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UK study visa withdrawals rose to 10.5 per cent of applications in the first half of 2026, according to reports. The withdrawal rate for Pakistani applicants reached 40.9 per cent, compared with 3 per cent a year earlier. Universities now face a visa refusal threshold of less than 5 per cent under stricter Home Office compliance rules. International students hoping to study in the UK are facing a growing dilemma as universities withdraw admission offers amid a rise in visa refusals and tougher g

Highlights Grand Theft Auto VI will feature six newly announced radio stations hosted by artists including Bad Bunny, Lana Del Rey, Burna Boy and Robyn. Rockstar Games is introducing on-demand podcasts for the first time in the series. Players will be able to keep listening to music through Jason and Lucias smartphone headphones after leaving a vehicle. Grand Theft Auto VI is bringing a star-studded music line-up to its fictional state of Leonida, alongside a new way for players to listen while

G7 countries will coordinate the release of 100 million barrels over four months. A substantial amount of diesel will be released within the first 20 days. UK diesel prices have climbed above 2 a litre amid a global supply squeeze. The G7 has agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and petroleum products in an effort to ease a global supply squeeze that has sent diesel and other fuel prices sharply higher. The coordinated release by the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan will

More than $77,000 has been traded on a Polymarket market covering major bank failures. HSBC and Lloyds are among the lenders included in the contracts. UK and European regulators are examining wider risks around prediction markets. UK authorities are facing calls to intervene after online prediction market Polymarket allowed users to place thousands of dollars in positions on whether major banks including HSBC and Lloyds will fail by the end of 2026. The market had generated about $77,500 in tra

Highlights: The ONS does not publish divorce rates by ethnicity. The Forced Marriage Unit supported 407 cases in 2025. 40 per cent of supported victims were aged 17 or under. Pakistan was linked to 35 per cent of cases receiving support. Community leaders say wedding culture can overshadow preparation for marriage. Marriage is often described as a celebration that brings two families together. But for some British Asian couples, the pressures surrounding marriage can continue long after the wedd

YOUNG spin twins Shree Charani and Prema Rawat strangled Pakistan with deadly spells as India trampled all over their arch-rivals, winning a lopsided Women's Asia Cup T20 contest by seven wickets on Saturday. Harmanpreet Kaur, who became the first international captain, men or women, to lead the country in 150 T20Is, couldn't have been more pleased to find her spinners skittling out Pakistan for 55 in just 18.1 overs, their lowest-ever total in the shortest format. Fittingly, she finished the ga

Anti-migrant mob paralysed Port of Dover for hours, chanting stop the boats MP brands protesters idiots, demands answers over police failure to act Night-shift port workers prevented from leaving for fears for their safety Hope Not Hate says Patriot Platform network organised the orchestrated protest AN ANTI-MIGRANT mob of hundreds of masked men, dressed head-to-toe in black, brought the Port of Dover to a standstill on Saturday, blocking roads and chanting stop the boats in a demonstration that

Highlights Miriam Margolyes faced backlash after questioning Andi Peters about his heritage and skin colour on This Morning The exchange was subsequently removed from the ITVX version of the programme Peters revealed that both of his parents are Black after Margolyes assumed he had a Black father and white mother Viewers criticised the language used during the exchange and accused Margolyes of crossing a line It is not the first time Margolyes has faced criticism for comments about someone's rac

The portrait of Dadabhai Naoroji, which gathered grime and dust over many decades in the India Club restaurant in The Strand, has been restored by the Courtauld Institute of Art and gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It is causing quite a bit of excitement in the British Asian community at large and among Parsis in particular. The latter are small in number but, like the late Ratan Tata and Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, hugely influential. Those who ad

More than 2,000 people gathered at Harrow Leisure Centre on Sunday (9) for the Global Youth Festival London Edition 2026, turning the venue into a vibrant celebration of wellbeing, spirituality, creativity and community. Held under the theme Hack Your Happiness, the day-long festival brought together young people, families and members of the wider community for an innovative programme combining ancient wisdom with contemporary approaches to wellbeing. The festival formed a major highlight of Pu

