Monday

• Indonesia's composite index (IHSG) rose by 1.26% on Monday, driven by strong net buying from foreign investors. • Key stocks attracting foreign capital included Bank Central Asia (BBCA), Aneka Tambang (ANTM), and Bumi Resources (BUMI). • The broad interest across banking, mining, and resource sectors signals widespread foreign confidence in the fundamentals of the Indonesian economy.

• Residents in western Germany were evacuated on Monday, August 17, as a wildfire in Belgium's Hautes Fagnes nature reserve approached the border. • The Royal Netherlands Air Force deployed a Boeing CH-47D Chinook with a bambi bucket to combat the blaze in the High Fens region. • In other national news, an increasing number of rejected asylum seekers are leaving Germany, and the Social Democrats have introduced a new heat action plan.

In today’s newsletter: The Spanish prime minister has remade himself as Europe’s leading leftwing standard-bearer. Could his success offer the UK’s PM a route forward?Good morning. To international onlookers, Pedro Sànchez appears to have achieved the impossible. Where other European leftist and left-ish premiers have flopped and flailed, the Spanish PM has endured.Since June 2018, Sánchez has ruled from Madrid, implementing a raft of progressive policies. More recently, he has emerged as a leading, and often lone, left-wing European voice on the global stage, striking a defiant tone on everything from the Trump administration’s war in Iran (“the smokescreen of war to hide their failure”) to Israel’s actions in Gaza (“exterminating a defenceless people”). The fact that the international press has nicknamed him El Guapo (the handsome one) can’t hurt.UK economy | The UK should expect to see a new cost of living crisis, with official figures released this week by the ONS expected to show how soaring energy bills drove up inflation close to 3% in July.Ceuta | Moroccan police arrested 111 people this weekend, who were trying to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides after social media posts called for another mass crossing.Jason Arday | The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday.UK politics | Andy Burnham is being urged to protect 4 million gig economy workers, who thinktanks warn miss out on key statutory rights including: parental leave, redundancy pay and protection against unfair dismissal.Indonesia | Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, searching for bodies after a powerful earthquake killed at least 51 people, and injured more than 100.Sànchez understands that anchoring his party to the left … is where he can govern.Monday | Nominations close for candidates seeking to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader.Tuesday | Opening arguments expected to begin in a lawsuit brought by multiple US states against Meta about social media addiction.Thursday | Students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will receive their GCSE results. Continue reading...

• The Sensex and Nifty ended last week lower following a period of range-bound trading and pressure across broader markets. • Analysts have identified key support levels for the Nifty at 24,200-24,230 and resistance levels at 24,500-24,550 for the coming week. • Market action on Monday will be influenced by several factors, including the acquisition strategies of major firms like Reliance and L&T.

• Germany is establishing a new drone security research unit to develop and test technologies designed to protect against drone threats. • The center will collaborate with researchers and security authorities to align technological innovation with official security requirements. • In other news on Monday, August 10th, a majority of citizens expressed opposition to plans to abolish the country's early-retirement scheme.

In today’s newsletter: ​Jerusalem’s most volatile site has again become a flashpoint, with Arab states and former Israeli officials sounding the alarm over Benjamin Netanyahu’s complicityGood morning. In late July, Itamar Ben-Gvir, West Bank settler and far-right extremist minister of security in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, joined a group of more than 2,000 Jewish extremists to storm al-Aqsa mosque compound, Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The far-right group has been doing this for years. Ben-Gvir has made series of visits to the site over the last three years, eroding norms and inflaming tensions. Jordanian officials have recently warned that it could be at risk of an “imminent” Israeli takeover.With national elections scheduled in October, and many eyes still firmly on Gaza (this weekend, Netanyahu rejected a US-backed 15 point plan for peace), the Israeli government appears to be racing to expand Israeli settlements and accelerate ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before its mandate expires.UK politics | Sadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves.US politics | The US Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general in a win for Donald Trump, who will now have his one-time personal attorney sitting atop the nation’s law enforcement apparatus.US-Israel war on Iran | Iran has issued tough new demands for reopening the strait of Hormuz, as a deal to open the strategic waterway remained out of reach on Saturday.Russia-Ukraine | Up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. On Saturday, Turkey called for a “moratorium” on attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea after a series of strikes on civilian ships thereWorld news | The alleged leader of the Kinahan organised crime group was extradited from Dubai on Sunday and met by a huge security operation in Dublin, marking the end of a global game of cat and mouse with European, US and Gulf authorities.Wednesday | A partial solar eclipse will be visible across the whole of the UK, with the south-west of England getting the best of British views. Parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain will experience a total eclipse.Thursday | Clacton-on-sea residents will vote in the byelection Nigel Farage triggered last month, with the Reform leader taking on 33 mostly novelty candidates. Results are expected early Friday.Thursday | The Office for National Statistics will publish UK GDP figures for the second quarter of 2026. Continue reading...

• Indian benchmark indices closed lower on Friday, with the Sensex falling 456 points and the Nifty dropping 65 points due to closing auction session divergence. • Market sentiment was weighed down by volatility in crude oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. • Despite the overall decline, strong earnings reported by State Bank of India (SBI) provided critical support to the banking sector.