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The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and offered a modestly upbeat assessment of the eurozone economy, raising doubts among investors about further policy easing even while US tariff threats cloud the outlook.The ECB has cut its policy rate eight times since June 2024 after taming a surge in prices that followed the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.But the economy was now in a "good place" and growth is in line with projections or a "little bit better", ECB President Christine Lagarde said, bolstering market bets that the ECB may be done with cutting rates altogether.Financial markets which had fully priced in a rate cut this autumn just days ago now see only an 80% chance of a move, and even that may not come until the spring.Confirming waning appetite for rate cuts, sources close to the discussion said the bar for a move in September was high and would require weaker growth and inflation, along with lower staff projections.Lagarde herself took a more measured stance and would not be drawn into rate cut talk."We are in this wait-and-watch situation," Lagarde told a press conference. "We are in a good place because our projections point to inflation stabilising at target in the medium term."She said the ECB's baseline projection for modest growth and inflation at its 2% target continued to hold, and that most data since the June data have confirmed that outlook.Lagarde's optimistic tone even prompted some economists to look again at their own projections."We are revising our forecasts and no longer expect a final cut of the ECB deposit rate to 1.75% at the September meeting," Commerzbank economist Jorg Kramer said. "Now expect an unchanged deposit rate of 2.0% for the rest of this year and for 2026."Recent data suggest the economy is holding up well and fresh PMI surveys out on Thursday indicated an acceleration in business activity, led by a solid improvement in the dominant services industry and with manufacturing recovering.Eurozone banks have seen rising loan demand and policy uncertainty has not yet translated into an economic or market downturn even if some companies are starting to feel the pinch from tariffs in their profits.Trade negotiations still pose a risk and a final deal is far from certain, even as reports suggest that the two sides are moving closer on a possible agreement based on a 15% tariff on US imports of EU goods."We are attentive to where the negotiations are heading (but) we take the news one day at a time," Lagarde told a press conference. "The sooner this trade uncertainty is resolved, the less uncertainty we will have to deal with and that will be welcomed by many economic actors including ourselves."While the White House has dismissed the reports as speculation, 15% tariffs would be roughly halfway between the ECB's baseline and severe scenarios for the eurozone economy, presented last month, but milder than Trump's threatened 30%.The ECB's June estimate showed that higher US tariffs would result in lower growth and — depending on any EU retaliation — lower medium-term inflation in the eurozone.Even the ECB's baseline projection from June, which incorporates 10% tariffs from the US, saw price growth below 2% over the next 18 months.Lagarde acknowledged that scenario included the possibility of a temporary undershooting of the inflation target but said it was not a cause for concern."With growth holding up and inflation at target, we believe the cutting cycle is drawing to a close," Konstantin Veit, a portfolio manager at PIMCO said. "The current 2% policy rate is likely a level considered the mid-point of a neutral euro area policy range by the majority of Governing Council members."Lagarde's upbeat assessment also pushed short-dated German bond yields to their largest daily rise in two months, as traders took it as a signal that another series of rate cuts next year might be unlikely."Taking today’s meeting at face value, the bar for yet another rate cut this year has clearly been raised," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. "Still, we think that actual inflation could come in lower than the ECB expects and hard macro data could rather disappoint over the summer."

Tesla has reported another drop in quarterly profits as CEO Elon Musk warned the company could face a few "rough" quarters following the elimination of federal tax credits for electric vehicles under President Donald Trump's big fiscal package.Musk, on an earnings conference call with analysts and investors, reiterated that Tesla's technology advantages position it for significant long-term profitability, but suggested the company's recent slump would continue or worsen in a difficult interim period until new autonomous transport ventures can be monetised.At issue is the period after the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases expires on September 30, among the green tax credits zeroed out by Trump's sweeping package approved earlier this month."We probably could have a few rough quarters. I'm not saying we will, but we could," Musk said of a period that immediately follows the expiration of the US tax credit for EVs."But once you get to autonomy at scale" by the second half of 2026, "I'd be surprised if Tesla economics are not very compelling," said Musk.His comments acknowledge more short-term pain following Wednesday's results, its third straight quarter of lower profitability as the company faces intensifying electric vehicle competition and deals with backlash due to Musk's political activities.Tesla reported second-quarter profits of $1.2bn, down 16% from the year-ago level. The company in a press release emphasised ongoing efforts to lead in artificial intelligence and robotics.Revenues fell 12% to $22.5bn.Lower profits had been expected after Tesla earlier this month disclosed a decline in auto deliveries. Results were also impacted by a fall in average vehicle selling prices and higher operating expenses driven by AI and other research and development projects.Tesla did not offer an outlook on full-year vehicle production, citing shifting global trade and fiscal policies, as well as factors such as "the broader macroeconomic environment, the rate of acceleration of our autonomy efforts and production ramp at our factories."The results come on the heels of Tesla's launch last month of a robotaxi service in the Texas capital Austin, Musk's first fully autonomous offering after pushing back the timeframe many times.Musk has heavily touted Tesla's autonomous driving program, as well as the company's "Optimus" humanoid robot, which employs artificial intelligence technology.But analysts have criticised Tesla's sluggishness in unveiling new autos, while questioning Musk's commitment to an earlier goal of launching a state-of-the-art electric vehicle priced at around $25,000 to bolster the odds of mass deployment.On the call, Musk reiterated his desire for a lower-priced vehicle. Tesla's press release said the company began building "a more affordable model" in June, with volume set to rise in the second half of 2025.Tesla executives said they had pushed back the ramp-up on the new vehicle in order to maximise production of the company's current generation of autos before the federal tax credit expires.The worsening near-term outlook for EV sales is one reason analysts at JPMorgan Chase call Tesla's stock price "completely divorced from increasingly deteriorating fundamentals." But analysts at Morgan Stanley rate the company a "top pick" in light of its leadership in robotics and artificial intelligence, although a recent note warned Musk's political activity "may add further near-term pressure" to shares.Disagreements over Trump's fiscal package have been a factor in Musk's recurring feud with the president, whose name was not mentioned during the 60-minute conference call.The billionaire donated huge sums to Trump's successful 2024 presidential campaign and then joined the administration to lead the "Department of Government Efficiency," which cut thousands of government jobs, sparking boycotts and vandalism that tarnished the Tesla brand.Musk left the White House in May.BlackstoneBlackstone beat second-quarter profit expectations on Thursday on strong gains in its credit and private equity businesses and a pickup in performance-related fees tied to perpetual capital funds.Shares of the world's largest alternative asset manager rose nearly 3% before the open and were on track to turn positive for the year if gains hold.Even though tariffs uncertainties remain a source of concern for the economy, resilient investors have propelled equity markets to record highs, enabling large asset managers such as Blackstone to capitalise.Asset sales in the credit and insurance segment were $10bn, while the company also sold $7.3bn of private equity assets. It had $181.2bn of capital available for deployment.Fee-related performance revenue more than doubled to $472.1mn, powered by a 16% growth in perpetual capital assets under management.Perpetual capital refers to long-term assets under management that does not have a fixed end date and cannot typically be redeemed by investors on demand.Distributable earnings, which represent cash that can be used to pay dividends, grew 25% to $1.6bn, or $1.21 per share, for the three months ended June 30.It exceeded analysts' expectation of $1.10, according to data compiled by LSEG.Blackstone has said it remains capable of executing deals even in uncertain