Treasury has warned Treasurer Jim Chalmers that the economic risks from the continuation of the Middle East war are increasing, with fuel excise discount set to expire on Sunday. The briefing notes warn the oil market is "more vulnerable" now — global oil reserves are depleted, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have compounded supply strain. The May budget modelled a scenario where oil hits $US200/barrel in September, pushing headline inflation to 7.25%. The government hasn't ruled out extending the 16¢/L discount, but has indicated it won't last forever. Latest CPI figures due Wednesday, ahead of the August RBA meeting where a rate hike is a live possibility.
Mayor Thomas Cazenave says they are preparing for further evacuations as a nearby town calls the situation "catastrophic". More than 330,000 people have been evacuated across France and Spain, with the Madrid region seeing its worst fires ever. Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez highlighted climate change, saying fires are "more ferocious" and "heatwaves more frequent". Fire has created its own winds, tearing through 162+ sq miles in less than four days. A new heatwave is expected, threatening to worsen conditions.
The 1.5-mile bridge linking Detroit and Windsor has officially opened — but Canada excluded the US from the opening ceremony after Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. The bridge, originally intended as a symbol of cross-border cooperation, has instead become a symbol of growing tensions between the two countries. Cyclists and pedestrians can cross from August 5.
Iran has reacted with fury to an assault on a vessel in the Caspian Sea, with Tehran's foreign minister saying it "cannot go unanswered". Ukraine has dismissed the threats. The incident directly links the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the Iran-US confrontation, marking a dangerous intersection of the two wars. Separately, over 600 US military service members have been injured since the Iran War began in February.
Three people killed, several injured — including a two-year-old boy — when two suspects began shooting at each other at Seattle Center during the annual Bite of Seattle food festival, which draws 350,000 people. One suspect in custody, one at large. Victims: a 19-year-old man, 44-year-old man, and 56-year-old woman. Two guns recovered at the scene. Mayor Katie Wilson called it "an act of horrific violence."
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says he'll still attend the UN General Assembly in September despite claiming Mayor Zohran Mamdani's "rhetoric" is making Jews feel "unsafe" in New York. Mamdani walked back his threat to arrest Netanyahu on an ICC warrant, acknowledging he lacked the legal power to do so.
The Lovell Telescope — a Unesco World Heritage site and UK's largest telescope for nearly 70 years — has lost its £2.8m annual funding. All scientific observations to cease by April 2028 unless alternative funding is found. Prof Brian Cox describes the cuts as "hasty and ill-considered." The UKRI has also cut funding for UK participation in the James Clark Maxwell Telescope and two instruments on the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile.
Victorian Labor's factional convener's resolve against Allan, four months out from the election. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll is positioning for the top job. Party insiders warn of a potential "nightmare scenario" if the spill goes ahead, with the party deeply divided. Allan has refused to resign and no declared challenger has formally emerged, but factional pressure is mounting.
The NSW anti-corruption watchdog's public inquiry has begun with explosive allegations: developer Jean Nassif (now a fugitive in Lebanon) allegedly paid $2m to a group of Liberal operatives known as "the Reformers" — including two of former premier Dominic Perrottet's brothers. Secret recordings capture Nassif boasting he had "my hands on the state government." Counsel assisting alleges "sham" consultancy payments were used to funnel illegal donations. The inquiry runs for 8 weeks.
The powerful heads of the Australian Council of Trade Unions have announced their resignations to "make way for a new generation." McManus (secretary since 2017) finishes at end of August; O'Neil (president since 2018) departs by year-end to assist with transition. Their achievements include fighting for JobKeeper and pushing Labor to establish a Fair Work Court. PM Albanese thanked them for "tireless advocacy" and personal support.
Government documents reveal hundreds of businesses operating in Australia have breached food safety laws, with one politician warning "you could be eating a minced horse." The ABC investigation into food fraud reveals the disturbing truth behind labels, with horse meat detected in products labelled as minced beef or lamb.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has lost her appeal in a racial discrimination case brought by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Separately, Hanson and Senator Malcolm Roberts derided the family law system in parliamentary debate, calling domestic violence a "weapon" and the family court a "slaughterhouse."
