BRITAIN'S vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the country was on track to offer all those aged over 50 a second dose of a vaccine by June 21.
"We are on track for offering all over 50s who have had the first jab their second jab by the 21st," Zahawi told the BBC on Friday (11).
He also said on Friday (11) that supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would be "tight" over the next few weeks but he was confident that the country's immunisation targets would be met.
"It is tight," Zahawi said on Pfizer supplies when asked on LBC radio.
"I'm confident that Scotland will be able to meet the target of offering every adult at least one dose by the end of July as we will in England as well," he added.
Britain said on Thursday (10) that it would give at least 100 million surplus vaccines to the world's poorest nations, and Zahawi said the donations would not affect the domestic vaccine programme.
"No doses that are required for Scotland, for Northern Ireland, for Wales, for England are being taken away by our announcement (on donating vaccines)," Zahawi confirmed.
INDIAN and US negotiators reported progress after four days of closed-door meetings in New Delhi on Tuesday, focusing on market access for industrial and some agricultural goods, tariff cuts and non-tariff barriers, according to Indian government sources.
"The negotiations held with the US side were productive and helped in making progress towards crafting a mutually beneficial and balanced agreement including through achievement of early wins," one of the sources said to Reuters.
The US delegation, led by senior officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative, met Indian trade ministry officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal.
Both sides also considered ways to expand bilateral digital trade through improved customs and trade-facilitation measures, the sources added, noting that “negotiations will continue” with an eye on a quick conclusion of the initial tranche.
Interim pact expected soon
president Donald Trump and prime minister Narendra Modi agreed in February to finalise a bilateral trade agreement by autumn 2025 and to more than double two-way trade to $500 billion by 2030. Officials now expect to seal an interim deal by the end of this month, before Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs expires, including a possible 26 per cent levy on Indian goods.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal, who is in Switzerland for talks with European counterparts, said India is ready to settle “simpler issues” first. Subsequent rounds could handle more complex matters, with the goal of signing the first tranche by September or October, the officials said.
India turned down US requests for wider access to wheat, dairy and corn while offering lower tariffs on US almonds, pistachios and walnuts. New Delhi also asked Washington to remove its 10 per cent baseline tariff, a step the US side opposed, pointing out that Britain accepted the same duty in its recent deal. India further sought relief from a 50 per cent duty on steel exports.
A 26 per cent tariff on Indian rice, shrimp, textiles and footwear—about one-fifth of India’s merchandise exports—could dent shipments and weigh on foreign investment, the sources warned. India has pledged to increase purchases of American liquefied natural gas, crude oil, coal and defence equipment.
India’s exports to the US climbed 28 per cent to $37.7 billion in the first four months of 2025, while imports rose to $14.4 billion, widening India’s surplus, US data showed.
US voices backing on terrorism fight
Separately, the State Department said the US “reaffirmed its strong support” for India’s fight against terrorism during last week’s visit to Washington by an Indian all-party parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau met the group as part of New Delhi’s outreach following Operation Sindoor, launched after the 22 April Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that a Pakistani parliamentary team headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also met officials, including under secretary for political affairs Allison Hooker. “So that meeting occurred,” Bruce said.
Hooker reiterated US support for the current “– as you might imagine, thank God – between India and Pakistan,” Bruce added, referring to the cessation of on-ground hostilities.
Asked about possible Pakistani assurances on action against militants, Bruce declined to share details. On whether Trump might “mediate” on Kashmir, she said: “Well, I – obviously, I can't speak to what's on the mind or the plans of the President. What I do know is that I think we all recognise that President Trump in each step that he takes, it's made to solve generational differences between countries, generational war."
“So, while I can't speak to his plans, the world knows his nature, and I can't speak to any details of what he might have in that regard… But it is an exciting time that if we can get to a point in that particular conflict..,” Bruce said, adding that it is a “very interesting time.”
India has maintained that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an “integral” part of the country and has rejected any outside mediation.
