Nears

• New Jersey sportsbooks generated $97 million in gross revenue during July, marking a 29.7% increase compared to the same month last year. • The surge was driven by $816.9 million in total wagers and an 11.9% hold rate, the highest reported by operators so far this year. • High betting activity tied to the FIFA World Cup knockout rounds and championship match served as a primary catalyst for the revenue growth.

• Experts interviewed by Vedomosti on August 20th report that Europe's economic gap with the United States is widening due to lower labor productivity and structural challenges. • The decline is attributed to a combination of demographic issues, exchange-rate effects, and a heavy dependence on foreign trade. • Key geopolitical and economic shocks, including Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel crises, and conflicts in the Middle East, have severely weakened the EU's growth and resilience.

• UniCredit is pursuing a controlling stake in Commerzbank, with the German government showing signs of openness regarding its 12.7% ownership stake. • Berlin previously labeled UniCredit's hostile approach "unacceptable," citing concerns over job security, the stability of small and medium-sized enterprises, and Frankfurt's status as a financial hub. • The situation highlights the tension between the European single market and the tendency of nations to treat large banks as critical national economic infrastructure.

• India's Parliament Monsoon Session is approaching its conclusion amidst a political deadlock between the government and the opposition. • The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further scrutiny. • The stalemate persists as one side pushes for general parliamentary functioning and debate, while the other demands specific answers before engaging in broader discussions.

• Campaign Asia-Pacific has announced its most extensive regional judging panel to date for the Agency of the Year Awards 2026. • The initiative aims to enhance the prestige and objectivity of the awards by leveraging a broader range of industry expertise across the Asia-Pacific region. • This expansion is critical for ensuring a fair and comprehensive evaluation of agencies as the final entry deadline approaches.

Monday is last day Miller can resign and give his party time to find a replacement candidateHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Today is the last day that Max Miller, the beleaguered US Republican representative from Ohio, can resign and give his party time to find a replacement candidate.Donald Trump announced on Sunday that ⁠Will ​Scharf, the staff secretary who helped secure approval for the $400m White House ballroom project, will become ⁠White House counsel and assistant to the president. Effective 1 September, Scharf will replace David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Warrington ​formerly served ​as a ​personal counsel and a ​lawyer ‌for Trump’s ​2024 campaign.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has announced she is going to freeze her eggs and will be sharing the process online. The progressive New York congresswoman, 36, revealed her decision to undergo fertility treatment in a series of Instagram stories this weekend. “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez said.Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, embraced Donald Trump’s suggestion that the two represent “VERY DIFFERENT” versions of the US, pledging to fight inequality while the president is “making billions of dollars off of you”. In a Saturday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared an image of himself and the first lady, Melania Trump, beside a photo of El-Sayed, who is Muslim, and his wife, Sarah Jukaku, wearing a hijab. “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s [sic],” read the caption.Some of Taylor Swift’s songs have been removed from videos posted on social media by Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, silencing efforts to mock the pop star. A video posted 3 August featuring the US president and the first lady, Melania Trump, watching fireworks was posted this month on TikTok with Swift’s song August. Continue reading...

• The South Korean Won (KRW) has extended its gains against the US Dollar for two consecutive days, approaching four-month highs. • The currency is on track for a 6.5% monthly rally, driven by strong macroeconomic data and expectations that the Bank of Korea will implement monetary tightening. • These positive factors have effectively offset a simultaneous sell-off in the KOSPI Index.

• The Indian stock market snapped a five-day losing streak, with the Sensex rising by 776 points and the Nifty index closing near the 24,000 mark. • Key gainers driving the rally included Infosys, Bajaj Finance, and Interglobe Aviation, while losses were seen in HDFC Bank and Dr Reddy's Labs. • Short-term momentum improved as the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) rebounded from 42.87 to 49.55.

Major incident declared over blaze which started 11 days ago as wind strengthensA major incident has been declared over a wildfire that has been raging in the Cairngorms national park for more than a week, police have said, with a whole village having been evacuated.Officers from Police Scotland said there had been a significant change in weather conditions, with strengthening winds making a fire that has been burning out of control for 11 days yet more difficult to contain. Continue reading...

