2 h. ago The facts are stark: Europe must open the door to migrants, or face its own extinction | George Monbiot

Plummeting birth rates mean that without attracting immigration, many countries are sliding towards collapseI know what “civilisational erasure” looks like: I’ve seen the graph. The European Commission published it in March. It’s a chart of total fertility rate: the average number of children born per woman. After a minor bump over the past 20 years, the EU rate appears to be declining once more, and now stands at 1.38. The UK’s is 1.44. A population’s replacement rate is 2.1. You may or may not see this as a disaster, but the maths doesn’t care what you think. We are gliding, as if by gravitational force, towards the ground.Civilisational erasure is the term the Trump administration used in its new national security strategy, published last week. It claimed that immigration, among other factors, will result in the destruction of European civilisation. In reality, without immigration there will be no Europe, no civilisation and no one left to argue about it.George Monbiot is a Guard...

Events

8 h. ago JPMorgan warns of ‘national security’ threat due to American worker skill gaps

The company warned that simply investing in emerging industries won’t matter if workers don’t have the skills to match opportunities

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11 h. ago Trump administration creates new militarized zone in California along southern US border

Trump hands 760 acres of California public land to the navy for a new defense zone, deepening border militarizationThe US’s southern border is poised to become more militarized following an announcement by Trump administration officials that armed forces would now oversee 760 acres of public land for a three-year period.The US Department of Interior said in a statement that jurisdiction over this acreage – located in California’s San Diego and Imperial counties – would be transferred to the US navy “to establish a National Defense Area to support ongoing border security operations”. Continue reading...

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14 h. ago MPs warned over Russian attempts to target them via WhatsApp

National Cyber Security Centre revealed there had been recent ‘targeting against commercial messaging apps including Signal’

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34 h. ago 'He'll be next': Trump fires chilling threat at Latin American leader as US gunships seize Venezuelan oil tanker

Donald Trump told reporters at the White house on Wednesday: 'He's gonna have himself some big problems if he doesn't wise up.'

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43 h. ago Daily killings in Mexico drop 37% under Claudia Sheinbaum, but experts say data is problematic

Government claims national security strategy is working, but analysts say figures don’t show rise in forced disappearancesThe average number of daily killings per month in Mexico has dropped by 37% since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office last year, according to new government figures, but security analysts cautioned that homicide data may not indicate improved national security.There was an average of nearly 55 murders a day in November compared with almost 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the presidency in September last year, the head of the country’s national public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, said during the president’s daily news conference on Tuesday. Continue reading...

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50 h. ago A braver Tory leader than Badenoch would dare to call out Farage's bogus patriotism | Rafael Behr

Across western democracies, established conservatives are yielding to radical nationalism. There’s no sign that Britain will be the exceptionIn free societies, when you don’t like the government, you support the opposition. In dictatorships, or under military occupation, you join the resistance. The distinction isn’t precise but it matters.All European democracies have radical anti-immigration parties, some on the fringes of opposition, some that have crossed into the mainstream. None qualify as heroic resistance movements, except in the minds of white supremacists who see liberal institutions as part of a conspiracy to ruin Europe by filling it with foreigners. That is also the view taken in the new White House national security strategy, published last week.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago The US is not just Europe’s unwilling ally, but an adversary steeped in far

Don’t say you weren’t warned: Trump’s new national security strategy seeks to destroy liberal democracy as we know itOn the same day that Donald Trump received his made-to-order “peace prize” from his newest pal, Fifa president “Johnny” Infantino, his administration published an equally gaudy national security strategy. The relatively short document oozes Trump and Trumpism. It starts out with the typically modest claim that the president has brought “our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster”.Even if the strategy mostly formalises the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his administration, it should be heeded as a warning for the world, and Europe in particular.Cas Mudde is the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia, and author of The Far Right Today Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago ANDREW NEIL: A new security plan reveals what Trump really thinks about Europe

Donald Trump to Europe: 'You're on your own, losers. Bye!' That's the blunt message at the heart of his administration's new National Security Strategy.

Politics

58 h. ago Broken defence promises: Labour's dithering is putting Britain's national security at risk, says MAGGIE PAGANO

Only a few months ago, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves boasted about how extra defence spending was going to turbo-charge economic growth.

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63 h. ago One in 15 cars have 'ghost plates' designed to help criminals evade ANPR cameras in 'national security threat'

As many as one in 15 vehicles may have plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, a parliamentary transport report has found.

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63 h. ago The urgent lesson that Keir Starmer must learn from Donald Trump’s new security strategy

The US National Security Strategy suggests the Trump administration plans to support far and hard-right parties in European countries, while leaving it to its own defences

Politics

64 h. ago Failure to name Stakeknife ‘slightly ludicrous’, Justice Minister says

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn insisted that identifying agents risks ‘jeopardising’ national security,

Politics

68 h. ago Hegseth and Rubio expected to brief ‘Gang of Eight’ as Trump refuses to rule out sending troops to Venezuela – US politics live

Group that includes congressional leaders and leading intelligence committee members is traditionally briefed on major national security actionsAsked by Politico to grade the US economy, Trump first rated it as ‘A-plus’, before upgrading it to ‘A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus’. Questioned over the cost of living for voters, Trump said he “inherited a total mess”, and added: “Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially It’s been 10 months. It’s amazing what we’ve done.”Asked if he would rule out reducing tariffs on any more goods, Trump said:“On some. And on some I’ll increase tariffs. Because you know what happens is because of tariffs, all of the car companies are coming back.”You know, we lost 58% of the automobile business. We a monopoly in the world. We had everything. And because we had presidents that either weren’t smart or didn’t have business sense or their people didn’t do a good job ... they could’ve kept that.“We could’ve kept the chip...

Politics

69 h. ago German leader says US strategy shows the need for more European security independence

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the Trump administration’s new national security strategy underscores the need for Europe to become “much more independent” from the United States in terms of security policy

Politics

69 h. ago Europe live: Parts of US national security strategy ‘unacceptable’ for Europe, says Merz

German leader says there is ‘no need for the Americans to want to save democracy in Europe’Oh, and a little warning shot from EU’s Kallas:“If we go into the fight [of] pointing fingers, I mean, we can also point a lot of fingers [on] what is wrong in America, but this is not the way we work, we are not going to meddle with the internal affairs of other countries.” Continue reading...

Events

2 d. ago Crackdown on ghost number plates urged over threat to ‘national security’

Up to one in 15 vehicles may use illegal plates that can evade automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras

Events

3 d. ago Lithuania declares national emergency over security risks posed by balloons from Belarus

Lithuania's government has declared a national emergency over security risks from balloons coming from Belarus

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3 d. ago Trump has declared civilisational war on Europe. It won’t be easy – but here’s how to fight back | Paul Taylor

With democratic values under attack from populists within and former allies without, there are no simple solutionsThree decades after political philosopher Francis Fukuyama declared the End of History and the “universalisation of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government”, the democratic model is under attack in many parts of the world, not least here in Europe. Populists bent on weakening the rule of law, rolling back human rights protections, subjugating the judiciary and cowing independent journalism are amplified by anything-goes social media algorithms that promote anger and polarisation over rational discourse.They have now received a mandate from the Trump administration, which effectively declared civilisational war on the EU and its values in its National Security Strategy.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Government urged to crackdown on illegal number plates amid national security fears

It is estimated that up to one in 15 vehicles may use plates designed to evade automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras

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