LONDON: British Defense Secretary John Healey sensationally quit on Thursday, accusing beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the finance ministry of failing to commit enough money to protect the country. His shock resignation weakens Starmer&#39;s authority further at a precarious moment for the embattled Labour leader, a week before a by-election that could prompt a bid to replace him. In stinging criticism, Healey warned that Starmer&#39;s long-awaited Defense Investment Plan (DIP) for funding over the next decade&mdash;which the premier has yet to publish&mdash;risked making Britain &quot;less safe.&quot; &quot;You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,&quot; Healey wrote in a resignation letter to Starmer posted on his X account. &quot;After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation.&quot; Healey&#39;s sudden departure comes after months of delays to the defense plan, which Starmer has insisted he will publish before a NATO summit in Turkey beginning on July 7. Starmer&#39;s centre-left government, elected in July 2024 following 14 years of Conservative rule, has pledged to ramp up defense spending, with priority given to NATO commitments. The rise comes amid threats from Russia and as US President Donald Trump repeatedly urges NATO allies to spend more and become less reliant on Washington for security. &#39;Grave moment&#39;Starmer has vowed to raise defense spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product from next year, increasing to three percent if Labour wins the next general election, expected in 2029, before reaching 3.5 percent in 2035. British media has for weeks been reporting on behind-the-scenes battles within the government over the DIP settlement. In his resignation letter, Healey said he was first given full sight of DIP on Monday, and it sees defense spending rise to only 2.68 percent of GDP in 2030. A source close to the former defense secretary told AFP the deal offered by the Treasury did not put a date on the three percent commitment. The plan &quot;falls well short of what is required for defense and the country at this dangerous time,&quot; Healey wrote. &quot;Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.&quot; Tan Dhesi, chair of parliament&#39;s defence committee, said the government must take Healey&#39;s warning &quot;with the utmost seriousness&quot;. &quot;That a defence secretary of his integrity and commitment has felt compelled to resign in response to the inadequacy of the proposed defence settlement is a grave moment,&quot; the Labour MP said in a statement. Starmer faces political peril in next Thursday&#39;s contest when Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham stands for the Makerfield parliamentary seat. Both men have said they would participate in any Labour leadership race, although none has yet been triggered. Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month following disastrous local and regional election results for Labour and has also said he would run in any future contest. Healey, 66, has been previously talked about as another potential contender, but there was no immediate suggestion that his resignation is linked to the leadership speculation. It &quot;underlines that Starmer has become a lame duck prime minister who cannot get decisions through his own government,&quot; Patrick Diamond, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP. The investment plan, originally due to be published in late 2025, has repeatedly been pushed back, to the frustration of industry and others. Healey&#39;s resignation &quot;creates a sequence of political headaches in terms of a replacement, and trying to get the defence investment plan published,&quot; said Ed Arnold, senior associate fellow at the RUSI think-tank. A government source insisted that Starmer had made Britain &quot;safer,&quot; adding the defense spending proposals &quot;will deliver the capability our armed forces need.&quot;

Europe

British Defense Secretary John Healey sensationally quit on Thursday, accusing beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the finance ministry of failing to commit enough money to protect the country

UK defense minister quits with stinging rebuke of PM Starmer

PARIS:&nbsp;French President Emmanuel Macron Wednesday said his Ukrainian counterpart would attend the G7 summit next week in France to &quot;rebuild consensus&quot; on support for Ukraine, while leaders of four Arab states would be invited for talks on the Middle East conflict. The invitees would attend sessions on Tuesday at the summit of the Group of Seven leading economies&mdash;Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States&mdash;to be held in the French lakeside resort of Evian on June 15-17. President Volodymyr Zelensky&#39;s participation &quot;is very important for us because we need to rebuild consensus within the G7 in support of Ukraine on the various aspects of the war&quot; with Russia, including the need for &quot;negotiations,&quot; Macron said, a reference to differing opinions between European leaders and US President Donald Trump. To address the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in late February, leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates would also be invited to a separate session on Tuesday. The talks would focus on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has &quot;a real impact on our economies&quot; due in particular to soaring fuel prices, and on &quot;negotiations on Iran,&quot; Macron said. He made the comments during a discussion with civil society representatives at the Elysee presidential palace. Following a dinner for the G7 leaders on Monday and the two sessions focused on the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, the &quot;North-South partnership&quot; will be on the agenda, Macron added. &quot;In addition to the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank, we will bring into this session partners with whom we have built this agenda, in particular South Korea, India, Kenya, and Brazil,&quot; he said. On Wednesday, the summit will end with a session &quot;on global imbalances&quot; and &quot;the issue of growth,&quot; preceded on June 11 by a videoconference called &quot;World Convergence Summit for Growth,&quot; which will include China and several other emerging countries, Macron said. The summit will also include discussions with tech companies from the United States and other countries &quot;to talk both about our agenda of protection and regulation and to address questions of sovereignty&quot; and cybersecurity, the president added.

French President Emmanuel Macron Wednesday said his Ukrainian counterpart would attend the G7 summit next week in France to "rebuild consensus" on support for Ukraine, while leaders of four Arab states would be invited for talks on the Middle East conflict

Zelensky, Arab states invited to G7 for talks on Ukraine, Mideast wars

ISTANBUL: US President Donald Trump&#39;s presence at the NATO summit in Ankara next month will be an important moment for the stability of the military alliance, Turkey&#39;s Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. &quot;The announcement that US President Trump will attend the summit in person is a significant step in terms of the alliance&#39;s stability,&quot; the Turkish president told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

FILE: US President Donald Trump during a press conference after the NATO summit at the World Forum, The Hague. (ANP MAG/AFP)

"The announcement that US President Trump will attend the summit in person is a significant step in terms of the alliance's stability," the Turkish president told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.



