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Despite witnessing soaring visitor numbers in recent years, a ‘beautiful’ European hotspot has been stung with an FCDO warning following its dystopian political direction

Brits have been warned about travelling to an increasingly popular European hotspot, following concerning new legislation. Last year, a whopping 8.7 million international tourists flocked to Hungary – lured in by the country’s dark history, stunning architecture, and cheap booze.

Many holidaymakers will have headed straight to Budapest, Hungary’s capital, renowned for its huge thermal spas, underground bars, and plethora of cultural attractions (including the only McDonald’s in the world that transforms itself into a nightclub). Here, you’ll find the fairy-tale complex of Fisherman’s Bastion, the spectacular St Stephen’s Basilica, and the powerful Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial.

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Acclaimed for its low-cost food and beverages, Hungary has become increasingly popular amongst Brits with a slew of major UK airports flying directly to the country – including Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

However, on Thursday, July 17, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its advice for LGBT+ travellers, under its ‘safety and security’ page. The warning comes after tens of thousands defied Hungary’s dystopian ban on Pride – spearheaded by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s swiftly implemented law that makes it an offence to hold or attend events that involve the ‘depiction or promotion’ of homosexuality to minors.

While same-sex sexual activity is legal, and Budapest is known for its openness and liberal tolerance – showing affection in public outside the capital could result in ‘unwanted attention’. “Hungary has passed legislation allowing the banning of rallies and marches that depict or promote LGBT+ identities to minors,” the FCDO states.

“Participants could be identified by facial recognition technology and face fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian Forints (approximately £433.71). The Hungarian government classified Budapest Pride 2025 as illegal under this legislation.”

While the Pride event has officially ended, Brits travelling to Budapest over the summer period should be aware of changing attitudes towards LGBT+ people, and the risk that public affection may garner outside of the tourist-riddled capital.

The FCDO also warns that tourists in Hungary can often be targets for ‘petty crime’, including bag-snatching and pickpocketing. This is more likely to occur in busy places like on public transport, in train stations, at markets, or bustling attractions.

“Some bars, clubs and restaurants might charge high amounts for food and drink,” the body added. “Tourists have been taken to cashpoints with demands for the money to pay the bill. Always ask to see the menu and price list before ordering food and check your bill carefully before paying.”

There have also been reports of drinks being spiked, particularly in Budapest’s bars. Travellers are therefore advised to always buy their own alcoholic drinks and make sure to ‘keep sight of them’ at all times.

Has Hungary’s LGBT+ crackdown put you off visiting? Email [email protected] for a chance to share your story

Television executive James Stark Bennett II, known for developing talk show “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” has died at 78.

Bennett, who went by Jamie, died July 6 after a fight with cancer, according to his family.

He spent more than a decade at CBS, where he was an executive at television and radio stations in San Francisco and Chicago before coming to Los Angeles, where he served as vice president and general manager at KCBS-TV.

Bennett then moved over to the Walt Disney Co., where he served as senior vice president of Buena Vista Television Productions. In that role, he developed such shows as “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” “Siskel & Ebert” and the game show “Win, Lose or Draw.”

He later became president and chief executive at ACI, a Los Angeles-based TV and film distributor. When ACI was bought by Britain-based Pearson Television in 1995, Bennett and his family moved to London, where he ran the company’s worldwide production.

He eventually moved back to L.A., where he got involved in volunteer work and expanded his career beyond the entertainment industry by becoming chief operating officer at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. There, he was instrumental in helping the school establish its permanent base in L.A.’s Arts District, his family said. He also served on the board of the Ojai Music Festival, later becoming its president and CEO for five years until 2020.

Bennett was born in New York City on June 1, 1947. He later graduated from UC Berkeley, where he chaired a student-run summer program in Washington, D.C., and started his media career as the program director for the university’s radio station. After getting his MBA from Harvard Business School, he moved back to New York to take a job at CBS, which launched his media career.

He and his wife, Carolyn, eventually purchased an 11-acre farm in Ojai, which became their permanent residence. Bennett is survived by his wife, Carolyn, their three children and other family members.

Anyone using weight loss injections, either through the NHS or privately, has been issued a major warning when it comes to travelling abroad – failing to comply could lead to expensive medical bills

A stark warning has been issued to those taking weight loss injections who are planning to travel abroad.

