The world is edging towards a Third World War as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East threaten to merge into a global confrontation involving Russia, Iran, North Korea and potentially China, a former senior British Army commander has warned. Colonel Harry Fullerton said the growing links between hostile states, combined with an escalating campaign of sabotage, cyber warfare and attacks on critical infrastructure, had created a dangerous international crisis that could spiral out of control. The former commanding officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment warned that world leaders risked sleepwalking into a devastating conflict as regional wars increasingly became…

By Ben Farmer Ethiopia has condemned neighbours for trying to shut it out of governance of the Red Sea, as the country’s feud with Eritrea over maritime access has put the region on the brink of war. A summit between Egypt, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan earlier this month decreed that only nations with a Red Sea coast should have any say in governing the strategic waterway. The pact has been seen as a deliberate stance to keep landlocked Ethiopia out of the waterway, as tensions rise on the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia lost direct access to the sea in 1993…

MI5 is devoting more resources to countering threats from Russia and other hostile states than it did during the Cold War, the head of the Security Service has warned. Sir Ken McCallum said the threat from foreign powers had quadrupled, with Russia remaining Britain’s “aggressor number one”. In his annual speech at MI5 headquarters in London, he warned that Moscow was increasingly recruiting criminals to carry out acts of sabotage and espionage across Europe. Sir Ken said the threat from hostile states had grown to such an extent that MI5 was now devoting almost as much operational effort to countering…

The United States is considering military action against the Houthis after repeated missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia exposed weaknesses in the kingdom’s air defences, despite billions of dollars being spent on American weapons systems. US president Donald Trump warned he could join Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels after attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport at the weekend killed 14 people and injured more than 300. The attacks have raised concerns over Saudi Arabia’s ability to defend its cities and infrastructure, with reports that its military is running dangerously low on interceptor missiles. Saudi officials…

NATO will press ahead with its annual nuclear exercise next week, despite Russia’s recent warning that it could use nuclear weapons to defend its territory. The 10-day Steadfast Noon exercise begins on Tuesday, 13 October, in Italy, with dozens of aircraft from 17 NATO countries expected to take part. Nassima Barrows, NATO’s head of nuclear policy, stressed that the exercise was routine and posed no threat to Russia. Barrows said: “Our exercise Steadfast Noon is routine. We have been doing this every year and we have not postponed.” She added: “There is no need to worry. This is predictable.” The…

The US military is preparing for possible renewed strikes against Iran as fighting intensifies across the Middle East, with Syria considering military support for Saudi Arabia and fresh threats to vital oil shipping routes. The Pentagon has instructed US Central Command to prepare for renewed military operations against Iran, Axios reported on Thursday. President Donald Trump has not made a final decision, but military action could take place before the US midterm elections in November. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Hamas could launch attacks to influence Israel’s October 27 election. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday,…

Israel is marking three years since the October 07 attacks, as the country remembers those killed in the Hamas-led attack that triggered a war which has since spread across the Middle East. Around 1,200 people were killed after Hamas and other armed groups breached the border from Gaza on October 07, 2023, attacking communities, military positions and the Nova music festival. Another 251 people were taken hostage. At 06:29am on Wednesday, marking the time the Hamas-led attack began three years ago, President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog lit a memorial candle at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Across…

By Harry Fullerton. Harry Fullerton is the founder of SixFigureGrid. This article was originally published by SixFigureGrid. On 30 January 2022, SixFigureGrid published an article titled ‘Gathering Storm Clouds – Ukraine Crisis 2022 – A Lesson from History’. It looked at how Russia was building up to an invasion of Ukraine and how this potential conflict might resonate with a previous war in the same region: the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856. It also explained how that war began amid a religious dispute in the Holy Land over responsibility for Christian sites in the then Ottoman-controlled region of Palestine.…

Wearable counter-drone technology is being deployed by Ukrainian and Israeli forces and tested by the US Army as militaries adapt to the growing threat from autonomous weapons. General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that American forces should expect to be “hunted by autonomous systems, jammed across the spectrum, and tracked in real time”. The warning comes as militaries are increasingly looking to equip individual soldiers with protection against drones on the battlefield. Autonomous Guard’s wearable counter-UAS technology has been used by Ukrainian troops and Israeli forces operating in Gaza, while the US Army…

Germany’s intelligence chiefs have warned that Russia’s “shadow war” against Europe is entering a more dangerous phase. Martin Jäger, president of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, said: “No other country currently poses such a direct, comprehensive, and concrete threat to Germany.” He added: “Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia.” The warnings came at the annual public hearing of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Committee, where the heads of Germany’s intelligence agencies gave an unusually open assessment of the threat posed by Moscow. Sinan Selen, president of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office…

The United States urgently withdrew 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford after intelligence warned that Iran was planning a drone attack intended to destroy American aircraft and kill their crews. The bombers were flown back to the United States over the weekend after US officials received warnings of a possible attack involving short-range weaponised drones launched from close to the Gloucestershire airbase. American and European officials said the alleged plan involved targeting both the B-1B Lancer bomber fleet and US personnel stationed at Fairford, which has been used to launch American operations against Iran. The intelligence raised fears of an…

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces have launched a major counter-offensive against the Houthis after weeks of gains made by the Iran-backed group. The renewed fighting has added another risk to global oil markets as Iran reiterates that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until its conditions for reopening the waterway are met. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said: “Today, I announce the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory.” He said government forces would continue fighting “until…