59 h. ago ‘A gilded temple to the new world order’: inside the former US embassy that is now a super

Even the cheap rooms cost £1,400 a night at London’s bling-heavy hangout for high net worth individuals. From mega-basement spa to gaudy rooftop bar, our writer takes a tourRumours have long swirled about what lies beneath the great 1960s fortress of the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square. There have been lurid fables of cold war bunkers, secret service shooting ranges, CIA interrogation chambers and even escape tunnels to Hyde Park. But none of these fictional fantasies quite compare to the underground lair that has now been excavated below the imposing block, in its new incarnation as one of the fanciest hotels in London.Owned by the royal family of Qatar, and operated by an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, belonging to one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest dynasties, this former outpost of US imperialism has become a gilded temple to the new global order. Reborn as the Chancery Rosewood, it is a beacon of luxury designed to attract the cream of the world’s ul...

Politics

5 d. ago Investigation launched into ‘horrific murder’ of Ukrainian politician in Lviv

Former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy shot dead as EU ministers meet to discuss measures to force Moscow to the negotiating tableA Ukrainian former parliamentary speaker was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday, authorities said, as European foreign ministers met to discuss increasing pressure on Moscow to end its war against Ukraine.Andriy Parubiy, a member of parliament who served as parliamentary speaker from 2016 to 2019 and a key figure in Ukraine’s 2013 pro-European Maidan revolution, was shot dead, prosecutors said. A murder investigation has been launched and the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the killing as a “horrific murder”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago US’s last surviving second world war flying ‘ace’ dies aged 103

Navy pilot Donald McPherson shot down five Japanese service members and earned Congressional Gold MedalThe second world war pilot who was believed to be the US’s last surviving “ace” – a title he earned by shooting down five enemy combatants – has died.Donald McPherson was 103 when he died on 14 August, according to his online obituary. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Europe’s show of unity at the White House is a plus for Ukraine, but peace is still a distant dream | Andrey Kurkov

As Russian drones and missiles continue to rain down death, the prospect of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting seems unlikelyIt was night in Ukraine when President Trump met President Putin in Alaska – a night during which Russia shelled only frontline Ukrainian cities. People in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro and even Kharkiv could sleep, but they did not. They were waiting for news from Alaska. I was also awake and watching the news feed, aware that this meeting would lead to nothing, or worse, something bad for Ukraine. But in difficult, seemingly hopeless situations, human nature is prone to desperate optimism. In the middle ages, people often hoped for a miracle, forgetting about the logic of events. So, the night of 15 August was a night of hope for a miracle, which, of course, did not happen.Unlike on the eve of the Alaska meeting, in Ukraine, there was no particular tension in the buildup to the meeting of European leaders at the White House on Monday, despite images of a hugely powerful ...

Events

2 w. ago Russia continues strikes across Ukraine on eve of talks – in pictures

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to meet Donald Trump, attacks target residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Odesa Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago World War One serviceman remembered as rededication service held at Lanarkshire Paupers Cemetery

Organised in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the ceremony brought together the Depute Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, politicians, community members, veterans, and descendants of Private Patrick Tierney from his native County Kildare.

Events

2 w. ago Expert reveals the cheap and easy trick that can burn more calories than a 20

In a new episode of Channel 4's Michael Mosley's Secrets of the Superagers, the British medic shared one way people can scorch calories, according to The Sun.

Events

3 w. ago Queen Camilla's tears as war veteran goes 'off script' to pay tribute to King Charles

Charles and Camilla joined Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and war veterans who served in the Far East and Pacific at a VJ Day memorial ceremony in Staffordshire

Politics

3 w. ago Netflix viewers hail true war film as 'best movie' ever made with 10/10 rating

Netflix subscribers have been urged to check out a true war movie on the screaming service - as viewers rate it 10/10 and say it has stayed in their minds for months after watching it

Events

3 w. ago Trump says Putin 'not going to mess around with me' on eve of Ukraine summit

The leaders are scheduled to begin discussions at 11.30am local time in Anchorage (8:30pm BST)

Politics

3 w. ago King Charles to mark 80th anniversary of VJ Day with address

Monarch will pay tribute to military personnel and reflect on horrors experienced in Asia-Pacific regionKing Charles will mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Friday with a message paying tribute to the service and sacrifice of military personnel in the second world war who fought and died in the Pacific and far east, saying they will never be forgotten.In an address, Charles will reflect on the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and civilians of occupied lands in the region “whose suffering reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Satanist serial killer murdered and ate four teens after slaughtering dogs for blood

Nikolai Ogolobyak was part of a group of Satanists who kidnapped, killed, dismembered and then ate four teenagers in a horrific series of murders in Russia

Events

3 w. ago British medic, 26, who was found dead on Christmas Eve in Ukraine after serving in the war against Russia 'may have been murdered'

Katherine Mielniczuk, 26, tragically died from opioid intoxication on Christmas Eve in 2023.

Events

3 w. ago British medic's heartbreaking two words to dead Gaza child, 9, while zipping up their body bag

NHS paramedic Sam Sears recently returned from a three-week stint in the stricken Gaza enclave working at a charity’s field hospitals, and now shares his harrowing tale

Events

3 w. ago British combat medic found dead in Ukraine bed with murder probe 'ongoing'

Katherine Mielniczuk, 26, died from opioid intoxication and Ukrainian police say an investigation of "homicide" into her death is “ongoing" - but a coroner has questioned if she was given a fatal dose without her consent

Events

4 w. ago How did a new War of the Worlds movie get a 0% critical rating?

A cursed Covid-made version of the HG Wells classic, starring Ice Cube, was quietly buried after a five-year delay and perhaps it should have stayed buriedJust over 20 years ago, Steven Spielberg released War of the Worlds, a remake of the HG Wells classic updated for then modern day, capturing an era of post-9/11 anxiety filtered through the prism of late-90s disaster movies. That movie’s reputation has only grown over the years – it’s basically the thinking and anxious person’s Independence Day – but the Wells text has been revisited repeatedly since its publication at the tail end of the 19th century. 2025 seems as good a time as any for another update. And if ever any viewers yearned to see a new War of the Worlds beset with the constant pinging of a Microsoft Teams chat, Prime Video has a real treat in store.Yes, hovering towards the top of Prime Video’s movie charts is a new War of the Worlds, which arrived with little fanfare on the service at the end of July. In it, Ice Cube...

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