mercredi 15 juillet 2026

China’s secret war games

Argentina hate the English more than we hate them | ‘Whites-only’ towns spread to Wales
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Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

Issue No. 507

Good morning.

Xi Jinping is getting ready for war. Hidden in the Taklamakan desert are replicas of American warships and fighter jets, accurate down to the radar equipment, ready to be deployed in Chinese military drills. The country is preparing to invade Taiwan, and fight off the US if it intervenes. Allegra Mendelson, our Asia Correspondent, has the story.

Elsewhere, tonight is the night. England take on Argentina for a spot in the World Cup final. In the build-up, Argentine fans have been burning Union flags in the street and Scotland fans have mysteriously become South American. Oliver Brown, our Chief Sports Writer, has stern words for those north of the border.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. Don’t miss this season’s hottest offer. Try a whole year of The Telegraph for £19 – only in our Summer Sale. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

New Alzheimer’s drug could stop disease

US-style ‘whites-only’ towns spread to Wales

Plus, how to do the Three Peaks Challenge

Summer Sale: One year for just £19

Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles.

 

This satellite imagery reveals China’s secret war games

Allegra Mendelson

Allegra Mendelson

Asia Correspondent

 

In China’s Taklamakan desert, Xi Jinping’s forces are secretly building replicas of US warships.

The above satellite images, analysed by The Telegraph, reveal a model of a US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer under construction in February.

The ship’s build appears to have taken just six months. Being almost 1,700 miles away from the water, it’s unlikely to be going out to sea. Instead, it’s part of Beijing’s tactics to prepare for a war against Taiwan, and the US if it comes to the rescue.

The model includes many components of the original, including a full mast and even some of its radar equipment. Because the models are near-identical to the American warships, China is able to practise missile attacks as accurately as possible.

The next set of satellite images reveal a mock-up of the Yokosuka naval base – America’s largest naval base in Japan and one which would almost certainly be used in the event of a Taiwan contingency.

Yokosuka and the Gobi desert

Not far from the maritime test targets in the Taklamakan desert are model American aircraft and mock runways.

Next to one of the test runways are two rows of F-22 model aircraft, four of which have been visibly destroyed, probably as a result of missile tests. Above the F-22s are two rows of smaller aircraft. The four at the top appear to be F-16s and the six underneath appear to be F-35s.

F-16, F-35 and F-22 jet models

As well as replicas of warships, fighter jets and naval bases, the satellite images we examined also show models of Taiwan’s key government buildings, probably used to simulate scenarios in which Chinese ground forces would storm Taipei.
Read the full story here

 

World cup diary

Argentina hate the English more than we hate them

Argentina fans burn a Union flag

Argentina fans burn a Union flag in Buenos Aires

Robert Mendick

Robert Mendick

Chief Reporter

 

In Escobar, a city engulfed by the urban sprawl of Buenos Aires, Argentinian fans pulled out a Union flag on Sunday night and set fire to it. As it burned, onlookers honked horns, banged drums and shouted: “Whoever doesn’t jump is English,” a possibility so troubling that everybody leapt in the air.

Football matches don’t get much bigger than England’s semi-final with Argentina here in Atlanta. It is the most intense of sporting rivalries, born in the white heat (that should be “cheat”) of Maradona’s “hand of God” goal, scored against England in 1986.

England fans are desperate to avenge that defeat, and desperate for their team to win what may prove to be Lionel Messi’s last ever World Cup match. For Argentina, this is a rivalry stoked by bitter defeat in the Falklands War, 44 years ago.

This report is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading

Oliver Brown

Oliver Brown

Chief Sports Writer

 

No sooner do England reach a World Cup semi-final than Scotland supporters start pledging undying loyalty to Argentina.

Already the white and sky-blue of the nation’s flag has been glimpsed on streets from Glasgow to Perth, while George Adam, a senior figure in the SNP, declares that there is “no better day to raise a glass” to the defending champions than on the anniversary of Argentina granting Scotch whisky legal protection.

As soon as more Anglophobic souls north of the border notice that the opposition’s key midfielder has the surname Mac Allister, they claim almost a spiritual kinship. Honestly, does it always have to be like this? Does every English sporting success truly need to be transformed into a smouldering Caledonian grievance?

The switching of allegiance to Argentina feels especially mean-spirited. During the Falklands War, eight soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Scots Guard were killed in night-time combat at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown. So, why 44 years on, are Scotland fans backing the country their forbears died fighting against?

Sir Keir Starmer is calling on all Scots to show solidarity for once, but it is a futile plea. England’s most important match in a generation is fuelling a resentment beyond all rhyme or reason.
Continue reading

Elsewhere, Spain reached the World Cup final last night after a dominant 2-0 win over France. Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain the lead in the first half through a penalty, while Pedro Porro added the second after half-time.

Kylian Mbappé and his star-studded team will not contest the final

The reigning European champions delivered a lesson in how to play with deadly effectiveness for which the French, tactically, had no answer.
Read the full report here

 

Opinion

Danny Cohen Headshot

Danny Cohen

The BBC faces the greatest challenge of its 100-year history

The corporation’s future is dependent on courageous leadership, culture change and difficult choices

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Philip Johnston</span> Headshot

Philip Johnston

The two lies at the heart of the Shabir Ahmed case point to an even bigger scandal

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</span> Headshot

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

A new Falklands crisis could engulf Burnham’s premiership

Continue reading

 
Matt Cartoon
 

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Headlines

Essential reads

Eric Orwoll founded the white separatist Return To The Land movement

US-style ‘whites-only’ towns spread to Wales

In remote Arkansas, Eric Orwoll has created a “whites-only” settlement as a blueprint for resegregating society. Some 4,500 miles away, Simon Birkett, a British fascist, is attempting to do the same in rural Wales, with the goal of expanding to every county. The Telegraph has confirmed that far-Right movements on both sides of the Atlantic are working together to build racially-exclusive enclaves.

