All posts tagged: national security

MI5 chief issues chilling warning on 25th anniversary of 9/11 | Politics | News

MI5 chief issues chilling warning on 25th anniversary of 9/11 | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Director General of MI5 Sir Ken McCallum warned of the threats facing the UK (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire) Britain is facing more danger than it was before 9/11, the head of MI5 has warned. Sir Ken McCallum admitted intelligence officers are detecting more conspiracies orchestrated by states such as Russia, China and Iran. And terrorists – noticeably Islamist fanatics – are still plotting mass casualty attacks in the UK, Britain’s top intelligence officer admitted. Sir Ken said on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks: “The MI5 I lead in 2026 contends with a threat landscape markedly different to 2001’s. “Sadly, mass-casualty terrorist ambition endures, as in the recent conviction of an Islamist extremist who sought automatic weaponry for an assault on Manchester’s Jewish community. “But the terrorist threat now sits alongside strategic national security threats posed by capable states.” Referencing James Woolsey, the former CIA director who spoke in 1993 of the West slaying “a large dragon” after the Cold War, Sir Ken added: “We now face the worst of both worlds: dragons are …

Xi-Modi meeting in the spotlight as BRICS get under way

Xi-Modi meeting in the spotlight as BRICS get under way

Published by Sam Flores

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 23, 2024. China Daily via Reuters When the BRICS summit gets underway tomorrow in India, the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be among the most keenly watched events. Beijing confirmed Xi’s attendance at the event on Thursday, marking the Chinese president’s first visit to India since 2019, and since ties deteriorated following deadly border clashes in 2020. “This is a really crucial moment,” Vrinda Sahai, research analyst in the Security Studies Program at Carnegie India, told CNBC. “It’s a great opportunity to use the BRICS summit as an excuse to have a really substantive bilateral meeting.” The meeting comes amid thawing relations between New Delhi and Beijing, and follows Modi’s visit to China last year for the SCO summit, although border disputes and trade imbalance remain sticking points between the the two countries. Border worries Border issues between New Delhi and Beijing are expected …

Trump says he has no regrets about starting the Iran war as U.S. dials up economic pressure

Trump says he has no regrets about starting the Iran war as U.S. dials up economic pressure

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 9, 2026. Alex Wong | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no regrets about starting the Iran war and added that “If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did.” Speaking to Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham on Thursday stateside, Trump said that he would have attacked Iran despite the impact on the midterm elections. “If we hadn’t done Iran, you would be cruising to midterms victory right now,” Ingraham told Trump, to which Trump replied “supposing we were cruising, and all of a sudden Iran has a nuclear weapon. They would use it.” He added that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, the Islamic Republic would “wipe out” Israel and the Middle East, and start hitting U.S. cities. His comments come as markets brace for a longer Iran war, after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that top White House advisors had discussed …

Iceland condemns Trump’s post showing island under American flag

Iceland condemns Trump’s post showing island under American flag

Published by Sam Flores

Iceland Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir participates in a listening session on the upcoming referendum on August 26, 2026 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images Iceland has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media post of a map that appears to show the island and several other countries covered by the American flag. Trump posted the image on Truth Social on Monday, depicting the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean under the Stars and Stripes flag. The map was published without comment and came after a flurry of preceding posts suggesting that the U.S. state of New Mexico should be renamed “New America.” Iceland summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long over the incident, with Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir saying the meeting was necessary to “make it absolutely clear that, from our perspective, this was completely unacceptable.” Speaking at a news conference, Gunnarsdottir said that the Nordic nation of nearly 400,000 stood with Greenland over Trump’s annexation threats and would not soften its position on the matter. “It is …

