Author: James Carter

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after shares in his rocket company SpaceX surged by more than 20 per cent on their New York stock market debut, lifting the company’s valuation from $1.8 trillion to more than $2 trillion in what was the world’s biggest initial public offering. Musk, who joined a ceremonial bell-ringing at Nasdaq remotely from SpaceX’s Starbase headquarters in Texas, used the occasion to declare his ambition was “to make life multi-planetary.” He told viewers: “Whoever you are watching this, SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars and…

Pakistan declared on Friday that a final, agreed text of a peace deal between the United States and Iran “has been reached” and that “peace has never been this close as it is now” — only for a leaked Iranian account of the document’s contents to spark a furious dispute that exposed how far apart the two sides remain on key terms. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has played a central mediating role throughout the negotiations, wrote on X that “a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached” and that Pakistan was “now working closely…

Ed Miliband is set to restrict the sale and use of electric towel rails, underfloor heating, gas fires and storage heaters as part of his latest Net Zero push, with critics branding the plans “Soviet-level intrusion” into how Britons heat their homes. Under new energy efficiency requirements being introduced by the Energy Secretary, more than a third of so-called “space heating systems” will become illegal to sell. Temperature controls will become mandatory across these systems, while some electric towel rails will only be permitted to operate for six hours a day. According to Yahoo News, the changes are designed to…

Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that an intensifying campaign of Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure is causing economic damage, while insisting Moscow is “recovering quickly” and vowing the attacks will not weaken Russia’s resolve to continue the war. Putin’s comments on Friday came after weeks of escalating Ukrainian strikes on refineries, fuel depots and pipelines deep inside Russia, including an attack claimed by Kyiv on a major oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk the previous night. “As for the economy: they are certainly causing us damage, but we are recovering quickly,” Putin said, in remarks carried by Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency. He…

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a furious backlash from his own MPs after warning that a leadership challenge against him would plunge Britain into “chaos,” with backbenchers branding the comments “insane” and “mental” just days before a by-election widely seen as a referendum on his future. Speaking to the BBC, Starmer vowed to fight any challenge mounted by Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor standing as Labour’s candidate in Thursday’s Makerfield by-election. “I’m not going to go away,” Starmer said. “I don’t think we should plunge the country into the chaos of a leadership election. I don’t think it should…

The SNP has been accused of “working hand in glove” with radical trans activists after five of its MPs backed a parliamentary motion seeking to block new guidance on protecting single-sex spaces, in a move that has reignited Scotland’s long-running row over gender and women’s rights. More than 130 MPs have signed Early Day Motion 240, tabled by Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome, calling for Parliament to “disapprove” the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated Code of Practice on single-sex services. Among the signatories are five SNP MPs — Kirsty Blackman, Chris Law, Pete Wishart, Graham Leadbitter and Seamus Logan. The…

Donald Trump has lashed out at Iran’s leadership as “very dishonorable people” after Tehran leaked details of an impending peace deal that the President insists bear “no relation to the truth,” even as both sides signal a signing could take place in Geneva as early as Sunday. In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote: “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very…

Papa Johns has closed 44 restaurants across 17 US states in the first quarter of this year, the latest step in a broader plan to shut around 300 North American locations by the end of 2027 as the pizza chain battles falling sales and intensifying competition. The closures, identified through an analysis of corporate filings, were concentrated in major markets including Texas, California, Florida and Arizona, with further closures in states such as Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia. Most of the affected restaurants are franchise-owned stores that have been operating for more than a decade and generate less than $600,000…

Trading in shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX began on the Nasdaq on Friday in the largest initial public offering in history, instantly valuing the rocket and satellite company at $1.77 trillion and putting Musk on the brink of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. SpaceX priced 555.6 million shares at $135 each late on Thursday, raising approximately $75 billion and surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion debut in 2019 by more than $45 billion to claim the record for the largest IPO ever completed, according to RedState. The valuation makes SpaceX the seventh most valuable public company in the United States, ahead…

The third generation of Audi’s flagship seven-seater, the Q7, has arrived with a striking decision at its core: rather than offering the multi-powertrain lineup buyers might expect, Audi has opted for a single 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine — one that can also run on vegetable oil. The move sets the new Q7 apart from luxury rivals such as the Mercedes GL and BMW X7, both of which offer a wider range of engines and are pushing towards plug-in hybrid options. It also stands in stark contrast to cheaper Chinese “luxe” alternatives, which typically arrive as plug-in hybrids offering EV-only ranges…