The Skoda Enyaq recorded the biggest rise, with average listing prices up 10 per cent. Hyundais Ioniq 5 and BMWs iX3 also outpaced Teslas Model Y and Model 3. Seven EVs increased in average listing value between January and June 2026. For years, Tesla has been one of the first names to come to mind when talking about electric cars in Britain. But in the used EV market, some rival brands are now moving faster on prices. Data from classified listings site CarGurus shows that Skoda, Hyundai, BMW an

Highlights Manchester City have signed Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for 1.7 million. Rulli was previously on City's books in 2016, but made zero first-team appearances before being sold on. Since leaving, he has won the Europa League with Villarreal, and the World Cup and Copa America with Argentina. Manchester City have signed Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for a fee of 1.7 million, the club has confirmed. The 34-year-old has signed a two-year contract

Highlights The trailer brings back fan-favourite characters Munna Bhaiya and Bablu Pandit. Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Divyenndu reprise their roles from the series. The film takes the Mirzapur story to the big screen with a new battle for power. The Mirzapur universe is returning with some familiar faces, including two characters whose appearances are likely to surprise fans of the original series. The trailer for Mirzapur: The Movie brings back Munna Bhaiya and Bablu Pandit, alongside Kalee

Highlights Chelsea have agreed a 16.3 million deal, plus 1.7 million in add-ons, to sign Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria. The 28-year-old replaces Marc Cucurella, who left Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid this summer after winning the World Cup with Spain. Chavarria didn't make his La Liga debut until he was 24, and was sent off on his European debut three years later. Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria for an initial 16.3 million, with a further 1.7

Southern Water says supplies to 165,000 people could be compromised if dry weather continues. A rare ban could stop businesses filling pools, washing vehicles and watering gardens. The River Test is under pressure as customer demand has climbed to more than 660 million litres a day. Southern Water has asked the government for permission to impose a rare non-essential use ban in parts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, warning that 165,000 people around Southampton and Eastleigh could face water

NIGEL FARAGE will fight to retain his parliamentary seat on Thursday, going head-to-head with parody candidate Count Binface in a snap poll. The by-election was called after Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, resigned last month as MP for Clacton-on-Sea. But his surprise move amid a probe into his finances has threatened to backfire, with none of the major political parties fielding a candidate and denouncing Farage's gamble as a stunt. Count Binface, a self-described interg

Highlights Mallika Sherawat claimed Tom Cruise currently has a crush on her. The actress also said the Hollywood star sends her videos from times they partied together. Mallika made the revelation while speaking to fellow contestants on The Traitors Season 2. Mallika Sherawat has made a surprising claim about Tom Cruise while chatting with her fellow contestants on The Traitors Season 2. In a promotional clip ahead of the show's premiere, the actress said the Hollywood star has a crush on her an

Highlights Ridley Scotts Scott Free Productions is teaming with Amazon for a new fantasy series. The project will adapt Holly Blacks bestselling The Folk of the Air books. The story follows a mortal girl caught in the dangerous politics of a faerie kingdom. Ridley Scott is heading back into fantasy, this time with Amazon and a bestselling faerie saga. The filmmakers Scott Free Productions is teaming up with Amazon to adapt Holly Blacks The Folk of the Air into a new series, bringing the world of

PRIME MINISTER Andy Burnham will chair a meeting of the government's emergency response committee on Wednesday to discuss measures to tackle extreme heat, wildfires and drought, his office said, as Britain faces its fifth heatwave of the year. Temperatures are expected to reach around 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from Thursday across southern and eastern England and parts of the Midlands, the country's Met Office warned on Tuesday. Fire chiefs said they have responded to 966 wild

Highlights Tom Hollands 2026 box-office run includes The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day . Spider-Man: Brand New Day has crossed around 1.2 billion worldwide. Hollands career box-office total is reportedly above 10 billion, putting him closer to Hollywoods highest-grossing stars. Tom Holland is enjoying one of the biggest box-office years of his career, with two major releases helping push his cumulative worldwide gross towards the upper ranks of Hollywood's biggest earners. Christopher No

