Paralympic chief explains lifting of ban on Russia and Belarus Sport Business Russia and Belarus have had their bans from Paralympic Games lifted because they are no longer using sport to promote war, says the president of the International Paralympic Committee. Both countries were suspended by the IPC shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a decision upheld for “breaches of its constitutional membership obligations” the [...]
Top foreign policy analyst and Tory councillor jumps ship to Reform Politics Reform UK has lured a leading security and foreign policy analyst from the Conservatives to provide advice to the party and its leader, Nigel Farage, in what appears to be Reform’s latest move aimed at professionalising party operations. Dr Alan Mendoza, who heads up the Henry Jackson Society, a trans-Atlantic foreign affairs and security think [...]
Governments owe $80bn in investor-state Arbitration losses Legal Investor-state disputes have more than doubled over the last decade, with decisions against governments totalling over $250m (£186m), and governments’ debts accumulating over $80bn (£60bn). Investor-state disputes enable overseas investors to recoup some of their investment if a government breaches its investment treaty obligations. Arbitration, an out-of-court method, is the preferred system for resolving these [...]
Capitulation clearing Russia and Putin’s path to LA 2028 Olympics October 2, 2025 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 [...]
Defence stocks rise as Europe’s tensions with Russia escalate September 10, 2025 European defence stocks rallied on Wednesday after the shock arrival of Russian drones across the border with Poland sent tensions in the region to fresh highs. Shares in FTSE 100 giant BAE Systems closed up 2.1 per cent to 1,830p by the end of the day’s trading in London, while Italy’s Leonardo rose 2.4 per [...]
Von der Leyen: Russia must pay for Ukraine’s recovery September 10, 2025 The European Commission has called for another package of sanctions against Russia with President Ursula von der Leyen saying: “This is Russia’s war, and it is Russia that should pay.” During her 2025 ‘State of the Union’ address, von der Leyen emphasised that European taxpayers should not be the only ones bearing the brunt of [...]
Ex-wife of sanctioned former Russian PM wins divorce appeal September 4, 2025 The former Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Potanin, is set to face a multi-billion-pound divorce case in England after his ex-wife won her case at the Court of Appeal today. Natalia Nikolaevna Potanina was married to Potanin for around thirty years before divorcing in Russia in 2014. However, she had argued that the Russian court’s [...]
On this day in 1968: Moscow crushes the Prague Spring August 20, 2025 On this day in 1968, Alexander Dubček's experiments in "socialism with a human face" with the Prague Spring were met by the force of Moscow.
Ukraine War: Trump says Zelensky and Putin to meet after ‘very good’ summit August 19, 2025 Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet, Donald Trump has said following a White House summit with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine. The US president spoke directly with the Russian president to begin planning a meeting between the two warring leaders, which will then be followed by a [...]
Boots on the ground in Ukraine? Brits don’t want to fund it August 19, 2025 With an electorate that doesn't back higher defence spending, Healey's promise to put troops in Ukraine looks like political grandstanding.