Iran Talks Advance, South Korea Heat Crisis Escalates

Moonshot AI released the complete weights of Kimi K3, a 2.8 trillion parameter mixture-of-experts model, on HuggingFace on July 27. Supports 1 million token context and available for free download under Modified MIT license.

According to WSJ, Nvidia is in negotiations to provide approximately $250 billion in financial guarantees enabling OpenAI to lease SoftBank's 10-gigawatt data center under construction in Ohio.

Meta's H1 2026 Integrity Report states 344,000 AI nudification app ads were removed from Facebook and Instagram between November 2025 and January 2026, with takedown notices sent to 46 operators.

On July 27, the Kospi index closed at 6755.75, up 65.13 points (0.97%) from the previous trading day. The Kosdaq index also rose 16.64 points (2.22%) to 764.86.

The Federal Reserve's policy committee opened its July 28-29 meeting. The benchmark rate is expected to remain at 3.5-3.75% with the decision announced July 29 at 2 PM ET under Chair Warsh.

Exports for July 1-20 totaled $54.9 billion, a 52.3% increase year-on-year and the highest July figure on record. Semiconductor exports surged 180.6% to $22.1 billion, comprising 40.3% of total exports.

Hanwha Ocean reported 2Q 2026 consolidated operating profit of 736.1 billion won and revenue of 5.44 trillion won. Operating profit rose 98% year-on-year on expanded orders of high-value LNG carriers.

Hyundai Mobis reported 2Q 2026 revenue of 16.32 trillion won and operating profit of 975.2 billion won on a provisional basis. Revenue increased 2.4% and operating profit rose 12.1% year-on-year.

SK Hynix will report 2Q 2026 results on July 29. Securities analysts forecast operating profit of 64 trillion won with operating margin exceeding 75%, citing expanded HBM and enterprise SSD demand.

President Lee Jae-myung held a bilateral summit with Brazilian President Lula at Palácio da Alvorada in Brasília on July 27 and declared the two nations' relationship entering a 'historic year for strategic partnership advancement.'

At the Lee-Lula summit, both nations signed 6 memoranda of understanding on space, energy, and industrial cooperation, plus 1 cooperation agreement.

The People Power Party maintained total refusal to participate in standing committees in response to the Democratic Party's unilateral election of 11 committee chairs, raising concerns about parliamentary paralysis in the July session.

The Trump administration implemented new 10-12.5% tariffs on 60 nations including the EU, China, UK, and Canada, replacing existing tariffs that expired July 24.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety escalated the heatwave disaster alert to critical level as of 3 PM on July 27 and activated the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters led by the minister.

The KDCA reports cumulative heat illness cases reached 1,399 with 8 deaths this summer. Cases surged more than fourfold daily following the monsoon, with seniors 65 and older comprising 30% of patients.

A 96-year-old woman collapsed and died from heatstroke while working in fields in Jeollabuk-do on July 27. This marks the province's first heatstroke death of the summer, bringing Jeollabuk-do's cumulative heat illness cases to 97.

Simultaneous wildfires near Bordeaux, France and Madrid, Spain forced over 300,000 evacuations. President Macron convened emergency cabinet meetings as authorities warned fire suppression could take months.

A 'pyrocumulonimbus' phenomenon, described by authorities as unprecedented in France, was observed in the Bordeaux wildfire. Approximately 250,000 people evacuated in France and 75,000 in Spain.

The Brahmaputra River overflowed in India's Assam state due to heavy rains, killing 68 people and affecting 600,000. Approximately 900 villages were submerged with helicopter-assisted relief operations underway.

Cambridge University researchers published direct evidence in Nature showing that identical carcinogens produce different tumor development patterns depending on genetic background in mouse studies.

The FDA approved Otsuka's centanafadine (Symtario) on July 24 for ADHD in patients 6 and older. As a triple norepinephrine-dopamine-serotonin reuptake inhibitor, it is the first approval in this drug class.

A Lancet Public Health analysis of 186 countries found 90% overuse resistance-inducing antibiotics. India prescribes at 9.3 DID compared to the recommended 6 DID benchmark.

The US and Iran suspended air strikes for the third consecutive day as Oman-mediated ship transit negotiations through the Strait of Hormuz progressed, according to Iranian officials. Trump stated 'good conversations are happening.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed General Aleksandr Syrsky as commander-in-chief following Defense Minister Fedorov's recent removal amid ongoing domestic public protests.

President Zelenskyy stated Russia is preparing to deploy an additional 30,000 North Korean troops in the Voronezh region. An estimated 14,000 North Korean combat troops and 6,000 military engineers have been deployed to Russia to date.

