Latest news with #ORF
The Star
23 minutes ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motor racing-Mercedes aiming to keep Russell and Antonelli next season
FILE PHOTO: May 1, 2025; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (12) and Mercedes driver George Russell (63) walk in the paddock ahead of the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images/File Photo (Reuters) -George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are Mercedes' first choice for next season, team boss Toto Wolff said in comments appearing to rule out an immediate move for Red Bull's four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen is third overall at the midpoint of the 24-round campaign, 69 points behind McLaren's overall leader Oscar Piastri and 61 adrift of the Australian's British teammate Lando Norris. The Dutch driver's dream of a fifth successive title is disappearing and, with a new engine era starting in 2026 and the Mercedes power unit expected to be the pick of the field, there has been talk of Verstappen switching. That speculation was put in even sharper focus after Red Bull sacked long-serving team boss Christian Horner this month, with Laurent Mekies in charge at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix. Russell's contract expires at the end of the season, although he is also managed by Mercedes, while 18-year-old rookie Antonelli only joined this year and is a big talent for the future. "The direction of travel is that we want to continue with George and Kimi. That is the first priority," Wolff told Austria's ORF television on Wednesday. "You can't look past someone like Max and the plans he has for the future. We did that, but I don't think there will be any big surprises." ORF said that while Verstappen had performance clauses, he would have needed to be outside the top three after Silverstone to trigger his contract release. Social media lit up this month after Wolff and Verstappen were reported to be on vacation at the same time and in the same area of Sardinia, but the Mercedes boss dismissed any significance in that. "If you go on holiday close to each other, it doesn't mean that you are also going to work together in Formula One," he said. "We have always got along well. We also happen to vacation in similar areas." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Spa-Francorchamps, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Mercedes aiming to keep Russell and Antonelli next season
FILE PHOTO: May 1, 2025; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli (12) and Mercedes driver George Russell (63) walk in the paddock ahead of the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images/File Photo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are Mercedes' first choice for next season, team boss Toto Wolff said in comments appearing to rule out an immediate move for Red Bull's four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen is third overall at the midpoint of the 24-round campaign, 69 points behind McLaren's overall leader Oscar Piastri and 61 adrift of the Australian's British teammate Lando Norris. The Dutch driver's dream of a fifth successive title is disappearing and, with a new engine era starting in 2026 and the Mercedes power unit expected to be the pick of the field, there has been talk of Verstappen switching. That speculation was put in even sharper focus after Red Bull sacked long-serving team boss Christian Horner this month, with Laurent Mekies in charge at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix. Russell's contract expires at the end of the season, although he is also managed by Mercedes, while 18-year-old rookie Antonelli only joined this year and is a big talent for the future. "The direction of travel is that we want to continue with George and Kimi. That is the first priority," Wolff told Austria's ORF television on Wednesday. "You can't look past someone like Max and the plans he has for the future. We did that, but I don't think there will be any big surprises." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Judge asks prosecution for more information on Kpods in first case involving etomidate-laced vapes World In landmark opinion, World Court says countries must address climate change threat Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt Singapore Male victim of fatal Toa Payoh fire was known to keep many things, say residents Sport Bukayo Saka the difference as Arsenal beat AC Milan at National Stadium Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in Singapore Over 1.15 million Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 have claimed SG60 vouchers Singapore Cyclist charged after allegedly hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him ORF said that while Verstappen had performance clauses, he would have needed to be outside the top three after Silverstone to trigger his contract release. Social media lit up this month after Wolff and Verstappen were reported to be on vacation at the same time and in the same area of Sardinia, but the Mercedes boss dismissed any significance in that. "If you go on holiday close to each other, it doesn't mean that you are also going to work together in Formula One," he said. "We have always got along well. We also happen to vacation in similar areas." REUTERS
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Extreme skydiver Baumgartner dies in paragliding accident
Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, who jumped down to earth from the stratosphere in a 2012 stunt, died in a paragliding accident in the eastern Italian town of Porto Sant'Elpidio on Thursday. According to local media, the 56-year-old lost consciousness while in flight and then lost control of his paraglider, crashing into a hotel pool and lightly injuring a young female employee. Just hours before, he had posted an image in his Instagram story captioned: "Too much wind." "Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight," the Porto Sant'Elpidio's Mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, said in a social media post. The energy drink company Red Bull, which sponsored many of Baumgartner's exploits, confirmed his death to Austrian public broadcaster ORF, while the Austrian foreign ministry confirmed the reports to Germany's dpa news agency. Felix Baumgartner's jump from space Born in Salzburg, Baumgartner made headlines as a spectacular base-jumper for many years, jumping from iconic structures such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Baumgartner shot to global fame in October 2012 when he jumped from a helium balloon almost 39 kilometers (24 miles) above the Earth — the highest manned balloon flight and the highest ever freefall at the time. He reached a maximum speed of 1,342.8 km/h (834 mph), breaking the sound barrier.
