More US states push to ban kratom drink deemed ‘gas-station heroin’

• An Iranian official stated that a permanent end to the war must include the termination of Israel’s occupation of Lebanon, according to state television reports. • These developments follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an agreement to conclude the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. conflict with Iran.

• President Donald Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Evian-les-Bains, France, during the G7 summit to discuss a deal to end the U.S. conflict with Iran. • Trump described the agreement as a potential breakthrough for global security, though some lingering questions remain before the formal signing.

• UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to combat food insecurity and famine risks in Somalia. • The funding arrives as humanitarian partners report that many newly displaced families have lost their belongings and tents, forcing them to rely on relatives and friends.

• Author Dylan Muggleton analyzes the feasibility of a "grand bargain" or grand plan to stabilize the current global geopolitical environment. • The analysis argues that such a deal is unrealistic because modern competition occurs across multiple simultaneous domains, including technology, energy, security, and economics.

• President Donald Trump began his visit to the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, by praising a new agreement intended to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. • During a meeting on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump described the deal as a potential breakthrough for global security.

Elon Musk firm adds startup behind Cursor app to its portfolio with xAI and reaches $2.8tn market capitalisationElon Musk’s SpaceX is buying the startup behind the AI-powered coding app Cursor for $60bn and has moved ahead of Amazon in valuation days after its stock market debut.The company has agreed to buy Anysphere, which has capitalised on AI’s success as a coding technology. Continue reading...

Activists say blanket ban could prevent teenagers from finding peers and role models with similar conditionsDisability activists have said banning under-16s from social media risks cutting off a “lifeline for friendship” for disabled children and could push them into social isolation by preventing them from making connections online.Charities and high-profile figures in disability advocacy said they were concerned that a blanket ban on social media would disproportionately affect teenagers who may not be able to meet people easily in real life or find peers with similar conditions. Continue reading...

Governor Michele Bullock delivers a strong message after the Reserve Bank holds the cash rate at 4.35%, ending a run of three risesRBA interest rates: Reserve Bank holds official cash rate at 4.35%Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt will take more than a ceasefire in the Middle East to prevent the Reserve Bank from hiking interest rates again.That was the strong message from the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, after the central bank held its cash rate at 4.35%, putting an end to a run of three increases. Continue reading...

Child was fatally shot and his mother’s friend is wounded after Senatobia police responded to shoplifting callA one-year-old boy is dead and another person wounded after a northern Mississippi police officer shot at a vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call, according to authorities and the child’s grandfather.Kohen Wiley, the slain child, was in the car at the center of the shooting on Sunday alongside his mother and her friend, said Marquell Bridges, a local community advocate who is helping the family find legal representation. Continue reading...

Ahead of ‘same job, same pay’ hearings, former call centre worker Nathan Brunne says pay gap is structural and widens at senior levelsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWorkers at the Australian Taxation Office’s outsource call centres are paid up to 40% less than their public service counterparts on the same phone lines, according to submissions lodged ahead of landmark “same job, same pay” hearings.The pay gap, detailed by Nathan Brunne, a former worker on the ATO phone lines employed by the private equity-backed Probe Operations, widens at more senior call centre roles, with team leaders at outsource operators paid about $31 an hour compared with more than $52 at the tax office. Continue reading...

A month after the tragedy, mystery surrounds the death of the ‘cheerful’ 25-year-old who came to Australia to pursue her dreamsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt was meant to be Sheila Chebii’s last shift as a housekeeper.For weeks, the 25-year-old international student had stripped linen, made beds and refilled towels in the rooms of a luxury high-rise hotel above central Sydney. Continue reading...

Former Howard-era adviser says Pauline Hanson’s party is channelling Donald Trump’s health agendaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMedical experts have blasted One Nation’s health policies, saying they do not make sense, are based on misconceptions and could cost taxpayers more money while leaving vulnerable Australians without access to care.The party has promised to withdraw Australia from the World Health Organization and to scrap regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration, rolling its “essential functions” into the health department. It has also proposed adding photo ID to Medicare cards. Continue reading...