All posts tagged: fightback

Russell starts title fightback with Barcelona pole as Hamilton qualifies second

Russell starts title fightback with Barcelona pole as Hamilton qualifies second

Published by Sam Flores

George Russell took a morale-boosting pole for Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and will line up alongside a resurgent Lewis Hamilton on the front row in Spain. Russell, who has had a torrid few weeks in which he has fallen 68 points behind Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the title race, told his team it was “nice to feel the groove again” as he returned to the pits. The British driver beat Antonelli by over three-tenths of a second at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to continue his fine form from practice. Hamilton, who has profited from Russell’s recent struggles to move into second in the championship, very nearly pipped his former Mercedes team-mate to pole. The seven-time world champion was up on Russell’s time midway through his final push lap, but lost time in the final sector to finish 0.064sec behind. Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy shunt in Q3, bringing out red flags while marshals carried out repairs to the barriers. It follows the Monegasque’s race-ending crash in Monaco last weekend, since when he …

Putin burns through his best missiles in desperate Ukraine fightback

Putin burns through his best missiles in desperate Ukraine fightback

Published by Sam Flores

Credit: Telegram/Censor.net Until this weekend, the prevailing narrative in the Russia-Ukraine war was that Vladimir Putin was on the back foot. Ukraine’s long-range drones struck four miles from the Kremlin. Russia’s victory day parade was only possible because Volodymyr Zelensky agreed not to attack it. Putin now spends much of his time in underground bunkers. The Russian people are frustrated and worried in equal measure as the war is thrust upon them at home. Looking to arrest the decline, Putin fired 90 of his biggest, most damaging missiles at Kyiv. On Sunday, every one of the Ukrainian capital’s districts was hit, by Kh-101 cruise missiles, Iskander-M/S-400s, Kh-47M2 Kinzhals, 3M22 Zircons and one hypersonic Oreshnik. Russia fired 83 missiles throughout May 2025. At the weekend, it surpassed that in one barrage. Moscow was willing to ransack its reserves to send a message. The package of missiles and drones cost some £268m, including the £37m cost of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile that hit the town of Bila Tserkva, some 50 miles south of Kyiv, in only its …

Politics Home Article | Angela Rayner Joins Fightback Against Government Immigration Reforms

Politics Home Article | Angela Rayner Joins Fightback Against Government Immigration Reforms

Published by Sam Flores

Angela Rayner, February 2026 (Alamy) 4 min read2 hr Former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has given her backing to the efforts of a large group of Labour MPs currently lobbying the government against its immigration reforms. Addressing a reception held by Labour soft left group Mainstream on Tuesday evening, Rayner said voters had been given the impression that Labour has “represented the establishment, not working people” and that “at worst, we became it”. “The very survival of the Labour Party is at stake,” she warned a packed pub basement in Westminster. “As a party and movement, we cannot hide. We cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline,” Rayner said. “There is no safe ground for us, and we’re running out of time. The change that people so desperately wanted to see needs to be seen. It needs to be felt.” The influential backbencher, widely seen as a potential successor to Keir Starmer, started her speech by telling the crowd: “I have a lot to say. I’ve …

The fightback to China’s mega London embassy has already begun – POLITICO

The fightback to China’s mega London embassy has already begun – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

A local residents’ group opposed to the embassy is lining up senior lawyer Charles Banner, who has previously advised the U.K. government on different planning matters, to mount a legal challenge. And some of the prime minister’s own Labour Party lawmakers are considering offering their support, given it is realistically the only route left for them to oppose the plan. “The decision is now final unless it is successfully challenged in court,” Reed said in a statement announcing the decision on Tuesday. “MPs will be supportive of legal review,” said one Labour MP, granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party discussions, said. “Many people, including ministers, are very uncomfortable on our side,” another MP added. In the House of Commons, critical MPs have repeatedly raised concerns about Chinese espionage efforts. Source link

Reeves’s risky budget fightback – POLITICO

Reeves’s risky budget fightback – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

On the eve of the long-awaited budget, the rhetoric is ramping up and speculation across Westminster is wild – but has criticism of the chancellor been fair? Sam and Anne assess Rachel Reeves’s position, her pitch to Labour MPs as well as her potential smorgasbord of tax rises. Plus, the duo issue a warning about increased tariffs from China ahead of Christmas. Source link