For subscribers only

 
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

The pair became Hollywood darlings after writing and starring in ‘Good Will Hunting’ in 1997

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been friends for decades. Now, their lives are worlds apart

They grew up two streets from each other, and shared a bank account in the 1980s to fund acting auditions. Decades after their joint Oscar win, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s lives couldn’t be more different. While Damon enjoys domestic bliss with his “civilian” wife, Affleck’s chaotic romantic entanglements and battles with addiction have been endlessly chronicled. This is the story of how two childhood friends’ paths spectacularly diverged.

Continue reading

 

Haigh resigned after less than five months in Starmer’s Cabinet

The convicted fraudster who became Andy Burnham’s right-hand woman

When Louise Haigh resigned as transport secretary over a conviction for lying about a “lost” phone, her career seemed over. Yet, within months of pledging loyalty to Sir Keir Starmer after quitting her post, she was plotting. Now, she is Andy Burnham’s chief adviser, vetting Cabinet candidates from a borrowed Westminster office and poised for an unlikely return to the top.

Continue reading

 
The Princess of Wales

The Princess of Wales completed the challenge to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

How to do the Three Peaks Challenge

After the Princess of Wales completed the National Three Peaks Challenge last month, online searches for the event jumped by 942 per cent. Consisting of climbing (and descending) the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours, it’s considered one of the country’s toughest hikes. Here’s everything you need to know about the challenge, including whether or not you should attempt it.

Continue reading

 

Seize the day

Just five days of overeating can make you crave more food

A week of holiday indulgence may leave a longer-lasting mark than your waistband. New research suggests that just five days of overeating sugary, fatty foods can rewire the brain, boosting cravings, dulling willpower and making it harder to feel full. We explore the science behind the so-called “holiday brain”, and the simple steps experts recommend to get back on track.

Continue reading

Here is another article I hope you’ll find helpful this morning:

  • Hosepipe bans are spreading across the country as the heat refuses to dissipate. There are, however, some quirks to the rules which may mean you are exempt. You can check them here.
 

From the sport desk

‘This is the team helping me attack the mile world record’

Josh Kerr

Josh Kerr gearing up for Project 222

Josh Kerr

Josh Kerr

 

Only four days to go.

At 3.36pm on Saturday afternoon, what we have called “Project 222” will launch, when I attempt to follow British legends Sir Roger Bannister, Steve Ovett, Lord Coe and Steve Cram by running the fastest mile in history.

I am aiming to be the first person to ever run that distance in 222 seconds – 3 min 42 sec – to take down a record that has not been broken this century.

It has truly been one massive team effort since the idea was first conceived during the winter. I have already written about how some of the best brains in sport have helped my preparation and I want to end by talking about some of my closest friends.

They include the teammate who will be my pace-maker inside the London Stadium; my mum, who is also my physiotherapist; and my amazing wife, a skin doctor from New Mexico whom I met aged 17 on my first day at university.
Read Josh’s full column

 

Your say

Pedant’s corner

Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories.

Orlando writes...
Yesterday morning I asked you to nominate the most annoying expressions to have elbowed their way into common parlance, and you didn’t hold back.

My inbox was incandescent for the entire working day. I found myself swept up in the carnival of irritation, shuddering when I heard an “expresso” being ordered, or a promise being made to “double-check” something (it only ever means “check for the first time”).


 

For Neil Tolman, the worst offenders were “‘He could of’ or ‘He should of’. I have even heard this phrase used by journalists. It’s ‘could have’.”


 

Michael Donovan, meanwhile, singled out “‘Can I get’, heard when people are ordering food in the local café. It really annoys me.”


 

The inanities of HR-speak were enthusiastically arraigned. “For me,” wrote Maggie Stansfield, “the most grating in recent months has been ‘reaching out’, when a good old-fashioned ‘contact’ would suffice.”


 

Another reader objected to “opening an email to the sentence: ‘I hope you are well.’ It might at first appear innocuous, but I first noticed it during Covid and it has continued ever since.

“Let’s face it: if I wasn’t well, I probably wouldn’t have opened the email in the first place. Face-to-face, you might get ‘How are you?’. Fine, and that’s a good way to start an informal email. They don’t really want to hear that you woke up with a cough or a pain in your leg or whatever, so if it’s a work email, why not just get straight to the point?”


 

Finally, Ali Williams had an appeal: “Having recently returned from New Zealand, where so many sights are truly awesome, I realised that the word is so over-used that it no longer does its job. What word can we use when something really is awesome?”

Well then: what would you suggest? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.

Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.

 

On this day

1815 | Napoleon boards HMS Bellerophon to surrender to British forces after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo

1944 | Greenwich Royal Observatory damaged by bomb

1948 | Alcoholics Anonymous is founded

1971 | Richard Nixon makes surprise announcement that he is to visit China (see the front page from the following day carrying the story below)

Birthdays: Forest Whitaker (65), David Miliband (61), Diane Kruger (50)

Telegraph front page

Plus, in the news today, a marine reserve has introduced a gull ranger to improve human-seabird relations. What will he teach locals?

Patrick Safford is hoping to educate the public about birds

1. How to avoid conflict with gulls
2. How to prevent gulls stealing food
3. How to speak to gulls

Click one of the options to reveal the answer...

 

Puzzles

The Telegraph has released a range of bite-sized puzzles perfect for a two-minute mental workout on the go. To celebrate, we are bringing you a different one each day this week. Today, try our Mini Sudoku.

Yesterday’s Mini Panagram was RADICAL.

 

Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.

Summer Sale: One year for just £19

Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles.

 

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