environments, underscoring its resilience should trade tensions escalate further.As of last close, Blackstone's shares were down slightly this year, compared with an 8% gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index.Inflows of $52.1bn helped push Blackstone's total AUM to $1.2tn, up 13% from a year ago.The credit and insurance segment attracted more than half of the total inflows. The unit is a key driver of Blackstone's growing influence in private credit, as more companies turn to investment firms for flexible financing.The private equity arm also recorded segment distributable earnings of $751.4mn, up 55% from a year ago.STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics reported a second-quarter loss on Thursday, its first in more than a decade, falling short of market expectations as it took a $190mn hit for restructuring and impairment costs.Shares in the French-Italian chipmaker, which makes power chips for Tesla's drivetrains and eSim modules for Apple's iPhones, fell by as much as 13% — on track for their worst day since January.The company, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, posted an operating loss of $133mn for the quarter, missing the average $56.2mn profit that was forecast by analysts in an LSEG poll.STMicro said that without the $190mn in impairment, restructuring charges and other costs, the company would have registered a quarterly profit of $57mn — in line with market expectations.STMicro's heavy reliance on in-house manufacturing, representing about 80% of sales, has burdened it with underused factories and high staff costs when the market slows, unlike rivals Infineon and NXP that use more contract manufacturing, analysts say.Chipmakers exposed to the struggling automotive, industrial, and consumer chip markets such as STMicro, Texas Instruments, or NXP have faced a sales slump, hit by low demand, high inventories, and geopolitical disruptions."Investors probably wanted to see more recovery," analyst Utsav Sinha of AlphaValue said in an e-mailed comment about Thursday's earnings report.STMicro's CEO Jean-Marc Chery was more upbeat about the outlook for the rest of the year."If we have a booking dynamic in Q3 on a similar path of what we have seen in Q2 and in Q1, we should expect in Q4 to grow sequentially," he said during a call with investors.Analysts said that while the stronger sales trend suggested STMicro could achieve revenue growth this year, potential US trade tariffs could cloud the outlook.In June, the company said it saw the early signs of an upcycle, or a period of increased market demand, which would allow it to hit its second-quarter revenue goal of $2.71bn.Revenue rose to $2.76bn in the second quarter from $2.52bn in the previous quarter, ahead of that target. STMicro said it is now expecting revenue in the third quarter to reach $3.17bn, ahead of analysts' expectations of $3.10bn.RepsolSpanish energy giant Repsol on Thursday reported a sharp drop in profits in the first half of 2025 caused by falling oil prices, geopolitical turbulence and Spain's huge April blackout.The €603mn ($709mn) of profit was 62.9% lower than in the same period last year, Repsol said in a statement.Adjusted income, an indicator that measures business performance and used as a reference by investors, stood at €1.35bn, a decline of 36.4%.Repsol cited "a global environment marked by geopolitical volatility and trade tensions", with conflicts in the Middle East and US President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariffs shaking markets in the first six months of 2025.The company also pointed to an increase in supply from the powerful OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations that depressed prices to an average of $71.90 per barrel in the period.The April 28 blackout that paralysed Spain and Portugal negatively affected the industrial business area, with Repsol "assessing potential legal actions, pending the official determination of responsibilities related to the power outage".The International Energy Agency has lowered its forecast for the growth in oil demand this year to its lowest rate since 2009, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on the world economy in 2020.France's TotalEnergies and British energy giant BP are among the other companies also hit by tumbling oil prices so far this year.ReckittConsumer goods company Reckitt raised its annual revenue forecast on Thursday after second-quarter net sales growth topped expectations, sending shares soaring, as strength in China and India offset weakness in North America and Europe.Shares jumped as much as 11% to their highest level since early 2024 and were among the biggest gainers on the pan-European STOXX 600 index.Reckitt is pivoting to focus on its 11 so-called "power brands" under CEO Kris Licht, as the sector is faced with weak demand and fierce competition.The company reported like-for-like quarterly net revenue growth of 1.9%, above the 1.7% forecast in a company-compiled consensus.It also announced a new £1bn share buyback over the next 12 months.Growth in North America and Europe lagged expectations, hit by a challenging consumer environment and the expected shelf reset of its flu medicine Mucinex due to reformulation.Licht said there was some stabilisation in those regions in the second quarter, but consumption remained "suppressed"."Even though consumption is a bit lower in our categories, we're still seeing some growth, and people are still spending. It's just much more measured," he said, referring to North America and Europe.But strong sales in China, India and good growth in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Malaysia made up for weakness in developed markets.Chinese consumers were responding well to new innovation behind the Dettol brand, Licht said.Reckitt raised the like-for-like 2025 net revenue growth forecast for its core business to above 4%, from a 3% to 4% range previously."A beat and raise is a rare occurrence in this market," said analysts at JPMorgan in a note.Reckitt now expects overall group like-for-like net revenue growth of 3% to 4% for the year, up from the previous 2% to 4%.The share price was last up 9%, heading for its biggest one-day percentage gain since November 2008.Reckitt posted operating profit of £1.71bn ($2.32bn) for the six months ended June 30, beating analysts' average expectations of £1.66bn.Some investors worry Reckitt is more exposed than rivals to US tariffs due to lower US manufacturing capacity compared to Haleon and Unilever.SK hynixSouth Korean chip giant SK hynix reported record quarterly profits on Thursday thanks to soaring demand for artificial intelligence.The world's second-largest memory chip maker dominates the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors and is a key supplier for US titan Nvidia.The firm said operating profit climbed almost 70 % to 9.2tn won ($6.7bn) in the second quarter, with revenues coming in at 22.2tn won — both all-time peaks.It comes after Taiwan chip giant TSMC last week announced a surge in net profit for the second quarter, topping forecasts, thanks to robust demand for AI technology, despite the threat of US tariffs on the critical sector.SK hynix also said net profit was up close to 70% on-year, at nearly 7tn won."Aggressive investment by global big tech companies into AI led to a steady increase in demand for AI memory," it said in a statement.Shipments of DRAM and NAND flash — other types of computer memory — topped forecasts, boosting the bottom line."SK hynix foresees that increasing competition among big tech companies to enhance inference of AI models would lead to higher demand for high-performance and high-capacity memory products," the company added.South Korea is a major exporter to the US and its powerhouse semiconductor and auto industries would suffer greatly under President Donald Trump's threatened 25% tariffs.Experts attribute SK hynix's resilience to its growth in the DRAM market.NestleNestle has said its net profit fell in the first half of the year as the Swiss food giant behind Nespresso coffee capsules and KitKat chocolate bars struggles to turn around its fortunes amid sluggish consumer spending in China.The company whose brands also include Purina dog food, Maggi bouillon cubes, Gerber baby food and Nesquik chocolate-flavoured drinks, reported a 10.3% drop in first half profits to 5.1bn Swiss francs ($6.4bn).Sales, however, only dipped by 1.8% to 44.2bn francs, which was due in large part to passing on higher cocoa and coffee prices to consumers, although faced even greater headwinds from the strong Swiss currency."We are also taking decisive measures to strengthen our business in Greater China," said chief executive Laurent Freixe.The company said China, which has suffered sluggish domestic consumption amid a deflationary price environment, had a 0.7 percentage point impact on organic growth in the second quarter.Overall, the company reported 2.9% quarterly organic growth, which strips out currency effects and other elements to measure performance.Nestle warned China would continue to weigh on growth as it invested to turn around its performance.Nestle made a surprise switch of its chief executive least year amid soft spending by consumers for food and household goods.Nestle's share price slumped by nearly a quarter last year, raising concerns in Switzerland, where pension funds invest heavily in the company.The company launched a number of measures to boost its product offering and cut costs.That was reflected in better organic growth in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, and Nestle said that it was expected to continue for the rest of the year.Nestle said it was maintaining its 2025 guidance "despite factoring in increased headwinds".It aims for an underlying trading operating profit margin of at least 16% this year, compared to 17.2% in 2024. It came in at 16.5% in the first half of the year.Deutsche BankDeutsche Bank on Thursday reported its highest second-quarter profit since 2007 and said it was on track to meet annual targets, sending shares in Germany's biggest lender soaring.From April to June, net profit attributable to the group's shareholders came in at €1.48bn ($1.74bn), driven by its investment banking and asset management units.Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had expected a figure of €1.34bn.In the same quarter last year, Deutsche Bank had booked its first quarterly loss since 2020 due to litigation costs linked to the troubled takeover of a smaller lender.Thursday's result "puts us on track to meet our 2025 targets", said CEO Christian Sewing. The group is aiming to substantially cut costs this year, and said its results so far showed it was achieving this.Revenues rose to €7.8bn in the second quarter, with increases of 3% at its investment banking unit and 9% at its asset management division.The retail banking division saw revenues increase by 2%. The unit is undergoing a restructuring and Sewing announced in March that 2,000 jobs would be cut at the division.Corporate banking revenues were down by 1%, affected by exchange rate fluctuations. The euro has risen strongly this year against the dollar, impacting Deutsche Bank as it converts money earned in the US unit back into euros.Deutsche Bank has undergone major restructuring in recent years, seeking to rely more on retail and corporate banking after an aggressive shift in the early 2000s into investment banking drew it into multiple scandals.TotalEnergiesTotalEnergies said on Thursday its net profit plunged in the second quarter despite increased output as global oil and gas prices dropped.Despite the 29% year-on-year drop in net profit in the second quarter to $2.7bn, the French firm called its performance "robust".It kept its revenue drop to 7.6%, to $49.6bn, below the 10% fall in the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark.That was thanks in part to a 2.5% boost in output, to an average 2.5mn barrels of oil equivalent in the second quarter."TotalEnergies delivered robust financial results in the second quarter," chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement."TotalEnergies continued to successfully execute its balanced multi-energy strategy, supported by sustained growth in hydrocarbon and electricity production," he added.The company confirmed a second interim dividend of €0.85 per shares, an increase of almost 7.6% from last year, and up to $2bn in share buybacks in this quarter.Emirates NBDEmirates NBD's shares slipped on Thursday after Dubai's biggest bank by assets reported a 9% fall in first-half net profit, as lower recoveries and a higher tax rate impacted the lender's results.The bank posted a net profit of 12.5bn dirhams ($3.40bn) in the six months to June 30, down from 13.8bn over the same period in 2024.Shares in the bank were down 1.9% at 0615 GMT. The stock remains up 21% since the start of the year.ENBD, majority-owned by Dubai's government, said recoveries in the first half of 2025 were down by 2bn dirhams, which compared with "very strong recoveries" last year, the bank said in a statement.UAE banks have been benefitting from steady economic growth, rising demand for credit and government-driven investment in non-oil sectors in recent years.In Dubai, the Gulf's tourism and financial hub, a business-friendly environment has attracted a slew of companies and high-net-worth clients, contributing to a spike in real estate prices.However, ENBD said on Thursday that while in the first half, "property transactions in Dubai were higher compared with 2024", price growth "is moderating." Ratings agency Fitch expects a correction in real estate prices in the second half and in 2026, as new builds come to the market, it said in May.ENBD's total assets reached 1.09tn dirhams as of end-June, up 17% from a year earlier, with both net interest income and non-funded income rising by double digits.The bank's total gross loans rose 12% to 570bn dirhams in the first six months, with nearly half of the increase coming from international operations.They were outpaced by deposits, which grew 18% to 737bn dirhams.AlphabetGoogle-parent Alphabet on Wednesday reported quarterly profits that topped expectations, saying artificial intelligence has boosted every part of its business.Alphabet's second-quarter profit of $28.2bn — on $96.4bn in revenue — came with word that the tech giant will spend $10bn more than it previously planned this year on capital expenditures, as it invests to meet growing demand for cloud services."We had a standout quarter, with robust growth across the company," said Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai. "AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum."Revenue from search grew double digits in the quarter, with features such as AI Overviews and the recently launched AI mode "performing well," according to Pichai.Ad revenue at YouTube continues to grow along with the video platform's subscription services, Alphabet reported.Alphabet's cloud computing business is on pace to bring in $50bn over the course of the year, according to the company."With this strong and growing demand for our cloud products and services, we are increasing our investment in capital expenditures in 2025 to approximately $85bn and are excited by the opportunity ahead," Pichai said.Investors have been watching closely to see whether the tech giant may be pouring too much money into artificial intelligence and whether AI-generated summaries of search results will translate into fewer opportunities to serve up money-making ads.The Internet giant is dabbling with ads in its new AI Mode for online search, a strategic move to fend off competition from ChatGPT while adapting its advertising business for an AI age.The integration of advertising has been a key question accompanying the rise of generative AI chatbots, which have largely avoided interrupting the user experience with marketing messages.However, advertising remains Google's financial bedrock."Google is doing well despite tariff headwinds and rising AI competition in search," said eMarketer principal analyst Yory Wurmser. "It's also successfully monetising AI Overviews and AI Mode, a good sign for the future."Google and rivals are spending billions of dollars on data centres and more for AI, while the rise of lower-cost model DeepSeek from China raises questions about how much needs to be spent.Meanwhile the online ad business that generates the cash Google invests in its future could be neutered due to a defeat in a US antitrust case.During the summer of 2024, Google was found guilty of illegal practices to establish and maintain its monopoly in online search by a federal judge in Washington.The Justice Department is now demanding remedies that could transform the digital landscape: Google's divestiture from its Chrome browser and a ban on entering exclusivity agreements with smartphone manufacturers to install the search engine by default.

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24 this year, its embassy in China said yesterday, the first time in five years as both countries move to repair their rocky relationship.In a statement, India’s embassy in China said that Chinese citizens can apply for a tourist visa to India after completing an online application, scheduling an appointment and personally submitting their passport and other required documents to the Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in South China’s Guangdong Province.“Please be informed that all passport withdrawal requests for applications submitted in India Visa Application Centre in Beijing must be accompanied by a passport withdrawal letter..,” the statement added.Tensions between the two countries escalated following a 2020 military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. In response, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and cut passenger routes.China suspended visas to Indian citizens and other foreigners around the same time due to the Covid-19 pandemic but lifted those restrictions in 2022, when it resumed issuing visas for students and business travellers.Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March this year, when both countries agreed to resume direct air service.Relations have gradually improved, with several high-level meetings taking place last year, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said yesterday that Beijing had noted the positive move. “China is ready to maintain communication and consultation with India and constantly improve the level of personal exchanges between the two countries,” he said.India and China share a 3,800km border that has been disputed since the 1950s. The two countries fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962 and negotiations to settle the dispute have made slow progress.Earlier this year, India and China explored ways to rebuild ties and agreed to initiate efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges, including arrangements for resumption of direct flights.

