Foreign
Putin is now openly planning for war against Nato
Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured his historic fifth term in office, it is patently clear that he will devote his next six-year spell at the Kremlin to pursuing his paranoid obsession of confronting the West.
Having recorded a post-Soviet era record of winning nearly 88 per cent of the votes, Putin used his victory to remind Russians that they would never be intimidated by the West.
“No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us, our will, our consciousness – no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history,” he said. “It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never.”
According to Putin’s narrative, he is fighting Western attempts to diminish Russia through a relentless effort to persuade countries, such as Ukraine, that previously fell under Moscow’s sphere of influence to join Nato and the European Union.
This means the 71-year-old Putin will feel fully justified in exploiting his massive election victory to continue pursuing his agenda of trying to rebuild Russia into a global superpower, even if it runs the risk of provoking a major conflict with the West.
The Russian president certainly did not shy away from the issue when asked a question about the possibility of becoming involved in a direct confrontation with the West during his post-election press conference.
“I think everything is possible in the modern world … it is clear to everyone that this will be one step away from a full-scale Third World War.”
Putin’s remarks vindicate recent comments made by Nato leaders warning that the full extent of the Russian leader’s territorial ambitions extend far beyond the confines of Ukraine.
The US president, Joe Biden, stated back in December that Putin is planning to attack a Nato country once he has finished in Ukraine, while in January Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of Nato’s military committee, called on the alliance’s member states to be ready to fight an all-out war with Russia within the next 20 years.
Nothing Putin has said in the wake of his election success should disabuse anyone of the view that the Kremlin clearly means business in terms of escalating its confrontation with the West. It is an assessment, furthermore, that should serve as a wake-up call for Nato states like Britain that remain in a state of denial about the ability of their armed forces to meet the challenge the Kremlin’s bellicose mentality poses to European security.
This week’s warning, for example, by Kosovo’s prime minister Albin Kurti that Britain needs to send more troops to help prevent Russian-backed Serbian forces from invading his country is just the latest example of Moscow’s expansionist designs.
While ministers continue to insist that the UK military retains the means to keep the country secure, that is palpably not the view of highly-experienced former defence chiefs who, free from the restrictions of their former ranks, have laid bare the inadequacy of the Government’s efforts to equip the military for the very real challenge Putin presents.
In a paper published this week by the New Bletchley Network, such luminaries as Lord Robertson, the former New Labour defence secretary and Nato secretary-general, and Lord Sedwill, who served as national security adviser under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, publicly called on the Government to address the issue of rearmament with the seriousness it deserves.
“To be credible in deterrence terms, we need to prepare genuinely for war and communicate this to potential foes, Nato and allies, and particularly to the British public,” the paper warns. A top priority, moreover, should be to rebuild the Army which, at its current strength of around 75,000 – its smallest since the Napoleonic era – has been reduced “far below national critical mass”.
Coming from such distinguished and respected figures in our defence establishment as these, Downing Street would be well-advised to take heed of their sage counsel, instead of endlessly resorting to its tired refrain that it aims to increase defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP “when fiscal and economic circumstances allow”.
The same applies to our allies in Europe, where the distinct prospect of Donald Trump winning November’s presidential election has galvanised many European states into increasing their defence expenditure to meet Nato’s 2 per cent of GDP requirement.
While just three Nato countries met their Nato obligation in 2014, that figure is likely to rise to 19 this year. But that still leaves another 13 countries failing to pay their dues, an omission that will not be lost on Trump who, in his GB News interview with Nigel Farage this week, said he remained committed to Nato – so long as the Europeans pay their way.
It is quite remarkable that, with Putin now openly threatening Europe’s borders, and Trump questioning Nato’s future, there are still countries that remain unwilling to fulfil their defence responsibilities. If Putin’s re-election fails to stir them from their torpor, perhaps nothing will.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
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