Weigh

• De Nikkei 225 in Tokio daalde vrijdag met 1,1% naar 62.174, nadat de index tijdens de handel op donderdag voor het eerst kortstondig de 63.000 passeerde en sloot op een recordhoogte van 62.833, wat duidt op een terugtrekking vanaf de piekwaarderingen. • SoftBank Group, een van de grootste aandelen van Japan, daalde met meer dan 5%, wat wijst op winstnemingen en zwakte in de technologiesector die de index eerder omhoog had gestuwd. • De bredere Topix daalde vrijdag met 0,29% naar 3.829,48, maar bleef over de door feestdagen verkorte week met 2,7% stijgen, wat het gemengde sentiment weerspiegelt terwijl markten geopolitieke risico's verwerken.

• De Congrespartij beraadt haar politieke allianties in Tamil Nadu na de recente staatverkiezingen, met berichten over gesprekken na de verkiezingen met de TVK-partij van acteur Vijay. • De DMK heeft het Congres publiekelijk bekritiseerd vanwege deze onderhandelingen en uitte zorgen over potentiële verschuivingen in de dynamiek van de INDIA-bloccoalitie in de staat. • Het Congres heeft haar afdeling in Tamil Nadu (TNCC) opdracht gegeven om de definitieve beslissing te nemen over de steunregelingen voor de regeringsvorming.

Electoral Commission reviewing whether Reform UK leader should have declared billionaire’s gift before entering parliamentAnalysis: Farage’s bid to get ahead of story only raises more questionsFarage referred to standards watchdog over undisclosed £5m giftThe UK elections watchdog is considering whether to investigate an undisclosed £5m donation received by Nigel Farage before he announced his candidacy at the last general election.The move comes after the Guardian revealed this week that the Reform UK leader was given the money by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Continue reading...

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talentLast July, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Fave found herself caught up in a viral moment: an unauthorised version of a track featuring an AI choir had been released, quickly becoming an internet sensation. To get ahead of the situation, she recorded her own remix that integrated the AI-assisted song and added it to her discography.“In my view, [that] was smart and very business aware,” Oyinkansola Fawehinmi, a Lagos-based entertainment lawyer, observed a few months later. “She essentially reclaimed the ‘AI version’ and released it as her own official expression.” Continue reading...

The case is part of a national redistricting fight with high stakes for the November midterm electionsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxVirginia supreme court justices on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the US House.The new districts, which could net Democrats four additional seats, won narrow voter approval last week. But a Republican legal challenge contends the general assembly violated procedural rules by placing the constitutional amendment before voters to authorize the mid-decade redistricting. If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless. Continue reading...

• The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.48% to 16,240.35 on Monday, April 26, driven by weakness in mega-cap technology stocks including Apple (down 1.2%) and Microsoft (down 0.9%), as investors reassess growth expectations ahead of the Federal Reserve's May meeting. • Treasury yields climbed to 4.35% for the 10-year note amid inflation concerns, pressuring valuations of rate-sensitive tech companies and spurring profit-taking after recent market gains. • The decline reflects growing caution among portfolio managers about earnings sustainability in the second quarter, with earnings guidance from major tech firms expected to dominate trading through early May.

Iranian official stresses no decision made on taking part, as US vice-president JD Vance is set to travel to Islamabad for negotiations JD Vance to lead US delegation in Pakistan if Iran agrees to talksOn Tuesday morning, Islamabad sat poised and ready to host a second round of talks – even as uncertainty reigned over whether both sides would even turn up.Pakistani officials remained optimistic that the second round of negotiations would happen, even as Iranian ministers said they would refuse to come to the table under the threat of “force” and it remained unclear exactly when US vice-president JD Vance planned to depart Washington for Islamabad. Continue reading...

Catholics around Atlanta share mixed feelings on faith and politics as Trump engages in rhetorical war with popeAlex Sullivan tended to his five children on the lawn after a traditional Latin mass at the Catholic Church of Saint Monica in Duluth, Georgia, and contemplated his faith in the light of God and the shadow of Donald Trump.Sullivan, a self-described conservative who once staffed a libertarian state representative at the Georgia capitol, described his faith as almost medieval. Continue reading...