Whether you’re currently stranded in the UAE or another affected country, or have a holiday booked in the near future, you may be wondering what your travel insurance will really cover amid the current chaos

Most holidaymakers know that travel insurance is vital no matter where you are going in the world. The advice has always been to book your travel insurance policy as soon as you book your holiday, as this can protect against cancellations and last-minute hitches.

But amid the current travel chaos across the Middle East, many travellers will be wondering what their insurance actually covers. Do you simply get the money back for a cancelled break, or can it help with other expenses? A lot depends on the type of policy you have, terms and conditions, and levels of cover chosen, so here are some key things travellers need to know.

Does travel insurance cover war?

Most standard travel insurance policies won’t cover ‘acts of war’, so there’s no guarantee that people caught up in the current situation will be able to make a claim. Some policies offer enhancements such as travel disruption coverage, which includes unexpected disruptions such as natural disasters, civil unrest, terrorism, and airspace disruption.

READ MORE: UK holiday spot warning as Foreign Office confirms Brit deaths and issues adviceREAD MORE: Emirates, British Airways and Wizz Air’s latest updates on UAE flight cancellations

In the event that Brits are evacuated from a country en masse, it is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that would organise transport, rather than insurers. Therefore, the FCDO is asking Brits to register their presence in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Some policies include ‘travel curtailment’, which means they may cover a claim if a holiday is cut short. However, if the policy doesn’t cover acts of war, you’re unlikely to be able to claim if your trip is shorter than planned or for costs associated with this.

Tim Riley, managing director of travel insurer True Traveller and chairperson of the UK Travel Industry Association, said: “Standard travel insurance policies do not cover war, hostile acts, civil war, military action, invasions or similar large-scale conflict events. This exclusion is standard across the global insurance market because war presents systemic, unpredictable risks that cannot be priced into conventional travel insurance products.

“However, travellers are still covered for claims unrelated to the conflict itself. For example, illness, accidents not connected to hostilities or lost or stolen baggage would typically be handled in line with the normal terms and conditions of the policy. “It is important to note that airlines have a legal obligation to re-route passengers once services resume, and it looks like there will be UK Government-funded repatriation of British passport holders imminently.”

Will my insurer cover flight delays or cancellations?

The UK has a list of legal requirements for what airlines need to provide passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled. Tim continued: “If your airline cancels your flight, you are legally entitled to choose between a full refund or re-routing to your final destination at no additional cost. Airlines must offer one of these options.”

Passengers with trips to affected areas in the next 72 hours should hear from their airline soon, and many airlines are releasing statements with further information about what steps passengers need to take. A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We are closely monitoring the situation and have cancelled a number of our flights to the Middle East. Safety is always our top priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so.

“If you are due to fly between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai or Tel Aviv you can change your flight free of charge up to and including 6 March. Customers travelling up to and including 4 March may also request a full refund.”

Tim advised travellers not to automatically accept a refund if they’re offered one. “It is important that travellers do not accept a refund automatically if they still wish to travel. Accepting a refund effectively ends the airline’s duty of care and its obligation to re-route you. You would then need to book new flights yourself, which may be significantly more expensive. Travel insurance will not cover the price difference between a refunded ticket and a new booking,” he said.

What should I do if I have a holiday booked in a few weeks?

If you have a holiday booked somewhere on the FCDO’s do not travel list and are departing in the next few weeks, you probably won’t hear from your holiday provider or airline for a while. Most travel companies will be swamped with enquiries at the moment, so unless you are due to travel within 72 hours, you may need to be patient and keep an eye on the situation.

Tim added: “If the Foreign Office advises against all travel to your destination before you depart and you’ve booked a package holiday through a UK tour operator, you are entitled to cancel without paying cancellation fees under the Package Travel Regulations 2018 and should receive a full refund, typically within 14 days, provided the warning significantly affects your trip.”

