43 h. ago ‘We wrote it living on Tesco sandwiches and anxiety attacks!’ How Operation Mincemeat conquered the world

It started out as a fringe musical about an outlandish war plan – and became a West End and Broadway smash. As the show hits China, Australia and Mexico, its ‘nerd’ creators explain how they went global with a box of hats and a dreamNatasha Hodgson is wondering what to make of all the straight women who have developed a crush on her. Or, to put it more accurately, all the straight women who have developed a crush on her when she’s dressed as a second world war naval intelligence officer and speaking in a silly voice. But is it really Hodgson these woman have fallen for? Or is it Ewen Montagu, the bombastic, braces-wearing war hero she plays in the hit musical Operation Mincemeat?“The confusion is real,” says Hodgson. “These women come to the show believing themselves to be straight, then they have a total identity crisis. But hey – if that’s not what musical theatre is for, I don’t know what is!” Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago US and Ukraine will hold peace talks TODAY after Trump warned Zelensky: Make a deal by Christmas

The US and Ukraine will hold talks today on a draft peace plan to end the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed.

Events

8 d. ago Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy leaves Downing Street after peace plan talks as Merz says Germany ‘sceptical’ about some US proposals

Ukrainian leader met with Starmer, Macron and Merz in UK after US-Ukraine talks in Florida failed to achieve a breakthroughSee all our Ukraine war coverageMeanwhile, we are starting to look towards 10 Downing Street as the leaders should start arriving in the next hour. Last preparations are under way, and we have a live stream for you at the top of the page.In the last few minutes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just landed in the UK, Sky News has reported. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy in Downing Street for peace plan talks as Merz says Germany ‘sceptical’ about some US proposals

Ukrainian leader meets Starmer, Macron and Merz in UK after US-Ukraine talks in Florida failed to achieve a breakthroughSee all our Ukraine war coverageMeanwhile, we are starting to look towards 10 Downing Street as the leaders should start arriving in the next hour. Last preparations are under way, and we have a live stream for you at the top of the page.In the last few minutes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just landed in the UK, Sky News has reported. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Zelensky, EU leaders to meet in London after Trump criticises Ukraine over Russia

Zelensky, EU leaders to meet in London after Trump criticises Ukraine over Russia-war peace plan  WION

Politics

9 d. ago If a peace deal includes two key elements, Ukraine should accept | Christopher S Chivvis

Kyiv may be approaching its last chance to end the war with its sovereignty intact. If a peace deal includes two key elements, it should acceptThe negotiations over the war in Ukraine are frustrating and tragic. On the one side, a victim of aggression whose plight is more and more desperate. On the other, a brutal aggressor, willing to go to extraordinary lengths to win the war. In the middle, a transactional American president eager for a deal.It’s no surprise that so many observers have railed against the proposals recently put forward by President Donald Trump and his emissary Steve Witkoff. These proposals appear to offer much to Russia and little to Ukraine – other than an end to the violence. If the negotiations produce a plan that offers Ukraine no hope of security after the war, no Ukrainian leader will accept it. Security is the core of sovereignty, and it would be political suicide to trade Ukraine’s sovereignty for peace.Christopher S Chivvis is a senior fellow and direct...

Economics

1 week ago Putin insists certain elements of Trump’s peace plan to end Ukraine war are unacceptable

Vladimir Putin says some proposals in a U.S. plan to end the war in Ukraine are unacceptable to the Kremlin

Politics

1 week ago Vladimir Putin's WW3 threat 'has hidden meaning with ploy to influence Donald Trump'

Vladimir Putin torpedoed Donald Trump's Moscow-pandering peace plan to end the war in Ukraine with the Russian leader keen to squeeze more concessions from the US President

Politics

1 week ago Putin says Russia disagrees with parts of the US peace plan to end the Ukraine war as he arrives in New Delhi for arms deal talks

It is understood that the main points of contention are the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Kyiv.