Failing to follow one vital rule could potentialy put travellers in serious danger and force them to pay a huge amount in medical bills.

There has been a surge in the demand for weight loss injections, which were once aimed at people with diabetes. People across the UK have been going private to purchasing the weekly injections, which slow digestion by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), in turn regulating hunger and feelings of fullness.

Some popular GLP-1 drugs are branded as Wegovy or Ozempic – they use the same drug, Semaglutide, but are sold at different doses. After Semaglutide came Mounjaro, which, in addition to mimicking GLP-1, also targeted a hormone called GIP to boost this effect on appetite suppression.

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Last week, it was announced that GPs in England will be allowed to prescribe Mounjaro to severely obese people for the first time. Mounjaro is the brand name for the drug Tirzepatide, which is known as the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss jabs.

With a spike in people using these injections, anyone using the drug while travelling abroad must declare it, according to travel insurance experts. This goes to anyone who uses them, including those who buy them privately and those who may receive them on the NHS.

Failing to declare the use of the drug could see them breach their travel insurance agreement, which could lead to the policy being completely cancelled and being left to pay out for expensive medical bills if anything were to happen while on holiday.

In an important warning, Niraj Mamtora, director at Forum Insurance, told MailOnline: “If you’re using these drugs, you must declare both the medication and the condition it’s prescribed for. Failure to do so is not a minor oversight, it’s a serious breach of your travel insurance contract.

“If you need medical help overseas and haven’t fully declared the medication you’re taking, your claim can be refused and your policy cancelled. The financial consequences can be severe.”

Mamtora added that many holidaymakers don’t realise they’re not covered on their insurance until they need to make a claim, but by then, it’s too late.

Retail expert at Which? Reena Sewraz advised to always read the policy thoroughly when getting travel insurance to check what is covered, and if unsure, speak to them directly. Sewraz also pointed out that it’s good to shop around to get the best policy.

Some users of the weight loss drugs have also taken to online forums to warn people of the added cost when declaring. One user wrote on Reddit: “This morning, I spent several hours looking at annual WW travel insurance quotes to include the US. I spoke to several companies to ask if I need to declare Mounjaro now that I have a healthy BMI and no longer obese and the answer is yes.

“Select weight management and answer the questions that drop down. It added £80 to the policy! Insurance companies are not skipping a beat and it could be due to the increase number of people presenting at A&E with complications or side effects from weight loss medications, even though I haven’t had any side effects in 13 months and could even be off the meds by the time we travel in May but they want to know the last 2 years medical history otherwise it would invalidate the policy.

“NOT ONE said I didn’t need to add it. lol, I have never added obesity to my policy even though I have been obese for the last 30 years until now and I’m the healthiest I’ve been in years!”

Another commented on the thread: “I took out my annual travel insurance with Admiral. Rang and asked about Mounjaro as I was on it. Had to declare I was obese, even though I’m not. This added an extra 70p.

“No judgement from the customer service rep, she was really intrigued in it for herself. She did say they had a memo down about the medication that week and it must be declared now.”

Another noted their own experience: “I spoke to my travel insurers today and explained (you have to tell them every time you go to see your GP!) that my wife was taking Mounjaro and she had gone to the GPs because she had chronic constipation.

“The GP confirmed it was a common side effect of the injection so the insurers said because it was not prescribed to her that if she became ill while on holiday due to any side effects from Mounjaro she would not be covered. As my wife willingly takes it that’s fair enough.”

ERIN, Wis. — Maja Stark of Sweden continued the steady play she demonstrated all week to win the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday at Erin Hills for her first major championship.

Stark shot an even-par 72 to finish at seven-under 281, two strokes ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan’s Rio Takeda.

Stark earned $2.4 million in the biggest event of the women’s golf season. The 25-year-old Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women’s major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women’s British Open. The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win a U.S. Women’s Open since Annika Sorenstam in 2006.

Stark won her second LPGA Tour title. She also won the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, an event co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour.

Korda closed with a 71, and Takeda had a 72.

Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70) and Mao Saigo (73) tied for fourth at four under. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) were three under.

Stark took a one-stroke lead into the final round and said Saturday she wanted to make sure she played freely, noting that “no one has ever played well when they’ve been playing scared, and I think that’s been my habit before, to just kind of try to hang on to it.”

