Amid

Sarah Jones says guidance that black and white suspects should be treated differently gives ‘wrong impression’Anti-discrimination guidance to police that black and white suspects should be treated differently “gives the wrong impression”, according to the policing minister, who said protesters involved in overnight violence in Southampton should not be allowed to shape the reaction to the murder of Henry Nowak.Two people were arrested after unrest in Southampton after the sentencing of the 18-year-old’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, who told police attending the scene of the stabbing in the city on 3 December 2025 that he had been the victim of a racist attack. Continue reading...

• Japan's Nikkei index reached a record high as Asia-Pacific markets generally opened higher, despite ongoing volatility in oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. • Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.36% following a report that GDP grew 2.5% year-on-year for the first quarter, slightly missing the 2.6% forecast by economists. • Australian growth was hindered by reduced household and government spending, alongside severe weather disruptions that impacted the mining sector.

• India has dropped to 7th place in global market capitalization rankings as South Korea and Taiwan experience rapid growth. • South Korea reached a $5 trillion valuation driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while Taiwan's valuation hit approximately $5.15 trillion. • This shift is fueled by an AI-led rally in the semiconductor industry, specifically the explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory chips and TSMC's massive market footprint.

• The BSE SENSEX dropped over 400 points and the NIFTY50 opened at 23,229 as Indian equity markets experienced a gap down opening. • The decline was driven by cautious investor sentiment resulting from mixed global market cues and negative indicators from Nifty futures. • Bajaj Finance and Eternal were identified as the top losers among the stocks during this trading session.

• Global stock markets rallied driven by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, specifically following an IPO filing by AI firm Anthropic. • Conversely, oil prices and bond yields declined due to instability in US-Iran talks and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. • In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI index experienced high volatility, swinging lower after reaching a record high as major tech stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fluctuated.

• Stock markets remained rangebound as investors weighed uncertainty regarding Iran talks and a series of artificial intelligence developments. • Alphabet's Class A shares fell 2.2% following the announcement of a massive investment program, which includes $10 billion in backing from Berkshire Hathaway under CEO Greg Abel. • In a significant industry milestone, AI startup Anthropic, the developer of Claude, has confidentially filed for an IPO, beating rival OpenAI to the first step of going public.

The US military said aircraft disabled the engine room of the unladen Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie as it passed through international watersUS forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade and reach Iran, amid an enduring standoff in the strait of Hormuz and stalling efforts by Washington to secure a new ceasefire agreement with Tehran.The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said its aircraft disabled the engine room of the unladen Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie on Tuesday as it passed through international waters toward Kharg Island, north of the strait near Kuwait, after the crew ignoring repeated warnings over a 24-hour period. Continue reading...