India shares plunge on concerns of a narrower win for India’s Modi
Indian stocks have suffered their worst intraday fall since March 2020 and foreign investors sold the most on record, as vote-counting trends in the general election suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance was unlikely to win the overwhelming majority predicted by exit polls. With over half the votes counted on Tuesday, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looked unlikely to secure a majority on its own in the 543-member lower house of parliament and likely to need allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form the government. That could lead to some uncertainty over economic policies, such as the push for investment-led growth, which has been the cornerstone of the Modi government’s rule. The Indian economy grew 8.2 percent in the financial year ended March 2024. “The key question is whether BJP can retain a single-party majority,” said Ken Peng, head of investment strategy for Asia at Citi Global Wealth. “If not, then would its coalition be able to deliver economic development, particularly infrastructure?” The NSE Nifty 50 index closed down 5.93 percent at 21,884.5 points, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 5.74 percent to 72,079.05. The indexes fell as much as 8.5 percent earlier in the day, after hitting record highs on Monday. At the day’s low, the indexes saw their biggest intraday fall since March 2020, when stocks were battered by the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Due to the dependency on coalition partners, the upcoming NDA government may shift its focus towards a welfare-oriented approach rather than concentrating on reforms during the July budget,” said Puneet Sharma, CEO and fund manager at Whitespace Alpha. Indian markets are likely to now derate due to higher risk perception, said analysts at brokerage Emkay Global, which believes that difficult reforms like changes to land and labour policies, along with privatisation of state-run enterprises, were “off the table”. Exit polls over the weekend had projected a big win for Modi’s NDA, catapulting markets to all-time highs on Monday as investors were buoyed by expectations of sustained economic growth. ‘Policy continuity’ Benchmark indexes had more than tripled in value since Modi became prime minister in May 2014, as of Monday’s close. Foreign investors, who poured a net $20.7bn into Indian equities last year but pulled back ahead of the election, had been widely expected to turn buyers if the Modi alliance secured a decisive mandate. On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold a record 124.36 billion rupees (about $1.5bn) worth of Indian shares, according to provisional data released Tuesday evening. They had bought shares worth a net 68.51 billion rupees ($824.4m) on Monday. “In our view, the important thing is that the NDA returns to form the next government, which represents policy continuity,” said Mike Sell, head of global emerging market equities at Alquity in London. “Whether they win by 20 or 120 impacts the amount of structural reform that can take place, but ultimately a win is a win and the increasing positivity around the Indian structural growth story will be undiminished.” The lack of clarity on the margin of victory for the NDA saw intraday volatility on the share index rise to its highest level in 26 months. Traders said that selling by high-frequency traders accelerated the drop and the sharp fall triggered margin calls. The market is witnessing a significant correction due to margin calls as retail investors were carrying heavily leveraged positions, said Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities. Some investors saw the decline as a buying opportunity. “Regardless of the final election count, the India economy will continue to benefit from longer-term tailwinds of favourable population demographics and the ongoing geopolitical tensions between China and the US,” said Gary Tan, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments. Investors expect the Modi government to continue focusing on turning the country into a manufacturing hub – a project that has courted foreign companies including Apple and Tesla to set up production as they diversify beyond China. The rupee ended at 83.53 against the United States dollar, down 0.5 percent on the day, marking its worst single-day fall in 16 months. The benchmark 10-year bond yield rose 10 basis points on the day, its biggest on-day rise in eight months, ending at 7.03 percent. Adblock test (Why?)
