LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 30, 2026--
NEP Bow Tie are the current provider of the Broadcast Operations and Maintenance contract at the Senedd, home to Welsh Parliament, in Cardiff, UK. The 2022 Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the contract outlined a number of key aims for delivery. These included upgrading the broadcasting infrastructure to replace critical end-of-life equipment and move towards a broadcast-over-IP infrastructure model to enhance business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. The programme also included the refit of the broadcast system in the Siambr, the primary meeting chamber of the Welsh Parliament, in response to the potential need to extend the Siambr to accommodate additional Members by the Seventh Senedd.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260430727904/en/
Further objectives in the Senedd contract called the Senedd Aims, included improving the encoding of live streams to make it easier to distribute all live streams and recorded footage across a range of platforms, and streamlining operational processes to reduce the number of tasks required to run meetings. Finally, the contract aimed to advance development of hybrid and virtual business systems to ensure meetings can be delivered in the most resilient manner possible.
“Following the award of the contract in late 2022, NEP Bow Tie began consulting with the Senedd’s AV Services team. Early discussions enabled both parties to quickly agree on the core infrastructure principles to be deployed across the Senedd estate, supporting the transition of the broadcast systems in line with the Senedd’s defined aims,” said Duncan Davidson Smith, Managing Director of NEP Bow Tie.
Since that time, NEP Bow Tie has worked closely with the Senedd to fully overhaul and replace many of the estate’s core broadcast and AV systems. Designed, managed and delivered by the NEP Bow Tie team, core elements of this huge transition included:
During 2025 and 2026, NEP Bow Tie worked in partnership with the Senedd’s AV Services team, FM, and third-party contractors to re-design and implement the renewal and expansion of the Senedd Siambr. The space has been increased to accommodate 96 members starting in 2026.
“It has been a pleasure to work alongside the whole Senedd team and the wider contractor community in the delivery of this incredible new facility for the people of Wales. I hope that the flexibility of this new broadcast system will enable the Senedd to continue driving their technical ambitions for the coverage of Welsh politics for many years to come,” said Gareth Phillips, Head of Engineering and Technology, NEP Bow Tie.
“This return to the Siambr marks an important milestone for our Senedd. Our debating chamber has been transformed to meet the needs of a larger parliament and a new era of Welsh democracy as we look ahead to the election on 7 May. This is a building shaped around openness, sustainability and the people we serve, and the changes reflect the next chapter in our democratic journey,” said Llywydd of the Senedd, Rt Hon Elin Jones MS.
View the Senedd press release at this link: Members return to the Siambr after redevelopment.
Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election in Wales, NEP Bow Tie—the division of NEP Group specializing in media services and broadcast solutions for parliamentary, governmental and public sector institutions—has completed a broadcast transformation project for the Senedd’s Siambr, the primary meeting chamber of the Welsh Parliament.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That “tollbooth” effort is the focus of the U.S. sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn U.S. and non-U.S. persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
The U.S. responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The U.S. Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
The warning came as U.S. President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It’s a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America’s Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the war, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU’s Gulf partners.
Iran on Saturday said it hanged two men convicted of spying for Israel.
The Iranian judiciary's news outlet, Mizanonline, identified the men as Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh. It said they were hanged after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier death sentences.
The news outlet said Karimpour was accused of sending “sensitive information” to an officer in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, while Bekrzadeh was alleged to have sent details about government and religious leaders as well as information about Natanz. The central Iranian city is home to a nuclear enrichment facility bombed by Israel and the U.S. last year.
Iran has hanged more than a dozen people over alleged espionage and terrorist activities in recent weeks.
Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue,” as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the U.S. and Israel.”
Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in Washington, Nasser Karimi in Tehran and Edith Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report
A tanker, left, and a car carrier are anchored at sea in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from the coast near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Cargo ships are seen at sea near the Strait of Hormuz, as viewed from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Men gather along the shore, some crouching and watching a game, as a mix of bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026.(Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
A man stands in the water, appearing to fish, as bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026.(Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