The limited-edition Charger Super Bee produces 600bhp from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six. It can switch from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive and reaches 60mph in 3.6 seconds. The new model is due in the US next year but is unlikely to be sold officially in the UK. The new Dodge Charger Super Bee is aimed at buyers who still want the drama of an American muscle car, even though the latest petrol Charger has moved away from the V8 that once defined the name. The limited-edition model get

Highlights Kangana Ranaut has backed Piyush Mishra after he criticised Naseeruddin Shah over his comments about Bollywoods silence on student protests. Ranaut said she would rather be a dog than a lomdi (fox), referring to Shah. The dispute began after Shah compared Bollywoods silence on student protests to a dog with a bone in its mouth. Mishra questioned Shahs own response to the Jharkhand students protest. A war of words between veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah and Piyush Mishra has drawn BJP

Highlights Stephen Graham and Maxine Peake lead the cast of the acclaimed British comedy-drama Funny Cow . The film follows a female comedian trying to establish herself in the male-dominated working mens club circuit of the 1970s. Peakes performance was widely praised by critics, with the film earning a 79% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The drama tackles abuse, sexism, racism and survival without softening the world its characters inhabit. Funny Cow is not the kind of comedy that relies on

IT TOOK three nights of violence in Thetford, Norfolk for the police to restore order. A crowd chanted get them out and deport, deport, deport as they pelted a house with eggs and smashed the windows. Several dozen people tried to break down the door, hoping to confront the people inside, violently attacking the police who blocked them. This violent criminality was not political protest, but an attempt at a xenophobic pogrom to drive out asylum seekers housed in the property. The police relocate

AWS will become Novo Nordisk's preferred cloud provider and strategic AI partner. A new co-innovation hub at Novo Nordisk's Kings Cross facility will bring scientists and AWS engineers together. More than 25,000 Novo Nordisk employees already use its AI tools. Novo Nordisk is taking its use of AI in drug discovery a step further, joining forces with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bring artificial intelligence deeper into the pharmaceutical giant's research, development and day-to-day operations. U

Forget subjective popularity contests. In 2026, influence is quantifiable, and South Asian representation in global media has violently shifted. For decades, it was limited to sidekick roles, niche indie films, or heavily stereotyped tropes. Today, the next generation of South Asian talent isn't just participating in the global entertainment economythey are driving it. Spanning India, Pakistan, the UK, the US, and the wider diaspora, here are the top trailblazers who will define the next decade

The spending needed for a free barista-made drink will rise from 50 to 60. A free pastry or cake will require 35 of spending, up from 30. Starbucks is the latest coffee chain to scale back its loyalty offering. Starbucks is making its loyalty rewards more expensive to earn, with customers needing to spend up to 20 per cent more for some of the freebies available through its scheme from September 3. Under the changes, customers will need to spend 60 to earn enough rewards for a free barista-made

The woman said a Travelodge receptionist gave her alleged abuser a key to her room. She said he attacked her before returning and kicking the hotel room door off its hinges. Travelodge said its policy of never confirming a guest's room details was not followed. A domestic abuse victim has told she was attacked in her Travelodge hotel room after staff allegedly gave her abusive partner a key, raising questions over how hotels protect guests fleeing violence. The woman, who named Lucy as reported

PRIME MINISTER Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions and fake discounts as part of measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street said Sunday. The announcement came as the new Labour leader was due to return to work after a vacation and begin a tour of the country to speak to people about their financial pressures, his office said. Burnham said people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps, where subscriptions are difficult to

Highlights Harry Potter fans helped prompt the diversion of the 430m Greenlink interconnector away from Dobby's grave. The 125-mile cable connects the UK National Grid with Ireland via County Wexford and Freshwater West. Project manager Simon Ludlam said his company received hundreds of calls from concerned fans. Planners subsequently rerouted the underground cable away from Dobby's memorial. The National Trust previously agreed in 2022 that the mock grave could remain at Freshwater West. Dobby'