Elon Musk’s X updates policies to formally allow adult content
Social media platform says sexualised content can be ‘legitimate form of artistic expression.’ Elon Musk’s social media platform X has updated its policies to formally allow adult content. Under the updated guidelines, the platform formerly known as Twitter will allow users to share sexualised content so long as it is consensual and clearly labelled. The revised policy, which was updated over the weekend, states that “users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed”. “Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression,” it says. “We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires, and experiences, including those related to sexuality.” We have launched Adult Content and Violent Content policies to bring more clarity of our Rules and transparency into enforcement of these areas. These policies replace our former Sensitive Media and Violent Speech policies – but what we enforce against hasn’t changed. Adult… — Safety (@Safety) June 3, 2024 Exposure to graphic material will be restricted for children and adult users who choose not to see it, and users will not be allowed to share content “promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualization or harm to minors, and obscene behaviours”, according to the policy. The change, first reported by TechCrunch, formalises a relatively tolerant attitude towards adult content that pre-dates Musk’s purchase of Twitter in October 2022. Unlike platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, Twitter has never expressly banned nudity and sexualised content. Under Musk’s tenure, X has dramatically scaled back moderation on the platform and reinstated previously banned accounts, including those of former United States President Donald Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Musk has argued that he is upholding freedom of speech, but critics have accused the Tesla CEO of encouraging hate speech and misinformation. Adblock test (Why?)
China’s Chang’e-6 lifts off from far side of Moon with rock samples
Probe’s successful departure from the Moon means China is closer to becoming the first country to return samples from the far side of the Moon. A Chinese spacecraft carrying rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon has lifted off from the lunar surface to start its journey back to Earth, according to state media. The achievement on Tuesday is a world first and the latest leap for Beijing’s decades-old space programme, which aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. The Xinhua News Agency, citing the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the ascender of the Chang’e-6 probe took off at 7:38am local time on Tuesday (23:38 GMT) and entered a preset orbit around the moon. It described the move as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history”. The Chang’e-6 probe was launched last month and its lander touched down on the far side of the Moon on Sunday. It used a drill and robotic arm to dig up soil on and below the Moon’s surface, according to Xinhua. After successfully gathering its samples, the Chang’e-6 unfurled China’s national flag for the first time on the far side of the Moon, it said. The agency cited the CNSA as saying that the spacecraft stowed the samples it had gathered in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned. The container will be transferred to a reentry capsule which is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region sometime around June 25. Missions to the Moon’s far side are more difficult because it does not face the Earth, requiring a relay satellite to maintain communications. The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land. Xinhua said the probe’s landing site was the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago, which is 13km (8 miles) deep and has a diameter of 2,500km (1,500 miles). It is the oldest and largest of such craters on the moon, so may provide the earliest information about it, Xinhua said, adding that the huge impact may have ejected materials from deep below the surface. The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e Moon exploration programme, which is named after a Chinese Moon goddess. It is the second designed to bring back samples, following the Chang’e 5, which did so from the near side in 2020. Scientists around the world are following the return of the lunar samples and hope the soil collected by Chang’e-6 can help answer questions about the origins of the solar system. China’s Moon programme is part of a growing rivalry with the United States – still the leader in space exploration – and others, including Japan and India. China has put its own space station – the Tiangong – into orbit and regularly sends crews there. The emerging global power aims to put a person on the Moon before 2030, which would make it the second nation after the US to do so. The US is planning to land astronauts on the Moon again – for the first time in more than 50 years – although its space agency NASA pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year. Adblock test (Why?)