READ MORE: Full list of 21 countries where Foreign Office currently advises against travelREAD MORE: UAE travel update for Brits as BA, Wizz Air and Emirates suspend flights

He added: “If the advice is against all but essential travel, the position is more nuanced and many reputable operators will still cancel and refund, but legally it depends on whether the situation constitutes unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

“For travellers who have booked flights and accommodation separately rather than as a package, refund rights are less automatic, as airlines and hotels will apply their own cancellation policies. In those cases, travellers should check their travel insurance wording carefully, as some policies may provide cover depending on the circumstances.”

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AKROTIRI, Cyprus (AP) — Britain is not at war, the government said Monday, despite saying it would allow the U.S. to use British bases during its war with Iran and after a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian-made drone.

Sirens sounded again at RAF Akrotiri on Monday and British warplanes were scrambled, apparently in response to a new threat.

More than two decades after Britain followed the United States into a devastating war in Iraq, it is trying to avoid being drawn into a new Middle East conflict with unpredictable consequences.

Akrotiri attacked

U.K. officials say an attack drone hit the runway at RAF Akrotiri, a British air force base in Cyprus, late Sunday. There were no injuries and “minimal” damage, but the strike brought the conflict onto European soil.

It was not immediately clear whether the drone was launched from Iran or by a Tehran-backed militant group such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Some 12 hours later, sirens sounded again as two Typhoon fighter jets and a pair of F-35 warplanes roared into the air. A resident showed to The Associated Press a text message sent from base authorities warning of an “ongoing security threat” and urging people to stay indoors and away from windows.

The Cypriot government said two drones headed for Cyprus were intercepted on Monday.

Akrotiri is the U.K.’s main air base for operations in the Middle East and in recent years has been used by British warplanes on missions against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and to strike Houthi targets in Yemen.

Britain retained the base, and another on Cyprus, after the eastern Mediterranean island gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

It was previously attacked in 1986, when Libyan militants struck the base with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, injuring three people.

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran mounted, Britain last month deployed extra F-35 fighter jets to Akrotiri, along with radar, counter-drone systems and air defenses, as part of “defensive measures.”

Britain’s defense ministry said Monday that families of U.K. personnel who live on the base were being moved to nearby accommodation as a precaution.

U.K. ambivalence

British officials have refused to say whether the U.K. supports the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. They have said that Iran should not be able to have a nuclear weapon and called for an end to Iranian strikes and a diplomatic solution.

Britain did not take part in the strikes on Iran that began Saturday, and did not allow the U.S. to use U.K. bases in England or on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

But on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he had agreed to let the U.S. use the bases for attacks on Iran’s missiles and their launch sites. He said the change came in response to Iranian attacks on U.K. interests and Britain’s allies in the Gulf, and is legal under international law.

Britain says its bases can’t be used for attacks on political and economic targets in Iran.

“We are not joining these strikes,” Starmer stressed, “but we will continue with our defensive actions in the region.”

U.S. President Donald Trump told the Daily Telegraph on Monday he was “very disappointed in Keir,” saying the prime minister “took far too long” to change his mind about the use of British bases.

Unpredictable consequences

“The U.K. is not at war,” Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said Monday. He told the BBC Iran has ballistic missiles “pointed at the Gulf and it is vital that those missile launchers are taken out in the face of these completely reckless attacks.”

The memory of Iraq remains raw for many in Britain. The decision by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to join the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 remains one of the most contentious in modern British history.

The subsequent yearslong conflict killed 179 British troops, some 4,500 American personnel and many thousands of Iraqis.

The current government is keen to prevent that happening again, but critics say that attempts to set firm limits on Britain’s involvement could be swept away by a fast-moving conflict.

“We are being drawn in, just as we were in Iraq, following the U.S. into an incredibly dangerous situation,” said John McDonnell, a lawmaker from the governing Labour Party.

___

Lawless reported from London.

Neither low-carb nor low-fat diets in and of themselves seemed to protect from heart disease

What does that mean?

Dubai Tennis Championships winner Daniil Medvedev is among the tennis players facing a disruption to their schedule.

The Russian’s representative said they were trying to establish how Medvedev could travel to California for next week’s Indian Wells tournament after the UAE “partially and temporarily” closed its airspace.

Finland’s Harri Heliovaara, winner of the men’s doubles event alongside Britain’s Henry Patten, said his travel plans are “still uncertain”.

