Chad’s health authorities have confirmed that an acute waterborne health crisis has caused 13 deaths since the official public alerts were issued late last month. As per the latest surveillance data released by the Ministry of Public Health of Chad, epidemiological monitoring indicates that the cholera outbreak has resulted in 13 fatalities while the total number of confirmed and suspected cases across the country has risen to 239. These figures translate to a case fatality rate of 5.4 percent, markedly surpassing international standards for emergency outbreak response.
Business
On Friday, the European Commission completed a significant enlargement of the European Union’s flagship satellite communications infrastructure by finalizing a comprehensive deal with the SpaceRISE industrial consortium after months of negotiations. This newly signed implementation agreement marks the transition of the IRIS² program from the planning phase into full-scale industrial deployment, expanding the original satellite constellation to 348 spacecraft in order to bolster sovereignty, defense, and emergency response capabilities across member states.
South Korea’s record June current account surplus was powered by strong semiconductor exports. The cumulative current account surplus for the first half of the year reached $191.01 billion, setting a new record for any January to June period, compared to $47.87 billion during the same span last year. These figures highlight the remarkable export expansion during the initial half of the year, with semiconductors playing a significant role in boosting overseas sales. Exports of semiconductors soared by 196.9% compared to a year earlier, establishing chips as the leading contributor among major technology products.
Eurozone manufacturing output accelerated in July while new orders and exports stayed weak. According to the survey, the output index rose to 52.9 from 51.7, marking its peak since March 2022. While production growth outpaced overall manufacturing conditions, companies primarily relied on orders received in previous months. New order inflows saw only marginal growth and lagged behind production expansion, with export orders declining once again. The downturn in France, Spain, Italy, and Austria outweighed gains elsewhere within the currency area, meaning that July’s overall increase in factory output was largely supported by existing order backlogs. Factories worked through their unfinished work at the fastest pace since January, completing orders already in progress. This reduction in backlogs helped maintain production levels even as new orders remained subdued. During July, manufacturers also cut employment further, extending the ongoing trend of job reductions across the sector. Firms continued to carefully manage staffing levels amid limited order growth, while business confidence rose to its highest level since February. Nonetheless, overall sentiment remained below the long-term average among eurozone goods producers. Demand growth continues to lag behind production improvements Persistent exports remained a key obstacle to the manufacturing sector’s recovery. Several major eurozone economies reported a decline in foreign orders, and any gains in other markets were insufficient to compensate for these drops. Consequently, both domestic and export demand combined resulted in only a slight increase in total new work, contrasting with the more robust rise in output and the quicker reduction in outstanding orders
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / RankWire.AI / – The European Union has officially launched the Scaleup Europe Fund, setting a goal of raising €5 billion to support key technological firms. The European Commission finalized the legal steps necessary for the fund’s establishment on August 4, which placed it within the European Innovation Council Fund. Currently managed by EQT, the fund has the authority to make independent investments on market terms, with the European Commission expecting the first deployments of capital in the upcoming weeks. Efforts to raise additional funds will persist until the €5 billion target is achieved.
OECD achieves slowdown in inflation rates as energy costs decline. Headline inflation across OECD nations eased to 4.2% in June 2026 from 4.6% in May, marking the end of a streak of three consecutive monthly increases. The indicator measures annual consumer price changes within the member countries of the group. While inflation decreased in 20 economies, six saw an uptick, and the remaining 12 experienced stability or negligible change. Among these, nine OECD nations recorded inflation at or below 2%, with three countries reporting rates below 1%.
Although the UK economy continues to avoid a recession, new forecasts indicate mounting pressure from global energy disruptions. EY has increased its projection for 2026 growth to 0.9%, up from 0.8% in May, while keeping its baseline estimate for 2027 steady at 1.2%. This forecast presumes the Strait of Hormuz reopens by September with limited tanker activity. EY’s downside scenario suggests 0.5% growth for this year and a 0.2% contraction in 2027.
Travel
Dubai-headquartered airline flydubai unveiled a significant boost to its European flight offerings on Wednesday, aiming to tap into increasing international travel demand by adding more flights to major Italian gateways. The airline is enhancing its operations within Italy with more frequent flights to Milan-Bergamo and Naples, thereby strengthening direct air links between the United Arab Emirates and Southern Europe. Beginning July 31, 2026, flydubai will operate a double daily service connecting Dubai International Airport with Milan-Bergamo Airport, while also increasing its flights to Naples International Airport to a daily schedule.
