Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

In May 2025, I authored an article entitled Chagos Deal Is Done: Sovereignty Is Returned to Mauritius. Arguably, that title was somewhat premature, as a great deal has happened since then. The past eight months have seen the legislation required to return the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius progress through most of its parliamentary stages (though not without difficulty), opponents intensifying their objections, and signs of a possible change of heart by the Trump administration, which had previously been supportive. Yet although much has changed—at least rhetorically—the fundamentals of the case for returning Chagos to Mauritius remain sound. The Diego Garcia…

More than 40 Democratic lawmakers on Monday requested that the inspector general for the Homeland Security Department, which is led by an official who has previously been the subject of substantiated misconduct complaints, expedite its reviews of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s and Customs and Border Protection’s operations. The members of Congress argued that urgency is necessary following the January killings of protestors Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis by federal officers and reports that federal immigration agents are entering people’s homes without a judicial warrant. “ICE agents have gotten out of control, using needlessly violent force against community members who are…

Babcock International Group (Babcock), the defence company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ASELSAN, a leading international defence electronics company, to explore the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) requirement for a Surface Electronic Warfare Threat (SEWT) training system as part of the Next Generation Operational Training (NGOT) programme. The system would provide advanced simulation of modern-day Integrated Air Defence Systems, supporting the UK’s commitment to enhance readiness across its forces. Working together, the organisations will develop a joint approach to this opportunity, aiming to deliver a realistic and scalable simulation capability that reflects the complexity and pace of today’s…

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Republic of China Updated: February 02, 2026 20:30 At the invitation of the Spanish government, State Councilor Shen Yiqin will visit Spain from February 4 to 5. She will attend upon invitation the opening ceremony of the XXV Olympic Winter Games on February 6 and other events in Milan, Italy. Yonhap News Agency: It was reported that during this year’s Spring Festival, the top destination for Chinese outbound tourism will be the ROK. The “Korean Wave” and the ROK’s visa-free policy is believed to have played a role in this. What is China’s view?…

WASHINGTON — The House passed the $838.7 billion defense spending bill today, completing the final step needed for President Donald Trump to sign the fiscal 2026 defense budget into law.  Upon being enacted, federal funding will resume for the Pentagon and other agencies impacted by the partial government shutdown, which began on Saturday. Lawmakers voted 217–214 to advance the funding package, which included annual appropriations for defense and several other agencies as well as a short-term continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security.  Despite bipartisan support for the defense portion of the bill — which was helmed on a…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. Video has emerged that is said to show a Russian-made Mi-28NE Havoc attack helicopter flying over the Iranian capital Tehran. Last week, pictures had also appeared online that looked to show at least one Mi-28NE in Iran. The arrival of Havocs in Iran might also point to the delivery of weapons and other materiel from Russia, or plans to do so soon, amid a new spike in geopolitical friction between the Middle Eastern country and the United States. TWZ has not been…

The northern Euro-Atlantic theatre is today a stage on which maritime asymmetric activities are involving and impacting non-state, state, and multinational actors. The underwater domain remains a particular area of state-based strategic contest because it remains opaque, cloaking submarine and, increasingly, uncrewed platform operations. In a significant Euro-Atlantic security shift, asymmetric activities and capabilities are bringing physical and strategic vulnerability to critical undersea infrastructure (CUI). This threat may have been underlined in late 2025, following concerns that a CUI incident in the Gulf of Finland may have involved a rogue commercial ship deliberately dragging its anchor across the seabed. Senior…

“Hyperconnectivity” is the term best used to describe the U.S. Army’s plan for a ubiquitous network of tactical line-of-sight radios, beyond-line-of-sight terminals, SATCOM, 5G, and Wifi for next-generation command, control, and communications. The goal of this hyperconnected network is to give Army divisions the ability to transmit new and additional data to the tactical edge using a variety of comms options, even in contested environments. With command echelons becoming more decentralized, C2 data sharing will also need to traverse greater distances and over the horizon with new waveforms. Hyperconnectivity will increasingly come into play with the proliferation of autonomous systems…

Andre Galvao — one of the most decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) champions of all time — has long been one of the biggest figures in the entire sport, both as a competitor and a coach. An 11-time world champion across ADCC and IBJJF, Galvao is also the leader of Atos, one of the largest BJJ teams in the world with close to 100 affiliate gyms across the world.Galvao, 43, is currently facing serious allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of his students.Andre Galvao accused of sexual misconduct with studentsADCC champ Adele Fornarino speaks out at Polaris 35.Adele Fornarino and Levi…

LAGOS, Nigeria — The U.S. has dispatched a small team of military officers to Nigeria, the general in charge of U.S. Africa Command told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson said the move followed his meeting with Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, in Rome late last year.“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson said.It is unclear when the team arrived in Nigeria.The military officers are the latest step…