Themselves

• A survey conducted by Public First across 18 European nations reveals that most citizens believe their countries should rely on a collective European effort to maintain a military capable of fending off attacks. • Finland stands out as the only nation where a majority of respondents feel the country is currently ready to fight alone. • While other countries like France, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece also expressed a desire for independent defense capabilities, they lack the same level of confidence in their current readiness as Finland.

In today’s newsletter: ​Global powers​ are focused on oil markets and elections​ but those living through conflict in the Middle East feel abandonedGood morning. It’s been another week of brinkmanship via Truth Social and ceasefires broken before they’ve been announced.While US president Donald Trump claims an agreement with Iran could happen soon, for those living in the Middle East it does not feel like peace is anywhere near. People have seen more bombs dropped in Lebanon this week; and the death toll continues to rise, national economies falter, and displacement abounds.UK politics | Andy Burnham has signalled he would begin transforming the broken social care system this year if he became prime minister, he has said in an interview with the Guardian, accusing Westminster of “flinching away” from tackling difficult policy problems.Environment | Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival.Ukraine | The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.England news | The poorest and most nature-deprived communities in England will be further left behind in their access to green spaces if proposed changes to planning laws go ahead, a report finds.UK news | Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received private income from subletting three cottages on his Windsor Royal Lodge estate while paying a “peppercorn rent” to the crown estate, a report into royal property arrangements has revealed. Continue reading...

PR executives say UK companies are forcing them to present ordinary automation as artificial intelligence UK companies are performing “yoga-level” stretches to describe themselves as AI specialists in an attempt to capitalise on the buzz around the technology, public relations firms have said.Weary communications executives tasked with securing media coverage for brands have complained that bosses in low-tech industries or running businesses that use automation but not generative AI, are increasingly demanding they are pitched to journalists as artificial intelligence companies. Continue reading...

• The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has emerged as a rapidly growing movement in India after a Supreme Court judge compared unemployed youth to "cockroaches." • The movement serves as a symbolic protest against the judicial remark and the systemic challenges facing young job seekers in the country. • While the group has gained significant momentum, leader Mr. Dipke has avoided confirming if the CJP will formally transition into a political party for electoral contests.

Leader mentions for first time lengths to which troops go to avoid falling into enemy hands while fighting for RussiaKim Jong-un has praised North Korean soldiers who blew themselves up with grenades in order to avoid capture while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia’s western Kursk region, confirming the existence of the extreme battlefield policy.Mounting evidence, including from intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated North Korean soldiers are explicitly told to resort to self-detonation or other forms of suicide to avoid falling into enemy hands. Continue reading...

The MoD shows little sign of learning from its mistakes – no wonder the Treasury is reluctant to agree to its demandsGeorge Robertson, Tony Blair’s first defence secretary, a former Nato secretary general and an author last year of the latest in a series of evasive strategic defence reviews, accused Keir Starmer on Tuesday of a “corrosive complacency towards defence”. He said the prime minister was not willing to make the “necessary investment”.Lord Robertson could have directed his fire elsewhere. He must know that no government department has been so complacent in the face of years of devastating evidence of waste, profligate contracts, and policy decisions that have avoided confronting new but increasingly clear security threats to Britain and other western countries. Continue reading...