Trump presence at NATO summit 'significant' for alliance's stability: Erdogan

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: A growing wave of pro-Palestinian activism is sweeping German universities, with student councils voting to support academic boycotts of Israeli universities, citing alleged ties between Israeli academia and the country&#39;s military establishment. According to a report published on Al Jazeera&#39;s website, nearly 700 students at Leipzig University have&nbsp;demanded that the institution end all cooperation with Israeli academic partners. Student activists argue that Israeli universities are deeply integrated into Israel&#39;s military and security infrastructure and therefore cannot be viewed as politically neutral institutions. Orlando Becker, a 22-year-old member of Students for Palestine Leipzig, told Al Jazeera, &ldquo;All five Israeli partner universities of Leipzig University are an essential component of the Israeli military complex.&rdquo;&nbsp; Students gathered more than 1,300 signatures to convene a general assembly on the issue.&nbsp;University authorities, however, withdrew permission for the meeting to take place in a lecture hall one day before the event. Leipzig is not aloneSimilar resolutions have emerged across Germany. Since March, student councils at several German universities have adopted similar motions calling for academic disengagement from Israeli institutions. At Berlin&#39;s Hertie School, the student council became the first in Germany to pass a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement by cutting ties with Israeli institutions through student-administered funds. The school and its affiliated foundation quickly distanced themselves from the student resolution, describing it as unacceptable. Student representatives alleged that university leadership attempted to discourage support for the motion by warning of potential consequences for students and the institution. Crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism&nbsp;Pro-Palestinian student activism has faced significant resistance from authorities across Germany. In November 2023, students occupied a lecture hall at the Free University of Berlin in solidarity with Gaza. Months later, demonstrators occupied a building at Humboldt University and renamed it the &quot;Jabalia Institute&quot; after a refugee camp in Gaza. Police were called to clear both occupations. Activists reported dozens of injuries during the operations and alleged that Arab students and other minorities were treated more harshly. While university administrations have largely resisted calls for academic boycotts, observers say the growing number of student resolutions signals increasing pressure from younger generations. As student movements continue to expand across campuses, the dispute is likely to remain a defining issue in Germany&#39;s higher education sector and wider political discourse.

Student councils across Germany back academic boycotts of Israeli universities, citing alleged military ties; pro-Palestinian activism grows despite resistance from university administrations, political pressure, and police crackdowns.

German universities face growing pressure to cut ties with Israeli institutions

RIO DE JANEIRO: Airlines are facing surging fuel costs from the war in the Middle East, but executives say they are more concerned about taxes and regulations deemed too restrictive that could further crimp their bottom lines. Despite hand-wringing over the risk that travellers will baulk at paying higher fares, the ongoing war did not appear to ruffle feathers at the International Air Transport Association&#39;s annual conference in Rio, which ends Monday. &quot;We expect average jet fuel prices to be 70% higher year-on-year. That will add $100 billion to our collective fuel bill this year,&quot; IATA director general Willie Walsh told the gathering. Yet when the CNN journalist Richard Quest asked a roundtable discussion if airlines were frustrated by &quot;an event you have no control over&quot;, the responses were remarkably subdued. The chief of Turkey&#39;s Pegasus Airlines, Guliz Ozturk, noted wryly that it was standard practice for carriers to predict various scenarios at the beginning of the year, only to see something entirely different happen. IATA chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen recalled the uncertainty generated at last year&#39;s conference, held in New Delhi just weeks after US President Donald Trump unleashed his tariffs war. &quot;We thought that it was the end of the world,&quot; she said. But this year, there was hardly any mention of Trump despite the ongoing Mideast war, which has driven up fuel prices and caused profitability to plummet in a sector that was already struggling. Name and shame The IATA, which represents 370 member airlines, focused instead on naming and shaming countries that have imposed taxes on tickets -- often in the name of reducing carbon emissions -- or increased regulations on the industry. The European Union was the most frequent target, with Walsh aiming for the bloc&#39;s &quot;populist&quot; Parliament for defending higher compensation for passengers impacted by flight delays. And at a press conference on the shortage of non-fossil fuels needed to decarbonise air travel, EU regulations on the minimum amounts of such fuels required in aircraft tanks came under fire. Even when pressed on the potential impact of a &quot;quagmire&quot; scenario in the Gulf that would curtail oil and jet fuel exports for several more months, executives did not appear overly alarmed. When asked about the possibility of the war dragging out for years, research director Eleanor Budds played down the risk. &quot;Quagmire is a scenario... It doesn&#39;t mean we expect this to happen,&quot; Budds said. A reporter then asked if, in an extreme case, the war would not just drive up prices but also lead to shortages of jet fuel. &quot;In our base case, we don&#39;t have shortages,&quot; she responded.

Airlines expect jet fuel costs to rise 70%, adding $100 billion in expenses due to the Middle East war. However, industry leaders expressed greater concern over taxes, regulations, and decarbonisation policies affecting profitability.

