Cutting

• Big Tech companies are funding their aggressive investments in artificial intelligence by implementing significant payroll cuts and layoffs of skilled employees. • This strategy, highlighted in recent reporting by Fortune's Eva Roytburg, involves trading human capital for AI infrastructure and development. • The approach is viewed as a risky tradeoff, as firms may be eliminating the very technical expertise required to successfully implement and maintain AI systems.

• Microsoft is reducing its reliance on third-party AI models to cut spending, following a broader cost-cutting trend among Silicon Valley giants. • To lower costs, the company is shifting toward developing its own proprietary AI agents and internal infrastructure. • At its annual Build conference last month, Microsoft introduced seven new MAI models, featuring a text-to-image generator and an agentic coder.

• Former President Donald Trump considered reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe by one-third to pressure NATO allies. • The idea emerged during a White House meeting this spring after Trump expressed frustration that alliance members refused to join a military operation in Iran. • While Trump appeared surprised by a Pentagon decision to halt a troop rotation in Poland, he maintained a plan to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.

• Former President Donald Trump considered reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe by one-third to pressure NATO allies. • This contemplation followed a White House meeting this spring where Trump expressed frustration that alliance members refused to join a military operation in Iran. • While Trump appeared surprised by a Pentagon decision to halt a troop rotation in Poland, he maintained a separate order to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.

• Microsoft has announced the elimination of approximately 4,800 positions, representing about 2.1% of its global workforce. • The layoffs are driven by the need to improve operational efficiency and manage cash flow pressures resulting from massive investments in artificial intelligence. • This cost-cutting measure follows a period of financial volatility, with company shares falling 23% during the first half of 2026.

Exclusive: University moves and falling exam entries fuel concerns about opportunities for working-class pupilsCutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned.More than 70 languages academics were among 500 staff at the University of Exeter to be told last week they were at risk of redundancy as it seeks to cut 150 full-time posts, predominantly in the humanities. The announcement followed the proposal by the University of Nottingham to become the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees. Continue reading...

• CIA Director William Burns has compared the development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence to the creation of nuclear weapons due to its transformative and potentially disruptive power. • To address these emerging threats, Burns detailed a strategic reorganization of the CIA to prioritize cybersecurity and AI integration. • This shift highlights the agency's recognition that AI could fundamentally alter global intelligence gathering and national security landscapes.

• Major technology firms are implementing widespread layoffs throughout 2026, citing the rise and integration of artificial intelligence as a primary driver for job cuts. • The trend highlights a shift in workforce requirements as AI automates tasks previously handled by human employees across the tech sector. • These developments are particularly critical for South African workers and companies to monitor, as global shifts in AI employment patterns often signal future local market disruptions.

• French President Emmanuel Macron called on wealthy democracies to collaborate on the regulation of advanced artificial intelligence systems during a high-level meeting in Evian-les-Bains. • The initiative involves cooperation between governments and top industry leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who echoed Macron's plea for unified regulation at the G7 summit. • This effort matters as global powers seek to balance the rapid innovation of cutting-edge AI with safety standards and democratic oversight to prevent systemic risks.

• G-7 leaders are currently discussing a framework to grant "trusted partners" access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence models developed in the United States. • The initiative aims to create a strategic pathway that could bypass existing restrictions on the use of advanced AI by non-American entities. • This move matters as it seeks to balance national security concerns with the need for international collaboration on AI governance and technological growth.

• Apple announced at WWDC on June 8, 2026, that its major Siri AI overhaul will be blocked from EU iPhones and iPads at the launch of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 this autumn. • The decision follows a regulatory deadlock with the European Commission, which rejected all of Apple's Digital Markets Act (DMA) compliance proposals, including the Trusted System Agent privacy framework. • This restriction affects approximately 450 million users, denying them the most significant update to the virtual assistant in its 15-year history.

