Chief-Exec.com

US in talks to expand nuclear weapons deployments in Europe
The US is discussing whether to deploy nuclear weapons in additional European Nato states, in a move intended to reassure allies that reduced conventional military support does not weaken security guarantees. US officials have signalled openness to additional deployments beyond the existing six countries hosting nuclear-capable bombers, three people briefed on the discussions told the FT. The talks, which are highly confidential and may not lead to any changes in nuclear-sharing arrangements, come amid widespread concern in Europe over Donald Trump’s moves to remove US troops and critical weapons systems from the continent. It would potentially allow more countries to host so-called US dual-capable aircraft, which are able to deliver nuclear strikes. Two of the people said the openness to discussing an expansion was intended to show the US commitment to providing a nuclear umbrella even as Nato allies were pushed to shoulder more of the conventional defence burden. Financial Times, June 2

Benjamin Netanyahu faces backlash after Donald Trump call
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fire from both allies and opponents after failing to follow through on threats to bomb Hizbollah targets in Beirut, as a result of heavy pressure from US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu said on Monday morning that he had ordered the military to bomb targets in the Lebanese capital in retaliation for Hizbollah’s drone attacks on northern Israel, piling further strain on a disintegrating ceasefire between the two sides that was announced by Trump in April. But after a call between Trump and Netanyahu on Monday evening, during which the US president said he demanded Israel abandon plans for a “major raid”, the Israeli military did not carry out Netanyahu’s threats. Trump subsequently claimed Netanyahu had “turned his Troops around”. “[Hizbollah] agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Let’s see how long that lasts — Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!” Financial Times, June 2

EU agrees deal for deporting migrants to third-country 'return hubs'
European Union lawmakers and governments agreed on Monday to new rules allowing countries to deport migrants ordered to leave the bloc to centres in third countries, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups that warn it could ​enable abuses. The deal ‌is part of a broader tightening of EU migration policy amid pressure from right-wing parties, even as irregular arrivals fell ⁠26 per cent last year to their lowest level since 2021. The legislation, which still requires formal approval by EU governments and the European Parliament, was proposed by the European Commission last year. The commission says it would streamline ‌procedures and give governments more tools to deport people while respecting fundamental rights. Rights groups dispute that assessment. France 24, June 2

Trump administration appears to halt $1.8bn payout fund plan
The Trump administration has signalled it will halt its plans to disburse $1.8 billion of taxpayer money to Americans supposedly wronged by previous presidents after a political and legal backlash. President Trump met Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Monday after lawmakers from the party expressed unease over the administration’s plans to potentially reward those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponisation Fund”, announced by the Department of Justice last month, drew criticism from politicians on both sides of the political divide. John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader, said the funding would struggle to get approval from Congress and warned the White House it would slow the passage of a $72 billion budget reconciliation package. “I made my views very clear on the issue,” he told reporters. “I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves.” The DoJ confirmed the administration had paused the allocation of funding to comply with a court ruling by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. A hearing on the fund’s legality is scheduled for June 12. The Times, June 1

Third of people no longer believe degree is worth the time or money, UK poll shows
Public confidence in the value of a university education has plummeted after decades of unfettered expansion across the sector. The latest British Social Attitudes survey found the proportion of people who believe a degree is not worth the time and money has jumped from 14 per cent in 2005 to 34 per cent in 2025. Correspondingly, the proportion who believe those who go to university will end up a lot better off financially than those who do not has nosedived, down from 50 per cent to 36 per cent. Higher education in the UK has undergone a huge transformation since the first BSA survey in 1983. At that time, only a tiny proportion of school leavers - about 6% - went to university. By 2025, that had ballooned to 36 per cent, and more than 2 million domestic students were enrolled. This means more graduates are hunting for jobs. They are also paying more for their education. When tuition fees were introduced in 1998, they were set at £1,000 a year. Now, English students pay up to £9,535 a year, as well as living costs. The Guardian, June 2

China goes after 'ghost kitchens' to rein in cut-throat food delivery apps
Chinese authorities have taken aim at a new target as they rein in the country's cut-throat food delivery industry: "ghost kitchens", or restaurants that don't actually exist but appear on apps. The "ghost kitchens" outsource orders to third-party vendors, which fulfil them at lower costs, allowing merchants to push down prices and maximise profits. Authorities have found thousands of these "ghost kitchens" across China, raising concerns that the cheap prices are coming at the cost of food safety. Starting this week, apps must verify restaurants' licences and addresses, while merchants must ensure the listing online matches the physical business and specify if it offers dine-in services. The scrutiny of "ghost kitchens" began last year, after a man in Beijing lodged a complaint over an unsatisfactory cake topped with inedible flowers. He had ordered it on a food delivery app, state media reported. Officials found that the cake chain he had ordered from listed nearly 380 locations on major e-commerce platforms but did not have a single physical store. Its online shops also allegedly used forged business licences. BBC news, June 2

