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Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.With Israel’s air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries.- Europe -European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.The Czech Republic and Slovakia repatriated 181 people, who were bussed to a neighbouring country and crossed the border on foot, the Czech defence ministry said.Germany scheduled flights for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens would also arrive back on Wednesday.Italian nationals were being offered a charter flight on Sunday from Israel to Egypt and then Italy, with non-refundable reservations set at 500 euros ($575) per adult.Greece said it had repatriated 105 citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Tuesday.Hungary evacuated 21 citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan, mainly diplomats and their families, officials said.Bulgaria repatriated 17, and Slovenia two diplomats and their families.- United States -The US ambassador to Israel announced plans on Wednesday for evacuating Americans by air and sea.The embassy was working on evacuation flights and cruise ship departures for “American citizens wanting to leave Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media.- China -China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel. Its foreign ministry said on Thursday those efforts would continue.- Australia -Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel, although missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft, its foreign minister said.”We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.- Mexico -Mexico said it had evacuated 18 people from Iran to Azerbaijan, both Mexican nationals and family members.- Pakistan -Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.Around 3,000 Pakistanis have crossed the border from Iran since the conflict started, foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said on Thursday.The families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran have also been evacuated.- India -Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday. There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran.New Delhi also said it planned to evacuate all Indian nationals in Israel who wish to leave. There are around 30,000.- Japan -Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.- Indonesia -Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta’s foreign minister said Thursday.At least 11 Indonesians in Israel have also asked to leave.- Vietnam -Vietnam, which has more than 700 citizens in Israel and dozens in Iran, said it was working to ensure their safety.The foreign ministry said on Thursday that 18 Vietnamese from Iran were evacuated, 16 of whom returned to Vietnam. It did not provide further information on evacuations from Israel.- Philippines -The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers said on Thursday.At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel, the foreign ministry said.

President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” defence system is a plan that will face mammoth technical and financial hurdles, and could increase global insecurity, experts say.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.

Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast as a powerful category three storm Thursday, prompting tourists and locals to seek shelter amid warnings of widespread flooding and landslides.In the southern state of Oaxaca, residents along the palm-fringed coast boarded up shops and sought refuge from winds of up to 205 kilometers (125 miles) an hour.”Better to make sure now rather than have any regrets later,” said 55-year-old fishman Adalberto Ruiz, as he tied up boats inland and stashed away loose items before the coming storm.The slow-rolling hurricane is expected to weaken significantly as it moves over land, but authorities are warning it could still cause significant damage.Heavy rainfall could cause “life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain”  the US National Hurricane Center said.A “life-threatening storm surge” was expected to cause coastal flooding near where the storm made landfall. “Erick is expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains of Mexico, and the system is likely to dissipate tonight or early Friday,” the center’s advisory added.Mexican authorities said they were also expecting heavy rain in the southernmost state of Chiapas.President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people to avoid going out and advised those living in low-lying areas or near rivers to move to shelters.”Contact is being maintained with the defense forces and the Navy, which are in the area” she said. “We will be able to report in a few hours what the effects on these populations are.”In Acapulco, a major port and resort city famous for its nightlife, police with bullhorns walked the beach and drove around town warning residents and holidaymakers of the storm’s arrival.Some shops boarded up their windows and operators of tourist boats brought their vessels ashore.Rainfall began in the late afternoon after a sunny day on Wednesday. About 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Acapulco, the city of Puerto Escondido and its 30,000 inhabitants braced for the hurricane’s fury. Restaurants were already closed even though some tourists insisted on staying to enjoy their vacation, an AFP journalist observed.Laura Velazquez, national coordinator of civil protection, said the government was using patrols and social media to warn people.Some 2,000 temporary shelters have been set up in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, and hundreds of troops and electricity workers have been deployed to help with any clean-up efforts.Local authorities have suspended classes and closed ports along the coast, including the port of Acapulco, to shipping.Mexico sees major storms every year, usually between May and November, on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts.In October 2023, Acapulco was pummeled by Hurricane Otis, a powerful Category 5 storm that killed at least 50 people.Hurricane John, another Category 3 storm that hit Acapulco in September last year, caused about 15 deaths.

