72 m. ago KGB defector turned to Britain only after US rejected him several times, book reveals

Vasili Mitrokhin defected in 1992 after spending years copying top-secret documents on Soviet spies and operationsOne of the most consequential Russian defectors in history was turned away several times by the US before he was eventually accepted by Britain and exfiltrated with his family from Russia, according to revelations in a new book.Vasili Mitrokhin, a KGB archivist who spent years copying top-secret documents on some of the most sensitive Soviet spies and operations, was brought out of Russia in 1992 by MI6. His archive of copied documents was exfiltrated separately. But London got hold of his trove only after Mitrokhin gave up trying to get the US to take him seriously. Continue reading...

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85 m. ago Shocking moment Tube driver KNITS and watches video on phone while operating train

The driver was sewing with a knitting loom on his lap while operating a London Underground train

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1 hour ago Air India plane crash: Parents flew to surprise daughter in London. She got news of their death | Latest News India

Air India plane crash: Parents flew to surprise daughter in London. She got news of their death | Latest News India - Hindustan Times  Hindustan Times

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2 h. ago Tube driver caught knitting and watching video on his phone while operating Northern Line train

The driver was sewing with a knitting loom on his lap while operating a London Underground train

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4 h. ago ‘On a peak under a blue sky’: the joy of summer in Europe’s mountains

Our writer recalls his favourite mountain experiences, from hard-won views to splendid isolation and the comforts of simple refugesAfter a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises.I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn’t be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago ‘The risk was worth it’: All Fours author Miranda July on sex, power and giving women permission to blow up their lives

The artist and author’s hit book had so much in common with her own life that even her friends forgot it wasn’t real. How did this revolutionary portrayal of midlife desire come to inspire a generation of women?When Miranda July’s All Fours was published in May last year, it triggered what felt like both a spontaneous resistance movement and the sort of mania last experienced when the final Twilight book dropped, except this time for women in midlife rather than teenage girls. Two friends separately brought it to my house, like contraband dropped out of a biplane. Book groups hastily convened, strategically timed for when the men were out of the picture.The story opens with a 45-year-old woman about to take a road trip, a break from her husband and child and general domestic noise. She’s intending to drive from LA to New York, but is derailed in the first half hour by a young guy, Davey, in a car hire place, to whom she is passionately attracted. The next several weeks pas...

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6 h. ago Keir Starmer should lead diplomacy effort as tensions rise in Middle East

Donald Trump should take a leaf out of the Labour leader's book, says Record View.

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6 h. ago Absolute idiot caught dealing cannabis two times after police raided his home

Liam Donnelly, 47, was found in possession of more than £10,000 worth of cannabis, as well as messages related to cannabis supply on his phone.

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8 h. ago EasyJet passengers can get best seats 'completely free' with simple check

easyJet is a popular budget airline for Brits looking to book a cheap getaway, but passengers will need to act fast if they want to get the best seats onboard for free

Politics

9 h. ago Moment Tube driver is caught KNITTING and watching videos on his phone while driving commuters

Striking footage shows the London Underground operative hard at work on a lion-themed garment as he pulls slowly out of Hendon Central Station in February 2025.

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10 h. ago Dangerous Animals review – serial killer meets shark movie in this formulaic fizzer

Jai Courtney eats up his role as the crazed captain of a tourist boat – but he can’t quite wrestle this creature feature from its straitjacketGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailFor a long time, serial killer and shark movies were separate forms of cinema; never the twain did meet. In Dangerous Animals they’ve been blended into one foul fishy stew, theoretically delivering the best of both worlds: a Wolf Creekian adventure with a creature feature twist. But, sadly, this collision of genres hasn’t resulted in any real freshness or flair, playing out with a stinky waft of the familiar.Jai Courtney gets the meatiest and most entertaining role as Tucker, the owner of a Gold Coast business that ferries thrill-seekers out into shark-infested waters, where they observe the great beasts from inside an underwater cage. After they’re hauled back on to the boat, Tucker kills them and feeds them to the sharks, while filming their grisly deaths on a camcorder for his personal collection o...

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10 h. ago Man charged over 'threat to behead' protester who set Koran alight outside Turkish consulate

Muhammad Naasir Attaari, 49, was charged with threatening to kill Hamit Coskun after he burned the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13.

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10 h. ago Two men rushed to hospital after being struck by lightning during road trip

The rescue teams were first alerted about the incident at 5pm but it wasn't until around midnight that the helicopter made a second trip to rerscue the less seriously hurt man

Transport

12 h. ago Bridgerton actor who fought off phone snatcher shows off incredible boxing skills

A Bridgerton actor who successfully fought off a phone snatcher has revealed her impressive boxing skills.

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13 h. ago 'Mystery object' flew off Air India plane seconds before crash

The object was caught in footage filmed just before plane crashed.

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13 h. ago Brit mum Beth Martin’s cause of death after Turkey hospital sparked fury removing heart

Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, flew to Turkey with her husband and their two children for what was meant to be a dream getaway - but became delirious on arrival and died the following day

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15 h. ago Soldier who stole more than £300,000 from the MoD to buy 'adult services' and a hair transplant is jailed

Staff Sergeant Andrew Oakes was in charge of a pre-signed military cheque book, which he used on 125 occasions to funnel cash into his own account.

Economics

16 h. ago 'Cause of death' of Brit mum, 28, whose heart was removed after dying on holiday

Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, flew to Turkey with her husband and their two children for what was meant to be a dream getaway - but became delirious on arrival and died the following day

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16 h. ago GCHQ intern who downloaded secrets and names of spies onto phone learns fate

Hasaan Arshad, 25, was found to be in 'flagrant breach' of tight security rules when he used his mobile phone to remove material from a computer system during his GCHQ internship

Politics

16 h. ago Women’s prize winner Yael van der Wouden: ‘It’s heartbreaking to see so much hatred towards queer people’

The winner of this year’s fiction prize on growing up as an outsider, why we’re all guilty of complicity, and using her acceptance speech to reveal that she is intersexIt has been a dramatic couple of years for 37-year-old Dutch author Yael van der Wouden: her first novel, The Safekeep, a love story that deals with the legacy of the Holocaust in the Netherlands, was the focus of a frenzied bidding war and shortlisted for the 2024 Booker prize. Last night it won the Women’s prize for fiction.“I wrote this book from a place of hopelessness,” she says when we meet. “I was looking for a ray of sunshine.” This morning in London the sun is blazing. She could never have expected that her novel would see off shortlisted authors including Miranda July (of whose work she is a big fan) and Elizabeth Strout. Continue reading...

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