US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo begins a tour of the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Slovenia on Tuesday, but the twin elephants in the room will be China and Russia.

Victory over Japan (VJ Day) 75 years ago this month ended the Second World War. While Japan was a major US foe then, today Tokyo’s importance in the Western alliance is of significant and growing strategic importance.

The British government’s decision last week to ban all Huawei equipment from its 5G infrastructure by 2027 is likely to delay the network’s activation, but the much bigger impact is on international relations.

Boris Johnson celebrates his first year in Downing Street next week. The British prime minister could be therefor much of the 2020s, but the wild ride that his term in office is proving could end it much sooner.

The UK’s multibillion-pound hospitality industry is springing back to life after a four-month coronavirus shutdown, but the country could yet be heading this autumn for a “perfect storm” of coronavirus case spikes and a hard, disorderly Brexit.