Aging

• South Korea's KOSPI index plummeted more than 33% in July, marking its worst single-month performance in history and surpassing declines seen during the 1997 and 2008 financial crises. • The crash was driven by a combination of cooling global AI stocks, a Bank of Korea rate hike, SK Hynix's disappointing earnings, and reports of China producing its own DUV lithography machines. • This collapse represents a rapid reversal of a bull market that had been heavily supported by leveraged capital.

• EU member states have extended temporary rules until 2028 that allow digital platforms to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. • The extension serves as a precursor to a more permanent "chat control" law currently being debated by European lawmakers. • This legislative battle is critical as it could potentially mandate the scanning of private messages, threatening the future of end-to-end encryption and privacy in Europe.

• PageMind has raised €1.2 million in funding to expand its AI-driven product discovery tools for the e-commerce sector. • An unnamed AI medical imaging marketplace secured $10 million to scale its operations and technology. • AMD has launched the Helios AI Rack-Scale System, positioning the company to compete more directly with Nvidia in the high-performance AI hardware market.

Major incident declared over blaze which started 11 days ago as wind strengthensA major incident has been declared over a wildfire that has been raging in the Cairngorms national park for more than a week, police have said, with a whole village having been evacuated.Officers from Police Scotland said there had been a significant change in weather conditions, with strengthening winds making a fire that has been burning out of control for 11 days yet more difficult to contain. Continue reading...

• The House of Representatives approved a nonbinding proposal directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities in the war with Iran. • While the House passed the measure, Senate Republicans voted against it, effectively allowing the President to continue waging the conflict. • Democrats forced these votes to strategically tie Republican lawmakers to an unpopular war in an effort to gain political leverage ahead of the November elections.

• SpaceX has launched a mission for Northrop Grumman designed to extend the operational lifespan of aging satellites. • The mission utilizes specialized spacecraft to rendezvous with and dock with existing satellites, providing additional propulsion and stability. • This capability is critical for maintaining essential space infrastructure without the high cost and risk of launching entirely new replacement satellites.

• South Korean stocks saw a powerful rebound on July 22, with the KOSPI index surging over 6% intraday and triggering a trading halt by the Korea Exchange. • This surge was part of a broader Asian market rally, including a 1,000-point jump in Japanese stocks and one of the largest intraday gains in Taiwan's market history. • The rally is linked to key AI-driven sectors, specifically impacting major tech firms like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

• PolitiFact, a project of the Poynter Institute, has launched "Well Informed," a new service designed to provide reliable health information to consumers and news organizations. • The initiative utilizes research-backed stories and social videos to help the public distinguish credible medical evidence from health-related misinformation. • This launch addresses the growing need for verified health data to combat the spread of misleading personal health claims across digital platforms.

David Hearn is accused of destroying ‘American flag blue’ lining material on the bottom of the reflecting poolDavid Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to damaging Washington’s reflecting pool after a $14.7m renovation project.Hearn, a three-time US Olympian, was indicted last week on a single felony count of property destruction. He appeared in local superior court in Washington DC, to enter the plea after he was criminally charged over the incident in mid-June. Continue reading...

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently battling an Ebola outbreak caused by a viral strain for which no specific treatments or preventive measures currently exist. • To address this medical gap, three new clinical trials have been launched to test potential breakthroughs in treating and preventing the virus. • These trials are critical because the lack of targeted therapies increases the risk of mortality and complicates efforts to contain the spread of the disease.

• The Supreme Court concluded a term characterized by critics as a significant blow to judicial legitimacy, moving beyond mere credibility issues. • Key rulings accelerated the Trump administration's agenda, including decisions in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo regarding racial profiling and Louisiana v. Callais, which weakened the Voting Rights Act. • The Court limited LGBTQ+ rights through rulings in Shilling v. United States, Trump v. Orr, and U.S. v. Skrmetti, restricting military service, passport options, and gender-affirming care.

Playwright says decision is warning of what may happen if National Rally runs country amid accusations of cultural censorshipIn Anglo-French playwright Alexis Michalik’s play Passeport, a young man has been beaten and left for dead in the notorious Calais refugee camp known as ‘the Jungle’.When he wakes up, he has no idea who he is – and his only possession is a blue Eritrean passport containing the name Issa. With two others from the camp he decides to leave, but not to take the perilous Channel crossing to the UK but instead to try to integrate into France and obtain the necessary papers to remain. Continue reading...

• US lawmaker Ro Khanna criticized the Trump administration for pursuing a unilateral military conflict against Iran without consulting key global allies. • Khanna highlighted that the US failed to engage India, despite the far-reaching consequences the conflict would have on international partners. • The criticism follows repeated pleas from New Delhi for restraint as tensions escalated in West Asia during the US-led campaign.

• NASA is initiating a $30 million salvage operation as early as this week to prevent an aging telescope from falling back to Earth. • The mission involves launching a robotic "lifesaver" to rescue the Swift telescope, which is designed to rapidly capture astronomical events like gamma ray bursts. • Saving the telescope is critical because it serves as "NASA's first responder," providing essential data to complement findings from the Webb and upcoming Roman Space Telescopes.

• NASA is investing $30 million in the "Swift Boost" mission, scheduled to launch on June 27, to rescue the aging Swift observatory. • The nearly 22-year-old telescope is currently being dragged toward Earth's atmosphere, risking a premature reentry and destruction. • This first-of-its-kind rescue operation is critical to preserving the observatory's ability to monitor cosmic events from space.

