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• Aziatische markten openden lager maar herstelden zich grotendeels op 13 mei, waarbij MSCI Asia-Pacific-aandelen buiten Japan terugstuwden naar een winst van 0,3% na een initiële daling van 1%, gedreven door AI-optimisme dat de Amerikaanse inflatie en gestagneerde gesprekken tussen de VS en Iran compenseerde. • De Japanse Nikkei 225 steeg met 0,8% naar ongeveer 62.774, de Zuid-Koreaanse Kospi steeg met 2,6% naar een recordhoogte van 7.708-7.844 na een daling van 3,2% door een mislukte loonovereenkomst met de vakbond van Samsung Electronics, terwijl de Australische S&P/ASX 200 met 0,3% daalde naar 8.645. • Brent-olie daalde met 1,4% naar $106,32 en Amerikaanse ruwe olie naar $101,60 te midden van spanningen in het Midden-Oosten; het rendement op Amerikaanse 10-jarige staatsobligaties daalde naar 4,459% en de dollar bleef stabiel op 98,369 tegenover andere valuta.

• De Market Snapshot van mei 2026 van Charles Schwab waarschuwt voor concentratierisico dat botst met diversifiestrategieën te midden van een beperkt marktleiderschap. • De winstcijfers over het eerste kwartaal van 2026 tonen een stabiele prestatie, samengevat door de outlook 'Feelin' Alright' ondanks macro-economische tegenwind. • Macrokrachten blijven de kredietmarkten vormgeven, wat invloed heeft op beleggingsportefeuilles en sectorallocaties.

Guess the Party daagt spelers uit om de politieke voorkeur van kandidaten aan hun uiterlijk te koppelen, waarbij de slagingspercentages enorm variëren.

• Moonshot AI, een vooraanstaande Chinese chatbotmaker die zich richt op commerciële AI-toepassingen, heeft 20 miljard dollar opgehaald in een Series E-financieringsronde onder leiding van Meituan. • De enorme investering, een van de grootste in de geschiedenis van AI, zal de ontwikkeling van geavanceerde AI-modellen versnellen en de commerciële implementaties in Azië uitbreiden. • Deze financiering onderstreept de agressieve inzet van China op het gebied van AI te midden van wereldwijde concurrentie, waardoor Moonshot in positie komt om Amerikaanse giganten zoals OpenAI uit te dagen.

• Chandranath Rath, persoonlijke assistent van de BJP-leider uit West-Bengalen Suvendu Adhikari, werd geliquideerd in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas, waarbij hij drie van de vier schoten raakte terwijl hij in een rijdende auto zat. • De moord vond twee dagen na de historische overwinning van de BJP op de TMC tijdens de assembleeverkiezingen van 6 mei 2026 plaats, wat de spanningen na de verkiezingen heeft vergroot. • De TMC veroordeelde de moord op donderdag en eiste een onderzoek door de CBI, terwijl de moeder van Chandra publiekelijk instortte en pleitte voor levenslange gevangenisstraf voor de daders.

Onrust en geweld schudden de staat sinds de partij van premier Narendra Modi de overwinning in de legislatieve verkiezingen claimde De spanningen zijn hoog in de Indiase staat West-Bengalen nadat een top politiek medewerker van de partij van Narendra Modi op straat is doodgeschoten en honderden mensen zijn gearresteerd toen er deze week na de verkiezingen geweld uitbrak. De Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) van de premier claimde maandag de overwinning in de verkiezingen van West-Bengalen en versloeg hiermee de Trinamool Congress (TMC), die de staatswetgever al 15 jaar domineerde. Lees verder...

Rechtbank in Hannover stelt dat man recht heeft op uitkering nadat hij en zijn gezin op beton moesten liggen

The person’s condition and the circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately knownAn individual was shot by law enforcement on Monday near the Washington monument, the Secret Service said.The person’s condition and the circumstances surrounding the shooting around 15th Street and Independence Avenue were not immediately known. Continue reading...

• Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal is the epicenter of the 2026 assembly election, pitting TMC chief Mamata Banerjee against BJP's Suvendu Adhikari after her prior Nandigram loss. • The diverse voter base includes significant Hindi-speaking traders and lower minority concentration compared to TMC strongholds, adding complexity to the high-stakes fight. • Stringent security measures implemented statewide to ensure transparent counting amid political tensions and voter list disputes.

