By Mike Dolan LONDON The United States and China may feel some financial detente is wise at this

What is it that makes the Cotswolds quite so enchanting? Spanning five counties in the heart of England, the 800 square miles that make up this region of rolling hills and gentle valleys are heart-tugglingly lovely and have timeless appeal. But it’s the stone that makes the Cotswolds truly special; honey-coloured building material used for centuries in country mansions, taverns, churches, cottages, barns and more (some say the only thing you can’t do with Cotswold limestone is eat it, which might be a just a tad over the top). The sheep trade made the area rich back in the Middle Ages and, in due course, the region’s wealth was expressed in some of the country’s finest stone buildings. Gracious honey-stone manor houses liberally grace the landscape and, today, many of these are top-notch hotels that exude leisured wellbeing. Meanwhile, a number of old stone coaching inns have evolved into luxury boltholes glorying in a patina of history. Our selection of these havens ranges from landmark Lygon Arms in the north of the region to gorgeous, foodie Whatley Manor in the south east – they all encapsulate style and intrinsic elements of Cotswold beauty. The best boutique Cotswolds hotels 2023 are: Best hotel for romantics: Barnsley House Best hotel for walkers: Lygon Arms Best hotel for party spirit: No.131 The Promenade Best hotel for families: Calcot & Spa Best hotel for rural bliss: Buckland Manor Best hotel for foodies: Whatley Manor Best hotel for views: Foxhill Manor Best hotel for spa experiences: Thyme Best hotel for romantics: Barnsley House Location: Barnsley, Cirencester This mellow, 17th-century manor house is now an adults-only hotel. Complete with a spectacular garden, it is the ideal romantic retreat. There are quiet corners in which to hide away, both inside the property and in the wonderful grounds; there are old stone fireplaces to snuggle beside in winter and stylish terraces and outdoor recliners to enjoy in summer. The décor is immensely soothing and the facilities first class, from fine food to a flamboyant little cinema and a chic spa with views onto a meadow. The 18 gracious bedrooms include the sublime Secret Garden suite with a four-poster and a private courtyard. Best hotel for walkers: Lygon Arms Location: Broadway The Lygon Arms exudes a sense of history and luxury – it’s a landmark coaching inn complete with old stone fireplaces, ancient beams and stellar service. It sits centre-stage in beautiful Broadway, which makes an enchanting starting point for a number of glorious walks in the northern Cotswolds. Stroll out on a four-mile circular route to 18th-century Broadway Tower standing tall over the village, or meet more challenges on an 11-mile loop taking in handsome Chipping Campden and panoramic Dover’s Hill. Then enjoy afternoon tea or a well-earned cocktail in the picturesque courtyard terrace of the hotel. Best hotel for party spirit: No.131 The Promenade Location: Cheltenham Cheltenham’s most vibrant venue, No.131 is spread over three magnificent Regency mansions in the elegant centre of town. Inside, it offers a wonderful sense of flamboyance in its public areas, and cool stylishness in its 36 bedrooms. A maze of sassy bars extends over the lower ground floor and part of the terrace – at weekends, DJs add to the party mood here as crowds descend. On the ground floor there’s a kick-back marquee restaurant and a spectacular, gilded Japanese restaurant and red bar. Most of the bedrooms beyond offer the last word in opulence and glamour, some with gorgeous chinoiserie décor, some with appealing wood panelling, most with expansive bathrooms. Best hotel for families: Calcot & Spa Location: Calcot, Tetbury It would be a tall call to find a hotel more adept at delivering luxury and family-friendly services. Four miles west of Tetbury, this deeply relaxing country house venue is set in rolling 220-acre grounds. From the staff to the spa (the indoor pool is open to children at limited times) there’s a deep commitment to kick-back, upscale comfort. The 34 bedrooms range from cosy boltholes to sumptuous family suites. Facilities for children are superb – outdoors, there are play areas, tennis courts, bikes to borrow, a mini football field and more; indoors there’s a wonderfully devised, Ofsted-registered creche and a sophisticated zone for over-eights. The Brasserie serves modern British cuisine with aplomb. Offering light meals and aperitives, the soothing Hive is a chill-out lounge with books and board games. Book now Best hotel for rural bliss: Buckland Manor Location: Buckland, Broadway To reach this idyllic manor house hotel, you pass through serene landscape west of Broadway. Tucked into a valley beneath the spectacular Cotswold escarpment, the village of Buckland lies at the end of a country lane that goes no further – this is the ultimate peaceful destination. Located next to a 15th-century church, Buckland Manor is a historic property backed by 10 acres of beautifully kept gardens. Step through the front door, and you’re in a quintessential country retreat with flagstone floors, old stone fireplaces and oil paintings on the wall. The food is excellent; the outlook wonderful; and the 15 bedrooms full of old-school charm. Best hotel for foodies: Whatley Manor Location: Easton Grey, Malmesbury Built as a farmhouse in the 18th century, Whatley Manor has evolved into one of the Cotswolds’ top country house hotels, complete with fabulous facilities. The spa (with thermal cabins, hydrotherapy pool and more) is first class; the 26 formal gardens are dreamy; and there’s even a private cinema. But upstaging these is the Michelin-starred dining. Head chef Ricki Weston offers guests a gourmet journey that starts with wondrous nibbles in the kitchen (where you