The Whatuni Student Choice Awards are based on tens of thousands of independent student reviews

A Welsh university has been rated top in the UK for its halls and student’s career prospects. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is celebrating an” exceptional performance” in the 2026 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs), achieving top rankings in several student experience categories.

Four of Wales’ eight universities are ranked among the top 10 in the UK in a number of categories in the annual awards , which are based entirely on student reviews and experiences.

The Whatuni Student Choice Awards are widely recognised as one of the most important indicators of student satisfaction in UK higher education, as they draw on tens of thousands of independent student reviews. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

UK rankings for Welsh universities in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2026:

Careers prospects

• UWTSD – Best in UK ranked number 1
• Judges said: “The University of Wales Trinity Saint David was commended for it supportive and knowledgeable lecturers, the modern facilities and its location in beautiful Swansea. Its students liked the small class sizes and the blend of natural beauty and city life that Swansea offers, resulting in a well-rounded university experience. The comprehensive support services for students were also highlighted as being brilliant.”

• Wrexham – 10
• Swansea 20
• Cardiff Met 24
• Bangor 34
• University of South Wales 36
• Cardiff University 42

University halls

• UWTSD – best in UK ranked number 1
• Judges said: “The University of Wales Trinity Saint David was commended for it supportive and knowledgeable lecturers, the modern facilities and its location in beautiful Swansea. Its students liked the small class sizes and the blend of natural beauty and city life that Swansea offers, resulting in a well-rounded university experience. The comprehensive support services for students were also highlighted as being brilliant.”

• Wrexham University 3
• Aberystwyth University 22
• Bangor University 29
• University of South Wales 55
• Swansea University 60
• Cardiff University 72

Lecturers and Teaching Quality

• UWTSD 3
• Wrexham 7
• Bangor 28
• Aberystywth 32
• University of South Wales 36
• Cardiff Metropolitan University 45
• Swansea university 56
• Cardiff University 80

International

• UWTSD 3
• Wrexham 12
• Cardiff 38
• Bangor 46
• University of South Wales 61
• Swansea 62

Student support

• Wrexham 2
• UWTSD 5
• Cardiff Met 47
• Bangor University 60
• Aberystwyth University 63
• Cardiff University 68
• Swansea University 82
• USW 87

Student life

• Cardiff University 6
• Aberystwyth University 10
• UWTSD 21
• Wrexham 39
• Swansea 46
• Cardiff Met 53
• Bangor University 60

Students’ union

• Cardiff University 3
• Wrexham University 26
• UWTSD 27
• Bangor University 52
• Aberystwyth University 61
• Swansea 79
• Cardiff Met 86
• University of South Wales 91

Postgraduate support

• UWTSD 10
• Wrexham University 18
• Cardiff University 34
• Bangor University 56
• USW 65
• Swansea University 67

Professor Mirjam Plantinga, UWTSD’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, said: “These accolades are especially meaningful because they are voted for by our own students. They are a powerful endorsement of the student experience we strive to provide: one that is supportive, engaging and focused on real-world outcomes.

“We are particularly proud to have been ranked first for career prospects, which reflects our longstanding collaboration with industry and employers. Our courses are designed around employer needs to ensure that our graduates leave us equipped with the skills, experience, and confidence to succeed in their careers.

“We are also delighted to rank third for lecturers and teaching quality, and fifth for student support. This is clear recognition of our commitment to delivering an excellent learning experience and supporting every student to achieve their full potential.”

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Six people were in the property at the time of the incident

Six people were inside a property in South Belfast owned by a disability charity when a car left the road and crashed into it.

The emergency services were called to a property on Dorchester Park at the junction with Malone Road after a Volkswagen Golf left the road at 3.45am on Monday, May 25, and smashed into it. The vehicle crashed through a wall before hitting a conservatory causing significant damage.

The property is owned by disability charity Sense and had five service users and a member of staff inside at the time of the incident. Police have said they were distressed by the ordeal. The charity has issued a statement saying everyone inside is safe and have moved to other suitable accomodation.

A Sense spokesperson said: “We can confirm that there was a serious incident at one of our services in the early hours of this morning, when a vehicle left the road and struck the property.

“Thankfully, all the people we support at the service, along with staff on duty, are safe and receiving appropriate support. We are working closely with families, local partners and emergency services to ensure everyone affected has suitable temporary accommodation and ongoing care.

“The property has sustained significant damage and remains under assessment.

