The school’s journal from 2020 puts Sunak on a list of benefactors who have donated over £100,000 in total, suggesting he is a regular donor.
“Rishi and his wife have donated to numerous charities and philanthropic causes for many years and will continue to do so. These donations are made to help fund scholarships for children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to Winchester,” a spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said.
Speaking to Sky last month about his time at Winchester, Sunak said, “It’s part of the reason I’m sitting here and I’m really grateful to have had that opportunity…It’s helped make me who I am as a person.”
According to reports, the money funds bursaries for children whose parents would otherwise not be able to afford to send them to the school. The school charges £43,335 a year, or £14,445 a term.
More than a thousand Indians have been sent back from the United States since January, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The MEA confirmed that precisely 1,080 Indian nationals have been deported.
Approximately 62% of those deported returned on commercial flights, informed India’s spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The deportations follow US President Donald Trump’s campaign against undocumented migrants entering the country. He had previously stated that he believes India “will do what’s right” in the matter of deporting illegal migrants.
This move by the US reflects a global trend of increasingly strict immigration controls.
Over a hundred shackled Indians were repatriated on a US military flight in February alone.
“We have close cooperation between India and the United States on migration issues,” said Jaiswal during the ministry’s weekly briefing. He added that deported Indians are only accepted back after strict verification of their nationality.
It is estimated that around 18,000 Indian nationals have entered the US illegally.
The US Embassy in India has issued a warning that overstaying in the US—even by those who entered legally—could lead to deportation or a permanent ban.
Jaiswal also raised concerns about President Trump’s proposed revisions to student visa policies, which could affect Indian students planning to study in the US. However, the Indian government has assured that the welfare of Indian students remains its “utmost priority”.
On Thursday, it was revealed that the US is pausing the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students as it considers expanding the screening of their social media activity. Student visa appointments under the F, M and J categories will be temporarily halted by American embassies.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reiterated that all foreign nationals living in the US for over 30 days must register under the Alien Registration Act, a strict requirement enforced by an executive order signed by Trump.
“While we note that the issuance of a visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the applications of Indian students will be considered on merit, and that they will be able to join their academic programmes on time,” said Randhir Jaiswal. A total of 333,000 Indian students have travelled to the US for studies in 2023–24, constituting the largest share of the country’s international student population.
The Ministry of External Affairs has assured that it will closely monitor developments and continue to engage with US authorities to ensure the fair treatment of Indian nationals.
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Switzerland’s village of Blatten was buried in ice, mud and rock
Switzerland’s village of Blatten was buried in ice, mud and rock on the evening of Wednesday during a fatal landslide.
Once a lush, green hamlet nestled in the Alps — known for its old wooden houses, historic buildings, and wandering cows and sheep — the village is now almost entirely buried. The landslide, which swept through 90 per cent of Blatten, has left the local community shattered.
How did Blatten end up in this tragedy?
Blatten sits below the Birch Glacier, which geologist Christophe Lambiel described as unique — it is the only glacier in the region that has been advancing over the past decade, while others have been retreating. A massive section of the glacier recently broke away and slid downhill, triggering the catastrophic landslide that nearly wiped out the village.
Around 300 residents and their livestock were evacuated in time, averting further tragedy. No deaths have been reported, though a 64-year-old man remains missing. Rescue teams and search dogs have been deployed, but the search has been suspended due to worsening weather conditions.
Experts believe this may only be the beginning. Geologists have warned of further hazards, including flooding, as the landslide debris — stretching across 2 km — is now obstructing the River Lonza. If the blockage causes the lake to overflow, downstream villages could be at risk.
"I don't want to talk just now. I lost everything yesterday. I hope you understand," said one middle-aged woman from Blatten, recalling the harrowing experience.
The beautiful village of Blatten in the Swiss AlpsGetty Images
The once-beautiful roads winding through the valley are now buried in mud. While residents remain calm, the looming threat of further flooding is a growing concern.
"The water from the River Lonza cannot flow down the valley because there is an enormous plug," said geologist Raphael Mayoraz, suggesting the risk of flooding in nearby areas. The river is now backed up with as much as one million cubic metres of water, worsened by accumulated landslide material.
"We’re not in a state to think about future shocks just yet," added Jonas Jeitziner, a local official.
“The unimaginable has happened,” said Matthias Bellwald, Mayor of Blatten. The tragedy is a stark reminder of the effects of rising temperatures on Alpine permafrost, which once held gravel and boulders in place. The Birch Glacier had shown visible cracks earlier this month, raising concerns long before the slide.
In 2022, Switzerland lost 6 per cent of its glacier volume, followed by a further 4 per cent in 2023.
The landslide that buried almost half of Blatten villageReuters
Despite the destruction, the people of Blatten remain united. Locals, scientists and the army are working together to begin the long road to recovery.
