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President Donald Trump told Gulf leaders on Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the region as part of any potential agreement.Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Trump said in remarks at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi capital. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last month focused on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly said that he believes brokering a deal is possible but that the window is closing.The Republican president’s strongly worded push on Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen come as its proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump’s remarks “deceitful” but did not directly address the U.S. leader’s call on Iran to cease support of proxy groups.Trump added that he believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms. Lifting sanctions on Syria Trump’s comments on Iran came after he met Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq.Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia. He was headed next to Qatar, where he will be honored with a state visit. His Mideast tour also will take him to the United Arab Emirates.Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.“The sanctions were really crippling and very powerful,” Trump said. “It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance” to rebuild the country, he added.Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for the meeting, which lasted 33 minutes. Erdogan also took part in the talks via video conference.The prince said Trump’s decision to engage with al-Sharaa and lift the sanctions will “alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people” and spur a “new chapter” for the nation.Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida.Al-Sharaa returned to his home country of Syria after the conflict began in 2011 and led al-Qaida’s branch called the Nusra Front. He changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and cut links with al-Qaida.The sanctions go back to the rule of Assad, who was ousted in December, and were intended to inflict major pain on his economy.Both the Biden and Trump administrations left the sanctions in place after Assad’s fall as they sought to take the measure of al-Sharaa. State visit to Qatar After meeting with members of the GCCwhich includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab EmiratesTrump was heading to Qatar, the second stop in his Mideast tour.Qatar, like the other Gulf Arab states, is an autocratic nation where political parties are banned and speech is tightly controlled. It is overseen by its ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim took power in June 2013 when his father stepped down.Qatar has also played a central role in pay-to-play-style scandals around the globe.In Israel, authorities are investigating allegations that Qatar hired close advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch PR campaigns to improve the Gulf nation’s image among Israelis.Two European Union lawmakers were accused of taking money from Doha in a scandal dubbed “Qatar-gate.” U.S. prosecutors in 2020 accused Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members to secure the tournament in the country in 2022.In 2024, RTX Corp., the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded the U.S. government and paid bribes to secure business with Qatar. Doha always has denied wrongdoing.Qatar follows an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism born out of Saudi Arabia. However, Qatar struck a different tack in the Arab Spring by backing Islamists, including Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, as well as those who rose up against Assad.Its support of Islamists, in part, led to a yearslong boycott of the country by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. That boycott only ended as then-President Joe Biden prepared to enter the White House in 2021.Qatar also has served as a key mediator, particularly with the militant group Hamas as the international community pursues a ceasefire for the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar also served as host of the negotiations between the United States and the Taliban that led to America’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.Qatar is home to Al-Udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility that hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.The oil-rich country is also in the center of a controversy over its offer to provide Trump with the gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. could use as Air Force One while new versions of the plane are under construction by Boeing.The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn’t been made. But Trump has defended the idea even as critics argue it would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government.Trump has indicated he would refurbish the aircraft and it would later be donated to his post-White House presidential library. He says he would not use the plane once he leaves office. AP writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed. Zeke Miller, Jon Gambrell and Aamer Madhani, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The day has finally arrived for those hoping to get in on shares of crypto and stock trading firm eToro Group Ltd. The fintech company is holing its initial public offering, with its shares expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Wednesday after a monthslong delay. Heres what you need to know about eToros IPO. What is eToro? eToro is a brokerage company. The fintech firms official name is eToro Group Ltd., and it offers a trading platform for people to buy and sell stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets. In the financial services space, eToros more traditional competitors are the likes of Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard. However, because eToro is a digital-first company, it more closely resembles other digital-first trading platforms like Robinhood. But eToro has some differentiating features that set