Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Rigby was a popular City minister for almost a year before being promoted a couple of months ago under Keir Starmer’s government. Her return to the role has been particularly welcomed by the financial services industry, with hopes she will see through reforms put forward under Reeves, including controversial changes to the financial ombudsman. Rigby comes back with a pay bump, as her role as economic secretary to the Treasury now falls under the higher bracket as a minister of state under Burnham’s government, a roughly £10,000 difference from its previous classification as a parliamentary secretary. That pay rise sends…

Andy Burnham has pledged to use “whatever political capital I have” to finally fix the crumbling social care system in England, saying that without rapid action the NHS could effectively collapse.In his first full interview since becoming prime minister last week, Burnham said he could not put a timetable on the arrival of a new system for social care but that its creation would take time.Burnham has repeatedly said he hopes to properly tackle a political issue that has been repeatedly neglected by governments, highlighting personal experience with his father, who has Alzheimer’s disease and requires care.Asked whether he would…

Chainlink drew more than $7 billion of token value onto its cross-chain infrastructure in the second quarter as institutional adoption accelerated, according to its second-quarter review.The migration came as crypto projects replaced older bridging systems and traditional-finance firms moved deeper into tokenized markets, expanding Chainlink’s role across both sides of the digital-asset economy.Chainlink said its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) handled $4.9 billion in quarterly volume, up 353% from a year earlier, while the network’s total value secured reached $110 billion.The growth is also sharpening a longstanding question for investors: whether wider use of Chainlink’s infrastructure can translate into stronger economic…

Littering fines have generated nearly £100,000 in revenue for councils across a county since the start of 2023, new figures have revealed.Local authorities in Cambridgeshire have issued 889 fixed penalty notices for littering, according to Freedom of Information requests made by the BBC.Most of them were issued by Cambridge City Council, which received about £83,000 from littering fines – 86% of the county’s total.Harry Machin, a volunteer litter picker in Peterborough, said other councils could learn from Cambridge.More from Cambridgeshire:Cambridge City Council has consistently issued more fines than other authorities in Cambridgeshire, but the number of them has been falling.The…

Though it has yet to become front-page news in the UK, you should know about the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros merger. It threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public. As actors and public figures who have spent our careers in the arts in Britain – working with British crews, on British stages and sets – we have a responsibility to the public who support, enjoy and consume the art we make.The UK is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public – but we can stop it. We are encouraged by…

Romania on Sunday said it was summoning Russia’s ambassador after the NATO member’s military shot down the third drone in as many days in the country bordering Ukraine. Romania has seen frequent drone incursions since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but had not shot down any until Friday. On Sunday, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over the Black Sea, five minutes after it entered the country’s airspace, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said on Facebook. Romania is summoning Russia’s ambassador following “repeated violations”, foreign minister Oana Toiu said on X. Read moreSea drone explodes in the Romanian port of Constanta, raising fear of Ukraine war spillover President Nicusor Dan…

Andy Burnham has told the BBC “the NHS will collapse” if social care is not reformed but said he could not put a timeline on changes.In his first major interview since becoming prime minister, Burnham said he would not want to leave office without bringing in “substantial change” to the social care system.The prime minister also suggested making it harder to claim benefits, saying the country had to get serious about getting the welfare bill down.Kemi Badenoch has meanwhile written to the prime minister, saying he should rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to fund social care reform.In his…

But when it comes to the gravest matters that prime ministers have to deal with – security, power around the world, or the country’s long-term economic stability, we’re perhaps yet to see if Burnham’s ambition for No 10 is accompanied by truly new big ideas that match the scale of his rhetoric.There are worries on the right of the Labour Party that Burnham has not absorbed the reality of the country’s economic position – years of stuttering growth, and sky-high levels of debt that leave the UK incredibly vulnerable to the financial markets’ judgements, whether he likes it or not.…

Two of OpenAI’s cybersecurity-focused models broke out of a testing sandbox this week and went on to hack the AI research platform Hugging Face in an effort to solve a security benchmark test. Plus, researchers this week shed light on newly identified malware that is capitalizing on blind spots in AI software development infrastructure to grab logins and other sensitive data, even causing destruction to victims’ target files and systems.Looking at the more traditional security nightmare of embedded devices, researchers this week shed light on a car alarm that was installed in vehicles across the US—and that is still silently…

A data breach suffered last year by Atlanta-based medical business management company MCBS (Medical Computer Business Services) affects more than 1.2 million individuals. According to a data breach notification posted on its website, MCBS was targeted by hackers in September 2025.  An investigation showed that attackers had access to its systems between September 22 and September 26, potentially stealing files that contained personal information such as name, address, SSN, date of birth, health insurance information, and medical information.  The medical revenue cycle management and billing company’s data breach notification names seven healthcare organizations whose data was compromised in this cyberattack.…