DW
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Extreme skydiver Baumgartner dies in paragliding accident – DW – 07/17/2025
Austrian skydiver and extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner has died in a paragliding accident in Italy, according to local media. The 56-year-old shot to global fame in 2012 with his record-breaking free-fall from space. Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, who jumped down to earth from the stratosphere in a 2012 stunt, died in a paragliding accident in the eastern Italian town of Porto Sant'Elpidio on Thursday. According to local media, the 56-year-old lost consciousness while in flight and then lost control of his paraglider, crashing into a hotel pool and lightly injuring a young female employee. Just hours before, he had posted an image in his Instagram story captioned: "Too much wind." The energy drink company Red Bull, which sponsored many of Baumgartner's exploits, confirmed his death to Austrian public broadcaster ORF, while the Austrian foreign ministry confirmed the reports to Germany's dpa news agency. Born in Salzburg, Baumgartner made headlines as a spectacular base-jumper for many years, jumping from iconic structures such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Baumgartner shot to global fame in October 2012 when he jumped from a helium balloon almost 39 kilometers (24 miles) above the Earth – the highest manned balloon flight and the highest ever freefall at the time. He reached a maximum speed of 1,342.8 km/h (834 mph), breaking the sound barrier. Baumgartner, who had a tattoo on his right arm reading "born to fly," regularly posted videos of his paragliding flights on social media. He once described his passion for adventure with the words: "I belong to the air, I was born for these emotions." In recent years, he made headlines of a different sort with controversial political statements, criticizing German and Austrian migration policies and opining that a "moderate dictatorship" would be preferable to a democracy, in which "you can't move anything." In 2016, he recommended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for the Nobel Peace Prize and endorsed a right-wing populist candidate for the Austrian presidency.