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Suppose your coffee break doesn't merely take you out of work mode—it takes you out of the century. Welcome to the Time Librarians' Lounge, where every break in a work shift can deposit you in a Roman atrium, a Martian greenhouse, or a quantum crystal chamber. These aren't your typical staff rooms. They're carefully curated sanctuaries for time guardians—intended to allow them to relax, recharge, and temporarily forget the weight of keeping history intact over millennia.
Here, lounges are pieced together by threads of time. They're adorned by fashions that don't simply cut across timespaces—they merge them. Visualize steampunk coffee houses alongside Zen-like teleportation rooms, or Egyptian sunlit niches lined up with energy domes from the future. These are spaces where Cleopatra's chaise longue can be found alongside a holographic jukebox playing Beethoven reimagined by synthwave. And with Dreamina's AI image generator, you don't require a time machine to construct it—you require imagination, images, and some clever tools.
Where time-travelers sip and reset
Each Time Librarian requires a space where they can reflect, whether having just returned from 1890s Vienna or coming back from a mission to spy on some civilization in the year 4012. Their break rooms should not be attached to any period or style. These lounges need to have the feel of pockets of everywhere and nowhere—a pause button on the universal timeline.
There might be minimalist versions with nods to Japanese tea houses but subtle implications of robot staff. Others could be maximalist: constellation-coated ceilings, shelves lined with long-lost civilizations' texts, and machines vending treats from alternate realities. These lounges don't involve maintaining a fidelity to a design aesthetic. They're about cross-mingling comfort, wonder, and chrono-diplomacy of styles.
How, then, do we give life to these lounges—design and artwise? Dreamina presents a spectacular sandbox to do it in.
Relaxation turned into relics
These Time Librarians' Lounges are not merely design exercises but artifacts. They each reveal a story about how individuals stop, think, and indulge regardless of the time period. And now that you've incarnated them, what do you do with them?
Think about taking your favorite lounge designs and turning them into a series of digital collectibles. From floating meditation mats to chronos-consoles, these pieces can be standalone art objects. If you'd like to tote them around or gift them as badges of temporal cool, turn them into physical works of art via a sticker maker. Upload your Dreamina pictures and print out holographic sticker sheets packed with teacups from 3020, sundial-shaped chairs, and lunar-phase dimming chandeliers. They're cool, sci-fi mementos from nonexistent break rooms—break rooms they should have had.
How to generate images with Dreamina
Before furniture is rearranged in space-time, it begins with one thing: an idea. Or better yet, a precise visual prompt. This is where Dreamina comes in to transform timelines into texture.
Step 1: Create a rich text prompt
To start, go to the "Image generator" tab on Dreamina. This is where the blueprint of your break room is created. You’ll need to craft a prompt that doesn’t just describe the space but evokes it. Think beyond appearance—capture mood, light, emotion, and purpose. For instance, a prompt like “an interdimensional break room with Art Deco lighting, ancient scrolls, kinetic furniture from the future, and a transparent wall showing shifting galaxies” can spark incredible results. Add sensory details like temperature, materials, or sound to breathe more life into it. This is where your Time Librarians will begin to seem very real.
Step 2: Tune parameters and render
Having set your prompt, it's now time to dial in Dreamina's visual knobs. Select a model suited to your intent: maybe you'll go for a painterly feel for a more fantastical lounge or high-definition, photorealistic model for a space that's real to the touch and the eye. Then choose your aspect ratio—wide if you're imagining expansive, panoramic areas, or square when you're thinking about collectible sticker sheets or plush areas. Select your image size and resolution based on how much detail you desire. Once everything feels perfect, click "Generate," and your temporal break room will pop into existence in seconds.
