CATL Unveils Semi-Solid Battery With 1,500 km Range and 6-Minute Fast Charge Up to 1,500 km on a single charge, full charge in 6 minutes 30 seconds, sodium battery mass production within the year... CATL (Ningde Shidai), China’s top battery maker by global market share, on the 21st unveiled new battery technologies and a product roadmap as competition in electric-vehicle batteries intensifies. The company’s announcements were widely seen as an effort to widen its lead. According to Chinese media including 21st Century Business Herald, CATL held a “Super Tech Day” April 22, 2026

Uttar Pradesh’s 594-km Ganga Expressway to Open April 29 India’s Ganga Expressway, linking Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh with Prayagraj in the east, is expected to open on April 29. The expressway spans 594 kilometers (369 miles) and runs through Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh before connecting Meerut and Prayagraj. Prime Minister Modi is expected to attend the opening ceremony in Hardoi. Officials expect the new route to enable faster and safer travel. Improved connectivit April 22, 2026

Anthropic Probes Possible Unauthorized Access to Claude Mythos Preview Model Anthropic has opened an investigation after signs of unauthorized access were found involving a preview version of its new artificial intelligence model, "Claude Mythos," which is widely described as having powerful autonomous hacking capabilities. Bloomberg News and other outlets reported that Anthropic is checking whether the access occurred through a third-party partner environment. The company said it is investigating reports that "unauthorized access to the Claude Mythos preview occur April 22, 2026

South Korea to Ease Stock Trading, Settlement Rules to Attract Foreign Investors The government is accelerating efforts to upgrade stock trading and settlement infrastructure to draw more foreign portfolio investment. The Finance and Economy Ministry said it held the third advisory committee meeting on expanding foreign securities investment at the Korea International Finance Center on Tuesday, where participants discussed institutional reforms in stock trading and settlement. Moon Ji-seong, the ministry’s director general for international economic management, sai April 22, 2026

Banks Expand ‘Productive Finance,’ but Public Takes Risk as Funds Favor Top Borrowers Banks have increased corporate lending in the name of expanding “productive finance,” but critics say the money is flowing more to top-rated borrowers than to innovative firms and small merchants. That helps explain why, despite announcements of trillion-won support packages, many businesses say the impact on the ground remains limited. According to the financial sector on Tuesday, KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea have contributed a combined 36.5 billion wo April 22, 2026

Brokerages Tighten Margin Lending as Retail Debt-Fueled Trading Heats Up Again As the Kospi extends its rally, signs of overheating have reappeared in retail investors’ debt-fueled trading, prompting brokerages to tighten credit and step up risk controls. According to the financial investment industry on the 22nd, KB Securities began restricting new purchases of SK hynix through contracts for difference, or CFDs, from 9 a.m. the previous day. CFDs are high-risk over-the-counter derivatives that settle only price differences without owning the underlying asset. Becau April 22, 2026

Korea Private Equity Council Chief Backs Tighter Rules, Warns Against Disadvantaging Local Firms Public sentiment toward private equity funds, or PEFs, has turned sharply negative since last year, with criticism increasingly framing them as “predatory capital.” The Homeplus controversy has added to the backlash, and the government has moved to tighten regulation of the sector. Industry officials warn that rules could undermine the foundation Korea’s PEF market has built over two decades. Others say the sector must strengthen accountability and rebuild trust to ensure its role in corp April 22, 2026

LS Electric Shares Rise More Than 5% After Record First-Quarter Results LS Electric shares climbed in intraday trading after the company reported its best-ever first-quarter results. As of 2:46 p.m. on the 22nd, LS Electric was trading at 194,000 won, up 5.04% from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The gain was attributed to improved investor sentiment after the company posted record first-quarter performance, supported by growing demand for power infrastructure for global data centers. LS Electric said the previous day that preliminary April 22, 2026

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Chan-dae launches Incheon mayor bid, touts 'ABC+E' growth plan Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Incheon mayor, said at an official campaign launch news conference on the 22nd that he would “get Incheon’s engine running again” with what he called the city’s “ABC+E” future strategy. After declaring his candidacy, Park visited a biotech site — one pillar of the plan — and unveiled seven biotech pledges. Speaking in the Aetteul Plaza outside Incheon City Hall, Park said Incheon has been “moving backward” because it lacked “a clear visi April 22, 2026

Japan Seen Holding Rates Steady as Middle East Tensions Cloud BOJ Outlook The Bank of Japan is increasingly expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at its late-April meeting, as instability in the Middle East drives up oil prices and raises concerns about supply disruptions, making the impact on Japan’s economy and inflation harder to gauge. A decision on a rate increase is likely to be pushed to the June meeting. Yomiuri Shimbun, Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun reported on April 22 that the BOJ is seriously considering holding the policy rate at about 0.75% at i April 22, 2026