“All of us players, the finalists and a few other doubles players, are stuck in Dubai. [Plus] all of the ATP staff, the umpires, physiotherapists, coaches and other team and family members – a total of about 30 people,” Heliovaara wrote in his blog, external.

He added that the option of leaving by road had been explored, but that would involve either a five-hour drive to Muscat – although bad traffic jams have been reported at the Oman border – or a journey exceeding 10 hours to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Janice Weston’s body was found in a ditch near a lay-by on the A1 in Cambridgeshire.

Cambridgeshire is a relatively safe place to live. However, in the past, the county has seen some quite gruesome murders take place that have caught the attention of the whole country.

While those involved in many of these murders have been caught, there have been some instances where the deaths remain a complete mystery – and the perpetrators have not been brought to justice. That is the case for the murder of Janice Weston, who was found dead in a ditch on a busy Cambridgeshire A-road.

In 1983, the 36-year-old left work on September 10 at around 4:15pm. She went home to change and had half a meal before getting into her silver Alfa Romeo car. Weston took her book manuscript with her, and her husband believed she was going to spend the weekend in London.

At the time, Weston lived in West London. She worked as a solicitor at Lincolns Inn where she was a partner at Charles Russell and Co.

Weston’s husband, who had been away in France at the time, tried calling her over the weekend but had received no response. The next morning, on Saturday, September 11, her fully clothed body was found in a ditch next to a lay-by on the northbound carriageway of the A1, around one and a half miles away from the Brampton Hut roundabout.

Her body had several wounds caused by a blunt object and it took the police several days to identify her. It is believed Weston had pulled over into the lay-by to change a tyre. The new tyre was found attached to the car but the old tyre was never found.

The murderer, who could have been in the car with Weston, had driven off in the car after the incident. It was later found abandoned in Camden Town with some money and the keys to her two properties still in the vehicle.

A man had ordered a new number plate that exactly matched the number of Weston’s car at a garage in Royston. Weston’s husband was held by police for 55 hours and they applied to the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge him.

Weston had only been married to her husband for 15 months and he had inherited £200,000 untaxed as a result of her death. After deliberating, the DPP decided to not pursue a trial and released her husband.

Even though the police carried out a thorough investigation of the murder, no one was ever convicted for the death of Janice Weston. The police have relaunched appeals over the years but to this day, it is still a mystery as to who killed Weston and why they did so.

Pillows that stop snoring are a relatively new phenomenon but the market is growing quickly in a country where 45 per cent of adults snore occasionally and 25 per cent are chronic snorers. Not only can snoring develop into potentially serious sleep apnoea, but people who sleep next to snorers will lose up to an hour of sleep per night. This makes it all the more important to find the best anti-snore pillow.

When your airway narrows, it causes air to move more quickly, which vibrates the soft tissues,” explains Michael Breus PhD, Founder of The Sleep Doctor. “There are three common causes of this narrowing. The first is simply that your muscles relax in sleep. Gravity moves all the tissue backward a few millimetres, including the tongue and any adipose tissue around the neck, which narrows your airway.” He adds that nasal congestion and alcohol can also cause narrowing. 

The pillow you sleep on could be another factor: “If you sleep on your back and your pillow is overstuffed, it will push your head forward and narrow your airway. This can also happen with side sleepers to some extent. Meanwhile pillows with allergens like feathers can cause congestion.”

I’ve been reviewing bedding for years and as a snorer, I’ve compiled a list of the best anti-snore pillows. You can read my full reviews below, followed by some more advice from Dr Breus. If you’re in a hurry, here’s a look at my top five:

The best anti-snore pillow: At a glance

Owners Greene King’s plans would see changes made inside and outside the Ye Olde Starre Inne, off Stonegate.

The plans include replacing a wooden sign which spans between buildings on either side of Stonegate advertising the pub to passersby and featuring its 1644 establishment date.

Greene King’s application stated the works would respect the building’s historic features while providing much-needed updates and improving the experience for patrons.

Plans for the refurbishments would see the sign spanning across Stonegate swapped for one with Greene King’s dark green and copper colour scheme.

