‘I love you guys!’: Elon Musk lands $44.9bn pay deal after Tesla vote
Musk hails ‘awesome shareholder base’ after vote to restore compensation deal rejected by US judge. Elon Musk has won back his $44.9bn pay package at electric carmaker Tesla after shareholders voted to restore the compensation deal in a ringing endorsement of his leadership. The vote at Tesla’s annual meeting on Thursday came after a judge in the US state of Delaware threw out the deal after finding that the company’s board was too close to Musk and had not protected shareholders’ interests. “I just want to start off by saying, hot damn, I love you guys!” a jubilant Musk said as he appeared on stage after the vote. “We have the most awesome shareholder base. I mean it’s just incredible.” Musk’s pay deal was valued at about $56bn at the peak of Tesla’s share price in late 2021 but has since declined in value by about one-quarter in tandem with a drop in the company’s stock price. The shareholders’ vote does not necessarily mean Musk will receive the pay package but could bolster Tesla’s appeal against the Delaware ruling against the deal. In her January decision, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick described the pay package as “unfathomable”. “Swept up by the rhetoric of ‘all upside,’ or perhaps starry eyed by Musk’s superstar appeal, the board never asked the $55.8 billion question: Was the plan even necessary for Tesla to retain Musk and achieve its goals?” McCormick wrote in her decision. Musk, who founded Tesla in 2003, does not receive a salary for leading the carmaker. Under the terms of his 2018 pay deal, Musk agreed to be paid stock worth about 1 percent of Tesla’s equity each time the company achieved one of its operational and financial goals. While Tesla’s business has soared under Musk’s leadership, at one point taking the company’s market value to $1.24 trillion, sales have slowed sharply amid growing competition from Chinese EV makers. Musk has also attracted controversy with his outspoken views on politics and battled perceptions that he is spread too thin due to his involvement in six companies, including rocket company SpaceX and social media platform X. Tesla shares rose 0.7 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday, after earlier gaining 2.9 percent following Musk’s announcement on social media that investors backed the deal. Prior to Thursday’s vote, Musk had expressed doubts about his future at Tesla. In January, Musk said in a post on X that he would prefer to build artificial intelligence and robotics products outside of Tesla if he could not have a 25 percent stake in the company. Musk is already by far Tesla’s largest shareholder, holding more than 20 percent of its equity. Tesla shareholders on Thursday also approved proposals to move the company’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas and reappoint Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch – Musk’s brother and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s son, respectively – to the company’s board. Tesla did not announce the vote tallies, but several large institutional investors had opposed the deal, including Norges Bank Investment Management, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Adblock test (Why?)
Who will win? When is the football final? The UEFA Euro 2024 guide
How many teams are playing in Euro 2024 and what’s the format? Al Jazeera answers your questions. Euro 2024, the 17th edition of the European Championship, will kick off in Germany on June 14. Euro 2024 marks the return of the competition to its usual four-year cycle after the 2020 event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy are the defending champions, having won the last tournament by beating England in the Euro 2020 final on penalties. Here’s what you need to know about Euro 2024. Euro 2024 mascot Albart poses with the European Championship trophy [Liesa Johannssen/Reuters] ⚽ Which teams have qualified for Euro 2024? Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his sixth European Football Championships at Euro 2024 in Germany [Darko Bandic/AP] ⚽ When does Euro 2024 start and end? Group stage: June 14 to 26 Round of 16: June 29 to July 2 Quarterfinals: July 5 and 6 Semifinals: July 9 and 10 Final: July 14 ⚽ What’s the format, groups and match schedule for Euro 2024? Teams will be divided into six groups, consisting of four teams each. The top two sides from each group along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16. Winners of the last-16 will proceed to the quarterfinals followed by the semifinals and the final. In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time (two periods of 15 minutes each) will be played. If still tied after extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. Al Jazeera has a dedicated fixtures page listing the entire Euro 2024 match schedule, featuring all the kickoff times, venues and real-time goal updates. Keep up to date with your team’s progress in the tournament via the real-time Euro 2024 Group Standings page. ⚽ Which teams are favourites to win Euro 2024? Al Jazeera has identified the six