Halted

• South Korea's Kospi index plunged more than 8% on Friday, marking the steepest weekly decline for the market in over three months. • The crash was driven by a massive sell-off in chipmakers and U.S. tech shares, leading investors to liquidate recent gains. • The volatility was so severe that it triggered a circuit breaker, temporarily halting trading to stabilize the market.

• South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index experienced a sharp sell-off, plunging more than 10 per cent. • The crash was triggered by investors rushing to book profits in AI-linked stocks, leading to a 20-minute trading halt to stabilize the market. • This event highlights the volatility of the AI sector and the potential for rapid corrections following periods of intense growth.

• South Korea’s KOSPI index plummeted 8% on Tuesday, triggering a circuit breaker that halted trading for 20 minutes. • Major technology stocks led the decline, with SK Hynix falling over 10% and Samsung Electronics dropping 7.5% intraday. • The crash was driven by a selloff in US megacap technology shares that spilled over into Asian AI-related stocks, coinciding with a 1.9% drop in Nasdaq 100 futures.

Coroner tells freebirth inquest new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysedThe closing submissions in an inquest into the death of a woman who gave birth at home with no support from medically trained health workers has been delayed, after new evidence came to light following a forensic analysis of her mobile phone.Stacey Warnecke, a 30 year-old nutritionist, died on 29 September in Frankston hospital in Melbourne. Continue reading...

• Asian markets experienced a significant downturn, led by South Korea's benchmark Kospi index, which crashed nearly 9% due to a tech selloff. • The severity of the Kospi's decline triggered a circuit breaker, resulting in a temporary halt of all trading activity. • Other regional markets also fell, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping 3.4% and Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures trading lower than Friday's close of 24,961.95.

• Major Asian stock markets experienced a severe crash, with South Korea's KOSPI index suffering the most significant decline. • Trading on the KOSPI was officially halted after a 9% drop triggered a circuit breaker, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 4%. • Other regional indices, including Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China's Shanghai Composite, Taiwan's TAIEX, and Australia's ASX/200, also saw steep plunges.

• Iranian state media announced that talks with the U.S. have halted and warned that "other fronts" are opening, including potential attacks on key waterways. • This escalation follows statements from Donald Trump suggesting the Iranian regime "really wants to make a deal" to resolve ongoing tensions. • Reports from CBS indicate that potential diplomatic arrangements could include sanctions relief or waivers, granting Iran access to billions of dollars in frozen assets.

US military boasts blockade of the strait of Hormuz will incapacitate Iran’s economy; Trump says negotiations could return to PakistanUS-Iran peace talks could resume in next two days, Trump saysWelcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.The US military has said American forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea through a blockade.An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea. In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea.”Donald Trump has said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post. “Something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump was quoted as saying.US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington on Tuesday were a “historic opportunity”. He said that while every complexity would not be resolved immediately, he hoped the parties would begin to move forward.Lebanon’s president expressed hope that direct talks would lead to an end to his country’s “suffering” after war erupted again between Israel and Hezbollah last month. “I hope that the meeting in Washington... will mark the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people in general, and those in the south in particular,” president Joseph Aoun said in a statement, adding that “stability will not return to the south if Israel continues to occupy its lands”.Lebanon’s top envoy to the US said the high-level diplomatic engagement between her country and Israel was “constructive,” but urged an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has displaced thousands of Lebanese. After participating in Tuesday’s talks with Rubio and Israel’s ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad said she had “underscored the need to preserve our territorial integrity and state sovereignty”.The US will not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that expires this week officials told Reuters, as the US imposes a blockade on shipments from Iranian ports.UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron will co-host a summit in Paris on Friday focused on efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz, Downing Street said. A spokesperson said: “The summit will advance work towards a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends.”Trump criticised Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, a political ally, in an interview published on Tuesday for her unwillingness to help in the Iran war. “I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt will meet Turkey’s top diplomat this week for talks on regional matters, a ministry source told AFP on Tuesday. “This is the third meeting of the four countries to discuss regional affairs, not specifically Hormuz,” said the source, who wished to remain anonymous.Hezbollah said it targeted 13 northern Israeli towns with rockets shortly after the start of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington. In a statement, the group said it targeted Kiryat Shmona, Metula and 11 other towns “with simultaneous rocket salvos” at 6.15pm.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said the underlying US economy remains strong and that growth could still exceed 3% or 3.5% this year despite the impact of the US-Israel war on Iran. Earlier on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its growth forecasts for 2026 based on the impact of the war and said any further escalation in the conflict could trigger a global recession. Bessent however cast cuts in global growth forecasts and higher inflation projections by the IMF and World Bank as an overreaction. Continue reading...