Airlines say taxes and rules bigger worry than Mideast war

SWITZERLAND: At a Swiss nursing home, Marcelle Mivelaz celebrated her 80th birthday surrounded by friends, as a team of mostly foreign nurses and caregivers ensured the day ran smoothly. Swiss healthcare facilities like this one, in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne in the west of the country, are heavily reliant on foreign workers amid chronic staff shortages. Now the sector fears that a popular vote on June 14 on a proposal to dramatically slash immigration could cripple the industry, with a potentially critical outcome. &quot;If there aren&#39;t enough caregivers, our healthcare system is headed for disaster,&quot; Carine Savioz, a Swiss nurse at the Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne home, told AFP. &quot;This worries me,&quot; acknowledged 81-year-old Marie-Therese Barraz, standing next to Mivelaz. &quot;We must have respect for the people who care for nursing home residents.&quot; Put forward by the hard-right Swiss People&#39;s Party (SVP), the &quot;No to a Switzerland with 10 million!&quot; proposal wants the wealthy Alpine nation&#39;s population -- currently 9.1 million -- capped below 10 million until 2050. The initiative faces broad opposition across the government, parliament and business sector, but opinion polls suggest the vote could be tight. The healthcare sector, which struggles to recruit Swiss nationals put off by the notoriously demanding nature of the work and relatively unattractive salaries, has been front and centre in the debate. &#39;Chaos initiative&#39;For Christian Weiler, director of the Primeroche Foundation, which looks after some 360 people across several establishments, including the Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne nursing home, the situation is clear. &quot;We have some 240 employees, nearly 80 percent of whom are foreign nationals,&quot; he told AFP. He said his foundation would like to open other nursing homes, but feared it would struggle to find staff. &quot;Currently, 240 people are waiting for a place in the Lausanne area,&quot; he pointed out, warning that a lack of spots could have dire societal implications. &quot;If there aren&#39;t enough places, they&#39;ll go to the hospital,&quot; he said. And &quot;when hospitals are full of elderly people, they won&#39;t be able to fulfil their role, and the system will become very problematic&quot; as the population ages. The Swiss government also warns that the proposal &quot;threatens the proper functioning of society&quot;, with hospitals and nursing homes unable to care for the sick and elderly the way they do today. The SVP, however, rejects that. It is calling for more Swiss staff to be trained and points out that its proposal would still allow 40,000 foreigners to immigrate each year. However, the business and healthcare sectors say that is not enough. An alliance of major players in the sector, including the Swiss National Association of Hospitals and Clinics and the Swiss Nurses&#39; Association, has formed a committee to denounce what it calls the SVP&#39;s &quot;chaos initiative&quot;, warning it &quot;endangers&quot; patients. The committee fears that if services are understaffed or forced to rely on less qualified personnel, the &quot;risk of mortality increases&quot;, particularly in emergencies. &#39;Urgent&#39; need for staffAccording to the Swiss Medical Association (FMH), the country &quot;remains far from being able to ensure the replenishment of its medical workforce on its own&quot;. The healthcare system is structurally dependent on doctors trained abroad. They account for 43 percent of all doctors -- a figure which continues to rise. &quot;Each year, our universities award between 1,200 and 1,300 medical diplomas,&quot; but &quot;we would need 3,500 to 4,000 young doctors per year,&quot; FMH vice-president Philippe Eggimann told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Thomas Blasi, an SVP parliamentarian and an independent pharmacist in Geneva, charged that the sector&#39;s reliance on immigrants was taking a toll on Swiss health workers. &quot;Despite the urgent need for healthcare staff, our young graduates cannot find employment because we prefer to rely on foreign workers,&quot; he said. Others, however, highlight a persistent shortage of Swiss candidates. At Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), nursing director Sandra Merkli said 200 to 300 nurses needed to be recruited each year -- while the Geneva canton&#39;s medical school only provides 150 to 160. In 2025, nearly one in two of HUG&#39;s approximately 13,000 staff was a foreign national, with the proportion reaching around 60 percent for nursing staff and 45 percent among doctors.

Switzerland’s healthcare sector warns that a proposed immigration cap could deepen staff shortages, as hospitals and nursing homes rely heavily on foreign workers to care for an ageing population.

Swiss healthcare united against immigration cap plan 

Says all missiles intercepted from Iran thus far; IRGC spokesperson says 'Israel crossed all red lines' by attacking Lebanon, warning further 'setbacks' if the 'Zionist army' retaliates; Trump says he will call Netanyahu, telling him 'not to retaliate' against Tehran; Airspaces close across Iran, Syria, and Iraq.

Middle East Roundup, June 7: Israeli army says country being targeted by Iranian missiles

