Deadlocked

Three consecutive review conferences of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have ended without agreement, prompting debate over whether the global nuclear order is shifting away from rules-based frameworks and toward security alliances. Commentators argue that repeated deadlock reflects eroding trust between nuclear and non-nuclear states, with deterrence politics increasingly replacing treaty commitments as the organising principle of non-proliferation policy.

Reports in Pakistan say the government and Imran Khan's PTI party have completed an agreement, ending a prolonged deadlock in their negotiations. Attention is now on what caused the earlier impasse and the contents of an unpublicised part of the deal, which has not been fully disclosed to the public. Commentators are debating the terms and what concessions each side may have made.

A Supreme Court case over oil company liability has been thrown into uncertainty after a justice went missing from the proceedings, reportedly scrambling the court's handling of the dispute. With one seat effectively sidelined, the justices risk a 4-4 split that would leave lower court rulings in place. Observers are watching closely because the outcome could shape who pays for oil-related damages.