THE first official response to Narendra Modi's re-election as India's prime minister has come from Mark Field, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, who said he hoped to use the Indian diaspora in the UK to strengthen "the living bridge" between the two countries.
Field, who has been to India three times in the last two years, said in an interview: "I have been a minister of state for two years -the India relationship is an integral part of that set-up.
"I have visited India on three occasions - been in Delhi on each occasion. I have been in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai earlier this year. (I am) very much looking forward to future visits.
"Now that prime minister Modi has been re-elected, I would very much want to build upon those visits to India and on the progress of the important meeting that took place at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (in London) between prime minister (Theresa) May and prime minister Modi last April”.
Field added: "We very much understand the immense ambitions prime minister Modi has for his second term and we very much hope the UK can be supportive of many of those ambitions”.
And he emphasised: "We feel our two countries are a force for good in the world at large.
"I am very excited by the work that we do together and it must be about more than just trade.
"It has to be about maintaining the strength of our connection and of our values in what is a fast-changing world. Certainly, as someone involved in the Foreign Office and looking at the diplomatic aspects of the work that we do, there is a lot that we can cooperate on.
"Of course, we are not going to agree on everything. There will be areas hopefully we will be able to have an adult sense of disagreement - we recognise there will be issues (where) we are not necessarily aligned but I personally think that there has been much at the UN and elsewhere where we have been able to cooperate."
Foreign Office officials provide reassurance that a change of leader will not disrupt UK-India relations. The new Indian externals affairs minister, S Jaishankar, is a familiar figure to British diplomats with whom he interacted when he was India's foreign secretary and the bureaucrat in charge of officials in his ministry.
Field referred to the size of the Indian-origin population in the UK as 1.5 million strong, though 2.3 million-2.5 million is considered to be a more realistic figure, given that more and more Indians are now the UK born.
"I have very much felt that the scale of the people-to-people connection which prime minister Modi has rightly called 'the living bridge' between our two countries is an important part of what we are doing”, Field said.
“And I have tried to focus my energies, not just on visits I have been able to make to India - I would like to do more - but actually the diaspora here in the UK”.
He pointed out: "We have had diaspora events in Leeds as well as in Manchester."
Field, who is something of a cricket fan, will be at the India-England match in the ongoing ICC World Cup on Sunday, June 30, at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
"On the Saturday, we will be doing a big diaspora day with the Indian community," he revealed.
He hopes enterprising Indian entrepreneurs will invest in India-UK projects, especially in the high-tech sector.
"The one thing I have also been very struck by is the importance of technology cooperation - there is an India-UK technology partnership that has been agreed.
"That actually takes into account Fintech; it takes into account all aspects of the fourth industrial revolution of robotics; all the areas around the internet; and, in particular, the increasing importance of cybersecurity.
"For my part, I see the alignment of values that we have with India makes us an obvious partner - not the only partner I recognise - but an obvious partner in this field”.
Spelling out the areas in which British Indians could invest, Field said: "One of the things I have tried to say to the diaspora community here in the UK, who are very well represented in the medical field, is that medical diagnostics is an important part of that ongoing technical cooperation.
"But I also hope that increasing numbers of young Indian entrepreneurs, particularly in the tech field, will see the obvious opportunities in trying to do work in that regard”.
Field is supporting his boss, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, in the Tory leadership contest.
Amanda Anisimova defeats world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
The American advances to her first Grand Slam final
Sabalenka’s run of Grand Slam finals ends
Anisimova will face either Swiatek or Bencic on Saturday
With the win, Anisimova is projected to reach world No. 7
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Thursday. The result sends the 23-year-old into her first Grand Slam final, where she will face either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic on Saturday.
The contest on Centre Court lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was interrupted twice during the first set due to spectators feeling unwell in the heat. Despite the stoppages, both players maintained their focus in a match marked by intense rallies and shifting momentum.
Anisimova, currently ranked 12th, held her nerve in key moments. Although she was broken for the first time in the second set after leading 30-love, she regrouped in the deciding set. After losing her serve in the opening game, she immediately broke back and went on a run of three consecutive games to take control of the match.
Sabalenka’s defeat ends her streak of reaching the last two Grand Slam finals and marks her third straight Grand Slam loss to an American player this year, following defeats to Coco Gauff at Roland Garros and Madison Keys in Melbourne.
Anisimova, the last American woman remaining in the draw, is set to climb to a career-high world No. 7 following this result. Sabalenka will retain her No. 1 ranking for a 39th consecutive week despite the loss.
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HYBE Cine Fest 2025: How HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is India’s K-pop soft launch
You step into your local PVR today. The smell of popcorn hits you, but instead of previews for the latest Bollywood hit, the lobby is a sea of ARMY Bombs and CARAT Bong light sticks. Fans in TXT tees are swapping photocards. Someone’s already belting out a LE SSERAFIM chorus into a mic at the pop-up Noraebang station. Inside Screen 3? It isn’t a film, but a full-blown K-pop concert. Thousands of voices scream every word of BTS’s Dynamite, and tears well up during Jungkook’s solo. But this isn’t Seoul. It’s Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, all this weekend. And HYBE? They’re taking notes, big ones!
What is Hybe Cine fest?
HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is a three-day cinema event (from 10 to 12 July) that brings some of the biggest K-pop concert experiences to the big screen across India. Organised by South Korean entertainment giant HYBE in partnership with PVR INOX and Trafalgar Releasing, the fest features full-length concert films from BTS, SEVENTEEN, TXT, ENHYPEN, ILLIT, and Katseye. Expect stadium-level production with cinematic visuals, surround sound, and collective fan chants, everything fans love about a K-pop concert, recreated inside a cinema.