PARIS: Self-driving taxis, already booming in the United States and China, are emerging in Europe, with major companies launching trials this year in several capitals and the European Union set to step on the accelerator Monday. In China and the United States, private fleets of &quot;robotaxis&quot; -- driverless cars loaded with sensors -- more than doubled in 2025 to reach 8,000 vehicles across more than two dozen major cities, according to a May report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Seven years behind schedule, trials will finally start across Europe over the coming months. In France -- where no trials are scheduled for the moment -- planning high commissioner Clement Beaune recently criticised the EU for in his words &quot;lagging behind&quot;. European regulations say a &quot;safety driver&quot; must be on board the vehicle, their hands on their lap -- as was the case in the early days of testing in China and the United States. The EU will now accelerate the process by adopting a &quot;testbed&quot;, a simplified testing approach that will let companies avoid having to obtain approval on a country-by-country basis. European transport ministers are set to make the decision official on Monday, Anne-Marie Idrac, the bloc&#39;s senior official for autonomous vehicle development, told AFP. London, Munich, Madrid, Zagreb...&nbsp;The first trial in Europe started on April 8 in Croatia, where Chinese company Pony.ai -- in partnership with US group Uber and Croatian startup Verne, backed by the automaker Rimac -- has been operating about 10 robotaxis in Zagreb. In London, three groups will launch trials this year: robotaxi world leader Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet; its competitor Wayve, in partnership with Uber; and the Chinese company Apollo Go, a subsidiary of the tech giant Baidu. In Madrid, the Chinese group WeRide has just announced a test with Uber. Uber will also deploy robotaxis in Munich, using technology from the Chinese company Momenta. In Switzerland, Apollo has partnered with Swiss Post for a pilot programme in the country&#39;s east. Italian-French-US automaker Stellantis and Pony.ai are to conduct a test in Luxembourg. Ride-hailing platforms Uber, Lyft and Bolt often partner in such projects. Waymo claims it has around 3,000 driverless taxis spread across a dozen US cities, a similar number to Apollo, whose taxis are deployed in 27 Chinese cities and in Dubai. Pony.ai has 1,700 vehicles and is targeting 3,500 by the end of 2026, compared to 1,000 for WeRide. In China, ride-hailing platform Didi and carmaker SAIC operate robotaxis in several major cities. In the United States, Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox have established themselves in several cities. By 2035, the IEA forecasts there will be between 700,000 and three million robotaxis in 40 to 80 major cities. Consulting firm BCG expects three million, including 850,000 in China and 350,000 in the United States, but only 120,000 in Europe. Goldman Sachs is betting on around six million vehicles for a $415-billion market. CrossroadsIn Europe, strict safety regulations and strong public-transport culture have put the brakes on robotaxi development, according to specialist Herve de Treglode. But &quot;London is ready, Madrid too. We may see commercial service by 2027,&quot; he said. &quot;In the US and China, they don&#39;t do six months of testing and then stop. They roll out in a neighbourhood, remove the safety driver, then launch commercial service with massive investments.&quot; One potential snag: companies want to put driverless taxis in highly profitable, densely populated urban areas; many politicians want them in suburban and rural areas, to compensate for public-transport gaps. &quot;It&#39;s high time we came up with a strategy,&quot; Laurence Debrincat of the Paris regional transport authority said last month, pushing for the suburban-and-rural approach. The founder of French ridesharing firm Ecov, Thomas Matagne, summed up the crossroads decision-makers are facing. &quot;Should we leave the sector to the market, at the risk of concentrating it in densely populated areas? Or should the government invest to roll out (robotaxis) in the general interest?&quot;

Europe accelerates robotaxi adoption as major firms launch trials across several cities, with the EU introducing streamlined testing rules aimed at narrowing the gap with the United States and China.

Europe opening up to self-driving taxis

LONDON: The leaders of Britain, France and Germany back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&#39;s call for direct ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, they said Sunday after meeting with him in London. The leaders &quot;supported the proposal for a direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia -- with active US and European participation -- to bring about a ceasefire and support further negotiations,&quot; they said in a joint statement with Zelensky &quot;The current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations,&quot; they added. &quot;International borders must not be changed by force.&quot; In an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Zelensky proposed they hold a face-to-face meeting. &quot;Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us,&quot; he wrote. Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Sunday. Kyiv is asking its Western allies for more ammunition deliveries for its anti-air defences as Ukraine endures daily Russian strikes. The latest strikes killed five people in Ukraine and hit a nuclear storage facility near the Chernobyl disaster site, officials said. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.

Britain, France and Germany back President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for direct Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks, urging negotiations from current front lines while rejecting territorial changes by force and supporting US-European involvement.

UK, France, Germany back direct Ukraine-Russia talks: joint statement

KYIV: Russia fired waves of drones and other munitions at Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least four people and damaging a nuclear storage facility in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukrainian officials said. Radiation levels at the facility remained within normal limits following the attack, although the building&#39;s reception was &quot;partially destroyed,&quot; according to Ukraine&#39;s Energoatom nuclear energy operator. Moscow and Kyiv have intensified drone strikes on each other in recent months as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year, remain stalled and sidetracked by the conflict in the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet his allies in London later Sunday for talks on how to pressure Russia to end the fighting, after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected direct peace talks with the Ukrainian leader. &quot;A &#39;shahed&#39; hit one of the buildings of the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility,&quot; Zelensky said in a post on X, referring to the Iranian-designed &quot;Shahed&quot; drones that Russia fires at Ukraine on a nightly basis. &quot;As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels. But there is certainly an increase in Russia&#39;s brazenness, which long ago went off the charts,&quot; he added. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was dispatching a team to inspect the damage, calling the incident &quot;deeply concerning.&quot; The facility is located in a remote area of forest around a dozen kilometers (seven miles) from the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and is designed to house spent nuclear fuel from Ukraine&#39;s three active nuclear plants. Strikes on Ukraine Russian strikes killed and wounded multiple civilians on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. A Russian bombardment of a public transport stop in Ukraine&#39;s southern Zaporizhzhia region left at least two people dead, while a nearby drone strike killed a 56-year-old minibus driver, authorities said. A separate attack on the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed a 59-year-old man, governor Oleksandr Ganzha posted on Telegram. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their home since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia &mdash;which denies targeting civilians &mdash; now occupies around a fifth of its neighbor: the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, most of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk &mdash; collectively referred to as the Donbas &mdash; and large parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Khe

Radiation levels at the facility remained within normal limits following the attack, although the building's reception was "partially destroyed," according to Ukraine's Energoatom nuclear energy operator.

