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…

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 Dr. Dion George South Africa stands at a crossroads. At stake is not only the survival of our iconic wildlife—rhinos, elephants, lions, and abalone—but the integrity of our national security and the security of our international partners, including the United States. During my tenure as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, I learned firsthand that illicit wildlife trafficking is never just about wildlife. It is one node in a sprawling criminal ecosystem that moves drugs, weapons, people, and illicit finance through the same routes and by the same violent networks. To confront these syndicates is to confront the…

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 MI5 has issued an espionage alert to MPs and peers warning that two people linked to the Chinese intelligence service are actively seeking to recruit parliamentarians. The two recruiters, who operate as headhunters on the LinkedIn professional networking website aiming to obtain “non-public and insider insights,” MI5 said, are also targeting economists, think tank staff and civil servants for their access to politicians. The spy agency sent its warning about the two to Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the Commons, and his Lords equivalent, Lord McFall, on Tuesday morning, both of whom relayed its contents to MPs…

By Sean Rayment The US is poised to launch a direct attack against Venezuela following an announcement that a cartel allegedly run by the country’s president will be designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Sunday announcing that the US intends to list the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) from 24 November. The move means that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will effectively be designated a terrorist as well, given that the US alleges he heads the Cartel de los Soles — an accusation he strongly denies. This…

By Staff Writer Disinformation is one of the greatest threats to global climate action, world leaders at the COP30 summit in Belém declared. Twelve countries, including Brazil, France, Canada and Germany, have signed the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, the first formal commitment by governments to confront false and misleading claims about the climate crisis. Officials say the surge in false climate narratives is being driven by fossil-fuel interests seeking to delay the energy transition, political actors who are weaponising environmental issues for electoral gain, and online influencers who profit from outrage-based content. Day three of COP30 ended…

By Sean Rayment Britain’s elite special forces have been directly involved in the killing of more than 4,000 Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq over the past 10 years. Troops from the SAS, the SBS and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have launched ambushes, carried out sniping attacks, called in air strikes and directed heavily armed drones against hundreds of Islamic State (IS) strongholds. The covert missions formed part of Operation Shader, the military codename for operations against IS terrorists in Syria and Iraq, launched in 2014. Defence sources have told National Security News that almost all of the carefully planned attacks…