Author: INDEPENDENT

Putin will be made to pay to rebuild Ukraine, says US secretary of stateFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsVladimir Putin has arrived in Belarus for a two-day visit where he will discuss tactical nuclear exercises with his ally Alexander Lukashenko.Russia has begun stationing its nuclear weapons inside Belarus, which borders Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, since its war against Ukraine began.The Belarus visit is part of a round of foreign tours Putin is conducting as he kicks off his…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Xavi Hernandez is the latest addition to the summer managerial merry-go-round after FC Barcelona ended a bizarre month of back-and-forth decision-making by announcing he is to be sacked after the final game of the season in LaLiga.Back in January of this year, the club icon announced he would not see out the final year of his deal and would step down at the end of 2023/24 – only for improved results and the backing of the board…

The Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards is the UK’s largest awards programme that celebrates the very best of British business. With a year-long programme of networking events, the awards programme doesn’t just celebrate businesses across all industries, championing sustainability, diversity and equality, it creates a community of like-minded businesses and entrepreneurs that have triumphed throughout the year.Sarah Austin, Director of the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards, believes that excellence is never an accident, saying “It’s a direct result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. Choice, not chance, determines…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailIt has been nearly two decades since an African leader was feted with an official state visit to Washington but the White House rolled out the red carpet for Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday with the largest state dinner of the Biden presidency. Around 500 guests have been invited to the state dinner, the sixth hosted by President Joe Biden, with former president Bill Clinton, former First Lady, New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Newcastle ended their tour of Australia with a resounding friendly defeat as a side largely made up of youngsters were battered 8-0 by the A-League All Stars.Eddie Howe made wholesale changes from the team that overcame Tottenham on penalties on Wednesday, with Newcastle’s XI comprising of half a dozen teenagers while every outfield player was 22 or younger.First-team trio Kieran Trippier, Elliot Anderson and Lewis Hall were left on the bench as Newcastle fell 3-0 down inside…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe UK’s economic recovery has stuttered just two days after Rishi Sunak called a General Election, as official figures released on Friday showed that retail spending slumped by more than expected last month.The data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that retail sales across the UK plunged by 2.3 per cent in April, following a 0.2 per fall in March.Economists had been expecting a softer decline of 0.6 per cent for the…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe bodies of three more hostages killed in the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel have been recovered from Gaza, Israel’s army has said. It said the bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez Radoux were recovered overnight in a joint operation by the army and the intelligence services in Jabalia, in northern Gaza where there has been intense fighting in recent days.Military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was determined to…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Thousands are expected to make the journey north west from Barcelona to Bilbao, from Catalonia to the Basque region. As the Women’s Champions League reaches its conclusion at San Mames, it could feel like a home final for Barcelona, or as close to it without it being held in the Camp Nou itself. That is fitting, perhaps, given how much of Barcelona’s success is home-grown and the influence its iconic La Masia academy may have over this…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailA string of famous names have been dragged into Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial, after four days of testimony from the former publisher of the supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer.David Pecker became the first witness to take the stand in the former president’s New York hush money trial this week, laying out a so-called “catch-and-kill” scheme at the centre of the case.Mr Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Barcelona will need to find a way to get past the most successful club in women’s football if they want to build on their recent dominance in the sport.The Catalan club will be playing in a fourth straight Women’s Champions League final on Saturday in Bilbao against the record eight-time champions Lyon , the nemesis they have never been able to beat.The titleholders from Spain have a shot at a statement victory by finally overcoming the storied…