Russian strikes kill four, damage nuclear storage facility: Kyiv

BUENOS AIRES: Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have reached a record-breaking high of 15.4C for June, and ice is melting at abnormal rates during the current winter, climate scientists told AFP on Thursday. Esperanza Base, an Argentine research station located in the north of the peninsula, recorded the unprecedented figure on June 6. The previous highest temperature on record for that month -- 13.3C -- dates back to 1998. The current heat also significantly exceeds Esperanza&#39;s June average of -6.2C. Such a figure is &quot;very unusual for this time of year,&quot; Jose Luis Stella, a climatologist at Argentina&#39;s National Meteorological Service, told AFP. Argentine bases Marambio and San Martin also recorded unequalled temperatures between June 5 and 6. Marambio recorded 11.8C, surpassing a previous high of 9.2C and its June average of -10.7C. San Martin meanwhile saw 9.4C compared to its previous 7.8C record and June average of -5.6C. &#39;Confirms a trend&#39;The northern Antarctic heatwave is not an isolated event, University of Groningen professor Raul Cordero told AFP. &quot;It confirms a trend,&quot; he said, warning that &quot;these kinds of events will continue to occur with increasing frequency&quot; if global warming is not derailed. Thomas Caton Harrison, a polar climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, believes a combination of factors including climate change resulted in the current heat. &quot;There is credible evidence that climate change is playing a role, but the effect is complex in this region,&quot; he said. &quot;Because Antarctica sees such big swings in temperature, we have to collect lots of data over many years to build a picture of the underlying climate.&quot; Both specialists agree that regional temperatures have been rising for years and are already showing visible effects. &quot;A surprising amount of precipitation has been falling as rain rather than snow,&quot; Caton Harrison said. &quot;This has implications for polar ecosystems such as penguin colonies,&quot; he said, adding that &quot;it poses a challenge to my colleagues working on Antarctic bases because a lot of liquid rain has been falling and creating runoff and ice.&quot; Esperanza Base has been recording above-zero temperatures daily for three consecutive weeks. This trend has caused &quot;large areas in the far north of the white continent to remain free of snow,&quot; according to Cordero, who called it &quot;an unusual scene in the Antarctic landscape during winter.&quot;

Climate

Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula reach a record-breaking high of 15.4C for June, as ice melts at abnormal rates during the current winter.

Antarctic Peninsula sees record high June temperatures

MEXICO CITY: Mexico ignited their World Cup party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa on Thursday as the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca. Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts&#39; bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start. South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off. The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa&rsquo;s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams. A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups. South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena. But South Africa&rsquo;s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico&#39;s fans &nbsp;greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of &quot;Ole!&quot; in the opening minutes Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones&#39; opening goal. Sithole&#39;s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico&rsquo;s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal. Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post. It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado. There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.

Football

Mexico launches World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa at a packed Estadio Azteca, while the visitors finish with nine men after two red cards.

Mexico beat South Africa to kick off World Cup

NEW YORK: Taylor Swift on Thursday became the youngest woman ever inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame, another milestone in the 36-year-old US pop star&#39;s record-breaking career. The female record was previously held by Carole Bayer Sager, who was 43 when she joined in 1987. Stevie Wonder remains the youngest person ever admitted, at age 32 in 1983. Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 20 years after the release of their first commercial track. For Swift, that was &quot;Tim McGraw,&quot; released in June 2006. Her success since is undeniable: the American artist has recorded 12 albums spanning country, pop, and folk, earning her 14 Grammy Awards in the United States, including four Album of the Year trophies -- a record. &quot;Swift&#39;s ability to shapeshift as a songwriter, to inhabit different sonic landscapes and write as credibly in the world of one genre as she does another is part of her superpower as a songwriter,&quot; reads her bio on the Hall of Fame website. &quot;It also represents the boldness and bravery of her artistry: to explore new frontiers when the most practical next step would be to keep mining the material that has gotten you the success in the first place.&quot; Swift appeared on the red carpet in New York on Thursday wearing a strapless black dress with floral motifs ahead of the naming ceremony. &#39;Great honor&#39;Also inducted on Thursday were Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, the band behind hits such as &quot;Rock and Roll All Nite&quot; and &quot;Detroit Rock City.&quot; &quot;It doesn&#39;t suck,&quot; Stanley told AFP when asked how it felt to join the prestigious songwriting ranks. &quot;It&#39;s really hard to digest the idea. I certainly don&#39;t consider myself in that rarified air of some of the writers, but if you wanna be in that club, I&#39;m there.&quot; Kenny Loggins, the hitmaker behind movie soundtrack classics like &quot;Footloose&quot; and &quot;Danger Zone&quot; from &quot;Top Gun,&quot; was inducted into the Hall of Fame as well. &quot;It&#39;s a great honor and I appreciate it,&quot; Loggins told AFP. &quot;It&#39;s the culmination of a lifetime writing, and that&#39;s exciting for me.&quot; Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, inescapable in the 1990s, and American record producer Walter Afanasieff were also among the total of nine songwriters joining the Hall of Fame this year. Estimates put Taylor Swift&#39;s worldwide sales at over 250 million album-equivalents. Her most recent tour in 2023 and 2024, titled &quot;The Eras Tour,&quot; brought in a record sum of around two billion dollars. She is also the female artist with the most songs ever to reach the top 10 list compiled by Billboard, the leading US music magazine. Swift is omnipresent in the media. After unveiling a country track for the soundtrack of the film &quot;Toy Story 5,&quot; she was at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday for a game of the NBA Finals.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift becomes the youngest woman ever to be inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame, another milestone in the 36-year-old US pop star's record-breaking career.

