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• The election campaign for Johor's state seats has officially begun following the filing of nomination papers on Saturday. • A total of 172 candidates will compete for all 56 available state seats in Malaysia's southern state. • Candidates now enter a two-week intensive campaign period to secure voter support ahead of the official polling date.

• Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies are spearheading a rebound in onshore initial public offerings (IPOs). • Ho-Yin Lee, Citigroup's Asia-Pacific co-head of technology and communications, notes that mainland listings allow companies to access a deeper pool of domestic capital. • This shift is significant as it enables firms previously traded in Hong Kong to reach a broader investor base and enhance their domestic branding.

UK is latest country to set minimum age for social media access but big tech is fighting back globally against curbsSocial media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdownArturo Béjar, a former employee turned whistleblower at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, has talked to parents around the world. He says they share the same perspective: they dread the day their children are old enough to go online.Governments appear to be listening too. This month the UK became the latest country to state that it would set a minimum age of 16 for accessing major social media platforms. Social media bans are becoming a legislative trend after the precedent set by Australia last year, when it imposed an age limit on platforms including Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, Google’s YouTube, Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Snapchat. Continue reading...

• Office workers at major Chinese tech firms, including food delivery giant Meituan, are expressing growing anxiety over potential job losses due to artificial intelligence. • Employees fear being "optimised"—a corporate euphemism for layoffs—as companies integrate AI to automate tasks previously handled by human staff. • This trend highlights a broader shift in China's tech sector, where firms are aggressively adapting to the AI era to increase efficiency and reduce overhead.

• 'Avengers: Endgame' is being rereleased featuring a new title, additional footage, and a special end tag. • The update serves as a lead-in to 'Avengers: Doomsday,' which will see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU. • Downey Jr. will transition from his former role as Tony Stark to portray the supervillain Victor von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom.

• Major technology firms are implementing widespread layoffs throughout 2026, citing the rise and integration of artificial intelligence as a primary driver for job cuts. • The trend highlights a shift in workforce requirements as AI automates tasks previously handled by human employees across the tech sector. • These developments are particularly critical for South African workers and companies to monitor, as global shifts in AI employment patterns often signal future local market disruptions.

• Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting stability in Sudan, focusing on securing a ceasefire and preserving the nation's territorial integrity and state institutions. • According to a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday, the Kingdom emphasized that the crisis must be resolved through a Sudanese-led political solution. • This diplomatic stance underscores Saudi Arabia's role in promoting regional stability and its opposition to foreign interference in Sudan's internal governance.

“We hope to rescue as many living people as possible’, says the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, but authorities fear the death toll will be in the thousandsA senior American military official has arrived in Venezuela’s capital Caracas to oversee US relief efforts, the US Southern Command (Southcom), whose area of responsibility covers Latin America and the Caribbean, said.US Marine Corps Maj Gen Kevin Jarrard is serving as the senior Southcom official on the ground to coordinate relief operations with local teams, Southcom said in a post on X. Continue reading...

• The United States topped their World Cup group despite suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Turkiye in their final group fixture. • Other group stage results included a 3-1 victory for the Netherlands over Tunisia, while Paraguay and Australia played to a 0-0 draw in San Francisco. • Japan and Sweden shared points following a 1-1 draw in Dallas, and Germany is scheduled to face Ecuador in their final group match.

• Spain's economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of the year, according to confirmed GDP data. • The figures provide an official measure of the country's economic expansion during the start of the year. • This growth indicator is critical for assessing Spain's financial health and its performance relative to other Eurozone nations.

• European stocks closed higher on Thursday, June 19, 2026, driven by strong performance in the technology sector and easing geopolitical tensions. • Investor confidence in AI was renewed following a positive earnings report from U.S. tech giant Micron, which beat expectations and raised its revenue forecast. • The market activity coincided with critical policy decisions from the central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland.

Nine says in a statement it was ‘no longer possible’ for Stefanovic to host Today. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastKarl Stefanovic is leaving Nine immediately, the network said in a statement this morning.It follows days of controversy in which the highly-paid Today presenter used his independent podcast series to interview British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.While Karl and Nine had previously agreed he would leave Today at the end of this year, they have subsequently decided he will leave the Network immediately. Continue reading...

• The 2026 AEC Inspire Report highlights that Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms are currently navigating a significant transition toward AI integration. • Lucas Hayden, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Unanet, analyzes the report to identify critical industry trends and the persistent challenges regarding data quality. • This shift is vital as firms must overcome data silos and poor information management to successfully leverage AI for operational efficiency.

Case of Andrei Pivovarov raises questions about how much control Cellebrite has over its own softwareRussian authorities used tools from the Israeli company Cellebrite to break into the phone of a political prisoner, months after the company said it cancelled its contracts with Russia, an investigation by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab research unit has found.The case raises questions about how much control Cellebrite has over its own software, which allows users to easily break into phones and examine their contents. The tools are sold worldwide and widely used by police forces in the UK and the US. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan said procurement rules had been broken but allows police another 12 months to operate pilot in LondonThe Metropolitan police has been granted a 12-month extension to a pilot project with the spy tech firm Palantir while the force carries out a procurement process.The development comes weeks after the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, blocked a £50m deal between the Met and the US company to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. Continue reading...

