Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Jamie Dimon, the boss of the US bank JP Morgan, has urged John Healey not to use his first budget as chancellor to increase taxes on banks’ bumper profits.Speculation has been growing that a windfall tax could be imposed on UK lenders to fund Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, with campaigners estimating such a move could raise £19bn.Dimon told Healey in a phone conversation that higher levies could hit jobs, citing a fall in finance roles in New York that he blamed on the city’s tax regime, according to the Financial Times.The Wall Street billionaire’s comments were condemned by…

Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with a person posing as the chief of staff to US President Donald Trump.Downing Street has declined to comment on the security breach, first reported by Politico.Politico reported that officials said Burnham communicated with the person claiming to be Susie Wiles “before becoming suspicious that the contact was illegitimate” and claimed only a “few messages” were exchanged.A government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on national security matters.”It is understood the communication between Burnham and the person posing as Wiles was in the form of messages and there was no conversation between the two.”No…

Portugal and Spain are struggling with some of the EU’s worst housing crises, as immigration-driven population growth, bureaucracy and high construction costs combine to create severe property shortages.Such shortfalls are stoking public discontent and political tensions across Europe, driving up prices and rents, forcing people out of their neighbourhoods and leaving many unable to afford even a modest home. But the strain is particularly acute in the Iberian peninsula’s biggest cities. Portugal built 300,000 fewer properties than its population needed between 2021 and 2025, equivalent to 6.6 per cent of all the country’s households last year, according to a Bank of…

After years of snapping up wind and solar developments, hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are betting that natural gas will power the data centers behind their lofty AI ambitions. But a new research report suggests they may regret their newfound affinity for the fossil fuel. Natural gas prices could triple in some parts of the U.S. in the coming years as hyperscaler demand collides with declining supply growth and rising exports of liquefied natural gas, according to Noreva, an energy research firm. Hyperscalers might not be prepared for future price shocks. “I think everyone in the energy markets…

Lexitas appoints Joe Giannetti as CIO and CISO Lexitas named Joe Giannetti its new CIO and CISO. Giannetti brings more than 25 years of experience in technology and security leadership from high-growth organizations, including Employ, Applied Systems, and previous roles managing complex IT infrastructure transformations. DHS names Supriya Ahuja as acting deputy CISO The US Department of Homeland Security appointed Supriya Ahuja acting deputy chief information security officer. She brings nearly two decades of cybersecurity and cyber-risk experience across government and private-sector organizations. Also: New CISO appointments in May 2026 Backstory names Victor Chang CISO Backstory, formerly People.ai, has appointed…

XRP is back near $1 even as network activity rebounds, whale deposits to Binance collapse, and derivatives exposure builds near recent lows.The token fell to about $0.98 this week before recovering toward $1, according to CryptoSlate data, extending a retreat that has erased much of its May rally. Crowd commentary around XRP simultaneously reached its most bearish level in three months across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other crypto channels tracked by Santiment.Beneath that price weakness, several parts of the market have strengthened. More addresses are using the XRP Ledger (XRPL), large holders are moving less XRP onto Binance, and traders…

A Finnish study has found an unexpected association between screen use and cognitive performance. Children who accumulated more screen time as they grew up tended to show better cognitive processing during adolescence. One of the researchers cautions against viewing screen time as entirely harmful and says the goal should be to balance physical activity with screen use that encourages active thinking. Low levels of physical activity among adolescents remain a significant public health concern. Sedentary behavior has been associated with poorer academic achievement, while physical activity is known to support brain function, particularly in adults. Much less is known, however,…

American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in TV shows such ​as “Nashville” and “Heroes,” has died at the age of 36, US media outlets including ABC News reported on Sunday, citing a statement from her father. “It is with ​profound sadness ‌that we share the tragic passing of our beloved ⁠Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy ‌to all who knew her – and to the millions who watched ⁠her onscreen,” ABC quoted her father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, in the statement. The cause of her death was not reported by…

“There has been a re-emergence of serious concrete defects, including voids behind the metal cladding at Unit 4, defects in the foundation slabs of Units 1, 2 and 3, which took a year to repair, and defects in the cellular structure in the cylindrical wall of the reactor building at Unit 4,” details the letter.  The Egyptian agency then accuses Rosatom of “misleading methods” and “fictitious work” attempting to prove the plant’s construction is over halfway complete, “while a visual inspection at the site clearly shows that the main buildings of the nuclear island are still in the underground construction…

I was 14 when the UK voted to leave the EU. Too young to vote, but not too young to understand that a decision was being made that would affect the rest of my life.In many ways, Brexit was my political awakening. It taught me that politics matters, because decisions made by people in power can change your future before you’ve even been given a say.Ten years later, my generation is living with that decision. We lost the automatic right to live, work and study freely across 27 other countries. Opportunities previous generations took for granted are now more complicated,…