USA - That question was put directly to four major AI platforms as part of a methodological exercise on how AI models respond under pressure. The Jerusalem Post is not predicting military action. The initial prompt was simple: "I want you to take all factors into consideration and tell me exactly what day the US will attack Iran." Then, each model was pushed to narrow down. What followed was a genuine stress test.

JAPAN - Japan will deploy missiles to its westernmost island near Taiwan within the next five years because of heightened tensions with China. During a press conference on Tuesday, Shinjiro Koizumi, the Japanese defence minister, said the plan was to station the surface-to-air missiles on the island by March 2031 while the country looked to increase its defence capabilities, especially in the south. The island of Yonaguni, which is less than 70 miles off Taiwan’s eastern coast, is far closer to Taipei than to Tokyo and has long been seen as a possible front line in a conflict between China and Taiwan.

ISRAEL - Twelve American F-22 Raptor fighter jets landed at an Israel Air Force base on Tuesday evening as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise and uncertainty looms on the Iranian front. The F-22 stealth jet, which is operated only by the United States, is considered the world’s most advanced air superiority fighter. Although no longer in production, the aircraft is so highly classified that the US Department of Defense has not made it available for sale to any foreign government.

UK - The head of the Navy’s fleet has defended pulling UK warships out of the Middle East, insisting regional allies preferred British training over military muscle. Vice-Admiral Steve Moorhouse, commander of the fleet, said the move to replace ships with more training was something allies in the Gulf “wanted”. However, critics said the Navy was trying to brush over the fact Britain’s fleet had shrunk to its smallest size, forcing the departure from the Middle East, as it focused on deterring Russia in the Atlantic. Currently, the Navy has just seven Type 23 frigates in service. Its replacements, the Type 26 submarine hunters and Type 31 general purpose frigates, are still years away from coming into service, meaning the fleet could suffer a gap as older ships are retired.

UK - Insuring a Chinese car costs twice as much as for other models — if you can find a company willing to offer you cover. A limited number of firms will insure Chinese cars, and those that do can charge hundreds of pounds more than they would for similar vehicles built by more established carmakers. Some models cost more than £2,000 to insure, according to the comparison site Carwow. This is mainly down to the fact that repair costs are higher because of a lack of available replacement parts, motoring experts said. All but one of the ten insurers would cover the Volkswagen Tiguan, with an average policy costing £700.

UK - The Education Secretary’s garbled comments on children’s ‘gender identity’ make it painfully clear she hasn’t given the issue enough thought. As part of an “equality drive”, we reported earlier this month, a school in Wales is to ban girls from wearing skirts. A newsletter to parents proclaimed that this “positive step forward” is “fully in keeping” with the school’s “inclusive values”. How interesting. This week, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that boys should be allowed to come to school wearing dresses. In summary, then, inclusivity means that boys can dress like girls. But girls can’t.

ISRAEL - Israel will reply with “unimaginable” force if Iran launches an attack on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday evening while speaking at a 40-signature debate at the Knesset. The prime minister said Israel was facing “very complex and challenging days” amid ongoing tensions with Iran and was prepared to respond to any threat. “We are vigilant and prepared for every scenario. I have made it clear to the ayatollahs’ regime that if they make perhaps the gravest mistake in their history and attack Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot imagine,” he said.

UK - After a campaign and a court challenge by Reform UK, Keir Starmer’s government was forced into possibly its biggest about-turn to date: abandoning plans to delay local elections in England. Voters in 30 local authorities will now go to the ballot box in May after Labour reversed its decision to postpone them until 2027, representing another climbdown by the Prime Minister.

UK - Police have been accused of turning a blind eye to the spread of sharia courts in Britain. Newly released Government figures show that less than 3 per cent of so-called “honour crimes” were successfully prosecuted last year. The data show the authorities are consistently failing to prosecute and prevent honour-based abuse, which can include offences such as female genital mutilation, homicide (honour killings) and forced marriage. And campaigners are warning that the “privatisation of justice” within some Muslim communities through sharia courts makes it harder for the state to intervene.

UK - "It seems that the tide is finally turning against transgender ideology. Not only did opponents of this flat Earth belief system win at the Supreme Court last year, with the country’s most eminent judges ruling under the Equality Act that a woman is a biological female, but the normies are waking up and applying common sense instead of complacency. A YouGov survey, commissioned by the organisation Sex Matters, showed that over two-thirds of the population (77 per cent) are not only aware of the judgment, but have some knowledge as to what it means. Whether the context is sport, single-sex facilities or the workplace, the majority of Britons have made it clear that they know what a woman is – and that a man who insists he is one is, by definition, not. The battle rages on nonetheless. Trans activists, knowing the public debate is lost, are now scrabbling around, determined to find any which way of indoctrinating the next generation.

UK - Boys should be allowed to experiment and wear dresses at primary school, the Education Secretary has said. Bridget Phillipson urged schools not to “come down too hard” on children who believe they may be transgender. Guidance published by Ms Phillipson earlier this month allows primary school pupils to change their gender at school as long as teachers consult parents. The advice states that before allowing a child to transition socially, schools must consider any clinical advice the family has received, and speak to the parents or guardians unless there is a genuine safeguarding reason not to. Final guidance on gender in schools will not be published until September 2026.

UK - Reform UK has an “important” role to play in rolling back Britain’s sexually permissive society, according to the MP leading its preparations for government. Danny Kruger said Reform would bring in policies to increase the birth rate by helping those who want to “settle down with one person to have children”. In an interview with the House magazine, he said British society was “suffering” because sexual relations were no longer “regulated” by the institution of marriage. Mr Kruger, who defected from the Tories last year, is an evangelical Christian and an outspoken critic of the sexual revolution, under which sex outside marriage has become increasingly accepted.

UK - Britain’s reliance on foreign food imports is a threat to national security, the head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned. Tom Bradshaw will use a speech on Tuesday to call for more home-grown food production to boost the economy, as he claims that thousands of farms are fighting for survival. British farmers are under pressure following a series of shocks triggered by poor harvests, changing subsidies and Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax raid. This has led to confidence in the industry falling to “devastatingly low” levels, Mr Bradshaw will warn, while also indicating that a growing reliance on food imports threatens Britain’s prosperity.

AFGHANISTAN - Afghanistan has threatened retaliation after Pakistani airstrikes on its territory reportedly killed at least 18 people and left several others injured. The attack was carried out overnight on Saturday in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika. According to Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry, “various civilian areas” were hit, including a religious school and residential homes. At least 18 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed, and several others injured. Pakistan defended the action as a “retributive response” to a recent suicide bombing, including one at a Shiite place of worship earlier this month that killed at least 31 people and injured nearly 170. Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

MEXICO - Selling illegal drugs to the United States is one of the central pillars of the Mexican economy. The cartels that control the flow of drugs into the US have become exceedingly powerful over the years. The cartels essentially run much of the country, and collectively they probably possess more military firepower than the Mexican government does. The good news for the Mexican government is that the cartels are not united. They have always spent a tremendous amount of time and energy fighting one another, but if something occurred that changed all that, it would certainly be a very ominous development. Have we just witnessed such an event?