• President Trump has threatened a "massive attack" against Iran as the ongoing conflict between the two nations approaches the five-month mark. • The escalation follows a cycle of U.S. airstrikes within Iran and retaliatory strikes launched by Tehran against U.S. targets located in the Gulf. • This surge in hostilities signifies a critical turning point in Middle East stability, with the U.S. administration weighing a major military escalation.

• U.S. auto suppliers are accelerating the removal of Chinese connected-car hardware and software to comply with looming federal restrictions. • Under rules adopted in January 2025 and maintained by the Trump administration, Chinese connectivity software is banned for 2027 models, with hardware prohibited by the 2030 model year. • This shift is forcing a major reshaping of automotive supply chains, which is expected to increase production costs for manufacturers.

• The KOSPI index rebounded following a global technology selloff that previously impacted AI-linked chipmakers. • The recovery comes after investors questioned the sustainability of high valuations, despite strong earnings reports from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. • Morgan Stanley analysts suggest the recent correction was deep but did not reach bear market levels, indicating the KOSPI may be nearing its bottom.

• The Israeli parliament has dissolved, setting the stage for national elections scheduled for October. • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a challenging reelection campaign amid intense public scrutiny over his leadership during and after the October 7 attacks. • A growing constitutional crisis has emerged as Netanyahu's government continues to defy the judiciary, raising concerns over the balance of power.

The outgoing Labour leader will have final talks with his senior ministers in No 10 before taking his last PMQsGood morning. Everyone likes a leaving do and today it’s Keir Starmer’s, or at least his parliamentary one. If the colleague who is going is someone you like and admire, then the chance to see them thanked and celebrated is welcome. And if the colleague who is going is someone that you don’t like, or who has stayed too long, then that’s even better. At a good leaving do, there are also decent jokes. And, in politics, a final PMQs is one of the rare moments when even opponents tend to be polite and respectful (which is something people watching from outside the circus tend to like).Starmer is chairing his last cabinet meeting this morning, and taking his final PMQs at noon. Doubtless he has had a chance to study how his predecessors handled this challenge, and he may have read what Tony Blair said on the day he left the Commons – worth quoting again because it is a good summary for those of us who think politics is still a worthy calling.Some may belittle politics but we who are engaged in it know that it is where people stand tall. Although I know that it has many harsh contentions, it is still the arena that sets the heart beating a little faster. If it is, on occasions, the place of low skulduggery, it is more often the place for the pursuit of noble causes. I wish everyone, friend or foe, well. That is that. The end. Continue reading...

• Asian stock markets declined as a deepening selloff in AI chips pressured regional indices, pushing South Korea's KOSPI close to a bear market. • While Chinese equities remained largely flat, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times bucked the trend, rising nearly 3% and 1% respectively. • Inflation data from Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines showed easing headline pressures, though firmer core inflation in the Philippines suggests a potential 25-basis-point rate hike on August 27.

• Former President Trump attempted to remove a Federal Reserve governor, Cook, citing unsubstantiated mortgage fraud allegations which Cook has denied. • The legal dispute centers on a congressional statute requiring governors to be removed only "for cause," a term that remains undefined by law. • Cook argues that the fraud allegations were a pretext used by Trump to oust her due to fundamental disagreements over monetary policy.

• The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 0.7% higher at 8,823.40, gaining 59.20 points on the second to last day of the financial year. • Gains were primarily driven by the technology and healthcare sectors, with Neuren Pharmaceuticals soaring 37% following news of pending EU approval for its Rett syndrome drug. • Other notable market movements included HMC Capital securing a new mandate and Atlas attempting to de-escalate tensions with IFM, according to RBC.

Court expected to hand down decisions on several outstanding cases, wrapping up term that has focussed on Trump’s expansive claims of presidential powerHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The supreme court is expected to hand down decisions later today on several outstanding cases, before wrapping up a term that has focused on Donald Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power.Joe Biden has said Donald Trump has diminished America’s standing in the world “more than any president in history”. The former president delivered remarks highly critical of his successor, while giving the keynote address at a gala in Hanover, Maryland, hosted by the state’s Democratic party, which is hoping to help wrest control of Congress away from Trump and his Republican allies during November’s midterm elections.A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”. On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran, and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war.Migrants in the US on temporary protected status should seek permanent residence or leave, Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, said in the wake of last week’s supreme court decision that stripped humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants.An opaque White House office staffed largely by veterans of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has quietly rebuilt some of the federal government’s most sensitive websites – for passport applications, voter registration, prescription-drug pricing and children’s savings – in ways critics say appear to violate federal law. Continue reading...