The proposed sign for Ye Olde Starre Inne, in Stonegate, York. Picture is from Greene King/York Council’s planning portal, available for all LDRS partners to use.

The entrance to its beer garden, doors and window frames, which are all currently black, would also be repainted dark green.

Bar areas on the inside of the pub building would be rearranged and timber floors would be refinished with staining and polish.

New fixed seats and lights would be installed and the toilets would also be refurbished with new wall tiles and flooring.

A timber and polycarbonate pergola would cover the beer garden and outside lights would be replaced and walls repainted.

The Ye Olde Starre Inne is in a Grade II-listed building which dates back to the 16th Century with an early 17th Century wing.

It had become an inn called The Starre by 1644 and it is the pub in York which can show it has had a licence the longest.

During the English Civil War, it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers after the Battle of Marsden Moor, which took place about seven miles from York in 1644.

In 1733, the pub’s landlord Thomas Bulman struck a deal with the owners of two shops on either side of Stonegate to hang a sign across the street.

A sign advertising the pub has been there ever since.

More extensions were added in the 18th and 19th Century and the building was refurbished in 1890 and 1985.

The pub was listed in 1954 and it features in Susanna Clarke’s 2004 alternate history novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which is set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Plans stated the refurbishment would aim to bring the pub up to Greene King’s high standards across its estate.

They added the changes would respect the wider historic local area and the distinctiveness of the listed building.

Plans stated: “The proposed works seek to ensure the public house will continue to be a vibrant destination, assisting in helping to retain and attract new patrons.

“The proposed scope of works is limited to those necessary to improve the overall function of the existing pub and in doing so shall contribute to the economic vitality of the local area.”

The US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump said was an expansive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it would defend its homeland as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated counterattacks, launching drones and missiles at Israel. Further strikes were launched at US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar.

The strikes follow weeks of pressure from Trump on Tehran to make a deal to constrain its nuclear programme. In the lead-up to the strikes, Washington built up a significant fleet of warships near Iran.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in January to bolster the number of warships in the region. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, and four accompanying destroyers were also dispatched from the Caribbean.

At least 165 people were reported killed at a girls’ school in southern Iran in the Israeli-US strikes, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the capital of the UAE killed one person, state media said.

Ayatollah’s compound was one of the first targets

Israel announced it had launched an attack on Iran shortly after explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday morning. One of the first strikes hit near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It wasn’t immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time, as he hadn’t been seen for days.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei and president Masoud Pezeshkian were alive “as far as I know” – though President Trump later said the Ayatollah had died in the attacks. This was then confirmed by Iran state media later on.

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Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the attacks had been conducted “to remove threats”. Sirens were heard across Israel to warn the public about possible incoming missile strikes.

Iran strikes back at Israel and US bases

Later on Saturday, Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom. Witnesses heard sirens and explosions in Kuwait, home to US Army Central. Explosions could be also be heard in Qatar, where Al Udeid Air Base hosts thousands of service members.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates closed their airspace, and sirens sounded in Jordan.

An apartment building in northern Israel was damaged and shrapnel fell in multiple sites, according to media and police. But Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said there had been no significant hits in Israel and rescue services said there were no injuries reported from missile barrages across the country.

Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, meanwhile, have vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump tells Iranians to topple their government

It took over an hour for Trump to make an official announcement on the US involvement in what he termed “major combat operations”.

In an eight-minute video on social media, Trump indicated the US was striking for reasons far beyond the nuclear programme, listing grievances stretching back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic following a revolution in 1979 that turned Iran from one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East into a fierce foe.

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Trump told Iranians to take cover but urged them to later rise up and topple the Islamic leadership.

“When we are finished, take over your government,” Trump said. “It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Fighting grounds flights and disrupts commercial air travel

The fighting has disrupted air travel in the region.

Israel and the UAE, home to both the long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, closed their airspace Saturday. Qatar Airways Group said it has temporarily cancelled flights to and from Doha because Qatari airspace also was closed.

Planes en route to Israel were rerouted to other airports.