Taylor Swift becomes youngest woman in Songwriters Hall of Fame

This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations, and economic fallout.<hr>Catch up: Yesterday&rsquo;s top developments<ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Iran has not made a final decision on the deal: FM spokesperson</li><li style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">&lsquo;We&#39;ll probably have a signing in Europe,&rsquo; says Trump on Iran war</li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Islamabad backs diplomacy, dialogue</li><li style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Three Indian sailors killed aboard ship hit by US off Oman</li><li style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Kremlin calls on US, Iran to &#39;return to negotiating table&#39;</li></ul><hr> Egypt urges US, Iran to seize &#39;available opportunity&#39; for deal after Trump cancels strikesPublished: June 12, 2026 | 03:49 GMT | by AFP Egypt urged the United States and Iran to seize what it called an &quot;available opportunity&quot; for a deal to end the war, after President Donald Trump withdrew his threat to carry out further strikes on Tehran. Cairo&#39;s foreign ministry said in a statement late Thursday it hoped &quot;the available opportunity will be seized to reach a deal on the various outstanding issues and to prepare the atmosphere for reaching an end to the war and beginning a new phase of regional stability&quot;. <hr> Trump says &lsquo;we ended the war with Iran today&rsquo;Published: June 12, 2026 | 02:45 GMT | by Web Desk US President Donald Trump, during a tele-rally in support of Senate candidate Barry Moore, claimed that the war is now over, according to local media outlets. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if you heard, but we ended the war with Iran today, and they have agreed never to have a nuclear weapon, something that we, we insisted on,&rdquo; Trump said in the audio clip. <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; overflow: visible; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Japan, S. Korea markets jump after Trump cancels Iran strikesPublished: June 12, 2026 | 01:59 GMT | by AFP Japan&#39;s Nikkei share index soared more than three percent Friday after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of further strikes against Iran and said a deal to end the war could be signed in coming days. At around 0015 GMT the Nikkei 225 was up 3.5 percent, while South Korea&#39;s benchmark Kospi index jumped 7.59 percent. <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; overflow: visible; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Iran&rsquo;s FM spokesman condemns US attacks on Indian vesselsPublished: June 11, 2026 | 23:40 GMT | by Web Desk Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry Spokesman&nbsp;Esmaeil Baqaei&nbsp;condemned the US attacks on Indian commercial vessels, which killed at least three Indian nationals. In a post on X, he said that these attacks &quot;stand as clear evidence of America&rsquo;s ongoing policy of armed robbery and State piracy.&quot; <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; overflow: visible; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Iran has not made a final decision on the deal: FM spokespersonPublished: June 11, 2026 | 21:55 GMT | by Web Desk Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran has not made a final decision about a deal, according to Iran&rsquo;s official news agency&nbsp;IRNA. &quot;Once the relevant authorities reach a conclusion on the details of the draft text of an agreement, Iran&rsquo;s government will make a formal announcement,&quot; he said. <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; overflow: visible; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page;"> &lsquo;We&#39;ll probably have a signing in Europe,&rsquo; says Trump on Iran warPublished: June 11, 2026 | 20:05 GMT | by Web Desk US President Donald Trump on Thursday said a deal to end the Middle East war was nearing completion, describing it as a &ldquo;great settlement&rdquo; and indicating that a formal signing could take place in Europe within days once the remaining documents are finalized. &ldquo;We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,&rdquo; Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.&nbsp; &ldquo;Subject to finalization of documents, which should get done over the next few days, we&#39;ll probably have a signing, maybe in Europe.&rdquo;&nbsp; He added that the agreement would ensure &ldquo;Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,&rdquo; calling it the central objective of months of negotiations and conflict. Trump also said he believed Iran&#39;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the proposed arrangement.&nbsp; Asked whether Khamenei had personally given the green light, Trump replied: &ldquo;I understand the answer is yes.&rdquo; He described the agreement as &ldquo;a very strong memorandum of understanding.&rdquo; The US president said he had spoken with leaders from across the region, including Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, as diplomatic efforts intensified ahead of a possible signing ceremony.&nbsp; Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen once the agreement is finalized and argued that the deal had already boosted market confidence, pointing to rising stock markets and falling oil prices. Trump also singled out Pakistan for its role in the diplomatic process, praising both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pakistan was fantastic,&rdquo; he said. Referring to Munir, Trump added: &ldquo;He&#39;s a great, great general. He&#39;s so great that he&#39;s actually a field marshal.&rdquo;&nbsp; Pakistan has played a central mediation role in recent months, hosting talks and maintaining engagement with Washington, Tehran and regional partners in support of a negotiated settlement. <hr style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; overflow: visible; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Read our June 11 live blog for earlier developments&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/middle-east-june-11-2026" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>

Middle East

Americas

Says a 'great settlement' with Iran has been reached and approved by Iran's Supreme Leader; Trump praises Pakistan for a 'fantastic role' in mediation, calling Field Marshal Asim Munir a 'great general'; Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson denies that any final decision on a deal with the US has been made.

