Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House, I have had one question that I keep coming back to:

Why is this administration so determined to destroy or weaken some of the alliances and institutions that America itself built, funded or helped create?

Don’t get me wrong. I understand the idea behind America First.

Put American interests first.

Protect…

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Photo: BBC

On July 29 and 30, 2026, the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa faced an extraordinary crisis when over 80,000 people crossed into the territory in a matter of hours. While some might hesitate to use strong language, there are few other terms to describe an influx of that scale hitting a tiny enclave. As of today, the immediate situation is largely under control. Spanish military and police forces deployed swiftly, returning an estimated 72,000 people to Morocco. However, between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants—mostly sub-Saharan Africans who cannot easily be deported—remain in the territory, prompting Italy to temporarily suspend the Schengen Agreement to prevent further movement into Europe.

Most commentators blame this event on traditional regional dynamics, noting that relations between Spain and Morocco have deteriorated as Madrid has grown closer to Algeria, Morocco’s bitter rival. The common consensus is that Rabat simply instructed its border guards to stand down in retaliation. That may be true, but it misses the bigger geopolitical picture.

To understand why this happened now, we have to look at Spain’s recent friction with its primary allies. Following the conflict involving Iran and Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Spain has been one of Europe’s strongest critics of Israel, explicitly condemning the actions in Gaza as genocide and officially recognizing a Palestinian state in May 2024. At the same time, Spain remains the only one of NATO’s 32 member states to flatly refuse the new 5% GDP defense spending target pushed by President Trump. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez labeled the target unreasonable and counterproductive, arguing it is incompatible with maintaining Spain’s robust welfare state, which currently consumes roughly 28% of the country’s GDP.

This raises a fundamental question about collective security. At a time when China is increasing pressure on Taiwan and Russia is actively testing European defense,

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• The Dinner Dodge: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni completel…

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For the last few years, whether it is in Gaza or Ukraine, I’ve heard things like: how would the US or the UK respond if an armed group invaded their borders and slaughtered thousands of Brits or Americans? Unsurprisingly, the answer is almost always that the US or the UK would respond with force—and I mean brutal force—against the armed terrorist group, even if that means launching an offensive attack on the countries where those terrorists operate and live. The US literally got involved and supported Israel in the fight against Iran because an ally nation was attacked or threatened. The UK can, and should, take a similar stance with Nigeria.

According to Business Insider Africa, UK-Nigeria trade hits a record £8.1 billion as Nigerian banks and fintech break into UK markets. This makes the two nations strong, strategic allies bound by deep historical, political, and economic ties. The UK exports critical services such as financial, legal, and tech-driven solutions to Nigeria, and we import crude and refined oil in addition to cocoa and tea from them. On security and defence, the two nations hold the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership dialogue, with the British military directly funding Nigeria’s counter-terrorism operations against groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP.

However, the point is that it’s clearly not working. Christians are still being killed by these terrorists. Nigeria accounts for 72% of all Christians killed globally for their faith; this is entirely unacceptable. We’ve got data published by Open Doors UK & Ireland showing that during the most recent 12-month auditing cycle, 3,490 Christians were documented as explicitly killed for their faith in Nigeria. Last year, the US government threatened to halt direct aid and has authorised military strikes due to the government of Nigeria’s persistent failure to protect the Christian community according to President Trump.

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