It was her consistency that ultimately made the difference as Stark stayed ahead throughout the day and held off challengers.

This still was as close as Korda has come to winning a U.S. Women’s Open. Her best previous finish was a tie for eighth in 2022 at Pine Needles.

Korda made birdied Nos. 7 and 8, but missed a nine-foot birdie putt on No. 9 that would have tied her for the lead. Korda’s birdie attempt on No. 9 came minutes after Stark’s bogey-free streak ended at 21 on No. 7.

Stark then extended her lead to three by making a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 11 immediately after Korda missed a par putt of just under five feet at No. 13.

Korda, Shibuno and Takeda got within two strokes of Stark with birdies on the par-five 14th, though Korda missed a 14-foot eagle putt and Shibuno missed an eagle attempt from 9½ feet.

Stark then made a birdie of her own on No. 14 to regain her three-stroke advantage at nine under. She bogeyed the last two holes.

Her playing partner, Julia Lopez Ramirez, fell out of contention early on her way to 79 that left her tied for 19th.

Heathrow is among the world’s busiest, let alone the UK’s most bustling airport, but travellers go about their journeys without ever realising there’s an abandoned terminal sitting among the chaos

The UK’s busiest airport has an abandoned-looking terminal that almost nobody is permitted to enter. While it has been a decade since any passengers departed from there, the terminal is still used for a number of pivotal purposes.

Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 1 opened its doors in 1969 and was formally inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II. At the time it was the largest airport terminal in Western Europe, and for decades served as the primary gateway for short-haul UK and European flights. It underwent significant expansion in the 1990s and a major redesign in 2005, doubling the size of its departure lounge with additional retail and seating areas.

With the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 and the transformation of Terminal 2 into the Queen’s Terminal in 2014, Terminal 1’s facilities became outdated. With passenger numbers soaring and expectations rising, the decision was made to close Terminal 1, consolidating operations into the newer, more efficient terminals. The last flight took off from there to Frankfurt, Germany, at 9.30pm on June 29, 2015.

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Since its closure, Terminal 1 has not welcomed a single passenger. Its departure boards are blank and its formerly bustling concourses silent, but the building is actually far from abandoned — it has found a second life behind the scenes, playing a crucial role in Heathrow’s daily operations.

What is Heathrow Terminal 1 used for now?

The primary use of Terminal 1 today is as the baggage handling centre for Terminal 2. All luggage checked in at Terminal 2 is processed through the systems and teams based in the old Terminal 1 building.

Disrupted or misdirected bags are routed to the former international reclaim hall — now called the “purge area” — where they are stored until they can be cleared and returned to passengers. This arrangement keeps Terminal 2’s public spaces uncluttered and ensures efficient baggage flow.

As the airport’s website explains: “The main functionality of Terminal 1, however, is to house the baggage system for Terminal 2. All of the baggage teams stayed in Terminal 1 as their main base, and all of the bags that are checked into Terminal 2 are processed in the Terminal 1 building.

“Any disrupted bags that get processed are bought to the ‘purge area’, which is the old international reclaim hall in Terminal 1, and stored there until they are cleared.

“This is to ensure they don’t clog up any space in Terminal 2 and get in the way of airport staff or passengers. Once they have been cleared and ready to go, they are put back on the belts, processed, and repatriated back to passengers.”

Terminal 1’s vast, empty spaces have also become a vital training ground for London‘s Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service and Metropolitan Police, who regularly use the building for large-scale exercises, simulating a variety of scenarios from fires to security incidents.

Sometimes, up to 200 personnel may be involved in these immersive drills, taking advantage of the authentic airport environment to hone their skills.

The future

Despite its ongoing utility, Terminal 1’s future remains uncertain. There are no current plans to reopen it for commercial use, but the site is earmarked for possible redevelopment as part of Heathrow’s long-term expansion plans.

As Heathrow’s website elaborates: “Even though Terminal 1 hasn’t been a public-facing, operational Terminal for nearly a decade, it is a functioning building that houses several key services for the benefit and smooth running of the airport in its day to day running.

“There may be future plans to one day get rid of the building in its entirety to make space for the further expansion of Terminal 2, but for now, it is still very much a part of the Heathrow campus and stands firmly in its place.”