Heavy

• The European Union has opened bidding for the development of seven AI gigafactories, supported by a funding package of €10 billion ($11.4 billion). • This massive investment signals a strategic shift in viewing artificial intelligence as a "heavy industry" requiring physical infrastructure rather than just software development. • The initiative aims to bolster the EU's technological sovereignty and computing capacity to compete with global AI leaders.

Chair of judges Mary Beard said each of the 13 books in contention for the £50,000 award ‘takes the reader to new places’• Comment: This Booker longlist may have two previous winners, but it’s keen to experimentDouglas Stuart and Marlon James, two previous winners of the Booker, have been named on this year’s longlist, alongside three-time nominee Elizabeth Strout, in a collection that “rewards risk”.The 13 novels selected for the 2026 prize, announced on Tuesday, feature authors of seven nationalities across three continents, with almost half from the UK. Ten of the writers are appearing on a Booker longlist for the first time, including three debut novelists: Kenan Orhan, Rebecca Perry and Djamel White. Continue reading...

• Asian stock markets experienced a broad decline, highlighted by South Korea's Kospi index plunging nearly 11% due to heavy selling of chipmaking stocks. • Other major indices fell, including Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, which dropped 4% to 62,364.92, and Taiwan's Taiex, which skidded 4.7% as TSMC shares fell 3%. • The sell-off is driven by growing investor fears that the current boom in artificial intelligence may be a bubble, leading to a correction in semiconductor valuations.

PM’s team can be seen as backward step even though in some ways it is more diverse. Yet its makeup points to wider access to powerRace, school, gender: the makeup of Andy Burnham’s cabinet – in chartsLike 20 British prime ministers before him, Andy Burnham’s new cabinet minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, went to Eton. After graduating from the country’s most elite private school, Narayan attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied – what else? – PPE (politics, philosophy and economics), like David Cameron, Rishi Sunak, Ed Miliband and a host of other senior politicians. An MBA at Stanford and a career in the City followed.But Narayan’s background is hardly typical of the British ruling class. Born in Behar in eastern India, he moved with his family to Cardiff when he was 12. He and his younger brother were sleeping on the floor of their one-bedroom home when a teacher at his local high school suggested the bright young boy apply for some private schools. His parents, who had joined the Labour party almost as soon as they arrived in Wales, ran a petrol station. Eton was possible only thanks to a full scholarship. Continue reading...

• President Lee Jae Myung held a dinner meeting on the 24th in San Francisco with global AI leaders, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and heads of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and SK Group. • During the event, President Lee announced the ‘San Francisco AI Declaration’ at the San Francisco AI Summit to strengthen South Korea's role in the global AI supply chain. • The meeting brought together industry giants with a combined market capitalization of 1.7 gyeong (approximately 17 quadrillion won), highlighting the immense economic scale of the AI sector.

• U.S. stocks ended a mixed trading session lower as investors shifted their focus toward an upcoming week heavy with corporate earnings reports. • Market volatility is being driven by the current Federal Reserve blackout period and uncertainty regarding the central bank's next interest rate decision. • Analyst Orynbayev noted that stability is further undermined by doubts over the Fed's independence and political pressure surrounding the November midterms.

• Global investors are increasingly relying on the South Korean stock market as a primary indicator for the health of the global AI trade. • Portfolio managers, such as Hani Redha of PineBridge Investments, now monitor Seoul's market activity and SK Hynix's performance to gauge AI sentiment. • This trend highlights Korea's critical role in the AI supply chain, as shifts in Korean chip stocks often signal broader trends for global semiconductor peers.

• South Korea's stock market is increasingly influencing global equity trends due to the dominant role of AI-driven semiconductor companies. • Industry giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are central to this shift, serving as pivotal suppliers of the high-bandwidth memory chips essential for AI infrastructure. • This trend matters because the performance of these Korean tech firms acts as a bellwether for the broader global AI trade and semiconductor demand.

Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming largeThe camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting him had obvious answers but almost impossible solutions.Why had Australia’s discipline deteriorated? Because they were under pressure. Why had their tackle intensity and ruck speed fallen away? Because France had introduced fresh power from the bench. Why had the Wallabies gone from a nine-point half-time lead to a 13-point deficit in barely a quarter of an hour? Because one team had more large, skilful, Test-quality rugby players than the other. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Supreme Court concluded a historic term characterized by landmark opinions and a heavy reliance on the "shadow docket" for emergency rulings. • Key legal battles focused on the intersection of gun rights and property rights, specifically through cases such as US v. Hemani and Wolford v. Lopez. • The term's decisions are significant as they address critical national issues, including the definition of U.S. citizenship and the impact of political policies on judicial rulings.

Group blames expected £30m loss in first half of year on weakening market and lower consumer confidenceVistry Group, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, has warned it will make a loss in the first half of the year, after it resorted to heavy discounting to attract buyers for unsold homes .Vistry shares fell by 8% after the firm also announced its finance director was leaving. Continue reading...

• Heavy rain lashed several parts of the Delhi-NCR region on Wednesday morning, causing immediate weather disruptions. • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'yellow' alert, warning of continued showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds. • This weather pattern is significant as it may lead to waterlogging and traffic congestion across the national capital region.

• MiniMax Group founder Yan Junjie is facing significant selling pressure as lockup periods for the Hong Kong-listed AI model developer expire this Wednesday. • The company has seen its market value plummet by $39 billion since its peak in March, resulting in a personal wealth loss of $9.3 billion for Yan. • This volatility highlights the instability of AI valuations in the Hong Kong market and the challenge of maintaining investor confidence during lockup expirations.