Virgin Atlantic cancelled its flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Dubai and said it would avoid flying over Iraq, meaning flights to and from India, the Maldives, Dubai and Riyadh could take slightly longer. Virgin Atlantic said all flights would carry appropriate fuel in case they need to reroute on short notice.

Turkish Airlines said on X that flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan will be suspended until Monday and flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman would be suspended on Saturday.

Dutch airline KLM previously said it was suspending Tel Aviv flights starting Sunday.

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War widens to include Tehran-backed militias

Iran and Iranian-backed militias have fired missiles at Israel and Arab states, reportedly hitting the American embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war in the Middle East expanded on Monday.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the US-Israeli airstrike campaign has killed 555 people so far in Iran so far.

As the American and Israeli airstrikes continued, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani vowed on X that “we will not negotiate with the United States”.

Blasts were reported in Jerusalem, Dubai, Abu Dhabi in UAE, Doha in Qatar, and Manama in Bahrain as the conflict entered its third day.

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US embassy ‘hit in Kuwait’ as American death toll rises

Smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the US embassy in Kuwait, according to witnesses, and the US consulate urged Americans to “not come to the embassy”.

Three American troops were killed and five are seriously injured, the US military said, confirming its first casualties in the conflict.

President Trump has suggested the conflict with Iran could go on for the next four weeks after the US president earlier said that operations are “ahead of schedule”.

UK gives US permission to use RAF bases

Meanwhile, at the end of the weekend Sir Keir Starmer dramatically changed his mind over giving the Americans permission to use RAF bases in Cyprus to tackle the growing threat from Iran.

In a late statement on Sunday evening, the prime minister insisted he was giving permission for the “limited specific defensive purpose” of defending UK and US allies across the Middle East as Iran continues to lash out.

It follows defence secretary John Healey revealing that two Iranian missiles were aimed in the direction of Cyprus where the UK has bases.

Mr Trump later said he was disappointed in the delay over the decision from Sir Keir.

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah exchange fire

Meanwhile, Israel launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon on Monday and ordered evacuations.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has warned that Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem is now a “target for elimination”.

It comes after the group fired at Israel in retaliation for killing Iran’s supreme leader.

Held in the Old Library at Auckland Palace on Sunday, March 15, fans of the show will be able to enjoy an afternoon of fine dining with their mothers.

Writing on Facebook, The Auckland Project announced: “Dearest gentle reader…

“This Mother’s Day, you are cordially invited to Auckland Palace for a delightfully decadent Afternoon Tea — set and served in the Old Library, where every mother shall be treated as the true diamond of the season.”

Tickets for the afternoon tea are £30, with two 90-minute slots available to book at 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

The menu, which can also be adapted to vegetarian and gluten free, for the special day has also been revealed, which includes:

• Ham & Pease pudding, cheese & palace chutney and cream cheese & cucumber finger sandwiches
• Homemade fruit scone with clotted cream and jam
• An indulgent array of mini cakes & delights
• Freshly brewed tea or coffee
• Glass of prosecco or elderflower spritz

The Auckland Project’s attractions, including the Auckland Palace, reopened to the public in February after being closed for a winter break.

Last month, when Bishop’s Kitchen, a refurbished Tudor kitchen at Auckland Palace reopened, Kim Carruthers, head of hospitality operations at The Auckland Project talked about changes to the afternoon tea’s at the Palace.

She said: “We have gone back to doing pre-booking and the reason behind this is we can give a much better experience.

“We will be able to cater in advance for any dietary needs, we can expect the people coming in and we can have the tables set.

“We have launched a Mother’s Day afternoon tea, which will be Bridgerton-inspired too, for which tickets will be sold digitally.”

To purchase tickets for the Bridgerton-inspired Mother’s Day afternoon tea, visit: https://tickets.aucklandproject.org/event-tickets/75377?branches.branchID=2536

The 13-second video, which was posted to the league’s official X account following Spurs’ 2-1 defeat by Fulham on Sunday, saw goalkeeper Vicario launch a free-kick out of play along with the captions: ‘Just how the play was drawn up’, ‘Whoops’ and ‘An interesting free-kick from Vicario’, accompanied by a crying laughing emoji.