President says ‘we always hold onto hope’ as discovery of earthquake survivors spurs fresh search efforts despite dwindling chances of survivalMortuary in Caracas ‘overwhelmed’ as Venezuela struggles to respond after earthquakesA man and his teenage son were found alive under the rubble in Venezuela on Sunday, in a town about 40km north of the capital Caracas, AFP journalists reported, as the death toll from last week’s twin earthquakes passed 1,450.The discovery of survivors in Caraballeda was made by French and American rescue teams nearly four days after back-to-back quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck, completely destroying nearly 200 buildings in the area. Continue reading...

• The Supreme Court is preparing to release several key rulings by early July regarding presidential authority, birthright citizenship, and election rules. • These decisions will address critical disputes involving immigration policy and the legal status of independent federal agencies. • The rulings are significant as they could fundamentally redefine executive power and shift the legal landscape for future administrations.

• The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing Donald Trump's attempts to fire officials from the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission as its term concludes. • The court previously rejected Trump's sweeping tariffs in February, while justices expressed skepticism in January regarding his bid to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook. • This case is significant because no president has attempted to fire a Fed official since 1913, potentially threatening the central bank's independence and the "for cause" removal protections established by Congress.

• China plans to double the size of its Tiangong space station by adding three new modules and a co-orbiting space telescope. • This expansion occurs as the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its operational life and prepares for a final splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. • The move signifies China's ambition to establish a more permanent and capable long-term presence in low Earth orbit.

• Iran's economy nearly stagnated in 2025, recording a marginal growth rate of only 0.2% while non-oil GDP experienced a contraction. • The slowdown is attributed to a series of conflicts, including a 12-day war with Israel in the summer and a 40-day conflict involving the U.S. and Israel in the winter, alongside January's nationwide protests. • Long-term structural crises, including severe international sanctions, chronic corruption, mismanagement, and declining investment, have further crippled economic activity.

Any sense of relief offset by doubts over durability of agreement and feelings of betrayal by Trump administrationMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn the rural town of Sirik, in southern Iran, temperatures over the past week have climbed to 45C (113F), and residents were still queueing to fill buckets of water days after US strikes reportedly damaged two drinking water facilities serving nearby villages.Amid water shortages and the looming fear of war came news of a possible deal between the US and Tehran. But for those struggling to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, the announcement brought little relief. Continue reading...

• The Sensex surged over 1,100 points and the Nifty approached the 24,000 mark following an announcement by Donald Trump regarding a peace deal between the US and Iran. • Market optimism was driven by the agreement to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, alongside RBI measures designed to attract foreign currency inflows. • This rally continues a positive trend from the previous week, during which the Sensex rose by 1,284.61 points (1.73%) and the Nifty climbed 256.2 points (1%).

Hundreds of Labour activists and MPs have ‘made the pilgrimage’ to the seat, where they are pounding the streetsFor a few short weeks, the centre of political gravity in Britain has shifted from the Palace of Westminster to the bar of a former Labour club in Wigan.In London, even as Keir Starmer insists he will fight to stay in No 10, the walls seem to be crumbling around him, especially with Thursday’s resignation of the defence secretary, John Healey. Continue reading...

Outbreak driven by falling vaccination and misinformation as federal public health cuts hamper state responseThe US has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed measles cases so far this year – near the total of 2,228 recorded in all of 2025, and on track to become the worst year for measles in decades as states struggle with the loss of federal funding for public health.The virus continues to spread in unvaccinated and under-vaccinated communities, including among babies too young to be vaccinated, and it reveals the depths of the twin crises of misinformation and public health in the US. Continue reading...

• US stock markets remained near record highs on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, despite pressure from geopolitical instability. • Oil prices climbed toward $100 per barrel due to renewed tensions involving Iran and concerns over the Strait of Hormuz. • Market resilience was driven by strong corporate earnings and investor optimism regarding the potential reopening of critical shipping lanes.