Politics

1 week ago Moscow says EU plan to freeze Russian assets would be considered an ‘act of war’

The EU has faced opposition from Belgium over its plan to fund Ukraine using €90bn of frozen Russian assets

Events

1 week ago EU plan to seize £80billion of Russian assets for Ukraine could be enough to justify Putin going to war with Europe, Kremlin official warns

Dmitry Medvedev, one of the Kremlin's most hardline voices, said on Thursday that Moscow would view the proposal as equivalent to a direct provocation.

Events

1 week ago Trump's Ukraine peace plan suffers disaster as Zelensky meeting is cancelled amid Putin war threats

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the architects of the Gaza peace deal, concluded five hours of bruising negotiations at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

Events

1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Peace push fizzles as Witkoff leaves Moscow with no sign of deal

Zelenskyy says ready to meet Trump and that Russia is hoping US loses interest; Briton held in Ukraine on Russian spy allegations. What we know on day 1,379See all our Ukraine war coverageSteve Witkoff was reported to have flown out of Moscow on Tuesday night after Kremlin aides said no progress was made towards ending the Ukraine war. It came after two weeks of diplomatic chaos and haggling beginning with the Russian leaking of a 28-point wishlist that Moscow had discussed with the US, followed by frenzied efforts involving Ukraine and Europe to produce a counter-proposal more acceptable to Kyiv.Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that after their five-hour meeting the two sides were “neither further nor closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine. There is a lot of work to be done.” On Tuesday, a video feed showed Vladimir Putin asking Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy, about a short tour of Moscow he had taken before the meeting, with Witkoff calling it a “magnificent city”. The feed then c...

Economics

2 w. ago Putin 'demands attention' as he 'asserts authority' to US envoy

EXCLUSIVE: Vlad the invader met with a US delegation on Tuesday evening to discuss a plan to bring an end to his bloody and brutal war in Ukraine and made sure he asserted his authority

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war live: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid US push for peace deal

Talks come after Witkoff led US discussions with Ukraine at weekend amid European concerns that Kyiv will be pressured to make concessions to MoscowUS-Russia talks may pile pressure on Kyiv to make concessions, says EU foreign policy chief See all our Ukraine war coverageThe Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin will meet Steve Witkoff for their talks on Tuesday afternoon. It’s now approaching 9.10am local time in Moscow.Their meeting would take “in the second half of the day”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while refusing to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub – and Vovchansk and were advancing elsewhere, which the Russian president hailed as successes to enable further gains. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that either place has fallen into Russian hands. Co...

Politics

2 w. ago EU warns Trump that Ukraine peace plan must not pardon Putin for war crimes

Concerns are growing in Europe over a US proposal which suggested a ‘full amnesty for actions committed during the war’

Events

2 w. ago Trump's 'real' plan for ending war in Ukraine 'revealed': $300 BILLION boost to America and joint space missions with Russia to Mars... but Putin may still have the last laugh

Donald Trump is reportedly looking to engage in business deals with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Billions could be invested into the US economy.

Politics

2 w. ago Germany's Secret Plan for War With Russia: Classified blueprint shows how 800,000 troops will be dispatched to Europe's frontlines with Putin ready to attack NATO territory 'before 2029'

It comes after senior officials at the organisation warned Vladimir Putin could be ready to test NATO's borders before 2029.

Events

2 w. ago Putin trying to negotiate an end to Ukraine war as he cannot win it on battlefield, says EU’s Kallas – Europe live

EU’s foreign policy chief says ‘there’s one aggressor and one victim’ in conflict amid US push to end the warIn case you missed it, US president Donald Trump defended his peace envoy Steve Witkoff overnight after Bloomberg reported that he allegedly advised Putin’s aide Ushakov on how to speak with Trump and conduct the talks.Trump did not appear too bothered by it, though. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Russia welcomes ‘aspects’ of new US plan to end Ukraine war – Europe live

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says other parts of plan, which has not been published, ‘require special discussions among experts’In case you missed it, US president Donald Trump defended his peace envoy Steve Witkoff overnight after Bloomberg reported that he allegedly advised Putin’s aide Ushakov on how to speak with Trump and conduct the talks.Trump did not appear too bothered by it, though. Continue reading...

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