• Startup Katalyst Space is partnering with NASA to attempt a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the aging Swift space telescope. • The Arizona-based company developed a 935-pound robotic spacecraft called LINK in just 250 days to facilitate the operation. • The mission is critical because LINK must physically interact with and stabilize the observatory, which was not originally designed for such interventions.

• President Lee Jae Myung called for a thorough investigation into the National Election Commission on the 23rd, specifically citing budget waste and hiring irregularities. • Lee emphasized that because the Commission is a constitutionally independent body, the government lacks the authority to intervene in its management or control. • The move follows a rebuke from the National Assembly's special committee on state affairs, which questioned whether the Commission was engaging in collective misconduct.

• Erica Gunn, CMO of Canto, discusses the dual role of AI as both a challenge and a solution for marketers struggling with content proliferation. • The conversation highlights how Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI-powered research are fundamentally altering how customers discover and interact with brands before visiting official websites. • Gunn specifically addresses the Digital Asset Management (DAM) hurdles faced by agencies and highly regulated industries in organizing vast amounts of digital media.

Josh Hokit’s comment, made after the match at the White House, was condemned widely, but not by the presidentDonald Trump is facing growing pressure to condemn an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor who used a White House appearance to push a sexist, racist and transphobic conspiracy theory about former first lady Michelle Obama.At a UFC event on the south lawn on Sunday, the US president’s 80th birthday, Josh Hokit, a fighter, shouted into the microphone in front of Trump: “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” Continue reading...

Trump, still negotiating to conclude the war, claims it’s already over. Some Republican lawmakers have had enoughDonald Trump has two things to say about his war with Iran. The first is that it’s already over. And second, a symbolic congressional vote to end it – carried by four members of his own party – is a stab in the back that could derail the peace talks he’s conducting for the war that’s already over.By a 215-208 margin on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted to direct the president to withdraw US forces from hostilities with Iran, the first time either chamber has passed such a measure in the little over three months since Operation Epic Fury began on 28 February. By Thursday morning, Trump was on Truth Social calling the vote “unpatriotic” and blaming it on “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. Continue reading...

‘Completely unnecessary’ hybrid cans are not easily recycled or accepted by container refund schemes, and are already banned in WAGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA single-use plastic and metal drinking vessel dubbed a “franken-can” has been given the dubious honour of the nation’s worst plastic packaging.The plastic-metal hybrid can, which is not accepted by container refund schemes or easily recycled – has won the inaugural Unpackit award for Australia’s worst packaging. Continue reading...

Officials say a hazardous materials incident injured several people but there is no immediately threat to the publicSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailAuthorities in Washington state are responding to an “implosion” at a packaging plant early on Tuesday morning that left multiple people with chemical burns.The Longview fire department said in a statement there was a hazardous materials incident at Nippon Dynawave Packaging that occurred when a vat of “chemical treatment” imploded. According to the state, the plant has a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging facility, and employs roughly 1,000 employees. Continue reading...

Pandemic report warns of growing global threat as health teams in Africa move to contain Ebola outbreak The world is becoming less resilient to outbreaks of infectious diseases, experts have warned, as health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda scramble to contain an outbreak of Ebola.The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) said in a report published on Monday that “as infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent they are also becoming more damaging”, warning that pandemic risk is outpacing investments in preparedness and “the world is not yet meaningfully safer”. Continue reading...

Calbee to switch its brightly coloured packaging to black and white because war has disrupted supply of certain raw materials used in inkJapan’s biggest snack maker has been forced to use black-and-white packaging for some flagship products because of ink ingredient shortages caused by the strait of Hormuz blockade.Calbee said on Tuesday 14 of its products would switch to monochrome branding by the end of May. Continue reading...

• Netherlands-based eyeo, a computer vision startup, secured €40 million in Series A funding led by Innovation Industries, bringing total funding to €55 million. • The round included existing investors imec.xpand, Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, QBIC fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds, and Brabant Development Agency. • Funds will support eyeo's first full in-house chip design team for nanophotonic chips that split light instead of filtering it, recovering 70% of light discarded by current image sensors.

• Delta Electronics presented cutting-edge smart manufacturing solutions at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur on May 5, 2026, emphasizing AI-enabled systems for semiconductor packaging production. • The company demonstrated how integrated, connected AI systems can enhance speed, precision, and scalability in advanced semiconductor manufacturing across the region. • Delta's focus on AI integration reflects growing industry demand for smarter manufacturing approaches in Southeast Asia's semiconductor sector, positioning the company as a key player in the region's tech infrastructure development.

• Indian innovators unveiled a breakthrough drone imaging technology on May 3, 2026, that completely eliminates the need for germanium, a critical mineral prone to supply chain disruptions from China. • The new system uses alternative materials to maintain high-resolution infrared imaging capabilities, enabling drones for defense, agriculture, and surveillance without vulnerabilities. • This development enhances India's strategic autonomy in drone tech amid global chip shortages and export restrictions, reducing dependency on imported rare earths.

• MIT researchers discovered that chaotic laser light can self-organize into a highly focused 'pencil beam' under precise conditions, enabling rapid 3D imaging of the blood-brain barrier. • The new method images at speeds 25 times faster than current techniques and tracks drug movement into brain cells in real time. • This breakthrough could accelerate treatments for neurological diseases by allowing high-precision observation of protein absorption in cells.