main contenders who could be lifting the Euro 2024 trophy come July 14. We will send out these team features 24 hours before each team plays their first match. England France Spain Germany Portugal Italy ⚽ Where will the matches be played? Ten venues have been chosen for the tournament. Of those, nine were used at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The host cities are Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart. Munich will be staging matches for the second Euro in succession; Munich Football Arena was one of 11 co-host venues that held matches during Euro 2020. Check out the 10 stadiums to be used during Euro 2024. Munich Football Arena, also known as Allianz Arena, will be one of the 10 venues used during Euro 2024 [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters] ⚽ Al Jazeera Sport has a quick walkthrough of the history of the European Football Championship. After learning the history, test yourself on the Al Jazeera Euro 2024 quiz. ⚽ Euro 2024 tickets Public ticket sales for Euro 2024 started on German Unity Day, October 3, 2023. More than 1.2 million tickets were available during the first round of ticket applications. Tickets were allocated via a UEFA portal lottery process and applicants could apply for a maximum of four tickets per match. Individuals were not awarded tickets for different matches scheduled for the same day. The cheapest tickets available are for 30 euros (approximately $33) for the lowest category pricing of group stage fixtures. The ticket price for the final ranges from 95 to 2,000 euros. ⚽ How much is the prize money for Euro 2024? UEFA has said it will pay 331 million euros ($360m) in total prize money to the 24 participants. The maximum amount that the champion team may achieve, if they have won all three of their group matches, is 28.25 million euros ($30.31m). ⚽ Where can I follow Euro 2024? UEFA has allotted rights to various broadcasting and online streaming outlets across the world. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match build-up and live text commentary of the biggest matches, and keep up to date with group standings and real-time match results and schedules. Adblock test (Why?)
How can Europe become more competitive?
Dubbed a ‘competitiveness crisis’, the EU’s investment, income and productivity are lagging behind the US and China. Struggling with slow growth, weak productivity and changing demographics, Europe’s share of the global economy is shrinking and lagging behind the United States and China. Its leaders are worried the continent might not be able to catch up and want to make the European Union more competitive. To achieve that, former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi says the bloc needs “radical change”. But getting more than two dozen nations in the bloc to act jointly and carve out a way forward is challenging. Can India’s prime minister push through economic reforms? Plus, What are the economic benefits of Hajj? Adblock test (Why?)
Hezbollah launches rockets, drones at northern Israel military sites
Hezbollah has said it launched a major drone and rocket attack targeting several Israeli military bases amid growing fears of an all-out war between the Lebanese armed group and Israel. It was the largest attack by the Iran-aligned group since the outbreak of violence between the two sides on October 8, a Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera Arabic on Thursday. The group said the attack in northern Israel was in retaliation for the assassination of senior commander Taleb Abdullah – known as Abu Taleb – in an Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese village of Jouaiya earlier this week. The source said the “compound attack” also aimed to establish deterrence after the killing of Abdullah. The Lebanese group used 150 rockets and 30 explosive drones to target 15 Israeli positions, including some in the occupied Golan Heights, the source said. Israeli media outlets reported that Hezbollah rockets wounded at least two people and started 15 fires. The Israeli military said in a post on X that “numerous” launches were intercepted and that some ignited fires. In an official statement, Hezbollah said the operation was “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people and their courageous and honourable resistance in Gaza and in the context of the response to the assassination that the Zionist enemy carries out in Jouaiyya”. One of the Israeli units targeted in the attack is responsible for planning assassinations, Hezbollah said. On Wednesday, Hezbollah had also fired a barrage of 200 rockets at Israel. There have been near-constant reports of rocket sirens being activated in northern Israel since Abdullah was killed along with three other fighters late on Tuesday. Hezbollah does not reveal details about its military structure or ranks, but Abdullah was only the second slain fighter from the group to be eulogised as a “commander” in the past months – after Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli attack in January. