Sunday 28 June 2026 The declaration of a state of emergency across occupied Crimea marks more than another administrative measure in a long war. It is a public acknowledgement that a territory Russia once presented as irrevocably secure has become increasingly vulnerable. For over a decade Moscow has portrayed Crimea as the great strategic prize of its confrontation with Ukraine—a permanently integrated region, protected by geography, military power and political determinatio

Sunday 28 June 2026 There was a time when Europeans regarded prolonged heat as a Mediterranean inconvenience rather than a continental reality. Northern Europe was associated with temperate summers, occasional rain and moderate temperatures that made the region one of the world’s most hospitable environments for agriculture, urban living and industrial development. That assumption has been steadily eroded over the past two decades. Each successive summer appears to produce a

Sunday 28 January 2026 The qualities that make a successful local politician are not always the qualities required to lead a nation. Britain has repeatedly elevated figures whose strength lay in communicating with ordinary voters, only to discover that governing demands a different set of skills from campaigning. As speculation continues about the future leadership of the British centre-left, an important question arises: if Andy Burnham were to become Prime Minister, would h

Sunday 28 June 2026 When a political leader announces his own resignation, the instinctive assumption is that he has been defeated. In Serbia however, matters are rarely so straightforward. Aleksandar Vučić’s declaration that he intends to resign within weeks and trigger early presidential and parliamentary elections appears less like an admission of weakness than an attempt to transform an unfavourable political climate into one more conducive to his continued dominance. For

Saturday 27 June 2026 For most of military history, control of the skies has meant something readily recognisable. Aircraft fly when they wish, enemy aircraft are unable to do so and the movement of armies beneath is dictated by whoever possesses aerial supremacy. During the Second World War, the Allied bombing campaign over Germany became possible only after the Luftwaffe had largely been defeated. During the Gulf War, coalition aircraft operated almost without opposition. A