Tops

Erica Fox left Lovers Point near Monterey in December alongside group of swimmers but never made it backA single, vicious shark bite was fatal for an ocean swimmer whose body was found on a California beach in December, a new autopsy report confirmed.Erica Fox, 55, drowned after that shark bite broke her pelvis and severed a major artery, according to the findings of the autopsy, which were first reported on by California’s Monterey Herald newspaper. Continue reading...

• The Indian stock market surged today, with the Sensex jumping 500 points and the Nifty crossing the 24,500 mark. • Key drivers include a 4.77% drop in Brent crude oil futures to $83.74 per barrel and strong Q1 corporate results that exceeded expectations. • Economic momentum is further supported by credit growth exceeding 18% and sustained growth in automotive sales numbers.

• Indian equity markets rallied on Monday, with the BSE Sensex jumping over 660 points to 78,756.16 and the Nifty 50 crossing the 24,590 mark. • The surge was driven by a combination of easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, a sharp decline in crude oil prices, a stronger rupee, and resilient June-quarter corporate earnings. • The rally was broad-based, with significant gains seen in heavyweight financials, metals, FMCG, and PSU banking stocks, specifically led by the Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG indices.

• London indie-pop quartet PREP has announced a series of headline tour dates across Asia for October, including stops in Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. • The tour follows the band's successful 2024 run and supports their latest release, leveraging a massive digital presence of over 650 million streams. • This tour targets Southeast Asia, which remains one of the group's strongest global markets, specifically in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Brittany Clark struggled for her life before dying from brutal injuries in rare attack, autopsy report confirmsA woman who was killed in a rare alligator attack while swimming with her boyfriend in Florida struggled for her life before dying from the brutal injuries inflicted on her by the animal, newly released autopsy results confirmed.The report containing the results of Brittany Clark’s autopsy, published on Thursday, also contained new details about the extent of the 28 June mauling that unfolded in Seminole county’s Little Big Econ state forest. Continue reading...

• On July 31, the Indian stock market showed strong gains, with the Sensex rising over 300 points and the Nifty 50 crossing the 24,400 mark. • The rally was driven by positive global cues, specifically a surge in chipmakers and AI optimism following aggressive infrastructure investment plans from US tech giants Amazon and Microsoft. • International markets mirrored this trend, with South Korea’s Kospi surging up to 17%, led by major electronics firms Samsung and SK Hynix.

Consumer spending remained resilient even as policymakers kept interest rates on holdThe US economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month, but remained above the central bank’s 2% target.The commerce department reported on Thursday that growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) – the nation’s output of goods and services – decelerated from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026 and came in below economists’ expectations. Continue reading...

• Philippine enterprises are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence to create new products and business opportunities, according to a mid-2025 survey commissioned by Alibaba Cloud. • Data security and high implementation costs were identified as the primary obstacles hindering the widespread integration of AI within these firms. • The study, conducted by NielsenIQ, gathered insights from 1,000 IT decision-makers across eight Asian markets, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Japan.

• The Indian stock market rallied on July 29, 2026, with the Sensex jumping over 820 points and the Nifty 50 surpassing the 24,220 mark. • The surge was primarily driven by strong performance in the IT, consumer, and telecom sectors, supported by favorable global market cues. • This rally occurred as global investors remained cautious while awaiting a critical interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled for later in the day.

• Mate Security has surpassed $50 million in funding to develop a new operational model for AI-driven cybersecurity. • The company aims to solve the "AI paradox," where AI improves detection and automation but also allows adversaries to launch faster, more sophisticated attacks. • This investment addresses the critical issue of alert fatigue in security operations centers by shifting the focus from data processing to reliable decision-making.

Independent exam of Black teen found cause and manner of death ‘undetermined’ as family questions timelineSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailNolan Wells’ cause of death and manner of death are both “undetermined, pending investigation”, according to an independent autopsy, announced on Wednesday by Wells’ family’s attorney, Ben Crump.The results came nearly three weeks after Wells, an 18 year old college freshman, was found dead. Continue reading...

Tom Homan’s comments come amid scrutiny over federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of two men in six daysUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will require its officers to record vehicle stops with at least one body camera, said Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday. The action comes as the agency is under renewed scrutiny after ICE officers fatally shot two men earlier this month.“They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the ⁠officers saw when they took that action,” Homan said on the Fox & Friends Weekend program. Continue reading...

• The open-weight model Kimi K3 has claimed the top spot on the Arena frontend coding leaderboard, outperforming several proprietary AI coding tools. • This achievement highlights a shift in the landscape of developer tools, demonstrating that open-weight models can compete with closed-source systems in specialized tasks. • The development pressures IDE vendors to reconsider "model lock-in" strategies, as high-quality open alternatives become more accessible to developers.

• Nordea reported strong Q2 2026 financial results, with total income exceeding 3 billion. • The bank achieved a 14% year-on-year increase in lending growth, driven by contributions from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. • Growth was supported by strategic investments in AI adoption, a new supply chain financing solution, and upgrades to the markets platform.

• The KOSPI index climbed back above 7,300 and the KOSDAQ index surpassed 820, marking a significant recovery for both markets. • Intense buying momentum immediately following the market open triggered buy-side sidecar measures, which temporarily suspended program trading to curb volatility. • This surge indicates a strong return of investor confidence and aggressive purchasing activity in the South Korean equity markets.

• DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has reached a net worth of $36 billion, surpassing all Western AI creators following a funding round in June. • The company announced plans for a Chinese IPO in 2027, confirming that China’s state AI fund holds the sole investor vote in its governance structure. • This development clarifies that DeepSeek operates as a Chinese state asset rather than a commercially independent research lab, a key distinction for global developers and government agencies.

Comment comes after homeland security sources say federal officers told to temporarily stop pulling drivers overDonald Trump said on Wednesday morning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should continue making traffic stops, just one day after the homeland security department (DHS) said they’d be halting them in the wake of recent stops that left two men killed in the space of a week.Federal officers across the US had been told to temporarily stop pulling drivers over on Tuesday, homeland security sources told the Guardian. That directive came after ICE agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado in Houston on 7 July and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine on Monday. Both men were unarmed, neither was the intended target of the operation that killed him, and in both cases the agents involved wore no body camera to record what happened. Continue reading...

• DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has become the world's richest AI founder after his net worth surged to $36 billion. • This wealth increase, up from approximately $16.7 billion, follows a successful latest fundraising round for the Chinese startup. • Liang has now surpassed other prominent AI leaders, including OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The deaths of Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo have prompted calls for independent investigationsFederal immigration officials have been instructed to stop pulling over vehicles until further notice, according to a homeland security source, following two recent deadly shootings in Texas and Maine during which officials shot and killed immigrants in vehicles.Other news outlets, including Fox News and CNN, confirmed that officials nationwide received the instructions, with the former reporting some vehicle stops would be allowed to target “the most egregious criminal aliens”. Continue reading...

• Thailand has emerged as the leader in Southeast Asia for short-drama in-app purchase revenue and ranks as the region's third-largest market for downloads, according to Sensor Tower. • TikTok Thailand is leveraging this trend by providing local content producers with distribution channels to reach new audiences through mini-dramas. • This shift is significant as mini-dramas are now one of the fastest-growing mobile entertainment categories, currently outperforming traditional over-the-top (OTT) streaming apps in downloads.

• India's consumer price index rose to 4.38% in June, marking the first time inflation has exceeded the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% target in 17 months. • The figure surpassed the median economist estimate of 4.20%, although it remains within the central bank's broader tolerance band of 2% to 6%. • This acceleration puts policymakers on high alert as they monitor price stability and the potential need for further monetary adjustments.

• The K-drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" has reached the No. 1 spot on Netflix's Top 10 Non-English Shows chart, followed by "Teach You a Lesson." • After its June 26 release, "Agent Kim Reactivated" debuted at No. 3 and quickly climbed to the top, ranking in the Top 10 across 79 countries. • The series was the most-watched title in 11 nations, including South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Bolivia, and Peru.

Eleven reported dead as flooding also brings danger of snakes, while buildings collapse in Mumbai amid heavy rain As the first typhoon to make landfall in China for the 2026 season, Maysak has caused devastating damage in southern and central regions. The Guangxi region received intense downpours of up to 280mm in 12 hours, causing rivers to swell and dam walls to break. By Monday morning, flooding across the city of Nanning and surrounding areas had resulted in many people being stranded on rooftops.Flood waters pose additional threats in China because of the presence of wild and farmed snakes. On Thursday local media reported that hundreds of snakes, including cobras, had escaped from flooded breeding farms. Typhoon Maysak also aided the development of two destructive tornados that swept across central China later on Monday evening. This occurred when warm air from the south, brought up by Typhoon Maysak, collided with cold air in the north. Continue reading...

One Nation leader welcomed by far-right figures including Tommy Robinson and Rupert Lowe. Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson has posted an update on social media about what she calls a “fact-finding” mission to the UK to find out what has gone “so wrong” with the country.She sat down for an interview for the podcast of far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, whom she called a “brave man … who has always had the best interest of his nation at heart”.No thanks. That’s not what I want for Australia. Each day I’ll bring you a sneak peak of my visit before putting out a long format video once I’m home. Continue reading...

• South Korea's digital industry revenue grew 9.3% year-on-year to reach 1,378 trillion won in 2024, fueled largely by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. • A government survey revealed that national digital maturity has increased to 75.4%, reflecting a broader systemic shift toward digitalization. • Cloud computing (52.0%), AI (43.5%), and big data (29.1%) emerged as the top three technologies developed or adopted by companies over the last three years.

• SBS drama "Manager Kim," starring So Ji-sub, has achieved rapid success both in South Korea and globally. • The series surpassed the 20% viewership mark within four episodes, reaching national ratings of 21.6% and a peak instantaneous rating of 25.1%. • Internationally, the show ranked number one in 20 countries as of July 4, according to FlixPatrol data, maintaining top-two positions across major Asian markets including Japan and Vietnam.

• The United States currently maintains its position as the global economic leader, though its long-term stability is being questioned. • Deutsche Bank has identified the country's escalating debt burden as the primary risk threatening its economic foundation. • This warning highlights a critical vulnerability in the U.S. financial system that could undermine its global dominance.

• Universal's new film "Minions & Monsters" topped the North American box office on July 5, 2026. • The movie earned $16 million during its opening weekend, securing the top spot in the market. • This performance highlights the continued commercial strength of the Minions franchise within the global entertainment industry.