ABC chief business correspondent Ian Verrender argues Trump's tariff strategy is backfiring, with China dominating global supply chains in solar, batteries, wind turbines, EVs, and now challenging America in technology and AI. Deng Xiaoping's 1992 insight — "China has rare earths" — has been borne out. Wall Street's tech titans are set to spend $US1 trillion on AI this year, money that's hard to recoup against cheaper Chinese alternatives.
Two Baba's Place alums have taken over the old Moon Park site, opening a 50-seat Mediterranean restaurant with the vibe of "dining at a friend's house." Broadly Mediterranean menu, warm hospitality focus. One of the most anticipated Sydney openings of the season.
The legendary Florentine sandwich shop — famous for its massive schiacciata sandwiches — has opened in Sydney. A huge opening for the city's sandwich scene, bringing the iconic Italian street food institution to Australian shores.
A self-taught baker has Summer Hill lining up for kouign-amanns loaded with fresh banana and miso dulce de leche, glossy 'nduja-and-stracciatella focaccia, and oversized scones. Most weekends, it's all gone by 10.30am. The inner-west microbakery phenomenon continues.
The Leichhardt Bowls Club gets the bistro it deserves. Three former Rockpool alums have reunited to bring chef-driven pub classics to an inner-west community favourite. A welcome addition to the local dining scene.
The influential coffee roaster's new Darlinghurst flagship takes cafe design to a new level — a "cave of design wonders" by architect Matt Woods. It's unlike anything else in Sydney's cafe scene, pushing the boundaries of coffee shop design.
The Australian non-alc beer pioneer has released "High Hopes" — a non-alcoholic wine. Given their track record with non-alc beer, it's a development worth watching for hospitality industry trends. The non-alc category continues to grow in Australia.
Singaporean curator Low Kee Hong has been appointed artistic director of the 2028 Biennale of Sydney — the first leader from south-east Asia in the event's 53-year history. He follows 2026 director Hoor Al Qasimi, whose edition was plagued by controversy, donor withdrawals, and a police investigation into DJ Haram's comments on opening night. Kee Hong is currently creative director of Manchester's Factory International and has previously led the Singapore Biennale and Singapore Arts Festival. He plans to engage with Indigenous Elders on Country "to understand the world view around medicine, food, and bringing communities together." The 2028 biennale begins March 21, 2028. Kee Hong describes navigating today's charged political climate as a "global question" for curators.
No major new arts funding announcements today. Current opportunities remain open: Creative Australia Arts Projects ($10k–$50k) for individuals and groups; Creative Futures Fund 2026-27 ($5.8M distributed to 20 projects) recipients active; Festivals Australia Round 22 open for regional projects. Next major round expected from Australia Council.
Nvidia has committed to invest $5 billion in Safe Superintelligence Inc (SSI), the startup founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. SSI had previously raised ~$3B in funding at a $32B valuation last year. The investment signals Nvidia's deepening bet on safe AI development and solidifies Sutskever's position as one of the most well-funded AI researchers in the world.
Microsoft has introduced a compact security model that scores 96% on the CyberGym benchmark when embedded in its MDASH multi-agent system. The company says costs should drop by 50% compared to leading frontier models. Microsoft also launched Perception, an agentic security system designed to autonomously patch vulnerabilities — moving from detection to self-healing infrastructure.
The Delhi High Court has rejected a copyright injunction from Indian news agency ANI against OpenAI. For the first time anywhere, a court has classified AI training as private use — a landmark ruling for global AI copyright law. The judge found ANI undermined its own case by citing AI-generated content as evidence of copyright infringement, creating a circular logic problem.
Hermes Agent v0.19.0 "Quicksilver" remains the latest release (July 20). First-turn time-to-first-token dropped ~80% across every platform, reasoning streams live by default, the desktop app got a speed overhaul (14× faster streaming markdown, virtualized diffs). New features: manage Nous subscription from terminal, Bitwarden/1Password integration, smart approvals for flagged commands, subagent live monitoring, durable delivery ledger surviving gateway crashes. 221k GitHub stars, 42.3k forks. No new point releases since.