Alex Thomson , Chief Correspondent

The Iraqi army declared victory over Islamic State fighters in Mosul earlier this week. But bombing continued to devastate the city and there are now reports emerging of Iraqi government forces killing suspected IS fighters who have surrendered. It is also becoming clear that many people are showing signs of malnutrition.

It’s a shadowy tale of a secret political donation: £425,000 which went to the pro-Brexit campaign. But where did it come from? No-one knows, except the Government’s new partners in power, the DUP. And under old electoral rules, which have since been changed, they didn’t have to reveal the source of political donations. Tonight we…

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the taxman in a legal battle with the Scottish football club Rangers. More than £47 million was paid to players and club officials through “employee benefit trusts”.  The club argued the payments were loans but the court ruled they were taxable earnings. The judgement could mean many…

The Metropolitan Police says it is now treating an acid attack in east London as a hate crime. Twenty four year old John Tomlin is wanted for questioning in connection with the incident, but police have warned that he shouldn’t be approached. Two cousins were attacked nine days ago in their car in Beckon. Last…

Six people have been charged with criminal offences relating to the Hillsborough disaster. Among them are the former chief superintendent of South Yorkshire Police, David Duckenfield, who faces charges of manslaughter by gross negligence, and former chief constable Sir Norman Bettison, charged with misconduct in public office. Families of the 96 people who died in…

If there is one individual who, more than anyone else, was responsible for campaigning for the truth of what happened at Hillsborough, it is Professor Phil Scraton, of Queen’s University in Belfast. He says the families’ long campaign shows that justice can prevail.

Louise Brookes, who lost her brother Andrew on the Leppings Lane terraces, says the Hillsborough families have shown people all over the world that if you never give up and stay united, hopefully there will be “light at the end of the tunnel”.

The Russian president enjoys approval ratings Western leaders can only dream of, even as they dismiss him as an isolationist and authoritarian leader. What is the secret of Putin’s appeal?

French President Emmanuel Macron has called their journalists “agents of influence and propaganda”. No wonder RT, formerly known as Russia Today, says its mission is to improve Russia’s image abroad. And in a rare interview, Margarita Simonyan , the editor of RT has told this programme that they are considering legal action aginst their French…

Why IS the weather so bad? Please can you fill in the potholes? What about that problem with Turkish tomatoes? Why haven’t you got married again? Did you really mess with the American election? Yes – today was the annual Putin phone-in, as the Russian President fielded questions from a nation getting everything, or ALMOST…

The Kremlin has dismissed criticism of its tough police response to yesterday’s anti-government protests, which saw more than 1,400 people arrested and the opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days. The authorities literally pulled the plug on his campaign, cutting off his YouTube channel, which had been broadcasting live to tens of thousands of…

Hundreds of people have been arrested across Russia in one of the biggest anti-Kremlin demonstrations in recent years. Opposition leader and presidential hopeful Alexei Navalny had called for nationwide protests against what he called Vladimir Putin’s corrupt rule.  

In Scotland, there was almost an entirely separate election campaign, with its own issues – notably the need, or otherwise, for a second independence referendum – and its own voting trends. The SNP is still the biggest party in Scotland by a long way, winning more seats than the other parties combined. But it also…

The Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has accused Theresa May of arrogance, as she spoke to a final rally of supporters in Leith, declaring that the election is an opportunity to stop the Tories in their tracks. Four million Scottish voters will be heading to the polls tomorrow.

Just days before the election, Theresa May has made a campaign visit to Edinburgh, declaring herself a “passionate Unionist”. The Conservatives hope to capture seats on Thursday, but the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon thinks her party could deny Mrs May a Westminster majority.