A deepened tech sell-off drags Asian stocks lower as markets in South Korea and Japan sink

Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans’ needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken Paxton James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with several undecided voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening. One voter, a devout small business owner, questioned the authenticity of Talarico’s faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary.

Iran must be prepared for war even as it negotiates with the U.S., the country's parliament speaker said Wednesday. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a televised speech that his country's main concern is preventing the U.S. from attacking again. But, he added, a signed agreement with Washington is no guarantee. "They break their promises," said Qalibaf. As a result, Iran must be prepared to fight "against a bullying enemy," and "we must truly fight courageously on the battlefield."

Congress approves constitutional amendment that bans six-day workweeks, which could effect up to 30 million Brazil’s congress has approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that will hand a political victory to the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff in under two weeks. In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment,…

The war in Ukraine has continued to rage in the days after President Donald Trump declared an energy ceasefire there, with Russia targeting civilian and energy infrastructure as the U.S. applies pressure on Kyiv to halt attacks on oil refineries in Russia, which Trump says are to blame for the high price of diesel fuel. As the president's announcement of a partial ceasefire Sunday -- covering energy infrastructure in both countries -- failed to yield any limits to the fighting, he continued to apply public pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.