watch the chefs at work) and proceeds to the restaurant, where seven exquisite courses are served – dishes might include delicate lamb tartare and scallops with trout roe. Best hotel for views: Foxhill Manor Location: Broadway Glamorous and spectacularly luxurious, Foxhill Manor is a wonderfully secluded Arts and Crafts mansion in the rolling Farncombe Estate above Broadway. With just eight bedrooms (all fabulously stylish), immaculate concierge service and meals cooked to (your) order, it has raised the bar for boutique hotels. The setting is superb, too: from the sitting room, terraced garden and many of the bedrooms, there’s a jaw-dropping panoramic outlook over the beautiful Vale of Evesham. Book a stay in the Oak suite and you and your partner can take in this view from side-by-side, perfectly positioned slipper baths. Book now Best hotel for spa experiences: Thyme Location: Southrop, Lechlade In the picturesque village of Southrop, around 8 miles from Burford, this epicurean haven is spread over a cluster of honey-stone properties. It’s a sublime retreat for adults, comprising cottages, two ancient barns, the Swan pub, a 17th-century farmhouse and the village’s former (very handsome) rectory – all linked by paths through beautifully landscaped grounds. There are 31 gorgeous bedrooms and a spectacular restaurant, the Ox Barn, serving modern British dishes largely based on what’s growing in the veg garden. Perhaps best of all is the extensive spa with a natural spring water swimming pool, treatments based on sibling brand Bertioli and a separate, serene hideaway, the Botanical Bothy, offering herbal soaks and regenerative rituals. Read more of our UK hotel reviews: Best dog-friendly Cotswolds hotels Best boutique Cotswolds hotels The best cosy hotels in the UK Read more about England travel: The ultimate Lake District guide How to spend a day in King’s Cross The best things to do on the Isles of Scilly Read More Norfolk guide: Where to eat, drink and stay in a county of birds, boats and endless skies Best UK aparthotels 2023: Where to stay for gyms, waterfront views and home cooking Best Margate hotels 2023: Where to stay for luxury, romance and a good night out Best cheap hotels in Liverpool to see the city on a budget Beeswax and breakfast in bed: What’s abuzz at this London hotel’s rooftop hives Paris 2024 Summer Olympics: How to plan the perfect trip, from best hotels to how to get tickets

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Sometime this summer, if President Vladimir Putin can be believed, Russia moved some of its short-range nuclear weapons into Belarus, closer to Ukraine and onto NATO's doorstep. The declared deployment of the Russian weapons on the territory of its neighbor and loyal ally marks a new stage in the Kremlin’s nuclear saber-rattling over its invasion of Ukraine and another bid to discourage the West from increasing military support to Kyiv. Neither Putin nor his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, said how many were moved — only that Soviet-era facilities in the country were readied to accommodate them, and that Belarusian pilots and missile crews were trained to use them. The U.S. and NATO haven’t confirmed the move. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Moscow’s rhetoric as “dangerous and reckless,” but said earlier this month the alliance hasn’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture. While some experts doubt the claims by Putin and Lukashenko, others note that Western intelligence might be unable to monitor such movement. Earlier this month, CNN quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying they had no reason to doubt Putin’s claim about the delivery of the first batch of the weapons to Belarus and noted it could be challenging for the U.S. to track them. Unlike nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons for use against troops on the battlefield can have a yield as small as about 1 kiloton. The U.S. bomb in Hiroshima in World War II was 15 kilotons. The devices are compact: Used on bombs, missiles and artillery shells, they could be discreetly carried on a truck or plane. Aliaksandr Alesin, an independent Minsk-based military analyst, said the weapons use containers that emit no radiation and could have been flown into Belarus without Western intelligence seeing it. “They easily fit in a regular Il-76 transport plane,” Alesin said. “There are dozens of flights a day, and it’s very difficult to track down that special flight. The Americans could fail to monitor it.” Belarus has 25 underground facilities built during the Cold War for nuclear-tipped intermediate-range missiles that can withstand missile attacks, Alesin said. Only five or six such depots could actually store tactical nuclear weapons, he added, but the military operates at all of them to fool Western intelligence. Early in the war, Putin referenced his nuclear arsenal by vowing repeatedly to use “all means” necessary to protect Russia. He has toned down his statements recently, but a top lieutenant continues to dangle the prospect with terrifying ease. