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• Asian stock markets experienced a significant decline, with South Korea's Kospi sinking 4.8% and Japan's Nikkei dropping 1.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.9%. • The downturn was driven by a massive sell-off in semiconductor stocks, specifically impacting industry giants SK Hynix and Samsung. • This correction follows a dramatic 68% surge in the Kospi during the second quarter, fueled by high demand for AI-related memory chips.

• South Korea's Kospi index plummeted nearly 8% on Thursday, driven by a significant sell-off in tech giants and general instability across Asian trading floors. • The market decline occurred amid heightened investor anxiety, though some volatility was tempered by comments from Fed official Warsh. • Warsh provided a silver lining for investors by stating that inflationary pressures have begun to decline, suggesting a potential shift in economic headwinds.

• Asian stock markets mostly declined on Thursday, led by a significant sell-off in semiconductor shares following a poor session for U.S. chip stocks like Micron and Intel. • Major indices were hit hard, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropping 1.5% and Taiwan's Taiex slipping 1.1%, driven by losses in Tokyo Electron and TSMC. • Conversely, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8% due to an 8.7% surge in BYD shares following positive monthly sales reports.

• Asian stock markets declined on Thursday, driven by a significant sell-off in semiconductor shares that saw South Korea's Kospi drop by 5%. • European bourses remained flat and U.S. futures dipped as investors awaited the release of the June employment report. • Crude oil prices fell due to expectations that supplies through the Strait of Hormuz would recover.

• Asian stock markets declined following a significant selloff of semiconductor shares on Wall Street. • Key indices saw sharp drops, including South Korea’s KOSPI, which sank 4.8%, and Japan’s Nikkei, which fell 1.4%, while the MSCI Asia-Pacific index dipped 1.2%. • Hong Kong's Hang Seng index provided a rare exception to the trend, recording a gain of 0.9%.

• Infoblox researchers discovered more than 236,000 scam domains leveraging the DCloud Uni-App framework to scale global phishing and fraud operations. • The breach highlights a critical vulnerability where legitimate software development tools are exploited by bad actors to bypass security and deceive users. • To combat these evolving AI-driven threats, experts recommend using GRC tools to automate compliance and maintaining updated regulatory inventories.

Scandal has engulfed the state party as Deeming resists calls to apologise to fellow MP Matthew Guy over an assault allegationA Liberal MP has launched an 11th-hour court challenge against her own party before a meeting to decide her fate after she made an assault allegation against a former leader.Moira Deeming has lodged a legal action against Victorian Liberal party state president, Brian Loughnane, which is listed to be heard in the Victorian supreme court on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Liz Murrill accused of trying to intimidate officials who opposed GOP-enacted law to overhaul local courtsLouisiana’s Republican attorney general was indicted on Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts.Liz Murrill, the attorney general, told eight New Orleans officials, including Helena Moreno, the mayor, and Jason Williams, the district attorney, that they could face removal from their jobs because of their opposition to the law. Continue reading...

Case due to be heard in supreme court this morning. Follow the day’s latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to wrap up the week after a busy stretch in parliament. Here’s what’s on deck:Liberal MP Moira Deeming has lodged legal action against the party’s Victorian president, Brian Loughnane, which is set to be heard in the state’s supreme court this morning. Deeming had filed a police complaint against a colleague, Matthew Guy, alleging he put her in a headlock. Victoria Police investigated the incident and found “there was no offence detected”, dismissing it last week. Guy has demanded a public apology from Deeming – who said earlier this week she misunderstood the “technical meaning of the term ‘headlock’”, but would not apologise. Continue reading...

Canoeist David Hearn was arrested in June after touching a peeling piece of liner in the pool from renovation projectDavid Hearn, a three-time US Olympian and canoeist, has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington DC after Donald Trump blamed vandals for damaging Washington’s reflecting pool following a $14.7m renovation project.The ‌indictment accuses Hearn ‌of “maliciously” breaking or destroying lining material on the bottom of the reflecting pool on 19 June. Lawyers for Hearn denied ‌the allegations following his arrest, accusing the ​Trump administration of treating ordinary conduct as criminal. Continue reading...

Eleven-year-old developed symptoms 19 days after encounter in ‘exceedingly rare’ case in Canada Doctors in Canada say a child who awoke to find a bat resting on his nose and mouth while visiting an Ontario cottage eventually died of rabies, in an “exceedingly rare case” that highlights the need for better public awareness.In a report published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, infectious disease physicians confirmed that the 11-year-old boy died from rabies, a fatality that they said probably could have been prevented with greater awareness of how the virus is transmitted. Continue reading...

