Battle Lines

There’s a rhythm to wartime atrocity. First come the warnings, ignored, dismissed. Then the whispers, the shaky videos, the satellite images that no one can quite believe. And finally, the horrific truth. That’s where we are today in el-Fasher, Sudan, where the militia calling itself the Rapid Support Forces is perpetrating a massacre that can literally be seen from space. The crime has refocused attention both on Sudan's war, and the RSF's regional backers. Who are they, and why are they bankrolling such bloodshed? And why is such a vast and visible atrocity drawing such a muted reaction from the international community? Battle Lines is joined by Sudanese analyst Kholood Khair from think tank Confluence Advisory and terrorism and conflict specialist Michael Jones from Royal United Services Institute.A massacre visible from space: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/28/sudan-bloodied-sands-massacre-thousands/Attack on El Fasher hospital: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/hundreds-die-in-el-fasher-hospital-massacre-darfur-sudan/► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorCredit: AFP PHOTO / HO / SUDAN RAPID SUPPORT FORCES (RSF) TELEGRAMhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant

It's been over two weeks since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza. While the full-blown war has stopped, the World Health Organisation is warning that Gaza is experiencing a health "catastrophe" that will last for "generations to come".How do we make Gaza healthy again? How do you heal a city that’s been under siege and rebuild a health system destroyed by war?To find out, Arthur and Venetia are joined by Professor Paul Spiegel, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, and Nick Maynard, a consultant surgeon at Oxford university hospital who’s regularly been into Gaza during the war. Did you know, you can watch this podcast? Just click here to follow our playlist on YouTube. ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorPicture credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFPhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@ascottgeddes

As the Arctic ice melts, a new Cold War is heating up. Russia and China are rewriting the rules of global power, testing missiles, flexing muscles, and pushing into the world’s last frontiers. A 294-metre container ship has just blazed through the Arctic route from China to Europe in record time. If trade can flow through, what’s to stop warships? Are we watching the start of a polar power grab? Should NATO be bracing for a Chinese fleet in the North Atlantic, or even Antarctica next? Military historian Caroline Kennedy-Pipe and Arctic expert Dr Elizabeth Buchanan plunge into the freezing front line to expose what’s really happening beneath the ice.► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorCredit: Anthony Upton/Telegraphhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant

The Caribbean is heating up and Trump’s fingerprints are all over it. U.S. warships, stealth fighters, elite troops… and whispers of regime change. Is Donald Trump about to launch a full-scale invasion of Venezuela? Behind the “war on drugs” rhetoric, Washington has been quietly building up military power near Maduro’s shores, reopening bases and even authorising covert CIA operations. Venezuela’s leader says America is trying to overthrow him. Trump insists it’s about stopping criminals and cartels. So who’s telling the truth? And how close are we to another Cold War-style showdown in America’s backyard? Senior Adviser at International Crisis Group, Brian Finucane, joins us to expose what’s really happening on the edge of the Caribbean.► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorCredit: AFP/Federico Parrahttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant

Last month, Donald Trump raised the spectre of biological weapons at the UN, calling on the world to help him end their development. He said AI could help enforce the ban on these weapons. But scientists are increasingly concerned that technologies like AI and gene editing tools could also make them more accessible – and even more dangerous.So we’re asking: has the threat of biological weapons returned?We are joined by Dr Brett Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Security and Public Policy at the University of Bath. His research focuses on both the history and contemporary threat posed by biological and chemical weapons.Plus we speak to Dr Ken Alibek, Former Deputy Chief of the Soviet Union's Biological Weapons, who lifted the lid on their secret bioweapons programmes to find out what threat Russia poses today.For more insights and exclusive content, sign up to the Global Health newsletter: https://secure.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secure/newsletter/global-health-security/Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @TelGlobalHealth@venetiarainey @ascottgeddesDr Brett Edwards hosts the Poisons and Pestilence Podcast on the history of biological and chemical weapons and warfare.Dr Ken Alibek is the author of 'Biohazard'. Credit: UN clip - ABC News.

Here’s a sobering reality: China could bring America’s military to its knees — without firing a single shot. The weapon? Rare earth minerals. These hidden elements power everything from fighter jets and submarines to missiles and drones. If Beijing pulled the plug tomorrow, Western stockpiles would run dry within weeks — and rebuilding them wouldn’t be easy.Now, with China tightening export controls and Trump hitting back with 100% tariffs, the global standoff is escalating fast. This week on Battle Lines, Samuel Olsen from Sibylline and Neha Mukherjee from Benchmark Minerals expose the fight beneath the surface — the battle for the world’s rare earths.► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphantCredit: Getty/ US Navy

We surface a story that’s been making waves. A Russian diesel-electric submarine, The Novorossiysk, is being trailed through the North Sea by NATO ships, sparking headlines about a “crippled” vessel and “embarrassment for Moscow.” But is it really in trouble? Or are we, once again, jumping to Cold War-style conclusions?Yes, it leaked fuel last month. Boats do that. It’s now heading home. They do that too. It’s been politely shadowed by eleven ships from six nations—Britain, France, the Dutch—all watching closely, all behaving exactly as they should. And it’s on the surface? Perfectly normal for a diesel-electric sub. These boats run on a mix of diesel and battery power—surfacing to recharge before diving again.The truth is, diesel-electric submarines are both silent hunters and noisy neighbours. On battery, they’re whisper quiet; on diesel, they roar like thunder.So, could The Novorossiysk simply be recharging, not retreating? Is NATO flexing its muscles for show, rather than necessity? And in an age of nuclear subs and high-tech stealth—are diesel-electrics just relics running on borrowed time? Former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe dives deep into the story.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/15/russia-navy-putin-mediterranean-naval-threat/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/14/broken-russian-submarine-novorossiysk-channel-north-sea-tug/► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant

War is the perfect petri dish for disease. In the conflicts of the 18th and 19th centuries, many more troops died of illnesses than in battle. And, at the start of the 20th century, the Spanish Flu pandemic emerged out of the chaos of the First World War.With anti-microbial resistance on the rise and HIV cases soaring among Russian soldiers, might ‘Disease X’ – the mystery pathogen that could cause the next pandemic – be lurking in Ukraine, or Gaza, or Sudan? In the first episode of a brand new Global Health Security Series for Battle Lines, Venetia Rainey is joined by Arthur Scott-Geddes to ask: Could war spark the next pandemic?  We hear from Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security about pandemic preparedness and how war zones breed disease. Plus, Laura Spinney, author of best selling book, Pale Rider, explains how the First World War paved the way for the Spanish Flu to kill up to 100 million people.  Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @TelGlobalHealth@venetiarainey @ascottgeddes

China isn’t just spying — many Western security officials believe it’s waging a full-blown, whole-of-government campaign against the West. From hacking our systems to manipulating elections and social media, Beijing’s playing the long game to undermine Britain, America, and their allies. We speak to former FBI agent Michael Feinberg who quit under very controversial circumstances — he lifts the lid on how China’s outsmarting the FBI, America, and the entire Western intelligence machine. Rooted in centuries of pride and grievance, he says that China sees itself on a divine mission to topple Western dominance. And while our governments talk tough, we’ve tied ourselves to China economically — a dangerous bind.► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorCredits: Steven McDowell / Science Photo Library RFhttps://linktr.ee/BattleLinesContact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant