President Trump leads new U.S.–Nigeria counterterrorism allianceAn op-ed on lawful partnership, civilian protection, and dismantling narco-terror revenue, by Andre Pienaar. Maps Map 1. Nigeria and Sokoto State (northwest operational area). Map 2. The Sahel belt across Africa (regional operating environment). Source: Munion, “Map of the Sahel,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. On December 25, 2025, US Africa Command announced that, at the direction of the President of the United States and in coordination with Nigerian authorities, US forces conducted strikes against ISIS camps in Sokoto State, with an initial assessment that multiple ISIS operatives were killed. Counter-terrorism works best when…

China has fired rockets close to Taiwan in a series of military exercises designed to test planning for an invasion of the island.Beijing deployed new amphibious assault ships alongside destroyers and bomber aircraft, on the second day of drills rehearsing a blockade of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.Donald Trump said he was not concerned by the provocative action, which China launched days after Washington approved £8bn in arms sales to the self-governing island.The “Justice Mission 2025” exercises – the largest by area and closest to Taiwan yet – began on Monday with Beijing deploying troops, warships, fighter…

Russian forces under the direct orders of President Vladimir Putin are executing prisoners of war as they intensify attacks during peace negotiations, one of Ukraine’s most decorated soldiers has said. Major Oleh Shyriaiev, who was granted the highest national decoration of Hero of Ukraine for his leadership on the battlefield, said that he regularly intercepted transmissions in which Russian military leaders gave orders to kill surrendering servicemen. Evidence of the war crimes has become overwhelming in recent months, according to combat observers. Footage filmed by Russian soldiers or Ukrainian reconnaissance drones shows troops being lined up and shot with automatic…

US defence chiefs believe China is expanding and modernising its weapons stockpile faster than any other nuclear-armed power, a draft Pentagon report highlighting Beijing’s growing military ambitions has revealed.China has loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles across its latest three silo fields and has no desire for arms control talks, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based non-profit.Beijing has described reports of a military buildup as efforts to “smear and defame China and deliberately mislead the international community.”Last month, US President Donald Trump said that he may be working on a plan to denuclearise with China…

By Isabella Egerton Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy its Oreshnik hypersonic missile system to Belarus, a move he said would threaten several European countries. The relocation of the Oreshnik system to Belarus is nearing completion, and Ukraine knows where it will be deployed, he said in a statement. “We are sharing this information with our partners. The partners themselves can assess this threat and understand how to respond,” he said. “We previously warned our European and American partners that Russia would deploy Oreshnik in Belarus,” Zelensky added. “We showed the operational range of…

By André Pienaar The US State Department’s December 2025 condemnation of the doxing and harassment of American officials by the South African government marks a rare and deeply troubling escalation in diplomatic relations between Washington and Pretoria. Governments may disagree. They may protest policy. They may even pursue litigation or sanctions. What they may not do, without crossing a national security red line, is weaponise personal data against foreign officials. That is precisely what the United States now alleges South Africa has done. According to the State Department, South African government actors publicly disseminated sensitive personal information belonging to US…

By Ben Farmer America is close to sealing a security pact with Nigeria after US President Donald Trump threatened to send in troops “guns a-blazing” to stop the persecution of Christians. A delegation of US congressmen who toured the country say Washington is nearing an agreement, which is expected to include intelligence sharing and training for Nigeria’s forces. Mr Trump in November threatened military action after saying Christianity faced an “existential threat” from attacks by Muslim militants in the West African nation. “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers,” he said at the time.“We’re not going…

By Staff Writer Vladimir Putin has dismissed European leaders as “little pigs”, as Russia hardened its public stance on a US-backed peace framework that would offer Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees but stop short of full alliance membership. Russian officials said they would not return territory occupied in Ukraine or accept the presence of foreign peacekeepers, following the presentation of a revised 20-point framework discussed during talks involving Ukraine, the United States and European governments. Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow viewed the proposals with “extreme seriousness”, but added that Russia would not agree to terms that, in his…

