11 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Period of Putin’s ‘ceasefire’ for Victory Day begins

Kremlin jams internet as it seeks to protect visiting foreign leaders; Ukraine’s SBU says drones hit Russian arms factories. What we know on day 1,170 The period of an unagreed ceasefire called for by Vladimir Putin began on Thursday morning as the Russian president seeks cover for Victory Day events. Ukraine has dismissed it as a “game” designed to protect Putin’s parade rather than a genuine step towards peace. Foreign leaders including China’s Xi Jinping are visiting the Russian capital for Victory Day celebrations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has offered a 30-day ceasefire as suggested in US-brokered talks, but the Kremlin has refused.The Kremlin was forced on Wednesday to say it was taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety of foreign leaders due to attend its flagship 9 May parade after days of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across Russia, disrupting about 350 flights due to carry about 60,000 people. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov sai...

Events

1 week ago Nicola Benedetti: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto album review – warm and deliciously playful throughout

Benedetti/Aurora Orchestra/Collon(Decca)Benedetti and the Aurora, who play from memory, have fun and freedom here, augmenting the role of the drum in an ebullient recordingWe tend to have an unhealthy reverence towards Beethoven, says Nicola Benedetti in the notes to her new recording of his Violin Concerto. He did, after all, write this now-venerated concerto largely on the fly, for a soloist whose party piece was playing the violin upside down.So it’s apt that Benedetti, Aurora and their conductor Nicholas Collon have recorded an interpretation that’s buoyant, warmly affectionate and at times just a little tongue-in-cheek. You’d expect playfulness in the last movement, but it’s there to some extent throughout, even in Benedetti’s weightless playing of the slow movement. There are striking moments nodding to historical authenticity – the drum, with sticks hard as nails, at the very start, and the vibrato-less strings in the introduction to the slow movement. The drum becomes unusua...

Events

2 w. ago David Harbour says he ‘won’t engage’ with reports about end of marriage to Lily Allen

The Stranger Things star married the Smile singer after a year of dating in 2020

Politics

2 w. ago The £15 collagen powder on Amazon for 'stronger' hair and 'youthful' skin

Over 17,600 Amazon customers have left a review for this bestselling collagen powder that "really works."

Economics

last month TV REVIEW: Amazon's second season of Married To The Game is a step too far... authentic moments are few and far between

HARRY BAMFORTH: How much is too much of a good thing? Streaming sites and TV networks churn out docu-series like a Cadbury factory cranks out chocolate bars.

Politics

last month 'I thought it was game over, I will never step foot in Benidorm or Spain again'

Charlotte Benson claims she was brutally attacked the Spanish tourist city of Benidorm

Politics