Almost 145,000 Australians will lose support for autism under NDIS reforms, documents reveal

• Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett accused Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the goal of defeating Hamas and effectively handing control of Gaza to Qatar. • The IDF is tightening its strike policy in Gaza, now requiring the chief of staff's explicit approval for certain operations.

• The Dispatch reports on several geopolitical and political developments, including the possibility of Iran returning to diplomatic negotiations. • A cargo ship was recently struck in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting ongoing maritime tensions and security risks in the region.

Toast the cat escaped his namesake fate when blaze ripped through building and displaced more than 40 familiesA pet cat quite fittingly named Toast survived a devastating fire that recently gutted an apartment complex in Utah by hiding in a closet – and then safely endured a days-long wait before being rescued, according to officials.Beside prompting comments across the news and social media landscapes about cats having nine lives, Toast’s death-defying story provided a slight measure of glad tidings surrounding a blaze that ultimately displaced hundreds of residents. Continue reading...

Exclusive: cases of Afghan man, Ukrainian man and Saudi woman show repeated nasogastric tube insertions and lack of legal representationOne hunger striker in an immigration detention center was force-fed for almost six months.One detained immigrant with mental health problems was about to be force-fed, until his attorney intervened and stopped the process.Read part one and part two of our Ice force-feeding series Continue reading...

The former public health official has slight lead over congresswoman Haley Stevens, but vote count could continue well into the dayEl-Sayed holds narrow lead in Michigan Senate primary but race too close to callUS representative Haley Stevens, who is currently trailing in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan, has cast herself throughout her campaign as a pragmatic problem-solver and workhorse.Stevens, who has represented Michigan’s 11th House district since 2019, after flipping the seat, has a long list of high profile endorsements from within the Democratic party that include the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and Gary Peters, the retiring senator who holds the seat she is now running for. Her campaign had also been boosted by tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including from groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the pro-Israel lobbying organization. Continue reading...

Government has so far returned $100bn to companies that paid levies US supreme court ruled illegalBusiness live – latest updatesThe Trump administration has refunded about $100bn from the tariffs it collected before the US supreme court ruled them illegal, according to reports.The $100bn (£74bn) figure, which represents 60% of the total $165bn collected from Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, was reported by customs officials to the US court of international trade (CIT) on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times. Continue reading...

National Autonomous University of Mexico says applicants must take test in person after online debacleMexico’s largest and most prestigious university has announced that about 58,000 students will have to resit their entrance exam after abnormally high test results raised suspicions of widespread cheating.The National Autonomous University of Mexico (Unam) said the exam would take place in person after its first attempt at a fully remote online version led to a debacle and thousands of annulled results. Continue reading...

Minister says PM has agreed to meet victims of sex offender – and is mulling separate inquiry into Mohamed Al FayedAndy Burnham is considering launching a public inquiry into the UK activities of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a minister has said.The victims’ minister, Alex Davies-Jones, said the prime minister had agreed to meet Epstein’s victims, was “looking into” an inquiry and was “taking this very seriously”. A separate inquiry into the alleged actions of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed is also being considered. Continue reading...

AI Security Institute says tools engaged in potentially harmful activity and incident reveals new type of riskAdvanced AI models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic went rogue during a cybersecurity test and showed a new type of risk posed by the technology, according to the UK’s AI Security Institute.AISI described the actions carried out by the agents, the term for AI systems that can perform tasks without human help, as a “serious incident”. In one example, an agent powered by Anthropic’s Mythos model sent targeted emails to people. Continue reading...

Retailer expects to end year with pre-tax profit of £1.2bn, about £25m higher than forecast previouslyNext has raised hopes that UK shoppers are still willing to spend despite pressures on household budgets, as it upgraded its profit guidance for the third time this year.The clothing and homeware retailer said it benefited from sunny weather and the release of some “pent-up demand” in the Middle East and northern Europe in the 13 weeks ended on 1 August. Continue reading...

Tory leader praises Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s ‘contrition’ but says she has higher thresholds for MP candidatesKemi Badenoch has defended her party’s decision to allow a former neo-Nazi who was jailed for subjecting a prominent Labour politician to antisemitic abuse to stand as a councillor.Badenoch said her party was not giving Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who is standing for election in Somerset, a “national platform”. Continue reading...

Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog.Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling.BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger.Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...