GERMANY - It seems that barely a week goes by in Europe without a demonstration of Russian aggression, be it a provocation in Poland or a land-grab in the Baltic. But for Jan Nolte, the defence policy chief for Alternative for Germany (AfD), prophecies of a looming war between Moscow and NATO are plain silly. “Russia has us on its radar when it comes to hybrid warfare, but I don’t see Russia attacking us, I consider that completely unrealistic,” Mr Nolte said in an interview with The Telegraph at the hard-Right party’s conference in Erfurt. “As to what the [German] government is saying about Russia attacking NATO in 2029 and basically starting a Third World War, I also consider that to be a clear exaggeration,” he added, batting aside similar warnings from British and Polish officials. Sympathy towards Russia is a major vote-winner for the AfD, which draws much of its support from the former communist East, where there is deep nostalgia for Russian rule.

GERMANY - The weapons will close an important strategic gap in European defence, but may take a while to materialise. Germany’s chancellor has announced a long-awaited deal to buy long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States. The weapons will plug an important hole in the European wall of deterrence against the Kremlin, providing a ground-launched system that can implicitly “punish” any invasion by hitting bases and other strategic targets deep inside Russian territory. It may be some time before the Tomahawks are delivered because the US is estimated to have used up more than 1,000 of the missiles in its strikes on Iran, depleting a pre-war inventory of about 3,100.

UK - The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is “not fit for purpose”, according to a report from an internal government review. This overused phrase begs an obvious question: what is its purpose? PIPs, introduced in 2013, are non-means tested payments to help those with disabilities with living costs. Total PIP claims in England and Wales now stand at four million, up from 3.6 million when Labour took power. Around £3 billion a year is paid to people with mental health problems such as ADHD, something that until relatively recently would not have qualified. More than 100,000 people with ADHD as their main condition now receive PIPs, an increase of 40 percent in such cases since 2024.

UK - While Britain considers a potential confrontation with Russia, it reportedly operates the smallest fleet in its history. The Royal Navy has been reduced to the worst state in British history, retired chief of the Naval Staff, Lord Alan West, has told the Sun. London now operates the smallest fleet ever, according to the outlet. A total of nine ships have been scrapped over the past two years under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the UK is now operating a fleet that includes five operational frigates and no amphibious assault ships, the Sun reported on Friday. The government dropped plans for new Type 83 destroyers and Type 32 frigates, calling them “unaffordable,” it added. Last month, The Telegraph and Daily Mail also reported that the UK’s entire available fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines is stuck in port awaiting maintenance.

USA - The Iran war saga has seen its fair share of bizarre and wild twists, and Friday has brought yet another - with the NY Post reporting that President Trump said he "left instructions" for a massive bombing campaign against Iran in the event he's assassinated by Iranian operatives. "I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with," he told New York Post. Then he followed with: "The only thing is, I've left instructions - if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they've never seen before."

CHINA - The Chinese Foreign Ministry lamented the resurgence of violence between Iran and the United States on Wednesday, urging both countries to “follow through on their memorandum of understanding” and “avoid resorting to force.” China regularly condemns America for alleged belligerence on the geopolitical stage; the Foreign Ministry choosing to demand equal respect for their current peace agreement from Washington and Tehran is notable, however. Beijing referred to the hostilities as a matter that its close ally and prominent oil supplier Iran was equally responsible for rather than blaming the United States exclusively. Speaking to reporters during her regular briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated that China was “closely following” recent hostilities related to Iran and discouraged military escalation.

MIDDLE EAST - Donald Trump’s decision to launch military strikes against Iran in February alongside Israel had a certain rationale to it. The regime was continuing to develop a nuclear weapon and was a destabilising influence in an already volatile region. At the time, we said that, once he started the war, the US president needed to see it through to the end. The decapitation of the regime with the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and many of his top team was accompanied by widespread damage to the country’s armed forces and critical infrastructure.

USA - It was only three weeks ago that Donald Trump sat in the mirrored splendour of the Palace of Versailles and signed a memorandum of understanding designed to end his war with Iran. Now he has declared the agreement to be “over” and denounced its Iranian signatories as “scum”, “liars” and “sick people” – and the hard reality is that no-one should be surprised. The 14-point memorandum was a hollow shell of an agreement that settled nothing. For Trump, its sole purpose was to allow him to claim a swift victory. For Iran’s leaders, it was a survival plan intended to strengthen their grip on power. Not one of the central points of contention between America and Iran was finally resolved by the memorandum.

TURKEY - Turkey’s emergence as a key pillar of European defence was gradual at first. Ankara sold its pioneering drones to Ukraine, helping to destroy Russian tanks. It hosted early rounds of Ukraine-Russia peace talks. When the Assad regime fell in Syria, neighbouring Turkey emerged as a diplomatic bridge between the international community and Damascus’s new government.

USA - The US president’s warmth toward Ankara is rattling West Jerusalem, but the real test is whether F-35s and engine deals ever make it through Congress. There’s a real love-triangle dynamic playing out right now between the US, Türkiye, and Israel. Donald Trump is going out of his way to be seen embracing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, talking up sanctions relief and reopening the door on F-35 fighter jets and engines for Türkiye’s homegrown KAAN program. At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu is working overtime to protect Israel’s privileged position in US Middle East policy, warning anyone who’ll listen that handing Türkiye advanced weapons systems would upend the regional balance of power.