News18
6 days ago
- Politics
- News18
How Jaishankar Must Counter China-Pakistan Axis On Terror
Jaishankar's mission is to ensure that the world understands that India's concerns are not peripheral but central to any meaningful discussion on regional security S Jaishankar is in China for the SCO foreign ministers' meet—the second meeting in the SCO format in as many months. Last time out, it was defence minister Rajnath Singh, who refused to sign a joint statement on counter-terrorism, which failed to mention Pahalgam but had conveniently included the independent struggle in Balochistan—a pain point for Pakistan. The refusal brought out India's resistance—It is not going to be bullied into signing or accepting narratives. And just like Singh's refusal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the fight to China under the BRICS banner in Brazil, Jaishankar would be expected to resist and carve out the agenda for India. What we have seen from the foreign minister does fill us with great promise. He has had no issues shutting down unscrupulous criticism and with great gusto. In May this year, at the Arctic Circle India Forum during an interaction with former Icelandic President OG Grímsson and the head of the ORF, Jaishankar took a swipe at European nations, saying India is looking for partners, not preachers. There are other examples as well, but we can surely move beyond them. The Precedent in Qingdao To understand the challenge that awaits Jaishankar, one must first dissect the significance of the Qingdao summit. India's refusal to sign the joint communiqué was a calculated disruption of a coordinated China-Pakistan strategic objective designed to diplomatically corner India. The draft statement was a textbook example of Chinese manipulation, meticulously engineered not to combat terrorism, but to protect its 'all-weather ally" Pakistan, while simultaneously attempting to implicate India in regional instability. In response, India did not just abstain; the defence minister delivered what amounted to a chargesheet at point-blank range. By referencing the success of Operation Sindoor on Chinese soil, he sent an unapologetic message that the epicentres of terrorism are no longer sacrosanct. It single-handedly torpedoed the joint statement, denying Beijing the diplomatic victory of a unified declaration and stripping Pakistan of the legitimacy it craved. More profoundly, it held a giant mirror up to the SCO, exposing the fundamental fracture at its core: India's zero-tolerance policy on one side, and the cynical China-Pakistan 'axis of convenience' on the other. It transformed a position of potential isolation into a projection of solitary strength and moral clarity. It established three critical takeaways: India has unambiguously asserted its red lines on terror; it has seized control of the narrative from Beijing; and it has diminished the bloc's utility as a vehicle for Chinese propaganda. China Covering Its Footprints Jaishankar's challenge is compounded by the fact that China's role transcends from diplomatic cover to complicity. An increasing body of evidence points to Beijing's active technological enablement of militancy in Kashmir. This moves the issue from the realm of political shielding to one of material complicity, a charge that India must now press with conviction. Militants in Kashmir are increasingly being found with sophisticated, military-grade Chinese hardware, including Huawei satellite phones and GPS devices, as was reportedly the case in the Pahalgam attack. The pipeline is being facilitated through porous channels within Pakistan's military-intelligence apparatus and is directly enhancing the operational capabilities of terror proxies. It creates a multilayered challenge for Indian security. The CPEC has been used to build a digital scaffold, with telecom towers operated by China Mobile's subsidiary, Zong, providing coverage across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and deep into Indian territory. This, coupled with the use of Chinese platforms like WeChat and the Tiantong-1 satellite network, provides terrorists with secure, encrypted communication channels that are effectively immune to international legal frameworks like Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. China's stringent data localisation laws create a technological smokescreen, deliberately preventing Indian agencies from tracing digital activity and offering operational cover for state-enabled non-state actors. Jaishankar's Mandate: Defy And Counter While the public discourse around Jaishankar's visit centres on continued normalisation and thawing of Beijing-New Delhi ties, it cannot come at a cost to India's regional and domestic security and interests. Jaishankar's core mandate, therefore, is far more adversarial. He must build on the foundation of principled defiance laid in Qingdao and translate it into sustained, strategic counter-pressure. His mission is to ensure that the world, and specifically the members of the SCO, understand that India's concerns are not peripheral, but central to any meaningful discussion on regional security. Jaishankar is positioned to expose the glaring hypocrisy of the Sino-Pakistani axis, armed with the knowledge that India had shared detailed intelligence dossiers and satellite imagery on Pakistan's terror infrastructure with SCO members, only for them to be wilfully ignored by the chair. He must forcefully ask what a 'security and defence" bloc is worth if it cannot condemn, let alone act, against the architects of terror within its own ranks. It's a simple argument but one that has the power to unravel the covers, smokescreens and whitewashing placed by Beijing and Islamabad. A platform that equates a sovereign nation's response to terrorism with the very terror it fights has lost all moral and strategic credibility. And ultimately, Jaishankar's task is to cement India's position as an independent and indispensable pole in a contested Eurasian landscape. The message must be unequivocal: India will no longer negotiate on the language of terror. It will carve its own agenda, defend its sovereign interests, and make its voice heard, with or without the consensus of forums that have been compromised by the geopolitical ambitions of a dominant power and its terror-sponsoring proxy. This is the new normal. About the Author Sohil Sinha Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
