内容摘要：From there he moved into support desk work, and found his way into cyber security, with organizations such as BAE Systems and Universal Studios.

From there he moved into support desk work, and found his way into cyber security, with organizations such as BAE Systems and Universal Studios.

Britain is not alone in struggling to fill its ranks. It's a problem experienced by many western nations relying on volunteers. Some governments have now introduced some form of conscription. In March, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a plan to make all Polish men undergo compulsory military training.But there appears to be little appetite for conscription among the British public. A YouGov poll in September 2023 found that just 28% of the British public would support a one year military service. Younger people were particularly opposed.

The government wants to get people interested from a young age, by expanding cadet forces in secondary schools. The MoD is also trying to keep better records of those troops who have left, and who could be recalled in a crisis.An MoD spokesperson said: "We are committed to fixing Armed Forces recruitment and have already given personnel the largest pay rise in decades, scrapped 100 outdated recruitment policies, and passed legislation through the Commons to introduce a new Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life."Whatever comes out of the defence review, there is no expectation that troop numbers will increase in the near future.

Analysts are, however, looking at radical solutions - including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the battlefield. The most obvious example is AI-enabled drones, which are already being used in Ukraine to identify targets on their own, to deadly effect. But some also envisage a future in which machines could collect data on adversaries.A large land war in Europe is now focusing minds. Senior British military officers, as well as politicians, have repeatedly stated the UK 's armed forces must be ready to fight. But there still appears to be a temptation to use their power and influence much further away from home.

Last month, HMS Prince of Wales - one of the Navy's two aircraft carriers – left Portsmouth on an eight-month voyage to the other side of the world. It's the biggest UK defence endeavour this year, involving nearly 4,000 personnel, along with the support of allies, sailing to the Pacific and back.

Healey says it will demonstrate the UK's ability to deploy a major military force around the world, while at the same time promoting British trade.The court ruled that a "reasonably well-informed person" would understand that when "protest songs are sung, even by politicians, the words are not meant to be understood literally, nor is the gesture of shooting to be understood as a call to arms or violence".

Instead, the song was a "provocative way" of advancing the EFF's political agenda - which was to end "land and economic injustice".Lobby group AfriForum filed an appeal against the ruling, but South Africa's highest court refused to hear the case, saying it had little chance of succeeding.

In 2023, South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki urged Malema to stop singing the song, saying it was no longer politically relevant as the anti-apartheid struggle was over.The ANC says it no longer sings it, but it cannot "prescribe to other political parties what they must sing".