As the UK gears up to make digital ID mandatory for all UK citizens, across the globe similar schemes already exist.

(RTTNews) – The U.K. market is up firmly in positive territory on Monday, supported by gains in pharma and mining stocks. Despite concerns of a looming U.S. government shutdown, the undertone in the UK market remains firm.

Authorities in Henan province, central China, have approved the merger of 82 small rural financial institutions into a single regional lender, in an effort to contain systemic risks in a region once at the centre of a major banking scandal.
Approved by the Henan office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), the consolidation will see Henan Rural Commercial Bank absorb institutions across nine cities including Kaifeng, Pingdingshan and Anyang, according to an official social…

The left-wing activist group Ford Foundation owns a chunk of Anthropic – a little-noticed connection that could prove problematic for the AI giant given signs of a widening rift with the Trump administration, The Post has learned.

Aurum Resources has nailed bonanza gold hits in infill diamond drilling at its Boundiali project in Cote d’Ivoire, including 1m assaying 152.35g/t gold.

(RTTNews) – The Singapore stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, giving up more than 35 points or 0.8 percent in that span. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,265-point plateau although it’s expected to open to the upside on Monday.

Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) king BYD expects exports to make up about 20 per cent of its global sales this year, spurred by improved logistics and new model launches.
The Shenzhen-based carmaker forecasts 800,000 to 1 million deliveries outside mainland China in 2025, compared with projected total sales of 4.6 million units, said Li Yunfei, the company’s general manager of branding and public relations.
“We estimate that the proportion of our overseas sales would hit 20 per cent this year,” he…

Oil prices have fallen from over $80 per barrel at the start of the year but have mostly traded in a narrow range of $60-$70 per barrel since OPEC began production increases in April.