By Ben Farmer Mali and its Russian allies have killed and wounded scores of civilians in recent months as they attempt to beat back jihadist insurgents, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The West African nation’s military junta and Africa Corps, a Russian Defence Ministry-controlled paramilitary force, have stepped up drone strikes in response to attacks by Islamist and separatist fighters. The New York-based human rights organisation said it had found evidence of deadly indiscriminate air strikes, soldiers shooting civilians during patrols and torture. Another conflict monitor, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), reported that between April…

The Defense Intelligence Agency’s 2026 space threat assessment records what no previous edition did: space is now an active combat theatre. By André Pienaar There is a sentence in the Iran section of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) new assessment, Challenges to Security in Space 2026, that should be read by the governments of each of our allies. With the onset of Operation Epic Fury, it records, “the U.S. and Iran took offensive actions against each others’ space capabilities to degrade and disrupt military actions on both sides.” This is a critical development in warfare. When the DIA first published…

Saudi Arabia has reportedly offered Yemen’s Houthis $1 billion to stop attacks on the kingdom as part of a proposed ceasefire mediated by Iran. The reported offer follows a visit to Tehran by Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman for talks with Iranian officials. According to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, citing diplomatic sources in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia proposed transferring $1 billion to the Houthis through Iran in exchange for an end to attacks on Saudi territory. One source claimed that Prince Khalid had brought the money to Tehran aboard a Hercules military transport aircraft. However, a Saudi official…

Two British men have been charged with national security offences following an investigation into suspected Iranian intelligence activity near RAF Fairford. Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, both 24 and from London, were charged under the National Security Act 2023 following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing. Abdulkarim is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service, which police believe to be Iran, while Essghir faces a separate charge relating to activity near a prohibited site. Both men were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, October 27, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor,…

Iran has drawn up plans to attack undersea communications cables in the Gulf if the United States and Israel launch renewed military strikes, according to senior Iranian security officials. Two officials told Reuters that Tehran was preparing to target the cables, potentially disrupting internet connections and other communications across the region. One official said Iran would also seek to prevent damaged cables from being repaired, prolonging disruption to telecommunications networks. “If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines… from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones,” the official said. The plans come amid fears of renewed…

By Ben Farmer Algeria has approved sending troops to protect its energy investments in neighbouring Niger, marking the country’s first foreign military deployment in more than 50 years. The North African state’s parliament agreed to send army units to northern Niger, where Algeria’s state-owned energy company, Sonatrach, has signed several oil exploration and drilling agreements. The resolution allows Algeria’s first overseas troop deployment since the country sent forces to support Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Niger and neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso have for years been plagued by a powerful Islamist insurgency, with the Sahel region now considered…

Britain has been accused of failing to enforce sanctions against Russia after a blacklisted oil tanker sailed past Shetland without being intercepted. The Leruo, carrying 300,000 barrels of Russian diesel, travelled through the northern North Sea last week, despite new powers allowing British forces to intercept sanctioned ships in UK waters. According to The Times, the tanker departed the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk on October 17, initially identifying Manaus in Brazil as its destination. Shipping intelligence provider Kpler subsequently recorded its destination as “Atlantic Coast for order”, suggesting the cargo could be bound for a North American customer. The voyage…

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey are holding emergency talks with Iran on Monday amid growing fears that the United States and Israel are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive against Tehran. The high-level meeting comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensify missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump threatens further military action against Iran. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are attending the talks in Tehran with senior Iranian security officials. The delegations are also expected to meet Iranian…

The first new component under US Special Operations Command in twenty years formalises a relationship that has been operating in the shadows, and sends a signal to allies and adversaries alike. By André Pienaar When the Marine Corps stood up its special operations component in 2006, it did so after years of internal discussions about whether a service built around amphibious assault had any business inside the closed world of US Special Operations Command. Two decades on, the newest and smallest of the American services has made the same leap. On October 07, the US Space Force quietly activated Space…

By Ben farmer Two European hostages held captive by Islamic State militants in West Africa for more than a year have reportedly been freed after mediation by emerging Libyan strongman Saddam Haftar. Claudia Abbt, a Swiss national, and Eva Gretzmacher, an Austrian national, were flown to Benghazi in Libya after lengthy negotiations. The pair were kidnapped separately last year from their homes in the Niger desert town of Agadez and are thought to have been held by Islamic State in the Sahel (ISS). Haftar, the son of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has helped win freedom for a series of hostages…

Britain’s nuclear deterrent, underwater communications cables and vital energy pipelines are at risk from Russian submarines because of serious gaps in the Royal Navy’s capabilities, MPs have warned. A damning report by the Commons Defence Committee has raised doubts about whether Britain’s depleted fleet of warships and nuclear-powered submarines could defend the UK against a Russian attack in the North Atlantic and Arctic. MPs warn that the Ministry of Defence has allowed critical anti-submarine warfare capabilities to decline at a time when Russia is expanding its military presence in the High North. Britain may be unable to protect vital transatlantic…

The United States has warned South Africa that it faces further punitive action after failing to meet a series of demands from the Trump administration over its foreign policy, treatment of white farmers and restrictions on American investment.Leo Brent Bozell III, the US ambassador to South Africa, said Washington had made clear that further measures were being considered and warned that the South African government should not mistake the threats for a bluff.In an interview with the The Common Sense, the ambassador accused elements of the South African government of wanting to return to the Soviet era and warned that…