Step 3: Customize and download
After your image is created, it's time to shape it even more. Employ the inpaint tool from Dreamina to add a temporal kettle onto an aged marble counter, or expand the borders of your lounge to expose more timelines and furnishings. Want to erase an eye-jarring detail? Employ the remove tool to tidy it up. Retouch enables you to tweak lighting, textures, and highlights until it emits both coziness and anachronism. Once you’re satisfied—once the chaise longue from Atlantis and the glowing tea pods from Pluto harmonize perfectly—click the “Download” icon and save your masterpiece. You’ve now captured a quiet corner of infinity.
Designing identity beyond time
Suppose your designs take off—you launch a zine, share it on social media, or create a web gallery for hypothetical rest stops for travelers through time. What you require next is an emblem—a that defines this genre-crossing idea of pause and being present. By employing Dreamina's AI logo generator, you can design a mark that blends hourglasses with neon spirals, or gears entwined in ivy, embodying both time's stiffness and the comfort of resisting it.
This logo won't simply brand your project—it'll ground your look. And as you blow out the possibilities of your Time Librarians universe into merch, story seeds, or virtual exhibitions, the logo will be a time-stamped badge for everything restful, warped, and radically creative.
No clock strikes too close to midnight
There is no one style of breaking out the break room that spans time. You can take inspiration from the past, fantasy, science fiction, or dreams. A lounge could have a jukebox that plays centuries non-sequentially. Another could include a garden filled with plants that have gone extinct alongside those in the future that are hybrids. You're not trending to design—you're writing a new one, a genre known as "temporal comfort."
These rooms aren't merely about couches and clocks. They're about what resting means when time has no distinct meaning. They're rooms where the weight of memory is tolerable, where history can be paused, and where design is as malleable as time itself.
So go ahead—make a pot of ancient-future tea, open Dreamina, and create a break room for the ages. The Time Librarians await.
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The move marks the first commercial spin-off from the Smartless podcast
The hosts of the popular Smartless podcast, actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, have launched a new mobile phone service in the United States. Called Smartless Mobile, the service offers a budget-friendly alternative to traditional phone plans and is aimed at users who spend most of their time connected to WiFi.
The move marks the first commercial spin-off from the Smartless podcast, which is known for its celebrity interviews and humorous tone. The new venture was announced in early June 2025 and has already begun accepting sign-ups across the US mainland and Puerto Rico.
What is Smartless Mobile
Smartless Mobile is a digital-only mobile phone provider that offers plans ranging from 15 to 30 US dollars per month. Unlike many traditional mobile plans that offer unlimited data, Smartless Mobile offers what it calls “data sane” packages. These are tailored to the habits of users who rely heavily on WiFi and do not require large mobile data allowances.
The company promises that its pricing is locked for life, meaning customers will not see price hikes once they subscribe. The service uses the existing 5G network operated by T Mobile in the US and functions through eSIM technology, allowing users to activate service without needing a physical SIM card.
Customers bring their own phones and transfer their existing number by scanning a QR code in the Smartless Mobile app. There are no retail stores or contracts, and the service is managed entirely through the app.
Who is behind it
In addition to the three podcast hosts, Smartless Mobile is being led by Paul McAleese, a veteran in the telecommunications industry, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer. His wife, Jeni McAleese, is the chief brand officer. The venture is backed by Thomvest Asset Management, a Canadian investment firm with interests in the tech and communications sector.
- YouTubeYouTube/ Jimmy Kimmel Live
The founders say their aim is to simplify mobile service, eliminate hidden fees and avoid confusing contracts, something they believe resonates with everyday users who are frustrated with large telecom providers.
Celebrity phones: Trend or gimmick
Smartless Mobile is not the first example of a celebrity entering the telecom space. Actor Ryan Reynolds previously co-founded Mint Mobile, a low-cost phone provider, which was later acquired by T Mobile in a deal worth more than one billion US dollars.
While Mint Mobile has been praised for its affordability and marketing, some critics have questioned the motives behind similar ventures. Commentators have suggested that celebrities moving into utilities, such as phone services, may be more about branding and less about actual service improvements.
However, the Smartless team has leaned into their comedic brand. Promotional materials for the launch include tongue-in-cheek videos in black and white, poking fun at the complexity of other mobile providers while promoting Smartless Mobile as a simple and honest option.
