Southern Israel hospital hit by Iran missile, no injuries reported
05:02
19/06/2025
Trump weighs options on Iran conflict as Israel strikes nuclear sites
19/06/2025
China supports Iran, condemns Israel
19/06/2025
France braces for a major heatwave
19/06/2025
Hurricane Erick strengthens to Category 4 off Mexico's coast
19/06/2025
Point of no return: Global carbon budget to be exhausted by 2028
19/06/2025
US approves promising preventive HIV treatment
19/06/2025
Day 7 of Iran-Israel war: Southern Tel Aviv hit overnight
19/06/2025
In Tel Aviv, residents flock to overnight bunkers to avoid missile strikes
Middle East
19/06/2025
Israeli government in 'full bore' campaign to persuade Trump to join Iran war
Middle East
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Trump 'Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: experts
Trump announced plans for the space-based system last month, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029. The planned defence shield's name is a nod to Israel's Iron Dome that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets since 2011. But the US defence system would intercept much bigger intercontinental threats. The plan comes after a 2022 Department of defence study pointed to advances by China and Russia. Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, it said. Trump has claimed the "Golden Dome" will be "capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world". But analysts are sceptical. "I'm not holding my breath," said Thomas Withington, an associate fellow at the RUSI defence think tank. "The challenges are so significant at this stage that they may simply be unrealistic to surround in the timeframes that the Trump administration envisages." 'Poster child for waste' Thomas Roberts, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the "Golden Dome" plan was based on being able to detect when a long-range missile was fired. A missile's so-called "boost phase" -- which produces a heat blast that lasts one to two minutes and can be observed from space -- is the best time to deploy defences, he said. "If you had an enormous constellation of interceptors in orbit at all times, they could be readily de-orbited -- or systematically removed from orbit -- to strike an intercontinental ballistic missile," he said. But Todd Harrison, from the American Enterprise Institute, said this would require a massive number of satellites. "It takes about 950 interceptors spread out in orbit around the Earth to ensure that at least one is always in range to intercept a missile during its boost phase," he said. But that means that if an adversary launches a salvo of ten missiles, some 9,500 interceptors would be needed to ensure at least ten are within range. "Given that China has about 350 intercontinental ballistic missiles and Russia has 306 -- not including their sub-launched ballistic missiles -- scaling a space-based interceptor system to meet the threat quickly becomes impractical." The non-partisan US Congressional Budget Office estimates that, just to stop "one or two intercontinental ballistic missiles", the United States would need a constellation of satellites costing between $161 billion to $542 billion. The US military could spend billions of dollars on research only for the next administration to nix the project, Harrison warned. "Golden Dome could become the poster child for waste and inefficiency in defence," he said. The plan also calls for developing satellites able to fire lasers at missiles to avoid too much debris on impact. But a European defence contractor said on condition of anonymity that such lasers are "still beyond what even the Americans are capable of doing". "It's just an excellent way to give the US (defence) industry substantial funding so they can increase their technological lead without necessarily aiming for actual operational deployment," the contractor said. 'Global arms race'? Trump's plan is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan ambition for a Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, which also sought to place interceptor satellites in space. China and Russia, which both have nuclear weapons, have slammed the latest plan as "deeply destabilising". Nuclear-armed North Korea has called the plan a "very dangerous" threat. Julia Cournoyer, research associate at Chatham House, said the plan was risky as adversaries would likely see it "as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence". "If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralise a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race," which would exacerbate rather than reduce risk. Withington said Trump might be hoping to use the plan as leverage for talks with China and Russia. "It may be that the Trump administration is hoping that this would bring both countries to some kind of negotiating table to talk about a reduction of nuclear warhead sizes or to revitalise the arms control agenda," he said.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Trump extends deadline for TikTok sale by 90 days
"I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for the third time. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's January inauguration. The Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video-sharing app. "I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension." TikTok on Thursday welcomed Trump's decision. "We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users," said a statement issued by the platform. Digital Cold War? Trump said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance "a lot of money" for the video-clip-sharing sensation's US operations. Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app's US business. The White House had announced Monday that Trump would throw the wildly popular video-sharing app, which has almost two billion global users, another lifeline. During this new grace period the administration will work "to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure," the administration said in a statement. The president is "just not motivated to do anything about TikTok," said independent analyst Rob Enderle. "Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape." Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election. Motivated by national security fears and a belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump's inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor. TikTok "has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control," said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain. The president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office. A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19. Now the deadline is September 17. Tariff turmoil Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over his tariffs on Beijing. ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law." Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company. Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on to reduce ByteDance's share in the new TikTok. Much of TikTok's US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company's chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally. Uncertainty remains, particularly over what would happen to TikTok's valuable algorithm. "TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand -- it's simply not as powerful," said Forrester Principal Analyst Kelsey Chickering. Despite the turmoil, TikTok has been continuing with business as usual. The platform on Monday introduced a new "Symphony" suite of generative artificial intelligence tools for advertisers to turn words or photos into video snippets for the platform.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
How did Israel's attacks impact Iran's nuclear programme?