By Staff Writer Blaise Metreweli, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service’s first speech on how MI6 is keeping the UK safe in a world where the rules of conflict are being rewritten. In her first speech Ms Metreweli,  the head of MI6 also known as C, describes the threats facing the UK now and in the future. The full transcript of her speech is below: Welcome inside MI6. This iconic building, familiar to movie fans everywhere, is the home of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency. But whilst hundreds of my team pass through the entry pods each day, the truth is…

By Sean Rayment Defence chiefs believe that UK military intelligence will be more efficient, faster and better able to anticipate future threats following the launch of the new Military Intelligence Services (MIS). The major overhaul of Defence’s intelligence organisations comes amid increasing threats to the UK and will help keep Britain ahead of hostile states and terrorists, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. Following the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review, the reforms bring every intelligence unit and organisation within Defence under a single structure for the first time. This includes units from the Royal Navy, British Army and…

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 Staff Writer President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is “ready for elections” if its partners can guarantee security, rejecting claims by US President Donald Trump that Kyiv is using the war to delay democracy. Zelensky’s five-year term expired in May 2024, but elections have remained suspended under martial law imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Speaking after Trump repeated his accusations in a Politico interview, Zelensky said elections could be held within 60 to 90 days if security was guaranteed with the help of the US and European allies. “I’m asking now, and I’m stating this openly, for the…

By Sean Rayment Britain’s “hollowed out” armed forces are not ready for a war with Russia, defence chiefs have declared. The UK’s armed forces need more soldiers, warships and combat aircraft if British troops are going to help Nato defeat President Vladimir Putin in a future war with Russia. The disclosure comes after the Russian leader declared that he was prepared to go to war with Europe if peace talks in Ukraine failed. Although Russia has lost more than one million troops and the country’s economy is about to go into recession, Putin said that he was ready to fight…

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 Staff Writer Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, amid a renewed Western effort to secure a peace deal with Russia. After landing, the Ukrainian president said: “Today in the UK. Meetings and coordination talks with our European partners are planned. We are joining efforts to end this war with a just peace for Ukraine. Security must be guaranteed.” Zelensky will also join a video call with EU leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte before travelling to Brussels for further talks…

By Sean Rayment Thailand has deployed F-16 fighter jets to bomb a casino and an alleged drone base in Cambodia, weeks after the US brokered a peace deal between the two countries. The airstrikes were launched on Monday after each side accused the other of breaking the fragile ceasefire. US President Donald Trump had previously claimed the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia as one of the eight wars he had “ended”. Thailand’s military said the airstrikes were launched after one of its soldiers was killed and four others wounded in fighting along the tense border on Monday morning. The Thai…

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 Two former heads of all UK Special Forces suppressed evidence of possible SAS war crimes, a former high-ranking officer has told a public inquiry in closed evidence sessions. The officer, who was among the most senior in special forces, said he had passed what he called “explosive” evidence suggesting “criminal behaviour” to the then director special forces in 2011. He also told the inquiry that the subsequent director special forces, who took over in 2012, “clearly knew there was a problem in Afghanistan” and failed to act. The claims come from testimony published on Monday by the…

By Sean Rayment Defence chiefs are banning sexualised and inappropriate jokes after senior commanders ruled that they represent a form of sexual harassment. The move effectively brings to an end years of sexist and often intimidatory military banter which many senior female officers believe has had a corrosive impact. Troops who tell female colleagues rude jokes, or make sexualised comments either to or about them, now face being disciplined and court martialled. The ruling also applies to women who tell dirty jokes to their male troops or make sex-related comments about their appearance. The move follows the disclosure that over…

By Sean Rayment Taiwan will prepare for a full-scale war within the next two years amid “intensifying” threats from China, the nation’s president has declared. China has been rapidly expanding its military capabilities over the past five years while routinely threatening to bring Taiwan under its control. Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan, said the military aimed to be ready for combat against China by 2027 as he unveiled the £30.2 billion defence package in an announcement on Wednesday. “There is no room for compromise on national security,” he said during the address at the presidential office. “National sovereignty and…