USA - An expert who has written a new book about the tactics and technology of nuclear warfare warns that in the event of a launch being detected, the future of mankind would be determined in just six minutes. An expert has issued a stark warning about the threat of nuclear war, claiming that "no matter how it starts, it ends with everyone dead". Annie Jacobsen, who has authored several best-selling books on America’s military, including studies of top-secret research lab DARPA and the infamous Area 51, says that in the event of a Russian or Chinese missile launch being detected, the US president would have just six minutes to make a crucial decision.

USA - Up to 300 million Americans could die from a catastrophic attack that's likelier than you may think, a leading expert has claimed. Financier David Tice warns a nationwide shutdown of America's power grid could eventually lead to the death of 90% of the population. He says he’s seen evidence that “Russia and China are working together and they plan on undermining the United States”. A decisive attack on America’s power infrastructure – whether through hacking, targeted terrorist attacks, or the detonation of an electromagnetic pulse device [EMP] – could cripple it for several months.

EUROPE - Washington has sent a clear message to European NATO members that they can no longer rely on its military protection, the head of German defense giant Rheinmetall has claimed. For decades, the EU has taken it for granted that the US would come to its rescue in case of war, but “that will no longer happen,” CEO Armin Papperger told The Financial Times. He cited the failure of the US Congress to approve continued military assistance to Ukraine as a signal to Europe that the Americans are not willing to pay for its security.

RUSSIA - Diplomatic missions cannot be targeted, Russia said after an Israeli strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus. Russia has rebuked Israel after an airstrike that demolished the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday evening. The attack reportedly killed several Iranian diplomats as well as seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals – Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi. Tehran has vowed to avenge their deaths.

TAIWAN - At least seven people were killed and more than 700 injured by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan today that damaged dozens of buildings and triggered tsunami warnings that extended to Japan and the Philippines. The magnitude-7.4 quake struck just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT), with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epicentre 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of Taiwan's Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres. Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead. Strict building regulations and disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe for the island, which is regularly hit by earthquakes as it lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.

SAUDI ARABIA - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement about the normalization of relations with Israel on February 7. It declared that Saudi Arabia would not establish relations with Israel until the “brotherly Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights” — the creation and recognition of an independent state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement refined and affirmed comments that Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made in Davos three weeks earlier.

FRANCE - Paris has joined the ranks of cities hosting international security forums, alongside Munich, Warsaw, Doha, Singapore, and more than a few others. It is a fair assumption that this proliferation of security conferences reflects growing insecurity and widespread fear over the unraveling of the liberal, rules-based global order. But two things about the Paris forum distinguish it from the many others; it was a call to mobilize a complacent France; and a call for the adaptation of professional military education through transformative education to prepare the next generation of security leaders for the challenges of the evolving global security environment.

USA - Is the fate of democracy and freedom in America in jeopardy? Is the decline and demise of America inevitable? These questions contain words, or dangers, few are willing to acknowledge. They are ominous words or thoughts in their rhetoric; they are more so in their possible reality. Yet, we must address and resolve them. We are perilously and uncomfortably close to squandering the beliefs and values that have made us one in America. A former Secretary of State was recently asked this paraphrased question: “What keeps you awake at night? Russia, China, communism, terrorism?” The Secretary replied, “None of these. It is America that keeps me awake at night.”

USA - The return of great power competition across the globe is forcing countries to adapt, spurring major changes to alignment and spending from Europe to the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. The change is everywhere on the map — but most evident in countries like Sweden and Japan as the nations make dramatic changes to meet rising threats from Russia and China. “I’ve described the security environment as the most dangerous I’ve seen in 40 years in uniform,” said US Admiral John Aquilino, head of Indo-Pacific Command, before the House Armed Services Committee this month.

AFGHANISTAN - The Taliban vowed in a message to the West over the weekend that it will soon return to stoning women to death in public. “You say it’s a violation of women’s rights when we stone them to death,” said Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, according to The Telegraph. “But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery. We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public. These are all against your democracy but we will continue doing it,” he continued. “We both say we defend human rights – we do it as God’s representative and you as the devil’s.” The publication said that these remarks are the most extreme that he has made since the Biden administration effectively handed over control of Afghanistan to the Taliban during President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdraw from the country in August 2021.

UK - One in seven stores are now empty after more than 14,000 retail outlets closed last year, with the map showing the North East of the UK the worst hit. High Streets that were once the pride of British communities are being gutted, worrying new figures show, with shops sitting empty and the North East the worst hit by vacancies - while retail giants like Zara and Primark are bucking the trend. Last week it was revealed that nearly 100 stores in one Suffolk seaside resort pulled down their shutters for good due to the growth of online shopping, with despairing locals describing the area as a 'zombie town'. Meanwhile, across all shopping destinations, a whopping 55,514 shops, pubs, restaurants and other service businesses closed last year - the highest figure in more than 10 years and 6,820 more than in 2022.

RUSSIA - Russian authorities have begun deporting large numbers of Muslims in the wake of last week’s deadly Islamist state attack at a Moscow concert hall, in an effort that has been reportedly dubbed “Operation Anti-Migrant.” According to The Moscow Times, anti-Islamic sentiment has soared in the aftermath of the attack, in which at least 144 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded or in critical condition. Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the massacre.

UK - The foreign aid budget should be halved to fund a 3 per cent of GDP spend on defence, a senior Tory MP has said. Former Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick warns that the Armed Forces are 'shockingly under-prepared' and Britain's nuclear deterrent has been 'appallingly neglected'. Writing in today's Mail on Sunday, he says 'a significant chunk of our “development” spend is incoherent and wasteful. 'It's ludicrous that we send hundreds of millions to nuclear powers China, India and Pakistan'. He writes: 'We have no choice but to increase our defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP to deliver the uplift we need to defend ourselves. The dangerous and humiliating collapse of our nuclear deterrent is a disaster waiting to happen unless we urgently grip this crisis. Why do we still send millions to China when we desperately need that money to defend ourselves against countries like... China?’

UK - Despite cuts to the aid budget from a public finances squeeze post-pandemic, the UK remains the third-largest donor in the world. In 2022, the UK was the third-largest ODA donor in the world, sending just under £12.8 billion to those in need. Last year, Africa received the biggest proportion of ODA as a region – the outbreak of war in Ukraine, however, saw a surge in payments made within Europe. As the Government is yet to publish its final report on 2022, figures from 2021 provide the most up-to-date insight on beneficiary countries. That year, there were 132 of them. Afghanistan was the top recipient, with bilateral assistance totalling £187 million. Nigeria, where radical groups such as Boko Haram continue to terrorise civilians causing millions to be internally displaced, received the second-largest amount of aid, at £140 million. Pakistan came in third (£132 million), followed by Ethiopia (£120 million) and Yemen (£107 million).

UK - There are few more joyous places for a Christian at Easter than northern Europe's tallest and largest Gothic cathedral in the city of Cologne. This morning, thousands of worshippers from Germany and across the globe gather for the most important day in the Christian calendar to mark their belief that Jesus rose from the dead. Inside the ancient cathedral, they will sing to the heavens as Catholic priests light Easter candles and the smoke of their swinging incense burners wafts through the glorious nave to the tourist-filled square outside. But Cologne is also staging a very different kind of religious event this Holy Week. Last night, at a football stadium five miles from the cathedral, hundreds of Muslims attended the city's first communal Iftar, a sunset dinner of Islamic delicacies that marks the end of daily fasting during the sacred month of Ramadan.