The head of Russia's space agency on Monday suggested Moscow's partners in the BRICS group - Brazil, India,

British banks have already got a taste of what it’s like to be drawn into the global culture

One of the programs set up to ensure affordable internet for all is set to run out by the middle of 2024

Chesson Hadley fired eight birdies in an eight-under par 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the US PGA Tour...

Ben Davies insists Wales are determined to prove the doubters wrong by making Euro 2024 and reaching a fourth major tournament in five attempts. Wales are preparing for decisive Euro 2024 ties against Armenia and Turkey knowing qualification for next summer’s finals is in their own hands. Last month’s stunning 2-1 upset win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia has set Rob Page’s side up for what could be another momentous week in Welsh football. Tottenham defender Davies, stand-in skipper for the injured Aaron Ramsey on the night and again this week, gave a rousing ‘huddle’ speech after the Croatia game that was caught on camera. Evoking the words of Dafydd Iwan’s Yma O Hyd – the 1980s folk protest song which has been adopted by the Football Association of Wales as an anthem and translates as “Still Here” – Davies declared that the Dragons never give in. “It was just a case of showing the reason why we’re here,” Davies said of a speech which came during a campaign in which Wales have had to adapt to life without the match-winning exploits of the retired Gareth Bale. “It was backs against the walls stuff, it was showing that people doubted us again but we’re still standing. “We’re standing up against the challenges and here we are with two games to go still in the fight. “We never stopped believing in this group. The mindset we’ve got is we can get a result against anyone. We’ve shown that.” If they fail to qualify automatically – dropped points will leave them relying on other results for a top-two place – Wales are guaranteed a play-off place through their elite status in the last edition of the Nations League. But overcoming Armenia and already-qualified Turkey might be an easier proposition than beating the likes of Norway, Poland and Ukraine in March. Automatic qualification, however, looked improbable after June’s 4-2 defeat to Armenia in Cardiff, and the subsequent 2-0 away loss in Turkey three days later. Davies said: “It was obviously disappointing to lose to Armenia at home in the summer. The mindset we've got is we can get a result against anyone. We've shown that Wales captain Ben Davies “In these groups your home record usually has to be very good, but we’ve been here before. “We’ve had our backs against the wall and we’ve given ourselves a chance. It’s exactly the same now. “It’s quite clear the second game doesn’t matter if the first one doesn’t go our way. “This week it’s full focus on Armenia. We had a tough result against them at home, it was a real wake-up call. “They’re a good side and showed that against us, and it’s important we go there knowing we’ve got a big job to do.” Davies, Ramsey and goalkeepers Danny Ward and Wayne Hennessey are the four survivors remaining from the squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016. Wales went 58 years before their first major tournament – the 1958 World Cup – and their second in France. But playing in Germany next summer would see them making four tournaments out of five – three successive European Championships and the 2022 World Cup. “Growing up it was a dream of Welsh football to be going to these major tournaments,” Davies said. “That dream still exists and this is another huge chance we’ve got. “We don’t want to sit on the success and say: ‘OK, we’ve been there and had a nice time’. “Once you get a taste of it you want to do it again. That’s exactly where we are as a group this time.” Wales qualified for Euro 2020 by winning their final two games, away to Azerbaijan and at home to Hungary, and obvious parallels exist with a far-flung trip to Eastern Europe followed by a sell-out clash at the Cardiff City Stadium. Davies said: “Of course there are similarities from the last time we qualified (for the European Championship). “It’s a tight group and they’re always going to come down to it (last games), whatever happens. Most of us have been in this situation before and it’s an opportunity for us to do it again.” Read More Britain’s Katie Boulter eager to build on her successful season in 2024 On this day in 2006: Gold Cup winning Desert Orchid dies at the age of 27 The sporting weekend in pictures Football to bid farewell to Sir Bobby Charlton on Monday San Francisco 49ers return to winning ways against Jacksonville Jaguars Oleksandr Zinchenko says Ukraine ready for ‘game of their lives’ against Italy

Taiwanese banks have slashed their exposure to China to the lowest level in at least a decade as

'Yesterday's video was showing the process of getting fitted for the mask which you wear during radiation to your brain,' said Shannen Doherty

