Happy Tuesday and welcome to your morning recap of international business and political news.
First, DNA found at the scene of the murder of US conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has matched suspect Tyler Robinson, the AFP and ABC reported.
Robinson was arrested on Thursday local time after a 33-hour manhunt. He is expected to be formally charged with murder later this week.
"I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody," FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Earlier, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Robinson had not been cooperating and had not confessed to the shooting. Cox said investigators were still trying to establish a clear motive.
Elsewhere, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his country is facing a “kind of isolation” that could last for years amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, CNN reported.
Netanyahu said Israel’s economy would need to adapt to “autarkic characteristics” to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on international trade. One of the key industries facing isolation was weapons trade.
“We’ll need to develop our weapons industry. We have no choice, at least for the coming years, when we’ll be required to deal with these isolation attempts.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be sidelined from international sports competitions as long as the “barbarism” in Gaza continues, the Guardian reported.
Norway’s football association also announced that ticket sales from the country’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Israel would go to medical charity Doctors Without Borders to help it alleviate “humanitarian suffering” in Gaza.
The United States and China reached a framework deal on social media platform TikTok after months of uncertainty, the ABC reported.
A deal would allow TikTok to keep operating in the US because of a switch to US-controlled ownership, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there could be a short extension of the September 17 deadline for TikTok to finalise the framework deal. US President Donald Trump is due to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday local time.
France’s central bank cut its economic outlook for the next two years because of downside risks from budget uncertainty following another government collapse, Bloomberg reported.
The Bank of France lowered growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027. It noted a “more uncertain national context” and unfavourable global factors. It kept this year’s inflation forecast unchanged, while it revised down the 2026 forecast to 1.3%.
Google parent company Alphabet has joined the exclusive US$3 trillion club for market capitalisation.
Shares of the search giant jumped more than 4% on Monday local time, pushing the company into territory occupied only by Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple, CNBC reported. Overall, Alphabet shares had gained more than 30% this year, compared with the 15% gain for the Nasdaq index.
New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay confirmed five new commercial partnerships between New Zealand and Saudi Arabian companies, formalised at a ceremony in Riyadh.
“These partnerships mark an important step in deepening New Zealand’s trade relationship with Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf region. Together, they are expected to generate more than $100 million in commercial value for New Zealand,” McClay said.
The partnerships included a distribution agreement to expand access to New Zealand-made nutrition products across Saudi Arabia, as well as a partnership to develop and promote premium fruit production and supply.
Finally, a third of UK employers use so-called ‘bossware’ technology to track employees while on the clock, including monitoring emails and web browsing, the Guardian reported.
Private companies are most likely to use in-work surveillance and one in seven employers are recording or reviewing screen activity.
The findings by the Chartered Management Institute were based on responses from hundreds of UK managers.
