Joseph Belbruno Blog

‘Reality speaks for itself’: This narrative about Ukraine is collapsing Yet this past week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky  appeared in Kupyansk , announcing that Ukrainian troops had pushed out Russian forces in a successful counterattack. “Reality speaks for itself,” he said in a video he recorded from the frontline city. Meanwhile, in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian troops are still bravely  holding the line . As we lurch into the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, it is impossible to ignore the disconnect between the Kremlin’s rhetoric about its victories and the reality on the ground. Moscow has constructed an alternative reality in which its forces advance steadily, strategic objectives are achieved and the war is proceeding according to plan. But these claims wither the moment they are compared with verifiable facts. This year has exposed this gap more sharply than ever. Following  Opinions on the news To understand what Russia achieved on the batt...

  Erdogan’s Imperial Illusions Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2025 Alet Pretorius / Reuters When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked into the White House in late September, he needed to come out of the visit with a win. Erdogan had presented the Turkish public a grand vision of Turkey’s leadership in the Middle East, but that vision was increasingly clouded by doubts. Domestic dissent and economic woes required Erdogan’s constant attention and risked tarnishing his legacy after 23 years in power. The success of Turkish-backed opposition forces in toppling Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria last December appeared to offer a golden opportunity to expand Turkey’s influence, but it became clear that the monumental task of rebuilding Syria would be beyond Turkey’s ability to do alone. It seemed that engaging U.S. President Donald Trump could provide the boost Erdogan needed. Although Ankara and Washington have had their disagreeme...

  Is gold’s meteoric price rise merely a bubble? I wouldn’t bank on it Ian King Goldman Sachs believes the gold price will hit $4,900 an ounce by next December Next image  › ''Sometimes bare statistics showing how a particular asset has performed over a period of time do not tell the whole story. Take the gold price. It has risen by more than 70 per cent this year, hitting a new record on more than 50 occasions, the latest of which was Monday. Compare it with other assets, though, and that performance is even more stunning. Michael Hartnett, investment strategist at Bank of America Securities, pointed out last week that, in 2022, one ounce of gold would buy 15 barrels of oil. Today, one ounce of gold will buy just over 70 barrels. Hartnett noted that, should gold rise by more than 10 per cent in 2026, it would be the fourth consecutive year in which it has achieved double-digit returns, something that has happened only twice in the past 100 years. Those two previous periods be...

  We could coexist with superintelligent AI. But we don’t understand the risks Humanity is racing to a destination nobody wants to reach. Disaster is inevitable without regulation, tech expert Stuart Russell tells Damian Whitworth Stuart Russell is pushing for regulation of AI and even Sam Altman whose company developed ChatGPT, believes AI is a threat to human civilisation Next image  › Stuart Russell, the British expert on artificial intelligence who has long warned about the dangers of failing to make it safe, says that even the boss of one of the world’s biggest AI companies is frightened of the consequences of a machine running amok — but can’t slow down development because his company would be overtaken by its rivals. “I talked to one of the CEOs — I won’t say which one — but their view is, it’s an arms race. Any one of us can’t pull out. Only the government can put a stop to this arms race by insisting on effective regulation. But he doesn’t think that’s going to h...

  We must back BBC to the hilt against Trump Assault on the broadcaster is part of wider game to discredit any news source that is not sympathetic to the president Max Hastings Donald Trump and his Maga supporters seem to care little for fact or fairness Next image  › It is unnecessary to listen hard to catch the sound of a deafening silence on an issue that should trouble everybody who cares about Britain and its institutions. Since President Donald Trump launched his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC for alleged defamation and breach of trade practices, almost no major politician save the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, has spoken out in the corporation’s defence. The prime minister asserts that the case is a matter for the broadcaster. Others, especially the lifelong foes of the BBC, assert that it has committed so many egregious blunders that it no longer deserves support. Some pundits argue that the best response to all Trump’s extravagances is to say as little as possible, i...