Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is already having to make one of his gravest decisions. He has to issue the instructions that he alone gives to the military, setting out the UK response in a doomsday scenario of a nuclear weapons attack on us. He will, as I did two decades ago, sign a piece of paper telling commanders whether or not to retaliate and, if so, whether through targeting civilian conurbations or military sites. These instructions are written down in the aptly named “letter of last resort”. Now,…
Day: August 26, 2026
China’s coastal regions on high alert as Typhoon Saudel cancels flights, ferries
Airports in China’s Zhejiang and Fujian provinces remained on high alert for potential delays and cancellations as Typhoon Saudel approached landfall on Wednesday, after multiple flights were cancelled in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Saudel, which entered the East China Sea early on Wednesday morning, led to 16 cancelled flights at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. Affected carriers included Peach, China Airlines, EVA Air, Starlux and Thai Lion Air. Hong Kong Airlines fully cancelled its HX658/HX659 flights between the city and Japan’s Okinawa, while HK Express rescheduled its Okinawa-bound services to August…
US sanctions Chinese firms trading with Iran
South China Morning Post