“As this is now a police matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”

A 21-year-old man and 33-year-old woman were arrested following the incident and have since been released on bail.

Local policing Inspector Colhoun said: “At 3.45 am, we received an emergency call reporting that a blue Volkswagen Golf had driven into a wall, and then a conservatory, in Dorchester Park.

“A short time later, officers located two people suspected of being in the offending vehicle.

“A man, aged 21, and a woman, aged 33, have been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, driving while unfit and a number of additional driving-related offences.”

Inspector Colhoun said: “Extensive damage was caused to the vehicle involved, the property and three other vehicles in the area.

“This is a shocking incident, and it’s only by sheer luck that we aren’t dealing with much more serious consequences this morning.

“The residents of the property had to be moved in the middle of the night, which was an extremely distressing experience for them.

“We would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed this vehicle in the Milltown Road or Malone Road areas, especially those with dashcam or other footage, to contact our officers on 101, quoting reference 157 25/05/26.

“You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

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A third person was arrested in Sheffield following the incident

A man and a woman have been arrested in Stockport after a 30-year-old woman died following a shooting outside a bar in Sheffield city centre.

Police were called to a shooting outside One Four One bar on the busy West Street at around 2.45am on Bank Holiday Monday where they found a woman with serious injuries who later died in hospital, South Yorkshire Police said.

A 30-year-old man and 32-year-old woman were arrested near Stockport during the early hours of Monday, while a 30-year-old man was arrested in Sheffield. All three remain in custody.

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Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said: “This is a devastating incident which has resulted in the death of a young woman while on a night out during the bank holiday weekend in Sheffield.

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with her family and everyone who knew and loved her. Our investigation is being led by our Major Crime Team, and as part of our inquiries, three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

“A man and woman were arrested near Stockport in Greater Manchester early this morning and a further man has been detained here in Sheffield. Our officers have been working extremely hard to piece together the events surrounding the shooting.

“While our investigation is in its early stages, we will continue to have a significant presence at the scene in the area today and in the coming days.”

He continued with a plea for anyone with information to come forward, adding that this can be done ‘completely anonymously’.

Constable McFarlane said: “Bank holidays are one of the busiest times of the year, and we know that there were people in the area around West Street and Eldon Street who saw what happened or know who is responsible. If this is you, please share what you know either directly to us, or completely anonymously via Crimestoppers. Now is not the time to stay silent.”

He added: “Gun crime causes unbearable tragedy and the victim and her family deserve answers. We will work tirelessly to provide these answers and to put those responsible before the courts.”

A spokesperson for the force also said: “Please be aware that West Street in Sheffield city centre is currently closed between Mappin Street and Westfield Terrace. Eldon Street, Westhill Lane and part of Orange Street are also closed.

“The road closures are likely to remain in place for a number of hours as we investigate reports of a shooting in the early hours of this morning (May 25).”

Formal identification has yet to take place but the woman’s family have been informed and are being supported by officers.

Dubai businessman Lee Andrews has been missing for weeks

Katie Price has revealed that her missing husband Lee Andrews possessed three mobile phones, claiming his alleged ‘kidnappers’ have seized two of them.

Price also shared a voice note that she sent to Lee’s dad after he vanished earlier this month, The Mirror reports.

The 48-year-old can be heard attempting to contact father-in-law Peter to update him on the businessman’s whereabouts in a clip she says gives a ‘unique insight in to how the first few hours played out’ after her man went missing.

Lee has been at the centre of speculation for weeks after he mysteriously disappeared from social media. His wife has claimed he was taken, but sleuths have pointed out several holes in that story since. He has been absent from social media until Friday, when he appeared to follow another account on Instagram.

Previously, he had only followed the mum-of-five – but in a weird twist he now also follows a woman named Marisol. The reasoning behind his disappearance has become more unclear as the self-proclaimed billionaire appears to be ‘stealing’ a similar story from another victim.

In her new YouTube video, titled: ‘Katie Price Vlog: The morning after my husband goes MISSING.’ she let fans in on the aftermath. She claimed that Lee said that his “kidnappers” have taken two of his phones but he has a secret third one that he was using to contact her.

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The video was filmed a day after Lee went missing. “Because last night, they said, ‘They’ve taken two of my phones. They don’t know I’m on this phone’. And so he said, ‘I’ll just let you know I’ve been arrested. If they ring you,’” she claims he told her.

“He wrote a text quick. I mean, I’m hope he’s all right, but I don’t know,” she continued, before showing herself leaving a voice note for her father-in-law, whose number Lee gave her just moments before he disappeared.