Trump says Iran deal nearing signing, praises Pakistan's role

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday rejected any attempt to draw a &ldquo;false equivalence&rdquo; between the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and matters relating to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), while also raising concerns over India&rsquo;s expanding strategic capabilities. Speaking at the weekly media briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan was addressing issues in Azad Jammu and Kashmir within a &ldquo;democratic and constitutional framework&rdquo; and rejected recent remarks by the Indian leadership and its foreign affairs office. &ldquo;Any attempt to conflate the two is misleading and does not withstand objective scrutiny,&rdquo; Andrabi said. Responding to questions regarding Indian statements on AJK, the spokesperson said Pakistan rejected India&#39;s remarks &ldquo;in their entirety.&rdquo; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s untenable for a state like India, which has consistently denied the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to self-determination, to claim concerns over the rights of Kashmiris,&rdquo; he said. The remarks come amid continued tensions between Pakistan and India over the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, a longstanding issue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.&nbsp; Pakistan maintains that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir should be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The spokesperson said India&rsquo;s statements appeared aimed at diverting attention from the &ldquo;unresolved status of Jammu and Kashmir&rdquo; and what he described as its &ldquo;abysmal record&rdquo; in IIOJK. &ldquo;We also reject any insinuation of a false equivalence between the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and matters relating to Azad Jammu and Kashmir,&rdquo; Andrabi said. &ldquo;Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an illegally annexed, internationally recognized disputed territory whose people have suffered systemic abuses under draconian laws and have been denied their rights, including the right to self-determination, as affirmed by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and as promised by the Indian founding fathers to the Kashmiri people,&rdquo; he added. Concerns over India&#39;s strategic capabilitiesThe Foreign Office also commented on a recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report suggesting India may have altered aspects of its traditional nuclear posture by reportedly deploying nuclear warheads during peacetime alongside developments in missile systems. Andrabi said Pakistan did not wish to endorse SIPRI&rsquo;s methodology but noted that the findings were &ldquo;not surprising.&rdquo; &ldquo;We do not wish to endorse or lend credence to SIPRI&rsquo;s methodology. Its findings, nevertheless, are &lsquo;not surprising,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said, adding that Pakistan had consistently raised concerns regarding India&rsquo;s continued &ldquo;vertical proliferation.&rdquo; The spokesperson said open-source assessments might not fully reflect the actual scale of India&rsquo;s nuclear arsenal. &ldquo;We also believe that open-source estimates, such as SIPRI&rsquo;s, may not fully reflect the actual scale of India&rsquo;s nuclear arsenal, which may actually be higher than the existing estimates,&rdquo; he said. According to Andrabi, Pakistan remained &ldquo;cognizant of developments in India&rsquo;s strategic capabilities,&rdquo; including the canisterization of missile systems, the expansion of sea-based nuclear-capable submarines and the pursuit of longer-range missile systems extending beyond India&rsquo;s immediate region. &ldquo;These developments enhance operational readiness, complicate crisis stability, and carry implications that extend beyond South Asia, with grave consequences for international peace and security,&rdquo; he said. Reiterating Pakistan&rsquo;s position, Andrabi said the country did not seek an arms race. &ldquo;Pakistan does not seek an arms race and matching warheads or arms and ammunition by number. However, we remain mindful of the evolving security environment. We will continue to take measures essential for preserving strategic stability and deterring India&rsquo;s aggression,&rdquo; he said. The spokesperson urged the international community to closely monitor developments related to India&rsquo;s strategic capabilities and their potential impact on regional and global security. He also called on countries supplying advanced technologies to India to consider the wider implications of emerging capabilities being incorporated into India&rsquo;s strategic posture. &ldquo;These developments threaten consequences far beyond South Asia into the wider world,&rdquo; Andrabi said.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan also voices concern over India's evolving strategic capabilities, saying recent assessments reinforce longstanding fears about regional stability and urging the international community to closely monitor developments with wider security implications.

‘False equivalence’: Pakistan rejects Indian remarks on Kashmir

PARIS: A leather bag made from Tyrannosaurus rex cells failed to sell on Thursday, the Paris auction house Drouot said, commenting that bids were well below expected. Auctioneers Giquello had touted the &quot;one-of-a-kind&quot; piece to sell for more than $500,000 but bids barely broke the $150,000 mark, said the Drouot house where the sale took place. Unveiled in the spring in Amsterdam, the bag was created from traces of collagen from the femur of a T‑Rex found in the US state of Montana 25 years ago. &quot;In recent years, we&#39;ve developed techniques -- biotechnologies that allow us to instruct a cell culture to produce, so to speak, genuine T‑Rex skin in the laboratory,&quot; Iacopo Briano, a palaeontology expert associated with the sale, recently told AFP. He noted the material differs from vegan leather, which is mostly made from plastic. &quot;In this case, it&#39;s derived from a cell culture, so it&#39;s 100 percent skin. And at the same time, it comes from an animal that went extinct 67 million years ago!&quot; he said. With no precedent to go on, Alexandre Giquello, whose auction house is organising the sale, explained they had to &quot;come up with a price&quot; that would reflect both the amount of investment required to create the bag and its rarity. Giquello estimated the value at between 300,000 and 500,000 euros ($346,000 to $576,000).

Wildlife

A handbag created from lab-grown material derived from Tyrannosaurus rex collagen fails to sell at auction, attracting bids far below expectations despite its rarity and estimated value of up to $576,000.