Twitter has received an unlikely endorsement from a Taliban leader amid woes as the number of users of the Elon Musk-owned platform is “tanking” following the release of Meta’s rival app Threads. Taliban leader Anas Haqqani tweeted his approval of Twitter over other social media platforms, highlighting what he thought were some advantages of the Musk-owned site. “Twitter has two important advantages over other social media platforms,” Mr Haqqani tweeted. “The first privilege is the freedom of speech. The second privilege is the public nature & credibility of Twitter. Twitter doesn’t have an intolerant policy like Meta. Other platforms cannot replace it,” he said. Twitter has been facing major hurdles since the Tesla and SpaceX chief took over the company last year with further hardship after Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg launched the Threads app. It appears that the number of Twitter users may also be “tanking” following the release of Threads, according to Cloudflare’s chief executive Matthew Prince. Mr Prince showed a graph last week highlighting an apparent decline in Twitter’s popularity since Mr Musk’s takeover of the company, along with a steep drop after the launch of Threads. A record number of users have flocked to Mr Zuckerberg’s Twitter-clone with the app gaining over 100 million sign ups within days of its launch. “That’s mostly organic demand and we haven’t even turned on many promotions yet. Can’t believe it’s only been five days!” the Meta boss said. While Twitter appears to have fallen out of favour with many users, The Taliban, however, still seems to prefer it over Threads. After “free-speech absolutist” Mr Musk took over Twitter and fired over three-fourths of the company’s workforce, including entire teams behind content moderation, social media experts expressed dissatisfaction over the rise of hate speech on the platform and advertisers as well as regular users have exited the site. But according to Mr Haqqani, a Taliban thought-leader, the biggest draw of Twitter – where the militant group continues to post updates – is the site’s flexible moderation policy. This is in contrast to Meta’s Facebook which views the Taliban as a terrorist organisation and disallows it from posting on the platform. Read More Who are the key members of the Taliban’s new all-male government? It’s wishful thinking to believe in a more moderate Taliban Taliban rename women’s ministry as office for group’s moral police $44 billion and eight months later. It’s finally all over for Elon Musk Instagram Threads hits 100 million users, becoming easily the fastest growing app ever Twitter traffic ‘tanking’ after record-breaking Threads launch

Fiona Phillips has explained why she temporarily hid her Alzheimer’s diagnosis from her two sons. The former breakfast TV presenter, 62, was told she had the condition 18 months ago after she experienced symptoms of anxiety and brain fog, and has since disclosed her diagnosis to the public. Phillips, who is currently taking part in a drug trial that scientists hope could revolutionise the treatment of the incurable illness, said she was speaking out about her diagnosis in a bid to end the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s. The journalist, best known for presenting the ITV Breakfast programme GMTV Today, toldThe Mirror that she was reluctant to tell her two sons, Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21 – who she shares with her husband, This Morning boss Martin Frizell – about her condition. “I just didn’t want to make a big thing out of it where we all sit down as a family and announce we’ve got something to tell them,” she said, “And I was worried they might be embarrassed in front of their friends or treat me in a different way. And it’s not like I’m doing anything out of character.” Phillips, who took part in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, shared that she and Frizell had blood tests to check whether their children could inherit the disease. “We wanted to know in case we needed to prepare the boys to make some difficult decisions later in life”, Frizell told the publication. “When the results came back as negative it was a huge moment – such an enormous sense of relief. There’s no Alzheimer’s on my side of the family and thank goodness it seems the boys have not inherited from Fiona’s side of the family.” The mother-of-two has now spoken out about the realities of the condition. “There is still an issue with this disease that the public thinks of old people, bending over a stick, talking to themselves,” Phillips said. The presenter said that she is no longer allowed to drive but walks each day: “I’m still here, getting out and about, meeting friends for coffee, going for dinner with [my husband] and walking every day.” The news comes as the Office for National Statistics said that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were the leading cause of death in the UK in 2022. The couple began to notice something was wrong when she developed “crippling anxiety” towards the end of 2021. Since Phillips had not experienced this before, they thought it might be menopausal symptoms. “We got in touch with a menopause specialist who took her under their wing and put her on HRT but while that improved some symptoms, the brain fog remained,” Frizell said. This prompted the couple to seek further help, including months of cognitive tests before a lumbar puncture to assess spinal fluid revealed she had Alzheimer’s. Phillips is taking a new drug called Miridesap, which scientists hope could slow or even reverse the illness. The drug is administered three times a day with tiny needles and is being trialled by the University College Hospital (UCH) in London. Phillips has no idea if she is among the cohort reviewing a placebo or not but still believes that partaking in the trail is important for eventually finding a cure for the disease. “Even the people we see for the check ups don’t know if Fiona is on the real drug or a placebo,” Frizell said. “It’s been weeks now and I like to think her condition is stabilising but I am too close to know really, that could just be my wishful thinking.” Read More Fiona Phillips, 62, reveals she has Alzheimer’s disease Woman exits plane after tirade about passenger who is ‘not real’: ‘Final Destination vibes’ Jay-Z’s mother Gloria Carter ‘marries longtime partner Roxanne Wilshire’ Fiona Phillips, 62, reveals she has Alzheimer’s disease This is how Novak Djokovic is preparing to win Wimbledon How tennis could be harming your body – and why it does you good

It's England against South Africa in the second semifinal in the Rugby World Cup

Global ratings agency Fitch said on Monday it plans to withdraw all the ratings on China's Country Garden

By Leika Kihara TOKYO Bank of Japan board member Asahi Noguchi said on Thursday the central bank must