Yellen says June 5 is last date for US debt ceiling to be raised
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday the government would run short of money to pay its bills on June 5, which would trigger a potentially calamitous default, unless Congress raises the US$31.4 trillion (S$42 trillion) debt ceiling.
Ms Yellen’s announcement allows a little more time for Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to reach an accord to raise the federal government’s self-imposed borrowing limit.
Previously, the Treasury had said the deal needed to be reached as soon as June 1.
Representative Patrick McHenry, one of the Republican negotiators, said they could meet the June 5 deadline.
Ukraine says Russia plans to simulate nuclear accident
Ukraine’s defence ministry on Friday said Russia was planning to simulate a major accident at a nuclear power station controlled by pro-Moscow forces to try to thwart a long-planned Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, which lies in an area of Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, is Europe’s biggest nuclear power station and the area has been repeatedly hit by shelling that both sides blame each other for.
The defence ministry’s intelligence directorate said Russian forces would soon shell the plant and then announce a radiation leak. This would force an investigation by international authorities, during which all hostilities would be stopped.
Stranger hugs Germany’s Scholz in airport security breach
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday sought to play down a security failure that allowed an unknown man to embrace the Social Democrat leader on the tarmac at Frankfurt airport.
“People saying hello and greeting me is never something that particularly affects me,” Mr Scholz said, when quizzed on the incident at a press conference in Estonian capital Tallinn.
But the mistakes which allowed the man to approach the Chancellor unimpeded have caused consternation among security officials.
First night train connecting Brussels, Berlin starts operations
An overnight direct train service connecting Brussels and Berlin was launched this week by Dutch-Belgian railway firm European Sleeper, reflecting a push in Europe to bolster less polluting alternatives to air travel.
The sleeper train is the first direct, overnight route between the two capitals in more than a decade.
The European Commission has voiced support for establishing new rail services and to improve cross-border connections within the bloc.
Hamilton encouraged by changes to his Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton sounded encouraged by his upgraded Mercedes after the first day of Monaco Grand Prix practice on Friday, even though the principality’s tight and twisting streets were no place for a meaningful assessment.
The seven times Formula One champion, who has not won a race since 2021, was third fastest in the first session and sixth in the second.
“I’ve generally had an amazing day, I really enjoyed driving today,” he said.
