Author: niyidaram

Thailand has introduced major changes to its visa-free entry rules, reducing the maximum stay for many foreign visitors from 60 days to 30 days and removing Moroccan passport holders from its visa-exemption arrangements. The new regulations, published in Thailand’s Royal Gazette, are scheduled to take effect on 15 September 2026, reversing part of the more generous immigration framework introduced in July 2024. Under the revised system, Thailand will move away from a single visa-exemption arrangement covering 93 nationalities and instead divide travellers into different categories, including a 30-day visa-exemption group, a separate 15-day exemption group and a Visa on Arrival…

Heidi Klum is returning to the America’s Got Talent judges’ table for a special appearance as Simon Cowell continues his recovery from back surgery. The former longtime AGT judge will step in for Cowell on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, joining Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara and Mel B for the latest round of Season 21 live shows. Klum’s return comes as America’s Got Talent continues using rotating guest judges during Cowell’s temporary absence. Special three-hour AGT episode planned NBC will air the September 8 edition as a three-hour live event beginning at 8pm ET/PT, combining performances and results into a single…

Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton will officially return for a fifth season in 2027, with the upcoming instalment focusing on the romance between Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling. Filming is already well underway in the UK, having officially begun on March 24, 2026. Production is currently expected to wrap around October 19, although Netflix has yet to announce an exact premiere date. Industry estimates currently point towards a spring or summer 2027 release. Season 5 will star Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton and Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling, marking the first season of the Regency-era drama centred on a…

Former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced he will stand down as an MP, triggering a by-election in the north London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras. Starmer, who left Downing Street in July and was succeeded by Andy Burnham, said he had decided it was the “right time” to leave Parliament after representing the constituency for 11 years. The decision marks a change from Starmer’s previous position. After leaving office, he had indicated that he intended to remain a backbench MP until the next general election, which is due by 2029. Starmer said he would now concentrate on…

The Met Office has unveiled the new list of storm names that will be used across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands during the 2026-27 storm season. The announcement comes as September 1 marks the beginning of meteorological autumn and the start of the UK’s new storm season. The first named storm will be Storm Austen, followed by Boelo, Chloe, Dano and Evelyn if weather systems severe enough to warrant naming develop during the season. The complete list is: Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna and…

Hundreds of people remain missing after catastrophic flooding and mudslides devastated one of the most important border crossings between Nepal and China, sweeping away buildings, vehicles and the bridge connecting the two countries. The disaster struck the Gyirong-Rasuwagadhi border area on August 26, when a massive torrent of water, mud, ice, rocks and boulders surged through the narrow Himalayan valley. Satellite images taken after the disaster show that much of the border complex was destroyed. On the Nepalese side, the Friendship Bridge connecting Nepal with Tibet was swept away, along with immigration and customs facilities. The nearby trading settlement of…

The US Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to begin implementing parts of an executive order seeking major changes to mail voting, although continuing legal challenges could still prevent some measures from taking effect before November’s midterm elections. In an unsigned 10-page decision opposed by the court’s three liberal justices, the Supreme Court cleared the administration to proceed with a plan directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile state-by-state lists of people it considers eligible US citizen voters. The ruling also allows the US Postal Service to pursue new requirements for states using the mail to distribute…

The Trump administration has proposed imposing a $103,265 fee on H-1B visa applications, months after a federal judge struck down its previous attempt to introduce a $100,000 charge. Under a proposed regulation released Monday, the administration said the substantially higher fee would help recover costs associated with operating the US immigration system while encouraging American companies to recruit and train domestic workers. The proposal has not yet taken effect. It must go through the federal rulemaking process, including a 30-day public comment period, and could face legal challenges before becoming final. H-1B visas allow US employers to hire foreign professionals…

Character actor Michael Wright, best known for his roles in “Sugar Hill” and “The Five Heartbeats,” died from heart failure on August 19 in California, his family announced. He was 70. His wife, Susan Wright, announced his death Friday in a statement shared in a post on Instagram. “It is with profound sadness and an unimaginable heaviness in my heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Michael Wright,” she wrote. She described her husband as “an extraordinary artist whose work touched generations.” She asked fans to give the family space to grieve and to refrain from sharing misinformation on social media. “We respectfully ask…

Two planned concerts by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in Russia have been thrown into uncertainty after the stadium scheduled to host the performances said they cannot take place at the venue. The rapper was scheduled to perform at Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on October 10 and 11, with both concerts reportedly sold out. However, Gazprom Arena said that no rental agreement had been signed with the promoter responsible for the shows and, as a result, the concerts “cannot take place on our site.” The stadium also distanced itself from the decision to book Ye, saying it had…