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Race to find pilot of crashed US fighter jet

Call to tax windfall profits of energy firms BERLIN: Five European Union finance ministers are calling for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in reaction to rising fuel prices, according to a letter from the ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters yesterday. The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call in a letter dated Friday, saying such a measure would be a signal that “we stand united and are able to take action”. “It would also send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of the war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public,” they wrote. In the letter, addressed to EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, the ministers pointed to a similar emergency tax in 2022 to address high energy prices. “Given the current market distortions and fiscal constraints, the European Commission should swiftly develop a similar EU-wide contribution instrument grounded on a solid legal basis,” they wrote. The letter gave no details of what level of windfall tax the ministers were proposing, or on which companies it should fall. The bloc’s energy chief said on Tuesday it was considering reviving energy crisis measures used in 2022, including proposals to curb grid tariffs and taxes on electricity. The EU introduced a suite of emergency policies in 2022, after Russia cut gas deliveries. They included an EU-wide cap on gas prices, a tax on energy companies’ windfall profits, and targets to curb gas demand. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Brussels was concerned about Europe’s supply of refined petroleum products. – Reuters but we are not having boots on the ground in Iran,” he said. Herald Sun reported that a small contingent of about 90 SAS members was sent to West Asia two weeks ago. According to the report, the soldiers most likely travelled to the Al Minhad Air Base. Communications Minister Anika Wells also did not rule out reports that Australia had sent special forces to West Asia when asked on ABC News Breakfast on Friday. “I want to reassure Australians, we are not involved in offensive action overseas in Iran,” she said. “Obviously, the specifics of when and where assets are deployed in the region, as you would imagine, are operational, and I can’t comment on them.” – Bernama

TEHRAN: and American forces raced each other yesterday to recover a crew member of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran. Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane, while US media reported special forces had rescued one of its two crew members. Iran’s military also said it downed an A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot was rescued. Iran offers reward Iranian

Iran parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf mocked the Trump administration. He wrote on X: “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’” Several blasts were heard coming from Tehran’s north yesterday. In the area around a bridge west of Tehran that was targeted by the United States, a reporter saw a villa and residential buildings with blown-out windows, but no military installations. According to the martyrs foundation of Alborz province, cited by the IRNA agency, the attack killed 13 civilians and wounded dozens. Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that Iran would increase its own attacks on energy sites in the region in response to threats attacks on infrastructure. A drone attack on a refinery owned by Kuwait’s national oil company on Friday sparked fires, while a separate Iranian attack damaged a power and desalination complex. The Israeli military said on Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in a month. It said it would also attack two bridges in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region “to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment”. Lebanese state media later reported that Israel destroyed one bridge in the region and local media said a second bridge was also hit. – AFP

anyone who captured a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward”. The US military has announced the loss of several aircraft during Iran operations, including a tanker that crashed in Iraq and three F-15s shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire. Retired US brigadier-general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot’s training would kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground. “My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don’t want to be captured,” he said.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president has been briefed.” President Donald Trump said the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran. A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s central operational command said “an American fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s advanced air defence system.” An Iranian reporter said

SAS deployed to UAE ISTANBUL: Australia said it has responded to a request from the United Arab Emirates by dispatching a military plane but refused to confirm the deployment of troops.

An Iranian photographs the B1 bridge after a strike in Karaj, 35km southwest of Tehran. – AFPPIC

Russia jams VPNs, triggers payment system woes MOSCOW: Telegram founder Pavel Durov said yesterday that Russia’s attempt to block Virtual Private Networks (VPN) metro to allow entry without payment through its turnstiles, while a regional zoo had to ask visitors to use cash.

Russia has slowed down Telegram, which has more than one billion active users and is also widely used in Ukraine, and investigated Durov in a criminal case involving accusations of terrorism. Russian officials said Telegram had been penetrated by Ukraine and Nato member intelligence agencies, and that Russian soldiers had died as a result. Telegram has denied such penetration, saying Moscow is trying to force Russians to use MAX, a state-backed messenger app schools and universities have been told to use. – Reuters

“We don’t comment on the movements of our special forces. We are not having boots on the ground in Iran,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Friday. Marles did not directly answer questions regarding a media report that the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment has been deployed to Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE. “The government’s posture is to provide support to the countries of the Gulf. We’ve responded to a request from the United Arab Emirates. Our E-7 Wedgetail is in the region providing that support,

“Welcome back to the Digital Resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters,” Durov said on Telegram. “The nation is now mobilised to bypass these absurd restrictions.” Russian officials say the clampdown on VPNs and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram is essential for security as Moscow faces deadly attacks deep inside Russia from Ukraine and alleged attempts at sabotage by Western intelligence agencies.

triggered a problem with a domestic payment system, adding that tens of millions of Russians were resisting digital controls. Russia has repeatedly blocked mobile internet and granted sweeping powers to cut off mass communications while jamming messenger services and VPNs in what diplomats have called a “great crackdown”. Friday’s technical problem, which Russia has yet to fully explain, sowed chaos for some shoppers, forcing the Moscow