AQEL TAQAZ looks warily at the implications of Western states’ proposed recognition of the Palestinian state

IN WHAT amounts to a shocking indictment of the merchants of war — otherwise known as governments — in assorted western European capitals, operating as ever under the increasingly frayed umbrella of US hegemony and suzerainty over a world that is changing in front of our eyes, a contingent of German troops — yes, German — is to be deployed to Lithuania in a daily expanding Nato operation to “contain” Russia.
Everything, clearly, has been forgotten and no lessons have been learned by and on the part of men and women for whom strong leadership is coterminous with the willingness to march their countries lockstep into war on the flimsiest of reasons.
The last time German troops were deployed to Lithuania they were directed there by one Adolf Hitler, who currently — surprise, surprise — is being resurrected in the Western media in the image of Vladimir Putin. This is the same Putin who himself lost a two-year-old brother during the German siege of Leningrad between 1941 and 1944.

In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT

As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs

From humble beginnings to becoming the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world, Josh Taylor’s career was marked by fire, ferocity, and national pride, writes JOHN WIGHT

Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT