Protests in Gaza causing widespread arrests in the United Kingdom

The Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest performing arts festival, has found itself in the midst of political controversy. Two Jewish comedians, Philip Simon and Rachel Creeger, had their shows cancelled by venues, citing concerns over staff safety and the comedians' alleged associations with contentious political views related to the war in Gaza.

The Banshee Labyrinth venue cancelled Philip Simon's shows, stating that his attendance at a vigil for victims of Hamas terror attacks and his statements supporting Israeli hostages were perceived as aligning with controversial rhetoric. The venue emphasised a "duty of care" to staff and customers in relation to political opinions expressed. Another venue, Whistlebinkies, also cancelled shows involving Jewish comedians, similarly citing "safety concerns" for their staff. Critics interpret this as a form of antisemitic targeting masked as concerns for wellbeing.

The cancellations come amid heightened tensions and protests in the UK over the Gaza conflict. This political atmosphere has affected cultural events like the Edinburgh Fringe, where opinions about the war have caused friction and led venues to act cautiously, sometimes resulting in the exclusion of Jewish performers based on their expressed views or perceived affiliations.

The comedians and commentators argue that these were effectively cancellations due to their Jewish identity and perceived pro-Israel stance during a highly sensitive political climate. The broader context is the heightened tensions and protests in the UK over the Gaza conflict in 2025.

Meanwhile, a new study on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has uncovered eight genomic regions associated with the condition. These genomic regions include some that overlap with or are near genes involved in immune function. This study provides "validation of ME/CFS as a biomedical condition" and an important corrective to psychologizing perspectives on the disease.

In other news, the US doubled its bounty for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's arrest to $50 million, a largely tokenistic gesture that is unlikely to weaken the regime. The US tariffs on Russian oil are affecting India's ability to purchase oil from Russia, and the US tariffs kicked in, reshaping international commerce by instituting levies on imports from friend and foe alike.

The Bank of England cut interest rates by a quarter point to 4%, after a historic split among the Monetary Policy Committee required a second vote, indicative of the uncertainties plaguing a flagging UK economy. The decision to lower rates was widely expected, but the second round of voting was the first in the rate-setting committee's history, coming amid intense global trade uncertainty caused by unpredictable US tariffs.

The deadline for a US-China trade deal is August 12th. China argues that the curbs on chip exports hinder domestic firms' ability to make their own artificial intelligence chips. China has urged domestic companies to avoid buying Nvidia's H20 chips, claiming they are of poor quality and may pose security threats. China is pushing for the US to relax export controls on chips as part of a broader trade deal.

The US tariffs on Russian oil are affecting India's ability to purchase oil from Russia. The US tariffs kicked in, reshaping international commerce by instituting levies on imports from friend and foe alike. The operation to take control of Gaza aimed at completely destroying Hamas and securing hostage releases could take up to five months. The standoff has global implications: "How long can the international community rely on a reserve currency whose central bank faces systematic political interference?" one scholar wrote in World Politics Review.

Elon Musk has threatened to take legal action against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of favoring OpenAI over rivals and alleging it's an unequivocal antitrust violation. The latest appointment at the Internal Revenue Service is unlikely to change the short-term course of monetary policy, but it spotlights the politics surrounding the agency. Economic problems, a demanding work culture, and a patriarchal society are among the reasons experts give for the decline in Japan's birth rate. Nearly 30% of people are over 65, with the burden of supporting retirees falling on ever-fewer workers.

In Germany, protests have followed the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, and the country is starting to curb its support. Brazil is considering diverting development funds to support companies hit by American duties. The BRICS group of nations has become a tighter alliance despite US President Donald Trump's claims that the group is "dead." The country's population is down to 120 million, having declined for 16 consecutive years. Deaths in Japan outnumbered births by 900,000 last year, the largest population fall on record.

US inflation held steady in July at 2.7%, but core inflation rose to 3.1%, the highest in five months, reflecting that Trump's tariffs had pushed some businesses to start raising prices. The Israeli plan was met with condemnation from the EU, China, and Britain, among others, while Germany said it would pause exporting military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip.

In the technology sector, Nvidia and AMD have reportedly agreed to pay 15% of their Chinese chip sale revenue to the US government. GPT-5, a new AI model, has been unveiled by OpenAI, with improvements across the board, including being less prone to being confidently wrong and having better agentic capabilities. GPT-5 will be available to all users, including in the free tier, starting Thursday.

References: 1. The Guardian 2. The Jewish Chronicle 3. The Jerusalem Post 4. The Scotsman 5. The Times of Israel