News 12/06/26

Elon Musk has become the world’s first dollar trillionaire as shares in his company SpaceX rise higher, hitting $158.51.

As the majority shareholder owning more than forty-one per cent of SpaceX, Musk is the biggest beneficiary of the stock increase. Yesterday, Forbes listed his net worth at over nine hundred and eighty-one billion dollars, cementing his position as the richest person in the world before the latest share surge pushed his wealth past the trillion-dollar milestone.

A British man has been jailed for more than six years for encouraging an American to take his own life during a video call.

Dylan Phelan, twenty-one, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to encouraging the suicide of Travis Dyer in Louisiana. The Crown Prosecution Service said that during the call, which involved two others, Mr Dyer was encouraged to kill himself with a shotgun. The pair had communicated for months on the online platform Discord.

UEFA has approved a request to hold a football match between Ireland and Israel at a neutral venue behind closed doors.

The decision to move the Nations League fixture on the fourth of October from Dublin’s Aviva Stadium follows fears of major protests over Israel’s military operations. The Football Association of Ireland cited operational challenges on home soil, adding that it understands and respects the varied views expressed regarding the fixture.

At least sixty per cent of children in England should walk or cycle to school within a decade under new government plans.

Backed by a four point five billion pound investment, ministers promise thousands of safer routes for five-to-sixteen-year-olds. The strategy aims for half of all short urban trips to be active by 2035. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said it makes active travel a practical choice for millions.

The Green Party has won the Cippenham Green seat on Slough Borough Council following a closely fought by-election.

Chloe Hart was elected after securing four hundred and nine votes, narrowly beating the Conservative candidate who finished on four hundred and four. Labour came third, followed by Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats, with turnout recorded at thirty-two point one three per cent.

The UK economy shrank slightly in April as fuel price rises caused by the Iran war hit spending.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show gross domestic product contracted by zero point one per cent. While GDP initially rose faster than expected during the first month of attacks between the US, Israel and Iran, this latest drop shows the impact of supply disruptions. However, on a three-monthly basis from February to April, the economy grew by zero point seven per cent, marking a fifth consecutive period of growth.

A Slough councillor has spoken out after gunfire broke out on a residential street.

Councillor Frank O’Kelly, who represents Cippenham Village, said he was deeply shocked and concerned after shots were fired on Earls Lane last Friday evening just before six o’clock. Thames Valley Police believe a firearm was discharged from a passing blue car towards a group walking along the road. Officers think one of the pedestrians may also have been armed and fired back before both parties fled the scene.

Around a million young people are to be offered the meningitis B vaccine ahead of the autumn term.

The one-off programme will provide two doses to Year Thirteen pupils aged seventeen to eighteen, alongside anyone under twenty-five starting university or residential further education. The rollout begins on the twentieth of July, with second doses following in August. It follows several outbreaks, including a serious incident in Kent earlier this year which left two teenagers dead.

Pockets of protests across Northern Ireland have passed off without major incident following a robust police response.

Extra officers, including mutual aid from other UK forces, were deployed by the PSNI after two nights of unrest. The disorder was originally sparked by social media footage of a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday. Police say there is no evidence that loyalist paramilitaries are co-ordinating the violence, pointing instead to activity online.