Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Tehran, Iran – Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have expanded their mutual defence pact to add Turkiye, raising questions about the emergence of a new security architecture at a time when the United States and Iran have yet to reach a final deal to end their war.Under the agreement signed in Mecca on Friday, any external armed attack on either of the three countries will now be considered an attack on all.The trilateral pact was announced more than five months after the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a conflict that quickly spread to the Gulf and disrupted…

The UK will move faster and be more ambitious on achieving closer ties with Europe under Andy Burnham’s government, his new chief post-Brexit negotiator has said.Hamish Falconer, the new cabinet minister in charge of the EU reset talks, said there was “room to be ambitious” within Labour’s red lines on Europe, which exclude reopening discussions on the single market and customs union, and he would look at the “art of the possible”.He said greater cooperation on services – which might include visa-free travel for British people working in the EU, or mutual recognition of qualifications – was the next big…

When Hamish Falconer left his career as a Foreign Office diplomat for the hostile environment of a Labour party selection process, one of his last acts was a negotiation to free six hostages from the Taliban.When he won the key marginal seat of Lincoln in the 2024 general election, he did not expect to be back in those offices on King Charles Street quite so quickly – he was appointed Middle East minister just two weeks later.Two years on, he is one among the first three of his generation of MPs to reach the cabinet, and he is back around…

Earlier this week, the Alaskan cruise ship Wilderness Legacy rescued a small skiff stranded near Farragut Bay after running out of fuel. But, according to tracking data reviewed by the Alaska Beacon and Halifax Shipping News, the closest vessel was actually Mark Zuckerberg’s super yacht, Launchpad.Michael Love, a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy, posted on Bluesky that the captain announced the Launchpad was closer, but “repeatedly refused to respond,” which was met with booing from the passengers. The AIS tracking (embedded below) seems to support that the Launchpad was closer to the vessel in trouble, but then stopped near the…

Demand for US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rebounded sharply this week, signaling renewed investor appetite after months of uneven flows, even as uncertainty persists around digital asset regulation and the security of crypto self-custody.On Saturday, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the spot funds attracted roughly $1 billion in net inflows for the week, their strongest showing since April and third-best week since last October — a period he referred to as Bitcoin’s “silent IPO.”Source: Eric BalchunasThe term was popularized by investor Jordi Visser in November to describe what he viewed as a changing of the guard among Bitcoin…

India is attempting to do something the world has never seen before. So claimed Niti Aayog, the government of India’s policy thinktank, earlier this year. It said that no major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations. Hence its detailed report’s claim that there is “no historical precedent”.There is something to this. China industrialised at vast scale, but not on a sustainable net zero path. Korea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonising. Today, rich nations have already satisfied…

Iran’s demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as laid out in a statement on Saturday, are largely what President Trump had already agreed to do in the memorandum of understanding that was signed on June 17 and quickly fell apart. But Iran sees control over the strait as its best chance of getting Mr. Trump to deliver on those promises — and is not willing to give it up just yet.For Iran, analysts suggest, denying Mr. Trump the ability to claim victory over the strait is the most efficient lever to persuade him to recommit to those agreements and…

Italian divers have discovered an ancient Roman shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, believed to be more than 2,000 years old.The vessel was found piled high with hundreds of well-preserved containers, which were used to transport goods such as wine and olive oil. Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli hailed the wreck as “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years”.Specialist police divers found the ship around 46m (150ft) deep, after a tip-off from fishermen. The wreckage is 21m (69ft) long and 6m (20ft) wide, according to reports in local media.The culture ministry says it dates from the…

Sadiq Khan has ordered Westminster council to scrap a policy that would ban new pubs and bars from opening in Soho and the West End of London.This comes after the Guardian revealed the council’s new licensing policy asks pubs to stop customers from standing up while consuming beverages, which it calls “vertical drinking”. The policy is under consultation and also asks pubs to have table service rather than allowing orders at the bar.There was widespread anger at the plans to direct those applying to open new bars and restaurants in Westminster to implement the restrictions.The mayor of London has new…

A pilot has traced the shape of a bin with their flight path near Clacton before Count Binface challenges Nigel Farage in a byelection on Thursday.The light aircraft spent around half an hour between 2,100ft and 4,150ft above the sea near the Essex coastal town zigzagging to mark out the shape of a bin, according to data from Flightradar24.The plane took off from Earls Colne airfield near Colchester at 2.48pm on Saturday and landed at 4.13pm. The aircraft is in private ownership, according to Flightradar24, and the pilot’s identity is unknown.Voters will go to the polls in Clacton in a…