Yes, Putin genuinely believes Russia is winning war in Ukraine, says Austria’s leader after tea at the Kremlin April 17, 2022 Vladimir Putin is genuinely convinced he is winning the war in Ukraine as the Russian president is “in his own war logic” over Ukraine, Austria’s chancellor said after a visit to the Kremlin. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Mr Putin believes he is winning the war. The politician was the [...]
Easter Reads part one: the best in our opinion pages on politics, the economy and Ukraine April 16, 2022 Back when partygate was “seemingly” subsiding, Giles Kenningham looked at another political headache for Johnson, one with a much longer legacy: the future of the Union. The pandemic gave a taste of greater independence to the devolved nations, and now some want to keep it – surely, that’s the case with Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon. To [...]
Elon Musk launches full $41bn Twitter takeover: ‘It has extraordinary potential – I will unlock it’ April 14, 2022 Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share this morning as the drama surrounding the social media giant continues. According to regulatory filing, this price represents a 38 per cent premium to the closing price of Twitter’s stock on April 1, the day before the billionaire became the largest shareholder of the [...]
Ed Warner: Docuseries triumph may drive wedge between media and sport April 14, 2022 “Please please please please just go away!” The letter writer signed off with his PS in green ink, only months into my stint as chair of UK Athletics in the days before tweets were a thing. I wish I’d kept it, the only time I’ve seen green ink scrawled in cliched anger. Sports leaders are [...]
Musk’s anarchic vision won’t help Twitter but a subscription model might April 14, 2022 In late January, an unknown investor began quietly building a stake in Twitter. A little over two months later, Elon Musk breached the surface. On April 4th, he revealed a 9.2 per cent stake. Though two days later an official filing corrected that to 9.1 per cent, Musk has become Twitter’s largest shareholder. Poor arithmetic [...]
Q&A: How the Chelsea sale process works April 13, 2022 As the deadline for Chelsea bids loom, the government will finally have to weigh in on the future of the club. Whilst DCMS and the Treasury have so far taken a hands-off approach, the takeover process is set to enter a new period. Who is overseeing the sale? The US bank Raine Group is overseeing [...]
Magistrates call for fewer online hearings after defendant tuned in while having a bath April 13, 2022 The rise of remote hearings in magistrates’ courts saw defendants tune into tribunals while having a bath, a new report from the Magistrates Association has said. The use of video calls during the pandemic saw some defendants show a “complete lack of respect” for the court, by appearing “half-naked” and treating the process like “social [...]
Behind-the-story: A British volunteer soldier turned twitter persona April 13, 2022 The war in Ukraine has been fought on two fronts: on land against Russian troops – and on social media. Aiden Aslin, a British national fighting with the Ukrainian forces, personified these simultaneous struggles. The former care worker from Newark, in Nottinghamshire, was engaged in the very real fight against Russian troops. But was also [...]
Hong Kong’s former number 2 and Beijing favourite John Lee enters the race for city state’s top job April 13, 2022 John Lee, Hong Kong’s former number two official, confirmed today he has formally registered his candidacy in the election for the top job after securing 786 nominations to enter the race. Lee, who resigned as chief secretary last week before declaring he would run for chief executive, is the only candidate formally entered so far [...]
Kenny Shiels: Football manager sparks row by claiming women are more emotional than men April 13, 2022 The manager of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels, has claimed that it is difficult to stop women’s teams conceding one goal after another because they are “more emotional than men”. Shiels, who is due to lead the team in their major tournament debut at Euro 2022 this summer, said an “emotional imbalance” [...]