DAY6 member Young K made a solo comeback with second studio album 'Youngest' after approximately 2 years 10 months. The album contains 15 tracks with title track 'Shut The Door.'

Coed group KARD released their first full-length album 'Where To Now? (Part.2): NOWHERE' on July 28 at 6 PM, their first studio album nearly a decade after their 2017 debut.

Korean comedy film 'Wild Sing' starring Kang Dong-won, Eom Tae-goo, and Park Ji-hyun launches globally on Netflix July 30, depicting a defunct coed group's reunion 20 years later.

Lotte Giants defeated KT Wiz 15-1 in KBO play on July 26. Victor Reyes hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

On July 26, Hanwha Eagles defeated LG Twins 14-4 while Samsung Lions lost to Doosan Bears 7-0 in a shutout. The NC-SSG game ended in a 5-5 tie after 11 innings.

BYD released official exterior images of the 2027 Seal 06, revealing a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor and 240kW motor option. Battery capacity and official driving range remain undisclosed.

UK-based Vertical Aerospace completed the world's first public eVTOL transition flight at Farnborough International Airshow. The four-seat Valo aircraft successfully transitioned from helicopter to fixed-wing flight mode.

Elon Musk stated Tesla Semi full self-driving will be completed by 'year-end or early 2027' during Q2 earnings. Reports indicate Semi autonomous development has been deprioritized for the next 6 months.

KB Kookmin Bank's July national housing price report shows Hwaseong Dongtan-gu apartment prices surged 6.25% month-on-month, the highest appreciation rate on record. Seoul rose 1.05%.

Following Dongtan's designation as a speculative overheating zone, price increases spread to adjacent unregulated areas including Hwaseong Byeongjeom (0.32%), Suwon Gwonseon (0.32%), and Osan (0.14%).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced active consideration of partial greenbelt deregulation at the national real estate forum on July 27, along with parallel permitting and construction financing support.

A July 27 Ministry of Education survey found teaching remained the top career aspiration for 10 consecutive years. High school university enrollment intent fell to 64.9% while employment intent doubled to 15.6%.

Soonchunhyang University admitted 113 instead of 102-student quota for 2026 supplementary medical admissions due to administrative error, the Ministry of Education announced July 27. An 11-student 2028 quota reduction was ordered.

The Central Labor Relations Commission approved mediation suspension in Kia labor negotiations on July 27. Combined with the 82% strike vote, the Kia union has secured legal strike rights. Hyundai Motor union announced a third partial strike July 29-31.

TikTok prohibited AI-generated voices, recordings, and radio-format audio in live commerce broadcasts, requiring real-time human voice communication. Violations result in account health score deductions.

The UK government announced legislation to block users under 16 from accessing interactive social platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X, with Ofcom enforcement targeted for spring 2027.

Instagram expanded its 'Your Algo' feature, which allows users to add or remove topics from their Reels recommendations, to all English-language users globally.

BitMart suspended new registrations and deposits starting July 27, ceasing all trading August 26 with complete closure January 31, 2027. BMX token plummeted over 80% to a market cap of $19.5 million.

For the week ending July 24, US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $33.8 million net inflows marking three consecutive weeks of positive flows, despite $465.26 million net outflows Thursday and Friday.

On July 27, bitcoin gained 1.3% to $65,210 and ethereum rose 4.3% to $1,953. Global crypto market capitalization reached $2.3 trillion.

Honda and Nissan are finalizing negotiations on joint software-defined vehicle operating systems and electronic control units, targeting an agreement by end of August.

Typhoon No. 13 formed on July 27 afternoon with forecasts predicting intensification to maximum wind speeds exceeding 50 m/s by July 31. Japan impact remains uncertain.

UNESCO officially inscribed 19 ancient palace site locations in Nara Prefecture's Asuka and Fujiwara region on the World Heritage list on July 26, bringing Japan's total to 27 world heritage sites.

Seoul Central District Court sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol to 18 months imprisonment with 3 years probation on July 27 for Public Official Election Act violations. If finalized, the People Power Party must return 39.7 billion won.

People Power Party leadership recommended self-resignation for Rep. Kwon Young-jin who grabbed floor leader Jung Jeom-sik by the collar, with expulsion threatened if he refuses.

South Jeolla-Gwangju Fire Department disciplined 15 supervisors on July 27 for repeatedly coercing a female firefighter to attend drinking events and issuing personal orders. Two received the maximum dismissal penalty.