Rocco Forte Hotels’ Russian outpost pays out bumper dividend Business The ring-fenced Russian arm of Rocco Forte Hotels has paid its shareholders a dividend worth more than £3m, despite the luxury hospitality chain being accused of bankrolling Putin’s war machine in Ukraine by maintaining operations in Russia. Astoria Hotel Joint Stock Company – the holding group for Rocco Forte Hotels’ Russian portfolio – distributed £3.2m [...]
Capitulation clearing Russia and Putin’s path to LA 2028 Olympics Sport Business Vladimir Putin’s path to Los Angeles 2028 is being cleared, his war on Ukraine becoming normalised in the minds of the world’s sports administrators. Last week’s votes by the International Paralympic Committee to readmit Russia and Belarus are, to my mind, a shameful capitulation and represent a triumph for the warmonger. All eyes now on [...]
Officials working ‘very hard on ending Russia-Ukraine war’, Trump envoy says Politics US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg said officials are “working very, very hard” on efforts to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as a lack of progress fuels doubts about whether a peace settlement could be on the horizon. Mr Kellogg said in Kyiv that officials are “hoping to get to [...]
Defence: Babcock, BAE, Rolls-Royce plunge on Ukraine summit August 19, 2025 London-listed defence stocks plunged across the board on Tuesday, after this week’s talks between Washington and Ukraine led traders to pare back bets on the role that European countries will play in any post-ceasefire peacekeeping efforts. Shares in FTSE-100 engineering group Babcock – one of the best performing companies on the London Stock Exchange this [...]
Experts: Sport to play role in Trump Ukraine peace talks with Putin August 13, 2025 Sport could be a key player in the Ukraine peace talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. While “land swapping” and “combat lines” are set to dominate the discussions at an Anchorage army base this week, geopolitical experts have suggested sport could be used as a soft diplomacy tool, to demonstrate [...]
Rumours of the dollar’s demise have been greatly exaggerated June 19, 2025 We are in the thick of global summitry, rolling from the G7 in Canada towards the NATO meeting in The Hague next week. President Trump is conducting foreign policy via social media, the prime ministers of the UK and Canada are having a pint in the pub and the French President is making stopovers in [...]
Israel-Iran conflict to dominate G7 meeting as Starmer calls for restraint June 16, 2025 The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to be high on the agenda as world leaders gather in Canada on Monday. Sir Keir Starmer said that the G7 meeting in Alberta would provide an opportunity for allies to make the case for de-escalation in the “fast moving” situation in the Middle East, with President Trump [...]
Trump’s first 100 days: From stock market carnage to electing Carney April 29, 2025 Tuesday marks President Trump’s second first 100 days. On 29 April 2017, pundits looked back at the opening of the then 45th President’s term as a period that had shaken presidential norms and perhaps lowered the tone. In comparison, these first three months have been an earthquake. Trump has shown himself willing to execute the [...]
Ukraine and Russia agree to prisoner swap as Putin announces ceasefire April 19, 2025 Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday they had swapped hundreds of prisoners in the largest exchange since the Russian full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Russia’s ministry of defence said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv and that, “as a gesture of goodwill”, 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of [...]
Russia says it has taken another village from Ukrainian forces in Kursk region April 19, 2025 Kremlin forces have pushed Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, officials said. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces took control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine. The “Units of the North military group have liberated the village of Oleshnya in the Kursk region during [...]