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• Asian stock markets, including South Korea, Japan, the Hang Seng Index, and the Shanghai Composite, plunged on Monday following a period of record AI-driven gains. • Taiwan's Taiex saw a sharp decline, highlighted by a 3% drop in shares of semiconductor giant TSMC, a critical supplier for Nvidia. • The downturn is attributed to a correction after a massive tech rally and heightened geopolitical tensions following renewed attacks from Iran.

Despite Donald Trump’s calls for calm, Israeli military says it struck military targets in central and western Iran in response to attacks by TehranIsrael strikes Iran despite Trump plea as Middle East crisis threatens to escalateHello and welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Israel launched airstrikes early on Monday targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire from Tehran, attacks that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war.Iran’s attacks appeared to be in retaliation for Israel strikes on Beirut’s Dahiyeh southern suburb area targeting Hezbollah infrastructure despite the truce agreement with Lebanon. Two people were killed and 20 wounded in Beirut, the Lebanon health ministry said.A missile was launched from Yemen towards Israeli territory, the Israeli military said, adding its aerial defence systems were operating to intercept the threat. Israel’s rescue services say there were no reports of casualties or impacts.Oil prices jumped more than 3% after Iran’s strikes, with the price of Brent crude – the international benchmark – rising 3.29% to $96.15 a barrel in early trading on Monday.Iran’s missile barrage was the the first since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said US bases and assets in the region were now “legitimate targets”.The strait of Hormuz will be opened but under new conditions to be set by Iran and Oman, including a transit fee, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia – a position Trump strongly opposes.Trump said Netanyahu would have no choice but to accept whatever deal the US negotiated with Iran because “I call the shots”, the Financial Times reported. “He won’t have any choice,” Trump said. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.” Continue reading...

More than £3bn is due to be spent on the proposed road tunnel between Kent and Essex, which is estimated to have higher costs per mile than HS2Ministers have earmarked more than £170m extra to help build the Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, fuelling concerns over the “spiralling” costs of one of the UK’s largest planned infrastructure projects.The proposed £11bn route under the Thames between Kent and Essex is already estimated to cost more each mile than the HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham. It was given the funding boost as part of a plan to spend £3.1bn of public money on the project, before a hoped-for injection of £7.5bn by a private sector firm. Continue reading...

Latest exchange of attacks threatens to drag Middle East into regional war and comes after US president said ‘I call all the shots’, not Israel’s PMMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael launched airstrikes on central and western Iran on Monday in apparent defiance of Donald Trump after he urged restraint over a reprisal attack by Tehran in an escalation that threatens to drag the Middle East back into a regional war.It was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iran’s attack came in response to earlier strikes on Beirut by Israel. Continue reading...

• The BSE Sensex and Nifty50 are expected to open lower today, as indicated by GIFT Nifty trends. • This negative outlook is driven by escalating geopolitical tensions involving the US, Israel, and Iran, which have also caused crude oil prices to rise. • Market volatility is anticipated throughout the week as equities react to a combination of domestic developments and overseas factors.

• Indian stock markets crashed on Monday, with the Sensex dropping 800 points and the Nifty falling below 23,150. • The downturn extended to broader markets, as the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices both declined by approximately 1.5%. • The crash is attributed to geopolitical instability following Iran's attacks on Israel, triggering a wider Asia-Pacific sell-off including South Korea’s Kospi, which plunged 8%.

• Thousands of Gen-Z protesters gathered in India's capital to support the "Cockroach Janta Party," a movement that evolved from an internet joke into a serious political statement. • The protests serve as a vehicle for young Indians to express deep-seated frustration with the current systemic failures and political landscape. • This movement highlights a growing trend of digital-first activism where viral social media trends translate into large-scale physical demonstrations.