Business

"The rain, the clouds, the lack of sun - I feel at home here," Nikita Vitiugov says. London, the chess grandmaster remarks, feels similar to St Petersburg, in terms of the weather, at least. One of the best players in the world, Nikita was once one of Russia's brightest talents. But after speaking out about the war in Ukraine, he says he can't risk going back. Now he plays for England and lives in London.Ukraine war: Follow latestWhile the era of the Soviet Union and America going to war over the chessboard to establish intellectual dominance is over, and players no longer attract the same fame and notoriety as chess titans Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer did in their heyday, chess is still a big deal in Russia. Image: Garry Kasparov playing...

Russian President Vladimir Putin fuels division within Europe "like an animal", Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.Speaking to Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president described his Russian counterpart as "a killer" and "a terrorist". He said when world leaders are afraid, they communicate with their countries and other leaders and "divide the unity in Europe"."Putin understands this and fuels it like an animal," he said.Ukraine war latest: MI6 uncovers 'staggeringly reckless' Russian sabotage in Europe Image: Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to Sky's Stuart Ramsay Asked if it was unhelpful when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke directly with Mr Putin last month, Mr Zelenskyy said he did not support it...

In the freezing mist, heavily-armed soldiers checked our passports and press accreditation.  We're in an exclusive district of Kyiv, home to the city's presidential palace.We waited on a near-deserted street until an adviser to the president arrived and led us to another set of guards, who checked our papers again. Eventually, we were taken to the rear of the palace where our paperwork was scrutinised for the third time.We had been told to come early so that our equipment and bags could be scanned and checked by sniffer dogs.Ukraine war latest: MI6 uncovers 'staggeringly reckless' Russian sabotage in Europe We passed through airport-style security arches and then had to remove phones and watches. The watch was a new one to me, as my battered 35-year-old one barely keeps time these days, le...

Mother and daughter, their car loaded with luggage, are driving together back to their house in this bombed-out suburb of Beirut. I ask them how it feels coming home."Nothing feels like home," Samara Diab, the daughter, says. Dahieh, in the south of Beirut, is Hezbollah territory and much of it has been levelled. Its leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated by an airstrike two months ago.But the children here shout his name out of cars as they pass.His picture is draped over the tower blocks that have collapsed into rubble. And the yellow flags of Hezbollah still fly. The neighbourhood was a ghost town during the last two months of heavy bombardment. Image: Much of Dahieh has been levelled Read more:Analysis: Dark clouds ha...

Sinn Fein and Fine Gael are neck and neck to be the most popular party following Ireland's election, an exit poll suggests.Sinn Fein have picked up 21.1% of the vote, with Fine Gael on 21% and Fianna Fail on 19.5%, the poll by RTE, The Irish Times, TG4, Trinity College Dublin and Ipsos B&A suggests. The poll has a margin of error of 1.4% and was published after voting ended at 10pm on Friday. Counting will begin on Saturday morning at 9am.While the exit poll is a good indicator of how well each party has done, how many seats they will pick up is still unclear due to Ireland's electoral system. Voters in Ireland rank their choices rather than choosing one candidate. Prospective politicians must then reach a quota after rounds of vote counting, with between three and five seats ...

Violence has broken out again in Georgia's capital after protesters took to the streets near parliament over the suspension of EU membership talks.Police used water cannon and pepper spray as thousands gathered in Tbilisi to demand the government change its stance. Some protesters hurled fireworks at police and pushed a burning industrial bin towards officers.There were also protests on Thursday after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced accession talks were being put off until 2028 due to EU "blackmail".It followed the European Parliament adopting a resolution condemning last month's election as neither free nor fair and criticising the ruling Georgian Dream party. The party won almost 54% of votes, but opponents claim Russia helped rig the vote to halt the country's move towards th...

The newly elected prime minister of Mauritius has ordered an independent review of his predecessor's provisional deal with the UK over the future of the Chagos Islands.Navin Ramgoolam, who came to power earlier this month, has previously been critical of the confidential agreement, which is yet to be ratified. He reportedly expressed continued reservations after a meeting with the UK's national security adviser Jonathan Powell on Monday over the islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Image: Navin Ramgoolam. Pic: Reuters Under the reported terms of the draft deal, the UK will hand over sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, except for the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, which will remain under...

An American football player has died a month after suffering a head-on-head collision during a college game.Medrick Burnett Jr was playing for Alabama A&M University against Alabama State University on 26 October - the day before his birthday - when the severe injury occurred. His sister said on his GoFundMe page that the 20-year-old linebacker had "several brain bleeds and swelling of the brain" following the collision in Birmingham, a city in the southeastern US state.In a "last resort" to save his life, Dominece James said he'd had a craniotomy - the surgical removal of part of the skull to expose the brain.Alabama A&M athletic department announced his death on Wednesday but later sent a retraction, saying the news had come via "an immediate family member". Jefferson County coro...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken "under the NATO umbrella" - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later "in a diplomatic way".In an interview with Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president was asked to respond to media reports saying one of US president-elect Donald Trump's plans to end the war might be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken to Russia in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO. Mr Zelenskyy said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the "hot phase of the war", as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.He appeared to accept occupied eastern parts of ...

Syrian rebels have breached Aleppo for the first time since the country's government recaptured the city in 2016, according to war monitors and fighters.Insurgents led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have been advancing towards Aleppo - seizing towns and villages along the way - since launching a shock offensive on Wednesday. "Relentless attacks" over the past three days in north-western Syria have killed 27 civilians, including eight children, a UN official has said.Insurgents today blew up two car bombs and clashed with government forces on the city's western edge, according to war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Projectiles fired by rebels killed four people, including two students, when they landed on accommodation buildings at Aleppo's city centre u...