Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s aggression over Taiwan threaten to create a world ‘defined by danger’, PM warns

Published

2 years ago

March 13, 2023

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Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s aggression over Taiwan threaten to create a world “defined by danger, disorder and division”, the UK prime minister has warned.

Rishi Sunak predicted a “difficult and dangerous decade” as his government published a long-awaited update to a major defence, security and foreign policy review on Monday.

The 63-page document signalled that the world faced the biggest risk in decades of security threats escalating, including into “uncontrolled conflict” with nuclear weapons.

Deadly missile strike on school; ‘tensions emerging’ between US and Kyiv – Ukraine war latest

The most immediate security priority was to tackle the threat posed by Russia’s war in Europe, the Integrated Review Refresh said.

But it warned that any future war in the Indo-Pacific, where tensions have increased with China over Taiwan, could have “global consequences greater than the conflict in Ukraine“.

The paper did not change the fundamental assessments of the original review, published in 2021, before Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the language was starker.

Mr Sunak described the Chinese Communist Party as posing an “epoch-defining challenge”. It was previously described only as a “systemic challenge”.

He also set out how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine was an assault on UK and wider European security.

The prime minister explained how the security environment has changed over the past two years, with threats and challenges intensifying.

“Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, weaponisation of energy and food supplies and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, combined with China’s more aggressive stance in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, are threatening to create a world defined by danger, disorder and division – and an international order more favourable to authoritarianism,” he wrote in a foreword.

£3bn more for nuclear weapons and submarine fleet

As a result of the evolving threats, Mr Sunak announced an extra £3bn over the next two years for the UK’s nuclear weapons and submarine fleet as well as an extra £1.9bn for ammunition stockpiles.

The document was released ahead of the government’s budget on Wednesday. It set out a plan to increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, up from just over 2%, but without setting a timeframe.

Warning of future threats, the review said: “There is a growing prospect that the international security environment will further deteriorate in the coming years, with state threats increasing and diversifying in Europe and beyond.

“The risk of escalation is greater than at any time in decades, and an increasing number of advanced weapons systems have been developed and are being tested or adopted.”

It raised concern about the impact of a weakening in a set of arms control agreements between the United States and Russia.

“The strategic stability mechanisms that helped in the 21st century to mitigate the risks of misunderstanding, miscalculation and unintended escalation have not developed at the pace needed to ensure that competition does not spill over into uncontrolled conflict,” the text said.

It added: “Tensions in the Indo-Pacific are increasing and conflict there could have global consequences greater than the conflict in Ukraine.”

Warnings about Iran and North Korea

The Integrated Review Refresh also cautioned about an increasing threat from Iran, which is advancing a nuclear weapons programme.

In addition, North Korea is “seeking to develop its nuclear capabilities while pursuing regionally destabilising activity through missile tests that threaten its neighbours”.

Much of the text reaffirmed and strengthened findings from the previous review.

But the 2023 update also include a specific section on UK policy towards China, balancing security concerns with a desire to engage with Beijing in areas of mutual interest such as climate change.

This nuanced approached may meet with criticism from certain members of the Conservative Party, including former prime minister Liz Truss, who have been much more hawkish.

‘Grow concerns’ over China’s government

The review talked about “growing concerns” over the actions of the Chinese government, including its strengthening relationship with Russia despite the war in Ukraine.

It also highlighted how China has pursued “rapid and opaque military modernisation with huge new investments, militarised disputed islands in the South China Sea, and refused to renounce the use of force to achieve its objectives with regard to Taiwan“.

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Specifically on Taiwan, the UK reaffirmed its position that tensions over the self-governed island should be settled peacefully.

But Mr Sunak’s review also focused on the reality of Beijing’s size and significance. China accounts for being a fifth of the world economy.

The text said Britain would “engage constructively” with the Chinese government, business and people when it serves the national interest but would take “robust action” to tackle any threats.

World

Trump says he’s ready to move to second stage of Russia sanctions after Moscow launches large aerial attack

Published

17 mins ago

September 8, 2025

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Trump says he's ready to move to second stage of Russia sanctions after Moscow launches large aerial attack

Donald Trump has said he is ready to move to a second stage of sanctioning Russia, just hours after Moscow launched the largest arial attack of the war so far.

At least four people have been killed, including a mother and a three-month-old baby, with more than 40 others injured, after Russia launched a bombardment of drones overnight.

While on his way to the final of the US Open tennis tournament, the president was asked if he was ready to move to the second stage of punishment for Moscow, to which he replied, “Yes”.

It echoes US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said additional economic pressure by the United States and Europe could prompt Putin to enter peace talks with Ukraine.

“We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us,” Treasury Secretary Scott told NBC News’ Meet the Press.

Sir Keir Starmer said the latest attack shows Vladimir Putin is “not serious about peace” as he joined other allies in condemning Russia’s actions.

The prime minister said the “brutal” and “cowardly” assault on Kyiv – which resulted in a government building catching fire – proved the Russian leader feels he can “act with impunity”.

Russia attacked Kyiv with 805 drones and decoys, officials said, and Ukraine shot down and neutralised 747 drones and four missiles, the country’s air force has said.

