Britain has sanctioned a Swedish gangster accused of working for Iran to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe. Rawa Majid, 39, known as the “Kurdish Fox”, has been linked to an attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 2024. The attack was allegedly carried out on behalf of Iran using his “Foxtrot Network” of criminals. The sanctions were imposed just days before British police and members of the special forces arrested seven Iranian nationals allegedly involved in a suspected terrorist plot. The UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said the sanctions imposed on Majid…

South Africa’s highest appeal court has ruled that a Turkish telecoms group claiming MTN bribed Iranian officials for a lucrative mobile phone licence may proceed its $4.2 billion damages claim.

Observers have expressed concern that a focus on strategic minerals could attract additional stakeholders and complicate negotiations.

The ANC has lost its exclusive control over public finances and will now have to collaborate with opposition parties in the GNU on policy decisions, including foreign affairs.

MTN’s partners, including the reputable firms Deloitte and Accenture, may face legal scrutiny if the telecoms company’s involvement in operations in Iran is deemed substantial.

At least 20 former members of the SAS who shot dead armed IRA gunmen more than 30 years ago are facing murder charges, National Security News can reveal. Details of the potential prosecutions have been disclosed in a letter sent to every British Army regiment by the SAS Association. The letter also accuses successive British governments of “shamefully” failing to properly support veterans of the Northern Ireland conflict, known as the Troubles. The letter states: “There can be scarcely any part of the veteran community that isn’t touched to some extent by this issue. We have recently seen around twenty former special…

In terms of the diplomacy and the nuance around discussions on Ukraine and the peace process, South Africa has been elevated to quite an important position.”

Axiom Space has appointed a former Google Cloud executive as its new Chief Executive Officer. Tejpaul Bhatia takes the helm after serving as the space firm’s Chief Revenue Officer since 2021, replacing co-founder Dr Kam Ghaffarian, who will remain as Executive Chairman. The leadership change comes as the company, which is based in Houston, United States, prepares for its fourth human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and ramps up development of a next-generation orbital platform intended to replace the ISS by the end of the decade. As Chief Revenue Officer, Bhatia secured more than £1 billion in…

Business leaders have launched a new task force aimed at unlocking the potential of the UK’s defence sector to drive long-term national growth, innovation, and economic resilience. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) launched a new Defence & Economic Growth Taskforce last week. Backed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Defence Secretary John Healey, the task force brings together senior figures from across the defence, financial, and investment sectors. It will work at pace to deliver actionable recommendations to the government within 12 weeks, setting out how the UK’s planned increase in defence spending—rising to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027—can be…

Protecting the supply of critical minerals vital to the renewables market is an emerging threat to energy security, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned. Dr Fatih Birol told a high-level conference on global energy security that while the threat to fossil fuel supplies—whether through wars, environmental disasters or sabotage—remained a major risk to global trade, there were also growing concerns over the concentration of critical minerals in just a few countries. Hosted by the British government and the International Energy Agency, the two-day summit brought together government ministers from 60 countries, senior European Union officials, energy sector…

Scientists will be sending a batch of microscopic organisms into space in the hope that studies will help prepare astronauts for future interstellar travel. The animals, called tardigrades, will accompany astronauts on the next Axiom Space multinational mission to the International Space Station and take part in what are known as the Voyager Experiments. Scientists are hoping that studying tardigrades in space’s hostile environment will help unlock the mystery of how humans can survive and remain healthy on long-range missions to Mars and beyond. The animals are also known as water bears or moss piglets because of the way they…

As South Africa encounters a significant setback in its genocide case against Israel, the Brenthurst Foundation, a prominent South African think tank, has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to reset its relations with Israel. The Israeli government has successfully secured a six-month postponement in proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), extending the timeline to 12 January 2026. This extension follows Israeli objections that South Africa attempted to present evidence without granting Israel access to it. The case against Israel is viewed as a key factor in the Trump administration’s increasingly hostile actions towards South Africa, with lawmakers considering…