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Our International Correspondent
The United Arab Emirates says that it will not allow its airspace, land or sea borders to be used for an attack on Iran, the Foreign Ministry’s clear stance, refusal to provide any assistance in military action, emphasis on dialogue and international laws, due to the escalating geopolitical situation, many international airlines have cancelled flights to the Middle East. According to the Khaleej Times, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made it clear that the UAE will not allow its airspace, land area or sea waters to be used for any military attack against Iran, nor will it provide logistical support in any such action.

City reporter
Under new reforms, response officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas, and forces will be expected to answer 999 phone calls within 10 seconds.
These new targets will ensure that all forces provide the same level of police response to crimes. Currently, data on response times is collected differently across forces, and police are not held accountable if targets are not met. Reforming the system will create more transparency and consistency across the country. Where forces fail to deliver, the Home Secretary will send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, including when unmet response‑time targets are part of broader systemic failing.
To fight everyday crime, the government will ramp up its pledge to restore visible neighbourhood policing and patrols in communities through an extension of its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This has already placed named, contactable officers in each neighbourhood. Under the extension, every council ward in England and Wales will have its own named, contactable officers, create more local points of contact and give officers a deeper understanding of the issues in their area.
Police forces will also recruit the brightest and best from universities in a new recruitment drive to cut crime and catch more criminals. Modelled on Teach First, the government is investing up to £7 million to attract top students from universities into specially trained graduate neighbourhood police officer roles in England and Wales. Retailers across the country will see a major crackdown on organised crime gangs thanks to £7 million in new government investment aimed at dismantling criminal networks from the ground up.

By Zain Ali Khan: 
Britain’s government has unveiled plans to create a new National Police Service (NPS), widely dubbed the “British FBI” in the press.
The United Kingdom is set to overhaul its policing structure in what officials describe as the most significant reform in nearly 200 years, with plans to create a new National Police Service informally dubbed a “British FBI.” The government argues that this radical change is necessary to confront modern crime, streamline law enforcement, and free up local forces to focus on community safety. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has repeatedly told Parliament that the current policing model, built around 43 separate police forces in England and Wales, was “built for a different century.” Officials say today’s major criminal threats from transnational organised crime and cyber-enabled fraud to terrorism and online child abuse are too complex and borderless for the current patchwork system to handle effectively. Under the reforms, the new National Police Service (NPS) will take on responsibility for major and complex investigations that often cross local boundaries including counterterrorism, organised crime, serious fraud, and digital exploitation. This is similar in concept to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which operates nationwide with specialist investigative powers.
One of the central arguments from the Home Office is that local police forces are overstretched. Forces say they are currently having to split scarce resources between everyday crimes such as burglary, anti-social behaviour and drug offences and complex investigations that often require specialist skills and technology. By centralising high-level investigations under the NPS, the government believes local forces will be better able to focus on community policing, improve response times, and build trust with residents. Officials also emphasise the need to attract highly specialised investigators and cutting-edge technology to tackle modern threats. A centralised force is expected to pool expertise in digital forensics, artificial intelligence, and cross-jurisdictional intelligence sharing areas where smaller forces currently lack capacity. The white paper accompanying the reforms notes that thousands of digital devices awaiting analysis are delaying criminal investigations nationwide. In addition to policing duties, the new service will take over national functions such as roads policing, counter-terrorism coordination and procurement of equipment roles that are currently fragmented across agencies. The government argues this reduces duplication, delivers cost savings, and ensures that specialist skills and technology are available equitably across England and Wales, regardless of a force’s individual budget or location. While proponents highlight the need for modernisation, critics worry that centralising power could weaken local accountability and open the door to political influence over policing priorities. Some police leaders have also urged care in implementing change so that local knowledge and community ties essential in preventing and detecting crime are preserved.

