Nearly 400,000 fewer people from abroad have applied for UK work or study visas since strict new immigration rules came into force, Home Office figures revealed on Thursday. Provisional data shows 547,000 visa applications were received between April and December 2024, down from 942,500 in the same period in 2023.more

Right-wing portals accuse the California authorities of an inadequate response to the Los Angeles fires, the British daily ‘Guardian’ reported yesterday. They attribute the blame for the devastation to, among other things, fire service employment policies and even aid to Ukraine.more

Emma Raducanu was painfully stung by insects just before the start of the Australian Open. The British tennis player did not use an antiseptic for fear of anti-doping tests and unknowingly ingesting banned substances.more

Patients wait an average of more than four months for medical advice, examination, treatment or surgery. This is the longest in the history of the Watch Health Care Foundation's measurements of accessibility to guaranteed health services conducted since 2012.more

Sainsbury's has said it will raise hourly pay though it is cautious about recruiting new staff this year due to rising costs. The supermarket chain said wages would rise 5% to £12.60 but it will be introduced in two phases "to help manage a particularly tough cost inflation environment".more

Lukasz Fabianski, who suffered concussion in a league game against Southampton on 26 December, returned to West Ham United's goal but his team lost 1-2 away in the FA Cup third round to Aston Villa and dropped out of the competition.more

At least 531,600 homeless people live in Germany, the German federal government reported on Wednesday. Approx. 71 per cent of the homeless come from Europe, including almost two-thirds from EU countries. According to the report, the largest number, 20 per cent, of homeless people come from Poland, 16 per cent from Romania and six per cent from Bulgaria.more

A south London borough, known for hosting one of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments, has been named as one of the best places to live in the UK. The Times has named Merton as number four on a list of the UK’s best places to live, with Richmond and Sutton as number one and number eight respectively.more

The year 2024 was a good one for Poles and their families, according to a CBOS analysis of public sentiment over the past year. Average ratings of living standards were high and stable. Assessments of the situation in the country were worse than opinions about living conditions. Respondents viewed the political situation negatively.more

Former tennis player Andy Murray, who will coach Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, admitted that he does not want the Serb to suppress his emotions on the court and announced that he will bravely endure his outbursts of anger, even towards himself.more

An England-wide amber health alert has been extended to Tuesday as temperatures are expected to continue to fall over the weekend. The UK Health Security Agency extended the alert, which was previously in place until Sunday, meaning that cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service.more

Real Madrid beat Mallorca 3-0 in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, scoring all their goals after the break. They will face Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczęsny's Barcelona in Sunday's final.more

Vacancies for permanent jobs in the UK declined at their fastest pace for four years last month, according to a new survey that adds to the gloomy economic mood.more

A mother has appeared in court charged with murdering her son and attempting to murder her father. Karolina Zurawska, 41, from Gendros, Swansea, appeared before the city’s crown court on Friday morning. She is charged with murdering Alexander Zurawski, six, who was found dead at a property in Gendros on August 29.more

US President-elect Donald Trump does not know how to end the war in Ukraine for the time being, and has no immediate intention of ending aid to Kyiv, the UK's Financial Times wrote yesterday, citing anonymous sources.more

IT specialist James Howells has lost a first-instance lawsuit to recover the disk on which some $740 million worth of bitcoins are currently stored, the Cointelegraph website reported yesterday. Howells was seeking permission to search a landfill site where his old computer was mistakenly found years ago.more

Graham Potter’s coaching staff at West Ham has been confirmed. The Englishman was appointed as the Hammers’ new manager on a two-and-a-half year contract on Thursday morning, following the sacking on Wednesday of previous boss Julen Lopetegui after only six months in charge.more

The pound has fallen to its lowest level in over a year, while UK borrowing costs hit their highest for 16 years. Economists have warned that the rising costs could lead to further tax increases or spending cuts as the government tries to meet its self-imposed rule not to borrow to fund day-to-day spending.more

Ryanair has sued in Ireland a passenger whose behaviour disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote and forced a landing in Porto. It is demanding €15,000 in damages from him, the airline announced on Wednesday. It also conveyed that it is planning similar lawsuits in other countries as well.more

A coalition of countries led by the UK and Latvia has pledged to provide 30,000 FPV drones to Ukraine, AFP reported, quoting a statement from the UK defence ministry. The group, which formed in 2024, has already drawn up an order worth £45 million.more

The death toll from the California wildfires has risen to at least 10. More than 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and the fire has consumed thousands of buildings in an area of about 120 square kilometres, an area the size of San Francisco. The cause of the fires, the worst in Los Angeles history, has not yet been determined.more

The sports court of the German Football Association (DFB) has given Union Berlin a walkover for the 1-1 draw with VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga. The result has been revised to 2-0 for the visitors. The capital club has the right to appeal to a higher court and has already announced that it will do so.more

French President Emmanuel Macron met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer late last night and the main topic of their conversation was the situation in Ukraine, a British government spokesperson reported.more

Due to a breakdown in airport systems, Chopin Airport is experiencing difficulties in checking in passengers and planes. Emergency procedures have been implemented, the Warsaw airport said on its website today. Currently, planes are arriving and passengers on departing flights are being checked in on a regular basis.more

London is the only major UK city getting older, a new analysis has revealed, due to post-Brexit migration and falling birthrates. The capital is bucking a trend which shows other big cities are getting younger and that rural and coastal regions are driving the overall ageing population.more