By Staff Writer The UK has committed £600 million in air-defence capabilities, including cutting-edge turrets that can shoot down Russian drones, to support Ukraine through the winter, as Putin’s air campaign plunges homes, hospitals and power stations into darkness. The support has already seen more than 1,000 missiles delivered to Ukraine since June, a direct result of the UK Government’s biggest single-year investment in air defence for Ukraine. The announcement comes as Defence Secretary John Healey MP and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, co-chaired the 32nd meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group last month. The Ministry of Defence has…

By Asal Abasian, Committee to Protect Journalists Iranian authorities have imposed a near-total internet shutdown as nationwide protests intensify, severely restricting journalists’ ability to report and cutting off communication with the outside world. The blackout began on January 8, more than a week after protests erupted in late December over mounting economic pressure, currency devaluation, and rising living costs. Journalists and rights advocates say the internet shutdown and restricted telephone access — a practice used by authorities in previous mass protests — appear aimed at suppressing coverage of the unrest and obscuring the scale of arrests and casualties. “Iran’s near-total shutdown of the internet is a blatant assault on press…

By Staff Writer On the day Iran’s security services moved to tighten their grip on the streets, millions of Iranian families received a stark and unsettling text message on their mobile phones. The message did not address protesters directly. Instead, it targeted parents, turning the private sphere of family life into an extension of the state’s coercive apparatus. “Dear parents, inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country.” The message was delivered via MTN-Irancell, Iran’s largest mobile network operator, reaching deep into households across the country. For many…

By Staff Writer The UK will develop new tactical ballistic missiles that boost Ukraine’s firepower to defend itself from Putin’s war machine. Under Project Nightfall, the UK has launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometres, designed to operate in high-threat battlefields with heavy electromagnetic interference. The Ministry of Defence has said that Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles, firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes. This will allow Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond.…

By Staff Writer While the Tehran regime is reported to have killed thousands of innocent civilians in recent days, the South African government authorised a joint naval exercise between the South African Navy and the Iranian Navy called “Will for Peace 2026”. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deployed at Simon’s Town Naval Base The South African government granted three Iranian naval vessels privileged access to the strategic Simon’s Town Naval Base, which secures the vital international maritime route linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean around the Cape. One of the Iranian vessels, IRIS Shahid Mahdavi (L110-3), is a…

By Staff Writer The UK has signed a £52 million contract with Germany for state-of-the-art military artillery. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the deal means the UK will receive a cutting-edge Early Capability Demonstrator (ECD) platform of the RCH 155, with two more going to Germany for joint testing. The joint procurement demonstrates deepening defence cooperation between the UK and Germany under the Trinity House agreement signed in October 2024 – a landmark defence agreement that committed both nations to military collaboration, the MoD added. RCH 155 is a long-term solution for the British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform requirement. Soldiers…

By Sean Rayment High-level talks over the future of Greenland will take place between the US and Denmark at the White House this week. The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, the Danish foreign minister said, amid President Donald Trump’s push to take control of the Arctic island. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt requested a meeting with Rubio after Mr Trump recently intensified threats to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. “US Vice…

By Staff Writer When protests erupt in Iran, the regime’s response is predictable: batons, bullets, mass arrests, and bandwidth cuts. Since 08 January, the Supreme Leader has implemented a near-complete internet blackout across the country. According to real-time network monitoring data from Cloudflare, internet traffic in Iran has collapsed to levels indicating an almost total shutdown of connectivity. Cloudflare Radar shows Iranian internet traffic dropping precipitously starting on 08 January 2025, with connectivity falling to approximately 10 to 15 per cent of normal levels. This represents one of the most severe nationwide internet disruptions Iran has implemented since the November…

By Sean Rayment Iran has insisted that communication channels with Washington remain open even as President Trump considers his response to a deadly crackdown on protests that have become the gravest challenge to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mr Trump said on Sunday that the United States might meet Iranian officials and that he was in contact with opposition figures, while simultaneously increasing pressure on Tehran, including warnings of possible military action over the killing of demonstrators. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 544 people have been killed since protests erupted on…

By Staff Writer South Africa risks further angering Donald Trump as it this week hosts naval exercises with Russia, China and Iran. Warships from fellow members of the BRICS bloc have arrived off Cape Town for a week of maritime drills called Will for Peace 2026. South Africa’s military has said the exercises will focus on cooperation and securing maritime trade routes, but has given little detail about what this will involve. The event, which features several of Washington’s main global rivals or adversaries, risks further straining ties after a year in which Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Pretoria. It also…

By Staff Writer Nationwide protests and strikes spread across Iran this week, leaving at least 36 people dead and more than 2,000 arrested, as opposition groups and exiled figures urged demonstrators to sustain pressure on the Islamic Republic’s leadership. The latest unrest was triggered by a general strike called by Kurdish political parties, prompting shop closures across Kurdish-majority regions and demonstrations in dozens of cities, including Isfahan, Kerman, Lahijan and Hamadan. According to the Critical Threats Project (CTP) and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), 89 protests have been recorded across 21 provinces since 6 January, including 19…

By Sean Rayment China’s accelerating military modernisation is eroding the long-held assumption that Western powers would dominate the skies in any Pacific conflict, according to a new assessment by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The report argues that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has reached a point at which US and allied air superiority can no longer be taken for granted, particularly in a confrontation centred on Taiwan. Chinese advances in aircraft production, missile technology and integrated air defence systems mean that Western forces would face unprecedented risks in the opening stages of any conflict. Central to this shift…