India election live results 2024: By the numbers
Al Jazeera breaks down the results of the Lok Sabha after a seven-week voting process. After 44 days of an election across seven phases, The Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun its count of more than 600 million votes cast by Indians as they choose their next national government. The vote count started at 8am local time (02:30 GMT), and the final results should be clear later on June 4. At stake are 543 seats in the Lok Sabha – the lower house of India’s Parliament. Here is how the main two alliances are doing, according to the latest updates from the ECI. India election results map The map below represents the 543 seats in India’s lower house of Parliament. As results are announced, seats will be shaded to indicate preliminary “leading” or finalised “winning” outcomes. Why does the map look like that? Each hexagon represents one seat, so densely populated but geographically small constituencies are shown equally with large districts to better reflect the democratic power in parliament. The geographical map is shown below for reference. (Al Jazeera) Which are the two big alliances facing off? National Democratic Alliance (NDA): The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), comprises more than three dozen parties and is expected, by exit polls, to win a majority in the general election. Modi, 73, who has been in power since 2014, is seeking a third term. Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA): The opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Indian National Congress (INC) party, is a group of more than two dozen political outfits hoping to remove the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian government. How does the vote count work? Since 2004, India has used electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of paper ballots. These machines, which are not connected to the internet, have been sealed and stored in a strongroom in the parliamentary constituency. On the day of counting, the EVMs are taken out and unsealed in the presence of representatives from all participating political parties. (Al Jazeera) What time will vote counting start and end? Counting for all constituencies will begin at 8am local time (02:30 GMT) on Tuesday, June 4 with most results expected to be in by the early evening. Seven phases of voting An estimated 969 million people were registered to vote in the world’s largest democratic exercise. To facilitate the process, the voting took place over seven phases from April 19 to June 1. (Al Jazeera) How is the government formed? There are 543 directly elected seats in the national assembly called the Lok Sabha, and two seats are nominated by the president. To form the parliament, the winning party or alliance must have 272 seats. The prime minister is elected by the parliament as the leader of the house. [Al Jazeera] Who is in India’s current parliament? With 37 percent vote share in the 2019 election, the right-wing BJP won 303 of 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 52 seats. (Al Jazeera) Adblock test (Why?)
Egypt’s el-Sisi reappoints PM Madbouly, orders him to form new cabinet
President says new government must tackle local and international issues. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reappointed Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to form a new government. Egypt’s presidency said in a statement on Monday that Madbouly, who has been prime minister since 2018, has been tasked with shaping a new and more capable government to tackle issues at home and abroad. The statement said the new cabinet ministers must safeguard national security in light of rising regional and international challenges, combat “terrorism”, and tend to an ailing economy dogged by inflation and in need of more local and foreign investment. “Today, I assigned Dr Mostafa Madbouly to form a new government that consists of the necessary expertise and competencies to manage the next phase, in order to achieve the desired development in government performance and confront the challenges facing the state,” el-Sisi wrote in a post on X. There was no immediate announcement on when the cabinet would take office. El-Sisi was sworn in for his third term in April after sweeping to victory with 89.6 percent of the vote in an election in December with no serious challengers. He ordered the cabinet reshuffle as Egypt faces security and economic challenges while Israel’s war on Gaza rages on Egypt’s border. In late May, a member of the Egyptian security forces was killed in a shooting with Israeli forces along the border with the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Egyptian president has also been working with the United States, both in mediating a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and with getting life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinians after the Israeli takeover of Gaza’s border with Egypt last month. As Egypt has tried to manage a chronic foreign exchange shortage and high inflation over the past two years, there had been speculation that Madbouly himself would be replaced. This year, the economy has experienced some reprieve after an investment agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt agreed other international funding deals, including an expanded loan programme with the International Monetary Fund. Adblock test (Why?)