Report: Wajahat Ali Khan: 
Reports show that some 25 years back Pakistan’s overall trade with UK was a negative trade balance of approximately $2.26 billion and trade as a percentage of GDP at 23.58%, indicating a significant flow of goods and services that included British exports and Pakistani imports, with the UK historically a key partner for Pakistan in textiles, services, and engineering, even if recent figures show increased trade with other nations like China and the UAE.
As time passes, today the UK-Pakistan bilateral trade relationship is growing, with recent focus on boosting investment in sectors like IT, healthcare, and green energy, marked by new dialogues and a new UK Trade Envoy. While total trade neared £4.7 billion in late 2024 and beginning of 2025, the UK is shifting from aid to investment, seen in new initiatives supporting Pakistan’s growth, alongside cooperation on climate and border security. Key Pakistani exports to the UK include textiles (house linens), while the UK provides investment and expertise, with over 200 British firms active in Pakistan.
Now, UK-Pakistan trade hit a record high, exceeding £5.5 billion in the four quarters tills mid-2025, marking a significant 14% increase, with UK exports reaching £3.0 billion and imports £2.4 billion, signalling growing economic ties and confidence, noted last year in December 2025 reports.
This trade milestone was announced alongside the first ministerial development talks between the UK and Pakistan in eight years, highlighting renewed momentum and cooperation in economic engagement, investment, and tackling global challenges like climate change.

By TRT World:
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not bow to pressure from US President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, rejecting tariff threats. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament on Wednesday he would not give in to pressure from US President Donald Trump over the future of the autonomous Danish territory Greenland.
“I will not yield, Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position,” he told lawmakers, adding he would host Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen in London on Thursday.
Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on Britain and other European countries for opposing his claims on Greenland. Starmer was also taunted in parliament by opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch over Trump’s condemnation of his government’s Chagos Islands deal.
The Chagos agreement will see Britain hand the archipelago some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) northeast of Mauritius to its former colony and pay to lease the US-UK military base there for a century. Trump blasted it on Tuesday on social media as an act of “great stupidity”. Responding to the criticism, Starmer told MPs: “The words from President Trump were expressly intended to put pressure on me to yield on my principles. What he said about Chagos was literally in the same sentence as what he said about Greenland. That was his purpose.
“And the future of Greenland is a binary issue that is splitting the world at the moment, with material consequences. I’ve been clear and consistent in my position on the future of Greenland. The future is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone,”

City reporter:
London: 
You could get a Funeral Expenses Payment (also called a Funeral Payment) if you get certain benefits and need help to pay for a funeral you’re arranging. If you or your partner must get one or more of these like, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. You might also be eligible if you’re getting a Support for Mortgage Interest loan.
You can still claim Funeral Expenses Payment if you’ve applied for these benefits and you’re waiting to hear about your claim. You might be able to get a Funeral Expenses Payment if you are the partner of the deceased, the parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, the parent or person responsible for a deceased child who was under 16 (or under 20 and in approved education or training. If a close relative of the deceased (such as a sibling or parent) is in work or not getting a qualifying benefit, you might not get a Funeral Expenses Payment. You might be able to get a Funeral Expenses Payment if, the deceased did not have a partner when they died, the partner of the deceased or parent of a deceased child cannot claim (for example, they live abroad or are in prison.

Homicide in London has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, new figures released by the Metropolitan Police show. The force said 97 homicides were recorded in 2025, the lowest figure since 2014, at a rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people, lower than New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2) and Milan (1.6). It is the lowest homicide figure in London on record, once population is considered, the Met said. Teenage homicide, which hit record levels in 2021 when 30 young people lost their lives, has also dropped to the lowest level since 2012, with eight teenagers killed last year. Mayor London Sir Sadiq Khan said many people had “been trying to talk London down. “Whether it’s President Donald Trump, whether it’s politicians concentrated in Europe, this country, or other parts of the world, I can understand why they hate London,” the mayor said. We are diverse, we are progressive, we are liberal, we are successful, but even the harshest critics of London would have to accept these figures are remarkable.”