We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese archaeologist who discovered 5,000-year-old city pleads guilty to corruption Liu Bin, a Chinese archaeologist credited with discovering a vast 5,000-year-old prehistoric city that rewrote the history of ...
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese archaeologist who discovered 5,000-year-old city pleads guilty to corruption Liu Bin, a Chinese archaeologist credited with discovering a vast 5,000-year-old prehistoric city that rewrote the history of Chinese civilisation, has pleaded guilty to taking bribes and embezzlement. 2. Chip prodigy Da Bo...
China has chosen a new state investment company to help coordinate its overseas metals and mining deals, and counter mounting geopolitical risks that threaten its ability to secure resources, according to people familiar with the matter. The National Development and Reform Commission, the government’s economic planning agency, will take the lead on strengthening oversight of investment decisions, ...
China has chosen a new state investment company to help coordinate its overseas metals and mining deals, and counter mounting geopolitical risks that threaten its ability to secure resources, according to people familiar with the matter. The National Development and Reform Commission, the government’s economic planning agency, will take the lead on strengthening oversight of investment decisions, the people said, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. State-owned Guangyan International Investment Co. will offer support on compliance and financing, as well as industrywide planning of outbound deals. Guangyan, established in 2024 with registered capital of 60 billion yuan ($8.9 billion), will be able to co-invest in overseas projects alongside Chinese firms, the people said. The little-known company is majority owned by state minerals giant China Minmetals Corp., according to registry database Qichacha. Beijing told a number of major companies at a meeting last month they’ll receive backing for overseas investments from government bodies, the people said. At the same time, smaller firms would face stricter controls given their weaker capacity to tackle political risks and operational challenges abroad. The companies that attended the meeting included the nation’s largest copper and gold miner, Zijin Mining Group Co. , and China Baowu Steel Group Corp. , its biggest steelmaker. China is the largest global consumer of materials from battery minerals to precious and industrial metals. Contact details for Guangyan weren’t immediately available. The NDRC, Minmetals, Zijin and Baowu didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments. National Champions Beijing has a history of picking national champions to strengthen its clout in overseas markets. The new approach demonstrates the government’s willingness to take a central role in dealing with increased protectionism and the tussle for control of natural resources around the world. China i...
White Girls Raped By Dogs, Whisky Bottles, & 100s Of Men: Britain's Migrant Grooming-Gang Scandal Exposed Via Remix News, Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe used a Westminster Hall debate on Monday to confront MPs with harrowing testimony from White girls and women who were raped, tortured, trafficked, and degraded by migrant grooming gangs, and abandoned by the very authorities that should have p...
White Girls Raped By Dogs, Whisky Bottles, & 100s Of Men: Britain's Migrant Grooming-Gang Scandal Exposed Via Remix News, Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe used a Westminster Hall debate on Monday to confront MPs with harrowing testimony from White girls and women who were raped, tortured, trafficked, and degraded by migrant grooming gangs, and abandoned by the very authorities that should have protected them. The debate was secured after 260,974 Brits signed a petition calling for Parliament to address the rape gang scandal. Lowe opened by thanking the signatories and welcoming survivors who were sitting in the hall, saying the debate was not about politics, but about them. “I want the world to hear what we heard during the two weeks of our independent rape gang inquiry hearings, an inquiry that should never have needed to happen,” Lowe said. He then read out a series of graphic testimonies that exposed the scale of the abuse suffered by almost exclusively White girls. One survivor said she was only “about 12, nearly 13” when a man raped her before forcing an empty Jack Daniel’s bottle inside her and breaking the glass. Another described being held down by groups of men as they took turns to rape her, before beating her and threatening to kill her and harm her loved ones if she ever spoke out. I want the world to hear what we heard. pic.twitter.com/2DtCS0QztE — Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) June 1, 2026 Lowe told MPs that the evidence heard by his inquiry included repeated allegations that White British girls were deliberately targeted. One survivor said abusers made constant references to “White girls” and “Christian girls,” claiming they had “fewer morals or lower values,” while Muslim girls were described as having “dignity and higher moral standing.” Another alleged victim said race “did play a part” in the selection of victims, adding that the girls she encountered during her exploitation were “almost exclusively White.” The testimony also included claims th...
Meta Platforms Inc. secured a partial victory in its bid to exempt certain services from the scope of strict European Union digital rules after a court said regulators made several legal errors when deciding what to target. Judges at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg ruled on Wednesday that the European Commission ’s designation of its classified ads business Marketplace was wrong, but also sai...