Even in the face of such devastation, the spirit of Blatten remains strong. "We've lost the village, but not the heart,” said Mayor Bellwald. “The village is under the gravel, but we're going to get up. We are going to stand in solidarity and rebuild. Everything is possible."
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India's External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said trade or tariffs were not discussed in any conversations between Indian and US leaders during the clashes with Pakistan.
INDIA on Thursday said trade did not come up at all in discussions between Indian and American leaders during its military clashes with Pakistan, rejecting Washington’s claim that its offer of trade halted the confrontation.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told a New York court that India and Pakistan reached a “tenuous ceasefire” after president Donald Trump offered both nations trading access with the US to avoid a “full-scale war.”
In the past few weeks, Trump has repeatedly claimed he threatened India and Pakistan that the US would stop trade with them if they did not stop the conflict. India has consistently said that the understanding on cessation of hostilities was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries.
“From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action was reached on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and the US leaders on the evolving military situation,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “The issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of those discussions,” he said at his weekly media briefing.
Jaiswal was answering questions on the Trump administration’s submission at the New York court. “The external affairs minister has also made it clear that the cessation of firing was decided upon in direct contacts between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan,” Jaiswal said.
Lutnick made the submission in the Court of International Trade last week, while opposing any attempt to restrain Trump from using emergency powers to impose tariffs. Lutnick said the president’s power to impose tariffs is crucial to his ability to conduct diplomacy.
“For example, India and Pakistan – two nuclear powers engaged in combat operations just 13 days ago – reached a tenuous ceasefire on May 10. This ceasefire was only achieved after president Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the United States to avert a full-scale war,” Lutnick said.
“An adverse ruling that constrains presidential power in this case could lead India and Pakistan to question the validity of president Trump’s offer, threatening the security of an entire region, and the lives of millions,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the two militaries had started reducing troop numbers. (Photo: Reuters)
PAKISTAN and India are close to reducing troop levels along their border to those before the latest conflict began earlier this month, a senior Pakistani military official told Reuters on Friday. He cautioned, however, that the recent fighting had raised the risk of escalation in the future.
Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of clashes before a ceasefire was announced.
The fighting began after an attack in Indian Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the attack on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.
On May 7, India launched missiles at what it said were "terrorist infrastructure" sites across the border. Pakistan responded with its own attacks, and both countries increased their troop presence along the frontier.
General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the two militaries had started reducing troop numbers.
"We have almost come back to the pre-22nd April situation... we are approaching that, or we must have approached that by now," said Mirza, the most senior Pakistani military official to speak publicly since the conflict.
India's ministry of defence and the office of the Indian chief of defence staff did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on Mirza's remarks.
Speaking in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue forum, Mirza said there was no move towards nuclear weapons during this conflict, but it was a dangerous situation.
"Nothing happened this time," he said. "But you can't rule out any strategic miscalculation at any time, because when the crisis is on, the responses are different."
He said the risk of escalation in the future had grown, as the fighting this time was not limited to Kashmir. Both sides attacked military installations in their mainlands, but neither has acknowledged any serious damage.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan this month that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" again if there were new attacks on India.
'Dangerous trend'
India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989 and has killed tens of thousands. Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.
"This (conflict) lowers the threshold between two countries who are contiguous nuclear powers... in the future, it will not be restricted to the disputed territory. It would come down to (the) whole of India and (the) whole of Pakistan," Mirza said. "This is a very dangerous trend."
Reuters has reported that the rapid escalation of hostilities ended in part because of behind-the-scenes diplomacy involving the US, India and Pakistan, and the key role played by Washington in brokering peace. India has denied any third-party role in the ceasefire and said that any engagement between India and Pakistan has to be bilateral.
Mirza said international mediation might be more difficult in the future because of a lack of crisis management mechanisms between the two countries.
"The time window for the international community to intervene would now be very less, and I would say that damage and destruction may take place even before that time window is exploited by the international community," he said.
He said Pakistan was open to dialogue, but apart from a crisis hotline between the directors general of military operations and some hotlines at the tactical level on the border, there was no other communication between the two countries.
New Delhi has maintained a hard line on any possible talks.
“If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and (Pakistan Kashmir)," Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. "If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists... to India so that justice is served.”
Mirza said there were no backchannel discussions or informal talks to ease tensions. He also said he had no plans to meet General Anil Chauhan, India's chief of defence staff, who is also in Singapore for the forum.
"These issues can only be resolved by dialogue and consultations, on the table. They cannot be resolved on the battlefield," Mirza said.
SIR RICHARD KNIGHTON sits at his desk with a simple motto that has guided his remarkable career: “Work hard, do the best you can, enjoy every minute.”
It’s a philosophy that has taken him from a schoolteacher’s son in Derby with no military connections to becoming the first engineer ever to lead the Royal Air Force as Chief of the Air Staff.
