🇦🇺 Australia to ban surcharges on payment cards, cut bank fees

Australian consumers will no longer face surcharge fees on card payments after the country's central bank said it would ban the widely disliked practice as inefficient and opaque. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced it would remove card surcharging on designated eftpos, Mastercard MA.N and Visa V.N networks from October 1 this year. The RBA estimated the change would save consumers A$1.6 billion a year.

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💊 Eli Lilly Will Buy a Narcolepsy Drug Developer for $6.3 Billion

Eli Lilly reached a deal to buy Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a company developing treatments for the sleep disorder narcolepsy and other neurological conditions. Centessa has been conducting a midstage clinical trial of its lead drug for narcolepsy and is expected to be years away from a potential approval.

While past medicines have aimed to help patients sleep better, a new generation of drugs like the one from Centessa is also aimed at helping people stay awake during the day. And even though sleep disorders like narcolepsy are rare, drugmakers could eventually tap into a much larger market of people who experience sleepiness due to more common conditions like Alzheimer’s.

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🤝 Amazon, Delta team up for in-flight Wi-Fi, challenging Musk's Starlink

Amazon's Leo satellite internet unit signed a deal with Delta Air Lines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi on 500 of the airline's planes starting in 2028, inking its second major partnership ‌in the skies as it races to launch more satellites and take on Elon Musk's Starlink.

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🇯🇵🇮🇩 Japan, Indonesia pledge deeper ties amid energy concerns

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged deeper economic ties and cooperation on energy security, without elaborating on what the cooperation may entail, as the two countries grapple with market instability brought on by the war in Iran.

“We agreed that both Indonesia and Japan will work hard to encourage all parties to pursue de-escalation. We are also ready to serve as mediators if needed,” — Prabowo said. 🤝

The two leaders also agreed to further defense cooperation given their shared interest in ensuring a stable Indo-Pacific through OSA assistance to the navy and increased capabilities for the coast guard.

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🚕 Waymo starts robotaxi services at San Antonio International Airport

Waymo’s robotaxi service is going live at its fourth major airport today: San Antonio International. The company said its vehicles will drop off riders curbside at the terminals, and pick up passengers at the airport’s designated rideshare area. This is the first airport Waymo is servicing in Texas, where the company currently operates in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

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🇺🇸 Trump’s skyscraper presidential library looms over Miami in newly released images

A foundation overseeing the construction of President Donald Trump’s presidential library has revealed the first renderings of the precedent-shattering project — a towering skyscraper in downtown Miami. Eric Trump, the president’s son and a trustee of the Trump Library Foundation, shared plans for the presidential library in a social media post on X.

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⚔️🇺🇸 Trump says he’s considering pulling out of NATO

Donald Trump has told that he is strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato after it failed to join his war on Iran. The US president labelled the alliance a “paper tiger” and said removing America from the defence treaty was now “beyond reconsideration”.

“Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” — Trump said.

Nato partners have been reluctant to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil typically travels. Tehran has effectively closed the strait for weeks, sending global oil and gas prices spiralling while threatening a global recession.

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🤑 Bitpanda: Stellar has arrived 💫

The Stellar network is now live on Bitpanda platform — enabling fast, low-cost transactions and direct access to assets built on Stellar.

🤑 Explore XLM and the Stellar ecosystem today!

#Stellar

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🚀 SpaceX has filed confidentially for IPO ahead of AI rivals

SpaceX has filed confidentially for an initial public offering, bringing billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and AI company closer to delivering the biggest-ever listing. The company submitted its draft IPO registration to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing puts it on track for a June listing, which would make SpaceX the first of what could be a trio of mega-IPOs, ahead of OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.

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🤑 Ripple Treasury Launches the First Treasury Management System (TMS) with Native Digital Asset Capabilities

Ripple announced the launch of Digital Asset Accounts and Unified Treasury within Ripple Treasury — the first native digital asset capabilities embedded directly into a treasury management system. CFOs and their treasury teams can now view, hold, receive and manage fiat and digital liquidity held within their bank and custody providers in a single system — eliminating separate platforms, reconciliation workflows, and manual consolidation.