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad paid tribute to Abdullah on Wednesday, lauding his efforts to confront Israel. Hezbollah started attacking military bases in northern Israel after the outbreak of the war on Gaza in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian armed groups. Israel has responded by bombing villages across south Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah’s positions. Despite the near-daily exchange of fire, the confrontations have largely been limited to the border area. Tens of thousands of people in south Lebanon and northern Israel have fled their homes to escape the violence. Late last month, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah portrayed the Lebanese front with Israel as historically decisive. “This battle concerns Palestine, but also concerns the future of Lebanon and its water and oil resources,” Nasrallah said. “This front is a support front that is part of the battle that will determine the fate of Palestine, Lebanon and the region strategically.” Aided by Iran, the Lebanese organisation has grown in strength in recent years. Hezbollah fought a years-long war against Israel, culminating in the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of south Lebanon they occupied for nearly two decades. In 2006, Israel launched a major offensive to disarm Hezbollah after the group carried out a deadly cross-border attack against Israeli forces. The conflict ended without major changes to the status quo. But Hezbollah has grown both its rocket arsenal and regional influence since then. Earlier this month, Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem told Al Jazeera that the group is “ready” for war if Israel intensifies its attacks. “Any Israeli expansion of the war on Lebanon will be met with devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel,” he said. “If Israel wants to fight an all-out war, we are ready for it.” Israeli officials have pledged to push Hezbollah fighters further away from the country’s borders, including by force if necessary. “Israel will respond with force to all aggressions by Hezbollah,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said on Thursday. “Whether through diplomatic efforts or otherwise, Israel will restore security on our northern border.” A war with Hezbollah, which has demonstrated sophisticated military capabilities, including the use of guided rockets and precision drones, could prove more costly to Israel than the continuing conflict in Gaza. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said Hezbollah has been stepping up its attacks not only to respond to the killing of its commander but also to strengthen Hamas’s negotiating position amid ceasefire talks and warn Israel against launching a major offensive in Lebanon. “So this is also about deterrence on the part of Hezbollah,” Khodr said. “No doubt, this is a dangerous escalation of this ongoing conflict,” referring to the Israeli promise to respond to the latest attacks. Adblock test (Why?)
Former SpaceX workers file suit alleging harassment, wrongful termination
Eight former engineers accuse CEO Elon Musk of overseeing a ‘pervasively sexist culture’ at the rocket company. Eight former SpaceX engineers have filed a lawsuit accusing the rocket company and its CEO Elon Musk of firing them for raising concerns about the treatment of female employees. In a lawsuit filed in California on Wednesday, the former employees alleged that Musk personally ordered their termination after they circulated a letter within SpaceX raising concerns about the billionaire’s sexually charged comments on social media. The lawsuit accuses Musk of overseeing a “pervasively sexist culture” and “‘Animal House’ environment”, with women evaluated on their bra size and bombarded with sexual banter. The suit references a number of Musk’s comments on his social platform X, including a post telling former YouTube CEO Chad Hurley, “If you touch my wiener, you can have a horse”. “SpaceX management knowingly permitted and fostered a work environment rife with sexual harassment,” Anne B Shaver, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “To have been terminated for protesting SpaceX’s utter failure to take basic measures to prevent sexual harassment is patently retaliatory, wrong, and actionable.” Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement released by her lawyers that the suit was an “important milestone in our quest for justice”. “We hope that this lawsuit encourages our colleagues to stay strong and to keep fighting for a better workplace,” she said. The former employees are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and an order prohibiting SpaceX from continuing to engage in unlawful conduct. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The former employees earlier filed a case with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accusing the company of violating US labour law. The NLRB last month told a federal judge in Texas court that it would suspend its case against SpaceX in order to expedite a final ruling in a lawsuit by the company that claims the agency’s structure and procedures violate the US Constitution. Adblock test (Why?)