Peres Jepchirchir said she was relishing her imminent return to Japan for the first time since storming to Olympic marathon gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.Jepchirchir has been named as one of three Kenya women in the marathon squad for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 13-21. The other athletes include the current Rotterdam marathon champion Jackline Cherono and Magdalyne Masai, who was fourth in this year's Tokyo marathon.Jepchirchir, 31, a two-time half world marathon champion, overcame intense heat to take gold at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, beating fellow Kenyan and former world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei. "I am happy with the confidence the Kenyan selectors have had in me despite the disappointment in the Paris Olympics," she told AFP in Nairobi."It's my first time to compete in the World Championships, and I'm looking forward to it," she added. "We know Ethiopia have selected a strong team and they're the defending champions. But I believe in the Kenya team and I pray God will give us health and strength that day to face them."The women's marathon will be held on September 14, followed by the men's race a day later. The Kenyan men's team is led by Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich, whose best time is 2:03:13, which he recorded while making his debut in the 2023 Berlin marathon when he finished second to Eliud Kipchoge.Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic champion, will not take part in Tokyo.Kenya's 58-member teamWomen: 400m - Mercy Oketch; 800m - Mary Moraa, Lilian Odira, Vivian Kiprotich, Sarah Moraa; 1500m - Faith Kipyegon, Nelly Chepchirchir, Susan Ejore, Dorcas Ewoi; 5000m - Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet, Agnes Jebet Ngetich, Margaret Ekidor; 10000m - Beatrice Chebet, Agnes Jebet Ngetich, Janeth Chepngetich; 3000m S/Chase - Faith Cherotich, Doris Lemngole, Pamela Kosgeil; Marathon - Peres Jepchirchir, Jackline Cherono, Magdalyne Masai, Vivian Cheruiyot (Reserve); 4x400 Mixed Relay - Mercy Chebet, Lanoline Aoko, Esther MbagariMen: 100m - Ferdinand Omanyala; 400m - George Mutinda,Brian Tinega, Kevin Kipkorir; 800m - Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Nicholas Kiplangat Kebenei, Kelvin Loti; 1500m - Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech, Reynold Cheruiyot, Timothy Cheruiyot; 5000m - Nicholas Kipkorir; 10000m - Edwin Kurgat, Ismael Kipkirui, Benson Kiplangat; 3000m S/C - Edmund Serem, Simon Kiprop Koech, Abraham Kibiwott; 400m Hurdles - Wiseman Were; Marathon - Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich, Erick Kiplangat Sang, Kennedy Kimutai, Hillary Kipkoech (reserve); Javelin - Julius YegoAthletics unit provisionally suspends another Kenyan athleteThe Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) provisionally suspended another Kenyan athlete , just days after top runner Ruth Chepngetich received a suspension on suspicion of doping. Roncer Kipkorir Konga, 30, is best known for his victory at the Prague half-marathon in 2023 with a time of 59:43."The AIU has provisionally suspended Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Testosterone)," according to a statement, posted on X.It did not give any further details. The provisional ruling comes after Chepngetich, 30, was suspended after testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide on March 14, according to the AIU.It threatens to destroy a career that has seen her win the 2019 world marathon title in Doha and set the marathon world record in Chicago last October at 2hr 09min 56sec, making her the first woman to run the distance under 2hr 10min. Kenya worked to clean up its image after a string of doping scandals around the 2016 Rio Olympics led to it being declared non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Nearly 130 Kenyan athletes, mainly long-distance runners, have been sanctioned for drugs offences since 2017, and Kenya has put in place a $25 million, five-year programme to attempt to combat the problem.Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian Kyle dies at 96Maeve Kyle, Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian, has died at the age of 96, the Olympic Federation of Ireland said. Kyle, who also earned more than 50 caps for the Irish national hockey team, appeared in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics, competing in the 100m and 200m races, becoming the first Irishwoman to compete in the discipline at the Games."She competed at three consecutive Olympic Games... at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited," the OFI said in a statement. Kyle reached the semi-finals in both 400m and 800m races at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. She won bronze in 400m at the European Indoor Athletics Championships two years later."We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all," said OFI President Lochlann Walsh.

The night of July 15, 2016, began like any other evening — but ended as a turning point in Turkiye’s modern history. It was a night of betrayal and defiance, fear and courage, but above all, a night when the will of the people determined the course of a nation. The night of July 15 is etched in our nation’s collective memory as one of the longest nights but also as one of the greatest epics in Turkiye’s glorious history. It has been nine years since the nefarious coup attempt of July 15, 2016 carried out by Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), which was foiled by our beloved nation’s and security forces’ honourable, courageous and heroic stance. Far from faltering, Turkiye emerged from that not weakened, but emboldened — ushering in a new era marked by strategic empowerment. The Turkish nation and government turned an existential threat into a victory. The steadfastness of its institutions and the collective will of its people transformed the darkest night into a defining moment of national resilience. July 15 was another resolute chapter in the proud history of Turkiye. In the aftermath of FETO-led failed coup, Turkiye emerged even stronger, by embarking on a new era powered by its strong past that is marked by strategic autonomy and global engagement. Rather than retreating inward, Turkiye channelled this momentum into a period of visionary transformation. In the education field, Turkiye undertook a major domestic reform by transferring institutions that had previously been controlled by FETO to the Ministry of National Education. This initiative reinforced national sovereignty in education. On the international front, the Turkish Maarif Foundation has become a prominent global player in education. The foundation assumed responsibility for schools that FETO had operated for years in various countries and expanded its global footprint. Today, it runs 586 educational institutions across 55 countries, maintains formal relations with 108 states, and serves over 70,000 students worldwide. Turkish foreign policy prioritises strengthening regional peace and security through combating terrorism and extremism, conflict prevention, peaceful resolution and mediation, and regional ownership. Turkiye has significantly expanded its diplomatic footprint, global reach and influence since July 15. As a result of its deepening and widening comprehensive policies, Turkiye has spawned the 3rd largest diplomatic network globally with 262 missions. This expansion is not merely a statistic, but a reflection of Turkiye’s determination to shape, not just observe, global events. Today Turkiye conducts a diplomacy that thinks globally but acts locally in every corner of the world by availing from several complementary political, economic, humanitarian, and cultural tools. Despite the negative repercussions of the July 15, Turkiye strove through Covid-19 and the earthquake disaster in 2023 successfully. The nation’s economy has defied global trends, growing steadily and retaining its place among the world’s 20 largest economies. Exports reached a record $262bn in 2024. This figure is expected to be over 270bn in 2025. With its population of 85mn, Turkiye’s GDP per capita has exceeded $15.000. Turkiye has witnessed an increase of tourists from all parts of the world, as it was and will remain one of the favourite destinations. Turkiye hosted nearly 62mn tourists in 2024. Turkiye has also become a leading humanitarian power. It ranked 1st globally in humanitarian aid as a percentage of GDP, and is recognised as the world’s most generous nation based on per capita spending. Together with its diplomatic activism and economic dynamism, Turkiye has strengthened its national defence capabilities with unprecedented speed and success. Only one and a half months after the abhorrent coup attempt of July 15, Turkish army successfully conducted “Operation Euphrates Shield” on August 24, 2016 against DEASH as well as “Operation Olive Branch” on January 20, 2018 and “Operation Peace Spring” on October 9, 2019 against PKK elements in Syria. These military operations contributed significantly to the supporting efforts for a peaceful resolution and paved the way for the current political ground today in Syria. In collaboration with Qatar, Turkiye paid immense efforts for maintaining the stability of Syria by backing the new government and lifting the sanctions. Turkiye’s defence industry has become a global leader with an R&D budget nearing $3bn, over 80% domestic production, and a project portfolio exceeding $100bn. Iconic platforms such as the Akıncı and Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, the 5th-generation fighter jet KAAN, and the supersonic trainer Hürjet are no longer just national milestones — they are strategic assets reshaping regional dynamics. Turkish UAVs have not only demonstrated their efficacy in various Turkish military operations but have also attracted international attention, leading to exports to several countries. Turkiye accounts for 65% of the global UAV market and is home to the world’s biggest drone manufacturer. As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated, out of every 3 UAV that are sold globally, 2 of them are manufactured by Turkish companies. In the technology sector, Turkiye has made impressive advancements, particularly with the launch of Turksat 5A and Turksat 5B satellites in 2021. Turkiye has not only continued its ongoing major infrastructure projects (Eurasia Tunnel), also has added them the new ones (1915 Çanakkale Strait). In times of struggle, real brothers stand tall. In times of adversity, Turkiye and Qatar have consistently demonstrated a genuine brotherhood that is measured not by convenience, but by solidarity in hardship. Throughout the critical juncture and uncertainty of July 15, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was the first leader to express solidarity with Turkish people and government by holding phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was a bold and principled stance as nobody could have guessed how the events would unfold. Furthermore, HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani was among the first foreign officials to visit Turkiye in the aftermath of this night. Turkish nation will always remember brotherly Qatar’s firm stance, its unequivocal support for Turkiye’s elected government, and Qatari people’s deep empathy with the Turkish people. In fact, this spirit of fraternity continued and continues to shape the brotherly bilateral