U.K. detains sanctioned oil tanker believed to be linked to Russia’s shadow fleet. LONDON — Armed British forces boarded and detained a sanctioned tanker Sunday that is suspected of being part of the Russian “shadow fleet,” shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday.

Royal Marine commandos rappelled from helicopters onto the vessel, the Smyrtos, in the English Channel, in what the country’s Defense Ministry called “the first U.K.-led operation of its kind.”

The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast of England for investigation, according to the Defense Ministry. The operation was carried out “in close coordination” with French authorities, who have previously intercepted a number of vessels linked to the “shadow fleet.”

“This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Starmer said.

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine.

Sailing under a Cameroon flag, the Smyrtos left the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on June 5 destined for Port Said, Egypt, according to the MarineTraffic website.

U.K. authorities said that such operations were “directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond.”

Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer and the British people for their “principled resolve.”

“It was Russia’s hubris, fueled by high oil and gas revenues, that paved the way for this war, and every decision by partners that deprives Russia of money also limits the war itself,” Zelenskyy said on X.

“Europe urgently needs to take legislative steps to enable not only the detention of tankers and restrictions on oil shipments, but also the confiscation of the oil they carry.”

Elise Morton And Brian Melley, The Associated Press

For several global central #banks, the question of whether the Iran war poses more of an immediate danger to inflation or growth is likely to remain open for now

The issue with the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline is in logistics and not in the price and it will be solved soon, chairman of the Russian part of the Russia-China Committee of Friendship, Peace and Development and special envoy of the Russian President Boris Titov told TASS in an interview.

"The press wrote a lot about the Power of Siberia 2 [deal], which has not been signed yet. I can tell you that although I am not dealing with this issue but what I know as the co-chairman of the Russia-China friendship committee, the issue lies in technical problems," Titov said.

"This is not the matter of price as many mass media outlets wrote, that we cannot negotiate the price. The issue is not with that. The issue relates more to logistics. Making a proper decision on the route of this gas pipeline," the special envoy said.

"This is a working point that will be solved soon," Titov added.

#Funeral for #Iran's supreme leader set for July, while a deal nears to end the war.

ISLAMABAD — Key mediator Pakistan on Saturday said a deal to end the Iran war was closer than ever and U.S. President Donald Trump asserted it would be “signed tomorrow,” while Iran made some of its most optimistic statements yet but indicated a bit more time was needed.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after the signing.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a deal was expected to be finalized within 24 hours. Each side was expected to sign electronically. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the signing ceremony was scheduled for Sunday but did not provide details.

Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei in statements carried by state media said the signing “will not happen tomorrow,” but “the likelihood of finalizing the memorandum of understanding in the coming days is high.”

A tenuous ceasefire has been in place since April 7. Trump has asserted multiple times in recent weeks the countries were on the cusp of a deal.

Iran has long expressed wariness in negotiations, pointing out that previous talks with the U.S. last year and early this year ended with attacks by the U.S. and Israel.
Trump to discuss demining the strait at G7 summit

Trump was expected to discuss demining the Strait of Hormuz during the Group of Seven summit that starts Monday.

A senior U.S. official, who briefed journalists on condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said Trump planned to meet on the G7 sidelines with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to discuss efforts to wind down the war.

G7 members Britain and France have expressed interest in assisting with demining once the conflict is paused.

It was not clear how many mines are in the strait that Iran has effectively controlled since shortly after the war began, virtually shutting down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports in response.

5 killed when Indian Air Force transport aircraft crashes in Assam.

NEW DELHI — Five #Indian Air Force personnel were killed when a transport aircraft crashed during a routine training flight in the northeastern state of Assam, officials said Saturday.

The AN-32 transport aircraft crashed near Jorhat area in Assam, the Indian Air Force said in a statement posted on X.

Images from the crash site showed wreckage of the aircraft strewn across a field.

The air force extended its condolences to the families of those killed and said it stood with them in their grief.

In March, two #Indian Air Force pilots were killed when a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet crashed during a routine training mission in Assam.

