Russians at Paralympics opens door for LA28 Olympics return, expert warns February 18, 2026 Allowing Russian athletes to compete in the Paralympics under their national flag opens up the same opportunities at the next Olympic Games, according to geopolitical experts. Six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be able to compete under their native flags at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Milan after the International Paralympic Committee lifted its [...]
Nuclear deterrent strategy ‘no longer fit for purpose’ February 5, 2026 The UK’s nuclear deterrent strategy is outdated and a lack of expertise has left the country with an “awful lot of ground to make up”, a report backed by the former head of the civil service has warned. Lord Simon Case, who was cabinet secretary until shortly after Labour returned to government, has joined academics [...]
‘They don’t bring anything’: World Cup boycott talk rebuked by Fifa chief Infantino February 2, 2026 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has rubbished talk of nations staging a boycott of the 2026 World Cup over President Trump’s US administration. The debate has gathered momentum in recent weeks, with Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter endorsing calls, following Trump’s attempts to annex Greenland. A close ally of Trump, the Fifa chief argued that sport should [...]
China could ‘veto’ US access to the world, Trump document says January 24, 2026 China could “effectively veto” the US’s access to trading in the Indo-Pacific if the world’s second largest economy continues to build up its military forces, the Trump administration’s national defence strategy paper has said, putting Keir Starmer’s Chagos deal under intense scrutiny. A document published by President Trump’s Department of War has described China as [...]
Davos: Economic war is the ‘biggest global risk’ January 14, 2026 Trade wars and economic disputes between global powers are the biggest risk to the world over the next two years, business leaders, academics and government officials have said in a report ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos meeting. Nearly a fifth of respondents in a survey (18 per cent) by the World Economic Forum [...]
2026 will be all about hard power January 6, 2026 The season of peace on earth and good will to all men did not last long, and while I’ll shed no tears at seeing a corrupt dictator snatched from his lair it’s fair to say that 2026 is off to an uneasy start. The market response to Donald Trump’s audacious swoop on Venezuela has been [...]
Paralympic chief explains lifting of ban on Russia and Belarus November 24, 2025 Russia and Belarus have had their bans from Paralympic Games lifted because they are no longer using sport to promote war, says the president of the International Paralympic Committee. Both countries were suspended by the IPC shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a decision upheld for “breaches of its constitutional membership obligations” the [...]
Top foreign policy analyst and Tory councillor jumps ship to Reform November 19, 2025 Reform UK has lured a leading security and foreign policy analyst from the Conservatives to provide advice to the party and its leader, Nigel Farage, in what appears to be Reform’s latest move aimed at professionalising party operations. Dr Alan Mendoza, who heads up the Henry Jackson Society, a trans-Atlantic foreign affairs and security think [...]
Governments owe $80bn in investor-state Arbitration losses October 7, 2025 Investor-state disputes have more than doubled over the last decade, with decisions against governments totalling over $250m (£186m), and governments’ debts accumulating over $80bn (£60bn). Investor-state disputes enable overseas investors to recoup some of their investment if a government breaches its investment treaty obligations. Arbitration, an out-of-court method, is the preferred system for resolving these [...]
Capitulation clearing Russia and Putin’s path to LA 2028 Olympics October 2, 2025 Vladimir Putin’s path to Los Angeles 2028 is being cleared, his war on Ukraine becoming normalised in the minds of the world’s sports administrators. Last week’s votes by the International Paralympic Committee to readmit Russia and Belarus are, to my mind, a shameful capitulation and represent a triumph for the warmonger. All eyes now on [...]