US attorney says ‘we can establish’ pellet from defendant’s gunshot was ‘intertwined with fiber of vest’ of federal agentThe US government has evidence that a federal agent was shot by the suspect during an alleged recent attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the US attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on Sunday.“We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot from the defendant’s Mossberg pump-action shotgun was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer,” Pirro said on CNN. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The collection, including donations from Paul McCartney’s brother Mike, shows band’s development in early 60sA rare set of letters and photos from the early days of the Beatles, in which they write about feeling like stars for the first time, is to go on display in Hamburg.The collection, from an influential period when the band lived in the German city, includes the only letter in existence with words from both Paul McCartney and John Lennon, which was written to the bassist’s brother, Mike McCartney. Continue reading...

The scorching heat means parts of the UK could also be warmer than Sydney, Buenos Aires or TunisYou might expect sunshine in Australia, Tunisia or Argentina, but those staying in the UK are likely to see hotter weather, with some parts of the country expected to reach the high 20s before the bank holiday weekend.Temperatures in London and East Anglia could reach 27C on Friday, the Met Office said, marking the warmest day of the year so far. The scorching heat means parts of the UK could be warmer than Sydney, Buenos Aires or Tunis, where highs of between 24C to 22C are forecast. Temperatures could also exceed those in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, where highs of 26C are predicted. Continue reading...

Students taking part in university’s annual ritual say images of them in swimwear are being published without consent in national newspapersWhen the sun rises at dawn on Friday, hundreds of St Andrews University students will brave the chilly North Sea for the annual May Dip, an undergraduate ritual said to bring good luck in exams. But the students won’t be alone at the beach. In recent years this quirky ritual has become a target for agency and freelance photographers looking to cash in on images of students in bikinis, including some who camp out overnight on the East Sands dunes near the Fife coastal path.“It ruined my night,” said Anna, one of the students whose photo appeared in a spread published by the Scotsman. “Now when I think about that May Dip, I think about that image, and that’s it.” Continue reading...

• Scientists achieved the first teleportation of a photon's state between two separate quantum dots over a 270-meter open-air link. • The experiment used GPS synchronization, ultra-fast detectors, and turbulence stabilization, reaching 82% state fidelity exceeding classical limits by over 10 standard deviations. • Published in Nature Communications, this milestone advances quantum internet for ultra-secure communication and quantum relays.

• Ex-FBI Director James Comey surrendered to authorities and appeared in court on April 29, 2026, facing DOJ charges for allegedly threatening President Trump's life via a seashell social media post. • Prosecutors claim the post symbolized a threat, leading to swift federal action amid heightened political tensions. • The case underscores escalating rhetoric between Trump allies and former officials, potentially influencing 2026 midterm dynamics.

Rise in electricity demand in first quarter of 2026 was moderated by record output from rooftop solarGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore datacentres and warmer conditions helped push electricity demand to record highs in the first three months of the year, according to Australia’s Energy Market Operator, while growth in batteries kept average wholesale prices down.Electricity demand – from households, business and industry – reached record levels of 25GW in Q1 2026, an increase of 1.2% compared with the same quarter last year. Across the grid, this growth was offset by record output from rooftop solar. Continue reading...

Hinckley says ‘bad things keep happening’ at Washington Hilton and it was ‘not a secure place to hold big events’US politics live – latest updatesThe man who shot Ronald Reagan at the Washington Hilton in 1981 has said it was “spooky” for him to learn of Saturday’s shooting at the hotel during a prestigious media gala attended by Donald Trump and senior members of the president’s administration.In an interview with TMZ published on Monday, John Hinckley Jr also observed that “bad things keep happening” at the hotel and maintained it was “just not a secure place to hold big events”. Continue reading...

Queensland and NSW set for lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, while temperatures in most of the country likely to be higher than normalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLarge parts of south-east Australia look set for drier and hotter conditions over the next three months as a potential El Niño weather phenomenon takes shape in the Pacific Ocean.Much of Queensland and New South Wales are forecast to have lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, with almost the entire country likely to experience hotter than average maximum temperatures. Continue reading...

