Kevin C. Lukeeram appointed chair of Pan-African Parliament's Justice and Human Rights Commission

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO in 2026, John Ternus named successor

Tim Cook will depart as Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, after 15 years, with John Ternus taking over. Cook, who will become executive chairman of the board, transformed Apple into a technological empire, increasing its valuation from approximately $350 billion to over $4 trillion. Under his leadership, Apple achieved record profits and optimized production lines, though some innovation was sacrificed for scale. Key transformations include the development of Apple Silicon, which led to the company designing its own chips for all products and abandoning Intel processors for Macs in 2020. The Apple Watch, initially launched with a fashion focus, pivoted to health and fitness, becoming the world's best-selling watch and a major collector of medical data. Apple also significantly expanded its services division, launching Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Pay, and Apple One, which now generate tens of billions quarterly. The AirPods, introduced in 2016, revolutionized the audio market and became another major success. Cook championed user privacy, famously refusing to help the FBI access a terrorist's iPhone in 2016. This stance led Apple to implement strong data encryption and local data processing, though it may have caused a delay in generative AI development compared to competitors. However, Cook's tenure also saw some setbacks, including the cancellation of the Apple Car project, a perceived lag in AI development, and communication missteps like the AirPower charger. The Apple Vis