Shark attack: man dies on Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland

• The Sudanese crisis, which began in April 2023 as a power struggle between two generals, has evolved into a complex regional proxy conflict. • Qatar is playing a significant role in the geopolitics of polarization, influencing the reengineering of power within the war-torn nation.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian strikes destroyed 60,000 tonnes of Russian ammunition at a Baltic Fleet arsenal near St. Petersburg and targeted key defense-industrial facilities. • Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow has been forced to shift its air defenses to protect the Kerch Bridge and the capital city of St. Petersburg.

Sadiq Khan said procurement rules had been broken but allows police another 12 months to operate pilot in LondonThe Metropolitan police has been granted a 12-month extension to a pilot project with the spy tech firm Palantir while the force carries out a procurement process.The development comes weeks after the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, blocked a £50m deal between the Met and the US company to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister Tony Burke says return permit ‘has to be issued’ following advice from agencies and lawyersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian woman linked to the Islamic State group has been given authorisation to return to Australia, after the government was advised it could no longer enforce a criminal exclusion order.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said the woman would face an unprecedented level of security monitoring once she arrives in the country, including constant monitoring and requirements to report to authorities regularly. Continue reading...

Experts say law not enough to stop children accessing harmful content online and more ‘convincing strategy is required’More than 80% of under-16s in Australia said they were still using social media three months after legislation banning them from it came into force, research shows.Australia is the first country to ban social media for children. Since December 2025, under-16s have been prohibited from having accounts with many social media platforms including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. Continue reading...

Transcript of congressional testimony shows Microsoft founder spoke of ‘veiled’ threats made by late sex offenderThe Microsoft founder Bill Gates told US members of Congress that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had sought to “blackmail” him over his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the testimony.The tech pioneer testified behind closed doors before the House oversight committee on 10 June regarding his friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes. Continue reading...

Driver told authorities he had driver-assistance technology engaged before crash that killed 76-year-old Martha AvilaThe US government has opened a second federal investigation into a recent crash of a Tesla that reportedly had driver-assistance technology engaged, struck a Texas home and killed a resident.Meanwhile, the family of Martha Avila, the 76-year-old resident who was killed, has sued over the wreck. Continue reading...

Josue Baires Alfaro, 22, identified as victim in Nevada Fall incident that nearly claimed life of woman who tried to helpA 22-year-old visitor to Yosemite national park in California died after he was swept over a 594ft-high waterfall on Saturday, officials confirmed this week.A fellow parkgoer, Freesia Gaul, was capturing a photo when she noticed the man, reportedly identified by local authorities as Josue Baires Alfaro, in the Merced River. Continue reading...

New party dubbed Community Strong Australia follows secret talks about future of community independentsTeal independents Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender have launched a new political party called Community Strong Australia, with the aim of providing a centrist alternative for voters amid the rise of One Nation and the turmoil inside the Coalition.The party will focus on issues including housing affordability, cost of living, climate change, childcare, education, healthcare and social cohesion, according to Steggall, the member for Warringah. Continue reading...

Aemo modelling shows electricity use will nearly double by 2050. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.There will be plenty of politics to come but we start with good news: thanks to the recent boom in batteries connected to the national power grid, we’re going to save money on new transmission lines. That’s despite our power use being expected to nearly double in the next decade or so. Continue reading...

Annual list of creatives invited to join the Academy also includes Josh O’Connor, Teyana Taylor and Jon BernthalJacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega and Stephen Fry are among the 529 creatives invited to join this year’s member class of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.“We are delighted to invite this remarkable group of film artists and professionals from around the world to join the Academy,” said CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking, this year’s exceptionally talented class has made significant contributions to our global movie industry.” Continue reading...

Spending on government contracts with tech firms that use AI-powered tools to track immigrants has soared to record levels under Trump 2.0, report saysA new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term.The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) contracts with 11 companies the authors said provide surveillance tech. They found the money awarded to these firms doubled from 2024 to 2025, to just over $310m – and in 2026, that number soared to a record $513m. Continue reading...