By Sean Rayment Britain’s top spy has warned that the front line against Russia is “everywhere”, urging the country to be ready for President Vladimir Putin’s “export of chaos” to continue until he is forced to change his methods. In her first public speech since becoming “C”, Blaise Metreweli will say that the “front line is everywhere” as a result of Moscow’s use of hybrid warfare, including disinformation, sabotage and cyberattacks. She warned that the UK is entering an “age of uncertainty” as the rules of conflict are being rewritten by Russia and other hostile actors. Metreweli is the first…

By Staff Writer When Hugo Armando “El Pollo” Carvajal finally pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on 25 June 2025, the former Venezuelan military intelligence chief admitted what US prosecutors had alleged for years: that senior officials inside the Chávez–Maduro regime used cocaine as a weapon against the United States, in partnership with a designated terrorist group, and were prepared to arm that conspiracy with machine guns and explosives. Now, from a US federal prison cell, Carvajal has gone further. In a letter dated 02 December 2025, addressed to President Donald Trump…

By Sean Rayment President Donald Trump intends for the US to maintain a larger military presence in the Western Hemisphere going forward to combat migration, drugs and the rise of adversarial powers in the region, according to his new National Security Strategy. The 33-page document is a rare formal explanation of the Trump administration’s foreign policy worldview. Such strategies, which presidents typically release once per term, can help shape how parts of the US government allocate budgets and set policy priorities. Publication of the strategy comes as Russia has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy, calling it…

By Andre Pienaar Yesterday, under President Trump’s leadership, a peace agreement was signed that will not only bring much-needed stability to Africa’s largest and most resource-rich country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but will also provide long-term security for the Tutsi minority in the east of the DRC, the so-called Banyamulenge. President Donald Trump’s second term is forcing a hard question back onto the global agenda: what should the United States do when governments fail to protect vulnerable minorities? On Nigeria, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Trump is placing the security of vulnerable minorities…

By Andre Pienaar When the Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG), backed by J.P. Morgan, released its 2025 NatSec100 rankings, most headlines focused on AI, autonomy, cyber and space. But one development should make national security leaders sit up: C5 Capital’s advanced nuclear energy portfolio company X-energy has been named a Top 10 company on this year’s list. For a ranking long dominated by software and sensors, a clean-energy, advanced nuclear fuel and reactor company breaking into the top tier is not a curiosity. It is a strategic signal that energy security is now recognised as core national security – on…

By Staff Writer A meeting between President Zelenskyy and a US delegation has been cancelled after talks in Russia on the war in Ukraine concluded without a breakthrough. Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, spoke to President Putin and other Russian officials in Moscow for five hours on Tuesday but failed to make any headway on a peace deal. The US negotiators were due to brief Zelenskyy in Brussels the next day. However, Witkoff and Kushner left Moscow on Tuesday night for Washington, the Kremlin said. “The Brussels meeting is called off,” a Kyiv Post…

By Staff Writer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has intensified his diplomatic push for a “truly durable” peace, holding hours of talks in Paris before joining a series of high-level calls with European leaders and the United States. Zelenskyy arrived at the Élysée Palace on 01 December for what he described as “several-hour talks” with French President Emmanuel Macron. “During our several-hour talks, Emmanuel Macron and I assessed a great many details. The main focus was on negotiations to end the war and on security guarantees. Peace must become truly durable.” He stressed that success depends on every international leader, writing: “Much now depends on the involvement…

By Sean Rayment Nato leaders hope to push forward the Ukraine peace plan, as Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last weekend’s talks were “a major step towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”. Expected at the virtual meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, co-hosted by the UK and France, are leaders from European countries and potentially US President Donald Trump, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This meeting will provide an opportunity to review discussions held in Geneva on Sunday between US, European and Ukrainian negotiators, the Elysee said in a statement. Meanwhile, talks continue…

By Staff Writer Polish authorities have accused Russian secret services of orchestrating sabotage attacks on railway infrastructure, in what officials describe as part of Moscow’s wider campaign to destabilise Europe. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for Poland’s minister-coordinator of secret services, said the incident on the Warsaw–Lublin line was organised by “secret services from the East” and warned that Russia aims to intimidate Polish society and sow division. “Everything currently indicates that the terrorist act on Polish railway tracks was initiated by secret services from the East,” Dobrzyński said. He added: “Officers are doing everything possible to clarify this case. I cannot…

By Sean Rayment Britain is sending a specialist Royal Air Force regiment counter-drone unit equipped with advanced technology to Belgium after repeated incursions by “uncrewed aerial systems” over the country’s airports and military bases. Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the UK’s armed forces, said the British military would provide “our people, our equipment” to support Belgium, though he was careful to note that “we don’t yet know” the origin of the drones. “Russia is the biggest threat right now, and their illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown what they are capable of,” he added. “Russia is something we should…

By Sean Rayment The UK Government has been urged to invest in the global “race for space” by a House of Lords committee. In a report focused on growing the UK’s space economy, the House of Lords cross-party committee said the government should provide clear leadership, strategy, and investment to avoid missing the opportunity to become a “lead player” in the global space sector. “Only the most strategic and forward-looking nations will capture the economic and scientific rewards of this new space age,” said committee chair Baroness Catherine Ashton. “With the right leadership, coordination, and investment, the UK can be…

By Ben Farmer Sudanese paramilitary rebels have been accused of massacring as many as 2,000 civilians, including hundreds of hospital patients, in ethnic killing sprees after they overran a besieged city. El Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after an 18-month bombardment and blockade that had turned the enclave into the epicentre of the country’s catastrophic civil war. Sudanese army defenders and their militia allies were eventually routed when the RSF captured their last stronghold in the city, the 6th Division headquarters, after heavy fighting. Tens of thousands fled in the hours that followed. Their testimony, along with…