In 1942, the uranium that fuelled the Manhattan Project travelled from a single mine in the Belgian Congo, Shinkolobwe, in the Katanga copper belt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to the laboratories of Los Alamos. Eight decades later, history is repeating itself in reverse. Strategic quantities of uranium are once again leaving Katanga and the DRC, but this time the destination is the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the method is concealment inside cobalt ore, and the beneficiary is the fastest nuclear weapons build-up in the world. A landmark investigation published last week by Lighthouse Reports, a…

Britain’s MI6 has been rated Europe’s leading foreign intelligence service by intelligence professionals from across the Western alliance, according to a survey that placed the Secret Intelligence Service well ahead of its continental counterparts. The assessment, published by the French magazine L’Express, drew on the views of 60 serving and former intelligence officials from 25 countries. Over three months, the publication canvassed members of allied intelligence communities to rank the effectiveness of their opposite numbers, producing a rare peer assessment of Europe’s principal espionage agencies. France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) secured second place, earning praise for its global…

Iran prepared plans to strike three targets in Ukraine before abandoning the operation after Kyiv offered what Tehran described as an apology for a deadly attack on an Iranian vessel, a senior adviser has claimed. Mohsen Rezaei, a senior adviser to Iran’s leadership, said Iranian forces had completed preparations for retaliatory attacks after the ship was hit in the Caspian Sea on 25 July. “We were set to strike three sites in Ukraine, but cancelled the attack following Ukraine’s apology,” Rezaei told Iranian state television. He gave no details of the targets and produced no evidence that an attack had…

Iranian forces have launched a drone attack on a US military facility in Kuwait while a cargo vessel has been struck by an unidentified projectile near the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest sign that the war is expanding across the Gulf. A source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post that at least three drones were used in the attack on the US base. Regional media later reported explosions in Kuwait and Iraq’s Basra province, which borders both Iran and Kuwait. Iranian state media also reported a large fire in Kuwait, although the cause has not been independently…

Russian fuel shortages are becoming increasingly visible across parts of the country after months of Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries and energy infrastructure, disrupting supplies and prompting emergency measures by the Kremlin. Long queues have been reported at filling stations in parts of southern Russia, Crimea and Siberia, while regional authorities have introduced restrictions on fuel sales in some areas. Repeated strikes on refining facilities have reduced production capacity and placed growing pressure on domestic fuel supplies, according to reports. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the impact of the attacks during a government meeting on fuel supplies. He told officials:…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the US government for an emergency package of 300 Patriot missile interceptors before winter, warning that Ukraine’s air defence stockpiles are almost exhausted as Russia continues launching large-scale ballistic missile attacks. In an interview with Axios following his White House meeting on Tuesday with President Donald Trump, which lasted more than an hour, Zelensky said Ukraine urgently needs additional interceptors to protect its energy infrastructure ahead of winter. “We needed the Patriots yesterday,” Zelensky said. According to Zelensky, Russia launches between 30 and 40 ballistic missiles during each major strike and carries out three…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday as Kyiv seeks additional air defence systems and closer defence cooperation following an escalation in Russian missile and drone attacks. After arriving in the United States, Zelensky said strengthening Ukraine’s air defences would be his government’s immediate priority. “Our number-one priority is anti-ballistic defence and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer,” he wrote on X. The meeting will take place before both leaders attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in Congress,…

Russia is seeking a further 30,000 North Korean troops to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, in what would mark the biggest expansion yet of the growing military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang. The revelation was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Russia has been preparing to receive the additional soldiers since June, with facilities being readied in the Voronezh region, south of Moscow. Zelenskyy also claimed North Korea is preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia, further strengthening the Kremlin’s ability to wage its more than four-year war. If confirmed, the deployment would more than…

Iran has warned that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea “cannot go unanswered”, after Tehran said the strike killed one sailor and injured another. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the 25 July attack as an act of aggression and summoned Ukraine’s diplomatic representative in Tehran over the incident. Iran said it reserved the right to defend its national interests and security. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said: “Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.” “In calls…

US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants if Tehran continues attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions spread beyond the Gulf after Yemen’s Houthi movement warned it could target Saudi shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the United States would retaliate against any future Iranian attack on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz — whether it be by missile, rocket, drone or any other device…

Ukraine launched more than 400 drones towards Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, Russian authorities said, in what Russian military commentators described as one of the largest attacks on the capital since the start of the war. Russia’s defence ministry said 381 drones had been intercepted across the country and over the Black and Azov seas. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 85 drones had been destroyed while approaching the capital. The claims could not be independently verified. Ten people were injured in the Moscow region, including three Chinese nationals, according to Russian officials. Seven of the casualties were reported in…

Up to 60,000 British soldiers a year will train using artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and virtual battlefields under a £2 billion programme designed to prepare the Army for modern warfare. The 15-year contract has been awarded to Omnia Training, a consortium led by Raytheon UK, and will replace and modernise the way troops rehearse large-scale military operations. The government said the system would allow commanders to recreate the complexity of contemporary conflicts, analyse soldiers’ performance and identify weaknesses before units are deployed. At the centre of the programme will be a digital platform known as the Combat Laboratory, which…