In a service historically dominated by pilots, Knighton’s appointment represents more than a personal achievement – it signals a fundamental shift in how Britain’s aerial warfare branch views leadership and expertise in an era of rapid technological advancement.
“I’m certain that I won’t be the last non-pilot to lead the air force,” Knighton says confidently. “As technology changes, as the character of warfare changes, the opportunity for people from other professional backgrounds to lead the service will only grow. I’m just fortunate enough to have been the first one.”
Knighton joined the RAF in 1988 as a university cadet while studying engineering at Clare College, Cambridge. What drew him to military service was not family tradition – his father was a craft design technology teacher, and his mother worked in a nursery – but rather a blend of “duty, excitement, interest” and the responsibility of leadership.
Sir Richard at the graduation parade at RAF Honington in 2022
Unlike many of his university classmates who were frantically searching for jobs during their final year, Knighton had already charted his course. “I’d already committed to join the Air Force before I went to university,” he recalls.
With an RAF Sixth Form Scholarship, followed by a university scholarship, his path was set, while others were navigating the uncertainty of “the milk round,” as he puts it.
His engineering background has shaped his leadership approach in profound ways. “As an engineer in the air force, you are never, at any point, the leading expert in a thing,” he explains. “You rely on the advice of your technicians and your experts, and then you pull together that information, and you make a decision.”
This collaborative mindset has proven invaluable as he oversees an organisation of more than 30,000 personnel. “Ever since my very first job, as a 22- to 23-year-old, I’m used to asking for advice, assimilating that, and making judgments and decisions and leading through other people.”
His early career followed a conventional path for an RAF engineer – working on frontline aircraft including Nimrods, Tornados and Harriers, with deployments to the Balkan conflicts. Though not in the cockpit during combat operations, Knighton emphasises the team nature of air power: “It is about the team that delivers the operational output. You might have the pilot in the cockpit that actually delivers the lethal force, but it’s the whole team that enables that person, that pilot, to deliver that effect.”
Since his promotion as Air Commodore in 2011, Knighton has been involved in strategic and capability planning for the RAF and Ministry of Defence. He was the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, the first nonpilot to be appointed to the role, and was responsible for the strategic coherence and coordination of the RAF and planning for the RAF’s centenary programme.
Sir Richard with ground crew of the Red Arrows at Zadar Air Base, Croatia, 2024
The most senior role he has held in the Ministry of Defence was as the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Military Capability. Prior to his appointment as Chief of the Air Staff, he was Deputy Commander Capability and People at Air Command, where he was responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all aspects of RAF capability, including people, equipment, infrastructure, and training.
Asked what qualities are necessary to lead the RAF, Knighton crystallises his approach into three distinct elements: “The first thing is, you set the direction. Then you need to put the people, the right people, in the right seats. And then the third thing is, you’ve got to do everything you can to enable them to deliver that direction.” Communication features heavily in his leadership toolkit. “I’ve worked very hard on communicating to the whole organisation about why we exist, what we’re trying to do, and being honest about some of the challenges that we face.”
Sir Richard with the king, Admiral Sir Ben Key, and Captain William Blackett aboard HMS Prince of Wales
This commitment to transparency extends to his approach to diversity and inclusion – areas where the RAF has faced both scrutiny and challenges in recent years.
“Fundamentally, our job as an air force is to be ready to fly and fight,” Knighton states firmly. “All of us and all of what we do needs to be focused on that operational capability and excellence.”
It’s through this operational lens that Knighton views diversity – not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a strategic imperative. “What I want is the very best people in the air force, and to do that, we must open up our doors to the widest possible array of talented people.”
He cites evidence that “teams that are diverse bring better problem-solving abilities and generate better solutions to problems,” adding that “the value in diversity and inclusion is that you get an organisation that is better at what it does.”
There are currently around 17 per cent women and 4.5 per cent personnel from ethnic minorities in the RAF – figures Knighton acknowledges can be improved. However, he points to encouraging trends:
“Over nine per cent of the people who’ve joined in the last year came from ethnic minority communities. Over the last four or five years, there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of people from minority ethnic communities who joined the service.”
Sir Richard Knighton with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during the Qatari royal state visit to the UK
Notably, the RAF has moved away from specific percentage targets – 40 per cent women and 20 per cent ethnic minority representation by the end of the decade – that led to controversy under Knighton’s predecessor, Sir Mike Wigston.
An internal inquiry found in June 2023, soon after Knighton took charge, that the RAF took action, such as pausing job offers for white men, to prioritise women and ethnic minorities, which ultimately resulted in unlawful positive discrimination.
“The defence remains determined to increase representation from women and people from ethnic minorities, but it recognises that setting targets is not appropriate and can lead to inappropriate behaviour,” Knighton clarifies.
