5 h. ago 'Master chess player' Putin almost in checkmate as peace deal risks sparking Russian revolution

Vladimir Putin is often seen as a master tactician by his admirers, but he faces pressure from all sides as the world waits to see what his next move will be in the Ukraine ceasefire neogitations

Politics

31 h. ago Poland 'requests US nukes' over Putin invasion fears as WW3 tension grows at NATO border

Polish President Andrzej Duda called on Trump to move American nuclear weapons kept in Western Europe or the US to Poland - in a bid to to deter Russian aggression potentially sparking WW3

Events

3 d. ago Moscow hit by ‘largest ever’ drone attack before US and Ukraine officials meet for peace talks – Europe live

US and Ukraine officials meet in Jeddah after Moscow authorities said one person was killed in a drone attack on the Russian capitalAnd just hours before the talks were due to get under way, Ukraine targeted Moscow in what authorities said was its largest ever drone attack on the Russian capital, killing at least one person, sparking fires and forcing the suspension of flights and train travel.The Russian defence ministry said 337 drones were launched at Russia over Monday night, with 91 of them targeting the Moscow region. The Moscow city mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said it was the largest Ukrainian drone attack on the city. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Chess returns to the screen on Monday with Chess Masters: The Endgame

The new programme on BBC Two will be very different from 42 years ago when the eighth and final series of The Master Game was never shown due to industrial actionFour decades ago, the eighth and last series of BBC Two’s much-admired chess programme The Master Game was never screened in the UK, because of industrial action by technicians. Tony Miles defeated Anatoly Karpov in the 1983 final, the Englishman’s second victory over the then world champion after his stunning 1 e4 a6 win at the 1980 European Teams.It was the end of an iconic programme, first launched in 1975 in the wake of the Fischer-Spassky boom. The Master Game’s innovative production made it appear that the players were speaking their thoughts on the game while it was in progress. Nigel Short, later a world title challenger, competed aged 11, in 1977, when his opponent Bill Hartston asked: “Has nobody told this boy never to accept pawns from strange men?” Short went on to win the event in 1981. An entire generation of ...

Politics

1 week ago SCOTT JENNINGS: The delusional Democrat plot to sabotage Trump's Ukraine peace deal... and how it risks plunging us all into World War Three

It didn't take long for Democrats to fall back on their failed 'Russia, Russia, Russia' playbook. Senator Chris Murphy accused Donald Trump of running his White House like an 'arm of the Kremlin.'

Politics

1 week ago Trump rants about ‘rape gangs, drug lords and mental institutions’ after Zelensky debacle

President also shared a post claiming he is playing both Russia and Ukraine ‘like a master chess player’ - despite worldwide backlash to his clash with Ukraine’s leader

Events

2 w. ago Two arrested after Molotov cocktails thrown at Russian consulate in Marseille sparking fire

By 9.30am, there were some 30 emergency workers dealing with a fire inside the consulate

Events

2 w. ago Molotov cocktails are thrown at Russian consulate in Marseille sparking fire

By 9.30am, there were some 30 emergency workers dealing with a fire inside the consulate

Events

3 w. ago Mohammed bin Salman wants an alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan – but one that most benefits Saudi Arabia | Madawi al

The crown prince sees Hamas as a regional threat, and may propose a deal that risks sidelining PalestiniansSaudi Arabia has suddenly experienced a diplomatic awakening after lukewarm engagement with the conflict in Gaza. Today, leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will gather in Riyadh to discuss Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza. (Keen to be viewed as a global deal maker, Saudi Arabia will also be hosting negotiations over Ukraine this week.)Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was alarmed by Trump’s outrageous “Riviera plan” to reconstruct Gaza following eviction of its people to neighbouring countries. Alongside Arab leaders, he hopes to propose an alternative plan with the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem its capital at its core. The crown prince has insisted that there will be no normalisation of Israel without a Palestinian state.Madawi al-Rasheed is a fellow of the British Academy and a visiting professor at the Midd...

Politics

3 w. ago Too long, didn’t remember: NBA stars that time (and the internet) forgot

We look back at seven ex-NBA stars who contributed a great deal to the league, but whose stories also risk being lost to time thanks to vanishing modern attention spansHave you ever opened up a social media page with a clear intention of what you’re doing and then instantly become distracted? You end up fiddling around and then closing the page and realizing you didn’t even do what you’d originally logged on for? Yes, the internet is a place full of distractions. TikTok, Instagram, whatever Twitter (X) is? It’s hard to remember what you had for breakfast some days. The same, of course, goes for NBA history.If you go online today to read about basketball, it can seem like the league or the sport itself was created in the 21st century. That anything before Kobe Bryant never actually existed. As a result, fans sometimes need a history lesson. And that’s exactly what we wanted to do today. To examine the careers of seven former NBA stars who contributed a great deal to the league but wh...

Politics

3 w. ago Cook Islands releases terms of deal with China amid protests about lack of transparency

Agreement includes sections on deep-sea mining and education, document shows, as opposition accuses PM of risking relationship with New ZealandA strategic partnership deal between China and the Cook Islands spans areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excludes security ties, a document released by the Pacific island nation’s government showed.Western nations that traditionally held sway in the region have become increasingly concerned about China’s plans to increase influence after Beijing signed defence, trade and financial deals with Pacific countries in the last three years. Continue reading...

Economics