relations. In the wake of the earthquakes struck Turkiye in 2023, Qatar was among the first nations to mobilise emergency aid and humanitarian relief. Likewise, as recently shown, President Erdogan, expressed our country’s condemnation of any kind of attack that violates Qatar’s sovereignty, and reiterated that Turkiye stands by brotherly Qatar. Today, Turkiye-Qatar relations are stronger than ever. There is a strategic partnership which was institutionalised through the establishment of Supreme Strategic Committee (SSC) mechanism in 2014. So far 10 SSC meetings have been convened. In the 10th SSC meeting held in Ankara in 2024, the total number of agreements signed since the first SSC reached to 117 ranging across defence, energy, trade, education, and humanitarian sectors. The 11th SSC is envisaged to be met in the second half of 2025. The bond between Turkiye and Qatar is deeply rooted and the two countries collaborate to realise a shared vision for a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world particularly in the regions experiencing humanitarian crises and political instability such as Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and Libya. In that vein, our countries pursue complementary diplomatic, humanitarian, and development initiatives aimed at promoting peace and conflict resolution, fostering regional stability, supporting legitimate governance structures, and addressing urgent humanitarian needs from Gaza to the Horn of Africa. Toward the Century of TurkiyeThe spirit that resisted on the night of July 15, 2016 continues to guide Turkiye’s trajectory. It is the spirit of a nation that refuses to be subdued — by coup plotters, natural disasters, or global headwinds. Turkiye today is not defined by the threats it has faced, but by how it has responded to them: with vision, with solidarity, and with resolve. This is not only a story of survival. It is the story of victory. It is the victory of resilience and empowerment. And that victory, forged in struggle and unity, bears the name of Turkiye.

The population of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reached approximately 61.2 million by the end of 2024, an increase of 36 percent, or more than 2.1 million people, compared to 2023.In a report marking World Population Day, which falls on July 11 of each year, the GCC Statistical Center (GCC-Stat) outlined that the population in the GCC countries are rapidly recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The population has increased by approximately 7.6 million people since 2021, or 14.2 percent, reflecting the resumption of population growth at an accelerated pace after the slowdown experienced by some countries during the pandemic.The total male population in the GCC countries reached approximately 38.5 million, constituting 62.8 percent of the total population, while the number of females reached approximately 22.7 million, representing 37.2 percent of the total population.Data from the GCC Stat indicated that the population of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries constitutes 0.7 percent of the world's population. The sex ratio in the GCC countries reached 169 males for every 100 females in 2024, while the gender ratio for the total global population reached 101 males for every 100 females in 2024.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to continue cutting interest rates on at least two occasions by 25 basis points, reducing the deposit rate to 1.5 percent. In its weekly report, the bank voiced belief that despite volatile short-term price pressures and growing concerns about trade disputes related to tariffs, risks related to weak growth performance are gaining more importance than concerns related to inflation. Spiralling inflation in the Euro Area was finally stabilized last year after an unprecedented cycle of policy rate increases by the ECB, said the bank in its weekly commentary. The most aggressive tightening sequence in the history of the ECB took the benchmark interest rate to 4 percent, as a response to the unprecedented post-Covid inflationary shock. This was followed by a "holding" period of nine months, as the central bank waited for inflation to shorten the gap between the peak of almost 11 percent and the 2 percent target of monetary policy, QNB added. Interest rate cuts finally began in June last year at a cautious pace, as ECB officials gained confidence in diminishing price pressures. This brought the deposit rate to 2 percent, a level broadly within the "neutral range" that implies that monetary policy is neither expansionary nor contractionary. With inflation recently oscillating narrowly around the 2 percent mark, the ECB must now calibrate the appropriate terminal rate. In QNB's view, the macroeconomic outlook warrants two additional rate cuts this year. In this article, we discuss three key factors behind QNB analysis. First, there is an increasing likelihood that inflation will meaningfully undershoot the 2 percent target of the ECB. The latest release of consumer prices displayed a headline inflation rate of 1.9 percent in May, before hitting the 2 percent target in June. Additionally, reduced wage increases will further diminish price pressures in the labour-intensive services sector, which typically exhibits highly persistent inflation. More importantly, markets are signalling that inflation will decrease in the year ahead. Financial instruments can provide useful information regarding the expected evolution of macroeconomic variables. Specifically, the euro-inflation swap-rate reveals inflation expectations of investors. Since the peak of 4.2 percent reached early 2023, market inflation expectations have been on a downward, even if irregular, trend. For the last four months, expectations for a year ahead have remained below the 2 percent target, after reaching a low of 1.2 percent. The disinflation expectations add to concerns that the ECB will undershoot its target, giving room for additional interest rate cuts. Second, after lingering on the verge of a recession for the last two years, the Euro Area is set for another period of underwhelming growth performance. The recent prints of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) point to a stagnant economic outlook. The PMI is a survey-based indicator that provides a measurement of improvement or deterioration in the economic outlook. The composite PMI, which tracks the joint evolution of the services and manufacturing sectors, has remained below or close to the 50-point threshold that separates contraction and expansion since August last year. The conditions for the manufacturing sector are particularly negative, with the PMI for industry having stayed in the contraction range for the last three years, amid the region's energy crisis, geopolitical uncertainty, and escalating global trade conflicts. In this context, analysts' consensus expectations, as well as the ECB staff, forecast 0.9 percent growth of real GDP this year. Given the weak economic outlook for the Euro Area, some of the members of the ECB's Governing Council have made the case for additional monetary stimulus. Third, credit growth in the Euro Area remains lacklustre. In spite of the significant interest rate cutting cycle implemented by the ECB, long-term interest rates have not shown a major reduction. The 10-year euro-bond rate remains above 3 percent, and largely unmoved in the last two years. Long-term interest rates are key for the economy, given their influence on business investment and household demand. Additionally, the ECB continues to revert the balance sheet expansion that was put in place during the pandemic, a normalization that is restraining the availability of credit. As a result of lower liquidity and higher credit costs, volumes of credit to firms are still contracting in real terms, restraining investment and signalling to the ECB the need for lower interest rates. All in all, QNB said, in spite of erratic short-term price pressures and tariff-wars alarms, we believe the balance of risks continues to lean more heavily on weak growth performance over inflation concerns. With this outlook, the ECB could implement two additional 25 b.p. cuts this year, taking the deposit interest rate to 1.5 percent

A Qatar-based study involving 121,700 patients has underscored the importance of the post-vaccination monitoring to optimise vaccine administration and ensure patient safety.The study by a group of researchers from Hamad Medical Hospital, Primary Health Care Corporation and Qatar University is titled ‘Adverse events of Covid-19 vaccines: Insights from primary health care centres in Qatar’ and was published recently in the Qatar Journal of Public Health and featured on the Qscience.com.The study emphasises the need for comprehensive surveillance and analysis of vaccine safety especially in the context of Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent efforts at vaccination of the population globally.The research highlights the significant role of vaccination in curbing the spread of the virus and mitigating severe outcomes especially in the context of Covid-19. It also points to the swift development and deployment of Covid-19 vaccines which raised concerns about potential adverse events, underscoring the importance of the need for complete monitoring and deeper analysis of vaccine safety.The research compares the prevalence and types of adverse events reported following the administration of different Covid-19 vaccines such as AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Pfizer Paediatric across various doses. The objective was to delineate patterns in both local and systemic symptoms, including severe reactions such as anaphylaxis, to enhance understanding of the safety profiles of these vaccines.The study included 121,700 patients, of whom 28,715 (23.6%) reported at least one adverse event following vaccination. According to the findings, Moderna exhibited the highest prevalence of any symptoms after the second dose (34.3%), while AstraZeneca demonstrated a significant increase in symptoms after the third dose (96.9%). Injection site pain was most prevalent with AstraZeneca’s third dose (57.1%), and anaphylaxis was most commonly reported with Pfizer Paediatric’s first dose (0.9%). The Pfizer Paediatric vaccine had the lowest rates of symptoms after the third dose (0.5%). Systemic symptoms, including fever and fatigue, were frequently reported across all vaccines.The researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of Electronic Health Records from Qatar’s Primary Health Care Corporation, focusing on individuals aged six months and older. Adverse event data were gathered using the “Covid-19 Post Vaccine Assessment Form,” which captures both local and systemic symptoms. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, with frequencies and percentages summarised.According to the researchers, the study reveals significant variability in adverse event profiles among different Covid-19 vaccines and doses.Moderna and AstraZeneca showed higher rates of both local and systemic symptoms, with AstraZeneca’s third dose exhibiting the highest overall symptom prevalence. Pfizer Paediatric had lower adverse event rates, though anaphylaxis and systemic symptoms like fever were more notable after the first dose.The study has concluded that the findings emphasise the importance of ongoing post-vaccination monitoring to optimise vaccine administration and ensure patient safety.