Russian navy fleet, including frigate, nuclear-powered sub, arrives in Cuba
US downplays deployment, which comes amid rising tensions over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, accompanied by a tug boat and a fuel ship, have arrived in Cuba for a five-day visit seen as a show of force by Moscow amid rising tension over its invasion of Ukraine. Curious onlookers, fishermen and police gathered along the Malecon seafront boulevard in Havana to welcome the fleet as it entered the city’s harbour on Wednesday. Cuba, a longtime ally of Russia, saluted the vessels’ arrival with a 21-gun salute, while Russian diplomats waved small Russian flags and took selfies against a backdrop of the harbour’s historic fortresses. The four Russian vessels conducted “high-precision missile weapons” training in the Atlantic Ocean while on their way to Cuba. The submarine and frigate are equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx antiship missiles, the Russian Ministry of Defence said. The unusual deployment of the Russian navy so close to the United States comes after Washington and some of Ukraine’s other Western allies allowed Kyiv to use their weapons on targets inside Russia amid a renewed Russian assault on northeastern Kharkiv and battle troop and ammunition shortages. Havana lies just 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Key West in the southern state of Florida where the US has a naval air station. “The warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your near abroad,” Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America programme at the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center think tank, told The Associated Press news agency, referring to Western involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “It also reminds Russia’s friends in the region, including US antagonists Cuba and Venezuela, that Moscow is on their side,” he said. Russian marines stand guard on top of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan in Havana’s harbour [Yamil Lage/AFP] Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice by naval vessels from countries friendly to Havana and that the fleet was not carrying nuclear weapons. The US, which has been monitoring the vessels, has also played down the deployment. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that such naval exercises were routine. “We have seen this kind of thing before, and we expect to see this kind of thing again, and I’m not going to read into it any particular motives,” Sullivan said. He added that there was no evidence of Russia transferring any missiles to Cuba, but the US would remain vigilant. ‘Not October 1962’ The port call coincided with a meeting in Moscow between Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. During the meeting, Rodriguez expressed his government’s “rejection of the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] towards the Russian border,” which he said “led to the current conflict in Europe, and especially between Moscow and Kyiv”, according to a Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. He also called for “a diplomatic, constructive and realistic solution” to the conflict. During the Cold War, Cuba was an important ally of the then Soviet Union, and when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, the standoff brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba has maintained relations with Russia and the two countries have become closer since a 2022 meeting between Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kazan in the harbour alongside the rescue and salvage tugboat Nikolay Chiker, top right, part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba [Yamil Lage/AFP] For Havana, the relationship is driven mainly by economic necessity as it grapples with shortages of everything from food and medicine to fuel. The US has maintained an economic and trade embargo on Cuba since 1960. “This is not October 1962 again,” Javier Farje, an expert on Latin American politics, told Al Jazeera. “This is a different time. Cuba has become increasingly dependent on Russia because of the lack of economic development.” Russia in March delivered 90,000 metric tonnes of Russian oil to Cuba to help alleviate shortages and has promised to help Havana in projects ranging from sugar production to infrastructure, renewable energy and tourism. The Russian ships are expected to remain in Havana until June 17. US officials expect the Russian ships to remain in the region throughout the summer and possibly also stop in Venezuela. Adblock test (Why?)
