France and the US have sought to end a dispute that began last week with the announcement of the Aukus Defense Pact between the US, UK and Australia. The pact cost France a $ 37 billion (£ 27 billion) deal to build submarines for Australia. Paris said it only foundContinue Reading
A security agreement signed by China and the Solomon Islands in April, has created waves of concern throughout the region and reaching as far as the United States. Initially leaked as a draft, the deal was formally signed at a meeting in Beijing between foreign ministry officials of the PRCContinue Reading
Mark Kelton, Former Deputy Director, CIA’s Counterintelligence, National Clandestine Service Cipher Brief Expert Mark Kelton is a retired senior Central Intelligence Agency executive with 34 years of experience in intelligence operations. Before retiring, he served as CIA’s Deputy Director for Counterintelligence. He is a partner at the FiveEyes Group andContinue Reading
Latest updates at a glance: Pentagon officials have announced the last U.S. military plane has left Afghanistan, marking the end of America’s longest war.President Biden praised the military for “their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the future of America’s diplomaticContinue Reading
There are growing signs Russia could be on the brink of fully capturing Mariupol, the besieged southern port city which has suffered a devastating, six-week assault. Officially, Ukraine’s armed forces say they are sustaining its defence and are in “continuous contact” with their troops on the ground. But they concedeContinue Reading
Viktoria Kovalenko remembers the moment clearly. “There was an explosion, or some kind of shots. It deafened me. The back windscreen shattered. My husband shouted, ‘Get out of the car.’” The horror of that day is almost unimaginable. The following account contains graphic detail which some may find distressing NineContinue Reading
The US has imposed sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including his daughters. The list also includes the family of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and major banks. The measures follow new revelations of atrocities by Russian troops in Ukraine, including images of bodies of civilians scattered on theContinue Reading
An oil storage depot is on fire in a Russian city just north of Ukraine after what the local governor said was an attack by two Ukrainian helicopters. A video shared on Twitter shows a blaze near apartment blocks in Belgorod, some 40km (25 miles) from the border. Some clipsContinue Reading
A member of a major Scottish crime gang has been convicted of the murder of a Dutch crime writer outside a sex club. Christopher Hughes lured Martin Kok, 49, to his death before he was shot eight times by a gunman in Laren, in the Netherlands, on 8 December 2016.Continue Reading
Ukraine’s president has said his government is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia. In an interview with independent Russian journalists, Volodymyr Zelensky said any such deal would have to be put to a referendum in Ukraine. He has made similar commentsContinue Reading