Around 500 farmers with UK visas are trapped in Belarus after the flight ban May 28, 2021 Around 500 farmers from Belarus, who were recruited under a government visa scheme, have been left trapped in Belarus after the UK banned flights from the country this week. Trying to help the UK with its summer harvest, farmworkers have been trying to find indirect flights from neighbouring countries to get to the UK, after [...]
Small ‘dirty cash’ fortune of £5.1m found in Fulham flat – stashed under beds May 28, 2021 A small fortune of £5.1m in “dirty cash” was found in a Fulham flat – stashed under beds, in cupboards and strewn on the floor, police have said today. Three money launderers are facing prison following the Met police’s largest single cash seizure last summer. Police said it was left across the flat because the gang [...]
US informs Russia it will not rejoin Open Skies arms control pact May 27, 2021 The Biden administration has informed Russia that it will not rejoin a key arms control pact, even as the two sides prepare for a summit next month between their leaders. US officials said Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told the Russians that the administration had decided not to re-enter the Open Skies Treaty, which [...]
Ranked: S&P Global’s $44bn mega-deal tops list of biggest 2020 acquisitions May 27, 2021 In what was a tough year for businesses across the world, it was a fruitful one for 6,000 mergers and acquisitions. While the pandemic threatened companies of all sizes, some managed not just to survive but to continue growing in the last 12 months. After a year unlike any other, which acquisitions were the biggest [...]
Russia and Saudi Arabia planning joint space mission May 25, 2021 Russia and Saudi Arabia are preparing for a joint manned space mission, the former’s government confirmed today, in another sign of warmer relations between the two countries. In a statement, the Kremlin said that Saudi astronauts were being trained in Russia while the mission is developed. “Speaking of the two countries’ work on the joint [...]
Put-in the diary: Biden to meet Russian President in June May 25, 2021 Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will meet in Geneva for face-to-face talks next month. The meeting will be the first since Biden took the Presidency in January 2021. The White House said the conversation would touch on “the full range of pressing issues,” with relations between the two sour. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had a [...]
Belarus’ act of aviation piracy and kidnapping proves the obvious: anyone can bully the EU May 25, 2021 Yesterday, within about five minutes of one another, both my partner and a colleague drolly made the same comment: “I know Ryanair is tough about customer service, but I didn’t realise you had to pay extra to avoid being kidnapped.” There were, of course, referring to the dreadful act of piracy that occurred over the [...]
Hating Peter Tatchell director Christopher Amos on the controversial campaigner May 21, 2021 Launching on Netflix today is the documentary Hating Peter Tatchell, a look at the life of one of the most high-profile LGBTQ+ rights activists in the world. For most of his life, Tatchell has been on the front line of the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation, often using extreme means to get a media spotlight on [...]
Hating Peter Tatchell review – a profile of an anarchic hero May 20, 2021 The advent of social media has made activism a daily practice for many, and something that’s witnessed by many more. From symbolic gestures to mass demonstrations, it feels as though mobilising a group to get their voices heard is easier than ever. Hating Peter Tatchell looks at a man who was putting a spotlight on [...]
Former MI5 chief reveals secret documents in hollowed-out tree were eaten by squirrels May 18, 2021 A former MI5 chief has recalled the distress of a Russian intelligence officer discovering top secret documents concealed by an agent in a hollowed-out tree had been eaten by squirrels. Baroness Manningham-Buller, who served for more than three decades in the Security Service including five as director general, recounted the spying tale as she highlighted [...]