Today, the Defence Secretary unveiled that Russia conducted a covert mission targeting key energy and data cables in British waters for over a month.

John Healey disclosed that a nuclear-powered attack submarine, along with two intelligence-gathering submarines, had been observed in the North Atlantic. In response, the UK dispatched a warship and aircraft to the area.

To counter the threat, sonar buoys were deployed. These devices use acoustic signals to monitor underwater activities, aiming to discourage Russian attempts to interfere with the cables that transmit vast amounts of vital data.

Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, Healey warned, “We are aware of your operations near our cables and pipelines. Be assured that any efforts to damage them will be met with serious repercussions.”

The Defence Secretary detailed that the Russian operation involved an Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and two specialized submarines from GUGI, the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research under Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

Aided by allies including Norway, Britain deployed 500 personnel onboard a warship and Royal Air Force P8 aircraft, which flew for more than 450 hours before the Russian subs retreated. 

Mr Healey said the operation showed why it was ‘not in Britain’s national interest’ to deploy large parts of the Royal Navy to help America in the Middle East. He told a press conference that he wanted to expose Russia’s targeting of Britain’s underwater infrastructure and vowed to ‘step up’ efforts to protect it. 

It comes as Putin made a mockery of Sir Keir Starmer’s vow to stop illegal oil tankers using the Channel by sending a warship to escort them, unmolested by the Royal Navy. 

John Healey revealed the ‘covert’ Russian operation in a media briefing at 9 Downing Street 

A Russian Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine in waters near Norway in 2022  

Mr Healey said: ‘In response to the Russian submarines, I can confirm that I deployed our armed forces to track and to deter any malign activity by these vessels.

‘A Royal Navy warship and Royal Air Force P8 aircraft alongside allies ensured that the Russian submarines were monitored 24/7.

‘The Akula submarine subsequently retreated home, having been closely tracked throughout and we continued to monitor the two GUGI submarines in and around wider UK waters.

‘Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as President Putin planned, and that their attempted secret operation had been exposed.

‘Those GUGI submarines have now left UK waters and headed back north.’

He said the month-long operation had now concluded.

The senior minister said the attack submarine acted as ‘a likely decoy to distract us from the Gugi submarines as they ‘spent time over critical infrastructure relevant to us and our allies in the North Atlantic’.

He continued: ‘Because we were watching them, we wanted to ensure that we could warn them that their covert operation had been exposed and reduce the risk that they may attempt any action that could damage our pipelines or our cables.

‘And I’m confident, we have no evidence that there has been any damage, but with allies, were sure that this is now verifiable.’

It comes at a sensitive time for the MoD after the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich was seen accompanying two ‘shadow fleet’ vessels past Britain’s south coast yesterday, with the Navy only able to rustle up one support ship to watch it. 

Last month, Sir Keir gave approval for Britain’s commandos to board and halt shadow fleet vessels as they pass through UK waters in an attempt to ‘go after’ the sanction-breaking ships ‘even harder’.

Putin pictured today handing Russia highest medal to 23-year-old soldier Alexei Asylkhanov

But according to The Telegraph, RFA Tideforce, an auxiliary tanker armed with only light defensive weapons, simply followed the three-ship flotilla past Dover without intervening.

It followed claims by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch that Sir Keir was ‘all mouth and no trousers’ when it came to defence. 

Asked about yesterday’s incident in the Channel, Mr Healey said Moscow ‘still poses a threat’. 

He added that Britain ‘will continue to do what we’ve done as a matter of course, which is ensure that we can escort any Russian warships through our waters and, in the case of this operation, to ensure that we can track any potentially malign activity, and that we can monitor and make clear that we have exposed any covert operations that Putin wants to mount that may threaten our vital interests’.

Mr Healey claimed the operation to shadow Russian subs showed why Britain had been right not to send more ships to the Middle East. 

He said: ‘When a crisis erupts noisily and dangerously, as it has done in the Middle East, I understand people questioning why all UK military assets and personnel have not been deployed to deal with it, but that is not in Britain’s national interest.

‘The greatest threats are often unseen and silent, and as demands on defence rise, we must deploy our resources to best effect.’

He added that Putin ‘would have wanted us, I expect, to be distracted and my purpose today is to demonstrate to him publicly that we have not been – that we have our eye on him, that we recognise he and Russia pose the primary threat to UK security and Nato security.’