U.S. military destroys five Iranian oil tankers, Centcom says

U.S. military destroys five Iranian oil tankers, Centcom says

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Sailors conduct flight operations aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), July 29, 2026. George H.W. Bush is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. Courtesy: U.S. Navy The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday in retaliation for the Revolutionary Guard firing ballistic missiles at an American warship twice over the past two days, according to U.S. Central Command. The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack and no American personnel were harmed, Centcom said in a statement. U.S. forces struck four tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Centcom said. They are the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. The military hit the M/T Derya near Iran’s Kharg Island. “American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” Centcom said. The U.S. and Iran have traded new attacks in the Persian Gulf in recent days, rekindling hostilities in the region even as the Trump administration …

Bombardier points out U.S. footprint after Trump says aerospace giant must build in America

Bombardier points out U.S. footprint after Trump says aerospace giant must build in America

Published by Sam Flores

An Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900LR aircraft is seen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington Virginia, on Oct. 5, 2025. Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images Bombardier pointed out its footprint in the U.S. after President Donald Trump said the Canadian airplane manufacturer must build in America to access the local market. “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.’” Bombardier in statement to CNBC said that its workers are based all over the U.S., with direct employment in more than 20 states and sites in 10 states, including California, Texas and Arizona. The company also added that its aircraft are built with American-made components such as engines, avionics and many more key systems provided by American companies. It also has plans to grow its defense activities and its service network in the country, as well as inaugurate a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana later this year. “Bombardier values …

Trump says he made ‘Hundreds of Billions’ on stocks in AI posting spree

Trump says he made ‘Hundreds of Billions’ on stocks in AI posting spree

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with travel industry executives in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Sept. 2, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump posted a stream of AI-generated images and a series of sweeping and unverified claims on Truth Social on Sunday, including saying that he has made hundreds of billions of dollars on stocks and other holdings for the U.S. The 80-year-old commander in chief spent more than 10 hours on Sunday posting dozens of apparently AI-generated images on his social media platform. The posts included a depiction of Iran’s defeat, Trump on horseback with George Washington, and an apparently AI-generated image of Robert De Niro holding a shirt that read, “Trump is my president.” One AI image appears to show the president sitting in front of several monitors in the White House tracking the stock market with a caption that reads: “I do this for our Country, not myself. I’ve made Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Stocks, and …

U.S. sanctions Turkish bank accused of enabling Iran

U.S. sanctions Turkish bank accused of enabling Iran

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference at the Cash Room of the Treasury Department, as he announces a new set of sanctions against Iran in Washington, D.C., on August 24, 2026. Mehmet Eser | Anadolu | Getty Images The Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries, which the U.S. accuses of facilitating funds for an arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The action against Golden Global Bank makes it the second financial institution to be targeted under “Operation Economic Outcast,” the Trump administration’s attempt to isolate Tehran by sanctioning its business partners. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, “While we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime.” “We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to take action together with our allies and partners until we have buried the head …

Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’

Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz — the central point of contention in the ongoing war against Iran that the U.S. and Israel started — after himself. The proposal via a Truth Social post came less than a week after Trump, who is locked in an intensifying feud with Canada, signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” “Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” Trump wrote in the post Wednesday morning. “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote. It was not immediately clear how the president would attempt to implement a name change for the strait, which is not near the U.S. The order renaming Lake Ontario directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his department to update the Geographic Names Information System with the new name. Canada rejected the change, though Google and Apple have recently updated …

DOJ says states must report undocumented immigrants or risk funds

DOJ says states must report undocumented immigrants or risk funds

Published by Sam Flores

A banner of US President Donald Trump outside of the Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images All states going forward must report undocumented immigrants known to be in a state to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or risk losing federal funding for programs meant to aid low-income individuals, the Department of Justice said in a new legal opinion. The DOJ, in issuing the opinion, revised the Office of Legal Counsel’s prior opinion from 1998, which found that only specific state agencies that administered the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Security Income programs needed to provide information to federal immigration authorities. “Congress wrote this requirement plainly,” Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, said in a statement. “When a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States,” Gaiser said. “Tax dollars intended to help vulnerable Americans should not perversely encourage illegal …