Conference

• India is hosting a series of top AI conferences designed for software developers, MLOps engineers, and enterprise IT decision-makers. • The events feature multi-track technical workshops, expert keynotes, and masterclasses focused on cutting-edge AI toolchains. • Key discussion themes include Agentic AI, Generative AI, LLMs, and Open Source AI Infrastructure to keep engineering teams competitive.

• The International Association for Tibetan Studies seminar, scheduled for August 23-26 in Nepal, has been canceled following a request from government officials. • Hosted by the Himalaya Centre for Asian Studies at Kathmandu University, the event was intended to bring together delegates from numerous countries. • While Prof. Sagar Raj Sharma confirmed the cancellation, the government provided no specific reason for the decision, though Nepal typically restricts pro-Tibetan activities to maintain relations with China.

• Nvidia spearheaded the launch of the Open Secure AI Alliance (OSAA), an industry coalition that grew to over 120 member companies within its first week. • During the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, the group established a security working group focused on confidential incident reporting, alerting affected parties, and conducting blame-free analyses of AI security breaches. • Members are cataloging open-source security tools, including Nvidia’s Garak vulnerability scanner, Okta’s agent identity work, Red Hat’s governance efforts, and Amazon’s Strands Agents framework and Cedar authorization language.

• WEPSEA 2026 will be held in Shanghai to showcase innovations in the packaging value chain, including digital printing, corrugated packaging, and food packaging technologies. • The event will feature over 20 conferences, workshops, and networking activities designed to provide technical insights and market intelligence for industry professionals. • The exhibition addresses the rapid transformation of Southeast Asia's manufacturing and consumer markets, focusing on digitalization, sustainability, and supply chain diversification.

• One Nation has announced eight candidates for the upcoming Victorian state election in November, including a former Liberal member and a film animator. • Party leader Pauline Hanson has banned the ABC and The Guardian from attending the party's press conferences. • The move follows new legislation introduced by Premier Ben Carroll to scrap group voting tickets, making the top-spot candidates the most likely to win upper house seats.

• Former Fed official Kevin Warsh highlighted significant discrepancies in how the Federal Reserve measures inflation, questioning whether the actual rate is 3.7% or 2.2%. • In separate retail news, Costco has reached a $14 million email settlement, allowing eligible customers to claim payments up to $500 by the August 24 deadline. • Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a warning during his latest earnings call regarding a potential "hundred year flood" in memory chip pricing.

State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in BrazilA US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a ⁠global conference in Brazil ⁠this week, ​causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online.Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the Aids 2026 conference in ⁠Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the state department’s new health agreements. Continue reading...

Green party said it was ‘obvious from the start’ that Polanski had not committed an offence Good morning. Reform UK are holding a press conference this morning. It is going to feature Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, and he wants to talk about Andy Burnham’s speech yesterday about social care reform. But we already know what Jenrick thinks about that, and there are plenty of other stories that reporters might want to ask about.For a start, there is Anna Isaac’s latest Guardian scoop about George Cottrell. Continue reading...

• Federal Reserve Chair Warsh announced on Wednesday that the central bank will leave its key interest rate unchanged despite persistent inflation and rising energy prices linked to the Iran war. • Appointed by President Donald Trump, Warsh is implementing a strategy of providing fewer signals to financial markets regarding the Fed's future interest rate intentions. • This shift toward reticence is cited as a contributing factor to rising bond yields, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing from 4.50% in mid-June to 4.64% prior to the decision.

Digital billboards from environmental groups, targeting Labor MPs attending national conference, cancelled with airport stating they are ‘too political’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastConservation groups have questioned why their advertisements targeting Labor politicians were pulled by Adelaide airport for breaking rules on political advertising while others promoting gas and mining kept running.Labor politicians including the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, have been arriving through the airport for this weekend’s ALP national conference. Continue reading...

Criticism comes as prime minister frames unity as point of difference to political opponents, saying ALP chooses ‘progress over protest’ Outspoken Labor MP Ed Husic claims the party has become “allergic” to dissent and dispute, warning the unity on show at its tightly controlled national conference could backfire.The former industry minister broke ranks with the government on the first day of Labor’s 50th party conference to support a gas export tax, endorse Indigenous truth-telling and press for more criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese will cast ‘practical’ policies as the key to countering the anxiety and frustration in AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastStudents in 10 fields including physiotherapy, speech pathology and clinical psychology will receive financial assistance to complete mandatory placements under a major expansion of the federal government’s paid work experience program.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will make the announcement in a speech to open the Labor national conference on Thursday, which will cast “practical” policies as the key to combating the anxiety and frustration gripping the electorate. Continue reading...

AMWU calls for wealth and inheritance taxes, free education and more revenue from gas companies as it outlines ‘working-class agenda’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA new tax rate for the highest income earners, introducing wealth and inheritance taxes and extracting more revenue from gas companies form part of a new leftwing manifesto circulating ahead of the Labor party’s national conference.The extra tax revenue could help raise the jobseeker rate, make education – including university – free, and nationalise aged care under what the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) calls a blueprint for a “working-class agenda”. Continue reading...

