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Eight Saudi Cities in IMD Smart City Index 2026; Riyadh Advances to 24th Globally

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Eight Saudi Cities in IMD Smart City Index 2026; Riyadh Advances to 24th Globally

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Eight Saudi cities made a notable showing in the IMD Smart City Index 2026, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Saudi Press Agency said on Friday.

The result reflects faster development and improving quality of life across the Kingdom’s cities, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi Press Agency said on Friday.

Riyadh advanced to 24th globally from 27th. Makkah ranked 50th, Jeddah 55th, Madinah 67th, and Al-Khobar 64th.

AlUla recorded a significant leap, climbing from 112th to 85th. The result points to the rapid progress of its development and tourism projects.

The index also listed Hail and Hafar Al-Batin Governorate for the first time. Hail ranked 33rd, while Hafar Al-Batin placed 100th among 148 cities worldwide.

The IMD Smart City Index is a global benchmark that measures how far cities have advanced in adopting modern technologies. It does so by assessing residents’ views of service quality, digital infrastructure, and their impact on daily life.

This strong progress underscores the Kingdom’s continued efforts to upgrade urban services and build smart, sustainable cities that improve quality of life and strengthen global competitiveness, as Saudi Arabia marks 2026 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence.

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Japan Lawmakers Back Plan to Ease Imperial Succession Crisis

Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
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Japan Lawmakers Back Plan to Ease Imperial Succession Crisis

Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)
Japans Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Island Nations Ocean Conference in Tokyo on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Jiji / AFP)

Japan's legislature endorsed on Wednesday a proposed framework aimed at easing a looming imperial succession crisis, with just one young heir to the throne currently remaining.

The imperial household operates under strict rules that allow only male offsprings from the male side of the family to ascend to the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne.

That means that the household's future currently hinges on 19-year-old Prince Hisahito, Emperor Naruhito's nephew and the only young man in the family.

Other family members are either women -- who are not allowed to inherit the throne -- or older men, the youngest among them 60-year-old Crown Prince Akishino, who is Naruhito's brother and Hisahito's father.

In a bid to expand the thinning line of succession, lawmakers endorsed in principle amending the Imperial Household Law, presenting their initiative to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The proposals would allow women keep their royal status even after marrying someone outside the family, and let the imperial family adopt male distant relatives.

"Given all the differing opinions, we believe we've managed to produce the best possible result," lower house speaker Eisuke Mori told a news conference before presenting the legislature's view to Takaichi.

Once her government drafts the amendments, the bill will return to the legislature, with Mori expressing his wish to pass it before the current parliament session ends on July 17, AFP reported.

Under the proposal, adopted men would not be heirs but their sons could be placed in line to succeed the throne, Mori said this week.

The imperial family now has 16 members in total, including five men -- the 66-year-old emperor and his brother, Prince Hisahito, retired emperor Akihito, who is 92, and his 90-year-old brother.

Emperor Naruhito has a daughter, Princess Aiko. The existing male-succession rule means that she would have to leave the family once she marries a commoner.

The lawmakers' proposal did not address the possibility of a woman emperor, an idea that has wide public support.

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Italian Astronaut Expects Home Flavors on Artemis III Menu

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut pilot Luca Parmitano speaks during an interview after a press conference announcing announcing the crew for the Artemis III mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on June 9, 2026. (EPA)
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut pilot Luca Parmitano speaks during an interview after a press conference announcing announcing the crew for the Artemis III mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on June 9, 2026. (EPA)
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Italian Astronaut Expects Home Flavors on Artemis III Menu

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut pilot Luca Parmitano speaks during an interview after a press conference announcing announcing the crew for the Artemis III mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on June 9, 2026. (EPA)
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut pilot Luca Parmitano speaks during an interview after a press conference announcing announcing the crew for the Artemis III mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on June 9, 2026. (EPA)

Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano is hoping to bring a taste of his homeland to the Artemis III mission he will pilot near Earth in 2027 to test two lunar modules.

The menu for the Artemis II mission in April featured Texas brisket and tortillas for the Orion spacecraft's crew -- and a jar of Italian sweet treat Nutella was also seen floating by during a live broadcast from space.

"I do expect something Italian to show up on the menu, and I don't even have to bring it up because Italian food is a treasure of UNESCO," Parmitano told AFP Tuesday, adding "everybody wants some Italian food."

That's not all the former Italian Air Force colonel brings to the table for the Artemis III -- part of a series of missions geared toward returning humans to the Moon, perhaps as soon as 2028.

Selected as an astronaut by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009, Parmitano has completed two missions aboard the International Space Station, where he completed complex spacewalks, including a near-fatal incident when his helmet began filling with water due to a failure in the suit's cooling system.

- Responsibility and humility -

As the mission's lead pilot, Parmitano will share responsibility with commander Randy Bresnik.

"We are both test pilots, and the spacecraft needs a crew of 2 to fly it, so we share the responsibilities," Parmitano said.

"I feel honored that I was chosen for this role," he said. "It was unexpected because I didn't know that it was in the run for that position."

Parmitano, a 49-year-old father of two daughters, added that he is "also very humbled by the task in front of us. It's a very complex mission."

He proudly wears a uniform adorned with the Italian flag and the ESA's patch, whom he calls "strong partners."

"When NASA chooses a European astronaut to be a pilot, (it) is sending a strong message that our leadership is understood, that our cooperation is valued, and that our technical expertise, both in our constructions, because Europe builds part of the spacecraft, but also our personnel, is solid," he said.

- Multicultural crew -

The crew will be rounded out by African American Andre Douglas and US astronaut of Salvadoran descent Frank Rubio.

Parmitano said he has known the mission's commander "for my entire career," but noted that for Douglas the mission will mark his first space flight.

"We immediately bonded as soon as we found out that we were assigned to this mission," Parmitano said.

He welcomes the diversity in ages and backgrounds, saying it "just enriches the crew in general."

Varieties

EU Scientists: May Was World's Second-hottest on Record

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows people using kayaks and paddle boards in the River Thames at Teddington Lock, London’s first official river bathing water site, as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in London, Britain, May 24, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows people using kayaks and paddle boards in the River Thames at Teddington Lock, London’s first official river bathing water site, as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in London, Britain, May 24, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo
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EU Scientists: May Was World's Second-hottest on Record

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows people using kayaks and paddle boards in the River Thames at Teddington Lock, London’s first official river bathing water site, as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in London, Britain, May 24, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows people using kayaks and paddle boards in the River Thames at Teddington Lock, London’s first official river bathing water site, as temperatures climb over the bank holiday weekend due to a heat dome spreading across the region, in London, Britain, May 24, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo

The world has just experienced the second-hottest May since records began, as climate change and the developing El Niño weather pattern conspired to push up average land and sea temperatures, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Wednesday.

The hottest May on record was in 2024, in records going back to 1940, Reuters reported.

The average ⁠global temperature last ⁠month was 1.42 degrees Celsius above the average in 19th-century pre-industrial times.

Western Europe experienced one of the most severe heatwaves ever recorded so early in the year.

C3S says ⁠the extreme heat in Europe was in line with scientists' expectations of how climate change will affect the world's fastest-warming continent.

Parts of the Pacific Ocean recorded exceptionally high temperatures as it transitions towards El Nino conditions.

Extreme weather last month included fatal floods in China and Türkiye.

The El Niño ⁠weather ⁠pattern is expected to form in the coming months and to fuel extreme weather around the world.

El Niño naturally occurs every two to seven years, when weakening trade winds result in warmer waters in the eastern Pacific. The result tends to be higher global temperatures, and disrupted rainfall, meaning drought in some regions, heavy rains in others.