USA - The USS Gerald R Ford will probably not be in position to strike until next week. The position of the USS Gerald R Ford, the most powerful aircraft carrier in the world, is of interest here. Her arrival in the Eastern Med is seen by many as an essential precursor to action. This is not correct, but it is an indicator. Having the Ford in position to strike Iran, and potentially to defend Israel, would significantly add to the firepower provided by the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf of Oman and the many other US assets in the region. In a full-scale scenario, if Iran launches all available missiles and drones and sends out all its fast-attack craft, submarines and ships, it may manage to inflict serious losses on the US, up to and including the sinking of one or more US warships – though probably not the carriers. The stakes are high.

IRAN - If the US attacks, the Ayatollah will try to launch them all. If the Islamic Republic believes its survival is at stake, caution may give way to overwhelming force. The prospect of this armada going into action raises a vital question: how might Iran’s leadership react? From the moment they learn of any incoming American attack, the regime would have every reason to strike back with all the weapons in its hands in order to inflict maximum carnage. That means any new war would be far more dangerous and escalatory than previous rounds of bloodshed. If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, were to conclude that the very survival of the Islamic Republic was at stake, then caution and restraint would be unlikely to feature among his calculations. On the contrary, he might judge that the imperative was to fire as many of Iran’s estimated 1,500 ballistic missiles as possible before America – possibly aided by Israel – could destroy them, acting on the timeless principle of “use them or lose them”.

UK - Four miles outside Basingstoke, more than a dozen farmers huddled in a cattle trailer, drinking tea to stay warm. The gathering at Whitedown Farm in Hampshire was resolute: they would blockade a supermarket distribution centre in town with their tractors in protest against the low prices they were being paid for their produce. In the event, the police got wind of their actions and foiled their plan. Undeterred, they regrouped a week later in Westminster with a convoy of 12 tractors, which descended on parliament to coincide with prime ministers’ questions. It was the high point in a series of weekly protests. So far this year, using Facebook and WhatsApp to organise themselves, farmers have staged demos at sites in Rugby, Peterborough, Doncaster, Hinckley, Luton, Didcot and Northampton, as well as ports in Bristol and Felixstowe, Suffolk. At the heart of the farmers’ complaint is the sense that they cannot survive on the prices they are paid and they cannot compete against imports of produce such as beef and lamb.

IRAN - A possible first wave of an attack on Iran would focus on strategic missile sites and launchers, the most immediate threats to US forces and Israel, a former CENTCOM official told the Post. The massive accumulation of US military assets in the Middle East is not merely a show of force but a signal that the United States has the capacity to dismantle the Iranian regime’s power structure in a matter of hours, according to Vice Admiral (Retired) Bob Harward, former deputy commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).

USA - President Trump drops ominous warning after reporter presses him for evidence of foreign influence over SCOTUS tariff ruling. In a stunning blow to President Donald J Trump’s signature America First economic agenda, six Supreme Court justices, including two he appointed, sided with globalist forces today to invalidate the President’s sweeping tariffs designed to stop foreign nations from bleeding America dry.

USA - Green Mountain Transit in Vermont is experiencing significant difficulties with its electric bus fleet this winter as the vehicles cannot charge in temperatures below 41 degrees, compounded by a battery recall that prevents indoor charging due to fire hazards. The Vermont Daily Chronicle reports that Vermont’s Green Mountain Transit system is confronting serious operational obstacles with its electric bus fleet during the current winter season. The transit agency’s electric buses require temperatures above 41 degrees Fahrenheit to charge, but a battery recall citing fire hazards has prohibited the vehicles from being charged inside garages, leaving them unable to operate during cold weather.

USA - Big Tech is considering supporting new uranium mining projects as companies need additional reliable power capacity for their huge data center expansion, according to the top executive of Canadian uranium miner NexGen Energy. “It's coming. You've seen it with automakers. These tech companies, they're under an obligation to ensure the hundreds of billions that they are investing in the data centres are going to be powered,” NexGen Energy’s CEO Leigh Curyer said at a Melbourne Mining Club luncheon on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters. Nuclear energy will be one of the winners of the US AI and data center boom, as Microsoft and other hyperscalers have been looking to purchase zero-carbon electricity to power up their data centers, which are consuming growing amounts of electricity.

