WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday announced the approval of a $1.5 billion sale of MH-60R helicopters and related equipment to New Zealand. &quot;The proposed sale will improve New Zealand&#39;s capability to meet current and future warfare threats by providing greater security for its critical infrastructure,&quot; the US State Department said in a statement. &quot;New Zealand will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense,&quot; it added. The State Department said in a separate statement that it had approved a $69 million sale of MK 54 torpedoes to New Zealand. The State Department has notified Congress about the proposed sales, which still need to be approved by lawmakers.

The hearing was held to examine the State Department's budget request for fiscal year 2027. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kevin Dietsch / NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Americas

Australasia

The United States Department of State confirms the approval of a $1.5 billion sale of MH-60R helicopters and related equipment to New Zealand.

US approves $1.5 bn sale of helicopters to New Zealand

WASHINGTON: SpaceX on Friday signed a blockbuster cloud computing agreement under which Google will pay the Elon Musk-founded rocket company $920 million per month for access to a massive cluster of AI chips, according to a disclosure in its initial public offering filing. The deal, which will bolster SpaceX&#39;s finances ahead of its IPO on June 12, covers a computing infrastructure of approximately 110,000 Nvidia GPUs -- the crucial hardware needed to power Google&#39;s Gemini AI models. The filing says Google will begin paying the full monthly rate in October 2026, with a reduced fee applying during a ramp-up period until then. The agreement runs through June 2029, implying total payments of roughly $30 billion over the life of the contract. The deal resembles one struck with AI giant Anthropic, in which SpaceX leased compute capacity at its Colossus data centers in Memphis, Tennessee for $1.25 billion a month. The facilities were originally built to power Musk&#39;s rival AI venture, xAI. SpaceX&#39;s IPO filing revealed that xAI last year posted an operating loss of $6.4 billion on total revenue of $3.2 billion. &quot;This is a short-term, timely agreement to ensure we have bridge capacity to meet surging customer demand for our agent platform, Gemini Enterprise, which has been even higher than we expected,&quot; a Google Cloud spokesperson said in an email to AFP. The filing adds that after December 31, &quot;the agreement may be terminated by either party upon 90 days&#39; notice.&quot; The deals with Google and Anthropic come just days ahead of SpaceX&#39;s IPO, which will be the biggest in history, valuing the company at $1.8 trillion. That valuation is largely based on faith that Musk can deliver on his ambitions to vastly expand his Starlink satellite business, put data centers into space using SpaceX rockets, as well as begin colonizing Mars.

Artificial Intelligence


SpaceX signs a blockbuster cloud computing agreement under which Google will pay the Elon Musk-founded rocket company $920 million per month for access to a massive cluster of AI chips, according to a disclosure in its initial public offering filing.

SpaceX signs pre-IPO deal to provide AI computing to Google

WASHINGTON: The US CDC on Friday urged strong public health interventions against the current Ebola outbreak, citing their models that show it could otherwise rival the scale of the 2014 West Africa outbreak. That eruption of the virus resulted in more than 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths. &quot;That scale is possible,&quot; said Jason Asher, director of CDC&#39;s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, during a press briefing. The US projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were part of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report documents published Friday. The worst outcomes could be avoided if &quot;a larger proportion of patients were identified, isolated, and treated,&quot; the agency said in its reports. But &quot;the public health response to control this outbreak will likely need to be of similar magnitude to the response for the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak.&quot; Asher emphasized the models were &quot;not a forecast&quot; but &quot;a planning tool.&quot; &quot;They&#39;re designed to support action, not to generate alarm.&quot; They are based on four possible intervention scenarios ranging from poor (20 percent) to extremely high (95 percent) levels of isolation and treatment. If isolation levels are what the CDC would consider poor, with no other interventions there is a 65 percent chance cases will top 20,000 within three months, according to the agency. Satish Pillai, the CDC manager for the Ebola response, said &quot;the total individuals that are infected and requiring isolation remains unclear.&quot; But he said the situation on the ground would indicate levels of isolation are currently on the lower end. Also on Friday the World Health Organization and the African Union&#39;s public health agency said $518 million was needed across the next six months to combat the deadly Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo and its neighbors. The outbreak was declared on May 15 in northeastern DR Congo, but the rare Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus is believed to have spread for some time beforehand. According to the WHO&#39;s latest figures, there are 381 confirmed cases in the DRC, including 64 deaths. The outbreak has hit three provinces, with the epicenter in Ituri, which the Africa CDC says accounts for 90 percent of confirmed cases and 76 percent of confirmed deaths. Across the northeastern border in Uganda, there have been 16 confirmed cases, including one death. Seven Ebola patients in the DRC and two in Uganda have recovered.