She wrote in the caption: “My head felt like it was about to explode with all the noise and the chaos so it was nice to be about to chill and zen out if only for a moment. It was only the day after he went missing and I was still trying to process it all whilst trying to keep myself busy.”

Since then, his dad has claimed that his son is not missing but is actually locked up in prison instead. He said over the weekend: “Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but he is under arrest. I don’t know on what charge. I’m not sure where he is being held. But he will call me later today.”

The ‘kidnap’ story is reported to share striking parallels with that of British grandfather Albert Douglas, who lived in Dubai. He had been held for financial fraud in 2019 over a bounced cheque connected to his son’s collapsed wooden flooring business.

Family friend Rebecca, 45, told the Daily Mail that the family are “sick with worry,” slamming Katie’s decision to post public videos about the alleged kidnapping.

She said: “They are a very close family. Kelly (Lee’s sister) has taken the lead and is the one communicating with Katie and the Dubai police. She is trying to take the strain off her mother, Trisha, and I’m trying to support both of them through this worrying time.”

“The whole situation is so upsetting for them,” Rebecca added. “They are trying to stay off social media now. The lack of empathy and compassion in some of the online comments is honestly heartbreaking. Behind every post is a family hoping for answers. Seeing cruel jokes online only adds to their pain.”

Lee and Katie met on social media, before she flew out to Dubai to cement their romance. Soon after that, they got engaged and tied the knot days later with just the two of them present.

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As many would expect on the hottest day of the year so far, thousands of people have been pictured at Barry Island on Monday as Wales enjoyed another day of blazing sunshine to cap off a glorious bank holiday weekend.

In typical Barrybados fashion, the popular seaside destination was packed with families, tourists and day-trippers making the most of the exceptionally warm weather, with beaches crowded from early on Monday morning and queues forming for ice cream stalls, cafes and fairground rides.

Hundreds of people were stuck in traffic entering Barry – some claiming it was the worst traffic they have ever seen in the seaside town.

In the first landmark publication of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has addressed recent advances in artificial intelligence by focusing on the threat it poses to workers, social justice and “the dignity of persons”.

Presenting his first papal encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), at the Vatican on May 25, Leo declared: “Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed.”

In the document – comprising around 42,300 words in its English translation – the pope writes: “To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.”

Encyclicals are exceptionally important papal documents that respond to the most pressing social issues of the time. Typically written as letters to all bishops and archbishops, they have become a crucial vehicle for disseminating the theology and political commitments of the Roman Catholic Church across the world.

Leo chose to sign his first encyclical on May 15 2026, the exact anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum novarum” (“Of new things”). This famous encyclical, which responded to the technological advances of the industrial revolution, became the foundational document of all modern Catholic social teaching.

Indeed, the current pope probably chose the name Leo because of Leo XIII’s renowned commitment to social justice.

Just as “Rerum novarum” responded to the industrial revolution by emphasising workers’ rights and the dignity of human labour, so too Leo XIV has responded to the explosion of AI technology by emphasising the importance of human over machine intelligence.

In 1891, Leo XIII wrote: “Wage-earners … should be specially cared for and protected by the government.”

Leo XIV now makes similar appeals to world governments about AI: “It is necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power.”

The current pope follows a long tradition of Catholic engagement with new tech – from concerns about the impact of the printing press in the 15th century to the rise of the internet over 500 years later.

Leo XIV’s presentation was preceded by a short film which juxtaposed images of previous popes with major technological innovations. Radio towers gave way to images of broadband centres; early computers to a sea of people holding up their smartphones in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City.

Perhaps the crucial theme of this video was the connection between technology and war. Pictures of second world war aircraft were intercut with the dropping of the atomic bomb, soon followed by images of the 9/11 attacks.

In the encyclical, Leo warns: “The growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control.”

Call for disarmament

Leo XIV isn’t the first pope to address the potential threat posed by AI technology. In January 2025, his predecessor Francis signed off the doctrinal note “Antiqua et nova” (“Ancient and new”) – which called for AI technology “to include the least of our brothers and sisters, the vulnerable and those most in need”.

Leo’s new call for the disarmament of AI is not a demand to discontinue its development, but to regulate AI robustly so it only serves the common good.

In this, the pope drew an analogy with the nuclear disarmament movement, suggesting that both nuclear and AI technologies should only be developed for the good of humanity, and never used as weapons.