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on major AI companies on June 23 to publicly disclose the full environmental costs of their data centers. • The initiative demands that these firms transition to renewable power to mitigate the high energy and water consumption required to fuel the AI revolution. • This push follows increasing scrutiny from environmental groups regarding the lack of transparency surrounding the ecological footprint of global data center expansion.

Appointment of James Purnell, former chief executive of Flint Global, described by one Labour MP as ‘very bad sign’The advisory firm led by Andy Burnham’s incoming chief of staff counted BP, Amazon, Jaguar Land Rover and Uber among its clients, transparency records reveal.Burnham is facing unease within Labour over the lobbying links of James Purnell, a longstanding friend and former cabinet minister who was most recently chief executive of Flint Global. Continue reading...

• European Central Bank (ECB) researchers reported on Wednesday that intense AI adoption remains rare among euro zone firms. • High-intensity AI use is currently concentrated within a small fraction of companies that are typically young, small, and service-oriented. • The findings highlight a significant gap in adoption, suggesting substantial room for AI diffusion across the broader economy to achieve macroeconomic efficiency gains.

French health ministry says patient’s contacts are being traced and that risk to European public is very lowThe first case of Ebola has been confirmed in France, the country’s health ministry has said, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to an area affected by the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The patient was transferred to a specialist facility and is in a stable condition, the ministry said in a statement. “All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination.” Continue reading...

An additional case is suspected in Western Australia, which would bring the total number of bird flu infections to fourFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDeadly H5 bird flu has been confirmed in two Australian states after a migratory seabird tested positive for the disease in South Australia.Western Australia also has another suspected positive case, in a southern giant petrel, found in the Quindalup region in the state’s south west. Continue reading...

UK watchdog gives King & King severe reprimand for failing ‘to identify clear self-interest’ when conducting auditsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK’s accounting watchdog has fined and temporarily banned a tiny audit firm for “egregious” failures and “widespread deficiencies” linked to its work in signing off accounts of several companies in Sanjeev Gupta’s metals empire.King & King and its managing partner Milankumar Patel have been fined a total of £378,184, received a “severe reprimand”, and hit with serious restrictions on audit work after a four-year investigation by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Continue reading...

• European companies, including Siemens, Renault, and Orange, are diversifying their AI strategies by integrating models from the US, China, and Europe. • This shift follows export restrictions imposed by US-based Anthropic, which highlighted the vulnerability of relying on remote proprietary services. • The move aims to mitigate strategic risks and avoid over-dependence on a single foreign provider or region for critical AI infrastructure.

• Tencent is currently leading the pack among Chinese firms as AI and emerging technologies reshape global market capitalization rankings. • Despite the tech surge, China's largest listed companies remain dominated by state-owned banks, energy producers, and consumer brands. • Hong Hao, CIO of Lotus Asset Management, notes that investors are increasingly paying premiums for tech companies while traditional industries lose appeal.

• Wembley Stadium is relaxing its standard water restrictions for upcoming Harry Styles concerts to protect fans during a forecast UK heatwave. • The rule change allows attendees to bring more water into the venue than typically permitted to prevent dehydration in the scorching temperatures. • This measure is a critical safety response to ensure public health and wellbeing during high-profile events held in extreme weather conditions.

Company hails victory for freelancer over unpaid debt as ‘landmark moment’ for access to justiceAn artificial intelligence law firm has won a case in an English court, in what is believed to be the first time a trial has been won using an AI lawyer.A freelance HR consultant, Tamires Camal Taquidir, paid the firm, called Garfield AI, about £400 to send a legal letter and then issue court proceedings over an unpaid debt of £7,000. Continue reading...

• A data breach at market research firm Klue has resulted in the theft of sensitive data from several prominent cybersecurity companies. • Affected firms include Huntress, HackerOne, Jamf, Recorded Future, and Tanium, who were compromised via their relationship with Klue. • This incident highlights a critical supply chain vulnerability, as the breach of a single research vendor exposed multiple security-focused organizations.

• U.S. government restrictions on AI services are forcing major European companies to diversify their providers to mitigate operational risks. • Specifically, San Francisco-based Anthropic was ordered to suspend access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for foreign nationals due to national security concerns. • This shift highlights a growing vulnerability for European firms relying on American technology and underscores the urgent need for domestic AI alternatives.

• U.S. government restrictions on access to certain artificial intelligence services are forcing major European companies to diversify their technology providers. • These curbs, which include orders affecting San Francisco-based AI firms, are driving a strategic shift to avoid over-reliance on a single American source. • The situation underscores a critical need for the development of domestic European AI alternatives to ensure technological sovereignty and operational stability.