The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia officially recognized the State of Palestine on Sunday, joining over 140 members of the United Nations who have already taken this step, despite strong opposition from Israel.
"Canada recognizes the State of Palestine and offers its partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel," said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a statement.
He emphasized that this decision "supports those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas," adding that "it in no way legitimizes terrorism and does not reward it."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced in a video that he had officially recognized the State of Palestine, but that this does not represent a victory for Hamas.
"Today, to revive the hope for peace and a two-state solution, I clearly declare - as Prime Minister of this great country - that the United Kingdom officially recognizes the State of Palestine," he said in a video statement.
Apple recently launched the new iPhone Air, which works exclusively with eSIM, without a slot for the traditional SIM card.
This move marks the beginning of the end for physical SIM cards. eSIM allows users to switch networks or plans without physically handling a SIM card. Analyst Kester Mann from CCS Insight told BBC News that Apple's announcement "marks the beginning of the end for the physical SIM card."
What is eSIM?
eSIM stands for Embedded Subscriber Identity Module. The chip is an essential part of the phone, enabling connection to the mobile network, managing calls, messages, and data usage. In recent years, eSIM has emerged as an alternative, with many new phones offering the option to use either a traditional SIM or eSIM.
Benefits of eSIM
Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight, emphasized that the shift to eSIM offers "numerous benefits." These include saving internal space in the phone, allowing for larger batteries. It’s also more eco-friendly, eliminating the need for plastic SIM cards. Pescatore believes eSIM users will have more options for carriers when traveling abroad, avoiding "bill shock."
Changes in customer behavior
Kester Mann stated that this technology will bring new customer behaviors and "will slowly change the way people interact with their mobile carrier." For example, some customers won’t need to go to a physical store to discuss their SIM card. However, like any change, it may not be well-received by everyone. Mann added: "The change could be particularly significant among older age groups or people less comfortable with technology. The industry will need to make efforts to explain how eSIMs work."
What does the future of SIM cards look like?
According to CCS Insight forecasts, 1.3 billion eSIM-enabled smartphones were in use by the end of 2024. This number is expected to rise to 3.1 billion by 2030. While Apple is making this significant step with the iPhone Air, it isn’t completely abandoning the physical SIM card. Other new iPhone models, like the 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max, will be available exclusively with eSIM in some markets, but in most countries, they will still include physical SIM card slots.
Other major manufacturers, such as Samsung and Google, while adopting eSIMs as an option, still retain the physical SIM card in most locations. However, experts agree that the direction is clear. Paolo Pescatore stated: "Over time, expect the SIM slot to completely disappear."
The American President, Donald Trump, assured on Sunday that the USA would participate in the defense of Poland and the Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - if Russia escalates its military activity in the region.
When asked by a journalist if he would help defend these four NATO member countries in case Russia escalates its actions in the region, the American president replied, "Yes, I will do it, I will do it."
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonia's airspace over the Gulf of Finland and remained there for about 12 minutes, Estonia and NATO alerted on Friday.
"We don't like that," said Donald Trump on Sunday from the White House.
Italy, which takes on a policing mission in NATO over the Baltic skies, as well as Sweden and Finland, have launched aircraft from the ground to intercept the Russian planes.
A special meeting of the UN Security Council is set to take place on Monday at the request of Estonia, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday.
On the night of September 9th to 10th, NATO aircraft shot down Russian drones over Poland. Regarding the Russian intrusion, Donald Trump had previously stated that "it could have been a mistake."