Aircraft from the United States, Australia, France and Britain on Saturday dropped humanitarian supplies to the Iraqi town of Amerli, which has been under siege by "Islamic State" jihadist militants for almost two months, the US Pentagon says.  In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said the airdrop, made at the request of the Iraqi government, had been supported by US airstrikes on the besieging militants.

For me it's simple: sport is one of the universal languages which connect people and cultures. Whether it's maths, music, science, the arts - or, increasingly these days, English - humanity has many universal languages, which can bring people together whatever their differences.

Today we take for granted that information warfare — whether the disruption of other nations’ computer systems, the monitoring of citizens’ telephone calls to detect terrorist threats or the use of social media to shape foreign attitudes — is a key tool of national security. But virtually all our concerns about such tactics find their roots in the Great War, particularly in its first hours, when the Alert’s hatchet-wielding crew began its work.

As the deaths in Gaza from targeted Israeli bombings steadily mount, international public opinion appears to be turning against Israel.  A large demonstration of slogan-shouting angry activists holding placards condemning Israel was yesterday outside the Israeli Embassy on High Street Kensington.

The political crisis over Ukraine has prompted ministers in London and Edinburgh to boycott the remainder of the UK-Russia Year of Culture, a celebration of the arts, education, sport and science that involves more than 250 events in both countries.

He is quick on his feet and can wriggle for Britain.  Before he could talk, he had generated a million words.  He is a fashion icon who triggered an unlikely rush on smocked sailor suits.  He is the future George VII, and he will be one year old on Tuesday.

In the era of soft power, no one has any stature. The idea of the president of the United States influencing world affairs has now become as ludicrous as the idea of the British foreign secretary doing the same. 

A video on YouTube showing a young man preaching out to his “brothers and sisters” in Britain to unleash their jihad upon the United Kingdom has been reported on by The Sunday Times.  The video is just the latest in many more showing young Britons drawing on their western roots and Islamist inspiration to instigate, what might be termed, a YouTube jihad, according to the newspaper.