By Audrey Fritz When the University College Cork in Ireland withdrew from a partnership with Minzu University of China (MUC) in 2021, speculation cited concerns linking MUC with human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This included the arrest of a Uyghur professor at MUC who was accused of separatism and escalating…

By Pierre Tran Paris - France, Germany and Spain said last month they had reached agreement to launch a long awaited development phase for a European future combat air system, but it has emerged  there were still industrial and political issues to resolve. What has emerged is that the key…

By Pierre Tran Paris - France, Germany and Spain have agreed the industrial organization for development of a future combat air system, including a demonstrator for a new generation fighter to fly by 2027, the defense ministers of the partner nations said May 17 in a joint statement. “The industrial…

By William Gourlay It’s said that politics makes for strange bedfellows. In diplomacy, it would seem that it’s seating arrangements that can be tricky. At a 6 April meeting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel with Turkey’sfamously combative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, von…

According to a story published by the Japanese Ministry of Defence: On January 13, 2021 Major Howlett of the Australian Army was appointed as liaison officer at the HQ Ground Component Command. It is the first time for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) to accept a liaison officer from…

Periodically, the Japanese Ministry of Defence publishes updates on the threat envelope for Japan. This month, the MOD published three briefings, one each for China, Russia and North Korea. Notably, all three of these are nuclear powers, which means that the alliance with the United States needs to deliver credible…

According to a UK Ministry of Defence story published on February 23, 2021, the UK and Australia have signed a new ‘Space Bridge’ partnership to increase knowledge exchange and investment across the two countries’ space sectors. The world’s first Space Bridge will unlock improved access to trade, investment and academic…

By Kenneth Maxwell Exeter was among the beautiful English cites chosen for attack on Hitler’s orders in retaliation for the RAF bombing of the mediaeval city of Lubeck in March 1942. The German aim was to target small English historic cities and damage historical buildings and cultural sites in revenge…