G7 leaders to kick off summit in Italy’s southern Apulia
Additional aid to Ukraine, the war in Gaza and investment in Africa will dominate the agenda of the three-day forum. Bari, Italy – Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries are gearing up for a three-day summit to discuss global affairs in the southern region of Puglia (Apulia). The event will start on Thursday in Borgo Egnazia, a luxurious resort surrounded by olive trees in the style of a medieval village and very much loved by celebrities including popstar Madonna. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the host of this year’s summit, will be welcoming the heads of state of the seven members – the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom – as well as the chiefs of the European Council and the European Commission. As the “like-minded” group tries to shake off its reputation of being a club just for the wealthy West, Italy has extended an invitation to more than 10 other countries for sideline discussions. These include UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed, Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Notable absentees are Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who, according to a list seen by Al Jazeera, had been invited. The timing could not be better for Meloni, who will preside over the summit as Europe’s rising star following her far-right party’s victory at the recent European Parliament elections that saw a turn to the right across the continent. “I’m proud to be heading to the G7 with the strongest government of all,” the prime minister said on her way to Puglia. The luxurious Borgo Egnazia resort is a contemporary take on a medieval village [Giuseppe Lami/EPA] Africa and the Mediterranean – two key national security issues – will feature prominently in the summit. Meloni is expected to expand her flagship foreign policy, the so-called Mattei Plan. The project aims to position Italy as a major energy hub between Europe and the African continent in the hope of boosting growth in Africa and, in turn, curbing immigration to Europe. Support for Ukraine is also top of the agenda. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to arrive on the summit’s first day for two sessions dedicated to the war-torn country. The G7’s most anticipated outcome is an agreement over a $50bn loan for Ukraine backed by profits accrued on Russian assets frozen in the West soon after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. An Italian source told Al Jazeera there was political will to announce a deal at the summit, even if some technical issues need ironing out. Such an agreement, the source said, would send a strong message of unity with Kyiv at a time when Ukrainian soldiers are on the back foot, and Moscow is making steady gains in the east and north of the country. A potential change in the White House in the US’s November elections has added to the urgency. Another session is on the Middle East, where Israel’s war on Gaza is expected to dominate talks. Observers say leaders are likely to reiterate past positions, from calling on Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal laid out by US President Joe Biden, to acknowledging the importance of a two-state solution for peace in the region. Among the guests, there will also be Pope Francis – marking the first time a pontiff has been invited to the summit – for a session dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI). Other specific sessions will then be on migration, financial issues and the situation in the Asia Pacific. A final statement is expected on Saturday. This is usually a document that indicates the direction the group’s members intend to follow – crafting future policies while offering the rest of the world a window into their priorities. Adblock test (Why?)
From Bellingham to Mbappe: 10 top players to watch at UEFA Euro 2024
Euro 2024 kicks off in Germany when the hosts take on Scotland at Munich’s Allianz Arena in Group A on June 14, Friday. High-profile players and breakout stars from the best leagues in the world will compete in the month-long Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) championship. Here’s a look at our top 10 players to watch during the tournament: ⚽ Jude Bellingham (England) Jude Bellingham’s stunning debut season at Spanish mega club Real Madrid has rapidly turned the attacking English midfielder into one of the hottest commodities in European football. Bellingham took the Spanish giants by storm with 18 league goals in the 2023-24 season, helping Madrid win the La Liga title and reach the Champions League final. Apart from his impressive statistics, the 20-year-old’s leadership qualities and winning mentality have earned him the status of a hero among the Bernabeu faithful. Bellingham will be keen to build on his spectacular club performance and could be the X factor in England’s Euro 2024 campaign, as they look to claim a maiden European nations title. England’s chances at Euro 2024 may rest with how well star midfielder Jude Bellingham performs in Germany [Matthew Childs/Reuters] ⚽ Florian Wirtz (Germany) Florian Wirtz was named the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year for his key role in Xabi Alonso’s revolutionary 2023-24 title-winning team at Bayer Leverkusen, as the attacking midfielder racked up the joint second-most assists (11) and scored an equal number of goals. Wirtz is one of the brightest stars to emerge out of Germany in the last decade, with a rare talent to