Is it a good deal
Smartless Mobile may appeal to users looking to save money on mobile plans, especially those who already use WiFi most of the time and do not need unlimited data. The app-based service model also allows for a modern, streamlined experience that avoids store visits and paperwork.
That said, critics have raised questions about whether the limited data plans would meet the needs of average users. Others have expressed scepticism about whether the celebrity founders themselves use the service they are promoting.
Still, the company has been transparent about its infrastructure, openly acknowledging its use of T Mobile’s network. This sets it apart from some other mobile virtual networks, which often do not disclose their partnerships.
A new player in the market
Smartless Mobile has officially launched and is open for sign-ups across the US. With a growing number of users seeking affordable and flexible phone plans, the service could carve out a niche, especially among fans of the podcast and cost-conscious consumers.
Whether it becomes a long-term success or joins the list of short-lived celebrity ventures remains to be seen. For now, Smartless Mobile represents an unusual crossover between entertainment and telecoms, offering a product that blends humour, simplicity and low-cost access.
ELON MUSK’S Starlink has received a licence to launch commercial operations in India from the telecoms ministry, two sources told Reuters last Friday (6), clearing a major hurdle for the satellite provider that has long wanted to enter the south Asian country.
The approval is good news for Musk, whose public spat with president Donald Trump threatens $22 billion (£16.3bn) of SpaceX’s contracts and space programmes with the US government. Starlink is the third company to get a licence from India’s Department of Telecommunications, which has approved similar applications by Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio to provide services in the country.
Starlink and the Department of Telecommunications did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Musk met prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit in February to the United States, where the two discussed Starlink’s launch plans and India’s concerns over meeting certain security conditions.
Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licences to operate commercially in India, and although it has cleared a major hurdle, it is a long way from launching commercial services.
It still needs a separate licence from India’s space regulator, which Starlink is close to securing, said a third source with direct knowledge of the process without giving details.
Starlink will then need to secure spectrum from the government, set up ground infrastructure and also demonstrate, through testing and trials, that it meets the security rules it has signed up for, one of the two sources said.
“This will take a couple of months at least and will be a rigorous process,” said the person, adding that it can only begin selling its equipment and services to customers once it gets an all clear from Indian security officials.
Indian telecom providers Jio and Bharti Airtel, in a surprise move in March, announced a partnership with Musk to stock Starlink equipment in their retail stores, but they will still compete on offering broadband services.
Musk and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio clashed for months over how India should grant spectrum for satellite services. India’s government sided with Musk that spectrum should be assigned and not auctioned.
India’s telecom regulator in May proposed satellite service providers pay four per cent of their annual revenue to the government for offering services, which domestic players have said is unjustifiably low and will hurt their businesses.
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The festival was warmly received by recipients and appreciated by local residents
Madhavipriyadas Swami of SGVP Holistic Hospital in Ahmedabad led a mango distribution drive in 2025, providing free mangoes to poor and needy families as part of the SGVP Mango Festival.
The event was held at the SGVP campus and aimed to support underprivileged communities by distributing fresh seasonal fruit during the summer. Thousands of mangoes were handed out to individuals from economically weaker backgrounds.
Thousands of mangoes were handed out to individuals from economically weaker backgroundsSGVP
Swami Madhavipriyadas personally oversaw the initiative, highlighting the hospital’s continued commitment to community welfare and seva (service). Volunteers and staff members of the hospital participated in the event, ensuring the distribution was well-organised and reached the intended beneficiaries.
With the support of its spiritual and community leadersSGVP
The mango distribution is one of SGVP’s ongoing efforts to uplift disadvantaged sections of society by offering food, healthcare, and support. Organisers said the gesture was not only about providing fruit but also about spreading kindness and compassion.
The festival was warmly received by recipients and appreciated by local residents. SGVP plans to continue similar charitable activities in future, with the support of its spiritual and community leaders.