Technology
This latest monetary ruling builds upon a previous $375 million jury award handed down in March 2026 during the initial phase of the state’s legal proceedings, where jurors concluded that Meta had violated New Mexico consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the safety features of its products for younger users. When combined, these two verdicts impose a total liability of $942 million on Meta, stemming from the state’s enforcement actions led by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, with the company now liable for the teen mental health fund. The court’s detailed remedial decree specifies that $420 million of the new funds will directly support clinical mental health treatment services for children across New Mexico, while the remaining amount is allocated for public education efforts, early screening initiatives, and community prevention programs over the next five years. Additionally, the ruling enforces strict operational mandates requiring Meta to set accounts belonging to users under 18 to private by default, limit daily engagement time, restrict notification pushes, and enhance screening mechanisms to combat child sexual abuse material.
During this week’s rollout, GPT-5.6 Luna will become the standard model for Free and Go account holders, with the feature of unlimited text chats and the Think button scheduled to launch the following week. The Think feature allows Luna extra time to process more challenging questions before delivering an answer. OpenAI clarified that the unlimited text access remains governed by abuse prevention measures. This change pertains specifically to text exchanges rather than all ChatGPT features, meaning that separate restrictions will continue for tools that demand additional processing power. This expansion aligns with ChatGPT’s extensive global user base that engages in a variety of daily and professional tasks, as ChatGPT now reaches an estimated one billion people weekly for activities like searches, planning, research, writing, and more. OpenAI introduced the GPT-5.6 series in July, which includes models Sol, Terra, and Luna, with Luna positioned as the fastest and most economical among them. The latest update centers Luna as the default experience for users on Free and Go plans, emphasizing its role as the primary model.
World Trade and Tech Day will put inclusive AI policy at the center of global trade talks. The event will commence with opening remarks from Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, followed by a ministerial dialogue exploring why artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant issue in trade policy. The program will also feature a keynote speech and a panel discussion involving private-sector representatives, with topics covering digital services, intellectual property rights, technical standards, and the contributions of developing economies to AI-related value chains. These sessions aim to connect technological policy considerations with the practical needs of cross-border trade operations.
EU AI Act rules bring new labels and disclosures for synthetic content across Europe. Providers operating systems that engage directly with users are mandated to inform them whenever they are interacting with AI. This notice is not necessary if the artificial origin of the interaction is obvious to a reasonably informed individual. Additionally, providers of systems that generate synthetic text, audio, images, or video must incorporate machine-readable markers that enable the detection of AI-generated or manipulated content, to the extent that this is technically feasible. The law clarifies that basic editing tools are exempt from this requirement when they do not significantly alter the input or its meaning. These technical marking responsibilities are distinguished from the visible disclosures that deployers must provide to their audiences. Deployers are required to identify deepfake images, audio, and video when there is a risk that the material could be mistaken for authentic. Furthermore, they must label AI-generated texts published for public awareness on issues of public interest. The rule regarding textual disclosures does not apply if a human review or editorial oversight is in place, where a person or organization assumes editorial responsibility. The law insists that this information be communicated clearly, distinctly, and accessibly to users. Distinguishing machine marking from public disclosures Article 50 also includes provisions for systems employing emotion recognition and biometric categorization, which necessitate notices to be shown to individuals when they are first exposed or interacting with such technology. Disclosures must be visible and explicit at the initial contact. To protect artistic, creative, satirical, or fictional
Crowds lined up outside a flagship Apple store with an Apple banner hanging. (Credit – Apple) This change in valuation reflects broader adjustments across international financial markets, as institutional managers reassess their capital commitments related to artificial intelligence infrastructure. While hyperscale computing companies such as Alphabet and Tesla accelerated investments into data centers, robotics, and autonomous transportation networks, Apple continued to exercise disciplined expenditure controls over several fiscal quarters. Investors increasingly see Apple’s cautious spending as a strategic operational advantage, enabling the company to expand its proprietary Apple Intelligence software ecosystem without bearing significant infrastructure depreciation costs. Trading activity across major stock indices revealed differing market sentiments between hardware component suppliers and consumer tech platforms. Nvidia shares faced increased selling pressure alongside broader declines in semiconductor stocks, as investors questioned the timeline for returns on the large-scale investments in artificial intelligence data centers. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index experienced notable weekly drops as market participants reevaluated the high valuation multiples assigned to pure-play chipmakers. Although demand for graphics processing units remains strong, concerns about energy supply limitations, macroeconomic interest rate trajectories, and the heavy capital expenditure associated with semiconductor manufacturing influenced stock prices negatively. Semiconductor Sector Decline Impacts Pure-Play Computing Stocks Meanwhile, Apple benefited from sustained investor interest in high-margin software services and the integration of its consumer device ecosystem. Institutional options positioning indicated bullish expectations ahead of the company’s upcoming quarterly earnings report, with shares reaching record intraday levels near $339.57. Financial analysts highlighted that capital rotation favored companies with stable cash flows, recurring revenue streams