Iran targets American base in region after US strikes Iranian air defences
The US said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Monday it had targeted a US base in response, the latest in a series of exchanges amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war. The strikes on Iran’s Gulf coast were in response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters”, the US military’s central command (Centcom) said on X. “US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said, adding it would continue to protect US assets and interests during the ongoing ceasefire. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the US for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base. Air defences in Kuwait, where a major US base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, the state news agency Kuna reported, without providing further details. The Guardian, June 1

France and allies intercept sanctioned Russian oil tanker in Atlantic
The French Navy on Sunday boarded an oil tanker, ​named the Tagor, which was subject to international sanctions and sailing from Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X. "This operation took place in ​the Atlantic ‌Ocean, on the high seas, with the ⁠support of several partners, including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of ‌the sea," he said. "It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent ⁠international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine ​for more than four years," he added. The Maritime Prefecture ‌of the Atlantic said in a separate statement on Monday that the French Navy had intervened on an oil tanker more than 400 ‌nautical miles (740 km) west of the tip of Brittany, coming from Murmansk, Russia. France 24, June 1

Israel takes strategic Beaufort Castle as it expands Lebanon push
For nine centuries Beaufort Castle has commanded sweeping views over southern Lebanon and has been used as a strategic citadel by Crusader, Arab, Ottoman, Palestinian and Israeli forces. On Sunday it was captured once more by Israeli troops as they expanded their ground offensive against Hezbollah, and 26 years after they last withdrew from the castle. Binyamin Netanyahu declared that the capture of Beaufort marked a “dramatic step and a dramatic change” in his country’s military campaign in Lebanon, which has continued despite public declarations of a ceasefire. “We have returned united, determined and stronger than ever,” the Israeli prime minister said. The Israeli military already controlled territory up to the Litani River in Lebanon, but troops are pushing to the Zahrani River, about 10km to the north, warning any residents to leave the area or otherwise risk being killed. The Times, June 1

EU looks more attractive in Donald Trump’s ‘crazy world’, says Norway
The “crazy world” shaped by US President Donald Trump and China is prompting Norway to reassess its relationship with the EU after two failed attempts to join the bloc. The continent’s leading oil and gas producer is part of the EU’s single market but it remains outside the bloc after voting “No” to accession in the 1970s and the 1990s. Norwegians opposed membership because of a perception that their fishing industry would be at a disadvantage if ruled by Brussels. Seafood is Norway’s largest export sector after fossil fuels. “We said no in 1972 because of fish and again in 1994, it was very much about fish. Fish and agriculture,” foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told the FT. Those issues became so divisive that they “broke up marriages and families”, leaving Norwegians with “PTSD”, he said. EU diplomats believe the US president has provided the necessary shock for Norway to wake up to the benefits of membership - ranging from trade to security and defence. Eide acknowledged that the “benign world”, which existed when the two accession referendums were held, had been replaced by a “crazy world” forcing Oslo to review its relations with the bloc. Financial Times, June 1

Nvidia unveils PC ‘superchip’ in challenge to Apple and Intel
Nvidia will launch a PC “superchip” this year as the semiconductor giant goes head-to-head with Apple, Qualcomm, Intel and AMD for the first time. Computer makers including Dell, Asus and HP will use what Nvidia claims is “the most efficient PC chip ever built”, paired with Microsoft’s Windows software, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang announced on Monday. The launch marks a major competitive shift in the consumer PC industry and a new business line for $5.1tn Nvidia. The company, best known for its dominance of semiconductors for AI infrastructure, is pushing beyond its traditional graphics cards into integrated chips that power the whole PC. Lenovo, Microsoft, Acer and Taiwan’s MSI will also use the product. Huang was in Taipei on Monday to deliver a keynote speech at the Computex conference to announce the company’s latest moves in AI. Financial Times, June 1

Put a £5 deposit on vapes to stop fires, say waste companies
Waste companies have called for a deposit of up to £5 to be charged on vapes to encourage people to dispose of them properly. Disposable vapes were banned a year ago, partly because of the fires they can cause in bin lorries and waste facilities when thrown away with general rubbish. But the industry body for waste companies says vape recycling has not improved enough, so a small, refundable deposit at the point of purchase is a "simple, fair, efficient and cost-neutral solution". Some vape companies oppose the idea of a deposit scheme, saying it would encourage people to buy from illicit retailers who don't charge it. Under the Environmental Services Association's proposal, a deposit would be charged on vapes when purchased, and returned to customers when they dispose of the vape properly. Vapes can already be returned to stores where they are purchased - which are meant to have facilities to take them back - or returned to recycling facilities. They should not be put in normal bins, general recycling, or littered in the environment. If they're crushed in bin lorries or waste treatment plants, vapes can short circuit and start a fire because of the huge amount of energy contained in their lithium batteries. BBC news, June 1