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Exclusive: Party’s average registered donation was £137, 496 last year, almost six times that of Labour or ToriesReform UK would have held just 15% of the donations it received last year if a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations had been in force, according to analysis shared with the Guardian.The analysis by Friends of the Earth using Electoral Commission data highlights the party’s reliance on a handful of wealthy backers in advance of a showdown over political funding. Continue reading...

• Euronext Athens ranked among the world's top 10 stock exchanges in the first half of 2026, raising a record €5.9 billion. • The exchange achieved its sixth consecutive year of gains and outperformed both the U.S. S&P 500 and the pan-European STOXX 600 indices in June. • This performance establishes the market as one of the top-performing developed-market exchanges of the quarter, trailing only select Asian markets like Japan and South Korea.

• The World Bank has upgraded the economic status of Vietnam and the Philippines to upper-middle-income level. • This move means all five major Southeast Asian economies—including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand—now reside in the same tier or higher. • The reclassification reflects significant economic growth and rising per capita income within these developing nations.

Experts say decision presents problem for business owners – and indicates direction court’s conservatives are headingExperts say a supreme court ruling that struck down a Hawaii law banning people from carrying guns on private property without permission could present problems for business owners – and is a bellwether of what steps the majority-conservative court may take toward undoing policies they see as placing an undue burden on legal gun owners.The US supreme court handed down the ruling in Wolford v Lopez on Thursday in a 6-3 decision. Second-amendment law centers and advocates praised the ruling as another win and important step toward challenging other restrictions that are out of line with gun laws that existed at the nation’s founding. Gun control and gun violence groups, meanwhile, lambasted the decision as a dangerous one that prioritizes the rights of gun owners over public safety. Continue reading...

Bodycam footage captures moment motorist pulls over to help police officer and calls: ‘Get in the back’A van driver in Kent has been praised after giving a lift to an armed police officer who was chasing down a suspect.Bodycam footage from the officer captured the moment the motorist pulled over to help the police on 16 June and called out: “Get in the back. Get in the back.” Continue reading...

• Lam Research (LRCX) shares rose 6.1% following a quarterly report showing 24% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings that exceeded company guidance. • The company raised its outlook for wafer fabrication equipment demand, citing a surge in orders driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure. • Growth is further supported by expanding partnerships focused on increasing semiconductor manufacturing onshore within the United States.

• OpenAI raised $122 billion in fresh capital during a single funding round, significantly outpacing individual European initiatives. • This follows French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of a EUR200 billion InvestAI Fund, though much of that fund consisted of repackaged existing commitments. • The disparity highlights the gap between private venture capital agility in the US and the structured, often bureaucratic nature of European government AI strategies.