Putin and Erdogan launch Turkstream oil pipeline January 8, 2020 Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan today opened the Turkstream oil pipeline in Istanbul. The 930km pipeline, which crosses the Black Sea, will carry oil to southern Europe in a move that will allow Russia to reduce its shipments via Ukraine. Read more: Russian pipeline Nordstream 2 gets final approval In [...]
US says threat of ‘imminent attack’ triggered air strikes against Iran January 3, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has claimed that the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was carried out to prevent an “imminent attack” that would have endangered US citizens in the region. Speaking to CNN and Fox News, Pompeo said that the attack was based on an “intelligence based assessment”, but refused to say [...]
Space Force: Donald Trump unveils new US military service December 21, 2019 Donald Trump has officially signed off funding for a US Space Force. It is the first new military service to be implemented in 70 years and was unveiled on Friday after the President signed the $738bn (£567bn) annual US military budget. It will fall under the US Air Force domain and will receive an initial [...]
PM signs off report on Russian interference in UK politics December 16, 2019 A parliamentary report looking at Russia’s involvement in UK politics is ready to be published, having finally been signed off by the Prime Minister. The report, carried out earlier this year by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), is believed to have considered the Kremlin’s influence through social media, donations and political ties. Read more: [...]
Mini bar, pepper spray pump, sound system: What the super-rich want in a panic room December 13, 2019 Most of us will never have the need for a panic room. The sum of our valuables and the size of our homes means dropping in a huge, heavy steel structure at a cost of (at least) hundreds of thousands of pounds doesn’t even cross our minds. Those who do find themselves in need of [...]
How Iceland found the perfect Christmas campaign formula December 11, 2019 Twas the month before Christmas (in 2018), and the festive cheer was seemingly “cancelled” for British frozen food giant Iceland. “We’re absolutely gutted,” a defeated Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director, told the BBC. “We wanted to share this message far and wide.” Well, for Richard, Christmas miracles are very much real. This particular miracle began when [...]
Corbyn defends leaked NHS documents amid ‘links to Russia’ December 7, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn has defended his party’s decision to release leaked documents detailing UK-US trade talks despite apparent links to Russia. Reddit revealed on Friday that the documents were posted on its platform by an account linked to a campaign “originating from Russia”. The site said it had suspended 61 accounts that were part of a [...]
Russia’s Sberbank moves into driverless cars with joint venture November 28, 2019 Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, is moving into driverless cars with a new investment in AI transport startup Cognitive Technologies. Read more: Uber partly to blame for driverless car death, says US watchdog The state-owned bank will take a 30 per cent stake in a new company, Cognitive Pilot, while Cognitive Technologies will take a 70 [...]
48 Hours In Tbilisi: How to get the most out of a trip to the capital of Georgia November 28, 2019 Things to do Tbilisi is easy to navigate on foot and by metro. Explore the old part of the city, from the museums on Rustavelli Avenue to the cobbled back streets of the old town, ducking into art galleries, churches, cafes or enjoying a scrub down in the sulphur baths. Head to Narikala Fortress for [...]
Don’t panic, China is nowhere close to overtaking America November 25, 2019 There has been far too much doom-mongering of late about America’s structural position in the world. While there is no doubt that the US is in relative decline, it is as if the commentariat does not really understand what these words actually mean, focusing only on the “decline” part of the phrase. So for all [...]