Lead Story
UK terror investigation continues near RAF Fairford after five men bailed
Police roadblocks and a cordon remained in place in the Gloucestershire village of Whelford as investigators continued probing a suspected terrorist plot near RAF Fairford, a key hub for US Air Force operations in the Middle East. A farmer alerted police after finding "hooded and masked" men with three vans near the base in the early hours of Sunday; five British nationals aged 23 to 25 from London were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences before being released on bail. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a "foreign actor" was believed to be involved, fuelling speculation the men may have been acting on behalf of a hostile state.
Read more →Lead Story
UK terror investigation continues near RAF Fairford after five men bailed
Police roadblocks and a cordon remained in place in the Gloucestershire village of Whelford as investigators continued probing a suspected terrorist plot near RAF Fairford, a key hub for US Air Force operations in the Middle East. A farmer alerted police after finding "hooded and masked" men with three vans near the base in the early hours of Sunday; five British nationals aged 23 to 25 from London were arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences before being released on bail. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a "foreign actor" was believed to be involved, fuelling speculation the men may have been acting on behalf of a hostile state.
Israeli election campaign turns on rival warnings over security and the draft
A war of words broke out among Israel's political leaders after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately briefed opposition leader Yair Lapid on alleged enemy attack plans ahead of October's election; Lapid said afterward there was "no reason to put the public in a panic" and suggested Netanyahu instead "draft the 15,000 Haredim the IDF needs" if he is genuinely worried about security. B'Yachad leader Naftali Bennett went further, charging that Netanyahu's handling of ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions amounts to "mass draft evasion and the collapse of the IDF," which he called the country's "worst danger" of all, against a backdrop of a documented shortfall of roughly 12,000 soldiers in the military.
Read more →Israeli election campaign turns on rival warnings over security and the draft
A war of words broke out among Israel's political leaders after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately briefed opposition leader Yair Lapid on alleged enemy attack plans ahead of October's election; Lapid said afterward there was "no reason to put the public in a panic" and suggested Netanyahu instead "draft the 15,000 Haredim the IDF needs" if he is genuinely worried about security. B'Yachad leader Naftali Bennett went further, charging that Netanyahu's handling of ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions amounts to "mass draft evasion and the collapse of the IDF," which he called the country's "worst danger" of all, against a backdrop of a documented shortfall of roughly 12,000 soldiers in the military.
Ethiopia's Tigray truce nears collapse as former civil-war enemies unite against Addis Ababa
Fighting has resumed in Ethiopia's Tigray region nearly four years after the Pretoria peace agreement ended one of Africa's deadliest recent wars, with federal and Tigrayan forces accusing each other of restarting hostilities. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has joined six other opposition groups, including the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army, in an alliance aimed at toppling Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government -- a striking realignment since Tigrayan and Amhara forces fought on opposite sides in the previous war. Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Tigray after fighters seized Mekelle airport, and internet monitors have reported blackouts across the north, reviving fears of the isolation and hunger that marked the earlier conflict; analysts warn the crisis risks merging with other Ethiopian conflicts and drawing in neighbouring Eritrea.
Read more →Ethiopia's Tigray truce nears collapse as former civil-war enemies unite against Addis Ababa
Fighting has resumed in Ethiopia's Tigray region nearly four years after the Pretoria peace agreement ended one of Africa's deadliest recent wars, with federal and Tigrayan forces accusing each other of restarting hostilities. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has joined six other opposition groups, including the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Oromo Liberation Army, in an alliance aimed at toppling Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government -- a striking realignment since Tigrayan and Amhara forces fought on opposite sides in the previous war. Ethiopian Airlines has suspended flights to Tigray after fighters seized Mekelle airport, and internet monitors have reported blackouts across the north, reviving fears of the isolation and hunger that marked the earlier conflict; analysts warn the crisis risks merging with other Ethiopian conflicts and drawing in neighbouring Eritrea.
Zelensky says front lines are largely frozen as he pushes Trump on ending the war
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has captured only 890 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory so far in 2026 while losing an estimated 270,000 people, and that Ukraine has retaken 800 square kilometres of its own, arguing the front has "come to a standstill" despite the Kremlin's claims of success. At talks with US President Donald Trump in New York, Zelensky said he hopes Trump can help end the war before winter and that he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin, including at a possible trilateral summit; Trump said he would consider tougher sanctions on Russia under the Graham Act, but Zelensky maintains Putin currently has "no intention to end the war."
Read more →Zelensky says front lines are largely frozen as he pushes Trump on ending the war
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has captured only 890 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory so far in 2026 while losing an estimated 270,000 people, and that Ukraine has retaken 800 square kilometres of its own, arguing the front has "come to a standstill" despite the Kremlin's claims of success. At talks with US President Donald Trump in New York, Zelensky said he hopes Trump can help end the war before winter and that he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin, including at a possible trilateral summit; Trump said he would consider tougher sanctions on Russia under the Graham Act, but Zelensky maintains Putin currently has "no intention to end the war."
Colombia's widening fiscal gap raises prospect of IMF support
Colombia's 2027 budget bill revealed a far deeper deficit than markets had expected, with net debt projected to hit 67.3% of GDP by 2027 and next year's fiscal deficit forecast at 9.4% of GDP, prompting Citigroup and JPMorgan to lead investor briefings on the government's strategy. Finance Minister Miguel Gomez is travelling to New York and Washington to reassure investors and multilateral lenders, with officials now weighing a financing package that could involve the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF and the IMF -- potentially through a Precautionary and Liquidity Line -- as the government also proposes more than 21 trillion pesos ($6.65 billion) in spending cuts to try to restore its fiscal rule.
Read more →Colombia's widening fiscal gap raises prospect of IMF support
Colombia's 2027 budget bill revealed a far deeper deficit than markets had expected, with net debt projected to hit 67.3% of GDP by 2027 and next year's fiscal deficit forecast at 9.4% of GDP, prompting Citigroup and JPMorgan to lead investor briefings on the government's strategy. Finance Minister Miguel Gomez is travelling to New York and Washington to reassure investors and multilateral lenders, with officials now weighing a financing package that could involve the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF and the IMF -- potentially through a Precautionary and Liquidity Line -- as the government also proposes more than 21 trillion pesos ($6.65 billion) in spending cuts to try to restore its fiscal rule.