Nearly 1 million Californians supported push by Republican Carl DeMaio but it faces historic opposition from DemocratsCalifornia voters will decide in November whether to require photo identification to cast a ballot, making California the latest battleground in a long-running effort by conservatives to push voter ID laws that have been bolstered in recent years by Donald Trump’s repeated and unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud.Nearly 1 million Californians signed on to support the ballot measure championed by Carl DeMaio, a Republican state representative from San Diego. Continue reading...

Staff are handing over sandwiches from behind a theft-proof counter as the high street fights backGreggs has axed self-service display cabinets in bakery stores that have been most severely hit by shoplifters.The move is the latest aimed at combating a problem plaguing the high street. Last year official figures revealed annual shoplifting offences in England and Wales had passed half a million offences for the first time, and since then many retailers have reported high levels of crime in their shops. Continue reading...

Man, 51, arrested after allegedly assaulting multiple people at Prince of Wales hospitalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA patient has been shot with a Taser after allegedly attacking several people at a Sydney hospital, including a nurse who was left seriously injured.Police restrained a 51-year-old patient after the Saturday night melee at Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital, which left a nurse in hospital. Continue reading...

Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoodsIn the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.Previously, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of tourist season leaves the city at risk of “over-saturation.” Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development. Continue reading...

Former US ambassador and Labour peer joins a long line of people who have gone out to meet awaiting paparazzi head-onFor a man at the centre of a storm that has rocked the political establishment, Peter Mandelson has spent the week looking remarkably relaxed. Day after day, as MPs have grilled civil servants over who knew what when about the former US ambassador’s security vetting, and police continue to investigate serious allegations over his own conduct, Mandelson has stepped out of his Regent’s Park mansion and pottered across the road to take his dog for a walk.Smart-casually dressed in jeans and a jumper and holding in front of him a plastic ball-thrower, he has set off for the park like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race. There have been occasional small smiles for the photographers at his gate, but no comment. The message appears to be: I am insouciant, normal. Not in prison. Continue reading...

• Cyware was again named to the Cyber66 list of hottest privately held security companies, announced via PRNewswire on April 23, 2026. • The recognition highlights Cyware's leadership in AI-powered threat intelligence operationalization and secure threat sharing. • Company emphasizes agentic AI for accelerating targeted threat responses and collaboration.

Georgia players celebrated championship at White HousePresident shakes hands of men, not women in videoFormer tennis star Navratilova leads criticismA White House photo celebrating a champion women’s sports team has drawn backlash due to the positioning of Donald Trump and a group of men, who overshadowed the female athletes by lining up in front of them.The University of Georgia women’s tennis team was one of several collegiate teams to visit the White House on Wednesday to mark a recent championship win. In a photo shared by press aide Margo Martin, a group of six men, including Donald Trump, took up the front row of a stage setup, with 11 women standing in the background largely obscured. Continue reading...

A malfunction was discovered during routine testing of the firearm, which is standard issue for QPS officersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland police have been forced to retest all service-issued Glock handguns after a fault was discovered in the weapon that could cause it to fire multiple shots.The 40-calibre Glock is the standard-issue sidearm for Queensland police officers, and has been in service since the 1990s. Continue reading...

• Researchers at the University of Washington created an artificial photosynthesis prototype converting sunlight directly into storable chemical fuels with 13% efficiency, surpassing previous laboratory records of 8-10%. • The system uses engineered nanostructures and novel catalysts to split water and fix carbon dioxide, producing methanol as a liquid fuel suitable for existing energy infrastructure, detailed in Nature Energy on April 21. • The breakthrough could enable large-scale production of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels without competing for agricultural land, addressing both climate and energy security challenges.

Pilot made emergency landing on small plot of grass at Temecula home amid low fuel and shifting windsA balloon landed in a southern California backyard – a balloon with 13 people.The enormous hot-air balloon, with a pilot and passengers in the basket, descended perfectly on Saturday on a small plot of grass at a home in Temecula. Hunter Perrin said he had no idea that he had visitors until a neighbor alerted him. Continue reading...