Daily Buzz: 30 June 2025

UN watchdog says Iran's nuclear capacity not destroyed

Iran has the capacity to start enriching uranium again for a possible bomb in "a matter of months," according to Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. He told the US news network CBS that US bombing of Iran nuclear sites caused severe but not total damage, muddying US President Donald Trump's claims that US strikes "obliterated" Iran's ability to enrich uranium to bomb grade.

Separately, Trump denied "ridiculous" US media reports that he is considering a deal with Iran that would halt Iranian uranium enrichment in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and would allow Iran to receive assistance from neighbors in building a civilian nuclear program.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, said on Sunday that his nation's uranium enrichment "will never stop" and is non-negotiable because it is permitted for "peaceful energy" purposes under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

China denounces tariff-deal pressure

China said it rejects any trade deals with US that compromise its interests and warned of retaliation if targeted by new US tariffs. The comments follow reports that the US is pressuring trading partners to strike agreements before a 90-day suspension of "reciprocal tariffs" ends on July 9. For countries that don't comply, the US has threatened to impose unilateral tariffs. China's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday called the policy "unilateral bullying" that undermines global trade norms. It reaffirmed China's commitment to fair trade and multilateral rules, while opposing what it sees as coercive tactics.

China conditionally resumes Japan seafood imports

China resumed imports of aquatic products from specified regions of Japan, lifting a ban it imposed in 2023 after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. Imports from 10 prefectures, including Tokyo and Fukushima, will continue to be banned. China's General Administration of Customs said the partial lifting of the ban is based on the understanding that "international monitoring of wastewater discharge and independent sampling inspections by Chinese authorities show no abnormalities."

War and wedding: a weekend of demonstrations

It was a weekend of demonstrations around the world protesting Israeli bombings and the war in Gaza to an ostentatious wedding in Venice.

In Iran, thousands turned out on the streets of Tehran in a day of mourning over the deaths of top military leaders and nuclear scientists killed by Israel bombs. Carrying Iranian flags, people shouted chants denouncing Israel and the US.

In Israel, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war in Gaza and the release of 49 hostages still held there.

In Italy, hundreds turned out in Venice to protest the lavish €42 million wedding of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, one of the world's richest men, and former journalist Lauren Sanchez, which stretched over three days and involved 200 celebrity guests. Protesters said the event isn't the kind of conspicuous consumption the canal city should be encouraging.

In Serbia, police clashed with anti-government protesters demanding elections and the end of the 12-year rule of President Aleksandar Vucic.

In Hungary, tens of thousands of people waving rainbow flags defied a ban by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and marched through Budapest in a pro-LGBTQ+ rally.

In Thailand, hundreds of protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatras amid anger over a border row with Cambodia. She has been struggling to keep her fragile parliamentary coalition from splitting apart.

And in the US, a coalition of environmental activists and Native American advocates converged in the Florida Everglades to protest the construction of an immigrant detention facility nearby.

Top Business

Rare earth firm denies rumors

China Rare Earth Group rebutted speculation about leadership instability at its listed subsidiary, calling recent executive changes routine and unrelated to company performance. In a statement issued on Sunday, the state-owned firm said adjustments to the roles of some directors and senior executives at China Rare Earth Resources & Technology were normal personnel moves aimed at improving governance and management efficiency. Operations remain unaffected, it added. The clarification comes amid sector-wide restructuring efforts driven by Beijing's push to centralize oversight of rare earth resources that are vital to industrial production.

New World gets refinancing deal

Hong Kong property giant New World Development won commitment from all its creditors to refinance HK$87.5 billion of debt (US$11 billion), staving off a default that many feared would disrupt the city's property market. New World's announcement that it hit its 2025 sales target of HK$26 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30 helped push the rescue package over the line by the Monday deadline.

AI talent poaching, big-style

Facebook chief Mark Zukerberg has spent months compiling a list of top artificial engineers and researchers from around the world and plans to poach some of them with pay packages worth up to US$100 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Economy & Markets

HK, mainland exchanges host wave of IPOs

Hong Kong led the world in initial public offerings by value in the first half of the year, with 40 companies raising HK$102 billion (US$13 billion.) The top five share sales were battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, Haitian Flavoring & Food, Sanhua Intelligent Controls and bubble tea chain Mixue, according to professional services firm Deloitte.

Mainland exchanges also reported a wave of IPOs, with 44 new Class-A share listings that raised 37 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion). In the same six-month period, 36 Chinese companies went public in the US, raising US$869 million.

Shanghai welcomes surge in foreign tourists

Inbound foreign tourists to Shanghai in the first five months surged 55 percent from a year earlier to 2.5 million, led by visitors from South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Visitors from the US totaled 186,000. China has introduced visa-free entry for short-stay visits by nationals from scores of countries. Shanghai has built upon that policy by upgrading payments systems and multilingual services to make foreign visits easier.

New gold vault

The Shanghai Gold Exchange opened its first offshore warehouse in Hong Kong to bolster international trading of its contracts. The vault is operated by the Bank of China's Hong Kong branch.

Corporate

Baidu to make Ernie open source

Chinese technology giant Baidu said it will make its Ernie generative AI large-language model open source, beginning today, in what could be another "DeepSeek moment" in lowering the costs of artificial intelligence. The move is a direct challenge the proprietary, high-cost business models of Western leaders like OpenAI. "This isn't just a China story. Every time a major lab open-sources a powerful model, it raises the bar for the entire industry," Sean Ren, associate professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, told CNBC.

Hikvision protests Canada ban

Hikvision, a Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer, strongly objected to Canada's order to cease operations in the country within 120 days on security concerns, calling the decision unfounded and discriminatory. Hikvision said the move lacks factual basis, procedural fairness and transparency, and appears driven by the company's Chinese ownership rather than any cybersecurity risk. The company emphasized that since its launch in Canada in 2014, it has supported the local economy, complied with all laws and provided products meeting strict security standards. The Chinese Embassy in Canada warned that implementation of the order could disrupt trade ties.

Alibaba touts new stomach-cancer detector

Alibaba Group released what it called the world's first artificial intelligence model to detect stomach cancer, even in early stages. A research paper on the breakthrough, authored by co-developers Alibaba's Damo Academy and the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, was published in Nature Medicine. The model operates by analyzing three-dimensional CT scans and could eliminate the endoscopy detection method that many people find too intrusive.

Separately, Alibaba trimmed the membership on a corporate governance body for e-commerce and artificial intelligence to 17 from 26 to focus on younger leaders and a return to the company's original start-up mindset. Among the veterans leaving the body are Alibaba co-founders Daniel Zhang Yong, Trudy Dai Shan and Lucy Peng Lei.

Airbus to strengthen China supply chains

France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus will increase supply-chain partnerships in China, according to George Xu, head of China operations. He said lapses in supply chains have led to delays in aircraft deliveries, which have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Some 2,000 Airbus planes are now in service in China, the largest single market for Airbus.

PipeChina announced completion of gas pipeline

PipeChina, the group overseeing the nation' pipeline system carrying gas from western regions and Central Asia to eastern provinces, said its fourth pipeline in the project became fully operational with the completion of the 1,162-kilomter Gansu-Ningxia section. The pipeline has an annual capacity to carry 15 billion cubic meters of gas.