Dr Peter O'Brien

One way to visualise the UK's largest cities: 👉London is by far the most dense (and huge). 👉Manchester has the densest "core" 👉Birmingham retains high-densities into the suburbs more than Manchester. Other cities notably poly-centric.

The US is lifting sanctions against Belarusian banks and potassium, according to US Special Envoy John Cole. This is outrageous! Trump rewards aggressors, mass murderers, and dictators while blackmailing and insulting the victim, Ukraine. According to Cole, the restrictions against the Belarusian Ministry of Finance, the Belarus Development Bank, and Belinvestbank will be lifted. Furthermore, the Belarusian Potash Company and Belaruskali, the main producers of potash fertilizers, will be removed from the US sanctions list. The US Special Envoy stated that the lifting of the restrictions would be swift and noted that he had discussed this matter with officials from the Ministry of Finance before his visit to Minsk.

Very, very bad news. As I wrote in Material World, Ras Laffan is one of the most important industrial sites not just in the Gulf but in the world. LNG, helium, other products. Massive. Whatever happens next, serious damage to this site could reverberate for months, maybe years.

After Trump disses Starmer, Irish leader Micheál Martin jumps in to defend Starmer and encourages Trump to get along with him. Martin then pivots to defending Ukraine -- a country Trump also dissed earlier in the event.

After a year of threatening to go to war with one NATO ally, a boorish campaign to treat another as a colony of the U.S., and the denigration of all who fought and died for America in Afghanistan, he has the gall to say this.

Fiona Hill: What Putin is negotiating now is President Trump handing over Ukraine to him, forcing Ukraine to capitulate, forcing new elections in Ukraine and basically demilitarizing and neutralizing Ukraine so that Ukraine turns into essentially Belarus. 1/

Efforts to deal with the aftermath of the massive Russian attack are currently underway in the Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mykolaiv regions. All necessary services are involved. The main target for the Russians was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region, but unfortunately, there were also direct hits on and damage to ordinary residential buildings, schools, and civilian businesses. As of now, four people have been reported killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Many people have been injured, and some are still seeking medical assistance. Over the course of the night, the Russians launched around 430 drones of various types and a significant number of missiles. There were 13 ballistic missiles alone, and the total number of missiles in this attack was 68. According to preliminary data, 58 of them were intercepted by our air defense system. And every such night of Russian strikes is a reminder to all our partners that air defenses and the missiles for them are effectively a daily necessity. Every agreement on missile supplies cannot wait – everything must be implemented as quickly as possible. Our agreements to increase the production of air defense missiles are a critical direction, and this direction requires one hundred percent attention. Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine. This is why we must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defense missiles – especially those capable of countering ballistic threats – as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives, regardless of what may be happening in any other part of the world. Europe is able to ensure this level of reliable protection. Thank you to everyone who is helping!

America launched its biggest war in the Middle East in 20 years, evidently, on the advice of two real estate guys and a former Fox News host……

The Governor of the Bank of England has said that it would 'not be appropriate' for the UK Govt to give itself powers to direct how your pension cash is invested. This was a powerful intervention. The question is why is the Govt pressing ahead? ft.com/content/951689…

So Russia is revealed to be sending intelligence to Iran about US sites it should bomb. The next thing, Pres Trump gets on the phone to Putin and offers to lift oil-related sanctions against Russia.

We can help you fight against Shaheds. Help us fight against ballistic missiles.

What they’re basically saying is that Starmer and the UK isn’t allowed to operate an even moderately independent foreign policy outside of the United States. That is both ahistoric, wrong and weird for people who constantly tell us how sovereignty is what matters most.

We stand with Tolu Arokodare after our striker received disgusting racial abuse on social media. wolves.co.uk/news/club/2026…

Sunderland AFC is appalled by the vile online racist abuse directed at Romaine Mundle following today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

🗣 "If you ever needed any evidence of the damage VAR has done to the referees, today is a great example." 🗣 "That decision is one of the worst decisions I've seen in football." @waynerooney and @alanshearer speak about the decision to not to award Newcastle a penalty ❌

In fairness, Anthony Gordon doing keepy uppys in his back garden on match days was taking it a bit too far.

Journalist Anna Conkling shared her experience of “Russia wants peace” from her Kyiv apartment.

🚨 BREAKING Liverpool vs Manchester City match had a 750 million viewers global views, compared to an estimated 220 million viewers for the 2026 Super Bowl. [USA Network]

RETWEET if you stand with the Obamas against Trump’s racist attacks!

A massive illegal waste dump near Wigan is partly owned by the King's royal estate, Channel 4 News can reveal. The dump contains 25,000 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish, next to homes and a primary school. Feudal laws mean it came under possession of the Duchy of Lancaster when its previous owner went bust. But under current plans, cleaning up the site will be paid for by taxpayers - not the estate of the King. The Duchy maintains it does not have to take on any liabilities of the property due to "escheat" law but tonight has added that "the Duchy would be prepared to discuss with Wigan Council these matters".