The attack caused a fire to break out at a key government building, with the sky above Kyiv covered in smoke.

Appeasement makes ‘no sense’

Polish premier Donald Tusk said the latest military onslaught showed any “attempts to appease” Putin make “no sense”.

“The US and Europe must together force Russia to accept an immediate ceasefire. We have all the instruments,” Mr Tusk said on Saturday.

Meanwhile the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the Kremlin was “mocking diplomacy”.

Vladimir Putin reportedly wants control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine – known as the Donbas – as a condition for ending the war.

Russia occupies around 19% of Ukraine, including Crimea and the parts of the Donbas region it seized before the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But this attack comes after European nations pressed the Russian leader to work to end the war at a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – a group of countries led by France and Britain seeking to help protect Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire.

Some 26 of Ukraine’s allies pledged to provide security guarantees as part of a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once the fighting ends, Mr Macron has said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to meet Mr Putin to negotiate a peace agreement, and has urged US president Donald Trump to put punishing sanctions on Russia to push it to end the war.

“The world can force the Kremlin criminals to stop the killings – all that is needed is political will,” he said on Sunday.

World

Cable snapped in deadly Lisbon funicular crash, report finds

Published

1 day ago

September 6, 2025

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Cable snapped in deadly Lisbon funicular crash, report finds

A report into the deadly Lisbon Gloria funicular crash has said the cable linking the two carriages snapped.

The carriages of the city’s iconic Gloria funicular had travelled no more than six metres when they “suddenly lost the balancing force of the connecting cable”.

The vehicle’s brake‑guard immediately “activated the pneumatic brake as well as the manual brake”, the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents said.

But the measures “had no effect in reducing the vehicle’s speed”, as it accelerated and crashed at around 60kmh (37mph), and the disaster unfolded in less than 50 seconds.

Questions have been asked about the maintenance of the equipment, but the report said that, based on the evidence seen so far, it was up to date.

A scheduled visual inspection had been carried out on the morning of the accident, but the area where the cable broke “is not visible without dismantling.”

The Gloria funicular is a national monument that dates from 1914 and is very popular with tourists visiting the Portuguese capital.

It operates between Restauradores Square in downtown Lisbon and the Bairro Alto neighbourhood.

The journey is just 276m (905ft) and takes just over a minute, but it operates up a steep hill, with two carriages travelling in opposite directions.

How the disaster unfolded

At around 6pm on Wednesday, Cabin No.2, at the bottom of the funicular, “jerked backward sharply”, the report said.

“After moving roughly 10 metres, its movement stopped as it partially left the tracks and its trolley became buried at the lower end of the cable channel.”

Cabin No.1, at the top, “continued descending and accelerated” before derailing and smashing “sideways into the wall of a building on the left side, destroying the wooden box [from which the carriage is constructed]”.

It crashed into a cast‑iron streetlamp and a support pole, causing “significant damage” before hitting “the corner of another building”.

Cable failed at top

Analysis of the wreckage showed the cable connecting the cabins failed where it was attached inside the upper trolley of cabin No.1 at the top.

The cable’s specified useful life is 600 days and at the time of the accident, it had been used for 337 days, leaving another 263 days before needing to be replaced.

The operating company regards this life expectancy as having “a significant safety margin”.

The exact number of people aboard each cabin when it crashed has not been confirmed.

Britons killed in disaster

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 others in Wednesday’s incident, including another British victim who has not yet been named.

Five Portuguese citizens died when the packed carriage plummeted out of control – four of them workers at a charity on the hill – but most victims were foreigners.

World

Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to ‘humanitarian area’

Published

2 days ago

September 6, 2025

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Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to 'humanitarian area'

Any remaining residents in Gaza’s largest city should leave for a designated area in the south, Israel’s military has warned.

Israeli forces are carrying out an offensive on suburbs of Gaza City, in the territory’s north, as part of plans to capture it – raising concern over an already-devastating humanitarian crisis.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure to stop the attack and allow more aid in, the military has announced a new humanitarian zone in the south.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Gaza City residents should head to a designated coastal area of Khan Younis.

There, he said they would be able to receive food, medical care and shelter.

On Thursday, Israel said it has control of around 40% of Gaza City and 75% of the entire territory of Gaza.

Many of the city’s residents had already been displaced earlier in the war, only to return later. Some of them have said they will refuse to move again.

That’s despite the military claiming it is within a few kilometres of the city centre, coming after weeks of heavy strikes.

But the war in Gaza has left Israel increasingly isolated in the diplomatic sphere, with some of its closest allies condemning the campaign that’s devastated the territory.

Just two weeks ago, a famine was declared in Gaza City and surrounding areas by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity.

There is also concern within Israel, where calls have grown to stop the war and secure the release of the remaining 48 hostages.

Israel believes 20 of those hostages are still alive.

Even as relatives of those hostages lead protests, Mr Netanyahu continues to push for an all-or-nothing deal to release all hostages and defeat Hamas.

On Friday, Donald Trump said Washington is in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas to release the captives.

“We said let them all out, right now let them all out. And much better things will happen for them but if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty,” he added.

Hamas is “asking for some things that are fine”, he said, without elaborating.