Panic

• Chinese entrepreneur Yang and colleagues from Tsinghua University developed Kimi, a "Chinese-first" large language model designed as an unlocked alternative to ChatGPT. • The introduction of Yang's "Moonshot" technology has caused significant market volatility, wiping billions in value from the world's most prominent AI companies. • Yang previously faced legal challenges and was brought before the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, where a settlement was eventually reached.

• The KOSPI index plummeted over 8% today, driven by a massive sell-off in semiconductor and technology stocks. • Analysts attribute the crash to mechanical factors, including algorithmic trading and forced liquidations, rather than a fundamental collapse of the South Korean economy. • The Bank of Korea issued a statement to stabilize markets, asserting that the semiconductor supercycle remains fundamentally healthy.

Businessman stands trial over death of Maltese journalist killed by bomb in her car after she reported on corruptionMoments before the explosion that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia, the journalist screamed in panic, a witness has told the trial of the man accused of ordering her murder.Caruana Galizia was killed in 2017 by a remotely detonated bomb placed under the driver’s seat of her car, after writing a series of reports on political and financial corruption in Malta. The government’s handling of the investigation led to mass protests and ultimately to the resignation of the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat. Continue reading...

• A new UN report on AI warns that its capabilities are surpassing scientific understanding and government adaptation. • The report highlights challenges such as measurement difficulties and concentration of power, sparking concerns among critics that it may stifle progress. • Critics argue that perfect understanding is not necessary for technological advancement, citing history as evidence that technologies evolve through deployment and competition.

• Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) shares have experienced a significant sell-off following a poorly received earnings report and a general shift in market sentiment. • The decline is part of a broader market panic affecting several artificial intelligence stocks that had seen strong growth through early June. • Despite the current volatility, the stock is positioned as a strong buying opportunity due to its status as an AI powerhouse.

Makerfield shows the challenges Reform is facing, from Restore and tactical voting to questions over that £5m giftAs those around Nigel Farage are fond of pointing out, Reform UK has now led in more than 300 consecutive national polls. When it comes to byelections, though, it is fair to say the party’s results are more mixed.Yes, Robert Kenyon came second in Makerfield to a popular regional mayor backed by a Labour campaign so relentless that the main risk was annoying voters by knocking too often on their doors. Kenyon also increased his and Reform’s share of the vote from the 2024 general election. Continue reading...

Protests across the city turned violent on Tuesday night – with some police officers appearing to conclude it wasn’t safe to interveneOn a residential street draped in loyalist flags near Belfast’s Shankill Road, the masked men approached a house with a boarded-up window and a security camera stationed outside.As a woman from an ethnic minority background looked down from an upstairs window, some of the men rushed the front door and broke it down. With the air thick with smoke from fireworks, they attacked the downstairs windows with bricks. Continue reading...

While huge donations are nothing new in UK politics, some fear electoral finance is distorting democracy itselfKeir Starmer may be relaxed about allowing millions from cryptocurrency billionaires to flow into Reform UK’s coffers but Labour MPs are tearing their hair out every time the quarterly data on electoral finance drops.“I look at it through my fingers,” says one MP, as the latest figures show a further £7m went to Reform UK from just two men – Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo. Continue reading...

Community groups say some fear they could lose homes, jobs and access to healthcare if the new law is ratified by President John Dramani MahamaGhana’s LGBTQ community is living in fear after the country’s parliament approved a sweeping bill that criminalises the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities and identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, rights groups have warned.The legislation, which was passed on Friday, mandates prison sentences of three to 10 years. Continue reading...

Residents of Ituri province fear spread of disease and economic impact of outbreak six years after the last“On public transport, in bars and at mass gatherings, everyone is talking about Ebola,” said Gloire Mumbesa, 38, a resident of Mongbwalu, a mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He said cases of the disease had been reported locally and panic was engulfing the area because of the lack of a vaccine for the Bundibudyo strain. “The fear is that this disease may spread to many other areas.”Residents of Ituri province in eastern DRC, where the World Health Organization announced an outbreak of Ebola last week, are living in growing fear of the possible continued spread of the disease and its deadly impacts, nearly six years after the last outbreak in the region ended. Continue reading...

Samuel Corner, 23, says he struck Sgt Kate Evans to protect co-defendant amid 2024 Elbit Systems raid near OxfordA Palestine Action activist who struck a police officer with a sledgehammer during a protest at an Israeli-linked arms factory acted to protect a co-defendant he believed was being seriously hurt, a court has heard.Samuel Corner, 23, is accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sgt Kate Evans during a raid on the Elbit Systems facility, in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. Continue reading...

Ripple effects of oil and fertiliser shortage felt by farmers in India and Sri Lanka despite governments saying there is enough stock to go roundGurvinder Singh never thought the war in Iran would touch his quiet corner of Punjab.Yet looking out over his smallholding, where he alternates between wheat and rice crops in the state known as India’s breadbasket, the 52-year-old farmer can barely think of anything else. His anxiety over a conflict playing out thousands of miles away is crippling as he fears what will come of this season’s rice crop. Continue reading...

Independent retailers are struggling to get fuel from the majors and say farmers have only responded to soaring prices and lack of availabilityGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRural fuel distributor Paul McCallum hopes the worst is over.At the start of the month, as fuel prices surged after the US and Israel bombed Iran, farmers started bringing their diesel orders forward, requesting “a boisterous but not over the top” 1.5m litres from his company Inland Petroleum. Continue reading...

Energy minister says country’s fuel supply has yet to be affected by war, following meeting with suppliers and retailersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChris Bowen has insisted the country’s fuel supply is yet to be affected by the war in the Middle East while criticising a rush to buy jerry cans to fill up with petrol as “un-Australian”.The energy minister made the comments after an emergency meeting with major fuel suppliers and retailers, that was convened by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to demand explanations for the recent surge in petrol prices. Continue reading...

NRMA says record-high fuel may be here to stay in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after prices soared early in the Middle East conflictFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDozens of service stations across Australia have run out of petrol as distributors struggle to keep up with customers panic-buying as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt prices.The NRMA has warned regulators “missed” the chance to stop price hikes, as booming wholesale demand pushes fuel prices to a “permanent high” on the east coast. Continue reading...

• US financial markets face 'peak war panic' in 1-3 weeks amid US-Iran conflict entering its third week, with Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and oil prices at risk of hitting $200/bbl in 2026. • S&P 500 is down only 3% year-to-date and 5% from all-time high, indicating investors not yet panicking despite US attacks on Iran's Kharg Island oil terminal and deployment of 2,500 Marines to Mideast. • Escalation includes Iran targeting civilian infrastructure in Gulf neighbors and threatening major ports, potentially spilling over to agricultural commodities and semiconductors via shortages in fertilizer and helium.