Russia was likely sharing intelligence and training Iranian forces in drone tactics, with Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine ‘reflected’ in many of the ways that Iran is attacking Middle East countries, he added.

Sir Keir, who arrived in the UAE this morning as part of a visit to the Gulf, insisted he would ‘not shy away’ from taking action against Russia.

He said: ‘I am determined to protect the British people from paying the price for Putin’s aggression in their household bills.

‘That is why we will not shy away from taking action and exposing Russia’s destabilising activity that seeks to test our resolve.

‘Our Armed Forces are among the best in the world, and the British public should be in no doubt that this government will do whatever it takes to defend our national and economic security, wherever in the world that is needed.’

Leading figures in the House of Representatives are urging the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to launch a thorough investigation into U.S. tax-exempt nonprofits that they suspect have been infiltrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to exert influence over American elections and politics.

These organizations, known as “hometown” groups, are typically established by immigrants from the same Chinese towns or provinces. Their intended purpose is to assist new immigrants, organize social events, and help members maintain connections to their cultural roots.

However, recent activities have cast a shadow over these groups. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently conducted raids on the offices of the American Changle Association in New York City. The association is alleged to have operated an illegal “secret police station” on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security. This station reportedly served to intimidate dissidents and closely monitor Chinese citizens living abroad. Two individuals were apprehended for acting as unregistered foreign agents. One of them, Chen Jinping, admitted guilt in conspiring to serve as an unauthorized agent for the Chinese government. Meanwhile, the legal proceedings for the other individual are still underway.

John Moolenaar, a Republican from Michigan, serves as the chairman of the House Select Committee on China. (Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In light of these developments, John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, alongside Jason Smith, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, reached out to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS Commissioner-designate Frank Bisignano. In their letter dispatched on Tuesday, they expressed “grave concerns” over the possibility that “hometown” entities with links to the CCP are manipulating the U.S. nonprofit framework to their advantage.

The lawmakers warned that the groups are part of a CCP “United Front” strategy, which a prior congressional memo described as “a unique blend of engagement, influence activities and intelligence operations” used to shape political environments and advance Beijing’s interests abroad. They noted that some of these groups are created under the guise of Chinese expatriates creating “overseas friendship” in the world.

Citing a New York Times investigation published last year, the letter states that at least 53 organizations “endorsed or raised money for political candidates, likely in violation of the rules,” with at least 19 in “clear violation” of federal restrictions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviews the troops during his inspection of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army PLA garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region, south China, Dec. 20, 2024. (Li Gang/Xinhua)

The letter follows a February hearing by the Ways and Means Committee examining malign foreign influence in the U.S. nonprofit sector, including organizations linked to a tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, born in the United States and living in Shanghai, promoting the strategic interests of the CCP and the China.

A Fox News Digital investigation tracked $278 million that Singham poured into a network of groups that fuel anti-American protests in the United States, support China and now back the Islamic Republic of Iran, a strategic partner of China and a major source of its oil imports, in nationwide protests today. Singham and the groups he has funded didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The new letter from Moolenaar and Smith targeted another set of organizations formed in the Chinese diaspora but the wide scope of their concers — from the far-left groups to the diaspora community groups — speaks to a complex influence operations campaign by China.

In the latest letter, the lawmakers warned the People’s Republic of China is “utilizing United Front organizations, proxies and intermediaries within the United States—many granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c)—to engage in political activity that manipulates our democratic institutions.”

The letter highlights concerns about so-called “hometown associations,” community-based groups originally formed to connect Chinese diaspora communities but which lawmakers say have been “co-opted” by the CCP and incorporated into its broader influence network.

Lawmakers allege those organizations have engaged in political activity prohibited under federal tax law, which bars 501(c)(3) groups from participating in campaigns for or against candidates.

The lawmakers also pointed to cases in which individuals and organizations were allegedly pressured or coerced by Chinese officials or affiliated groups, including efforts to block political candidates critical of Beijing from engaging with local communities. They further warned that networks linked to China’s United Front can serve as “cover for other nefarious operations” tied to Chinese security agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of State Security.

Lawmakers requested a briefing by April 22 on what steps the IRS is taking “to address these threats to our political institutions.”

