Smoke rising above Putin’s hometown is his worst humiliation yet

As war comes to Russia’s second city, the president’s lies are exposed This was a smokescreen that revealed more than it hid. The pillar of black fumes rising into the summer sky above St Petersburg on Wednesday reminded the world, and especially those international would-be investors who had travelled to the showpiece St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), that Russia is at war – and the war had come to the same city as they had. There was no question who launched the attack. In an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky wrote: “Our long-range drones paid a visit to the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg.” Actor Anthony Head, best known for his roles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has died at the age of 72, his daughters said in a statement. The British star was best known as librarian Rupert Giles in the cult US supernatural TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which ran from 1997 to 2003. It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father. He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.