About 125,000 New York high school students will receive a letter notifying them they've been automatically accepted to the State University of New York's community college programs, the state's governor announced Thursday.

BEIJING China is expected to achieve an economic growth of slightly more than 5% this year, an adviser

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a surprise return to the WWE.

The Formula 1 paddock heads to Montreal next for the Canadian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won his third race in a row with a cruise of a victory in Spain last time out, with his lead in the F1 world championship now 53 points from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. COMMENT: Ferrari’s F1 flaws all the more baffling after shock success at Le Mans It was an improved weekend in Barcelona for Mercedes though, with their revamped car showing improvements as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came home second and third respectively. There was disappointment for Fernando Alonso though, who only finished seventh, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished outside the points in 11th. Verstappen won last year’s race in Montreal, seeing off Carlos Sainz in second. FP1 on Friday was abandoned early on due to a CCTV issue at the track, while Lewis Hamilton was fastest in second practice later in the day. Follow live coverage from the Canadian Grand Prix with The Independent - FP3 starts at 5:30pm (BST). Read More Lewis Hamilton fastest as practice for Canadian Grand Prix finally gets started F1 Fantasy: How to play in 2023 season and top tips for Canadian Grand Prix Max Verstappen closes in on ‘amazing achievement’ of matching Ayrton Senna

Liam Fender opens up about his debut EP 'Love Will...', his new songs and indie rock star brother Sam Fender.

Explore the dynamics behind how men and women approach and engage with this broom challenge

The price of your next pint may go up, depending on where—and when—you drink. The UK’s biggest pub

President Joe Biden and alliance leaders enter the first day of the high-stakes NATO Summit Tuesday with a reinvigorated sense of unity after a major win on Monday evening when Turkey agreed to Sweden's bid to join the alliance.

A volcanic eruption could destroy the Icelandic town of Grindavik or lead to extensive ash clouds, experts have warned. The country has been shaken by more than 800 small earthquakes today alone, prompting fears that the tremors could disrupt the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest of the country. Almost 4,000 people were evacuated from Grindavik over the weekend as authorities feared that molten rock would rise to the surface of the earth and potentially hit the coastal town and a geothermal power station. Select residents of the town have been allowed to return briefly this week to save valuables and care for animals and pets. Ragga Agustsdottir, who lives close to Grindavik, said residents were fearful of what could happen if an eruption struck. “The scenario on the table now is that it will happen in or just north of the town of Grindavik. There’s no good option here,” she told The Independent. On Tuesday authorities scrambled to build a defence wall around the Svartsengi power plant, located just over six kilometers from Grindavik, to protect it from lava flows amid fears of an eruption. Read More Iceland earthquakes: Huge cracks appear on roads in volcano-threatened town Iceland earthquakes: Are flights still running amid fears of volcano eruption? Is it safe to travel to Iceland? Your rights if you have a holiday booked Could an Icelandic volcano ground flights like in 2010?

There is no clear link between mobile phones and the internet and a negative impact on mental wellbeing, the authors of a major new study have found. Researchers took data on two million people aged between 15 and 89, from 168 countries. While they found that negative and positive experiences had both increased, they found little evidence that was the result of the prevalence of the internet. The results from the major study, led by the Oxford Internet Institute, contradict widespread speculation that the internet – and especially its widespread availability through mobile devices – has damaged mental wellbeing. The researchers said that if the link between internet use and poor health were as universal and robust as many think, they would have found it. However, the study did not look at social media use, and although the data included some young people, the researchers did not analyse how long people spent online. Professor Andrew Przybylski, of the Oxford Internet Institute and Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, carried out the research into home and mobile broadband use. Prof Przybylski, said: “We looked very hard for a ‘smoking gun’ linking technology and wellbeing and we didn’t find it.” He added: “The popular idea that the internet and mobile phones have a blanket negative effect on wellbeing and mental health is not likely to be accurate. “It is indeed possible that there are smaller and more important things going on, but any sweeping claims about the negative impact of the internet globally should be treated with a very high level of scepticism.” Looking at the results by age group and gender did not reveal any specific patterns among internet users, including women and young girls. Instead, the study, which looked at data for the past two decades, found that for the average country, life satisfaction increased more for females over the period. Data from the United Kingdom was included in the study, but the researchers say there was nothing distinctive about the UK compared with other countries. Although the study included a lot of information, the researchers say technology companies need to provide more data, if there is to be conclusive evidence of the impacts of internetuse. They explain: “Research on the effects of internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. “It is crucial to study, in more detail and with more transparency from all stakeholders, data on individual adoption of and engagement with internet-based technologies. “These data exist and are continuously analysed by global technology firms for marketing and product improvement but unfortunately are not accessible for independent research.” For the study, published in the Clinical Psychological Science journal, the researchers looked at data on wellbeing and mental health against a country’s internet users and mobile broadband subscriptions and use, to see if internet adoption predicted psychological wellbeing. In the second study they used data on rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm from 2000-2019 in some 200 countries. Wellbeing was assessed using data from face-to-face and phone surveys by local interviewers, and mental health was assessed using statistical estimates of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and self-harm in some 200 countries from 2000 to 2019. Read More Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment No ‘smoking gun’ linking mental health harm and the internet – study Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment No ‘smoking gun’ linking mental health harm and the internet – study Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows

As people flock to beaches, lakes and pools this Memorial Day to celebrate the unofficial start of summer, the swimmers are here -- but the lifeguards aren't. At least, that's what some parks departments and agencies around the country are saying as they scramble to find and keep lifeguards on duty for the season.

Martin Odegaard gives an update on contract talks with Arsenal, with his current deal due to expire in 2025.