A somber turn in Sydney’s festival shooting case: The suspect in last year’s mass shooting at a Jewish festival near Bondi has appeared in court, as Australia establishes a royal commission to examine the nature, prevalence and drivers of antisemitism — and specifically the circumstances surrounding the attack, allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group. The inquiry will also scrutinize how law enforcement and intelligence agencies interacted ahead of the assault [1].

Markets mood: Asia equities started the week subdued, with trading thinned by holidays and sentiment capped by weak Japan data [2]. Japan’s economy eked out 0.1% quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4, missing a 0.4% consensus and underlining the fragile backdrop. In the U.S., a muted CPI print and easing tensions with Iran have offered investors some comfort, even as indexes were mixed Friday: the S&P 500 was roughly flat, the Dow edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.22%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 dipped 0.13% [3].

AI week on deck: Big names from Anthropic, Microsoft, Mistral and Meta headline India’s AI Impact Summit, a timely focal point as markets parse how fast — and how far — AI disruption could spread across sectors [3].

Deal talk and policy hints: Bloomberg reporting, cited by CNBC, suggests Warner Bros. Discovery may revisit sale talks with Paramount after a sweetened offer, while former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro floated the idea that data center builders may be pushed to “internalize” costs — without detailing how such a plan would work. CNBC also notes continuing fallout from the DOJ’s Epstein document releases, with resignations reported in multiple countries [3].

Politics meets pop culture: John Oliver returned from hiatus to open Season 13 of Last Week Tonight, roasting the mooted Netflix–WBD tie-up and devoting much of the episode to a sweeping look at Minneapolis in the wake of ICE crackdowns and killings, a story he tied to the post‑9/11 creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Oliver also riffed through other headline flashpoints, including the U.S. seizure of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro [4].

In Virginia: A fired employee has sued former Attorney General Jason Miyares over alleged conflicts of interest, adding a fresh legal twist to the state’s political docket, according to a roundup by Virginia Mercury [5].

References

1. Suspect in mass shooting at Sydney Jewish festival appears in court — AP News
2. Asia shares becalmed by holidays, dire Japan data — Reuters via TradingView
3. CNBC Daily Open: Muted U.S. CPI and cooling tensions with Iran give investors some comfort — CNBC
4. John Oliver Roasts Netflix-WBD Deal In ‘Last Week Tonight’ Season 13 Premiere — Deadline
5. Fired employee sues former Va. AG Jason Miyares over possible conflicts of interest, more headlines — Virginia Mercury