Ivanka Trump's son steals show as family arrive for Jeff Bezos' wedding in Venice
Watch as Ivanka Trump arrives in Venice for Jeff Bezos ' lavish wedding to Lauren Sanchez.
Ms Trump, along with her husband Jared Kushner and three children, were spotted boarding a water taxi in the Italian city on Tuesday (24 June).
Their son Joseph was filmed waving to reporters from the back of a boat as the family headed towards the star-studded multi-day wedding.
The upcoming nuptials have also been subject to protests from groups including Greenpeace and No Space for Bezos, who have unfurled banners across the city to object against Amazon CEO's lavish affair.
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Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Javid: Immigration failures have made Britain a tinderbox
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Drone debris found in Ukraine indicates Russia is using new technology from Iran
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Moscow has pummeled Ukraine almost nightly with Iranian-designed drones throughout the course of the war, now in its fourth year. They swarm above Ukrainian cities, their moped-like sound filling the air, as air defenses and sharpshooters take aim. While some carry warheads, many are decoys. Russia is improving its drone technology and tactics, striking Ukraine with increasing success. But the U.K's Defense Ministry said Israel's strikes on Iran will 'likely negatively impact the future provision of Iranian military equipment to Russia," since Tehran had supplied 'significant quantities' of attack drones to Moscow. Israeli attacks on Iran Israel's military would not comment on what it struck. Although it has carried out sweeping attacks across Iranian military facilities and the U.S. bombed nuclear sites, the impact on Iran's drone industry is not yet clear. The anti-jammer in the latest drone discovered in Ukraine contained new Iranian technology, suggested Beskrestnov. Other components in Russia's drones often come from Russia, China and the West. Although Russia's drones are based on an Iranian design, the majority are now made in Russia. And because much of the technology to make them, including the Iranian software and technical expertise, has already been transferred to Russia, the immediate impact on Moscow's drone program could be limited, experts said. However, if Israel struck facilities producing drones and components — such as engines and anti-jamming units — which are shipped to Russia, then Moscow could face supply shortages, experts suggested. A secretive Russian factory Moscow makes its Shahed — meaning 'witness' in Farsi — drones based on an Iranian model in a highly secure factory in central Russia. The Alabuga plant in the Tatarstan region took delivery of its first Iranian drones in 2022 after Russia and Iran signed a $1.7 billion deal. It later established its own production lines, churning out thousands of them. 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Jet-propelled drones and AI In at least one case, Iran shipped a jet-powered Shahed that Russia 'experimented' with in Ukraine, said Fabian Hinz, an expert on Russian and Iranian drones at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Ukraine's air force found two more examples of jet-powered Shaheds in May but it appears they have not been widely adopted. That's possibly because the Iranian design uses a very sophisticated jet engine that also powers Iran's cruise missiles, Hinz said. That likely makes it too expensive to use nightly in Ukraine, he said, even if the engine is swapped to a cheaper Chinese model. The electronics in the drone most recently found in Ukraine are also very expensive, Beskrestnov said, pointing to its AI computing platform, camera and radio link. It's unclear why it was deployed but Beskrestnov suggested it could be used to target 'critical infrastructure,' including electrical transmission towers. Previous versions of the Shahed drone could not hit a moving object or change their flight path once launched. They sometimes ended up 'traveling in circles all through Ukraine before they finally hit a target,' which made them easier to shoot down, said David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. The radio link means an operator can communicate with the drone from Russia, introduce a new target and potentially control many drones at the same time, the experts said. The remotely operable Shahed has similarities to drones Russia is already using on the front lines and is particularly resistant to jamming, Beskrestnov said. There are eight, rather than four, antennas on the drone which means it is harder for Ukraine to overwhelm it with electronic warfare, he said. The new drone has markings that suggest the anti-jamming unit was made in Iran within the past year and similarities to Iranian components found in older models of the Shahed, said Beskrestnov. Such advanced antennas, said Hinz, have not previously been seen on drones used in Ukraine but have been found on Iranian missiles destined for Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. In a statement, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense told AP in the past four months it had found drones with eight and 12 antennas made in China and Russia. Despite sanctions, both Russia and Iran have continued to find ways to procure Western technology. The drone's AI computing platform can help it autonomously navigate if communications are jammed. Similar technology was used by Ukraine to attack aircraft deep inside Russia during Operation Spiderweb, when it used drones to target Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. 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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Protesters say Bezos' star-studded Venice wedding highlights growing inequality
This weekend's star-studded Venice wedding of multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez has galvanized activist groups that are protesting it as a sign of the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots as well as disregard of the city's residents. About a dozen Venetian organizations — including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups — have united to protest the multi-day event under the banner 'No Space for Bezos,' a play on words also referring to the bride's recent space flight. They have staged small-scale protests, unfurling anti-Bezos banners on iconic Venetian sites. They were joined this week by Greenpeace and the British group 'Everyone Hates Elon,' which has smashed Teslas to protest Elon Musk, to unfurl a giant banner in St. Mark's Square protesting purported tax breaks for billionaires. 'IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,' read the banner, which featured a huge image of Bezos. Police quickly took it away. There has been no comment from Bezos' representatives on the protests. The local activists had planned a more organized protest for Saturday, aiming to obstruct access to canals with boats to prevent guests from reaching a wedding venue. Then they modified the protest to a march from the train station after claiming a victory, asserting that their pressure forced organizers to change the venue to the Arsenale, a more easily secured site beyond Venice's congested center. 'It will be a strong, decisive protest, but peaceful,'' said Federica Toninello, an activist with the Social Housing Assembly network. 'We want it to be like a party, with music, to make clear what we want our Venice to look like." Among the 200 guests confirmed to be attending the wedding are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio. Venice, renowned for its romantic canal vistas, hosts hundreds of weddings each year, not infrequently those of the rich and famous. Previous celebrity weddings, like that of George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, were embraced by the public. Hundreds turned out to wish the couple well at City Hall. Bezos has a different political and business profile, said Tommaso Cacciari, a prominent figure in the movement that successfully pushed for a ban on cruise ships over 25,000 tons traveling through the Giudecca Canal in central Venice. 'Bezos is not a Hollywood actor,'' Cacciari said. 'He is an ultra-billionaire who sat next to Donald Trump during the inauguration, who contributed to his re-election and is contributing in a direct and heavy way to this new global obscurantism.'' Critics also cite Amazon's labor practices, ongoing tax disputes with European governments and Bezos' political associations as additional reasons for concern. Activists also argue that the Bezos wedding exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance, particularly the prioritization of tourism over residents' needs. They cite measures such as the day-tripper tax — which critics argue reinforces Venice's image as a theme park — as ineffective. Chief among their concerns is the lack of investment in affordable housing and essential services. City officials have defended the wedding. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the event an honor for Venice, and the city denied the wedding would cause disruptions. "Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,'' Brugnaro told The Associated Press, adding he hoped to meet Bezos while he was in town. Meanwhile, a Venetian environmental research association, Corila, issued a statement saying Bezos' Earth Fund was supporting its work with an 'important donation.' Corila, which unites university scholars and Italy's main national research council in researching Venetian protection strategies, wouldn't say how much Bezos was donating but said contact began in April, well before the protests started.
