Reaches

• Chinese bedrijven voltooiden in het eerste kwartaal van 2026 offshore fusies en overnames ter waarde van bijna 10 miljard dollar, wat een hoogtepunt in vijf jaar markeert ondanks aanhoudende regelgevende barrières. • Transacties waren gericht op sleutelsectoren, waaronder grondstoffen, consumptiegoederen en productie, aangezien bedrijven zoeken naar groeimogelijkheden in het buitenland. • De stijging onderstreept de drang van China naar wereldwijde expansie te midden van binnenlandse economische druk en handelsspanningen.

• Syfe, a regional investment platform, announced it has reached $10 billion in assets under management, marking significant growth in the Asia-Pacific investment sector as of May 2026. • The platform reported a threefold increase in trading activity, driven by investors shifting away from US-only portfolios to explore broader geographic exposure and diversified investment strategies. • The milestone reflects growing investor appetite for digital wealth management solutions in Asia and indicates expanding confidence in regional investment opportunities beyond traditional US-focused strategies.

Facebook and Instagram owner claims charges should not be calculated based on a company’s global revenueMeta has launched a legal challenge against the UK’s media regulator over the fees and fines regime it is enforcing under landmark digital safety legislation.The Facebook and Instagram owner is claiming that Ofcom’s methodology for calculating the charges is flawed and should not be based on a company’s global revenue. Breaches of the Online Safety Act can be punished by fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (QWR) or £18m – depending which is higher. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Officials warn department will lose access to database of 26,000 verified cases by cutting fundingThe Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Continue reading...

Iran seizes two ships in critical waterway as Washington and Tehran maintain separate blockades. Plus, Jodi Kantor on how to find a career you loveGood morning.Iranian forces have seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the shipping waterway.What has Donald Trump said? The US president announced that the US would extend the ceasefire with Iran until the country’s leaders came up with a “unified proposal” to US negotiating positions amid Tehran’s “seriously fractured” government. He had earlier threatened to renew bombing. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump was “satisfied” with the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and “understands Iran is in a very weak position”.This is a developing story. Follow the liveblog here.Who took part in the debate? The primetime showdown, hosted by Nexstar Media Group, featured two Republicans – Steve Hilton, the former Fox News host and director of strategy to the former UK prime minister David Cameron, and Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County – and the four leading Democrats: the billionaire Tom Steyer, the former health secretary Xavier Becerra, the former congresswoman Katie Porter and the San Jose mayor, Matt Mahan. Continue reading...

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and the benchmark notched back-to-back record highs as growing speculation that a deal to end the US-Iran war is nearing prompts traders to take on more risk. • The index is on course for a third week of gains exceeding 3%, with the S&P up nearly 8% month to date, marking a stunning reversal following mounting signs of US-Iran deescalation. • The market rally reflects relief over potential resolution of the conflict that has roiled energy markets, with traders increasingly positioning for a ceasefire outcome.

• Intense fighting between Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces near Khartoum has displaced over 200,000 civilians in the past week and cut off humanitarian access to vast regions, according to UN agencies on April 7. • The UN warns of imminent famine conditions affecting 18 million people; water and sanitation infrastructure has collapsed in multiple cities, raising cholera and disease outbreak risks. • The US State Department called for an immediate ceasefire and pledged $50 million in emergency humanitarian assistance; neighboring countries report mounting refugee flows straining resources.

• NASA's Artemis II mission has reached a critical point of no return, with the Orion spacecraft performing its trans-lunar injection burn and now headed toward the Moon. • The mission represents a major milestone in NASA's efforts to return humans to lunar exploration after decades since the Apollo program. • Artemis II serves as a crucial test flight for the Space Launch System and Orion capsule before planned crewed lunar landings.

Teenager alleged she faced racism from teacher who told her to ‘go back to her country’ for refusing to stand for pledge of allegianceA Palestinian and Arab middle school student in Michigan who was publicly admonished for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance as part of a personal protest against the war on Gaza has settled with her school district following a lawsuit around her first amendment free speech rights.The teenager, identified as DK in court documents, said she faced racism from a teacher at the West Middle school in Canton, Michigan, after she did not participate in the pledge. The teacher reportedly told DK to “go back to her country”, Fox 2 Detroit reported. Continue reading...