First leather bag made from T-Rex cells fails to sell at Paris auction

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday held funeral prayers for military personnel martyred in an army helicopter crash near Muzaffarabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior civilian and military leaders attending the ceremony, according to the military&#39;s media wing. The funeral prayer was offered at Chaklala Garrison in Rawalpindi for the martyrs of the Mi-17 helicopter crash, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. PM Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, senior civil and military officials, relatives of the martyrs, and members of the public attended the service. The crash occurred Wednesday near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, during takeoff.&nbsp; The military said the helicopter went down because of a technical fault, and all personnel on board were martyred. A board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the exact cause of the accident. Earlier in the day, a separate funeral service for two Christian soldiers martyred in the crash was held at Christ Church in Rawalpindi and attended by political and military leaders. The ceremonies highlighted the participation of Pakistan&#39;s diverse communities in national service and remembrance. Addressing the gathering, PM Sharif said the martyrs&#39; &quot;devotion to duty, professionalism, and commitment to safeguarding the motherland will remain a source of inspiration for future generations.&quot; He said the sacrifices made by Pakistan&#39;s armed forces for &quot;peace, security, and national sovereignty can never be forgotten,&quot; and reaffirmed the nation&#39;s support for the families of the martyrs. The ISPR said the martyrs would be laid to rest in their respective hometowns with full military honors. Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Sharif expressed grief over the crash and offered condolences to the families of the martyrs. &quot;The entire nation pays tribute to the great sacrifice of the martyrs and shares the grief of the families,&quot; Zardari said in a statement. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed condolences, extending sympathies to the families of the personnel martyred in the accident. The military leadership, including Field Marshal Munir and all ranks of the Pakistan Army, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and conveyed condolences to the bereaved families.

Security

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior military commanders and government officials attended funeral prayers in Rawalpindi for army aviation personnel lost in the Mi-17 accident, while separate services were held for two Christian soldiers before burial with full military honors.

Pakistan honors helicopter crash martyrs at Rawalpindi funeral service

NEW YORK: Elon Musk&#39;s SpaceX on Thursday confirmed it will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange Friday in the biggest initial public offering in history, a blockbuster market debut that could propel the entrepreneur to trillionaire status. In a filing with the US markets regulator, the company priced more than 555 million shares at $135 each, placing SpaceX among Wall Street&#39;s most elite companies with a valuation of just under $1.8 trillion. The offering will raise a record $75 billion, easily outranking Saudi Aramco&#39;s $29.4 billion debut in 2019, until now the biggest ever. Underwriters hold an option to buy nearly 83 million additional shares, which would push the total above $86 billion if exercised in full. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America led a syndicate of more than 20 banks on the deal. The space and rocket company, co-founded by Musk in 2002, will trade under the ticker symbol &quot;SPCX,&quot; with a parallel listing on Nasdaq Texas. All eyes will be on how Wall Street absorbs the offering, which could send tremors across global markets. As is traditional for high-profile debuts, executives are expected to ring the opening bell on Friday to mark the start of the session -- in this case at New York&#39;s Times Square, home of the Nasdaq. SpaceX will be the first out of the gates among the tech and AI giants eyeing public markets, with OpenAI and Anthropic expected to follow -- both having recently filed with regulators for their own market debuts. The IPO is Musk&#39;s biggest financial gamble yet, with his xAI company and the X social media platform (formerly Twitter) also included in the offering after the multi-billionaire folded them into the company earlier this year. The offering was more than four times oversubscribed by major banks and financial institutions, according to Bloomberg, with interest from everyday investors reported to also be high. More than 20 percent of the shares will be reserved for these retail investors, a far greater proportion than is typically allocated in IPOs, giving Musk&#39;s legions of fans a chance to buy a slice of the company. Data centers in spaceThe success of the IPO rests squarely on investors&#39; faith in Musk as a visionary entrepreneur. The tech multi-billionaire will serve as chief executive, chief technology officer and board chairman of the newly traded company. The IPO is expected to mint thousands of new millionaires and many billionaires, with former and current employees -- and a long list of investors -- from the company&#39;s near quarter-century history looking to cash in. The financials of the company are giving some on Wall Street pause, as the valuation largely depends on Musk delivering on promises worthy of science fiction, including putting data centers in space as well as people on Mars using as yet unproven technology. While the company is growing fast -- revenue hit $18.7 billion in 2025 -- it is also losing money, producing a net loss of $4.9 billion. In an extraordinary prediction, SpaceX&#39;s filing claims it can pull in over $28.5 trillion in revenue from its various markets. Musk&#39;s fortune on Thursday stood at $782 billion according to the Forbes list of the world&#39;s richest people, nearing three times the wealth of number two, Google co-founder Larry Page. A successful IPO could make him the first trillionaire in history on Friday.

Artificial Intelligence

SpaceX confirms a record $75 billion IPO, valuing the company at nearly $1.8 trillion, as investors back Elon Musk’s space, AI and long-term technology ambitions worldwide for growth.

SpaceX to make historic IPO that could make Musk a trillionaire

JERUSALEM: Radio France Internationale (RFI) condemned Thursday Israel&#39;s entry ban on French reporter Alice Froussard, who freelances for the station and other outlets, as &quot;an obstacle to press freedom&quot;. &quot;Israeli authorities have not provided any justification to RFI for this decision,&quot; the broadcaster said in a statement. &quot;RFI&#39;s management offers its full support to Alice Froussard and protests against this expulsion, which constitutes an obstacle to press freedom and comes at a time when journalists are facing increasing difficulties in covering current events in the region,&quot; it added.

Calls it an as "an obstacle to press freedom"