Hurricane Erick made landfall in the western Mexican state of Oaxaca on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center said, having weakened to a “major” Category 3 storm that is likely to cause massive flooding and landslides.The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour as it hit just east of Punta Maldonado, the NHC said in a post on social media.By 1200 GMT, Erick was moving northwest at a speed of nearly nine miles (15 kilometers) per hour, and was expected to continue making its way inland over southern Mexico through the day.Heavy rainfall was expected to cause “life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain” in Oaxaca and Guerrero states, the NHC said.A “life-threatening storm surge” was expected to cause coastal flooding near where the storm made landfall. “Erick is expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains of Mexico, and the system is likely to dissipate tonight or early Friday,” the center’s advisory added.Mexican authorities said they were also expecting heavy rain in southernmost state Chiapas.President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people to avoid going out and advised those living in low-lying areas or near rivers to move to shelters.In Acapulco, a major port and resort city famous for its nightlife, police with bullhorns walked the beach and drove around town warning residents and holidaymakers of the storm’s arrival.Some shops boarded up their windows and operators of tourist boats brought their vessels ashore.Rainfall began in the late afternoon after a sunny day on Wednesday. About 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Acapulco, the city of Puerto Escondido and its 30,000 inhabitants braced for the hurricane’s effects. Restaurants were already closed despite tourists unwilling to give up their vacations, an AFP journalist noted from the scene.”They say it’s going to hit this side of the coast, so we’re taking precautions to avoid having any regrets later,” Adalberto Ruiz, a 55-year-old fisherman sheltering his boat, told AFP.Laura Velazquez, national coordinator of civil protection, said the government was using patrols and social media to warn people.Some 2,000 temporary shelters have been set up in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, and hundreds of troops and electricity workers have been deployed to help with any clean-up efforts.Local authorities have suspended classes and closed ports along the coast, including the port of Acapulco, to shipping.Mexico sees major storms every year, usually between May and November, on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts.In October 2023, Acapulco was pummeled by Hurricane Otis, a powerful Category 5 storm that killed at least 50 people.Hurricane John, another Category 3 storm that hit Acapulco in September last year, caused about 15 deaths.

One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test in Texas late Wednesday, law enforcement officials said, in the latest setback to the billionaire’s dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.The Starship 36 suffered “catastrophic failure and exploded” at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11:00 pm (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by Cameron County authorities said.A video shared with the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion.Musk’s Space X said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it “experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase,” without elaborating on the nature of the complication.”A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” Space X said on social media.”There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.” The Starship was not scheduled for launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred during a “routine static fire test,” according to the Cameron County authorities. During a static fire, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship’s Super Heavy booster would be anchored to the ground to prevent it from lifting off during the test-firing.Starbase, on the south Texas coast near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk’s space project.Musk appeared to downplay the incident early on Thursday.”Just a scratch,” he posted on his social media platform X, although without context it was unclear if he was referring to the fiery explosion of the rocket.- Megarocket -Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket and is central to Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars.The Starship is billed as a fully reusable rocket with a payload capacity of up to 150 metric tons.The latest setback follows the explosion of a prototype Starship over the Indian Ocean in late May.The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built had lifted off from the Starbase facility on May 27, but the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.The previous two outings also ended poorly, with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean.However, the failures will likely do little to dent Musk’s spacefaring ambitions.SpaceX has been betting that its “fail fast, learn fast” ethos, which has helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will eventually pay off.The company has caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower’s giant robotic arms three times — a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs.NASA is also increasingly reliant on SpaceX, whose Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.The Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment.The decision overruled objections from conservation groups that had warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.burs-abs/aha/pbt

Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot. Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.With Israel’s air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries. – Europe -European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.The Czech Republic and Slovakia said Tuesday they had taken 181 people home on government planes.”It was not possible to send the army plane straight to Israel,” the Czech defence ministry said in a statement, citing the air space closure.”The evacuees were taken to an airport in a neighbouring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot.”The German government said flights were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens were due to arrive back on Wednesday.Greece said it had repatriated 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sophia on Tuesday.  – United States -The US ambassador to Israel on Wednesday announced plans for evacuating Americans by air and sea.The embassy is “working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures” for “American citizens wanting to leave Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media.- China -China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel.The Chinese foreign ministry said Thursday its “embassies and consulates will continue to make every effort to assist in the safe transfer and evacuation of Chinese citizens”.- Australia -Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel — but missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft to land in either country, its foreign minister said. “There’s no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told national broadcaster ABC. “We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing. “We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours.” – Pakistan -Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home. Around 1,000 Pakistanis have fled so far, including at least 200 students.The foreign ministry said the families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran had been evacuated. – India -Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran. In Israel there are around 30,000 Indians, according to the country’s embassy in New Delhi.- Japan -Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighbouring countries, a government spokesman said, as the war entered its seventh day.- Indonesia -Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta’s foreign minister said Thursday. “Flights are no longer possible, so the only way is land route. It will start tonight,” Foreign Minister Sugiono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said in a video.- Vietnam -Vietnam, which has more than 700 citizens in Israel and dozens in Iran, said it was working to ensure their safety.The foreign ministry said Thursday that 18 Vietnamese from Iran were evacuated, 16 of whom returned to Vietnam. It did not provide further information on evacuations from Israel.- Philippines -The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers secretary Hans Cacdac said Thursday.At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel since the conflict began, the foreign ministry said.

Nippon Steel completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of US Steel on Wednesday, granting rare veto-like power over strategic decisions to Washington with a “golden share”.The announcement concludes a saga that began in December 2023, when Nippon Steel agreed to acquire the linchpin of American steelmaking for $14.9 billion.An outright buyout sparked bipartisan political opposition, including from President Donald Trump, who railed against the proposed deal throughout the 2024 presidential campaign.But last month he announced a pivot, branding the revamped venture — blocked by former president Joe Biden on security grounds — as a “partnership” rather than a takeover.A national security agreement between the companies and the US government provides that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028.And Washington’s non-economic golden share allows it to appoint one independent director as well as granting consent rights for proposed capital budget cuts among other powers.Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto said Thursday in Tokyo that this “won’t hinder activities that we hope to conduct.””The agreement is fully satisfactory to us, as it ensures the management freedom… essential for business investment,” Hashimoto told reporters.”We intend to start implementing measures for revitalisation and development as soon as possible,” he said, promising not to “transfer jobs and production sites elsewhere.”It is “only natural” that the US government would be concerned about the takeover of a symbolic company, which dates back to 1901, Hashimoto added.- ‘Massive victory’ -A source close to the matter said Nippon Steel had bought all common shares of US Steel, completing the merger.The deal creates the world’s fourth biggest steelmaker — but Nippon Steel faces several big challenges, from trade tariffs to weak demand for steel products worldwide.Nippon Steel shares were up 2.4 percent Thursday afternoon, even as Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index slumped 0.9 percent.Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican, thanked Trump on X and called the outcome “a massive victory for working families in the Mon Valley, our economy, our national security, and America’s manufacturing future!”But the United Steelworkers (USW) union, which vigorously fought the deal, vowed to “continue watching, holding Nippon to its commitments,” according to a statement.”We will use the most powerful tool workers have against global corporations: collective bargaining.”Biden had blocked the transaction in early January, shortly before leaving office.He said that placing “one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control” could “create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”- Government influence -Besides agreeing to keep US Steel’s Pittsburgh headquarters and to maintain US production, the national security agreement calls for a majority of US Steel’s board to be US citizens, as are key leaders including the CEO.The “golden share” does not entitle the US government to dividends, nor does it require Washington to make investments in the company.While the structure gives the government “extraordinary” influence, the mechanism could be difficult to enforce in a downturn if Nippon fails to comply, said Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarah Bauerle Danzman.Nippon Steel’s promise of investment means more steel will be produced in the United States, leading to a likely drop in steel prices, said Gordon Johnson, CEO of GLJ Research.”US Steel was talking about closing significant capacity in Pennsylvania, which would have devastated a big swathe of that economy. So this is definitely a win for the US worker, it’s definitely a win for the US economy,” he told AFP.jmb-hih-nf-ap/kaf/fox

The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for a fourth consecutive meeting Wednesday, forecasting higher inflation and cooler growth this year as President Donald Trump’s tariffs begin to take hold and geopolitical uncertainty swirls.Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters the central bank would make better decisions if it waited a few months to understand how tariffs impact inflation, spending and hiring, in a sign that the next rate adjustment could take some time to materialize.For now, he expects to learn more “over the summer,” while officials appear increasingly divided on whether they can cut interest rates at all in 2025.The Fed kept the benchmark lending rate at a range between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent at the end of its two-day meeting, with officials penciling in two rate reductions this year, similar to earlier projections.But there was growing divergence among Fed officials participating in the meeting, with a smaller majority expecting the central bank to lower rates at least twice.The Fed’s decision drew the ire of Trump, who has repeatedly pressured the independent central bank for rate cuts. He wrote on his Truth Social platform that Powell was “the WORST” and a “real dummy, who’s costing America $Billions!”.Hours before the meeting, he had told reporters at the White House that “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed.””We have no inflation, we have only success, and I’d like to see interest rates get down,” he added. “Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself?”The Fed said in a statement earlier that “uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated.”The central bank also cut its expectations for economic growth this year and raised its inflation and unemployment forecasts, in its first updated projections since Trump in April unleashed sweeping 10 percent tariffs on almost all trading partners.”Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity,” Powell said.Avoiding a more persistent impact depends on the size of levies’ effects, how long it takes for them to pass through to prices, and keeping expectations anchored, he added.- ‘Well-positioned’ -Powell maintained that the Fed is “well-positioned to wait to learn more” before considering changes to interest rates.”Because the economy is still solid, we can take the time to actually see what’s going to happen,” Powell said. “We’ll make smarter and better decisions if we just wait a couple of months.”The Fed’s call was in line with analysts’ expectations. As officials anticipate more clarity on the impact associated with higher tariffs over the summer, “financial markets are not expecting any movement in rates prior to September,” said KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk.Major US indexes ended little-changed on Wednesday.Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, said the Fed would want evidence that inflation is headed back to its two percent target “before sounding all clear.””Preemptive rate cuts don’t appear to be on the table, implying the bar is high for the central bank to cut in July,” Sweet said.Swonk said, however, “there is a very strong argument that absent the tariff-induced inflation, the Fed would be cutting rates now,” noting that the labor market is slowing.On Wednesday, the Fed cut its expectations for 2025 economic growth to 1.4 percent from its March projection of 1.7 percent.It also raised its inflation forecast to 3.0 percent and that of the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent.Asked about conflict in the Middle East as a clash between Israel and Iran heats up, Powell said that although it was possible to see higher energy prices, these “don’t generally tend to have lasting effects on inflation.”Trump has pointed to benign US inflation in arguing for cuts.More recently, he cast such a move as a way for the country to “pay much less interest on debt coming due,” overlooking the fact that lower interest rates usually raise consumer prices.Powell has maintained that the Fed’s rate-setting committee would make its decisions solely on objective and non-political analysis.

