Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Two years ago “Trump was at the height of his powers,” said one Starmer Cabinet minister. “The reality is different now.” While November’s looming midterm elections threaten to dent Trump’s authority at home, abroad his approaches to NATO and the Middle East have led European allies to find solace elsewhere. Britain and its allies are forming groups of so-called middle powers, while Carney pushes closer ties between Canada and the EU that will still be in negotiation long after Trump’s departure. And Burnham has repeatedly talked about strengthening ties with Brussels — seeing through a reset in relations that Starmer…

The House of Lords has long been derided as a stuffy relic of the past. But now its benches, usually filled with haughtily dressed men, could soon resemble something more akin to “dress-down Friday”.One of the nation’s most storied chambers of power has enacted a rule change: men are no longer required to wear a tie in the House of Lords. Instead, they should opt for “business attire”.Ties have long been a knotty item of neckwear. For some, they are a nuisance: too tight and they are uncomfortable, too loose and they look a bit shabby. For others, such as…

The shadow foreign secretary has told Donald Trump “don’t be silly” over his comments on the UK’s sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and Irish reunification.Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat said the US president was trying to appeal to voters at home by making comments about the British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean and saying he would “love” to see a united Ireland.Trump has said America’s position on the Falklands is “one of many” under review, and hinted he would not help the UK in any potential future conflict with Argentina.And the US president said on a visit to Ireland last…

If you’re hunting for a new vacuum, Dyson has surely come up in one way or another. The brand is famous for its powerful vacuum cleaners, but its air power also extends to other parts of the home, including hair care and air purification. It’s a dream household staple; I lugged around an old Dyson vacuum for years until I could upgrade to one of the newer stick models rather than buying something that wouldn’t be as powerful or last as long.But the cost can make it a hard investment to make, even if it’s worth it. If you’re shopping…

The U.S. is continuing to target Iran’s use of bitcoin.  In a Thursday statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated BitBank, an Iranian crypto exchange, as part of Operation Economic Outcast — the Trump Administration’s whole-of-government economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers.  The U.S. has sanctioned Iran for decades. This year, the Middle Eastern country has stepped up its use of cryptocurrencies — including bitcoin — in order to skirt around economic penalties.  “Today’s designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not…

Researchers at the University of Louisville have identified a way that a naturally produced compound from gut microbes may help protect the intestine and potentially guide new treatment approaches for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and affects millions of people around the world. These conditions involve persistent inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. Normally, the gut barrier allows nutrients to pass into the body while helping prevent harmful bacteria from escaping the intestines. In people with IBD, this protective barrier can break down, contributing to inflammation, pain, and long-term complications. A Gut Compound…

So much of your daily life – your job, your health, your home – hinges on the fact that your name is in a government database. Are you a legal citizen of your country, with everything that entails? You are, until an anonymous bureaucrat hits a key one night and strips it all away, turning you into an illegal immigrant. It happened in Slovenia in 1992.“I took my son to register for secondary school. The clerk rifled through the papers, then stared at me as if refusing to see the boy standing right next to me. Finally, she said: ‘But…

“Civilians in Iran are caught between gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by their own government and the nation’s deadly conflict with the United States and Israel,” the fact-finding mission warned in a statement on Thursday.For their latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, the mission’s three independent experts investigated two of the deadliest attacks on civilians during the conflict.On 28 February, when the US and Israel launched their war against Iran, Tomahawk missiles struck Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the southern town of Minab, killing at least 156 people, including 120 children, according to local…

Ein teures Symbol der Abhängigkeit: In Texas nimmt Verteidigungsminister Boris Pistorius den ersten F-35-Kampfjet für die Bundeswehr entgegen. Die Tarnkappenflieger sichern die nukleare Teilhabe Deutschlands, offenbaren aber zugleich das Scheitern europäischer Rüstungsprojekte. Rixa Fürsen erklärt, warum Europa diese technologische Lücke derzeit nicht aus eigener Kraft schließen kann. Nach dem tödlichen Angriff auf einen Zugbegleiter im Februar debattiert die Politik über Zugangskontrollen an Bahnhöfen und schärfere Strafen für Angriffe auf Zugpersonal. Cedric Looks beleuchtet die Pläne von Verkehrsminister Steffen Bilger und Justizministerin Stefanie Hubig. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt die stellvertretende FDP-Bundesvorsitzende Svenja Hahn vor den Wahlen in Berlin und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, wie ihre…

Following multiple reports of AI agent swarms hacking websites and coordinating via secret message boards, along with a dire message for humanity from an outgoing Anthropic engineer, leading AI companies have called for a coordinated AI development “slowdown.” Alongside various versions of this specific phrase—slowdown—they’ve also expressed concerns that doing so would run afoul of antitrust laws.Antitrust experts say that while the companies’ charged language isn’t necessarily doing them any favors, the unrestrained development of a rogue killer AI probably isn’t in line with the spirit of the Sherman Act, a key US antitrust law that exists to promote a…