HMRC confirms it will fight London tax tribunal’s finding that it has been overcharging for years under the lawEV charging shake-up looks to help UK households solve off-street parking problemThe UK’s tax authorities have decided to fight against a ruling that would cut VAT across all public electric car chargers, despite a judge finding they have been overcharging for years under the law.Charge My Street, a not-for-profit charging company, last month argued successfully that VAT should have been charged at 5%, rather than 20%, in a case at a London tax tribunal that could have a significant impact on electric car drivers’ costs. HM Revenue and Customs on Tuesday confirmed it will appeal against the ruling. Continue reading...

• Scientists at INRS have identified a family of enzymes known as Ssn that can make targeted cuts in single-stranded DNA, a capability never before achieved. • This discovery fills a major gap in biotechnology by providing new tools for DNA manipulation and genetic engineering applications. • The breakthrough has significant implications for advancing biotechnology research and developing new therapeutic approaches.

Australia and Singapore will ‘make maximum efforts to meet each other’s energy security needs’ in refined fuels and LNG, according to new agreementGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s largest petrol source has pledged not to cut supplies, with Singapore’s prime minister telling Anthony Albanese that fuel will keep flowing despite the international crisis.Albanese’s whistle-stop visit with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, culminated in a new agreement that the two countries would keep sending one another fuel and liquefied natural gas, amid the “acute energy crisis” caused by the war in the Middle East. Australia and Singapore will also add a legally binding addendum to their free trade agreement on essential supplies like energy. Continue reading...

Injecting $1.5bn via petrol subsidies into an inflated economy may change things for the Reserve Bank board at its next meetingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEconomists will say that what millions of motorists gain in cheaper fuel through the prime minister’s three-month fuel excise cut, they will lose in more expensive mortgages.It may be good politics, but injecting $1.5bn via petrol subsidies into an economy that is already struggling with a resurgent inflationary problem is not going to make the Reserve Bank of Australia’s job any easier. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health secretary’s pledges in doubt as analysis shows health service will not deliver key improvementsThe NHS is set to miss key targets to shorten waiting times for help at A&E, cancer care and planned hospital treatment, leaving millions of patients facing persistently long delays.The health service in England will not deliver a series of milestone improvements in its performance that ministers demanded it achieve by the time the fiscal year ends on Tuesday, a Guardian analysis of the NHS’s most recent data has found. Continue reading...

Fuel tax cuts also risk adding to inflation by enabling some households with enough income to spend moreFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFuel excise cuts would be a “political band-aid” that could worsen petrol shortages and add to inflation, economists have warned.The mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, Tasmania’s state premier and Liberal opposition leaders in New South Wales and Victoria have called for the Albanese government to cut the excise on petrol and diesel. Continue reading...

• A new KFF survey from February-March 2026 shows 23 million ACA marketplace enrollees facing higher premiums after failed bipartisan subsidy extensions, forcing cuts to necessities. • Orlando resident Priscilla Brown, 48, rations Type 2 diabetes insulin to half or third doses or skips it entirely to manage costs despite insurance. • 75% worry about affording emergency care or hospitalization; 70% blame insurers 'a lot,' over half fault Republicans, Trump, and pharma companies.

• The California Medical Association strongly opposes a proposed statewide ballot initiative that would strip billions of dollars from vital community health centers. • The measure threatens funding for essential services provided by health clinics serving underserved populations across California. • CMA urges physicians and stakeholders to mobilize against the 'dangerous' proposal to protect community health infrastructure.

Energy company plans full return to London by moving global HQ to new development on South BankBusiness live – latest updatesBP has agreed to sell its giant German oil refinery site in Gelsenkirchen to investment firm Klesch Group as part of the British oil company’s plan to sell off $20bn (£15bn) worth of assets and cut its costs.The value of the sale was not disclosed but BP said it would save the oil company about $1bn of underlying operating expenditure at the complex, which processes about 12m tonnes of crude oil every year, mainly as fuel for cars and aircraft. Continue reading...

In letter to justice secretary, groups say judge-led decisions more likely to be influenced by bias than those made by 12 random people Thirty organisations representing victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG) have written to the justice secretary, David Lammy, urging him to drop plans to significantly reduce the number of jury trials.The groups said that the proposals, which will affect court cases in England and Wales, will deepen mistrust in the justice system among victims and distract from measures designed to reduce offending. Continue reading...