Those invited to offer their thoughts on Leo’s encyclical included Christopher Olah, the Canadian billionaire and co-founder of AI firm Anthropic. The appearance of Olah marks the first time a speaker entirely outside clerical or theological circles has been included in such a presentation.

Anthropic is currently locked in a legal dispute with the US government regarding the military application of its AI systems. Leo’s encyclical underlines his concerns about the escalation of war around the world, stating: “It is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated.”

Olah echoed Leo’s demands for greater social justice around the use of AI, stating: “His Holiness’s call for disarmament is profoundly timely.”

He called for people working outside computer science to contribute to AI governance and ethics – people “beyond the incentives” of financial markets “who can see what we, from the inside, cannot”.

Leo answered Olah by saying: “In the name of the Church, I accept your invitation to walk together, to listen and to speak – and together, to find the way for humanity in this time of artificial intelligence.”

Sturgeon, who dramatically resigned as first minister in 2023, has denied any involvement in her husband’s embezzlement.

Nicola Sturgeon has denied knowledge of a 10-year spending spree undertaken by her husband Peter Murrell which led to his conviction for embezzlement.

The former chief executive of the SNP today pled guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to embezzling more than £400,000 of party funds.

Murrell married Sturgeon in 2010 and she announced their separation in January 2025.

Sturgeon said: “We had separate bank accounts and I had no access to his financial records.”

Murrell has admitted using the SNP’s money to buy items including a motorhome and luxury goods, and towards the purchase of two cars.

A list of hundreds of other purchases includes designer kitchenware, multiple pairs of shoes, expensive pens and a £1,200 space telescope.

In a statement released via her solicitor Aamer Anwar, Sturgeon said: “I have seen questions raised about how I could not have known about this. I want to reiterate that I had no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds.

“I was cleared of any wrongdoing after a lengthy and thorough investigation

“In relation to many of the items in question, for example expensive watches and games consoles, I was not aware of them having been purchased at all.

“Indeed in relation to the item of largest value – a campervan – I was not aware of its existence until it featured in the police investigation in early 2023, nor was it parked in our driveway as has been claimed by some.

“In respect of any items I was aware of Peter having purchased, I had no reason to doubt that he had used his own money. We were both earning high salaries and, due to the responsibilities of my job, rarely socialised or went on holidays. We had separate bank accounts and I had no access to his financial records.”

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There will be a mix of homes up for private sale and affordable properties.

A construction company has started work to build more than 100 new sustainable homes in a Cambridgeshire village. Bellway started building homes at Hatton Gate, off Station Road in Longstanton, at the beginning of May.

The development will include 107 homes ranging from one to four-bedroom properties with 61 houses up for private sale, 43 affordable properties, and three self-build plots. All the new homes on the site will have air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points.

Over three acres of the site will be green open space featuring wildlife areas, an existing pond, and a sustainable drainage scheme. There will also be a children’s play area, cycleways, and footpaths.

Mia Roussos, Sales Director at Bellway Eastern Counties, said: “Construction is underway at Hatton Gate where we will be delivering an attractive and sustainable development, providing not only much-needed new homes, but also new public open space and a communal play area.

“We have worked closely with the local authority on the plans for the development and have carefully considered the housing mix to meet the needs of the local housing market, with a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments and two to four-bedroom houses.

“The provision of homes for affordable rent and shared ownership alongside those for sale on the open market will ensure that a diverse and vibrant new community will be formed.”

Hatton Gate will also support biodiversity by planting new trees, creating wetland and grassland areas, and putting in bat and bird boxes. Log piles will be left to create wildlife habitats and gaps in fences will allow hedgehogs to roam around.

There will be a commercial building that could feature a shop or café as well as office space. It is expected the first homes will be put on sale in the summer.

Mia Roussos added: “We are planning to hold a pre-launch event in April where we will be partnering with local estate agents Haart to invite potential buyers to register an interest and find out more about the homes being built at Hatton Gate.

“The construction programme here should see us be in a position to release the first homes onto the market in July with the first residents moving to Hatton Gate in December 2026.”

Staithes Coastguard said the search began just after midnight for a person believed to be missing somewhere between the villages of Staithes and Sandsend, part of the coast north of Whitby.

It was joined by coastguard crews from Whitby and Redcar, along with North Yorkshire Police and a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter, and members of Cleveland Mountain Rescue.

A coastguard spokesperson said: “Search teams were rapidly deployed, including a police search dog, while NPAS searched from the air.

“The person was subsequently located and all services were stood down at 4.10am.”