President Donald Trump signed three proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 imposing 50% retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods including autos, wine, dairy products, and hockey sticks, claiming Canada has discriminated against US exports. The tariffs threaten to reignite a trade battle with one of America's closest allies and top economic partners. Canada is considering "all options" in response. The move comes as Hegseth testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting nearly $90B in supplemental funding for the Iran war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee, facing questions about the escalating US war with Iran — now in its tenth consecutive day of airstrikes. Republicans are pushing a $95B supplemental package as US forces have bombarded Iran for 10 straight nights. The testimony is the first extensive public remarks since the war ramped up in July.
Lebanese army troops began deploying in a small part of southern Lebanon after Israeli forces withdrew under a US-brokered agreement. The pilot zone marks a tangible step in de-escalation following months of conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The deployment is intended to test the viability of broader troop placements as negotiations continue.
Thousands of protesters across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities are demanding the dismissal of army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and the reinstatement of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Protesters have given Zelenskyy until Friday to act. Zelenskyy met top commanders on Monday to try to ease the growing discontent that has triggered the largest street protests since the full-scale invasion began.
A MapBiomas report reveals that 3.1 million hectares burned in Brazil's Amazon in 2025 — the smallest area since satellite records began in 1985 and 31% below the historical average. The sharp decline comes just one year after 2024 saw the largest fire-affected area ever measured, representing a dramatic reversal driven by strengthened enforcement and reduced deforestation.
Emirates President Sir Tim Clark said the airline will refuse delivery of 10 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, calling them "so far behind schedule and below standards" that Heinz could turn them into baked bean cans. One of the already-built jets has been scrapped. The rejection is a fresh blow to Boeing, with Emirates citing quality concerns and years of production delays.
An independent auditor-general report into the Housing Australia Future Fund found a "substantial risk" the government will fail to meet its 40,000 affordable and social home target, despite spending more than $770,000 per home over 25 years. The audit reveals Treasury failed to take full responsibility, didn't update its risk register for over a year, and that ongoing "availability payments" will cost taxpayers $3.2B beyond the fund's interest earnings. Only 1,432 homes have been delivered to date.
An SMH / The Age investigative series ("Medical Malfunctions") reveals deep flaws in the TGA's oversight of 1.4 million registered medical devices. Using digital scrapers, journalists unearthed 80,000+ adverse event logs showing 679 deaths and 30,377 injuries since 2020. The TGA database is "diabolically designed" — even the TGA didn't know about deaths missed before 2019. 85% of devices are approved via European certification from for-profit German firms.
The Collaroy, an unmissable feature on Sydney Harbour for almost four decades and the ferry that carried the Olympic torch during the 2000 Sydney Games, is being retired. The vessel's future has been sealed, marking the end of an era for the iconic Manly ferry service.
A growing body of analysis from SMH Business and international outlets finds Russia's economy under mounting strain from the Ukraine war. Russia's 2026 growth is forecast at just 0.4%, and the federal deficit hit 5.73 trillion rubles in the first half of the year alone. Analysts suggest Putin can afford the war but may not be able to afford peace — as sanctions, inflation, and military spending erode the country's fiscal position.
Bathers' Pavilion in Balmoral has secured SingleThread — the acclaimed three-Michelin-starred restaurant from Healdsburg, California — for its only Australian residency, running Tuesday 28 July to Sunday 23 August. Husband-and-wife team Kyle Connaughton (chef) and Katina Connaughton (head farmer) will take over the beachside restaurant. SingleThread was named joint #1 restaurant in the world by La Liste in 2026. Bookings opened recently.
Paolo Saccone (Lucas Collective) won the 2026 Sommelier Challenge, defeating four other finalists — Isaac Pockney (Bennelong), Clotilde Candusso (Freyja), Justin Biskup (Carpe Vino), and Charlie Richards (Agnes) — in written, tasting, practical, and theory exams at Infinity by Mark Best inside Sydney Tower. Saccone will represent Australia at the ASI Best Sommelier of the World competition in Lisbon, October 11-17. The competition was supported by Ruinart, House of Arras, Jim Barry, and Pewsey Vale.
A popular Sydney Portuguese tart shop — part of the wave of specialist bakeries — has opened a second location, meeting growing demand for authentic pastéis de nata. No specific location was named in the article, but it reflects the continued strength of the Sydney bakery and specialty food scene.
Edition Hospitality Group opens Bar Privé on Thursday 23 July in the historic Melbourne Safety Deposit building beside Reine & La Rue. Led by Bar Manager Felix Woods (The Everleigh, Above Board, Black Pearl), the menu focuses on classic cocktail culture — French brandies, martinis, Champagne cocktails, Sazeracs. A 32-seat Dining Room offers private dining in The Verdon Room and The Wardell Room. Not Sydney, but relevant as a major hospitality group expansion in the RSN territory orbit.
Creative Australia has announced $13.72 million in funding for 278 creative projects nationwide, supporting initiatives that connect artists with communities and showcase Australian stories. The latest round spans projects funded through Creative Australia, Music Australia, Writing Australia, First Nations Arts and the Visual Art, Craft and Design Partnership Framework. This represents one of the larger single-round investments this year.
The Office for the Arts announced the latest Festivals Australia funding round, providing more than $730,000 across 25 regional and remote festival projects. Additionally, the Regional Arts Fund continues with approximately $6M per year supporting artists in regional and remote areas — applications opened July 1 for 2027 projects via Regional Arts NSW.
Nous Research shipped Hermes Agent v0.19.0 on July 20 — the "Quicksilver Release" — cutting first-turn time-to-first-token by approximately 80% across every platform (CLI, Gateway, TUI, Desktop), from ~4.3s to ~0.9s. The release includes ~2,245 commits, 1,065 merged PRs, and contributions from 450+ community members. Key features: the Desktop speed wave (20+ perf PRs), terminal billing (/subscription, /topup), smart approvals by default, pluggable SecretSource (Bitwarden/1Password), live subagent transcripts, durable delivery + delegation ledgers, gateway profile routing, and new providers (Fireworks, DeepInfra).
Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google all shipped or previewed new flagship-adjacent models in late June/early July. Claude Sonnet 5, GPT-5.6 Sol, and Gemini 3.5 Pro compete across multimodal capabilities, cybersecurity, and expanded context windows. Anthropic also launched Claude Opus 4.6 with major coding and agentic improvements, deeply integrating with tools like Xcode. The model landscape continues to shift rapidly as Chinese models drive prices down.
ESPN implemented a significant round of layoffs for the first time in three years, most tied to the acquisition of NFL Network finalized in January. On-air talent including Karl Ravech and Ryan Clark are among those departing. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo that most cuts stem from the NFL Network integration and other league digital assets.