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

Saturday 27 June 2026 One of the first casualties of authoritarian government is not democracy itself. Democracy may linger for years, even decades, as an increasingly hollow shell. The first casualty is truth — and with truth goes the ability of citizens to understand the world around them. It is for this reason that independent journalism occupies such a central place in every free society. Journalists are often imperfect, sometimes biased, occasionally mistaken. Yet a soci

Saturday 27 June 2026 The recent primary victories of candidates endorsed by Zohran Mamdani have sent a tremor through American politics. In a matter of days, several establishment Democratic figures found themselves defeated by younger, more openly socialist challengers, prompting headlines about a “socialist earthquake” within the Democratic Party. Yet before predicting a socialist takeover of the United States Congress in the 2026 mid-term elections, it is worth examining

Friday 26 June 2026 Amongst the institutions of the British state there are few that enjoy less public visibility and yet wield greater influence than the United Kingdom’s signals intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters, universally known as GCHQ. Hidden behind the fences of a vast circular complex outside Cheltenham, GCHQ occupies a unique position in the modern world. While soldiers, diplomats and politicians attract public attention, GCHQ operates in a

Friday 26 June 2026 Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart have become one of the most recognisable double acts in contemporary British political commentary. Through their podcast, public appearances and media interventions, they present themselves as representatives of two traditions that once stood in fierce opposition — New Labour internationalism and One Nation Conservatism. Yet for many listeners, particularly those outside the metropolitan circles of British politics, what

Friday 26 June 2026 There are moments in every war when maps cease to tell the whole story. Military cartography measures villages captured, tree lines crossed and roads interdicted. Yet wars are ultimately decided in cities—those stubborn concentrations of human life where factories, apartment blocks, railway stations and hospitals become the true terrain of conflict. In late June 2026, nowhere is this more apparent than across Ukraine’s eastern front. Russia continues to gr