Latest news for 6 May 2025

UNITED STATES

OpenAI ditches ‘for-profit’ plans.

OpenAI has abandoned its controversial plans to shift its ChatGPT business under a for-profit board, instead transforming it into a public-benefit corporation. (CNN)

Comment: It’s unclear whether this’ll satisfy OpenAI’s newest investors, who’d conditioned their billions on a successful restructuring.

ISRAEL

Security cabinet backs plan to capture Gaza.

Israel is calling up tens of thousands of reservists after leaders approved a plan to seize all of Gaza. Netanyahu is billing it as an expanded operation to defeat Hamas, though hostage families and humanitarian agencies are opposed. (NBC)

CHINA

Firms ‘washing’ their exports to dodge US tariffs.

China’s social media is awash with offers to help exporters ship to third countries like Malaysia, where they get a new label before on-forwarding to the US. (FT $)

Comment: As with anything, tax too high and a black market emerges. You need cooperation from local authorities, but they might not be in a cooperating mood.

SOUTH KOREA

Conservative party picks candidate.

The ruling party has picked hardline former labour minister Kim Moon-soo to run in the 3 June elections to replace Korea’s impeached president. (Guardian)

Comment: They can pick who they like, but it’s the opposition’s popular and populist-lite Lee Jae-myung who looks set to inherit Korea’s polarised politics and economy.

ROMANIA

Populist-right wins first round.

Nationalist George Simion has won Sunday’s first-round presidential elections, after a court famously banned his predecessor over alleged Russian links. He now faces the centrist but anti-establishment mayor of Bucharest in a May 18 runoff. (BBC)

Comment: The Ukraine-sceptic Simion might soon be ruling a NATO ally, rattling neighbouring Ukraine (which has banned him). This is partly the result of an electoral system that splits the centre, but also the result of a political class that’s lost credibility.

INDONESIA

Regulators halt Sam Altman’s biometric ID project.

Jakarta has suspended the ChatGPT CEO’s biometric ID project World, after alleged violations of local regulations. The company has hit several regulatory hurdles in its global rollout, with bans or restrictions across Germany, Brazil, and Kenya. (Decrypt)

USA

Trump unveils 100% movie tariffs.

President Trump has unveiled plans to impose 100% tariffs on films shot abroad, arguing foreign tax incentives are luring studio productions away from Hollywood. US media stocks slid on the news. (Hollywood Reporter)

UAE

Top UN court dismisses Sudan case against UAE.