Vampires, zombies and the Grim Reaper are killing it at the box office. At a time when superheroes, sequels and reboots have grown stale among audiences, horror has emerged as an unlikely saviour, entertainment industry veterans say. This year, scary movies account for 17% of the North American ticket purchases, up from 11% in 2024 and 4% a decade ago, according to Comscore data compiled exclusively for Reuters. Thanks to the box office performance of Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, and new instalments of popular horror films hitting later this year, including The Conjuring: Last Rites and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, cinema owners have reason to celebrate. “We have identified horror as really one of the primary film genres that we are targeting to grow,” said Brandt Gully, owner of the Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia. “It can really fill a void when you need it.” Producers, studio executives and theatre owners say horror has historically provided a safe outlet to cope with contemporary anxieties. And there is no lack of material to choose from: the aftershocks of a global pandemic, artificial intelligence paranoia, the loss of control over one’s body, and resurgent racism. “It’s cathartic, it’s emotional, and it comes with an ending,” said film data analyst Stephen Follows, author of the Horror Movie Report, which offers detailed insights into the genre. “Horror movies give space to process things that are harder to face in everyday life.” The often low-budget productions allow for greater risk-taking than would be possible with high-cost, high-stakes productions like Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The creative freedom has attracted such acclaimed directors as Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Danny Boyle and Guillermo del Toro. “Horror movies are an accountant’s dream,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst. “If you’re going to make a science-fiction outer-space extravaganza, you can’t do that on the cheap. With horror films, a modest-budget movie like Weapon can be scary as hell.” Audiences are responding. Coogler’s Sinners, an original story about Mississippi vampires starring Michael B Jordan, was the year’s third highest-grossing movie in the US and Canada, according to Comscore. Movie theatres are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic which broke the movie-going habit, and increased viewing in the home. Mike De Luca, co-chair and Warner Bros Motion Picture Group, which released Sinners, said horror was a genre that manages to get people out of the house.”It’s a rising tide that lifts all boats,” he said. “You know, we’re trying to get people back in the habit of going to the theatres.” Fear knows no geographical bounds. Half of all horror movies released by major US distributors last year made 50* or more of their worldwide box office gross outside the US, according to London-based researcher Ampere Analysis. The breakout international hit The Substance, for example, grossed over $77mn worldwide — with around 80% of that from outside the US Streamers also are similarly capitalising on the appeal of the genre. AMC’s post-apocalyptic horror drama series The Walking Dead, became one of the most popular series when it was added to Netflix in 2023, amassing 1.3bn hours viewed, according to Netflix’s Engagement Report. Director Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein, is set to debut in November. Horror films are ideally suited to watching in movie theatres, where the environment heightens the experience. “What you can’t do at home is sit in a dark room with a hundred other people, not on your phone, and jump,” said Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, producer of Halloween, Paranormal Activity and other lucrative horror franchises. “You can’t really be scared when you watch a horror movie at home.” Big-budget movies that the industry refers to as “tent poles,” such as Captain America: Brave New World or A Minecraft Movie, remain the lifeblood of movie theatres. Over time, these blockbusters have elbowed out more moderately budgeted romantic comedies and dramas on movie screens. Against this backdrop, horror has been quietly gaining momentum. The genre broke the $1bn box office barrier in the US and Canada for the first time in 2017, Comscore reported, buoyed by the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, It, and Jordan Peele’s exploration of racial inequality in Get Out. Announcements of new horror films from US producers have risen each year for the last three years, including in 2023, when the Hollywood strikes significantly impacted production, according to Ampere Analysis. The number of US horror films that went into production last year was up 21 over 2023, Ampere found. “While more arthouse fare and even some tentpole superhero franchises have had mixed fortunes at the global box office in the wake of the pandemic, horror remains one of the key genres that audiences still make a point of seeing in the theatres,” wrote researcher Alice Thorpe in a report for Ampere’s clients which she shared with Reuters. The researcher’s own consumer surveys revealed horror is the favourite genre among two-thirds of movie-goers, ages 18-24. “Anytime a teenager graduates to wanting to take a date to the movies, horror gets popular really fast,” said Warner Bros’ De Luca. “It’s a great film-going experience to take a date to because you get to huddle with each other and gasp and hoop and holler.” Horror has been a cinematic staple from its earliest days, when Thomas Edison filmed Frankenstein on his motion picture camera, the Kinetograph, in 1910. The British Board of Film Classification introduced the “H” rating in 1932, officially designating the genre. But it didn’t always get Hollywood’s respect. “In the first half of the 20th century, it was seen as a freak-show,” said Follows. Perceptions began to change with the critical and commercial success of films like Psycho, The Exorcist and The Shining. Director Steven Spielberg ushered in the summer blockbuster in 1975 with Jaws, a re-invention of the classic monster movie. In recent years, horror movies have become part of the Oscar conversation. Peele collected an Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2018 for Get Out. Demi Moore received her first Oscar nomination earlier this year for her portrayal of an ageing Hollywood star who will go to any lengths to stay beautiful in The Substance. Not every horror movie connects with audiences. M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the 2022 low-budget film about a killer robotic doll that grossed $180mn worldwide, brought in a modest $10.2mn in the US and Canada in its opening weekend, according to Comscore. Theatre chains will have no shortage of horror movies to exhibit this summer. Seven films are slated to be released before Labor Day weekend, including Columbia Pictures’s nostalgic reboot of the 1997 film, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which reaches screens on July 18, and Weapons, which opens on August 8. “The best types of these movies are ones that elicit an audible and visceral reaction ... ‘Don’t go in there!’” said Screen Gems President Ashley Brucks, who has worked on such films as Sony’s upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer as well as A Quiet Place and Scream. “You are either squirming or laughing or screaming and just really having fun with it.” - Reuters

After considerable delay, the European Commission has presented its legislative proposal to set a 90% target for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040, which will now be deliberated by the European Parliament and the Council. The bloc has already positioned itself as a climate leader, setting an ambitious 2030 emissions-reduction goal that it is on track to meet. But with its new focus on regaining economic competitiveness and military might, the EU has been grappling with a practical and moral question: Will it continue to set the global standard for climate action?To be sure, the EU stands to benefit from adopting the proposed 2040 target. Increasing its use of renewables would bolster energy security, reduce geopolitical risk, and stabilise its economy, owing to lower and more predictable power costs.But the bloc’s commitment to decarbonisation also has global implications. The clean-energy transition offers the best chance of achieving broad-based prosperity, and the world cannot afford for the EU to reverse course. Such leadership is especially important as countries finalise their updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – climate-action plans for the next five years – ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.What may seem like a technocratic exercise in emissions accounting affects countless lives and livelihoods, particularly in the Global South countries that have borne the brunt of a crisis largely created by the Global North. Communities across Africa are already suffering the devastating effects of