El Niño has formed across the tropical Pacific, setting the stage for a potentially powerful climate event that could intensify heat, drought, floods and storms across several regions through the end of the year and into early 2027. Forecasters have issued an El Niño advisory after ocean and atmospheric indicators aligned over the past month, confirming that the coupled climate system has shifted into the warm phase […]
Mistral AI is in talks to raise about €3 billion at a valuation of roughly €20 billion, a potential deal that would sharply lift the Paris-based artificial intelligence company’s standing among Europe’s most valuable private technology groups. The discussions remain fluid and may still change in size, timing or investor composition. If completed near the terms being discussed, the financing would mark another significant jump for a […]
“The infrastructure and capital markets we are targeting have been systematically underserved over the past decade. Verdant Rock enters this space with an investment grade rating, a strong capital position, the regulatory standing, the technical capability, and the long-term commitment that issuers and their advisers have been unable to find elsewhere.”
— Tolga Uzuner, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Verdant Rock Limited
The Fitch Ratings report can be accessed here:
Fitch Rates Verdant Rock at ‘BBB+’; Outlook Stable
Verdant Rock’s Class 3B registration can be verified via the BMA’s register of regulated entities (search “Verdant Rock”): https://www.bma.bm/regulated-entities
Notes to editors: For the May 2026 licensing announcement, see https://bernews.com/2026/05/walkers-supports-verdant-rock-licensing/
Hashtag: #VerdantRock
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Verdant Rock Limited is a Bermuda-based insurance company, regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, providing Basel III and Solvency II compliant financial guarantees in emerging markets, designed to qualify as eligible credit protection under Basel and major insurance solvency regimes, for the benefit of institutions globally.
The latest response includes curbs on bulk diesel purchases at retail outlets, a willingness to let the fiscal deficit widen beyond the Budget target, and measures to pull in overseas capital as policymakers try to contain pressure on inflation, subsidies and the balance of payments. The measures mark a sharp shift from the calmer macroeconomic backdrop at the start of the financial year, when lower inflation and steady growth had given authorities room to focus on consolidation.
Retail fuel outlets run by public sector oil marketing companies have been told to cap high-speed diesel sales at 200 litres per customer or vehicle per day. The restriction, planned for up to 90 days, is aimed at preventing hoarding and stopping commercial users from shifting large purchases to retail pumps, where prices are lower than bulk supply rates. Diesel bought from retail outlets cannot be resold, and dealers have been asked to ensure that sales go directly into vehicle tanks or approved containers.
The decision followed a surge in purchases from retail pumps after the conflict in West Asia widened the gap between retail and bulk diesel prices. Trucking firms, contractors and other commercial users have sought cheaper supplies, adding pressure on state-run fuel retailers that already carry most of the retail burden. Diesel accounts for a large share of transport and farm fuel demand, making any disruption politically sensitive as the kharif sowing season approaches.
The fiscal impact is becoming harder to ignore. The Budget had set the fiscal deficit target for 2026-27 at 4.3% of gross domestic product, after 4.4% in the revised estimate for 2025-26. Officials are now prepared to tolerate a higher deficit, potentially around 4.8% of GDP, if subsidy costs and energy-related spending rise further. Fertiliser subsidies are also expected to climb as global input costs move up, while fuel-related tax and pricing decisions could reduce revenue flexibility.
Spending cuts across ministries are being examined, though the Centre is likely to avoid sharp reductions in capital expenditure unless market conditions deteriorate further. Infrastructure spending has been one of the main pillars of growth in the past few years, and cutting it too deeply would risk weakening private investment at a time when companies are already facing higher transport and raw material costs.
The rupee has become the other pressure point. It strengthened on Friday after Brent crude fell below $90 a barrel on hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough, but the currency remains vulnerable to oil spikes because India depends heavily on imported crude. The Reserve Bank of India has introduced measures to attract dollar inflows, including support for foreign currency deposits and lower-cost hedging routes for overseas borrowing by state-run companies. Large lenders are preparing dollar bond issues, and banks expect a stronger push to tap non-resident deposits over the coming months.
Inflation has also started to reflect the shock. Retail inflation rose to 3.93% in May from 3.48% in April, with food and fuel costs moving higher. The reading remains close to the central bank’s 4% target, but the risk is that higher diesel prices feed into freight, farm operations and food distribution. Any weak monsoon spell linked to El Niño conditions would add another layer of pressure.