The Associated Press

‘This wasn’t on my Pinterest mood board’: NYC weddings overlap with potential Knicks clinch

How much of Musk’s wealth comes from government help? Virtually all of it. Elon Musk has many people to thank for becoming the world’s first trillionaire — his companies’ engineers who produced technological breakthroughs, Wall Street investors who were eager to shower him with their dollars despite questionable financials, but most of all, American taxpayers and government policymakers.

“There would not be (Tesla and SpaceX) if it weren’t for the government,” said Ross Gerber, CEO of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki and an early investor in Tesla.

The federal government awarded SpaceX more than US$500 million worth of grants in its early years. And that US$500 million is just a fraction of what Tesla received from government grants, loans, contracts and regulatory policies.

That’s not to say SpaceX’s success and Tesla’s roughly US$1.5 trillion valuation are entirely due to federal spending, but both companies teetered as startups before receiving taxpayer subsidies.
Early money propelled SpaceX

The question of how much Musk’s US$1 trillion net worth comes from the government is not as simple as it sounds. By some measures, only a small portion of his wealth is thanks to taxpayers. His companies have received “only” tens of billions from government contracts and programs.

But it’s not just the dollar amount that matters — it’s when it was received.

SpaceX’s first major windfall was a US$278 million grant from NASA in 2006 to develop the Falcon rocket system and Dragon space capsule. The Space Shuttle program was ending, and the US needed a new way to get astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

It was the first of more than US$500 million in grants SpaceX would receive, according to data from PitchBook, which tracks the valuation of private companies.

“That was about half of their capital that they raised to that point,” Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at the Planetary Society, a public interest group advocating space flight, said ahead of the SpaceX IPO. “This was a substantial commitment that #NASA provided.”

Newly minted trillionaire #Musk under fire over Belfast riots. Elon Musk, newly crowned the world’s first trillionaire, faced renewed criticism Friday over anti-immigrant riots in Belfast after researchers said violent narratives he amplified on his platform X amassed millions of views.

Clashes broke out in the Northern Irish capital after a brutal knife attack on Monday, with police charging a Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid with attempted murder.

Musk amplified calls for protest across Britain from anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson and wrote to his 240 million followers on X: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change.”

He also boosted anti-immigration posts and messages from Rupert Lowe, leader of the fringe hard-right party Restore Britain, extending his reach to millions of users on the platform.

Researchers from the non-profit tech watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported that the trio’s posts about Belfast collectively garnered more than 115 million views across their accounts, with Musk accounting for 55 per cent of the total.

“Musk’s amplification has been instrumental,” contributing 64 million views, CCDH said in a report.

“As the owner of X and its most followed user, Musk has unparalleled power to shape what people see online. With that power comes responsibility for the content and conduct his platform promotes,” said Imran Ahmed, CCDH’s founder and chief executive.

“Yet our research shows that he used the Belfast tragedy to amplify anti-migrant narratives to millions of users, prompting endless calls for violence.

“While communities dealt with the consequences of brutality and disorder, no individual played a bigger role in spreading this content on X than Musk himself,” Ahmed added.

X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Robinson -- whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon -- was formerly banned from X.

His account was reinstated along several others accused of peddling misinformation or hate speech following Musk’s 2022 acquisition of the platform, previously known as Twitter.

Researchers say that Musk has also expanded Lowe’s reach by amplifying his speeches in recent weeks and posting that only his party can “save Britain.”

CCDH said it also identified an “explosion in calls for violence” in the responses to the trio’s posts about the Belfast unrest, with more than 3,900 comments advocating lynchings and other crimes against immigrants.

The research comes after Britain’s media watchdog Ofcom warned of the increased risk of online platforms being used to “stir up hatred, provoke violence and commit other offences under UK law.”

The findings coincided with a milestone for Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire on Friday after shares of his other company, SpaceX, soared following its Wall Street trading debut.

The blockbuster initial public offering, the biggest in history, raised more than US$75 billion.

#FIFA lawyers demand Toronto pot shop to stop selling bong resembling World Cup trophy

#SpaceX has made history with the biggest-ever IPO, launching it into the top ranks of the largest public companies and putting founder Elon Musk on the verge of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Almost.