climate change, including heat waves, crop failures, and coastal erosion. Last year, flash floods affected more than one million people in Nigeria. In Uganda, where I live, families are losing their homes and land to landslides triggered by heavy rains. Despite contributing the least to global warming, we are facing its most severe consequences, and falling deeper into poverty as a result.Moreover, many Global South governments are caught in a debt trap, with high interest payments limiting their ability to invest in climate adaptation and mitigation. Their inability to manage worsening climate conditions could result in up to 216mn people being internally displaced by 2050, including nearly 86mn internal climate-change migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa. With cross-border climate-induced migration also likely to increase, EU leaders must decide whether to confront the root causes of displacement or treat its symptoms by fortifying the bloc’s borders – an undertaking that could prove more challenging and costly than decarbonisation.Failure to adopt the proposed 2040 target would be a betrayal of the people and countries with the least influence and the most to lose. But I do not expect the bloc to choose between its own interests and those of the Global South, because this target benefits everyone. Cutting emissions by 90% by 2040 would save the EU more than €850bn in fossil-fuel imports, eliminate its dependence on foreign gas supplies, and create 2mn new jobs in green industries. This is why many European businesses and investors support the target. It would also substantially reduce household energy bills and toxic air pollution, improving financial and human health across the continent.Maintaining an ambitious climate policy would also offer the EU an opportunity to rebuild trust with Global South governments, many of which have grown disillusioned with the Western liberal order after broken climate-finance promises, foreign-aid cuts, vaccine hoarding during the Covid-19 pandemic, and limited support for the newly operationalised loss and damage fund. African countries, in particular, are closely following the EU’s actions, wondering whether years of lofty rhetoric about climate justice will finally translate into decisive action.The signs are not promising. France, despite playing a crucial role in the ratification of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, is now leading efforts to weaken the 2040 target. Instead of displaying climate vision and leadership when they are needed most, Emmanuel Macron’s government has argued for “outsourcing” up to 7% of the emissions reduction to non-EU countries by incorporating carbon credits into the target proposal.Such indifference has a high cost. If the EU fails to submit an ambitious NDC, it risks undermining the global fight against climate change. Other countries may follow the bloc’s example and water down their own commitments. The chance to set bold collective goals ahead of COP30 will be lost, and Europe’s credibility, especially among climate-vulnerable countries, will take another hit.Climate justice cannot be postponed any longer. The EU’s decision on the 2040 target will shape the outcome of COP30 and, by extension, the crucial next phase of climate action. The world is watching to see if Europe will take responsibility for its historic role in the climate crisis and invest in a safe and dignified future for everyone. Given a chance to draw a clear line between past and future – between cowardice and courage – the EU must make the right choice. — Project Syndicate Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate-justice activist and the author of A Bigger Picture.

On Tuesday June 24, I was stuck in the airport of Muscat, Oman, for seven hours, awaiting a return flight to Doha. Qatar airspace had been closed from late Monday afternoon until just after midnight on the Tuesday morning. It followed a warning of an impending missile strike by Iranian forces on the US Forces Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which was duly carried out on the Monday evening, without loss of life. The missiles were launched in response to earlier strikes by US forces on suspected Iranian nuclear weapons sites.Qatar Airways resumed flights rapidly and efficiently after the closure of local airspace for around 10 hours on 23rd-24th June. This builds on the muscle memory of several years developing business resilienceOther Gulf states followed in closing airspace, with Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait also closing airspace.My delay was inconvenient but, in the context, it was remarkable that it only lasted seven hours. Although my scheduled time of departure was after the re-opening of airspace, hundreds of flights had had to be diverted or cancelled, resulting in aircraft and their crews being located in locations very different from the timetable, in some cases hundreds or thousands of miles away.There were nearly 100 Qatar Airways aircraft due for landing at the point of the closure of airspace. Some 25 we re-routed to Saudi Arabia, 18 to Turkiye, 15 to India, 13 to Oman, and five to the UAE. A flight from Nigeria was diverted to Egypt. The remaining flights were re-routed to various airports in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, including as far away as London and Barcelona.Dealing with such disruption is complex in aviation. For example, there are strict rules on the maximum hours a pilot may fly over a certain period of time; in addition, they may need to be acclimatised to the local time zone. So while there may be aircraft ready for take-off with qualified pilots employed by the same airline at the same airport at the same time, there may still be a further delay.Despite the huge disruption caused by the closure of airspace, Qatar Airways put into place well-practised crisis response measures. I observed the exceptional calmness of the staff on the ground in Muscat, as well as their helpfulness and professionalism. As soon as the airspace was closed, Qatar Airways staff knew what to do, and well-practised plans were implemented – not just aircrew and check-in staff, but employees trained to book hotel rooms, communicate with stranded passengers, advise on visas, and help those with medical needs. More than 3,200 hotel rooms were booked, and 35,000 meals distributed.Within hours of airspace reopening in the early hours of June 24, flights resumed – a total of 390 on that day, with more than 11,000 passengers on their way that morning alone. Within 24 hours, all passengers on the diverted flights had resumed their journeys. By Wednesday June 25, Qatar Airways operated 578 flights, and no diverted passengers were still stranded.The airline has built up considerable ‘muscle memory’ when it comes to dealing with disruptions. The blockade of Qatar airspace in the period 2017-2021, during which time only a narrow corridor over Iran was accessible, was followed by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns which had a devastating effect on the aviation industry. Qatar Airways was one of the few carriers that managed to continue operations – obviously while observing protocols on hygiene, testing and vaccination.There is an important lesson around business planning and executive priorities. In the early years of globalisation, there was an emphasis on establishing ultra-lean supply chains, based on the ‘just-in-time’ principle – minimising the amount of stock that has to be warehoused, for example. This led to very high operational efficiencies – but only if there are no significant disruptions. A hyper-efficient business operation is fragile.Since the pandemic, there has been a fundamental reappraisal in business planning and related theory, downplaying the importance of being ‘just in time’ and building in more contingency. Resilience is increasingly likely to be given equal priority to efficiency. This means not just building up stock, or having some spare capacity, but also rigorous scenario-planning and staff training exercises testing the ability of teams to respond to different types of crises or other unexpected events.There are perhaps two types of company executives: Those who expect trouble-free roll-out of all the strategic plans they unveil on PowerPoint presentations, and those who expect disruption, and almost relish a mini-crisis and having to react to events. The latter are always more suited for real operations, and especially during the current period of trade wars, unpredictable geopolitics and relentless cyberattacks.Since the Israeli and US attacks on suspected nuclear weapons sites in Iran, and the Iranian regime’s response on June 23, it has been impossible to know whether the conflict would escalate, be resolved or just be dragged out in a cold war. These three broad categories of outcomes are still all possible, as no one can be certain of the durability of the ceasefire agreed following June 24.The author is a Qatari banker, with many years of experience in the banking sector in senior positions.