control and dominate the midfield in a way few other players in world football can. If host Euro 2024 nation Germany is to have any chance of winning the trophy on home soil, Wirtz will need to be at his impactful best in order for them to succeed. Germany’s hopes of securing a home Euros title rest on the 21-year-old shoulders of attacking midfield sensation Florian Wirtz [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters] ⚽ Xavi Simons (Netherlands) Xavi Simons is a product of Barcelona’s La Masia Academy and his game boasts admirable traits of ‘Total Football’ – a tactical system common in Dutch and Spanish football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player – allowing the 21-year-old to impact a game from a multitude of positions. At RB Leipzig, Simons operated on both wings and also as an attacking midfielder, carrying the ball around, maximising possession and creating goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates. If given the game time and attacking liberty by manager Ronald Koeman, Simons can be a standout player for the Netherlands, allowing the Dutch a puncher’s chance to defeat the main contenders at Euro 2024. Xavi Simons’ sublime talent on the Dutch national team elevates the Netherlands from pretenders to contenders at Euro 2024 [Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters] ⚽ Rasmus Hojlund (Denmark) Having joined Manchester United as their most expensive signing in the summer of 2023, Rasmus Hojlund fully justified his price tag, scoring 10 English Premier League goals and at just 21 years old, becoming the youngest player to reach double-figure goals in the 2023-24 EPL season. After overcoming injury issues and a form slump, Hojlund emerged as a promising attacking talent in the final months of the Premier League and will be keen to carry that form into Euro 2024. In the past year, Hojlund has also thrived at an international level, leading Denmark’s attack with a sizzling seven goals during the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Euro 2024 could be forward Rasmus Hojlund’s breakout party as Denmark dare to dream of their first European championship since their miraculous Euro 1992 title [Liselotte Sabroe/Reuters] ⚽ Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was the midfield maestro behind Manchester City’s victorious 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) title charge, orchestrating the Sky Blues’ charge to their fourth straight EPL title. The Belgian was almost unstoppable in the second half of the season for City and is on form at the right time with Euro 2024 beginning mid-June. Belgium will hope De Bruyne is fit and firing for the Euros, where they could benefit from his experience in a new-look squad that is hoping to improve on the team’s quarterfinal appearances at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. Victorious Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne, in white, will be hoping to lead Belgium to Euro 2024 glory, as well [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters] ⚽ Kenan Yildiz (Turkey) Eighteen-year-old Kenan Yildiz transformed Max Allegri’s dull Juventus side in Italy’s Serie A, helping the defensive-minded team score far more than expected. His presence improved not only his fellow striker Dusan Vlahovic’s form, but also Juve’s wingbacks, allowing them space between the lines. As one of Serie A’s most exciting attackers, Yildiz stands on the brink of stardom for Turkey, for whom he scored his first international goal against Germany in November last year. Euro 2024 will be a homecoming of sorts for the lanky forward: Yildiz was born in Regensburg, Germany to a Turkish father and a German mother. He will be hoping to elevate Turkey to at least the quarterfinals after the country was disappointingly knocked out at the group stage in the last two Euros. Talented Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz will return to his place of birth in Germany with one thing on his mind: winning his country’s first Euro title [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters] ⚽ Lamine Yamal (Spain) At just 16 years old, Lamine Yamal already has set a list of extraordinary records in his young career: youngest scorer for Barcelona, youngest scorer in La Liga history and youngest scorer for the Spanish national team. This Spanish wonderkid’s explosive nature on the wings and unique ability to find the back of the net makes him one of the best options the national team will have in attack at Euro 2024 in Germany. Euro 2024 may turn out to be the global coming-out party for the player many believe is one of the greatest 16-year-old prospects to ever
More than 80 people dead in DR Congo after boat capsizes
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, President Felix Tshisekedi calls for investigation after boat accident on Kwa River in Mai-Ndombe province. More than 80 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have died after the boat they were travelling on sank, President Felix Tshisekedi has announced. The accident on Wednesday occurred on the Kwa River, about 70km (43 miles) from the city of Mushie in Mai-Ndombe province. “The President of the Republic is calling for an investigation into the true causes of this unfortunate incident, to prevent such a disaster from happening again in the future,” the presidency said in a post on X. Deadly boat accidents are common in the DRC, where vessels are frequently loaded well beyond their capacity. Adblock test (Why?)
