.

Many reporteldy confronted the former lawmaker, asking why Muslim women had been singled out.

“More than Muslims, it is Hindus who are angry,” Hanuman Chaudhary, whose wife is the elected village head, told the Indian Express.

The villagers later burned Jaunapuria’s effigy in protest.

Badrilal Jaat, a village elder, told The Print the community had long maintained religious harmony.

“There is no discord between Hindus and Muslims in our village, never happened in generations,” he told the outlet.

“When an outside person comes and tries to sow such seeds, we have to come forward to protest. We celebrate Diwali, Holi and Eid together. We don’t differentiate.”

Jaunapuria has spoken out to defend his conduct, saying the blankets were part of a personal initiative for his party’s workers.

“We had made a list of about 200 women party workers and had not invited them,” he said, referring to the Muslim women who attended.

“These people were taking blankets meant for us and our people,” he added, denying the decision was motivated by communal discrimination.

Heartening as scattered acts of solidarity like these are in a country struggling with incidents of religious disharmony and at times violence, Indian scholars say they should be seen in a larger context.

“I would still treat them as exceptions,” Apoorvanand, a professor at Delhi University, tells The Independent. “It requires extraordinary courage to stand before a group of goons.”

Fear of violence or retaliation often deters intervention, he adds. “If you’ve three or four goons before you, you normally don’t want to get in trouble,” he says. “If people think that police is with them [those doing the discriminating], then it becomes very difficult to take a stand because they will have to pay a very heavy price.”

He argues the apparent rise in incidents of solidarity of late may partly reflect social media visibility rather than a deeper shift.

“I think that’s a social media virality factor. I still don’t think that we can describe it as early signs of a turning tide,” he says.

What will make a difference, he says, is common people feeling confident that police will stand with them in such instances.

For the students who stood outside Lal Baradari during the mosque protest, the consequences feel immediate.

Shubham Kumar says the episode has already altered the campus atmosphere. “From a place where one goes to study,” he says, “the campus has become a religious battleground.”

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The UK experiences some of its largest diurnal temperature ranges in early spring due to a combination of factors.

By March and April the sun is much higher in the sky and the days are lengthening, allowing more energy to be delivered and more efficiently. After the long winter, however, the ground and lower atmosphere remain chilly allowing rapid overnight cooling.

Clear skies underneath a spring high pressure systems can increase this contrast further.

At night heat is lost quickly and until the spring equilux, the nights are still longer than the days, all leading to cold mornings.

During the day as the sun rises, those same now sunny skies allow rapid warming as the sun is more directly overhead, leading to warm afternoons.

Dry air heats and cools more quickly than humid air and this can further widen the temperature gap.

These factors combine to increase our diurnal temperature range during the early stages of spring, especially during settled, sunny spells with light winds.

Kings Meadow Estate in Gorebridge, Midlothian, was sold as a dream location for young families to settle down and call home.

Families in a small Scots village have slammed a property developer over a raft of ‘failed promises.’

Kings Meadow Estate in Gorebridge, Midlothian, was sold as a dream location for young families to settle down and call home.

However, as reported by Edinburgh Live, it soon turned into a nightmare. Those moving to the area claimed they were sold the promise of an accessible enclosed play park at the heart of the scheme alongside a football pitch – but homeowners say Persimmon have failed to deliver.

Residents also claim to have been plagued with various road issues with images showing the area filled with potholes. Locals also claimed they were promised traffic lights at this entrance junction years ago and these have yet to be fitted.

Persimmon bosses have accepted ‘outstanding works are yet to be delivered’ and have vowed to take action and have apologised to residents.

Mum-of-four Laura D’Arcy, 37, who bought a house on Limefield Gardens six years ago, described being ‘abandoned’ and ‘ignored’ by the developer. She said: “It feels like once the homes were built, Persimmon just upped and left, and that was it. They left us with an unusable park and roads; this is not what we were promised.

“The park is a couple of sticks with some rope sticking out of the ground. The site isn’t safe, there are sheets of metal lying around and boulders sticking out of the ground.

“My oldest kids were nine and seven when we moved in. Now they are 15 and 13, they have never had a park for their childhood. On a beautiful day there are no children playing there. Parents and kids know the site is dangerous.

“For the past six years we have also been fighting for Persimmon to fix the roads. At first they said the roads were Midlothian Council’s responsibility, but the council claimed it was up to Persimmon – we have been passed from pillar to post.

“No one is listening to us. Cars are being damaged and there have been so many near accidents close to the primary school due to the state of the road.

“I’ve had to have several tires replaced. There are multiple potholes and the surface of the road is crumbling.

“We were also promised traffic lights at the entrance junction because it is so hard to get in and out. If the state of the roads don’t get your car then there is every chance you get hit trying to leave the estate.”

Laura, who works in hospitality, explained that when she bought her home in the area, properties ranged between £180,000 and £370,000. She feels those who bought homes at Kings Meadow have not had value for money.

Plans for the development of the estate have been shared with Edinburgh Live, and they depict spaces for a football pitch and a play area. No football pitch has been fitted and a play area is in place however residents argue it falls well below the standards they were originally promised.

Sean Hanlon, 39, stays at Kings Meadow with his family, he spent years leading a campaign for residents to see improvements in the area. He said: “This is the second Persimmon home we have bought.

“The first was just across the road and there were a lot of issues. But we saw on the news they had made lots of changes, so we thought it can’t be as bad this time?

“But we were wrong. When we moved in it was absolutely dreadful, they have got worse, not better.”

A Persimmon Homes spokesperson said: “We recognise that there are outstanding works required at our Kings Meadow development and would like to apologise to residents for the inconvenience this is causing. We recently met with Midlothian Council to review the site in detail and are currently developing a coordinated plan to address the concerns that have been raised.

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“Road surfacing works at the site entrance are due to begin next week and once the full plan has been finalised, we will update residents on the actions being taken and the expected timelines for completion.”

A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “The roads and pavements in the Persimmon Homes Kings Meadow development in Gorebridge have not yet been adopted by Midlothian Council. As is standard practice, the developer remains legally responsible for completing all required infrastructure works before adoption can take place.

“Persimmon Homes has committed to delivering improvements to the junction and surrounding areas, including installing traffic lights and pedestrian crossing facilities. The timing and completion of these works are entirely the responsibility of Persimmon Homes and are outwith the control of the council.

“In the meantime, the council continues to carry out temporary repairs on the sections of road that fall under our ownership until they are resurfaced as part of Persimmon’s capital works. The area where vandalism has occurred lies solely within Persimmon Homes’ responsibility.”

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