2 h. ago Fate of China’s top general more likely to do with power struggle than corruption

Experts suggest Xi Jinping is asserting his authority by sidelining an officer who has significantly betrayed his trustStanding inches from Xi Jinping at a military ceremony in late December, China’s highest ranking general, Zhang Youxia, may have had little inkling about the fate that was to befall him just a few weeks later when he was put under investigation.The 75-year-old’s physical proximity to China’s leader, who stands to his right, reflects the position he holds in China’s hierarchy. As vice-chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he is the second-most powerful person in China’s military, after Xi, the commander-in-chief. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago How George Orwell’s 1984 predicted the global power struggles happening now

Is art replicating life when it comes to Orwell’s most influential novel? Emrah Atasoy and Jeffrey Wasserstrom investigate

Politics

1 week ago Football Daily | Stand up, if you love Afcon! Caf decision baffling after vintage edition

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations reaches its big finale in 2026 on Sunday, having rolled on through the annual festive time warp, outlasting Enzo Maresca, Ruben Amorim and Ryan Mason Xabi Alonso. Some Premier League teams will have played games in four different competitions by the time they welcome their players home. Wedged into the domestic calendar’s most crowded months, Afcon can get overlooked and more’s the pity, because the 2025-26 tournament has been a vintage edition. The group stage may have lacked big surprises but was still packed with late twists, ridiculous goals and dramatic storylines. Two different coaches named Cameroon squads amid a pre-tournament power struggle; their first opponents, Gabon, were disbanded by their government after going out early (a decision quietly reversed this week). Sudan and Mozambique earned historic victories, bringing light to fans suffering through conflict. We were introduced to Kuka Mb...

Politics

1 week ago Gareth Southgate's verdict on Ruben Amorim sacking and Man Utd 'power struggle'

The former England manager, Gareth Southgate, has shared his thoughts on the power struggle between Ruben Amorim and Manchester United executives that led to the head coach's departure

Politics

1 week ago Why Kemi Badenoch finally gave Robert Jenrick the boot after months of Tory power struggle

The Conservative leader has faced months of questions over Jenrick’s ambitions, including whether he planned to defect to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – but Badenoch made a move first, as Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report

Politics

1 week ago Gareth Southgate gives verdict on Man United 'power struggle' after Ruben Amorim sacking

Manchester United's sacking of Ruben Amorim has, in part, led to Gareth Southgate sharing his thoughts on the importance of the title of manager as opposed to head coach

Politics

1 week ago Why Kemi Badenoch has finally given Robert Jenrick the boot after months of Tory power struggle

The Conservative leader has faced months of questions over his ambitions, including whether he planned to defect to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – but Badenoch made a move first, as Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report

Politics

1 week ago The NEW footballers' wives power list: Insiders reveal how friendships, marriage struggles and behind

For decades, footballers' Wags have merely been arm candy for their superstar husbands. His job was to make the millions, and her job was to spend it... but the hierarchy has collapsed.

Politics

1 week ago Water company boss faces calls to be moved on after 30,000 homes hit by shortages in ‘major incident’

Storm Goretti, burst water mains and a power cut are among the reasons why some customers are struggling with water pressure

Events

2 w. ago Major incident declared after 30,000 homes experiencing water shortages across South East

Storm Goretti, burst water mains and a power cut are among the reasons why some customers are struggling with water pressure

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv struggles to stabilise ruined power grid after major Russian attack

Residents battle bitter winter cold inside unheated apartments; Ukraine confirms UN to hold emergency meeting Monday on Russian ballistic missile attack. What we know on day 1,418Engineers in Kyiv scrambled on Saturday to stabilise a power grid brought to the brink by a campaign of Russian strikes, including one two nights ago. The city’s residents huddled against bitter winter cold inside their unheated apartments on Saturday as engineers worked to restore power, water and heat. Prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the power situation in the capital was still difficult, as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed Saturday the UN security council would hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Russia’s latest large-scale attack on Ukraine, which used an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. “The meeting will address Russia’s flagrant breaches of the UN Charter,” Sy...

Events

2 w. ago Succession creator Jesse Armstrong says he struggles with impostor syndrome

Award-winning screenwriter tells Desert Island Discs that success has not silenced self-doubtThe award-winning screenwriter Jesse Armstrong has said a writers’ room can feel like “walking on the moon” when it is working well, but has admitted to experiencing impostor syndrome during his career.Armstrong was behind the hit HBO drama Succession, starring Brian Cox as the global media tycoon and family patriarch Logan Roy, who sets off a power struggle among his four children. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Peter Leven denies Aberdeen power struggle with Lutz Pfannenstiel as he asks 'why can't we do something different?'

The interim boss has had sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel beside him in the technical area.

Politics

2 w. ago Power cut 'traps' ambulance crew in depot as grandfather dies struggling to breathe

Peter Coates made a desperate call to 999 in the early hours - but it took ambulance crews more than 45 minutes to reach him.

Events

2 w. ago Grandad died struggling to breathe after power outage which trapped 999 crew in depot

An ambulance was supposed to take a matter of minutes to reach Peter Coates, but arrived more than half an hour later after a power cut stalled the crew

Events

2 w. ago The cult of the sporting director: Inside the Premier League’s unseen power struggles

In the latest Inside Football newsletter, Miguel Delaney writes that the turmoil at Manchester United and Chelsea reflects a growing Premier League challenge: defining who really runs a club

Politics

2 w. ago Reflagged by Russia, spied on by UK, seized by US: why so much interest in a rusty tanker in the Atlantic?

Ship has long been part of shadow fleet used to dodge western sanctions. It had no oil onboard – but was it carrying Russian weapons?A massive, rusty crude oil tanker floating north through the Atlantic has become the centre of global interest after it was followed for days and eventually seized by US forces while Russia’s military rushed towards it.Despite not carrying any oil, the 300-metre-long ship is clearly of value. Theories for why range from speculation that high-value Russian weapons are hidden in the hull, to the ship’s potential to become a symbolic trophy in a transatlantic power struggle between Washington and Moscow. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Enzo Maresca makes MAJOR omission in his Chelsea exit statement as boss breaks his silence after being branded 'unprofessional and disrespectful'

The Italian, 45, left the club following an explosive row with the west London club's owners, with a power struggle at the heart of his departure.

Economics

2 w. ago Enzo Maresca breaks his silence after acrimonious Chelsea exit

The Italian, 45, left the club following an explosive row with the west London club's owners, with a power struggle at the heart of his departure.

Politics

2 w. ago David Squires on Amorim and Maresca being thrown overboard in power struggles

Our cartoonist on a typically sedate start to 2026 at two of the Premier League’s biggest football ‘projects’David’s favourite cartoons of 2025 | Buy one hereAnd his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Politics