it apart from other trading platforms. The platform is perhaps most well-known for its CopyTrader feature, which allows eToro users to follow other traders and mimic their trades. The idea behind this feature is that it could help novice traders invest more successfully by replicating the moves of more seasoned investors. Despite going public now, eToro has actually been around for a while. The company was originally founded in 2007. It is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and has offices around the globe. eToro has a long history of attempted public offerings Today is the first time that eToro has gone public, but its not the first time the company has tried to. As noted by CNBC, the company originally tried to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2022. SPACs were all the rage in the early pandemic years, but by 2022, they had started to wane as equity markets took a fall. Then in March of this year, eToro announced its intention to go public againthis time via a traditional initial public offering (IPO). While eToro at the time did not give a date for its IPO, it was assumed that it would happen relatively quickly. But eToros IPO announcement at the end of March couldnt have been more badly timed. It was announced little more than a week before President Donald Trump announced his disastrous Liberation Day tariffs, which sent stock markets around the world tumbling. In April, eToro chose to delay its IPO. However, in early May, as Trumps trade war stance had begun to soften, Bloomberg reported that eToro was once again on the cusp of launching its IPO. And now it’s doing just that. eToro by the numbers On May 5, eToro filed an updated Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This form is little changed from the earlier F-1 the company filed in March. In the F-1, eToro reported the following metrics as of December 31, 2024: A global footprint that spreads across 75 countries. Approximately 3.5 million Funded Accounts. Net Contribution of $787 million (up 41% from $557 million in 2023). Total Commission of $931 million (up 46% from $639 million in 2023). Net income of $192 million (up 1,161% from $15 million in 2023). Adjusted EBITDA of $304 million (up 159% from $187 million in 2023). As noted by CNBC, eToro makes its money by charging fees on associated trading transactions, including buy and sell orders, withdrawals, and currency conversions. When is eToros IPO? eToros priced its shares on Tuesday. It is expected to begin publicly trading today (Wednesday, May 14, 2025). What is eToros stock ticker? eToros stock ticker is ETOR. What exchange will eToro shares trade on? eToro shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. What is the IPO share price of ETOR? The IPO price of ETOR shares is $52, according to a company press release. This exceeds the high end that eToro originally said it was going to sell its shares for. In its F-1 filing, the company said it had planned to sell its shares between $46 and $50 apiece. The higher IPO price suggests that eToro believes there is more substantial demand for its shares than originally thought. How many ETOR shares are available in its IPO? In total, eToros IPO offered 11,923,018 Class A common shares for sale. Nearly six million shares were sold directly by eToro, with most sold by existing eToro shareholders. How much did eToro raise in its IPO? Though roughly 11.9 million shares were available under eToros IPO, the company will not receive the proceeds for half of them, because existing private shareholders are selling those shares. That leaves 5,961,509 from which eToro profited. Selling those 5.9 million shares for $52 each netted eToro around $310 million. How much is eToro worth? At its $52 IPO price, CNBC says eToro now has a market cap of approximately $4.2 billion.
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E-Commerce
The hottest parties right now are happening in the metaverse. VRChat, a video-game-like social platform hosted in virtual reality, saw more than 130,000 people in attendance on New Years Day 2025, according to a VR culture blog. Before 2020, VRChat had hardly seen more than 20,000 concurrent users, according to Wired. While virtual clubbing began in the early 2000s on platforms like Second Life, VRChat, and AltspaceVR, the COVID-19 lockdowns brought a new wave of virtual ravers as traditional nightclubs closed and people looked for online alternatives. Today, VR clubbers line up each week for dozens of fully immersive virtual parties hosted across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Thanks to major advances in motion tracking, haptic suits, and customizable avatars, people can now dance to popular DJ sets and socializeall without leaving their homes. Aside from the up-front hardware cost, events are free. But, like popular in-person clubs, there are often long lines for the most in-demand virtual nights, which are usually limited to around 80 guests due to software constraints. VR clubbing carries its own risks. Psychiatrists and ER doctors have reported some attendees going on digital benders, partying to the point of total exhaustion, according to Psychology Today. One partier told Wired hes had friends hospitalized after binge-drinking on VRChat. Another said he partied for nearly 12 nights straight last Augustwithout once stepping outside his apartment. Still, virtual partying has its perks. If the musics too loud, you can just turn it down. Ready to go home? No need to worry about Ubers or navigating public transport at 3 a.m. Personal safety and harassment are also less of a concern. Wired spoke to a trans woman from rural Ohio who described VRChat as offering a safer environment than a real-life club setting, adding, the music is better than at the clubs in Ohio. In the article’s comments, a middle-aged IT manager shared how she and her fiancé, who met in VRChat, now spend their weekends dancing in VR instead of going out, noting, At the end of the night we just take off the headsets and go to bed.
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E-Commerce
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