Nippon Steel and US Steel said Wednesday they had completed a long-debated transaction granting the US government a “golden share” — a veto-like power over the Japanese company’s strategic decisions.The agreement modifies a transaction originally announced in December 2023, in which Nippon Steel agreed to acquire US Steel for $14.9 billion. But the outright buyout of the iconic US company sparked bipartisan political opposition, including from President Donald Trump.Trump, who railed against the proposed deal throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, last month announced a pivot, branding the revamped venture as a “planned partnership.”And the US government will now have a say on Nippon’s plans for US infrastructure and jobs through its golden share.Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto said Thursday in Tokyo that this “won’t hinder activities that we hope to conduct.”A national security agreement between the companies and Washington also provides that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028.”The agreement is fully satisfactory to us, as it ensures the management freedom and re-producibility that are essential for business investment,” Hashimoto told reporters.”We intend to start implementing measures for revitalisation and development as soon as possible,” he said, promising not to “transfer jobs and production sites elsewhere.”Nippon Steel shares surged 4.6 percent Thursday morning, even as Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index slumped 0.7 percent.Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican, thanked Trump on X and called the outcome “a massive victory for working families in the Mon Valley, our economy, our national security, and America’s manufacturing future!”But the United Steelworkers (USW) union, which vigorously fought the deal, vowed to “continue watching, holding Nippon to its commitments,” according to a statement.”And we will use the most powerful tool workers have against global corporations: collective bargaining.”- ‘World-leading capabilities’ -Under the December 2023 transaction, Nippon agreed to pay $55 per share for US Steel — an all-cash deal that included a 40 percent premium and pitched the combined company as the “best steelmaker with world-leading capabilities.”While the agreement included a pledge to maintain the name US Steel and the company’s Pittsburgh headquarters, industry watchers expected an exodus of executives.But the deal sparked bitter opposition from the USW and a broad range of politicians, including then-president Joe Biden and former Ohio senator JD Vance — now Trump’s vice president.So Nippon stepped up its lobbying efforts in Washington and Pittsburgh to win support for a transaction that appeared for months to be on life support.Biden blocked the transaction in early January, shortly before leaving office. He said that placing “one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control” could “create risk for our national security and our critical supply chains.”But backers of the deal had been hoping the political climate shift following Trump’s election victory over Biden’s vice president Kamala Harris might help revive it.Besides agreeing to keep US Steel’s Pittsburgh headquarters and to maintain US production, the revamped deal’s national security agreement calls for a majority of US Steel’s board to be US citizens, as are key leaders including the CEO.The government’s “golden share” will allow it the right to appoint one independent director and grant it consent rights for proposed capital budget cuts, the redomiciling of activities outside the United States and on acquisitions in the country.The “golden share” does not entitle the US government to dividends, nor does it require Washington to make investments in the company.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was still deciding whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran, claiming Tehran now wants talks at the White House but may have waited too long.Trump held his second Situation Room meeting in two days with his national security team as he left the world guessing about his potential order of military action.”I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters at the unveiling of one of two giant new flagpoles at the White House.”I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”He added that “the next week is going to be very big” when it comes to determining Iran’s fate.The White House said Trump would be briefed in the Situation Room again on Thursday, a holiday in the United States.Trump’s comments came after the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected his demands for an unconditional surrender and warned the United States of “irreparable damage” if it intervenes.A day after saying Khamenei was an “easy target”, Trump told AFP in the Oval Office that a change of leadership in Tehran “could happen.”But Republican Trump, who faces opposition from the isolationist wing of his support base to joining any more foreign wars, insisted that he had not yet made up his mind on whether to take US action.”I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven’t made a final (decision),” Trump said. “I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change. Especially with war.”The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday he had approved attack plans for Iran but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear program. “All options are on the table,” a White House official told AFP when asked about the report.Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Thursday in Washington with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the State Department said, for talks expected to focus on Iran.- ‘Very late’ -Trump appeared to be in no hurry to reach what would be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency — spending more than an hour dealing with the installation of his new flagpoles. He said Iran was reaching out to try to strike a deal on its nuclear program to end the conflict with US ally Israel.”They want to come to the White House, I may do that,” Trump said. He added however that it was “very late to be talking… There’s a big difference between now and a week ago.”Iran denied it had offered to send officials to Washington.”No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on X.Trump had favored a diplomatic route to end Iran’s nuclear program, seeking a deal to replace the agreement he tore up in his first term in 2018.But since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched strikes on Iran six days ago Trump has moved in behind the key US ally and is now weighing whether to use American military power against Tehran too.Trump said Wednesday that Iran was “weeks” away from being able to make a nuclear bomb.He noted that the United States is the only country with “bunker buster” bombs capable of taking out Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it.” The US president said he had told Netanyahu to “keep going” with Israel’s offensive against Iran, adding that they were speaking every day.Trump however rebuffed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to mediate in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying Russia should end its own war in Ukraine first.”He actually offered to help mediate, I said ‘do me a favor, mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia first, okay? You can worry about this later,'” Trump said.