Hunter Biden trial on criminal gun charges begins in Delaware
US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the purchase and possession of a gun. The criminal trial of Hunter Biden has begun in federal court in Delaware, the United States as US President Joe Biden’s son faces gun charges in a historic case. Hunter Biden, 54, arrived at the courthouse on Monday for the first trial of the child of a sitting president, in which he will face three felony charges stemming from his purchase and possession of a revolver in 2018. He has pleaded not guilty. The trial, which began with jury selection on Monday, comes as Joe Biden campaigns for re-election. First Lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden’s wife Melissa Cohen Biden and his half-sister Ashley Biden were in attendance at the trial in Wilmington, before US District Judge Maryellen Noreika. “Jill and I love our son and we are so proud of the man he is today,” Joe Biden said in a statement, adding that a lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction. US First Lady Jill Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden’s trial at federal court [Matt Slocum/AP Photo] Hunter Biden was charged with lying about his use of illegal drugs when he bought a Colt Cobra .38-calibre revolver and with illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days in October 2018. If convicted on all charges in the Delaware case, Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison, though defendants generally receive shorter sentences, according to the US Department of Justice. The case is expected to centre on Hunter Biden’s years-long crack cocaine use and addiction, which he has discussed publicly and which was a prominent part of his 2021 autobiography, entitled Beautiful Things. He told Noreika at a hearing last year that he has been sober since the middle of 2019. Prosecutors will seek to prove that Hunter Biden knew he was lying when he ticked the box for “no” next to a question on a federal gun purchase form asking if he was an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Prosecution lawyers revealed in court filings that they may use details gleaned from Hunter Biden’s phone and iCloud account, including photos of him smoking crack and messages with drug dealers. They said they may call as a witness his former wife Kathleen Buhle. Hunter Biden arrives at federal court [Matt Slocum/AP Photo] Hunter Biden’s lawyers have indicated they may try to show he had completed a drug rehabilitation programme before purchasing the gun and may have considered his answer on the gun purchase form to be truthful. Noreika entered multiple orders over the weekend that were requested by prosecutors and that appeared to undercut Biden’s legal strategy. The judge said Biden’s legal team could not introduce expert testimony that people suffering from substance abuse disorder might not consider themselves an addict. That testimony could have helped Biden show that he did not know he was lying on the background check form. The government is required to prove that Biden knowingly lied. Adblock test (Why?)
South Africa elections: ‘Tintswalo’ sends a message to the ANC
In the lead-up to the May 29 elections in South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) went to great lengths to draw attention to the socioeconomic advancements the country made in the past 30 years in a desperate attempt to win favour with an electorate increasingly disillusioned with its governing capabilities. Most famously, in his State of the Nation address in February, President and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa tried to highlight the long-term achievements of his party through the tale of “Tintswalo” – a fictional Black woman born in 1994, within months of the fall of apartheid and the ANC’s rise to power. “Tintswalo – democracy’s child – grew up in a society that was worlds apart from the South Africa of her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,” Ramaphosa said. “She grew up in a society governed by a constitution rooted in equality, the rule of law, and affirmation of the inherent dignity of every citizen.” He went on to explain that this imaginary young woman grew up in a public mass-housing scheme for poor South Africans, received state-funded education and healthcare, graduated into a well-paying job, and is now living in a nice house with plenty of reason to look forward to the future. According to the president, the inspiring, uplifting story of Tintswalo was the story of most young South Africans and an allegory for the massive progress made under the ANC. This is not wrong. There are many South Africans whose living conditions and future prospects improved significantly under ANC governments over the past 30 years. Despite this, however, the tale of Tintswalo failed to convince many South Africans to vote in another ANC government on May 29. The ANC party received just 40.18 percent of the votes, well short of the majority it had held since the all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought the party to power under Nelson Mandela. It now has to find a coalition partner to form a government. So what was behind the ANC’s election setback? In short, it seems that many “Tintswalos” across the country had enough of the high levels of crime, unemployment, poor service delivery, and corruption that came to define South Africa today. They had enough of being told that they should be grateful just for being (at times marginally) better off than their parents, who suffered for years under apartheid. They had enough of struggling to make ends meet as ANC’s many corruption scandals were swept under the carpet. They had enough, and sent a message to the governing party by voting for the opposition. This rebuke by voters did not come as a surprise to the ruling party. The ANC had long been aware that many of the party’s long-term supporters were unhappy with its recent performance. It had already promised to correct course, end corruption, improve public services, and fix the economy many times over in the past few years. Over six years ago, in January 2018, then-President