No other treasury management system offers this, marking a decisive competitive milestone for both Ripple Treasury and its customers. The launch builds on more than 40 years of enterprise treasury management, following Ripple’s acquisition of GTreasury in 2025. Digital Asset Accounts and Unified Treasury extend that trusted infrastructure into digital assets for the first time, with multiple customers already in beta ahead of today’s global GA launch.

#Stellar

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🤖 New memory chip can survive extreme heat for future Venus, deep drilling missions

Researchers at the University of Southern California have demonstrated a new type of electronic memory chip capable of operating reliably at temperatures as high as 1,292°F (700°C), far beyond the limits of traditional electronics. The team called it a revolution. It is the best high-temperature memory ever demonstrated.

The device is a memristor, a nanoscale component that can both store information and perform computing operations. The memristor was built using tungsten as the top electrode, hafnium oxide ceramic as the middle layer, and graphene as the bottom electrode. The resulting memory chip demonstrated impressive performance. It held data for more than 50 hours at 1,292°F (700°C) without needing to be refreshed.

Beyond space exploration, particularly for missions to Venus, where surface temperatures are extremely high, the technology could be useful in geothermal drilling, nuclear energy systems, industrial environments, AI computing.

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🤑 Convera joins forces with Ripple to empower stablecoin-enabled cross-border payments

Convera, a global leader in commercial payments, announced a new strategic collaboration with Ripple to offer crypto-enabled payment and treasury solutions for businesses. Convera orchestrates the end-to-end payment experience, while Ripple provides the underlying infrastructure for liquidity, on/off-ramping, and cross-border settlement.

“We knew we needed a trusted, visionary partner that can help us meet our customers where they are in their journey,” — said Patrick Gauthier, CEO, Convera. “Ripple is a clear leader in the crypto space and a natural fit for Convera. We look forward to continued success and growth as we roll out these capabilities to customers near and far.” 🤝

By combining Convera’s trusted global network, FX expertise, and customer experience with Ripple’s liquidity, settlement, and digital asset capabilities, the collaboration enables faster, more reliable cross‑border payments – particularly in corridors where traditional options are limited.

#Stellar

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🤝 BlackSky awarded multi-year sole-source $99 million U.S. government IDIQ contract

BlackSky Technology Inc. was awarded a multi-year, sole-source $99 million U.S. government IDIQ contract for advanced, next generation capabilities. The company received an initial $2 million to accelerate the design of an advanced large aperture optical payload for Earth observation and space domain awareness platforms.

This AFRL contract serves to develop additional commercial space-based intelligence capabilities and mission applications distinct from those addressed by current Gen-2 and Gen-3 monitoring systems and the company’s future AROS broad area search system. The contract is expected to advance innovations for optical imaging and overall platform-level utility and support more novel applications in high-cadence Earth monitoring and observing objects in low Earth, geostationary and cis-lunar orbits.

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🚀 NASA launches Artemis II astronauts toward the moon

The Artemis II mission launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35pm ET (2235 UTC), propelling four astronauts on a journey around the moon. Artemis II will pave the way for future moon landings, as well as the next giant leap — astronauts on Mars.

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🇺🇸 President Donald Trump said the war in Iran is “very close” to completion

President Donald Trump in a rare prime-time address cast the war as a success, saying the operation had nearly achieved its military goals, including destroying Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, air force, navy and industrial base. He said those steps would prevent Tehran’s proxies from destabilizing the region and cut off the country’s path to nuclear weapons. Here are some takeaways:

❗️Iran: "I am pleased to say that our core strategic objectives in Iran are nearing completion. We’re sort of pretty much winding that up. Have to take a few more hits."
❗️The Middle East: "We’re now totally independent of the Middle East. We are there to help. I want to thank our allies: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. We will not let them get hurt."
❗️NATO: "The last thing I needed was NATO stepping in our way because they’re a paper tiger. So we didn’t need them."
😁 Macron: "I called up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly and he’s still recovering from the right to the jaw."
❗️Oil: "This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict."
❗️The Strait of Hormuz: "The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. When this conflict is over, the Strait of Hormuz will open up naturally."

