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UK, Italy, Japan to Develop Next-generation Fighter Jet

Delegates look at the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) 6th generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 - AFP
Delegates look at the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) 6th generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 - AFP
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UK, Italy, Japan to Develop Next-generation Fighter Jet

Delegates look at the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) 6th generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 - AFP
Delegates look at the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) 6th generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 - AFP

The UK, Italy and Japan on Friday launched a joint venture to develop a supersonic next-generation fighter jet by 2035, replacing the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co Ltd (JAIEC) will each hold a 33.3 percent share in the new venture, "marking a pivotal moment for the international aerospace and defence industry," they announced in a press release, AFP reported.

JAIEC is a firm jointly funded by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies.

"Today's agreement is a culmination of many months working together with our industry partners and is testament to the hard work of everyone involved in this strategically important program," said Charles Woodburn, BAE Systems Chief Executive.

The venture will "bring together the significant strengths and expertise of the companies involved to create an innovative organisation that will lead the way in developing a next generation combat air system, creating long-term, high value and skilled jobs across the partner nations for decades to come," he added.

The three partners have agreed to form a new company under the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), a multinational initiative established by the UK, Japan and Italy in 2022 to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter to replace the Typhoon and Japanese F-2.

The joint venture is expected to be established by the middle of 2025 and will undertake the design and development of the GCAP aircraft.

It will subcontract the manufacturing and final assembly of the aircraft to BAE Systems, Leonardo, MHI and the wider supply chain.

The aircraft is due to enter service in 2035, ahead of the competing European project FCAS -- led by Paris, Berlin and Madrid -- and is expected to be in service until 2070.

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Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
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Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN

Suspected militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing one of them and wounding four others before fleeing the scene, police said. Two attackers were killed when police returned fire, The Associated Press said.

The shooting occurred in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, shortly after Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year, according to local police official Mahmood Alam.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban and local militant groups, which often carry out similar attacks in the region and elsewhere. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.

First lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged families to ensure their children are vaccinated during the weeklong drive, which aims to reach more than 45 million children under 5 across all provinces and regions. She said the campaign will be conducted in coordination with Afghanistan, reflecting a shared commitment to interrupt cross-border transmission and close remaining gaps.

Aseefa is the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a 2007 gun and bomb attack by militants, and who had personally overseen initiatives aimed at eliminating polio during her tenure. In a statement, she said “Pakistan stands at a crucial moment in the fight against polio.” She said while the country is closer than ever to eradication, “the final stretch remains the most challenging.”

Highlighting recent gains, she said 31 polio cases were reported nationwide in 2025, while only one case has so far been recorded this year, but warned against complacency.

Pakistan’s polio eradication program has been running anti-polio campaigns for years, though health workers and the police assigned to protect them are often targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

Authorities have deployed thousands of police officers to protect workers following intelligence warnings of possible attacks. More than 200 polio workers and the police assigned to guard them have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to officials.

World

Israelis Oppose Iran Ceasefire, Divided Over Whether to Respect It, Poll Says

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Israelis Oppose Iran Ceasefire, Divided Over Whether to Respect It, Poll Says

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)

Nearly two-thirds ‌of Israelis oppose the Iran ceasefire, but the public is divided over whether Israel should respect the two-week truce or resume attacks on Iran, according to a poll from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The poll was the first national survey of Israelis conducted after the US and Iran agreed last week to a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, the survey's authors said. The two sides failed to reach a broader deal to end the war in weekend talks in Islamabad.

The ceasefire has halted ‌US and Israeli ‌airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ‌ended ⁠a parallel war ⁠between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has continued deadly bombardment that has killed many civilians. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets at Israeli towns in the country's north.

On Lebanon, more than 61 percent of Israelis believe the truce should not extend to the fighting with ⁠Hezbollah, a core demand by Iran in talks with ‌the US, according to ‌the poll, conducted by researchers at Hebrew University's Agam Labs.

Asked what Israel ‌should do about Iran, 39 percent said Israel should ‌continue attacks, 41 percent said their country should respect the ceasefire, and 19 percent said they weren't sure, the poll said.

The poll was based on a sample of 1,312 Israelis interviewed from April 9-10, ‌with a margin of error of 3.2 percent.

With the fate of the Iran ceasefire ⁠unclear, Israel ⁠is digging in for a long, drawn-out conflict across the Middle East, with Israeli officials concluding that their enemies in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and beyond cannot be eliminated outright.

The public's perception of Israel's military success in Iran holds high stakes for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election due by October that most public opinion polls show he will lose.

According to the Hebrew University poll, Netanyahu's standing among Israelis has decreased since the start of the Iran war, with 34 percent of Israelis preferring him as premier now versus 40 percent at the start of the conflict.

World

France, UK to Work on ‘Peaceful Multinational Mission’ for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
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France, UK to Work on ‘Peaceful Multinational Mission’ for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)

France and Britain will work on a "peaceful multinational mission" to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, but it would be "separate from the warring parties", French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. 

US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February sparked a region-wide war and brought to a near standstill traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments. 

Iran and the United States last week agreed to a two-week cessation of hostilities, but ceasefire talks between the warring sides in Pakistan on the weekend ended in failure. 

US President Donald Trump responded by ordering his navy to carry out a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday. 

Trump also said, on his Truth Social platform, that "Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade" but did not specify which ones. 

The UK-French initiative, which Macron announced on X, appeared to be separate from Trump's announced blockade. 

"In the coming days, together with the United Kingdom, we will organize a conference with those countries prepared to contribute alongside us to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait," Macron said. 

"This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit." 

The US military said the blockade ordered by Trump would begin at 1400 GMT, and apply to all ships leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian ports on either side of the key waterway. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that Britain will not join the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by Trump.