HERE WE GO AGAIN: Vance Seeks Direct Talks with Iran

 

El-Sayed Wastes No Time; Hamas' Own Data Debunks 'Genocide' Claims; The Two Jobs Trump Needs to Complete

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Vance Seeks Direct Talks with Iran Read Now Saudis Must Pay $51 Billion to Stop Attacks on its Country Read Now WATCH: El-Sayed Wastes No Time Attacking Israel Watch Now BYE BYE BIBI? Liberman Open to Deal with Ultra-Orthodox Parties Read Now White House denies Hegseth and Rubio to leave jobs after Republican election losses The White House has denied rumours that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio might leave their jobs in a post-election shakeup of the Trump administration. US media have reported there are calls to replace Hegseth - in particular over his handling of the Iran war, which is being blamed for heavy Republican election losses. One outgoing congressional Republican has threatened to force an impeachment vote against Hegseth as early as next week. The defense secretary posted a video statement defending his record and denouncing the effort. "You see, they attack me. They attack us because we are effective," he said. "It's not going to work. We will not back down." FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqg7xxg4jdv5o Major tech stocks plunge as US midterms add to fears of AI slowdown Hundreds of billions of dollars in market value has been wiped from major tech firms in the US and Asia in a stock market rout after the US midterm elections sparked concerns of a slowdown in artificial intelligence development. Shares in firms across the tech and AI sectors plummeted following Democratic wins after election campaigns run on slowing AI. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed down by more than 5.5%, losing an estimated $2.5tn (£1.9tn) in market value, according to Dow Jones data, while other key US stock indexes also saw big losses in their worst days since 2025. The sell-off comes on top of broader concerns about whether the huge amounts being spent on AI will pay off. In Asia, tech-heavy indexes fell sharply on Friday morning as firms that make the computer chips and other equipment that power AI saw their shares slide. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was 6% lower in early trading as shares in memory chip maker Kioxia lost over 12.6% and rival Tokyo Electron slipped by 9.5%. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fell by more than 11.5%, while Samsung was down by nearly 10%. The sell-off in Seoul sent the Kospi index plunging more than 8.5%, triggering a so-called circuit breaker, a mechanism that temporarily halts trading to curb panic selling. Taiwan's Taiex dropped by more than 8.3%, with chipmaking giant TSMC falling by nearly 8.5%. It marks a "continuation of worries" over the level of spending on AI infrastructure, said MarketWatch chips analyst Britney Nguyen. FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmn04705rd8jo