1 hour ago ‘I wish the stones here could talk’: an epic hike through Kosovo’s Accursed mountains

A trek along the Kosovo section of the Via Dinarica offers majestic Balkan scenery, magical stories and sobering reminders of this area’s recent historyThere are stone bunkers shrouded in the mist on the hillside to my right, just shy of the ridgeline marking the Albanian-Kosovo border. To my left, the view is not just clear but startlingly beautiful.I’m able to see back down to the tiny mountain hamlet of Gacaferi, where I’d slept the previous night, to look across the deep greenery of Deçan Gorge beyond, over dense pine forests and grasslands that pop with pink and yellow wildflowers, and gaze all the way to the 2,461m summit of Çfërla and the rugged peaks of western Kosovo’s Accursed mountains. Continue reading...

Politics

2 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

6 h. ago Xi, Putin, and Kim gather at Tiananmen Gate for a grand military parade

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and guests, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, have arrived at Tiananmen Gate for a military parade in Beijing

Events

9 h. ago Trump announces Space Command HQ will switch to Alabama from Colorado

President says national security operations in space will be based in state he won comfortably, reversing Biden decisionDonald Trump made his first public appearance in a week on Tuesday to announce that the US Space Command (Spacecom) headquarters, which is tasked with leading national security operations in space, would be in the Republican stronghold of Alabama.Flanked by Republican senators and members of Congress at a White House news conference, Trump said Huntsville, Alabama, would be the new location of the space command. The move reverses a Biden administration decision to put the facility at its current temporary headquarters in Democratic-leaning Colorado. Continue reading...

Politics

22 h. ago Kim Jong Un arrives in China as President Xi challenges Trump with bid to establish new world order at anti

The North Korean leader's rare trip marks his first visit to China in six years and comes as the trio tighten their alliance in a direct challenge to the West.

Politics

3 d. ago Kamala Harris to remain under protection after Trump revokes Secret Service detail

Law enforcement sources said that California officials stepped up to offer further protection to Harris her extended Secret Service protection came to an end.

Politics

3 d. ago California Highway Patrol to protect Harris after Trump pulls Secret Service detail: report

California officials have reportedly put a plan in place to provide Harris with dignitary protection

Politics

3 d. ago Trump revokes Kamala Harris’ secret service protection, reversing Biden order

Harris is set to begin a promotional tour connected with her forthcoming book next month

Politics

4 d. ago Trump CANCELS Kamala Harris's Secret Service protection ahead of nationwide book tour

President Donald Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday as she prepares for a nationwide book tour.

Politics

4 d. ago Trump cancels Kamala Harris’ secret service protection reversing a Biden order

Harris is set to begin a promotional tour connected with her forthcoming book next month

Politics

4 d. ago Trump cancels Kamala Harris’ secret service protection, reversing Biden order

Harris is set to begin a promotional tour connected with her forthcoming book next month

Politics

4 d. ago Trump CANCELS Kamala Harris's Secret Service protection ahead of  nationwide book tour

President Donald Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday as she prepares for a nationwide book tour.

Politics

4 d. ago Trump revokes Kamala Harris’s Secret Service detail extended by Biden

President’s new security directive cancels one-year extension signed by Biden before leaving officeDonald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, according to a letter obtained by CNN and confirmed to the Guardian by a senior White House official.The letter, dated on Thursday and titled “Memorandum for the Secretary of Homeland Security”, instructs the Secret Service to “discontinue any security-related procedures beyond those required by law” effective 1 September 2025. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump CANCELS Kamala Harris's Secret Service protection quietly extended by Biden ahead of her nationwide book tour

Before leaving office then-President Joe Biden extended her protection by an additional year in an undisclosed directive not revealed until now

Politics

5 d. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: Frenetic, forgettable fun but this thriller could've been so much more

Atomic is an action-packed chase adventure, starring Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif as two unlikely friends on the run from a drugs cartel, a special forces unit, Islamist extremists and the secret services.

Politics

5 d. ago Ed Davey accused of disrespecting the King after Lib Dem leader vows to BOYCOTT next month's state banquet for Donald Trump in protest over Gaza

Following an invitation by His Majesty, the US President is due to arrive in Britain for an historic second state visit between September 17 and 19.

Politics

1 week ago What name is shared by members of the Famous Five and Secret Seven? The Saturday quiz

From Queen Mary and Welsh Harp to Caladrius and Garuda, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz1 Which sporting projectile has been recorded at 351mph?2 Which part of the atmosphere is named after an allotrope of oxygen?3 What name is shared by members of the Famous Five and Secret Seven?4 Which M6 service station invites visitors to “scrum on in”?5 Whose D’eux is the bestselling French language album ever?6 Ben Macdui is the highest peak in which national park?7 Which animals have aggressive episodes known as musth?8 In 1525, who wrote Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants?What links: 9 Cambodia genocide memorials; Carnac megaliths; Ludwig II of Bavaria’s palaces; Port Royal, Jamaica?10 Aelfgyva; Queen Edith; person fleeing a burning building?11 King George V; Queen Mary; Queen Mother; Welsh Harp; William Girling; Wraysbury?12 d’If; du Diable; Rikers; Robben; Solovetsky?13 Ouse tributary; Madagascar’s largest carnivore; links Exeter and Lincoln; Cabaret director?14 ...

Politics

1 week ago Hostage review – five hours of fast, furious fun, featuring Suranne Jones as prime minister

Kidnappings, terrorists, blackmail: this globetrotting political thriller is a rollicking, propulsive yarn and its take on female leaders is deeply refreshingYou know how it is. One moment you’re on a romantic walk in the woods with your saintly, supportive husband as he convinces you to stand for election as prime minister, the next you are that prime minister (with the shorter but still flattering haircut to prove it). You’re knee-deep in a cancer drug supply crisis and about to meet with the French president who alone can solve your problem, when news arrives that your saintly, supportive husband – who is, of course, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders – and his team have been abducted by unknown terrorists in French Guiana. What is a Suranne Jones with a Netflix budget behind her to do?That is the set-up from which five punchy hours – Hostage fully swerves the curse of streamer-bloat – of great, globetrotting fun proceeds. Jones is the no-nonsense (in a good way, not a Thatche...

Politics

1 week ago Ministers line up plan to run Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire plants in administration

Move shows government is ready to step in immediately to secure operations of SSUK, which employs 1,450Business live – latest updatesMinisters have lined up special managers to run Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire operations if they are put into administration, according to a dramatic revelation at London’s high court.The development shows the government is ready to step in immediately to secure the continued operations of the Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), which employs 1,450 people at the group’s operations at an electric arc furnace in Rotherham and another plant in Stocksbridge, both in South Yorkshire. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump meets Zelensky and other European leaders for crunch talks at the White House

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky has arrived at the White House and shaken hands with Donald Trump ahead of a crunch meeting between the two leaders.

Politics