Claims against Israel Defense Forces battalion include deliberate targeting and destruction of residential buildings in 2023 and 2024 without military justificationGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian federal police investigators are assessing a brief detailing alleged war crimes committed by an Australian citizen serving in the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.A 61-page brief has been handed to the AFP by the Australian Centre for International Justice detailing alleged war crimes committed by an IDF battalion in Gaza across 2023 and 2024. Continue reading...

Poll also finds perception of Donald Trump has soured since his re-election, with fewer than a third of respondents viewing him positivelyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians have a more negative view of Israel than of China, the latest Guardian Essential poll has found, with women and middle-aged people exhibiting the least positive perception of Israel.The poll also finds Australians’ perceptions of Donald Trump have tumbled since his re-election, with fewer than a third of voters having a positive response to the US president. Continue reading...

Swiss bank UBS finds ‘growing divide between the wealthiest and the broader population’ as country adds more than 25,000 more millionairesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMiddle Australia’s wealth is going backwards while the richest claim an ever-greater share of the pile, according to new research that shows more than 25,000 people across the country became millionaires last year.The latest global wealth report from the Swiss bank UBS said 2025 marked “an extraordinary year”, in which close to a million new millionaires were created worldwide – a record increase in a single year. Continue reading...

The US city is home to about 70,000 Bosnians, the largest diaspora community outside their homelandMersad Smajic, a St Louis, Missouri, real estate investor and restaurant owner, has been thrilled to see fellow Bosnian immigrants thrive in their new home, which has been especially evident during the World Cup.The midwestern city has about 70,000 Bosnians, most of whom fled the country during its war in the 90s, making it the largest such community outside the Balkan country. Continue reading...

Plymouth retrospective of artist, who died in 2018, aims to ‘champion and celebrate the power of the imagination’She spoke about indulging in colour, feasting on beauty, feeling a little giddy when drinking in glorious hues and textures – and not searching too deeply for meaning.So in these gloomy times, a major retrospective of the work of the artist Gillian Ayres in her adopted Devon homeland may be just the job. Continue reading...

Cross-party group writes to ministers of concerns children’s show contains unsubtle ‘propaganda content’UK politics live – latest updatesA cartoon for preschoolers depicting the adventures of a small girl and a retired circus bear may seem an unlikely source of parliamentary concern.Yet a cross-party group of MPs has written to ministers urging them to examine whether they can stop the globally popular Masha and the Bear from being broadcast in the UK, alleging it amounts to a cuddly form of Russian propaganda. Continue reading...

Unmarried man and woman whipped 21 times each because they had violated province’s version of Islamic lawA young couple in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province have been publicly caned after a Sharia court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream.The court ordered the couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, to be whipped with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing without being married. At least 100 people witnessed the caning, carried out by a group of people wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park in Banda Aceh. Continue reading...

• Asian markets declined on Friday, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific index (excluding Japan) falling 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei dropping 1.4%. • South Korea's KOSPI experienced a significant 4.8% plunge, continuing a downward trend following a massive 68% surge in Q2 driven by AI memory chip demand. • Hong Kong's Hang Seng index provided a rare bright spot, bucking the regional trend with a 0.9% gain.

• Indian equity markets opened higher on Thursday, with both benchmark indices starting the session with a gap-up. • The Sensex rose to 77,083.14 from a previous close of 76,922.64, while the Nifty opened at 24,062.20, surpassing its previous close of 24,005.85. • This upward movement indicates positive investor sentiment and a continuation of recent market gains.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, with ‘most of them ordinary residential buildings’Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city will mark a day of mourning on Friday to commemorate the victims of the overnight strikes on the city.At least 13 people were killed in the attack, with almost 90 injured. Continue reading...

Free choice of repertoire and an increased upper age limit part of the changes in a competition that will emphasise individuality and imaginationThe Leeds International Piano Competition is to be relaunched under the artistic direction of Sir Stephen Hough. The pianist is leading significant reforms to the triennial contest that first began in 1963. He will also chair an international jury that includes fellow pianists Piotr Anderszewski, Lucas Debargue, Yeol Eum Son, Kathryn Stott and Master of the King’s Music, composer Errollyn Wallen.The 2027 competition will have its upper age limit increased to 35, and competitors will have complete free choice over the music they perform, be it Couperin or Copland, Boulez or Busoni. Continue reading...