HYBE didn’t pick India at random. It’s a calculated move. The company has confirmed it will open an Indian office in Mumbai or Delhi by September or October 2025. This festival is a soft launch, a proof-of-concept to test the waters. By partnering with PVR INOX and global distributor Trafalgar Releasing (which brought in over 260,000 fans during the Latin American edition), HYBE is laying the groundwork for bigger things. With India’s entertainment market projected to grow from £22.9 billion to £32.2 billion (₹2.45 trillion to ₹3.45 trillion) by 2028, the timing is no accident.
HYBE isn’t just here to screen films. This is step one in a long-term strategy:
Live concerts: The biggest fan demand. Data from this weekend supports the case for bringing TXT, ENHYPEN, or SEVENTEEN to Indian stages post-2025.
Local talent & collaborations: HYBE’s upcoming Indian office could scout homegrown talent or spark Indo-Korean music projects, similar to what HYBE America did with Katseye.
Lifestyle takeover: Pop-up merch counters are only the beginning. HYBE wants to control K-pop fashion, fan experiences, and digital platforms (like Weverse) in India.
Expect ticket prices between £7.50–£14 (₹800–₹1,500), depending on location and seat type. Morning and midday weekday shows are filling up fastest, so book early if you want the full fan-crowd vibe.
While Indian ARMYs, CARATs, MOAs, and ENGENEs lose their voices this weekend inside packed theatres, HYBE’s executives are wide awake, analysing ticket data, fan turnout, and social media buzz. Every chant, every Noraebang sing-along, every sold-out show is a datapoint fuelling their next big move.
HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is more than a weekend spectacle. It’s a strategic push to embed K-pop deep into India’s entertainment ecosystem. The concert films are just the beginning, the real goal is long-term cultural presence, local talent scouting, and eventually, massive live tours. The light sticks are lit. The playbook is open. And HYBE’s Indian takeover has officially begun.
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Starlink will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements. (Photo: Reuters)
INDIA’s space regulator on Wednesday granted Starlink a licence to begin commercial operations in the country, removing the final regulatory barrier for the satellite internet provider.
The company, led by Elon Musk, has been waiting since 2022 for licences to start operations in India. It received an initial approval last month from India’s telecom ministry and was waiting for clearance from the space regulator.
The licence, issued by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is valid for five years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starlink had secured the licence from IN-SPACe.
Starlink is now the third company to receive approval to enter the Indian satellite communications market. India has previously cleared applications from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
The company will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements.
Musk and Reliance Jio’s Mukesh Ambani had disagreed for several months over how spectrum should be allocated for satellite services. The Indian government later supported Musk’s position that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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The launch of Grok 4 comes amid criticism of the previous version
Elon Musk unveils Grok 4, calling it “the smartest AI in the world”
Grok 4 reportedly trained 100 times more than Grok 2
Musk says it performs at PhD-level across nearly all subjects
The launch follows controversy around Grok 3’s offensive responses
Musk launches Grok 4 AI model with bold claims of intelligence
Elon Musk has launched Grok 4, the latest artificial intelligence model developed by his xAI company, claiming it surpasses PhD-level intelligence across all academic fields.
Speaking at the launch, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said Grok 4 had been trained using 100 times more data than Grok 2, which was replaced by Grok 3 in February this year. Musk described the new model as “the smartest AI in the world” and said it could achieve near-perfect results in graduate-level exams in almost every subject.
“Grok 4 is smarter than nearly all graduate students in all subjects simultaneously,” Musk said. He referred to the current pace of AI development as an “intelligence big bang” and suggested the model may soon contribute to significant technological breakthroughs.
Potential and concerns over AI ethics
While praising Grok 4’s capabilities, Musk acknowledged that the model “may lack common sense” despite its advanced reasoning skills. He stressed that the most important quality for any AI system is to be “truth-seeking” and stated that it is possible to embed values such as honesty and honour into AI, much like instilling values in a child.
Musk also predicted that the first “watchable half-hour” of television produced entirely by AI could be released by the end of 2025.
The launch of Grok 4 comes amid criticism of the previous version, Grok 3, after it generated antisemitic content, including messages that praised Adolf Hitler. In response, the official Grok account on X (formerly Twitter) said: “We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts.”
Musk distances Grok from 'woke' competitors
Musk has positioned Grok as an alternative to other chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, which he has previously criticised for being “woke”. In June, he invited users on X to help train Grok using “divisive facts” — a term he used for politically incorrect but factually accurate statements.
The update also follows news that X CEO Linda Yaccarino is stepping down, nearly two years after being appointed by Musk to lead the platform he acquired for $44 billion (£32.4 billion) in 2022.
PAKISTAN’S army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday (7) rejected Delhi’s allegation that his military received active support from longtime ally China in its conflict with India in May.
The Indian Army’s deputy chief, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, said last week that China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions.
Singh did not elaborate on how India knew about the live inputs from China.
Regarding the possibility of China providing satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence, India’s chief of defence staff had said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China or elsewhere.
The “insinuations regarding external support” are “irresponsible and factually incorrect”, Munir said in an address to graduating officers of the national security and war course in Islamabad, according to an army statement.
Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict.
Beijing and Islamabad have longstanding close relations, with billions of dollars of Chinese investment in the country’s energy and infrastructure.
India’s relationship with China meanwhile was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October.
India and Pakistan used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four days of fighting in May – their worst in decades – triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack in April.
Singh also added that Turkey provided key support to Pakistan during the fighting, equipping it with Bayraktar and “numerous other” drones, as well as “trained individuals”.
Ankara has strong ties with Islamabad, and had expressed solidarity with it during the clash, prompting Indians to boycott everything from Turkish coffee to holidays in the country.
Turkey’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the allegations.