GERMANY - Authorities in the German state of Lower Saxony have designated the local chapter of the right-wing AfD party a surveillance priority, citing what they called “extremist” tendencies. Founded in 2013, Alternative for Germany (AfD) espouses a tough stance on migration and opposes Berlin’s support for Ukraine. In the federal elections last February, the AfD came in second at 20%, winning 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag. However, the party has been excluded from coalition talks and government formation as part of a policy known as the ‘firewall’ in German politics. The AfD’s popularity has since grown further regardless, with recent polls indicating that it is supported by around 25% of Germans, on par with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling CDU/CSU.

GERMANY - German exports to America fell by more than 9% last year, the state statistics agency has said. China has overtaken the US as Germany’s biggest trading partner, the German Federal Statistics Agency said in a report published on Friday. The nation’s trade deficit with the Asian country reached a record level of €89.3 billion ($105 billion), according to the agency’s data. Meanwhile, Berlin’s exports to the US – the largest importer of German goods – fell by 9.4% in 2025, slashing the trade surplus between the two nations from €69.6 billion to €51.9 billion, according to the statistics agency.

AFGHANISTAN - The Taliban has introduced a new penal code which allows husbands to abuse their wives and children, as long as it doesn’t break bones or cause ‘open wounds’. The barbaric code, signed into law by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, would still prosecute those who cause visible fractures or injuries. But the abuser would only be convicted if the woman can prove abuse in court – showing her wounds to the judge, while remaining fully covered. If the man is convicted, he would only face a maximum of a 15-day sentence in prison. The law has no mention of protecting children from assault and abuse, both physical, mental and sexual. In addition, women are now forbidden from singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public, since the female voice is considered too intimate.

UK - “I’m proud [to] be terrorist here. You know? I’m proud! And Koran is say, ‘be terrorist’, you know? That’s God! We are proud of this.” There it is, in cocky, broken English – the Islamist menace that will not go away, as much as the great and good might hope otherwise. These are the words of Amar Hussein in an interview with Greater Manchester Police. The Kuwaiti national, living in Bolton, was hoping to murder as many Jews as possible. It could have been our Bondi Beach, a jihadist slaughter of innocent British Jewry, and one of the most deadly Islamic terror attacks ever to stain British soil.

ISRAEL - With the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers are expected to gather at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque in the coming weeks. Muslims consider the month, in which they believe God revealed the Quran to Muhammad, as a time of fasting and devotion. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the declaration of faith (Shahada), daily prayer (Salah), giving to charity (Zakat), and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).

MIDDLE EAST - The growing influence posing a deadly threat to Israel's security: If we do not cleanse Israel of the Qatari parasite, we will experience much greater disasters than the October 7 massacre. "The Iranian Ring of Fire" is the military-regional strategy that posed the greatest existential threat to Israel, at least according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the security establishment. The Iranians managed to "encircle" Israel through armed proxy organizations – Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and the Shiite militias in Iraq. These proxy forces were intended to create multiple fronts for Israel, weaken it, and provide Iran with a strategic advantage – especially in the event that its nuclear project would be attacked by Israel.

MIDDLE EAST - US fighter jets tracked as heading towards the Middle East could be laying the groundwork for a major bombing campaign. The uptick in warplanes travelling to the Gulf is likely to be used to clear the way for heavy bombers to strike at the heart of Iran’s regime, experts have said. Large numbers of American combat aircraft and support planes such as air-to-air refuellers have been seen moving eastwards this week. With the combination of the approaching USS Gerald R Ford strike group and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which is already positioned in the Arabian Sea, analysts predict that Donald Trump is preparing a sustained military campaign against Iran. One source in the US administration said there was now a 90 per cent chance of war in the coming weeks. An Israeli former intelligence chief said he believed the strike would take place within days.

UK - The United Kingdom has blocked the United States from using RAF bases to launch a strike on Iran, prompting anger from President Donald Trump. The disagreement over the use of the British military sites is behind Trump's withdrawal of his support for Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a report has claimed. It comes as the White House is drawing up a detailed military plan for an attack on Iran involving the use of both Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the site of America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Defence officials reportedly briefed Trump that the US will be ready to begin a war by Saturday, following a formidable build-up of American aircraft and ships in recent days. The UK has not yet granted permission to the US to use the military sites in the event that Trump orders an attack on Tehran, because of concerns that the strike would be a breach of international law, according to a report in the Times.