• The US Supreme Court concluded its term with a series of rulings that provided significant advantages to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. • The court loosened campaign finance restrictions and spending limits, potentially benefiting the GOP, which holds over $125 million compared to a debt-ridden Democratic Party. • In April, six conservative justices struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, ruling that congressional districts designed to increase minority voting power are unconstitutional.

• Global and Indian stock markets weakened on Tuesday following a massive 10% plunge in South Korea’s Kospi index, which briefly triggered a circuit breaker. • The sell-off in AI-heavy Korean markets led domestic investors in India to book profits, causing the Nifty 50 to drop 278.80 points (1.16%) to 23,824.10. • The BSE Sensex mirrored this decline, shedding 893.39 points to settle at 76,200.68 as cautious sentiment spread through Mumbai.

• South Korea's Kospi index plummeted nearly 10% on Tuesday, driven by a massive selloff in the technology sector. • The slump was triggered by regulatory concerns regarding the rapid approval of leveraged products tied to semiconductor shares, which launched only one month ago. • Investor sentiment was further dampened by an ongoing MSCI review and broader market volatility.

• Tech stocks triggered a broad market decline as investors grew concerned over the massive capital expenditures of AI companies and rising interest rate expectations. • Alphabet reported a 47% drop in Q1 free cash flow, contributing to a trend where combined hyperscaler AI spending has now surpassed $452 billion. • The sell-off highlights a growing tension between the heavy costs of building AI infrastructure and the uncertain timing of when these investments will generate significant profits.

• NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final pre-launch preparations. • The observatory is scheduled to launch this summer aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to join other major orbital telescopes like Hubble and Webb. • This mission represents a significant leap in astronomical capabilities, designed to study dark energy and exoplanets with a wider field of view than its predecessors.

• The Indian stock market is defying a global trend of "top-heavy" indices, where a few dominant firms disproportionately drive overall market performance. • India maintains a balanced structure with significant positions spread across financial services, energy, IT, telecommunications, and consumer sectors. • This diversification reduces systemic risk compared to markets in Taiwan, Denmark, and South Korea, which are heavily reliant on the fortunes of single corporate champions.

• South Korean stocks plummeted 4% on Friday, driven by a sharp decline in tech heavyweights following a sell-off of AI-linked names on Wall Street. • The downturn extended across Asia-Pacific markets, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropping 0.46% and the CSI 300 declining 0.29%. • This shift reflects a broader market rotation away from chip stocks, which paradoxically helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average reach a record close.

• Indian stock markets opened lower on Tuesday, with the Nifty 50 dropping 0.66% to 23,229.15 and the BSE Sensex falling 0.43% to 73,945.20 as of 9:15 a.m. IST. • The decline is attributed to investor anxiety over escalating tensions in Iran and significant capital outflows from the market. • In separate legal news, the Supreme Court has cleared wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the Asian Games trials.

Bureau of Meteorology says thunderstorms could bring widespread rainfalls and flash flooding while there are ‘signs of El Niño development’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSevere thunderstorms could bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to eastern and south-eastern Australia in coming days, according to the weather bureau.On Tuesday afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said a low-pressure system over South Australia combined with moisture being pushed down the eastern seaboard from the tropics, would bring widespread rainfalls. Continue reading...

Twelve dead as southern and central areas also suffer travel disruption, electricity outages and evacuationsHeavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging. The band of rainfall spanned 1,000km (620 miles) and steadily moved eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was a slow-moving band of rain, formed from the convergence of multiple bands originating from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.Coupled with low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui in a 24-hour period and 95mm on the island of Hainan. As a result of flooding, 12 people have died and hundreds of residents have been evacuated by emergency services. There were major travel disruptions, electricity outages, as well as school and business closures. Along the flooded streets, social media posts showed submerged cars and people fishing. Continue reading...

Critics say document outlining strategy is both ‘completely Trumpian’ and an ‘alarming’ escalation in rhetoricWhen Donald Trump’s counter-terrorism “czar”, Sebastian Gorka, introduced the Trump administration’s long-awaited counter-terrorism strategy on a call with journalists on Wednesday, he also reportedly described critics of the administration’s war in Iran as “testicularly challenged”.The at-times bizarre 16-page memo Gorka authored is only slightly more subtle – taking rhetorically charged swings at the president’s enemies, the Biden administration, transgender people and some Islamist groups, while offering little clarity about the threat posed by political violence domestically or abroad or any specific plans to address it. Continue reading...

Labour party loses more than 1,400 English council seats and crashes out in Welsh and Scottish parliament votes• UK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer, the British prime minister, is facing increasing pressure to set a date for his departure after elections across much of the country resulted in massive losses for his ruling Labour party.With the bulk of results now counted after voting on Thursday, Labour had lost more than 1,400 representatives from English councils, the local government structures that deliver many neighbourhood services. Continue reading...

Leader defiant in face of calls from some of his MPs to quit but admits ‘results are tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it’Election 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesKeir Starmer has vowed to fight on as prime minister despite early results in local elections that show his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face of calls from some of his MPs to quit, insisting he remained as determined as ever to deliver the promises on which he was elected less than two years ago. Continue reading...

Deputy leader plays down leadership talk and says party must focus on long-term challenges rather than personnelLabour’s deputy leader has warned there will be “no magic bullet” to solve Labour’s problems – or major challenges facing the country – as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was “huge anger and despondency” from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Continue reading...

Drivers seem undeterred by high fuel prices and gloomy weather forecasts, while engineering works spell delays for railway passengersDrivers have been told to expect the UK’s busiest May bank holiday traffic in years, despite high fuel prices and the looming end of the sunny spell threatening to dampen the long weekend.More than 19m leisure trips by car were expected over the long weekend from Friday to Monday, according to research by the RAC motoring organisation – the most since 2016. Engineering works are also likely to disrupt rail journeys this weekend. Continue reading...