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Donald Trump hailed what he called a ‘significant day for global peace’ as the United States and Iran reached an agreement on a two-week ceasefire. This development came mere hours after Trump had threatened to obliterate ‘an entire civilization’.

The US President announced receiving a 10-point proposal from Iran, which he referred to as ‘a viable foundation for negotiation’. He further declared that hostilities would pause temporarily.

However, the ceasefire seems precarious just a day later, with significant disputes emerging over the terms of the agreement. Trump has warned of ‘larger, better, and more powerful’ retaliations as Israel continues its offensive in Lebanon.

According to the New York Times, several of Trump’s top advisors are doubtful about the ceasefire’s durability.

Vice President JD Vance described the truce as ‘fragile’. He later suggested that Iran submitted three versions of its 10-point proposal, jesting that the first might have been ‘drafted by ChatGPT’. Vance also raised concerns about Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a principal negotiator, questioning his proficiency in English.

He said: ‘The first 10-point proposal was something that was submitted, and we think, frankly, was probably written by ChatGPT, that was submitted to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that immediately went in the garbage and was rejected.

‘There was a second 10-point proposal that was much more reasonable that was based on some back and forth between us, between the Pakistanis and between the Iranians. That is the 10-point proposal that the president was referencing in his Truth yesterday.’

He added the third proposal was more ‘maximalist’ and he found out about it through social media.     

Vice President JD Vance branded it a ‘shaky truce’ last night before claiming Iran sent three versions of its 10-point plans

There is disagreement over whether the ceasefire includes Lebanon as Israel continues to pound its neighbour

The US and Iran struck a deal late on Tuesday night after Mr Trump set a deadline after which he said Iranians would be ‘living in hell’. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the Islamic Republic ‘begged’ for a pause in fighting.

Both sides claimed military triumph, with Mr Trump hailing a ‘total and complete victory’ and Iran boasting of a ‘victory in the field’.

Yet disagreements over the terms of the deal began immediately. Mr Trump has referred to a 15-point plan while the White House has added to confusion by suggesting the plan being discussed is not the ‘working framework’ received by the US. 

One of Iran’s proposals ‘was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team,’ Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary said.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Trump said Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium and there would be ‘no enrichment’ in the future.

‘There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) nuclear dust, he wrote.

But Iran’s supreme national security council swiftly announced its own interpretation of the 10-point peace plan, which explicitly demanded the right to enrich uranium. 

The US and Israel have claimed the ceasfire does not include Lebanon, where Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a major ground and air invasion.

But Iran and mediators Pakistan said the peace plan included the ‘complete cessation of war in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen’. 

On Wednesday, Israel intensified its bombing campaign over Lebanon, killing 182 people as it claimed to hit more than 100 Hezbollah sites in some of the heaviest strikes of the war yet. 

Israel shows no sign of stopping its campaign and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) promised a ‘regret-inducing response’ if strikes on Lebanon continue. 

Tehran dubbed the attack a ‘massacre’ and said it represented a ‘grave violation of the ceasefire’, heightening fears that the regime may back out of the peace process.

Iran’s 10-point plan, published by state-run Tasnim news agency, demands the US accept Tehran’s continued control over the strait, lift all sanctions, pay compensation and withdraw all troops from the region. 

‘If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,’ Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. 

‘For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via the coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces.’ 

Donald Trump lauded a ‘big day for World Peace’ as the US and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire just hours after he threatened to wipe out ‘a whole civilisation’

But the regime halted oil tankers passing through the strait and launched a drone strike on a key Saudi oil pipeline on Wednesday.

Iran said the passageway had been halted ‘simultaneous with Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.’

The Islamic Republic also threatened to destroy oil tankers if they try to travel through the Strait without permission, as the regime has imposed a toll of up to $2million per vessel. 

It prompted Trump to unleash a new warning that he would green-light ‘bigger, and better and stronger’ attacks on Iran if a deal isn’t reached. 

Mr Trump also threatened to take even more aggressive action as he announced that US forces will remain in the area amid negotiations.

‘All US Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal persecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT is fully complied with,’ he wrote in a Truth Social post late Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Iranian strikes continued on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, a critical artery routing crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea, came under drone attack at 1pm local time.

Kuwait’s air defenses intercepted 28 drones in sustained attacks targeting oil facilities, power plants and water desalination infrastructure from 8am Wednesday, the country’s army said, adding that strikes were still ongoing.