Instead, he focuses on creating an environment “where people feel valued” and building practical outreach strategies to communities traditionally underrepresented in the service.
He’s pragmatic about the goals for 2030: “We won’t achieve what those levels of ambition were set for, I can confidently say that, despite all the hard work.”
Yet, he remains committed to steady progress, focusing on cultural change rather than statistical targets. This shift represents more than semantics – it’s about building lasting change through authentic engagement rather than administrative pressure. By emphasising operational excellence as the primary motivation for diversity, Knighton has repositioned inclusion as a capability enhancer rather than a compliance requirement.
“We’ve done huge amounts of work to inform and educate broader sections of society about the air force, about what service it brings, and particularly around the kind of value it is for the country, and the sort of technological excellence , and the leadership and responsibility that comes with it,” he says, adding: “I think that may be playing a part in the numbers that I described in terms of the growth.”
Sir Richard with Air Marshal AP Singh, vice-chief of air staff
When pressed on the persistent issue of ethnic minority talent hitting a glass ceiling in the RAF – a phenomenon mirrored across many British institutions – Knighton acknowledges the challenge.
“If you look at the history of this, the senior people in the air force today... will have joined the air force in the very early 1990s, so over 30 years ago,” he explains. “The numbers game matters. It is very simply a fact that if you have fewer people at the bottom, the probability of making the top is that much smaller.”
Yet, he accepts the challenge to look deeper: “Your challenge to think harder and look harder at whether there might be systemic barriers to progression and retention – I think that’s a fair challenge,” he says, when pressed on the issue.
The opening of more senior pathways to non-aircrew personnel – a change implemented by Sir Mike – may help address this imbalance. “We’re already seeing that happen, with increasing numbers of women fulfilling our command appointments – pinnacle jobs – at wing commander and group captain. And over time, that will flow through.”
Asked if he can envision a black or Asian officer one day occupying his position, Knighton answers without hesitation: “Yes, absolutely.”
Recruitment from certain communities, particularly south Asian Britons, has been “very slow” despite decades of effort. Knighton identifies several barriers, including visibility and cultural gatekeepers.
“If the level of representation in the service is low, it’s harder for people to see themselves as part of that service,” he explains. “We can overcome that by using interviews like this, by using our advertising, using our outreach and engagement to help inform those communities, and by using those people who are in the service, who come from those communities, as role models.”
He stresses the importance of engaging not just potential recruits, but influencers within communities: “This is not just about aiming our advertising at the 16- to 25-year-olds we particularly want to target, but actually ensuring we are visible as a service to that wider community.”
Sir Richard at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2023 at ExCel London
These ‘gatekeepers’, as Knighton calls them – parents, teachers, community leaders and extended family members – often hold significant sway in career decisions, particularly in close-knit ethnic minority communities. Their perceptions of military service, sometimes formed decades ago or influenced by experiences from countries of heritage rather than contemporary Britain, can create invisible barriers to recruitment.
“We need to ensure the wider community recognises that this is both something important to the country, and it’s highly professional, it’s a high-status role, and we should use that to help gatekeepers encourage and recognise this as a vocation and a job that is important to the nation, and therefore something they would want their grandchildren, their children, their nephews and nieces to come in and join,” he notes.
This recognition matters deeply in communities where professional standing carries significant weight. While medicine, law, and business have traditionally been preferred career paths in many south Asian families, Knighton believes demonstrating the RAF’s technological sophistication, leadership opportunities, and service ethos can help reposition military careers as prestigious options worthy of consideration, alongside these established professions.
Asked whether the historical contributions of black and Asian soldiers in the world wars should be highlighted more to inspire contemporary recruitment, Knighton agrees: “Maybe there is some opportunity for those communities to recognise those who had gone before them, and help us to share the idea that this is a noble profession that we’re part of.”
Knighton’s days are relentlessly demanding – starting at 7:30am with his cycle commute and often ending well past 11pm, filled with high-level meetings, mentoring sessions , and formal events.
Sir Richard with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer
How does he maintain energy for such a gruelling schedule? “I enjoy it. I’m very much a glass-half-full kind of character. I get a great deal of energy from working with other people,” he explains. “I’ve learned in my career that optimism and energy are infectious.”
This philosophy extends to his leadership approach, shaped by advice from a former superior: “Nobody wants to work for a miserable b*****d.”
His guiding principle throughout his career has been one he shares with Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
When he eventually steps down, Knighton will look back “with great pride” on his service.
“The RAF has given me all my education. It’s given me opportunity, and skills. It’s taught me a great deal about how to live and how to lead.” His voice carries unmistakable emotion when adding: “I’m enormously proud to have been part of it, and unspeakably proud of being able to lead my service. It’s just phenomenal.”
And his guilty secret for unwinding after those long days? “Friday evening, nine o’clock Gogglebox – that is fantastic escapism and the perfect way to relax.
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