David Blair's Blog, page 8

Russia 'dominated' global defence budget increases in 2015, says think tank

The Kremlin accounted for 20 per cent of the world's extra defence spending last year, says IISS, and Russia is developing a "revolutionary" new tank

Saudi billionaire loses 'spurious' claim of diplomatic immunity in court battle with ex-wife

Walid Juffali's defeat in the High Court in London opens the way for Christina Estrada, a former Pirelli calendar model, to lay claim to his British properties

The Alexander Litvinenko report reminds us that MI5 should never neglect the job of catching spies

The battle against terrorism shouldn't distract MI5 from its original calling

Saudi billionaire in London court battle is 'suffering from cancer', says ex-wife

Walid Juffali, the chairman of one of Saudi Arabia's biggest conglomerates, is lying in a Swiss hospital, according to the former wife seeking a share of his fortune

Philip Hammond ordered to certify if Saudi billionaire Walid Juffali is a Caribbean diplomat

The High Court asks the Foreign Secretary to say if Britain has accepted Walid Juffali, who is facing a property claim from his ex-wife, as a diplomat representing St Lucia

Philip Hammond: We're open to EU benefits deal

The Foreign Secretary says the key aim is cutting migration, raising chance of welfare pledge compromise

Son of Briton jailed in Iran urges Foreign Office to renew efforts for his release

After five Americans walked free from Iranian jails, son of Kamal Foroughi, 76, urges the Foreign Office to keep pressing his father's case

St Lucia snubs Britain by refusing to waive immunity for Saudi billionaire

The Caribbean island turns down Britain's official request to lift Walid Juffali's diplomatic immunity before London court case starts on Monday

Barack Obama: Iran cannot get their hands on a nuclear bomb

The US president says Iran's nuclear weapon capabilities has been stopped because of the deal to remove sanctions

Iran nuclear sanctions deal at a glance

These are the key developments which saw the US and the EU agree to lift economic sanctions against Iran