Jacob Zuma initiated the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State. In May 2019, while that investigation into state capture was still under way, the ANC was re-elected with its then-lowest vote share of 57 percent. In a relatively subdued victory speech, Ramaphosa said he viewed decreasing support for the party as a “clear message” from the people, and vowed to combat corruption within the ANC. In 2022, after a four-year-long investigation, the State Capture Commission published its report and revealed that it found multiple incidents of corruption within South African government departments and state-owned enterprises during the presidency of Jacob Zuma. The entire party apparatus was implicated, including many high-profile MPs and officials. Despite the report’s damning findings, and Ramaphosa’s supposed commitment to ending corruption within the party, however, there has been no meaningful accountability or change in the way the country has been governed since then. In June 2023, News24, an online publication, released an in-depth investigation into the lavish lifestyle of Paul Mashatile, the deputy president of the country and the ANC, accusing him of corruption. The investigation laid out in great detail how the friends and family of the deputy president have consistently secured profitable government tenders and benefitted greatly from their proximity to a powerful ANC figure. Mashatile refuted the accusations levelled at him, claiming the “potentially damaging, yet unsubstantiated allegations” are false and “he is committed to his oath of office and the principles of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa”. Such serious accusations directed at its deputy leader should have sent the ANC into an absolute panic 11 months before the most contested poll in the nation’s post-apartheid history. One would have expected the ANC leadership to demand Mashatile’s immediate resignation or at least to order an independent investigation into the claims made by News24 journalists. Mashatile, the deputy president in a government elected on a promise to stamp out corruption, could himself have resigned and demanded an investigation to clear his name. Nothing of the sort happened. Despite the dark shadow hanging over him, Mashatile stayed on as ANC deputy president and played a pivotal role in the 2024 electoral campaign. It was only in February 2024, after the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party formally filed corruption charges against Mashatile, that the ANC-controlled South African parliament’s Ethics Committee took action and requested explanations. Despite ongoing investigations, Mashatile remains part of the ANC’s top brass and is expected to continue playing a prominent role in any future ANC government. Ramaphosa himself has faced allegations of corruption, too. In 2022, he was accused of attempting to conceal the 2020 theft of $4m in cash from his game farm, raising questions about how he acquired the money and whether he declared it. A probe carried out by the Public Protector, South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog, cleared him of any misconduct in March 2023, yet the police said they will continue to investigate. The left-wing opposition
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 829
As the war enters its 829th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Monday, June 3, 2024. Fighting Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in all but three regions of the country a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy facilities, which also injured 19 people. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed that its armed forces had taken over Umanske in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The tiny village had fewer than 180 residents before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and lies about 25km (15 miles) to the northwest of Donetsk, which is the main city of the region and under Russian occupation. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, said six people were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the region, just across the border from Kharkiv. A local official also died when some ammunition detonated, he said. Almost 1,000 people gathered in central Kyiv to remember Iryna Tsybukh, known as Cheka, a 25-year-old high-profile journalist and volunteer paramedic who was killed in action in the northeastern Kharkiv region last week. Politics and diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told defence and security leaders in Singapore that the Switzerland peace summit scheduled for later this month was the best way to end the “cruel war” in Ukraine and that he was disappointed China would not be attending. He said he had not been able to meet the Chinese delegation in Singapore. China’s foreign affairs minister, Wang Yi, said on Friday that China, which claims to be neutral in the war but has deepened ties with Moscow, would not be taking part. Zelenskyy and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, held talks with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for more than an hour on Sunday. He also met Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto and the president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said NATO’s recent move to strengthen defences in the Baltic states was aimed at deterring Russia, and a signal that the security alliance would “defend every square inch of NATO territory against attacks”. Russia’s TASS news agency said former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who fled the country a decade ago for fear of persecution, could be targeted for allegedly violating the Kremlin’s “foreign agent” law. Moscow added Kasparov, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to its list of individuals supposedly acting as foreign agents soon after it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Weapons White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby confirmed that US President Joe Biden had agreed to allow Ukraine to use some weapons provided by the US to strike inside Russia. Adblock test (Why?)