Can Trump rein in his own base on abortion?
With the presidential campaign well under way in the United States, abortion rights are shaping up to be one of the defining issues of the 2024 election. President Joe Biden has placed it at the top of his electoral agenda, seeking to rally progressive and women voters. Polls have consistently shown a majority of Americans support abortion remaining legal while a number of legislative initiatives to pass abortion bans in Republican-dominated states have failed. That has caused former President Donald Trump to rethink his own campaign strategy on the issue. Fearing he may alienate moderate voters, he has significantly toned down his rhetoric on abortion rights, recently indicating that he would not sign a national abortion ban. This is not the first time Trump has flip-flopped on a key issue of public interest. He did so during the COVID-19 pandemic when he dressed his endorsement of vaccines in caveats about “personal freedoms” to please his support base. But this time, this strategy may backfire. To be clear, Trump doesn’t substantively care about abortion rights. He seems to have gone from being “very pro-choice” in 1999 to being “pro-life” in 2011 to advocating legal punishment for women who had abortions during his 2016 campaign. However, Trump does care about winning, or more precisely about being perceived as a winner. That is why as recently as last year, he was taking credit for “killing” Roe v Wade, the landmark case that guaranteed abortion rights until the Supreme Court overturned it in 2022. “After 50 years of failure with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform last year, adding: “Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing.” The problem that Trump now has is that the MAGA crowd sit far to the right of him on the issue of abortion and he does not seem able to rein them in. In fact, moderating his rhetoric on abortion may alienate some of his supporters, especially the white conservative evangelical base. For evangelicals, the fight against abortion has been the centrepiece of their unspoken bargain with Trump: We’ll ignore your many moral and legal failings as long as you push forward our agenda. They may perceive Trump’s moderation of rhetoric as a betrayal of this bargain at a time when they have built momentum towards eliminating all legal abortions in Republican-controlled states. Trump might try to hold onto these voters with other issues, such as LGBTQ rights, exaggerated narratives about urban crime and so on. But those may not be enough. Already Trump is feeling the heat from conservatives. In April, Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature blocked a Democrat-led effort to repeal an 1864 law banning abortion, defying Trump, who had said the ban “went too far”. Days later, former Vice President Mike Pence, a devout Christian, criticised his former boss in a New York Times opinion piece, accusing him of “retreating” on the abortion issue, displaying “weakness” and “leading other Republicans astray” by encouraging moderation. In early May, moderate Republicans in Arizona joined Democrats to repeal the 1864 law, but conservatives continued to defend abortion bans. The eagerness of state-level Republicans to restrict abortion and their recalcitrance against calls for moderation, even from fellow Republicans, create a challenge for Trump. So he may change strategy and avoid confronting abortion hardliners. This seems to be in play already. Trump was recently scheduled to virtually address supporters at an event hosted by the Danbury Institute, an ultraconservative organisation that seeks to completely ban abortion, which it considers “child sacrifice”. However, instead of doing a speech, his campaign sent a two-minute recorded message to be played to the audience in which he made one passing reference to protecting “innocent life” but otherwise sidestepped the issue of abortion entirely. As much as he tries, Trump will be unable to avoid an issue that is mobilising voters against the Republican Party, especially as the Biden campaign has already started to hang the abortion albatross around his neck. The topic will almost certainly come up in one or both of the debates the two candidates have agreed to have, and a number of states like Florida will have abortion measures on the ballot in November. Trump may also try to sell his supporters the idea that it’s politically expedient to moderate, at least until after the election. But many of his most fervent anti-abortion supporters are eager to capitalise on the successes they have had during and after his first term in office. Trump may, therefore, find it difficult to contain the political forces that he has unleashed, a reality that could end up costing him and his anti-abortion supporters victory in November. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)