Headline

Europe Woos US Scientists Fleeing Trump’s Policies With Paris Conference

Published

2 months ago

May 5, 2025

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen were on Monday set to host a conference in Paris aimed at attracting US researchers ready to relocate because of President Donald Trump’s policies.

European commissioners, scientists, academics and ministers for research from European Union member countries will discuss, among other things, financial incentives to lure disgruntled US scientists across the Atlantic.

Paris’s Sorbonne University is hosting the conference, called “Choose Europe for Science”, which is to close with speeches by Macron and von der Leyen.

Universities and research facilities in the United States have come under increasing political and financial pressure under Trump, including threats of massive federal funding cuts.

US research programmes face closure, tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired and foreign students fear possible deportation for their political views.

The 27-nation EU hopes to offer an alternative for researchers and, by the same token, “defend our strategic interests and promote a universalist vision”, an official in Macron’s office told AFP.

The French president has already appealed to foreign, notably US, researchers to “choose France”.

Last month, he unveiled plans for a funding programme to help universities and other research bodies cover the cost of bringing foreign scientists to the country.

– Flood of applicants –

Aix Marseille University in the south of France announced in March it would open its doors to US scientists threatened by cuts.

It says its “Safe Place for Science” scheme has already received a flood of applicants.

Last week, France’s flagship scientific research centre, the CNRS, launched a new initiative aimed at attracting foreign researchers whose work is threatened.

It is also seeking to attract French researchers working abroad, some of whom “don’t want to live and raise their children in Trump’s United States”, according to CNRS President Antoine Petit.

An official in Macron’s office said Monday’s conference came “at a time when academic freedoms are retreating and under threat in a number of cases and Europe is a continent of attractiveness”.

One obstacle, experts say is the fact that while EU countries can offer competitive research infrastructure and a high quality of life, research funding and researchers’ remuneration both lag far behind US levels.

But CNRS’s Petit said last week he hoped that the pay gap would seem less significant once the lower cost of education and health, and more generous social benefits, were taken into account.

Macron’s office said France and the EU were targeting researchers in a number of specific sectors, including health, climate, biodiversity, artificial intelligence and space.

The French government could finance up to 50 per cent of selected research projects, an official in the presidential office said, while assistance could also be offered in the form of tax incentives.

Non-EU members Norway, Britain and Switzerland are participating in Monday’s conference, Macron’s office said.
AFP

Headline

US Says Strikes ‘Devastated’ Iran’s Nuclear Program

Published

4 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday as Washington sought to assess what remained of the three targeted sites.

The surprise strikes threaten to deepen conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against US involvement.

But the United States said President Donald Trump wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth said. “This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change.”

Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

“Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” he told reporters.

– Protests in Tehran –

People gathered in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed.

Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning.

“We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it’s years or beyond,” he told ABC.

“We’re not at war with Iran — we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “The president took decisive action to destroy that program last night.”

In Tehran, AFP journalists said the roar of aircraft flying over the city was heard repeatedly for the first time since Israel’s initial attacks.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line,” asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.”

The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site.

The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings, Caine said.

– Global concern –

In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded.

In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war.

“Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.

Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.

The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory.”

Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and urged de-escalation.

The European Union called on all sides “to step back,” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships.

The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”

Headline

US Struck Iran With B-2 Bombers, Submarine-launched Missiles – Top US General

Published

5 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Seven stealth bombers were used in the US attack against Iranian nuclear sites, which apparently saw little response by Iran’s military, top general Dan Caine said Sunday.

Describing the complex operation, dubbed “Midnight Hammer,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the “main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 Spirit bombers” flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings.

“Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise,” Caine added.

Headline

UK ‘Was Informed Of US Strikes’ On Iran, Plans Evacuating Briton Out of Israel

Published

5 hours ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Britain was notified in advance of the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, though it played no part in the military action, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed today.

“We were informed, as you might expect, by a key ally,” Reynolds told Sky News, adding, “We were not and have not been involved in these attacks.”

The strikes—launched overnight by US B2 stealth bombers and submarines—targeted Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump hailed it as “a spectacular military success,” a claim Tehran swiftly denied.

The UK government is now working to evacuate British nationals trapped in Israel, after Iran launched a wave of retaliatory missiles. Reynolds said it would take “hours, not days” to evacuate them, citing airspace closures as the main delay.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the US operation, describing Tehran’s nuclear programme as “a grave threat to international security.” He noted that the US acted to “alleviate that threat,” despite previously urging Trump to avoid military escalation.

Reynolds acknowledged public anxiety about the developments and warned of a possible rise in terrorism threats at home: “It would be naïve to say that that wouldn’t potentially increase.”

Opposition figures supported the strikes. Kemi Badenoch said the US had acted “decisively against a regime that fuels global terror.” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted: “Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. The future of Israel depends on it.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, condemned the US operation as “lawless and criminal behavior,” warning of “everlasting consequences.”