Greenlogue/AP Climate stress is tightening its grip on vulnerable communities across the Middle East and North Africa, where water scarcity, conflict, weak public services and economic pressure are combining to narrow the choices available to millions of people. The region’s exposure is no longer defined by heat and drought alone. Families in fragile rural districts, informal urban settlements, refugee camps and conflict-affected towns are being pushed into […]
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority has said the Strait of Hormuz will be “completely closed” to transit traffic, escalating fears of a wider maritime disruption at the world’s most sensitive energy chokepoint as tensions involving US military operations intensify. The notice, issued through a post on X, cited “aggressive US forces” and an announcement by the IR Armed Forces as grounds for the planned closure. It told […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran could sign a peace agreement as early as this weekend to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran pushed back against his claim, saying no final decision had been made on any settlement. The competing statements left diplomacy in a delicate phase on Friday, with Washington presenting the outline of a breakthrough while Iran […]
Hashtag: #Kaopiz #QuantumTX #MOU #StrategicPartnership #SoftwareDevelopment #VietnamSingaporeTechConnect #AIHealthcare
https://kaopiz.com/en/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/kaopiz/
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
QuantumTX is a Singapore-based health technology company specializing in stress-free muscle activation devices backed by rigorous scientific R&D and clinical research. Its flagship MitoCharge technology activates muscle-mitochondria pathways to deliver physiological benefits equivalent to exercise, without physical exertion – designed specifically for aging populations, rehabilitation patients, and preventive health consumers. QuantumTX is committed to making healthy aging accessible and scalable across global markets.
Kaopiz is a global IT outsourcing and software development company with 12 years of experience and a core development center in Vietnam. With 1,000+ highly skilled engineers across software development, IoT solutions, AI integration, Cloud computing, Data engineering, and digital transformation, Kaopiz serves major enterprises in Japan, Singapore, and international markets across healthcare, finance, education, logistics, and manufacturing sectors, and more.
Kaopiz’s Singapore office is located at 1 Raffles Place, One Raffles Place Tower 2.
Hashtag: #Expereo, #Network, #ArtificialIntelligence, #AI, #Technology, #AIInvestment
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Cybercriminals are using counterfeit AI learning material and developer guides to lure professionals into opening files that trigger a multi-stage malware chain ending in AsyncRAT, a remote access trojan capable of surveillance, data theft and covert system control. The campaign targets Windows users with archives and documents framed as useful resources for artificial intelligence adoption, coding and marketing. One lure was presented as a developer guide for […]
The project marks the company’s first new rare-earth refining facility since 2008 and comes as demand for high-performance magnets rises across electric vehicles, hard disk drives, robotics, wind power systems, defence equipment and advanced electronics. The investment is expected to exceed ¥35 billion, with ¥17.5 billion to be covered by government subsidy support, although the final cost and production schedule have not yet been fixed.
The new facility is intended to reinforce supplies for Shin-Etsu’s rare-earth magnet business and strengthen access to raw materials used in neodymium-based magnets. Heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium are particularly important because they improve magnet performance in high-temperature and high-stress applications, including vehicle motors and precision industrial systems.
Shin-Etsu already operates rare-earth refining facilities in Japan and has long been one of the country’s most important producers in the sector. Its rare-earth operations are centred in Fukui Prefecture, where it smelts materials and manufactures magnets at its plant in Echizen. The company says it works from raw materials through production to provide stable quality and supply, while also pursuing recycling and resource diversification.
The planned expansion reflects a broader shift in Japan’s industrial policy after months of tightening access to critical minerals. Chinese shipments of several heavy rare earths and gallium to Japan have been severely restricted since late 2025, heightening concerns among manufacturers that depend on these materials for magnets, semiconductors and other precision components. China continues to dominate mining, separation and refining capacity across the rare-earth value chain, giving Beijing considerable leverage over downstream industries.
Japan remains the largest rare-earth magnet producer outside China, but its manufacturers are still exposed to bottlenecks in the supply of heavy rare earths. The country has built stockpiles, backed overseas projects and encouraged recycling since the 2010 rare-earth shock, when diplomatic tensions with China exposed the risk of overdependence on one supplier. Those measures have improved resilience, but they have not removed the vulnerability.
The latest project is significant because it targets refining and processing rather than simply raw-material procurement. Mining deposits alone do not solve the supply challenge; rare earths require complex separation, purification and alloy processing before they can be turned into magnets. China’s advantage lies not only in reserves but also in decades of accumulated processing capacity, cost efficiency and industrial integration.
Shin-Etsu’s move also fits into a wider network of partnerships being pursued by Japan with Australia, France and the United States. Tokyo has backed alternative producers, supported offtake arrangements and encouraged private-sector investment in midstream processing. Australia-based Lynas has become a key non-China supplier, but output of heavy rare earths remains far below the volumes needed to replace Chinese supply in full.
The pressure is not limited to Japan. Manufacturers in the United States and Europe have faced similar supply uncertainty as export licensing delays affect rare earths used in aerospace, defence, clean energy and electronics. Companies exposed to the restrictions are searching for alternative suppliers, but industry executives warn that rebuilding a fully independent supply chain will take years.
For Shin-Etsu, the business case rests on both security and demand. Permanent magnets are central to electrification and digital infrastructure. Electric vehicles require compact, powerful motors; data centres and hard disk drives depend on precision magnetic components; wind turbines need high-strength magnets to improve efficiency. Demand growth has made the magnet supply chain a strategic concern for governments as well as manufacturers.
The company’s project is unlikely to eliminate Japan’s reliance on imported feedstock, especially for heavy rare earths where global non-China supply remains thin. It could, however, give domestic manufacturers greater control over processing, quality assurance and emergency production planning. That matters for customers in sectors where delivery delays can disrupt production lines and where material specifications are tightly controlled.