Statement by Israeli embassy in Canberra challenges proposed positions on settler violence and annexation of Palestinian territoryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIsrael has made an intervention into the Labor party’s internal processes, publicly criticising a draft policy platform that it claims risks blaming Israel for the Gaza conflict while giving “insufficient attention” to the role of Hamas.The Israeli embassy in Canberra issued a four-page statement on Monday challenging the proposed positions on Palestine, Hamas and settler violence in the West Bank, due to be debated at this week’s Labor national conference. Continue reading...

• China's World AI Conference (WAIC) 2026 featured major AI model launches, including Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 and MiniMax's M3, which boasts a 1-million-token context window for enterprises. • The announcements triggered a market reaction in the US, causing the Nasdaq to drop 1.4% and pushing semiconductor stocks into bear market territory. • President Xi Jinping used the event to promote open-source AI and global governance, contrasting China's collaborative approach with the closed, subscription-based models of US tech firms.

Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning all and thanks for being with us. Graham Readfearn here.First up, we will have news in a few minutes that NSW has recorded its first confirmed case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in a giant petrel found north of Newcastle at Hawks Nest. Continue reading...

Thousands of police deployed to Erfurt in central Germany as AfD holds conference on key Nazi dateRiot police have clashed with opponents of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party on the streets of Erfurt in Germany, where thousands met to block roads and prevent AfD delegates from attending the party’s biennial national conference to elect its leadership.Police reported 20,000 protesters were demonstrating in the eastern city, where Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to be re-elected as the party’s co-leaders in the run-up to crucial regional elections in which AfD could win power at state-level for the first time. Continue reading...

The New South Wales premier warns of One Nation threat as he addresses party conferenceGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, admits the Labor party needs to “climb Everest” to stay in power amid rising threats posed by One Nation.But Minns, who received a standing ovation as he circled Sydney’s town hall before addressing the NSW Labor conference on Saturday, did not avoid the protests over conflict in Gaza which have marked party conferences in previous years. Continue reading...

Fifty-six state branches want the laws reviewed, while gambling, Aukus and Palestine are also on the agendaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFifty-six Labor branches have passed motions to the New South Wales state conference calling for controversial anti-protest laws to be repealed or reviewed, with the entire left faction backing a motion for two of the laws to be repealed.Gambling reform, Aukus and Palestine were also among the top issues in motions submitted by branches to the conference, the last before the March election and which is key in informing policy. Continue reading...

• SCBX has enhanced its frontier research capabilities after having its AI research papers accepted at four prestigious global conferences, including ICLR, ACL, and EACL. • The research focuses on deepening foundational capabilities in reasoning for large language models (LLMs), which are the core technologies behind systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. • This achievement signals SCBX's growing influence in the fields of Natural Language Processing (NLP), machine learning, and deep learning.

Ukraine’s president will not attend after sparking Polish ‘outrage’ over naming of military unitEurope live – latest updatesVolodymyr Zelenskyy will skip a high-level conference on the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine amid a deepening rift with Poland over his naming of a military unit for one that killed tens of thousands of Poles during the second world war.Ukraine’s president had been expected to co-host the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which begins in the Polish coastal city of Gdańsk on Thursday, but the Ukrainian delegation will instead be led by the prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko. Continue reading...

Ensuring fair compensation for those affected by legacies of enslavement and measures to address debt burdens, part of 18-point strategic roadmapA global framework for reparatory justice has been adopted at a conference in Ghana.Heads of state, governments and other officials adopted the strategy on Friday at a gathering in a hotel in the capital, Accra, which was the first major meeting since the adoption of the landmark United Nations (UN) resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. Continue reading...

• Experts gathered at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2026 Congress to present the latest clinical trial updates and investigational research. • The event focused on advancing treatment options for patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and various other hematologic malignancies. • These findings are significant as they translate high-level conference data into practical clinical applications to improve patient care.

• New Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh held his first news conference on Wednesday after the central bank decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged. • Despite the hold, nearly half of the Fed's policymakers indicated they could support an interest rate hike later this year. • This decision reflects the central bank's ongoing struggle to balance inflation control with economic stability.

• The 2026 World Cup is underway with a focus on today's scheduled matches featuring Spain, Belgium, Uruguay, and Iran. • Recent high-scoring results include Germany's dominant 7-1 victory over Curacao and Sweden's 5-1 win against Tunisia. • Other notable match outcomes include a 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Japan, and a narrow 1-0 win for Ivory Coast over Ecuador.

• An Antler partner has criticized London Tech Week as "complacency in conference form," arguing that the UK focuses too much on celebrating success rather than solving systemic issues. • The critique highlights critical barriers facing the British tech ecosystem, specifically regarding talent acquisition and a lack of funding for companies attempting to scale. • New research from Antler analyzing over 40,000 UK funding rounds reveals a stark pipeline weakness, with only about 12% of startups successfully progressing from seed stage to Series A.

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to BeijingChina has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying.Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday. Continue reading...

• FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a news conference on the eve of the World Cup, marking his first media appearance in three years. • Infantino addressed the complexities of managing diverse participating nations and expressed a desire to resolve ongoing disputes with a "positive spirit." • He indicated that the UK is a likely candidate to host the Women's World Cup in 2035, though a final decision has not yet been reached.