Summary · why it matters
A senior Iranian official told Kyodo News that Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States begins preliminary steps to reduce military pressure, part of the Iranian government's stepped-up efforts to revive negotiations with Washington. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has increased crude oil exports through its Gulf coast ports after last week's attacks forced a halt to oil shipments through the East-West Pipeline, which links the eastern oil-producing region to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK will send one Voyager aerial refueling aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to support national defense missions, after Saudi Arabia faced an increase in attacks from the Houthi group. On the technology front, Alibaba Group announced a major strategic plan to train a new generation of artificial intelligence models with parameter sizes of up to 5 to 10 trillion, along with the launch of the latest-generation Zhenwu V900 AI chip and plans to expand data centers, to drive a comprehensive AI infrastructure strategy spanning models, processing chips, and cloud data centers. Meanwhile, a South Korean appellate court ruled to reduce the prison sentence of Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, to five years from the seven years handed down by the lower court, in a corruption case that included the selling of posts in state agencies. And Converse, a Nike-owned shoe brand, announced it is removing its controversial advertisement from all channels and issued a formal apology after facing intense criticism that elements of the image evoked the Ku Klux Klan.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
Nike Inc