Thursday 18 June 2026 For most of the post-war era since World War II, the American aircraft carrier has been the ultimate symbol of military power. A floating airbase carrying scores of combat aircraft, escorted by cruisers, destroyers, submarines and support vessels, a carrier strike group has long represented the ability of the United States to project force almost anywhere on earth. During crises from the Cold War to the Middle East, the question often asked in Washington

Thursday 18 June 2026 As voters cast their ballots today in the Makerfield by-election, a contest that may mark the return of Andy Burnham to Westminster and perhaps even set her on a path towards the premiership, economic policy has once again become central to British politics. Burnham has long represented a strand of Labour thinking more willing to contemplate a fundamental reset in relations with Europe than the cautious incrementalism that has characterised the governmen

Thursday 18 June 2026 Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Belarus has occupied an uncomfortable and ambiguous position in the war. Although Belarusian troops have not directly participated in large-scale combat operations against Ukraine, the territory of Belarus served as one of the principal launching grounds for the initial assault on Kyiv. Russian armoured columns crossed the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, airborne forces staged operations from B

Thursday 18 June 2026 The rise of large language models has quietly transformed electronic communications. A few years ago, when one received an email, a text message or an instant message, there was a strong presumption that another human being had written it. That assumption is no longer safe. Today a growing proportion of written communications are generated, partially generated or heavily assisted by artificial intelligence systems. Some messages are drafted by humans and

Thursday 18 June 2026 For much of the post-Cold War era, discussions of Russian threats to the West have centred upon familiar instruments of state power: military force, espionage, energy leverage, cyber attacks and political influence operations. Yet as artificial intelligence matures from a specialised technological field into a general-purpose strategic capability, the nature of these threats is likely to evolve. The most consequential changes may not occur on battlefield