Fewer

• Southeast Asia's blockchain sector raised $680 million in 2026, which is double the total amount raised the previous year. • Crypto financial services led the growth by attracting $498 million across 19 funding rounds, a 48.4% increase year-over-year. • Investors are shifting their strategy toward fewer, larger deals that target mature companies, particularly those based in Singapore.

• Southeast Asia blockchain funding reached $680 million in 2026 despite a decrease in the total number of deals. • Investment was dominated by Crypto.com and Singapore, with the latter benefiting from a regulatory structure that supports licensed digital asset businesses. • Higher funding levels indicate strong market confidence in the region's digital asset infrastructure despite a more selective investment environment.

• Researchers conducted a retrospective review of all novel FDA drug approvals from 2016 through 2024 to analyze the evidence used for authorization. • The study used FDA public records and the ClinicalTrials.gov database to track the number of completed trials and their funding sources. • The findings show that novel drug approvals in the US have been supported by a decreasing number of studies since 2016.

• Investors are analyzing labor market trends and upcoming hiring data to gauge the Federal Reserve's potential interest rate decisions amid persistent inflation. • The Labor Department is scheduled to release its monthly jobs report this Friday. • Federal Reserve policy decisions on interest rates directly impact borrowing costs and market stability for investors and businesses.

• A retrospective review of FDA novel drug approvals from 2016 through 2024 reveals a trend of approvals being supported by a decreasing number of completed clinical studies. • Researchers analyzed FDA public records and the ClinicalTrials.gov database to evaluate trial counts, funding sources, and the timing of public result reporting. • The findings highlight a concerning shift toward relying on fewer studies and an increase in industry-funded research to secure drug authorizations.

• The U.S. Congress is scheduled to return to session next week to address a significant backlog of pending legislation. • Political analyst Loren Duggan notes that lawmakers facing upcoming re-election bids may struggle to support controversial bills due to political risks. • This tension highlights a growing difficulty in passing key laws as members prioritize their electoral viability over legislative compromise.

• Researchers analyzed the impact of the 21st Century Cures Act, which allows the FDA to approve novel drugs based on a single pivotal trial rather than multiple studies. • Findings indicate that since 2016, the number of studies supporting new drug approvals in the US has steadily decreased. • This shift reflects a trend toward increased FDA flexibility and a higher reliance on industry-funded data to accelerate the drug approval process.

• A recent Pew Research Center study reveals that only 55% of Americans believe the 2026 midterm elections will be conducted accurately and fairly. • This represents a decline from the 61% confidence level recorded ahead of the 2024 elections and is the lowest level of trust in any national referendum since Pew began tracking the metric. • The findings highlight a growing skepticism regarding the reliability of the U.S. electoral process among the general public.

• President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for American children to be immunized against 11 diseases, a reduction from the 17 recommended by the CDC. • The legal authority and practical implementation of this order remain unclear, as it contradicts established public health guidelines. • In separate Oval Office remarks, the President made controversial claims regarding "jihadists" and "communism" being elected in various locations.

Justice secretary says ministers would have liked to block more but doing so would cause prison system to ‘break’UK politics live – latest updatesAbout 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early after Andy Burnham’s intervention to exclude those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme.The justice secretary, Alex Norris, said 5,000 prisoners would be released over 10 months from October in England and Wales, down from the government’s original plan for 6,000 from September. Continue reading...

• Europe's technology sector raised $35.4 billion in the first half of 2026, marking a 46% increase compared to the $24.4 billion raised during the same period in 2025. • A new report from Tracxn reveals that this growth is driven by a small number of companies securing significantly larger funding rounds. • This trend indicates a shrinking pool of winners, as investors concentrate their capital into fewer high-conviction deals rather than distributing it across the broader ecosystem.

The handcrafted leather boots are a century-old tradition – but with money tight, the cost of up to $800 is harder to justifyFor 18 years, one of the most important relationships in Luke Mayfield’s life was with his boots. As a hotshot – one of the US’s elite firefighting crews sent deep, on foot, into wildfires – Mayfield hiked a thousand miles a fire season in his boots, stood in them 16 hours a day and slept near them on assignments that lasted weeks in terrain no truck could reach.Like every wildland firefighter, he learned the rituals of their upkeep: how to grease them, how to lace them, how soon before the season to break in a new pair so the blisters came during training instead of on duty. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Supreme Court's approval rating has fallen to a record low, with a notable decline in support among Republicans. • This drop follows several major 2026 legal defeats for the Trump administration regarding birthright citizenship, tariffs, and the Federal Reserve. • The trend highlights a growing disconnect between the judiciary and its traditional conservative base following these specific rulings.

• Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has initiated a leadership shift focused on streamlining the central bank's communications and operations. • Recent changes include a dramatically shorter policy statement that removes hedging boilerplate and replaces vague inflation goals with a definitive commitment to deliver price stability. • During his press conference, Warsh adopted a leaner approach, refusing to engage in speculative forecasting or pretend the bank has a "crystal ball."

Aemo modelling shows electricity use will nearly double by 2050. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.There will be plenty of politics to come but we start with good news: thanks to the recent boom in batteries connected to the national power grid, we’re going to save money on new transmission lines. That’s despite our power use being expected to nearly double in the next decade or so. Continue reading...

Auction success hit a new low for the year on the last Saturday in May, with just 54.5% of homes soldFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has suggested falling auction clearance rates may be a “good thing” for first home buyers if it means they aren’t competing against as many property investors.After data was released showing home prices in Australia’s capital cities had begun to fall and buyers were abandoning auctions, Chalmers on Monday said Labor’s proposed property tax reforms weren’t the only thing slowing the housing market. Continue reading...

‘Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa“Devastating” wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires. Continue reading...

Government will consider the expert guidance, which concludes screening ‘likely to cause more harm than good’Most men in the UK will not be offered prostate cancer screening if the government accepts the final recommendation of an expert committee.The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) said attempting to detect the disease using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was “likely to cause more harm than good”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health Foundation says Britain is ‘going backwards’ compared with most other rich countriesFindings on healthy life expectancy in UK shed light on its deteriorating healthPeople in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”.The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally. Continue reading...

Charities Aid Foundation says giving no longer a ‘deeply embedded cultural norm’ amid rising cost of livingBritain is rapidly losing the charity habit, with public donations to good causes plummeting by more than £1.4bn last year and millions of people saying they can no longer afford – or do not want – to give, according to an analysis.The Charities Aid Foundation (Caf) said in its annual report that, while the British remained generous at heart, society was witnessing a big transformation in attitudes towards charitable giving. Just half of people gave to charity in 2025, down from 61% a decade earlier. Continue reading...