Tucked beneath the armrest of a luxury business class seat in a factory in Wales lies a clue to a global aviation bottleneck that has left many airlines waiting impatiently for new jets.Before the armrest can support the pampered elbow of a premium passenger, a complex manufacturing jigsaw with as many as 3,000 parts from 50 suppliers in 15 countries needs to be meticulously assembled to produce the luxury seat.As air travel grows, this niche but critical part of the aerospace industry is at the centre of efforts to clear a logjam that has contributed to billions of dollars of aircraft delays for industry giants Airbus and Boeing, and higher fares for passengers.“If you look at this, all you would see is a top-level arm cap and think that’s very nice,” Dafydd Davies, industrial vice-president at Safran Seats GB, said during a visit to the company’s factory in Cwmbran, South Wales. “If you look below, there is a lot more to the mechanical assembly.”To understand the often overlooked issue of how something as outwardly simple as a seat can slow the entire jet supply chain, Reuters spoke to over a dozen people involved in seat making and purchasing, airline chief executives and designers.Coupled with bottlenecks in certification, growing airline demand for bespoke features has made it hard for a fragmented seat industry — only now getting back on its feet after the Covid pandemic — to achieve economies of scale and boost output.“There has been a perfect storm of what would otherwise not be industry-stopping problems,” said aircraft interiors expert John Walton, founder of specialist publication The Up Front. “It’s still very much a cottage industry.”Airbus warned airlines in May that delivery delays could persist for another three years as it works through a backlog of supply problems, which it blames chiefly on engines and seats.With air travel rebounding from the pandemic, airlines will need more than 8mn seats in the next decade, according to a study by Tronos Aviation Consultancy and AeroDynamic Advisory.It’s a business worth $52bn over 10 years.The cabin of a long-haul jet contains some of the world’s prime revenue-generating real estate, which is why airlines are prepared to pay $80,000-100,000 for a business-class seat and an astonishing $1mn for a first-class suite, insiders say.“There are only a few truly differentiated things you can do onboard as an airline: the crew, the seat, the catering. Not so much the aircraft. So that’s where we’re going in the premium classes,” said Lufthansa Group Chief Executive Carsten Spohr.At the airline industry’s annual Oscars every April in the German city of Hamburg, honours are handed out for inventions such as smart lavatories, smart seats and even smart bins.Entrance to the Aircraft Interiors exhibition is strictly by invitation and rows of showrooms are protected by security worthy of a jewellery store. Inside, each is an Aladdin’s cave of fast connectivity, eco-friendly materials and recently launched comforts such as headrests with built in audio.The most advanced innovations are even further out of sight.“It’s a secretive world. Sometimes they have the little back rooms where they’ve got a seat or product they haven’t publicly talked about,” Steven Greenway, CEO of Saudi carrier Flyadeal, said as he shopped for premium seats for Airbus A330neo jets.But behind the curtain is an industry struggling to graduate from a craftsman-like approach and small production runs to industrial scale — despite waves of consolidation which have whittled the sector down to two main rivals in premium seats: France’s Safran and RTX unit Collins Aerospace.Then comes Germany’s Recaro Aircraft Seating, which dominates economy seating but has struggled to break into premium, and rivals including China-owned Thompson Aero Seating and ventures backed by Airbus and Boeing: Stelia and Elevate.“They compete on innovation, yes, but when they produce, it’s not as reliable as the car industry,” said Lufthansa’s Spohr, whose airline has waited months for Boeing 787s grounded by missing seats, commenting on the overall seat industry.Longer ranges for smaller planes have also triggered a scramble to adapt premium seat designs to tighter spaces. Even the tapered shape of a fuselage and differences between left and right mean few luxury seats are exactly the same.Added to that are tough certification requirements designed to protect head impact, and a dearth of certification engineers.Seats typically last about seven years whereas planes themselves fly for 20-25 years, so even when jets are finally delivered, the need for new seats soon comes around again.“It’s been a problem for 20 years. It’s not just a recent issue. But I think it’s got worse,” Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association and former head of British Airways, told Reuters.Failing to put the industry on a more solid footing could crimp the growth plans of airlines or force carriers to fly older planes for longer, and focus more on refurbishments.Now, some seat makers are trying to simplify production as they rebuild fragile global supply chains.Safran is one. Its seats unit finally broke even in the fourth quarter of 2024 after being battered, like many of its rivals, by the slump in demand during the global pandemic.“We’ve almost had to restart this industry. We’ve had to ramp back up again. We lost some longevity in talent because they decided to do something else,” said Safran Seats Chief Executive Victoria Foy.“The fact that we got 2.5 times more out the door in 2024 than the year before demonstrates we can ramp up,” she said in an interview at the company’s Cwmbran factory.On the factory floor, chips, screens and motors are pieced together in individual bays rather than on a moving production line since few luxury seats are the same. A walled-off workshop for first-class seats guarantees even more individual attention.“We are managing a similar level of requirements to that of a landing gear or an engine,” Foy said.Under pressure to avoid those spiralling out of control, Safran and others are now rethinking the way they build seats to marry the customised flourishes required by many airlines with the cookie-cutter approach needed for efficient assembly.Instead of developing each seat from scratch, manufacturers are looking to re-use underlying designs, much in the way auto makers often use one chassis for different models and brands.Using a limited set of underlying designs allows seat companies to do the basic engineering and certification earlier on, avoiding the risk of delays later in the process.But it’s not just about improving the factory floor.Air travel is changing, said Stan Kottke, president of interiors at Collins Aerospace.In the Middle East, more families fly in business class. In the United States, retirees want to travel in an ergonomic seat. Millennials are investing in high-end travel experiences.They all want something different from the typical business nomad and airlines may even have to cater to different users at different times of day, Kottke told Reuters in an interview.“You can build a platform that is deliberately designed for differentiation in a bunch of different directions,” he said.The disciplined approach is reshaping negotiations with airlines, where the CEO is often personally involved in the finer points ofcabin design.In a change of tone, suppliers are increasingly turning away business rather than chasing every deal, four people with direct knowledge of such talks said. In tenders, the reply “no bid” has become common, as seat suppliers avoid piling up financial risk.The industrial blockage has strained the delicate three-way relationship between planemakers, suppliers and carriers.Airlines often buy seats directly from suppliers such as Safran, Collins or Recaro but get Airbus or Boeing to fit them.Airbus is now exploring ways of charging seat firms penalties for delays that hold up deliveries of jets from its factories, two people familiar with the discussions said.None of the companies commented on contractual matters.Planemakers must also walk a tightrope between marketing the flexibility of their cabins while nudging airlines towards accepting greater standardisation to alleviate supply problems.Airbus has said it is acting to reduce risks to its own ramp-up plans from the “divergent complexity” of bespoke interiors, while Boeing has said the resulting bottlenecks in certification will be a challenge for the rest of this year.The two giants have a powerful ally in the leasing industry.“My advice to all airline CEOs would be... stop inventing more seats. I know every airline CEO wants to design their own business class seat - don’t do it,” said Aengus Kelly, chief executive of the world’s largest aircraft lessor AerCap.“Take one that is certified, that’s a very good product, and you’ll get your airplane in the air faster.”Airlines aren’t willing to give up one of their biggest branding weapons just yet.One of the latest carriers to unveil plush seating, Saudi startup Riyadh Air, ruled out any retreat from customisation.“I want a brand that’s unique and that uniqueness is presented in the cabin,” CEO Tony Douglas told Reuters.