Meta Platforms Inc. secured a partial victory in its bid to exempt certain services from the scope of strict European Union digital rules after a court said regulators made several legal errors when deciding what to target. Judges at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg ruled on Wednesday that the European Commission ’s designation of its classified ads business Marketplace was wrong, but also said the Messenger service should be targeted by the Digital Markets Act. “The General Court of the European Union annuls the decision designating Meta as a gatekeeper as regards Marketplace, while maintaining Meta’s designation for its interpersonal communications service Messenger,” the court said. Judges added that in the EU commission’s designation of Marketplace, the watchdog relied on partial evidence and on a “hypothetical and incomplete” analysis. Facebook’s Marketplace was previously hit in 2024 with a €798 million ($927 million) penalty for breaching the bloc’s traditional competition rules. The DMA came into effect in 2023 and is designed to clip the wings of the world’s largest technology platforms with a list of measures designed to change behavior. But over recent months, the law has also drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump and plagued EU-US trade talk progress. Apple Inc. and Meta have been the first recipients of financial penalties for allegedly breaching the law, with fines of €500 million and €200 million respectively.
wdstock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The Market Just Realized a Mistake The software sector has bounced significantly, driven by robust corporate earnings. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( IGV ) jumped more than 6% last Friday and has rallied 40% from the April 10th low. I've been bullish on software stocks despite the SaaSpocalypse fear because I believed many SaaS companies w...
wdstock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The Market Just Realized a Mistake The software sector has bounced significantly, driven by robust corporate earnings. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( IGV ) jumped more than 6% last Friday and has rallied 40% from the April 10th low. I've been bullish on software stocks despite the SaaSpocalypse fear because I believed many SaaS companies would adapt to agentic AI and survive, ultimately driving stronger growth. Salesforce, Inc. ( CRM ) ( CRM:CA ) is one of them. However, the stock was deeply oversold and trading at a distressed valuation. In my opinion, this created a contrarian opportunity, so I upgraded the stock to Strong Buy in April. Investors overlooked CRM's data moat, which will be a key competitive advantage. The company has built a large-scale enterprise database across various industries for decades. CRM just released its 4Q FY2026 earnings. The initial market reaction was negative despite a double beat and raised revenue guidance. Even a $25 billion stock buyback failed to boost the sentiment. A few days later, the market realized it was a mistake. CRM jumped significantly. You might argue that it was driven by short covering, but there is no doubt that CRM is gaining strong AI adoptions, particularly from the Agentforce 360 ecosystem. So I reiterated my Strong Buy and expect the stock's recent rally is still in its early innings. Data is the King SaaS companies that can use their data and monetize it through agentic AI are likely doing better than others. For CRM, we see revenue from the Agentforce 360 platform has been accelerating significantly since 2H FY2026. The platform ARR was up 200% YoY to $2.7 billion in 4Q FY2026. In 1Q FY2027, Agentforce and Data 360 ARR jumped 26% sequentially to $3.4 billion. More than half of these bookings came from existing customers, showing strong retention. AI Growth Remains Strong, but Still Early The company model CRM has consistently maintained the rule of...
Antonio_Diaz/iStock via Getty Images Marti Technologies, Inc. ( MRT ) released 1Q26 results . The results show improved operations, mainly via the growth of riders and customers, and a little from inflation in the country (faster than depreciation against the USD). The results also improve on operational leverage, opening the space for potentially adjusted EBITDA breakeven this year. In the meanti...
Antonio_Diaz/iStock via Getty Images Marti Technologies, Inc. ( MRT ) released 1Q26 results . The results show improved operations, mainly via the growth of riders and customers, and a little from inflation in the country (faster than depreciation against the USD). The results also improve on operational leverage, opening the space for potentially adjusted EBITDA breakeven this year. In the meantime, though, the name remains highly risky. It has very little cash (barely a quarter of negative CFO at current levels), it remains highly levered, and it still faces competitive and legal challenges in Turkiye. For these reasons, I believe the name is a Hold. Business Intro Marti operates a ride-sharing and delivery platform in Türkiye. The company offers car and motorcycle ridesharing and delivery, along with a (decreasing) electric bike and bicycle rental business in the country. The company's ride-hailing services are expanding rapidly, as we will see in the results section, but they remain somewhat controversial in the country. Ride-hailing in Türkiye is not entirely legal nor illegal yet. For example, Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER ) only dispatches regular taxis . Marti's ride-hailing services have been contested by Istanbul , the country's capital, and the company cites a lawsuit against it that has not yet been resolved as of 1Q26, arguing that its ride-hailing services should not be allowed ( 20-F under Legal Proceedings). 1Q26 Results Despite the above comments about its legal status, the company's ride-hailing services are expanding rapidly, and they comprise the bulk of the improvement in the company's results. According to the release, the number of customers grew 89%, the number of riders 70%, and the number of trips 93%. The company's revenues grew even more than this, by 156%. A big part of the reason for the difference in this has been the conversion to USD of the company's results from the Turkish lira. The Turkish lira has inflated significantly, with in...