MIDDLE EAST - Of one thing we can be certain about the imminent agreement between the US and Iran to end hostilities between the two countries: it does not presage peace in the Middle East. The region is fated to endure periodic surges of conflict and violence because the underlying causes are never resolved. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) mediated by Qatar and Pakistan is emblematic of this very failure. It extends the existing ceasefire and offers Donald Trump a way out of a war he must wish he had never started by being able to claim some successes. These include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s agreement to stop holding the world to ransom by blocking unfettered transit of shipping in and out of the Gulf. It was always unacceptable that Tehran should be allowed to continue to treat such a critical international waterway as its own toll route. However, the conflict that began in February has demonstrated the power the regime possesses in being able to shut down the Strait whenever it chooses and choke off global energy supplies. That bodes ill for the future.

MIDDLE EAST - What was the point? On the upside, Iran has sustained the mother of all military and economic batterings. On the downside, it appears to be rapidly rebuilding its strength. And under the terms of a new “peace” deal, will it soon be aided by many billions of dollars of sanctions relief from the very president who condemned Barack Obama for doing just that? Before the war, America’s deterrent was fearsome; Donald Trump was able to press Hamas into a hostage deal in Gaza with apocalyptic rhetoric alone. Who will take him seriously now? We were told “a whole civilisation would die”, but with Trump at the helm, it is Western civilisation that finds itself in decline. On February 28, the mightiest military power in history was mobilised against the evillest regime on Earth. Four months later, we have no answer to the nuclear question; no containment of Iran’s proxies; no curbs on its ballistic missiles; no guarantees on Hormuz; no regime change in Tehran. This is not just a humiliation for Washington but, with China and Russia taking notes, an extremely dangerous one. As Henry Kissinger warned during the Vietnam war: “The word will go out to the nations of the world that it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

MIDDLE EAST - Like South Vietnam in the 1970s, Gulf states are contemplating the limits of US power as the Iran peace deal leaves them with an angry and emboldened neighbour. The US-backed leader bemoaned America’s abandonment of his cause after it plunged the region into a disastrous war and then signed a peace deal with their enemies. “You Americans with your 500,000 soldiers … You were not defeated — you ran away!” he said.

GERMANY - Germany is ready to “fight tonight” against Russia and will defend “every inch” of NATO territory, its air force chief has said in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph. In his first interview with a British newspaper, Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, the chief of the Luftwaffe, said his forces would launch devastating air strikes on Russia if it attacked the Western alliance. In a further warning to Moscow, he stressed there were “no different zones of security” in NATO, meaning an attack on Estonia would warrant the same response as an air raid on London. Lieutenant General Neumann said the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia, Kaliningrad and the Black Sea would suffer the wrath of NATO if it was forced to defend itself. The Luftwaffe chief’s comments are among the strongest from a German military leader in years, and reflect a fundamental shift in Berlin towards rearmament and a greater role in European security. As Britain struggles to rebuild its military – and reels from the resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary and Al Carns as Armed Forces minister – he pledged German air-defence support via NATO, should London request it.

MIDDLE EAST - The US and Iran have agreed a peace deal that paves the way for further talks to end the war in the Middle East. The two sides finalised a memorandum of understanding overnight, which will be signed in Switzerland on Friday. The agreement has yet to be published, raising concerns about the outcome of previous sticking points such as Iran’s nuclear programme.

MIDDLE EAST - There seems to be a tremendous amount of confusion about what has just transpired. The United States and Iran have not agreed to a permanent peace deal. What the United States and Iran have agreed to is a 60 day ceasefire extension and the beginning of a 60 day period of negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program. This “memorandum of understanding” essentially puts us into a position that is very similar to where we were just prior to the start of the war.

EUROPE - The surge of Europe's hatred for Israel, with Jews kicked out of Spanish sauna, banned from booking German hotel and planes refused permission to land in Slovenia. Europe's growing hostility towards Israel has led to a surge in anti-Semitic incidents across the continent, making it harder for Jewish tourists to travel freely without fear of exclusion.

UK - British PM Starmer threatens Belfast anti-immigration rioters while Lowe says ‘millions must go’. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has threatened Belfast’s nighttime rioters with the “full force of the law” after they conducted arson attacks on cars and homes on Tuesday night after a brutal video went viral featuring a Sudanese man trying to behead a disabled Scottish victim.

UK - In the space of hours, Britain endured yet more random barbaric violence. A 17-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck on a quiet residential street in Burnley, Lancashire, and a 21-year-old man was murdered in Central Park, Chelmsford, Essex. These incidents form part of a relentless pattern of attacks that former Prime Minister Liz Truss directly links to mass migration policies and the deliberate undermining of British society. Truss described institutions corrupted by leftist ideology that suppress facts about the root cause — mass migration — while left-wing politicians weaponise immigration to erode the nation state itself. The public is livid. The official response under Keir Starmer has been to target those exposing the problem rather than the problem itself.

UK - "El Nino has arrived, and weather experts fear the global climate phenomenon may be primed to match a deadly event that led to the deaths of more than 50 million people. The natural climate pattern occurs when warmer-than-usual waters in the Pacific change the weather around the world for a minimum of several months. Ocean conditions have now warmed to the point where El Nino is active and will likely continue well into next year, officials declared on Thursday. A spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said: 'El Nino conditions are present and expected to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27.' The declaration means the agency has found that sea surface temperatures are at least +0.9°F above average and are expected to stay that way for the foreseeable future".