On Thursday morning, Israel attacked Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, one of the country's largest nuclear facilities, located 250 kilometres southwest of the capital Tehran. The facility had been completely evacuated, with no damage to the civilian areas surrounding the reactor, according to Iranian sources. According to the US non-profit Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, the Arak nuclear reactor, also known as IR-40, is a heavy-water nuclear reactor that began operating in 2003. However, its design origins are unclear, with foreign experts believed to have contributed to its construction, including the Russian design firm Nikit. Reports indicate that Iran sought to present the reactor as "not to be used to produce nuclear material of military purity", but it was capable of producing about 9 kilograms of plutonium, raising US concerns that this could enable Tehran to manufacture a plutonium-based nuclear weapon. After signing the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, the international community conditioned the modification of the Arak reactor on the lifting of sanctions. In 2016, Iran announced that it had filled the reactor core with cement. However, in February of the same year, Tehran exceeded the maximum permissible heavy water stockpile limit for the first time, a limit that was also surpassed again in November 2016. In addition, Tehran transferred more than 80 metric tonnes of heavy water, formerly intended for the Arak reactor, to Oman. Although Iran still has control over this quantity, its cross-border transfer was not considered a breach of the agreement. In one of Israel's extensive military attacks on Iran, the strikes which began last Friday targeted critical nuclear sites, severely damaging its nuclear programme, according to multiple reports, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) data and recent satellite imagery. The strikes targeted three major uranium enrichment sites across the Middle Eastern country. At Natanz's central underground facility, the electrical infrastructure was reportedly completely destroyed, including backup power plants, leading to the possible damage or destruction of thousands of centrifuges, as confirmed by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. At the same site, a smaller near-surface facility, the PFEP pilot plant, was declared completely destroyed. It contained advanced centrifuges that enriched uranium up to 60%. No visible damage was reported to the Fordow bunker facility. However, Fordow produces the most significant amount of uranium enriched to 60%, which is a few simple steps away from reaching the level of making a nuclear bomb. Four further sites were targeted in Isfahan, including a uranium conversion centre and facilities to work on uranium metallurgy technology, which is essential for making the core of a nuclear weapon. The centrifuge production workshops in Karaj and Tehran, also struck in Israeli attacks, were previously monitored by the IAEA, but the number of remaining undeclared workshops is unknown. Furthermore, at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed since the attacks began, according to multiple sources in the region. The Israeli military said nine of them were a "key element" in Tehran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon. According to IAEA estimates as of Tuesday, Iran has enough uranium enriched up to 60% to make up to nine nuclear bombs. It also has further uranium enriched to a lesser degree that could be used to produce additional bombs. Tehran has announced that it will take "undeclared" measures to protect nuclear material and equipment and may reduce co-operation with the IAEA, while Iran's parliament is considering a bill to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), following North Korea's example. If the uranium conversion facility in Isfahan goes offline, Iran will have to find external sources of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), the key ingredient in the enrichment process.
