What happened
The government has launched a new review of the retirement framework as it warns that pensioners will make up more than a quarter of the adult population within 50 years, with the increase primarily driven by rising life expectancy. The number of people above state pension age is projected to climb 55% to 19.5 million by 2075, with those aged over 85 almost tripling to 5.1 million. The state pension bill is forecast to rise from 5% of GDP to 7.7% in the early 2070s.

Who said what
Independent reviewer Dr Suzy Morrissey said her report would weigh whether linking the pension age to life expectancy could ensure "fairness between generations".

The current state pension age is 66, but that is due to rise to 67 between next year and 2028, then increase again to 68 by 2046. Previous governments have "abandoned plans to bring the rises forward amid concerns about an electoral backlash", said The Times. A government source told the paper bluntly that lifting the pension age further or more swiftly would be "electoral suicide".

What next?
Ministers have set up a new commission amid concern that 15 million workers are not saving enough for retirement and women face a persistent pensions gap.

What happened
A New Zealand soldier with links to white supremacist groups has become the first person in the country's history to be convicted of espionage. The unidentified man, who was put under surveillance after the Christchurch mosque terror attacks in 2019, was caught "offering to hand over maps and entry codes for military bases in New Zealand to an undercover officer posing as an agent for a foreign nation", said The Times.

He admitted to charges including "attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes and possession of an objectionable publication" before a panel of three senior military officials and a judge, said The New Zealand Herald.

Who said what
In a court statement, the soldier confessed to being a member of Action Zealandia and Dominion Movement, calling his involvement a "positive experience for me", insisting that they were community groups, not "terrorist groups".

What next?
The court martial is "only the second spying case heard in New Zealand and the first tried in a military court",  said The Times. His sentence is expected to be handed down in the coming days.

Al-Ahli Tripoli were crowned champions of the Libyan Premier League last week, not in Tripoli – or even Libya – but in Milan.

Political instability and logistical issues have made it difficult to safely host football matches in Libya and the fact that the newly crowned champions' 2-0 victory over rivals Al-Hilal Benghazi took place in Italy was the latest example of a "curious collaboration" between the two nations, said The New York Times.

The play-off games between Libya's top six clubs have been held in closed stadiums in Italy in front of a handful of invited guests to minimise the possibility of conflict.

Yet the game between Al-Ahli Tripoli and Al Ittihad still "descended into a melee" that saw "rival players and staff members kicking and punching one another, forcing the police to move in", said The New York Times. The on-pitch clash mirrored the "security and political crisis" that "continues to plague" Libya more than 10 years after the "bloody overthrow" of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

And while Italy has "taken up the role of neutral arbiter", it can't "escape" the political divides that "roil" Libya, said The New York Times. Last year's final in Rome ended in farcical scenes when the championship was won by Al-Nasr, whose president is the son of Khalifa Haftar, the dictator who rules eastern Libya.

In protest at the EU's refusal to recognise the Benghazi regime, the team refused to walk on to the pitch to receive their medals, leaving Italian dignitaries standing in an empty field. An "impromptu celebration" was held in a car park outside.