Africa

The US CDC warns the current Ebola outbreak could approach the scale of the 2014 West Africa crisis without stronger interventions, urging expanded case identification, isolation and treatment efforts in the DR Congo and neighboring countries.

US warns Ebola outbreak on scale of largest 'is possible'

Web Desk

Middle East

Iran Guads say it targeted 'enemy bases' in the Gulf with 'aerial missiles' after US attacked Tehran's 'coastal surveillance radar sites' in Goruk and on Qeshm; Trump says Iran only has '21, 22 percent' of its missiles left

Iran strikes Kuwait, Bahrain after US-Iran clash

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday categorically rejected India&rsquo;s remarks regarding the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), describing New Delhi&rsquo;s claims as &ldquo;baseless&rdquo; and reiterating its position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In a statement, the Foreign Office dismissed India&#39;s objections to the elections and rejected its claim over the region, saying New Delhi&rsquo;s assertions were part of a broader disinformation campaign. &ldquo;India&rsquo;s outlandish claims are part of a familiar and carefully choreographed attempt to conflate fact with fiction,&rdquo; the Foreign Office said. The response came after India objected to the general elections scheduled to be held in Gilgit-Baltistan later this week and claimed that the entire region belonged to India. The exchange reflects continuing tensions between the two South Asian neighbours over the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, which has remained a core issue between Pakistan and India since 1947.&nbsp; Relations have remained strained in recent years following India&#39;s August 2019 decision to revoke the special constitutional status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), a move Pakistan has consistently opposed. Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s position, the Foreign Office said India continued its &ldquo;illegal occupation&rdquo; of the internationally recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Islamabad&rsquo;s support for the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people. &ldquo;The only just and durable settlement of the dispute lies in the faithful implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,&rdquo; the statement said, adding that the resolutions guarantee the Kashmiri people their &ldquo;inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices.&rdquo; The statement also criticized India&rsquo;s &ldquo;systematic human rights violations&rdquo; in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). &ldquo;The continued impunity enjoyed by Indian forces under draconian laws imposed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu &amp; Kashmir (IIOJK) is another dimension of the state terrorism being perpetrated by India against unarmed Kashmiris,&rdquo; it said. Referring to developments since August 5, 2019, Pakistan called on India to reverse &ldquo;illegal and unilateral actions&rdquo; in IIOJK. &ldquo;Pakistan calls upon India to vacate all occupied territories, reverse all illegal and unilateral actions taken in IIOJK, particularly since 5 August 2019, repeal all draconian laws,&rdquo; the statement said. The Foreign Office further urged India to allow the Kashmiri people to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. General elections in Gilgit-Baltistan are scheduled to take place later this week, with political parties campaigning across the region ahead of the vote.

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan rejects India’s objections to the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, calling New Delhi’s claims baseless, reaffirming its stance on the Kashmir dispute, and urging the implementation of UN-backed self-determination resolutions.

Pakistan rejects India’s remarks on Gilgit-Baltistan elections as ‘baseless’

ISTANBUL: Iran&#39;s football squad have been granted visas to play in the World Cup, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirmed in a message on X on Friday. &quot;Proud of our outstanding team at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran&#39;s national football team on their road to the @FIFAWorldCup in the United States,&quot; he said, commenting on a news report that Iran&#39;s World Cup players have been granted the visas to enter the United States. &quot;Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world,&quot; the ambassador said. The Iranian team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before travelling on to their base camp in Mexico, which has issued visas to the squad. The team will be based in Mexico during the tournament in North America, but all three of their group stage matches are due to be held in the United States. They were originally due to be based in the US but switched their camp to Mexico due to the tensions between them and the United States over the war in the Middle East. The two countries have been at war since the US and Israel began bombing Iran at the end of February, although currently a fragile ceasefire is being observed. Iran begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 16 in Los Angeles. They will play further group matches against Belgium, also in LA, and Egypt in Seattle.

Football

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirms that Iran's football squad has been granted visas to play in the World Cup.

