Crisis

• Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani suggested that current border checks could be lifted provided there are no further mass arrivals of migrants. • Nine EU member states, including Germany, France, Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, have reintroduced border controls, many of which have remained in place since the 2015 migration crisis. • The situation highlights a growing tension between the EU's principle of free movement and the perceived need for national security measures during exceptional migration events.

Reform says it will free up space in jails in England and Wales by rapidly deporting all foreign offendersGood morning. Andy Burnham has said Middlemarch is his favourite novel, but he may not remember George Eliot’s line about the genial businessman Mr Vincy who “blustering as he was, had as little of his own way as if he had been a prime minister”. Burnham only took over in No 10 three weeks ago today. But already he is learning that Eliot had a point about the constraints of office.As PM, Burnham became responsible for the prisoner early release scheme due to come into force in September, which is hugely controversial because it will lead to killers, rapists and sex offenders being released early. Burnham immediately said he was “pausing” the scheme pending a rethink, and early last week he announced he was changing the rules to make the scheme more restrictive. Explaining the move in an article for the Daily Telegraph, Burnham said that he “wanted to go even further” but that the plan he was announcing “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do.” He added: “I know I can look people in the eye and say to them there is nothing more I could have asked for without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months.”Yusuf [says] Reform will deport “all 10,000 foreign nationals from our prisons.” Of the 10,134 foreign nationals in custody in England and Wales, nearly a third are on remand, i.e. they haven’t been convicted of a crime yet. A Reform official confirmed foreign nationals will only come in scope of the party’s scheme if and when they’re convicted. Then there are questions about what’d happen after inmates in Kosovo finish their sentence (Reform would put a lifetime ban on returning to the U.K.). Or matters like El Salvador’s human rights record — though Playbook can imagine how Farage will respond to that one.Keeping the public safe is and always will be Labour’s first priority. The government has already made clear we are working at pace to deport foreign criminals and we’re building more prison places to deliver justice for victims and keep criminals behind bars.Reform have no serious answers to the Tory prisons crisis and would lead the system to collapse. This would result in a free for all for dangerous and violent offenders, including murderers and rapists. Nigel Farage and Reform simply can’t be trusted to keep Britain safe. Continue reading...

• Pakistan has indefinitely postponed elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amid escalating political instability and widespread civil unrest. • The crisis is driven by a three-pronged resistance involving India's rejection of the polls, internal political rivalry, and intense protests from local residents. • Protesters, led by the JAAC, have issued a 38-point charter demanding judicial reforms, lower electricity prices, resource rights, and the release of detained activists.

IRGC says strait is ‘a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway’Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp said they will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets Tehran’s conditions, including compensation for war damages.The IRGC said their strategy was to maintain the closure “until the enemy accepts all our conditions ... the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway”.Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has said he believes now is the best time for an agreement with the US. “There is cohesion, strength, and unity in the country, and as far as I know, Iran is considered victorious and powerful in this war,” Iranian news agencies quoted him as saying.Oman condemned what it described as repeated attacks on vessels while transiting the strait, without assigning blame, and said that ​negotiations with Iran on arrangements for shipping through Hormuz were “positive and constructive”.The UAE said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a carrier affiliated with the UAE’s state oil company with a missile as it transited the strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported. The UK maritime trade monitor UKMTO said a ‌vessel had caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile but the fire was put out and there was no reported environmental impact. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities.US Central Command said on Saturday it had allowed more than 30 ships through for humanitarian aid since the current blockade started. US forces have turned away 53 ships, disabled two vessels and boarded two others, Central Command said in a statement on social media. Continue reading...

• Spain is facing an acute security crisis in Ceuta, but EU partners have failed to provide adequate support, instead issuing a joint letter of criticism. • The letter, promoted by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and signed by Germany, focused on sending firm signals to domestic electorates regarding immigration. • The lack of solidarity is attributed to political score-settling over Spain's regularization of irregular migrants and its divergent stance on defense spending to appease the Trump administration.

• Spain has issued an ultimatum to Italy following a diplomatic dispute over the potential suspension of Schengen Zone open-border policies. • The conflict stems from the ongoing migrant crisis in Ceuta, leading to a "war of words" between the two European Union member states. • Under current regulations, Schengen members are permitted to temporarily reintroduce border controls if there are significant security or public-order concerns.

• Dr. Arun Mitra warns that ongoing global wars and increasing militarization are creating a deepening humanitarian crisis that the world cannot afford. • The author emphasizes that the abolition of nuclear weapons must be an urgent international priority to prevent the threat of nuclear brinkmanship. • Current geopolitical conflicts demonstrate that military coercion is ineffective, as evidenced by repeated cycles of ceasefires and renewed hostilities.

• Spain is currently facing one of its most severe migration crises in recent history, centered around the enclave of Ceuta. • The crisis follows Madrid's decision to endorse Rabat’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, which Spain described as the most "serious, credible, and realistic" framework for resolution. • This diplomatic pivot has caused a significant fallout with Algeria, a primary supporter of the Polisario Front.