Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

1. The budgetJohn Healey leaves 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesThis is the most difficult event on the horizon for Burnham, set for 28 October, as the global economic picture continues to look bad in the face of the Iran war pushing up energy prices and wider inflation. Burnham’s chancellor, John Healey, has little room for manoeuvre, with government debt interest payments rising and his headroom shrinking.Big decisions on spending are likely to be put off until a bigger fiscal event in the spring, in the hope that the economic picture improves before then. But it will be…

Labour must “reunite the progressive voter coalition” if it is to take advantage of a split on the right and win the next election, the party’s deputy leader has said.Lucy Powell, who won the race to be deputy leader 12 months ago with a warning that Labour was losing the fight to be heard as Reform UK surged, said the government now had a second chance under Andy Burnham.In an interview with the Guardian, Powell said the party had clearly required a “change of leader” to revive its fortunes and tell a better story, after becoming “too technical and pessimistic”.Labour’s…

If I were buying luggage for the first time in a long time or replacing an old set, I’d choose Quince. You’re getting polished, durable suitcases with reliable features, and without paying a premium for the brand name. At $270 for both an expandable carry-on and a large checked bag, it’s an excellent value.Away doesn’t offer a comparable bundle, but its Large Flex ($425) and Carry-On Flex ($325) are almost identical to Quince’s Expandable Large Check-In ($220) and Expandable Small Carry-On ($140). All four are polycarbonate hard-shell suitcases with similar exterior and interior dimensions, capacity, and weight, though Quince’s are…

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published its 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan, which describes the cyber and physical threats facing election systems and the free services CISA offers to election officials and other partners. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin tasked CISA with developing the plan in July. State and local election officials have primary responsibility for protecting election infrastructure, with more than 10,000 local jurisdictions managing elections. The federal government, including CISA, provides information, tools, and resources to help. Certification rules can hold back patching According to CISA, election software can contain vulnerabilities that need to…

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are on a winning streak, with investors buying for six consecutive days. The funds — managed by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Morgan Stanley — have received over $2.8 billion in new investment since September 17, according to Farside Investors data.  On Monday alone, investors bought nearly $1 billion in shares  — the most since October 6, when the funds received over $1.2 billion and the price of the leading cryptocurrency hit a new all-time high of $126,080.  Still, Bitcoin’s price on Friday is only up modestly: it recently stood at nearly $83,975 after reaching as…

As the Iran war drags on, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—face an acute paradox. They still depend on the United States for protection from Iran. But that protection has proved its limits while simultaneously increasing the risk of Iranian attacks. In response, the GCC states have adopted several overlapping strategies. They continue to cooperate with the United States, particularly to defend militarily against Iranian strikes. But at the same time, they are diversifying their regional security relationships, pursuing diplomacy, and, when necessary, engaging directly with Tehran. The last…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country has proposed a deal to the US that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened within a week.Araghchi told reporters at the UN in New York that this could be done “if the necessary conditions are met” and said these were contained within the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in June.”The choice now rests with the United States,” he said, adding the plan was delivered to the US via Qatar.Asked about the Iranian offer, a US official told the BBC positive discussions were taking place through mediators, including about nuclear issues. While…

The US government is seeking to join Elon Musk’s legal challenge to overturn a €120m (£105m) EU fine against X over its blue tick badges.In December 2025, the European Commission said the platform “deceives users” by allowing people to pay for a blue verified check mark, because it is not “meaningfully verifying” who is behind the account.But US Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said on Thursday that the commission had “inappropriately attempted” to expand its reach to American companies outside its control.Musk, who spent millions helping elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, has previously claimed EU tech regulation “inhibits…

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget says the hackers who stole roughly $351.6 million in digital assets from its systems used techniques that closely resemble those of known North Korean threat actors. “Based on IP behavior patterns and on-chain analysis, the attack method in this incident is highly consistent with known patterns of North Korean hacker organizations,” Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said in a Friday post on X. Chen’s post did not name a specific threat group, and Bitget has not detailed the evidence behind its assessment. She said the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities. Founded in 2018, Bitget runs…

Update (Sept. 25, 10:20 pm UTC): This article has been updated to clarify Kristin Smith’s role with the Solana Policy Institute.Summer Mersinger, formerly a commissioner with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will step down as CEO of the Blockchain Association and leave the advocacy organization at year’s end after one of the group’s legislative priorities faced a significant setback in Congress.On Friday, the Blockchain Association (BA) announced that Mersinger would step down as CEO on Oct. 16, when the group’s former chief executive, Kristin Smith, would return to lead the organization as interim CEO in addition to her…