• Netflix announced its second price increase in just over a year, with the standard plan without ads rising to $19.99 and the premium plan climbing to $26.99, both increases of $2 per month. • The ad-supported standard plan will cost $8.99, up $1 from its previous price, reflecting the company's monetization strategy across its tier offerings. • These price changes were reflected on Netflix's website Thursday as the streaming service continues expanding its content library amid ongoing subscriber growth.

• A measles outbreak in Washtenaw County, southeast Michigan, now includes 7 cases under investigation involving unvaccinated children and adults, with potential exposure at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital's ER on March 21. • The latest case concerns a young child treated in Ypsilanti, raising concerns that ER visitors may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus. • All confirmed and suspected cases are among unvaccinated individuals, highlighting ongoing vaccination gaps amid the outbreak's growth reported on March 25.

• US equity markets including S&P 500 fell 1.9% last week, breaching the 200-day moving average for the first time since May 2025 amid geopolitical tensions and inflation pressures. • Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.0% and Dow Jones 2.1%, with VIX near 27 and CNN Fear and Greed Index at 15 signaling high investor anxiety. • Persistent inflation data and fading AI optimism drove declines, positioning US Tech 100 below key moving averages with risks of further drops to 23,000.

• Negotiations on stablecoin yield provisions in the Senate crypto market structure bill have reached 99% resolution, with remaining friction being political rather than technical, according to Senator Cynthia Lummis. • The Senate Banking Committee markup is expected in late April, which creates a narrow window for the bill to complete all five sequential steps before the midterm election cycle begins dominating the floor calendar. • Senator Bernie Moreno warned that if the bill does not advance by May, digital asset legislation may not receive serious consideration again for years, creating urgency for passage.

• A hacker claims to have infiltrated a U.S. platform for searching law enforcement hotline messages, accessing over 8 million confidential tips. • The breach exposes sensitive crime reporting data, raising alarms about vulnerabilities in public safety communication systems. • This incident highlights ongoing risks to domestic law enforcement databases amid rising cyber threats.

• As of March 6, 2026, the United States has confirmed 1,300 measles infections this year across 30 states, putting the country on track to surpass 2025's record 35-year high numbers. • Measles has continuously circulated in the U.S. for over a year following an outbreak in Texas (January-August 2025), with ongoing outbreaks on the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina that drastically increased in January 2026. • The Pan American Health Organization postponed its decision from April to November 2026 on whether the U.S. should lose its measles elimination status achieved in 2000, but current trends suggest it likely will due to vaccination rates falling below the critical 95% threshold.

The 2025-2026 flu season is concluding with one of the lowest vaccine effectiveness rates in more than a decade, with the CDC reporting effectiveness of approximately 25-30% in preventing adults from needing medical care, according to data released Friday. A viral mismatch between the vaccine strain and dominant H3N2 variant that emerged early winter caused the poor performance, with vaccination proving more protective in children at around 40% effectiveness against medical visits. Despite low effectiveness, the CDC estimates 27 million illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 22,000 deaths from flu this season—substantially lower than the prior year's 40 million illnesses and 520,000 hospitalizations at the same point.

The measles outbreak in Colorado tied to two Broomfield schools has grown to 10 cases, including two new confirmed infections and one suspected as of March 12. Public health teams are tracing exposures and urging quarantines. This cluster underscores vulnerabilities in school vaccination coverage amid rising national measles alerts. Officials plan expanded testing and contact tracing to halt further spread.

The measles outbreak linked to two schools in Broomfield, Colorado, has reached up to 10 cases, including two new confirmed infections and one suspected case reported on March 12. Public health officials are investigating exposures and urging vaccinations in the affected communities. This cluster highlights ongoing risks in under-vaccinated school groups amid national resurgence. Contact tracing and quarantine measures are ongoing to contain spread.