Thursday, June 25, 2026

World

Twin Major Earthquakes Devastate Venezuela's Capital Caracas

Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in rapid succession, collapsing buildings across Caracas and causing widespread casualties. The quakes — magnitudes 7.5 and 7.2 — rank among the largest in Venezuelan history, with the US Geological Survey warning that high casualties are probable. The worst destruction has centered on the Altamira district of Caracas, where rescuers are still pulling people from rubble.

MarketWill Nicolás Maduro be the leader of Venezuela end of 2026?78%

Politics

Trump Requests $87.6bn From Congress for Iran War

The White House has asked Congress for $87.6 billion in emergency spending, the bulk of it to cover costs of the ongoing US military campaign against Iran. The request arrives in a hostile climate: Congress voted just the day before to rebuke Trump's war powers, and a lunch between Trump and Republican lawmakers reportedly descended into a shouting match. Trump has separately pressured NATO allies — singling out the UK — for failing to contribute meaningfully to the Iran effort.

MarketWill the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?14%

Tech

Qualcomm Acquires Modular for $3.92 Billion to Challenge Nvidia

Qualcomm has agreed to buy Modular — the AI startup behind the Mojo programming language and MAX inference engine — for $3.92 billion, a direct move to dismantle Nvidia's grip on AI software through the CUDA ecosystem. The deal pairs Modular's portable AI software stack with Qualcomm's new Dragonfly data center hardware, including its C1000 CPU and AI accelerators. It is one of the largest bets yet that the AI industry's next battleground is the software layer beneath the model, not the model itself.

MarketWill Viking Therapeutics be acquired before 2027?36%

World

Russia Jails Opposition Leader Over Anti-War Social Media Posts

A Russian opposition leader has been sentenced to prison for anti-war content posted on social media, the latest in a string of prosecutions targeting domestic critics of the Iran conflict. The case underscores the Kremlin's accelerating crackdown on public dissent as the war continues to draw international attention.

MarketWill United Russia (ER) gain the most seats in the next Russian parliamentary election?60%

Tech

Europe Pushes Back Against US Chip Export Restrictions

European governments and semiconductor firms are mounting resistance to Washington's expanding chip war, with the proposed US MATCH Act threatening to ban exports of older deep ultraviolet lithography tools that China is still legally permitted to buy. ASML, the Dutch firm that holds a global monopoly on the most advanced chip-making equipment, would be among the hardest hit — its CEO has noted the tools at risk are decade-old DUV machines, not cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet gear. The standoff puts the EU in an increasingly uncomfortable position between its US alliance commitments and its own industrial interests.