Widens

• The U.S. trade deficit reached its highest level in over a year in May, driven by record-high imports of foreign goods, specifically pharmaceuticals and data center equipment. • In response, the Trump administration is preparing two major trade investigations under Section 301 to address unfair factory subsidies and restrictions on forced labor goods. • These investigations are expected to restore tariff rates to levels seen prior to a recent Supreme Court decision, signaling a more aggressive approach to trade imbalances.

• The Philippines' net external liability widened to $54.9 billion in the first quarter of the year. • This increase was driven by a sharper decline in external assets compared to liabilities, caused by lower reserve assets, foreign exchange operations, and weak global market conditions. • The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) utilizes the International Investment Position (IIP) to track what the country owns abroad versus what it owes to nonresidents.

• Tensions have escalated within the ruling INDIA bloc in Jharkhand following the Rajya Sabha election results. • RJD leader Lalu Prasad directly blamed Jharkhand Congress in-charge K Raju for the defeat of candidate Pranav Jha. • This public rift highlights internal instability and coordination failures between the RJD and Congress despite their alliance.

• Tensions rose within the INDIA bloc on Friday following the defeat of Congress candidate Pranav Jha in Thursday's Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand. • The two available seats were won by JMM’s Baidyanath Ram and NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani. • Alliance partners RJD and CPI-ML accused Congress of failing to stop internal cross-voting, with RJD leaders specifically labeling Jharkhand affairs in-charge K Raju as "compromised."

• Scientists are launching clinical trials for several drugs that showed promise in preliminary studies to combat a widening Ebola outbreak. • The trials are focusing on treatments for the virus currently affecting regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the town of Mongbwalu. • This effort is critical as health workers struggle to contain the spread of the virus and manage patients suspected of having the Bundibugyo strain.

• A new report reveals that India's labour productivity gap with China has widened significantly since 2000, despite the country's strong overall GDP growth. • India has failed to achieve the industry-led productivity transformation seen in peer nations like China and South Korea due to structural constraints and pandemic-related disruptions. • This gap matters because it indicates that India's economic growth is not yet driven by a high-efficiency manufacturing leap, limiting its global competitiveness.

• London-based firms are leading the adoption of artificial intelligence, creating a growing productivity gap between the capital and other British regions. • While London companies have modernized data platforms and cloud infrastructure, regional firms often lack the basic technical foundations required to scale AI. • This disparity matters because London firms have developed the operational controls and organizational confidence needed to deploy AI safely and rapidly.

Republicans increasingly avoid doctors and vaccines, widening health gaps with Democrats, researchers sayGrowing Republican mistrust in the healthcare system has widened health disparities between liberals and conservatives, who are more likely to avoid vaccines and the medical system in general, according to a new study.Neil O’Brian, a political science professor at the University of Carolina, Chapel Hill and one of the authors of the study published in Nature Human Behaviour, said that his team saw two phases to the phenomenon. Continue reading...

But Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-struck regionThe Trump administration will temporarily pause the removal of refugees to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a spiraling Ebola outbreak, according to reporting by Politico, but experts say the move won’t help prevent the spread of the disease.At least one woman is now in limbo after officials moved her to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and now say they won’t bring her back because of the Ebola travel ban – despite a judge’s order for her return. Continue reading...

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rightsMyanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists.The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then. Continue reading...