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• Thailand’s cabinet approved new borrowing of 200 billion baht, or $6.13 billion, to support a consumer subsidy scheme, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said Tuesday. • The package is part of the government’s effort to cushion households from higher costs linked to the Middle East conflict and broader economic pressure. • The decision matters because it shows Bangkok is using fiscal support to stabilize living costs and shore up demand at a fragile moment for the economy.

Paul Singer is founder of a leading creditor in the hedge fund consortium locked in talks with the UK governmentA billionaire Donald Trump donor could make millions from a deal being struck between the government and Thames Water.The UK’s largest water company, ministers and creditors are locked in a stalemate as they try to agree a rescue deal to stave off Thames’s collapse. The water company built up a £17.6bn debt pile in the decades after its privatisation. Continue reading...

Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political swayThe head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré.The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes. Continue reading...

With the primary election less than three weeks away, the gubernatorial and mayoral races have taken a fiery turnSparring on the debate stage, well-timed statements addressing the slightest misstep by an opponent and countless social media jabs: election season is heating up in California’s major primaries.With the primary election less than three weeks away, the gubernatorial and mayoral races have taken a fiery turn as candidates undergo last-ditch efforts to convince voters of their governance chops. Continue reading...

• Chinese robotics startup Linkerbot has completed a Series B+ funding round, achieving a $3 billion valuation, according to a Reuters report covering the company's expansion in industrial robotics. • The funding round reflects strong investor appetite for advanced robotics solutions in Asia, where manufacturing automation and industrial AI applications are driving significant venture capital deployment. • Linkerbot's valuation milestone positions the startup among China's leading robotics firms, competing in the growing market for intelligent automation systems across manufacturing, logistics, and service sectors.

• Global venture capital investment hit a record $300 billion in Q1 2026 across approximately 6,000 startups, representing a 150% increase quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. • AI funding dominated with $242 billion, or 80% of total venture funding, up from 55% in Q1 2025, with capital concentrating in frontier model builders, enterprise software, robotics, semiconductors, and life sciences. • Isomorphic Labs, a DeepMind spinout, raised a $2.1 billion Series B funding round backed by Thrive Capital, Google Ventures, and Alphabet, targeting AI-driven drug discovery applications.

Gautam Adani, richest man in Asia, was accused of conspiring to pay $250m in bribes to Indian government officialsThe US Department of Justice is dropping its fraud charges against the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, the richest man in Asia, after he hired a new legal team led by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to new reports.In an undisclosed April meeting at the justice department, Trump’s personal lawyer, Robert J Giuffra Jr, said that Adani would invest $10bn in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg. Continue reading...

• Anduril Industries announced a $5 billion Series H funding round, doubling its valuation to $61 billion just one year after its previous multibillion-dollar raise. • The late-stage funding was jointly led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, demonstrating strong investor confidence in the defense and autonomous systems company. • The massive valuation increase reflects growing demand for advanced defense technology and autonomous systems in the current geopolitical environment.