US envoy confirms Iranian footballers granted visas for World Cup

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has underscored the importance of ensuring that critical development requirements are reflected in the upcoming federal budget as the government intensifies consultations ahead of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget, expected to set the country&#39;s economic and development agenda for the coming year.&nbsp;The emphasis came during a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar alongside Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, bringing together senior federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials as part of the government&#39;s ongoing pre-budget consultation process.&nbsp;According to a statement issued by the Deputy Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office, discussions focused on provincial development priorities, ongoing and proposed projects, and measures aimed at supporting economic growth and public welfare.&nbsp;The consultations form part of the government&#39;s broader effort to align federal spending priorities with development needs across the country while sustaining economic stability and growth.&nbsp;As Pakistan prepares to unveil its federal budget for 2026-27, policymakers are seeking to balance fiscal discipline with investments in infrastructure, public services and economic expansion.&nbsp;&nbsp;The upcoming budget is expected to outline measures designed to strengthen revenue collection, support development projects and create conditions for long-term economic resilience.&nbsp;The Deputy Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office said the meeting placed particular emphasis on &ldquo;ensuring that key development needs are appropriately reflected in the upcoming Federal Budget.&rdquo;&nbsp;The session was attended by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the Adviser to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Finance, the province&rsquo;s Chief Secretary, the Federal Finance Secretary and other senior federal and provincial officials.&nbsp;The consultations come as the government finalizes budget proposals and economic measures for the next financial year.&nbsp;Earlier on Friday, the finance minister said expanding the tax base remained a key priority in order to reduce the burden on existing taxpayers and improve revenue generation.&nbsp;Addressing a joint news conference in Islamabad alongside Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, Aurangzeb said Pakistan&rsquo;s economy had remained stable despite challenges posed by last year&rsquo;s floods and ongoing regional tensions.&nbsp;He said the country had managed these challenges through its own resources and stressed that broadening the tax net was essential for strengthening public finances.&nbsp;&ldquo;In order to generate revenue, the expansion of the tax net is inevitable,&rdquo; the finance minister said.&nbsp;As part of that effort, the government announced an optional fixed tax scheme for small traders and retailers aimed at simplifying tax compliance and encouraging greater participation in the formal economy.&nbsp;Providing details of the initiative, Bilal Azhar Kayani said the scheme carries a fixed tax rate of one percent, with any withholding tax already paid adjusted against the final liability.&nbsp;He said the minimum tax payment under the scheme would be Rs25,000, while businesses with higher turnover would pay tax at one percent of their sales volume.&nbsp;According to Kayani, the scheme has been introduced following consultations with traders and retailers and will apply to businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs200 million.&nbsp;He said participants in the scheme would be exempt from using point-of-sale (POS) machines and would not be subject to routine audits under the general tax framework.&nbsp;&ldquo;Retailers and small traders under the fixed tax scheme will be exempt from general audits,&rdquo; Kayani said, adding that a dedicated committee would address any audit-related concerns.&nbsp;He said both existing tax filers and non-filers would be eligible to join the scheme, provided qualifying businesses met the prescribed turnover criteria.&nbsp;Kayani also outlined enforcement measures for businesses that neither register under the fixed tax scheme nor comply with the general tax regime.&nbsp;&nbsp;He said such entities would face fines of Rs10,000 in the first month, Rs25,000 in the second month and Rs50,000 in the third month.&nbsp;The proposed measures signal the government&#39;s continued focus on expanding documentation of the economy, improving tax compliance and mobilizing domestic resources as it prepares to present its budget strategy for the next fiscal year.

Economy

Pakistan has underscored the importance of ensuring that critical development requirements are reflected in the upcoming federal budget as the government intensifies consultations ahead of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget, expected to set the country's economic and development agenda for the coming year

Pakistan intensifies budget consultations to align growth and development priorities

SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he saw &quot;no point&quot; in meeting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky until a peace deal was ready, rebuffing the Ukrainian leader&#39;s call for a face-to-face encounter. &quot;I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That&#39;s it. And we need agreements,&quot; Putin told Russia&#39;s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg, a day after Zelensky released an open later calling for a meeting. &quot;Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet,&quot; Putin added.

Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he see "no point" in meeting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky until a peace deal is ready

Putin says 'no point' in meeting Zelensky until peace accord reached

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s national flag carrier has announced the resumption of direct flights between Islamabad and Beijing from next month, restoring a key air link between Pakistan and China after a month-long suspension and improving connectivity between the two strategic partners.&nbsp;The route was suspended in April as rising jet fuel prices, driven by tensions in the Middle East, pushed operating costs sharply higher.&nbsp;The restoration of direct flights comes as Pakistan and China seek to deepen economic, educational and people-to-people exchanges, with growing demand from students, business travelers, tourists and families moving between the two countries.&nbsp;According to a report published by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Friday, the revival of the Islamabad-Beijing-Islamabad service is expected to provide passengers with more convenient travel options while strengthening transportation links between the two nations.&nbsp;The report said the renewed service would offer competitive fares, generous baggage allowances and a more comfortable travel experience, while significantly improving connectivity between the two capitals.&nbsp;&ldquo;The restored route is particularly welcomed by the large number of Pakistani and Chinese students pursuing higher education in each other&rsquo;s countries,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Educational institutions, student groups and travel industry stakeholders have described the development as &ldquo;timely,&rdquo; especially with the start of upcoming academic sessions and the peak summer travel season approaching.&nbsp;Industry observers believe the direct service will &ldquo;facilitate smoother mobility&rdquo; for students, academics and researchers while supporting broader educational exchanges between Pakistan and China.&nbsp;The route is also expected to benefit tourists and families by reducing travel times and providing greater flexibility compared with indirect flight options, according to the report.&nbsp;The resumption of the Islamabad-Beijing service marks another step in strengthening transportation and people-to-people connectivity between Pakistan and China, reflecting the growing volume of travel and exchanges between the two countries.&nbsp;According to APP, the restoration of the route underscores the airline&rsquo;s role in facilitating travel and supporting the longstanding friendship and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China.

Pakistan’s national flag carrier announce resumption of direct flights between Islamabad and Beijing from next month

Pakistan, China resume direct flights after month-long suspension

MONTE CARLO: Charles Leclerc made local knowledge pay on Friday when he topped the times for Ferrari in opening practice for his home Monaco Formula One Grand Prix ahead of team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. The two Ferraris were half a second faster than third-placed four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, ahead of the Mercedes duo of championship-leading Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. World champion Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren, without troubling the leading pace-setters, ahead of Audi&#39;s Nico Hulkenberg, Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren &ndash; on a weekend when the team is celebrating its 1000th Grand Prix -- and Gabriel Bortoleto in the second Audi. Pierre Gasly was 10th for Alpine in an interesting session interrupted by two red flags as the drivers familiarised themselves with the singular challenges of driving F1&#39;s new hybrid era cars on the classic barrier-lined Mediterranean street circuit. It was a near-perfect start to the weekend for Ferrari and Leclerc, who became only the second Monegasque to win his home event when he triumphed in 2024, justifying expectations &nbsp;this time that they were favourites to break a long winless run since Mexico two years ago. The session began in bright sunshine with home hero Leclerc out early only to lock up and run off on his first lap, recovering to pursue his team-mate&#39;s early fastest lap on the &#39;green&#39; track following overnight rain. Most teams had fitted unique Monaco-only rear wings or &#39;winglets&#39; to boost downforce on the tight, twisting and unforgiving street circuit, but it was Ferrari who set the pace, endorsed when Leclerc finally delivered a clear lap to overhaul Hamilton. Antonelli also beat Hamilton&#39;s time after 22 minutes before the Briton responded in 1:15.110, a tenth short of Leclerc&#39;s best until Antonelli, in 1:14.537, jumped clear by 0.391 to prove Mercedes still had the pace to beat. Russell slotted in third between the Ferraris. With 21 minutes remaining, Isack Hadjar slid off and smacked the barriers at the swimming pool exit, damaging his Red Bull and tearing a wheel off the car. It prompted a red flag stoppage for six minutes. After seeing both Mercedes set times on mediums, the Ferraris also switched from hards for the final 14 minutes and Hamilton went top with seven minutes to go in 1:14.204 only for Leclerc to beat him by two-tenths in 1:13.978. Improved conditions in warm sunshine saw Verstappen, on mediums, jump both Mercedes for third in the final minutes before another red flag, after Alonso hit a barrier as he came out of the tunnel, ended the action.

Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc reacts in the garage as he looks at the results after taking part in the first practice session at the Monaco street circuit in Monaco, ahead of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, on June 5, 2026. (Photo by Gabrie

Racing

The two Ferraris were half a second faster than third-placed four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, ahead of the Mercedes duo of championship-leading Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

US approves $1.5 bn sale of helicopters to New Zealand

Latest News

US approves $1.5 bn sale of helicopters to New Zealand

SpaceX signs pre-IPO deal to provide AI computing to Google

US warns Ebola outbreak on scale of largest 'is possible'

Iran strikes Kuwait, Bahrain after US-Iran clash

Pakistan rejects India’s remarks on Gilgit-Baltistan elections as ‘baseless’