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council who served as a placeholder president in 2008-12 because Putin was term-limited, unleashes near-daily threats that Moscow won’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons. In a recent article, Medvedev said “the apocalypse isn’t just possible but quite likely,” and the only way to avoid it is to bow to Russian demands. The world faces a confrontation "far worse than during the Cuban missile crisis because our enemies have decided to really defeat Russia, the largest nuclear power,” he wrote. Many Western observers dismiss that as bluster. Putin seems to have dialed down his nuclear rhetoric after getting signals to do so from China, said Keir Giles, a Russia expert at Chatham House. “The evident Chinese displeasure did have an effect and may have been accompanied by private messaging to Russia,” Giles told The Associated Press. Moscow’s defense doctrine envisages a nuclear response to an atomic strike or even an attack with conventional weapons that “threaten the very existence of the Russian state.” That vague wording has led some Russian experts to urge the Kremlin to spell out those conditions in more detail and force the West to take the warnings more seriously. “The possibility of using nuclear weapons in the current conflict mustn’t be concealed,” said Dmitry Trenin, who headed the Moscow Carnegie Center for 14 years before joining Moscow’s state-funded Institute for World Economy and International Relations. “The real, not theoretical, perspective of it should create stimuli for stopping the escalation of the war and eventually set the stage for a strategic balance in Europe that would be acceptable to us,” he wrote recently. Western beliefs that Putin is bluffing about using nuclear weapons “is an extremely dangerous delusion,” Trenin said. Sergei Karaganov, a top Russian foreign affairs expert who advises Putin’s Security Council, said Moscow should make its nuclear threats more specific in order to “break the will of the West” and force it to stop supporting Ukraine as it seeks to reclaim Russian-held areas in a grinding counteroffensive. “It’s necessary to restore the fear of nuclear escalation; otherwise mankind is doomed,” he said, suggesting Russia establish a “ladder" of accelerating actions. Deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus was the first step, Karaganov said, with perhaps a follow-up of warning ethnic Russians in countries supporting Ukraine to evacuate areas near facilities that could be nuclear targets. If that doesn’t work, Karaganov suggested a Russian nuclear strike on Poland, alleging Washington wouldn’t dare respond in kind to protect a NATO ally, for fear of igniting a global war. “If we build the right strategy of intimidation and even the use of it, the risk of a retaliatory nuclear or any other strike on our territory could be reduced to a minimum,” he said. “Only if a madman who hates his own country sits in the White House would America risk to launch a strike ‘in the defense’ of the Europeans and draw a response, sacrificing Boston for Poznan.” The Moscow-based Council of Foreign and Defense Policies, a panel of leading military and foreign policy experts that includes Karaganov, denounced his comments as “a direct threat to all of mankind.” While pro-Kremlin analysts floated such scenarios, Lukashenko, the Belarusian leader, says hosting Russian nuclear weapons in his country is meant to deter aggression by Poland. He claimed a number of nuclear weapons were flown to Belarus without Western intelligence noticing, with the rest coming later this year. Officials in Moscow and Minsk said the warheads could be carried by Belarusian Su-25 ground attack jets or fitted to short-range Iskander missiles. Giles, of Chatham House, said the deployment was about “cementing Putin’s control over Belarus” and did not offer Moscow any military advantage over placing them in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad that borders Poland and Lithuania. The West should recognize this as a ploy "that has far more to do with Russia’s ambitions for Belarus than any genuine impact on European security beyond that,” Giles said. Some observers question whether the deployment to Belarus has even happened. Miles Pomper, a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute, challenged Lukashenko’s claim that nuclear weapons were covertly flown to Belarus. They are normally moved by rail, he said, and there are no signs of "the support elements that you would see that would go with shipments of weapons.” Others note Russia could have deployed the weapons without adhering to protocols used in the 1990s, when Moscow wanted to show the West its nuclear arsenal was secure amid economic and political turmoil. Belarusian military analyst Valery Karbalevich said keeping such details secret could be a Kremlin strategy of "applying permanent pressure and blackmailing Ukraine and the West. The unknown scares more than certainty.” Alesin, the Minsk-based analyst, argued that U.S. and NATO may play down the deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus because they pose a threat the West finds difficult to counter. “The Belarusian nuclear balcony will hang over a large part of Europe. But they prefer to pretend that there is no threat, and the Kremlin is just trying to scare the West,” he said. If Putin decides to use nuclear weapons, he may do it from Belarus in hopes that a Western response would target that country instead of Russia, Alesin said. The political opposition to Lukashenko warns that such a deployment turns Belarus into a hostage of the Kremlin. While Lukashenko sees such weapons as a “nuclear umbrella" protecting the country, "they turn Belarus into a target,” said exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who tried to unseat the authoritarian leader in a 2020 election widely viewed as fraudulent. “We are telling the world that preventative measures, political pressure and sanctions are needed to resist the deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus," she said. "Regrettably, we haven’t seen a strong Western reaction yet.” ___ Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Jill Lawless in London and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ireland won’t offer condolences to Russia if Putin dies, Varadkar says Ireland unlikely to offer condolences to Russia if Putin dies, Varadkar says Angry Russia refuses to speak at UN meeting on its attacks on Ukraine's key port city of Odesa.

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