Mexico election live results 2024: By the numbers
Mexico has begun to count votes after a Sunday election that will almost certainly result in the country’s first female president. The two frontrunners are Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena party, supported by the governing coalition Let’s Keep Making History (Sigamos Haciendo Historia), and Xochitl Galvez, supported by a coalition of opposition parties. Jorge Alvarez Maynez, a third candidate, is running on behalf of the Citizens’ Movement. As the first few votes started trickling in, Sheinbaum grabbed an early lead, followed by Galvez, in keeping with opinion polls that placed the Morena candidate as the firm favourite to win the presidency. Mexico has about 100 million registered voters, and around 58 percent voted. In addition to the presidency, voters also cast their ballots for about 20,000 positions in what is the country’s largest-ever election. According to Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE), these positions include 128 Senate seats, 500 deputy seats, the governorship of Mexico City, and governorships in eight states including Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and the Yucatan. Here is how the three parties are performing in the presidential vote, according to the latest updates from the INE: When will we know the final results? The results will likely be finalised only by June 8. However, on June 2, Mexicans will have access to the quick count, a statistical projection estimating voting trends from a random sample of 7,500 polling stations. Between 10pm and 11pm (starting at 03:00-04:00 GMT) on June 2, the INE will announce the quick count results of the presidential election. This announcement will be delivered in a televised message broadcast nationwide. Starting at 8pm (02:00 GMT) on Sunday, the INE will also launch the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP), a system that gathers and publishes data recorded by polling station officials. Al Jazeera will be relying on this data for its vote count tracker, while also sharing the quick count when it is announced by election officials. When will the new president take charge of Mexico? Mexico’s newly-elected president will be inaugurated on October 1, 2024, four months after election day. This marks the first time the inauguration will occur on October 1 instead of December 1, following a change in the electoral law in 2014. Besides the presidency, what other races are closely watched? Other than who will be the next leader of the country, the race for Congress remains key. The ruling party Morena aims to achieve a two-thirds majority in Congress, important for revising the constitution and eliminating what it perceives as cumbersome and wasteful oversight agencies. The opposition, united in a loose coalition, says this action would pose a threat to Mexico’s democratic institutions. This could also affect the peso and how investors react to the election. “If [Morena] wins two-thirds of the Congress, or gets eerily close, that becomes a tougher decision for investors because that becomes a very different scenario, in which there’s less constraints to power,” Miguel Angel Toro Rios, the dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tecnologico de Monterrey, told Al Jazeera. In Mexico City, the competition is fierce, with Clara Brugada of the ruling party, Santiago Taboada of the largest opposition coalition and Salomon Chertorivski of the Citizens’ Movement all locked in a tight race. Governorships in large, populous states such as Veracruz and Jalisco are also drawing interest. Adblock test (Why?)
Rupert Murdoch marries for the fifth time
Media magnate weds Russian-born retired molecular biologist at a ceremony in California. Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has married for the fifth time, tying the knot with a Russian-born retired molecular biologist. Murdoch, 93, and Elena Zhukova, 67, exchanged vows in a ceremony at his vineyard estate in Bel Air, California on Saturday, less than three months after the couple announced they were engaged. Murdoch’s The Sun tabloid published photographs of the groom wearing a black suit and yellow tie and the bride dressed in an off-the-shoulder white gown. Guests at the ceremony included Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots US football team, and News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson. Murdoch’s fourth marriage to model and actor Jerry Hall ended in divorce in 2022. The billionaire was previously married to Chinese-born television executive Wendi Deng, Scottish-Australian journalist Anna Torv, and Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker. Murdoch, who has six children, last year announced his engagement to dental hygienist-turned-conservative-radio host Ann Lesley Smith before calling off the wedding several weeks later. Zhukova was previously married to billionaire energy investor and Russian politician Alexander Zhukov. Murdoch, who built a global media empire after inheriting the Adelaide-based The News newspaper in the 1950s, in November stepped down as the head of both Fox News’s parent company and his News Corp media holdings. Murdoch’s surprise resignation handed control of the media stable, which includes Fox News, The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal, to his son, Lachlan. Adblock test (Why?)