The government subsidy underscores how rare earths have moved from a specialist materials issue to a national industrial priority. Public support reduces the financial burden on companies undertaking technically demanding projects with long payback periods. It also signals that Tokyo is prepared to use industrial policy to keep strategic capabilities onshore.
GitHub has moved security scanning closer to the developer’s keyboard with a new Copilot CLI command that reviews code changes before they are committed, expanding the role of generative AI from code assistance into early-stage vulnerability detection. The /security-review slash command, introduced as an experimental public preview for GitHub Copilot CLI, allows developers to run an AI-driven security check inside the terminal. The feature is designed to […]
AI coding agents can be manipulated into running attacker-chosen code through ordinary-looking bug reports, exposing a fresh security gap in the fast-expanding market for autonomous software development tools. Tenet Security researchers have described a technique they call “agentjacking”, in which a hostile actor plants malicious instructions inside a fake software error report and waits for a coding agent to read it during routine debugging. The attack does […]
By T N Ashok By the time Narendra Modi crossed Jawaharlal Nehru’s record as India’s longest-serving elected Prime Minister in continuous office, the country’s political landscape had already begun to resemble a battlefield after a great storm. The old certainties have vanished. Alliances that appeared permanent are fraying. Regional satraps are calculating survival. Political parties […]
The article Rahul-Mamata Strategic Alliance Should Infuse Fresh Energy In INDIA Bloc appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).
Abu Dhabi’s L’IMAD Holding has deepened its grip on TAQA after its subsidiary Abu Dhabi Power Corporation bought a further 8.09 per cent stake in the listed power and water utility, lifting its holding to 98.12 per cent. The transaction, disclosed on Wednesday, involved the acquisition of 9.1 billion TAQA shares from Two Point Zero Group. Based on TAQA’s closing share price that day, the stake was […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai US forces struck military targets across Iran overnight, widening an air campaign that has pushed Washington and Tehran closer to open conflict as President Donald Trump warned that further attacks would follow unless a peace deal is secured. Central Command said the operation was completed about four hours after it began, shortly after midnight in Tehran, with strikes aimed at military surveillance assets, […]
SpaceX plans to begin testing artificial intelligence data centres in orbit by late 2027, accelerating Elon Musk’s push to turn the company’s satellite and launch network into a new layer of global computing infrastructure. The programme would move part of the AI computing race beyond land-based data centres, where power shortages, grid constraints, cooling costs and local opposition have become major obstacles for technology companies. The first […]
Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded its strongest monthly revenue since early 2024 as oil tankers turned increasingly to the Red Sea route after the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted Gulf energy flows. Revenue from the waterway reached about $419 million in April, up 27 per cent from a year earlier, supported by a sharp rise in tanker crossings and higher net tonnage. The canal handled […]
Apple has sharply narrowed software support for its smartwatch line, leaving the Apple Watch Series 8, first-generation Ultra, second-generation SE and several older models outside the watchOS 27 upgrade cycle as it shifts the platform towards artificial intelligence features and newer chipsets. The change means millions of users who bought relatively modern Apple Watches will remain on watchOS 26 unless they move to newer hardware. The supported […]
By K Raveendran Resolution of the US-Israel war with Iran now appears further away than at any point in the conflict, with the latest American strikes pushing global markets into a more unsettled phase. The US launch of retaliatory attacks on Iranian defence and radar systems after Washington accused Tehran of responsibility for the downing […]
The article India’s Fiscal Shield Comes Into Focus As Hormuz Crisis Darkens Outlook appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).
Dubai has moved to shorten the waiting time for tourist entry permits, with 30-day and 60-day single-entry visas now expected to be processed within 48 hours through approved channels, sharpening the emirate’s appeal as peak summer and year-end travel planning gathers pace. The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai has indicated that the service applies to single-entry tourist visas issued for visits of either […]
Somali football supporters have reacted with fury after World Cup referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was denied entry to the United States despite holding a valid visa, turning what had been celebrated as a landmark moment for Somali sport into a wider dispute over immigration policy and football’s global reach. Artan, regarded as one of Africa’s leading match officials, had been due to take part in the 2026 […]
Chinese investors shut out of SpaceX’s planned blockbuster share sale are turning to indirect routes, fuelling speculative demand for offshore vehicles, supplier stocks and domestic space-sector names as Elon Musk’s rocket company prepares for one of the largest market debuts on record. Underwriters handling the offering have been told not to accept orders from investors in mainland China and Hong Kong, with the restriction linked to US […]
Autonomous email agents are emerging as a fresh enterprise security risk after a laboratory test showed an OpenClaw-based assistant forwarding cloud credentials and business records in response to ordinary phishing-style messages. The controlled exercise centred on an AI agent named Pinchy, configured on the OpenClaw platform to monitor a Gmail inbox, process messages and perform tasks through connected workplace tools. The test environment used synthetic corporate material, […]