"Our enemies are losing, and America, as it has been for five years under my presidency, is winning, and now winning bigger than ever before! We are unstoppable as a military force. The world is watching, and when we do, when it's all over, the US will be safer, stronger, more prosperous, and greater than it has ever been before!" — said Trump.

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🤑🤑 These three altcoins just got leveraged crypto ETFs

Volatility Shares debuted three exchange-traded funds that amplify price swings for cryptocurrencies, adding to the growing list of vehicles enabling traders to speculate on the digital assets with leverage. The ETFs offer 2x exposure to Cardano, Stellar, and Chainlink, representing some of the largest altcoins in the cryptocurrency market.

In addition to the 2x ETFs, Volatility Shares debuted funds that offer traditional exposure to futures for Cardano, Stellar, and Chainlink. Previously, Volatility Shares moved to establish 2x ETFs for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP.

“The debut of these six ETFs marks a strategic shift from broad market exposure toward granular asset exposure,” — said Sunny Sun, a marketing analyst at Volatility Shares. “The target demographic for these ETFs consists of sophisticated traders seeking targeted exposure to specific digital asset ecosystems.”

#Stellar

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🇫🇷 France plans to award 10 offshore and floating wind projects by early 2027

France plans to hold a big tender for 10 offshore wind projects, and announce winners by late this year or early 2027, as part of its green push. The tender for 5 gigawatts of turbines fixed to the seabed and 5-gigawatts of floating ones is larger than usual. The auction for projects located in seven areas in the English Channel, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea will include requirements to utilize domestic and European manufacturing capacities, as it seeks to reduce reliance on parts from China.

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🌍 Spark in New Zealand launches data and text satellite-to-mobile services powered by Starlink

Spark’s award-winning network coverage just got better, with Spark data and text satellite-to-mobile services, powered by Starlink, now available to help customers stay connected in some of Aotearoa’s most remote locations.

“New Zealanders love to explore the incredible landscapes of Aotearoa, and many New Zealand businesses have employees working in remote locations. During these times when our customers don’t have access to traditional mobile networks, our satellite service will help them to stay connected,“ — said Spark’s Chief Commercial Officer Mark Beder.

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🤑 Wirex and Ultra Stellar launch native Stellar payment infrastructure to power millions of users and AI agents

Wirex, a leading stablecoin payment infrastructure provider serving over 7 million users globally, and Ultra Stellar, the company behind Stellar's largest wallet LOBSTR and leading decentralized exchange StellarX, announced the launch of a native Stellar payment infrastructure, built directly on Soroban, Stellar's smart contract platform.

This first-of-its-kind initiative establishes a fully integrated, blockchain-native payment layer that enables wallets, fintech platforms, and developers across the Stellar ecosystem to offer stablecoin bank accounts, global card issuance, payouts, and yield — all settled directly on Stellar.

The new infrastructure introduces production-ready financial capabilities for the Stellar ecosystem, including:

➤ Stablecoin-Powered Virtual Bank Accounts: Fully functional accounts enabling users and businesses to store, receive, and manage stablecoins with real-world financial usability.
➤ 1:1 Fiat–Stablecoin Conversion: Instant conversion between fiat and stablecoins at true 1:1 value, removing spreads and friction.
➤ Global Co-Branded Card Issuing: Stablecoin-powered cards accepted at over 80 million merchants worldwide, enabling direct spending from Stellar-native balances.
➤ Global Payouts and Settlement: Seamless transfers via major global payment rails including ACH, SEPA, PIX, FPS, SWIFT, and Push-to-Card, bridging on-chain assets with traditional finance.
➤ Native Stablecoin Yield: Up to 6% APY on stablecoin balances through secure, on-chain yield infrastructure with full liquidity and no lock-ups.

By combining Wirex's global payment connectivity, licensing coverage, and integration with Visa and banking rails, with Ultra Stellar's deep expertise in Stellar infrastructure and millions of active users, the partnership brings real-world financial capabilities directly on-chain. 🤝

The infrastructure is designed to support the next generation of financial applications — including those used by millions of users and autonomous AI agents, enabling seamless global transactions powered entirely by stablecoins.

#Stellar

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