Mr Trump is facing a furious backlash from his most fervent supporters over the ceasefire and ten-point peace plan, amid fears it concedes too much to Tehran – with even his own White House forced to clarify his claims about the terms of the deal.

Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska said Mr Trump had secured ‘significant victories’ but expressed skepticism over the peace talks and the President’s claims of ‘total victory.’

‘The government’s still in place and we should be negotiating from a position of strength, not a position that’s good for them,’ he told CNN.

Trump threatened to strike Iran ‘bigger, and better and stronger’ if authorities cannot reach an agreement on the country’s nuclear program and control of the vital Strait of Hormuz

‘They will work with Russia and China as soon as they can to start rebuilding their military. And they will be a threat five, six, seven, eight years down the road. And so, as long as this government’s in place, total victory has not been earned.’

Amid the backlash, the president walked back his statement that the 10-point plan was a ‘workable basis on which to negotiate.’

A White House official has since claimed the points in the released plan did not match what Trump had in mind.

But Trump later seemed to contradict his own team, saying most points had ‘been fully negotiated’ while leaving the door open to resuming strikes if the deal fell apart as the ceasefire began with a rocky start.

In a distressing turn of events, a U.S. Airman stationed in Japan has found himself embroiled in an unexpected crisis. Andrew Beckham, who entrusted his home and beloved pet to a house sitter during his deployment, now faces the harrowing uncertainty of his dog Maverick and his car being stolen.

Maverick, an 11-year-old Siberian husky, was last seen at Beckham’s residence in Aurora, Colorado. The trusted companion was allegedly taken by the house sitter, who reportedly experienced a “mental break” before disappearing. According to Beckham, this individual was responsible for caring for his home, but instead absconded with both the dog and Beckham’s 2014 Subaru Forester.

Beckham has taken to Facebook to appeal for help, sharing a Nest alert on April 3 that details the troubling situation. “I am looking for this person,” Beckham stated in the post. “He has stopped all contact and taken Maverick and my vehicle.” Alongside his post, Beckham included an image of the suspect and noted that surveillance footage captured the moment the sitter drove away, dog and car in tow.

The airman expressed concern over the house sitter’s mental state, describing the individual as experiencing paranoia and fleeing without any means of communication. The plea for assistance is not only a bid to recover his cherished pet and property, but also a cry for understanding in a situation clouded by unforeseen mental health challenges.

“(The house sitter) is having a mental break of paranoia and has run away with my car and dog 4 days ago with no contact and no phone,” Beckham wrote on Facebook.

The frustrated dog owner claims he hired the man off Trusted House Sitters — which connects pet owners with suitable sitters — and has reached out to the company asking for help locating him and his dog.

“He has not been found and he has my dog,” Beckham wrote.

Doorbell camera footage captured the nighttime dog heist as the man guided the dog out the front door and into the driveway, according to an image obtained by Fox 31 Denver.

“It was hard to see on my camera because he was taking Maverick out at night and then going in the car without telling me where he was going,” Beckham told the outlet.

Beckham revealed he allowed the worker to stay at his house during his deployment.

An hour before vanishing, the man allegedly called 911, claiming someone was trying to break into the home.

“He seemed scared of something. I don’t know what, but he seemed really scared,” Beckham said.

Maverick weighs approximately 60 pounds, has a missing toe on his front left paw, has mild arthritis and has one blue eye and one brown eye, according to a missing dog poster shared by Beckham.

“I feel like I’ve lost a part of home. Like there’s a hole in my chest where he should be. Maverick has been with me through deployments, through long days, through lonely nights. Losing him, it’s just heartbreaking,” he told the outlet.

The pooch is microchipped and is listed on several lost pet sites.

Beckham warned people to “not chase, call or whistle as this may cause them to run in fear and into danger.”

Neighbors have joined in the search for Maverick dog and his alleged abductor, driving around the Colorado city looking for Beckham’s missing car, as other volunteers printed out missing posters and plastered them around the neighborhood.

“I’m a dog person. My husband is Air Force. So those two items just told me I needed to do something,” Beckham’s neighbor Carla Wise told Fox Denver. “I drove to the airport, looked at two different, both the west and east parking garages, drove each one for about an hour this morning to see if I could help find the car… but the dog, that’s the main thing.”

“He’s out there. We’re going to get him. We’re going to find him,” she added.