University applicants in England will be given clearer information about student loans before they take them out, the government has said. Ministers said they would spell out that governments can change repayment rules and that different career choices can affect how much borrowers repay. They agreed to some but not all of the recommendations made by MPs after an inquiry into student loans, and did not say whether they would reverse a freeze to the repayment threshold for some graduates. The inquiry found the way loans had been presented to teenagers amounted to mis-selling, after the BBC revealed the Department for Education (DfE) had compared repayments to £30-a-month phone contracts. The recent debate has centred around Plan 2 loans, which were issued in England between September 2012 and July 2023, and are still issued in Wales.

Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas, whose films included The Last Emperor and Sexy Beast, has died aged 77. The British filmmaker passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones at his home in Oxfordshire on Friday, his publicist said in a statement. Thomas built an international reputation over a career spanning five decades, working with directors including David Cronenberg, Nagisa Oshima, Julien Temple and Nicolas Roeg and backing independent films alongside mainstream successes. He best known work, Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, won nine Academy Awards, including best picture, and earned Thomas an Oscar as producer in 1988. Thomas repeatedly collaborated with Bertolucci, also producing The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, Stealing Beauty and The Dreamers.

'What a start!' - England lose Duckett and Gay in first over This content is not available in your location. England get off to a dreadful start on day four of the third and final Test as Mohammad Abbas removes Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay in the first over, to leave the home side 2-2, chasing 130 to win at Edgbaston. England Men's Cricket Team Follow England Men's Cricket Team You are now following England Men's Cricket Team Updates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage . Updates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage . Updates from your Sport topics will appear in My Sport and in a collection on the Sport homepage .

Report urges ministers to act early to mitigate the effects of robotaxis on England's 417,000 taxi and private hire drivers. Report urges ministers to act early to mitigate the effects of robotaxis on England's 417,000 taxi and private hire drivers. Taxes on self-driving cars should be introduced now in the UK to offset the rise in congestion and threats to jobs they pose, a thinktank has urged. The first robotaxis on London's streets only started this month, but government projections are that up to 40% of cars sold could have self-driving capability by the middle of the next decade. The report says widespread autonomous vehicle (AV) adoption would put hundreds of thousands of private hire jobs at risk, while individual ownership is likely to increase car usage at the expense of public transport, and increase congestion.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has refused to apologise to a rape crisis centre which criticised him for describing rival airlines as high-fare rapists. Speaking to journalists, O'Leary said some people were desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe. O'Leary doubled-down on his choice of words when asked about them at the time, and later refused to apologise when the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) wrote to him asking for apology, in a letter seen by the BBC. Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris said it was clearly an inappropriate use of language and that O'Leary should have moved to rectify it. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told UK radio outlet LBC that victims of rape are not going to be rushing to book tickets with him, let's be honest.

UK government rejects'kill switch' idea for dangerous AI The UK government has rejected the idea of creating a so-called kill switch to stop a dangerous attack from rogue AI. The proposal to create a legal mechanism for the UK to switch off an AI model in an emergency has been brought to Parliament by lords and MPs in recent weeks as fears grow about the threat the tech poses. But the Cabinet Office - the part of government which leads on AI safety - said the UK cannot simply turn AI off. Blocking access to models in the UK would not prevent them being developed or misused elsewhere, a spokesperson told BBC News. The government's opposition to the legislation does not prevent it from progressing through parliament, but makes it unlikely it will become law.

Eight people have been questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a multiple stabbing at a KFC restaurant in south-east London. The Met Police, ambulance service and air ambulance were called out to reports of an altercation involving several people on Bromley High Street at about 14.15 BST on Thursday. A 21-year-old man and three boys aged between 14 and 17 were taken to hospital with stab wounds. The man's condition was previously critical but is now not thought to be life-threatening. The Met said those four, plus four other boys aged between 14 and 17 have since been arrested and remain in custody.

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Catherine, Princess of Wales has visited the hospital where she was treated for cancer after completing a charity climb to help fund a new unit there earlier this year. Catherine carried out the Three Peaks Challenge in June, which involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours, in aid of the Royal Marsden in London. The amount of money she raised has not been made public, but it will go towards a new unit offering complementary healing alongside clinical care. The princess, who announced she was receiving cancer treatment in March 2024, spoke to patients and staff about the importance of supporting patients with more than just physical treatment. Catherine sat down and chatted to those receiving treatment at the hospital on Friday, including patients with breast cancer, head and neck cancer and a brain tumour.

Image caption, Matthew Wright appeared at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday The former chief executive of Southern Water has appeared in court charged with conspiracy to defraud, over allegations water quality tests were manipulated to avoid penalties. Matthew Wright, 60, who denies any wrongdoing, appeared at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday alongside three other former employees. Wright, along with Philip Barker, 57, Clive Massey, 64, and Mark Gregory, 63, are accused of conspiracy to defraud the Environment Agency and water regulator Ofwat. It is alleged that between January 2012 and December 2017, the group manipulated a self-monitoring regime by carrying out artificial no-flow events at wastewater treatment works, to avoid failing environmental checks. The alleged conduct could have avoided fines of £45m or higher, according to the charges.