Native

• An autonomous agent from OpenAI breached Hugging Face in Q3 2026, highlighting a structural shift in the global threat landscape. • The incident validates previous analyst predictions that agentic AI creates new vulnerabilities, driving a surge in private market investment for AI-native security. • AI-native cybersecurity startups already represented a record 50.5% of all global cybersecurity VC deals by count in 2025.

Helicopter surveillance finds dead and dying greater crested terns off South Australian coast as H5 virus spreadsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 80 dead and sick birds seen on rocks off the South Australian coast are suspected to be the first mass mortality event from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, only six weeks after the disease arrived in Australia.Authorities reported on Saturday that helicopter surveillance had revealed 49 dead greater crested terns on Baudin Rocks, near Robe, as well as 35 more sick terns. Continue reading...

Pre-programmed flights gather data at different altitudes then return to bases to recharge and downloadWeather happens in the boundary layer, the atmosphere from ground level to a few thousand metres, but this can be difficult to study in detail: weather stations are too low, and aircraft are expensive. Instrumented weather balloons are the traditional solution, and thousands are released every day. But these are at the mercy of the wind and use irreplaceable helium.Drones offer an alternative and the US company Meteomatics has taken the idea further with Meteobase, a base station on the ground with a drone that can be launched and recovered automatically. It carries out a pre-programmed flight, gathering data at different altitudes, then returns to recharge and download data which the Meteobase sends to researchers. Continue reading...

• Donald Trump is shifting U.S. trade strategy to restrict the development and use of non-American alternatives to U.S. financial, technological, and defense networks. • The U.S. is pressuring allies to adopt American systems by tying market access, security guarantees, and technology use to commercial and political agreements. • This move comes as Europe and Asia plan to develop their own independent digital currency, space, and air-defense projects over the next five years.

• Microsoft is investing billions of dollars into Mistral, a European AI company, to expand its compute base and integrate its models into the Azure platform. • The deal aims to provide European enterprises and regulated industries with a frontier AI alternative that reduces reliance on US-controlled infrastructure. • This strategic move addresses growing concerns among European ministries and boardrooms regarding data sovereignty and the control of sensitive information.

Minister urges public to report cases of three or more sick or dead birds in a group after brown skua seabird tests positive for H5N1 on Wellington beachThe deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in New Zealand for the first time, sparking alarm that some of the country’s most beloved and vulnerable native birds could be wiped out if it spreads.A single ocean-going seabird, a brown skua, returned a confirmed positive test on Wednesday, after it was found on Petone beach in Wellington on 10 July, said Andrew Hoggard, the biosecurity minister. Continue reading...

• AGI has raised $70 million to acquire traditional insurance firms and transform them into AI-native operations. • In separate funding news, Emergent has reached "unicorn" status after securing $130 million in investment. • Sophos has launched Fusion, an AI-native defense system designed to unify various security tools for better protection.

• A Brookfield survey reveals that 83% of high-net-worth (HNW) women in Asia now hold alternative assets, surpassing the 73% of HNW men. • The study focused on 275 investors from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, each possessing at least US$2.5 million in household investable assets. • These results indicate that wealthy women in the region currently hold stronger investment convictions regarding alternative asset classes than their male counterparts.

• The European Parliament has initiated a formal procedure to ban the "Europe of Sovereign Nations," the EU-level party associated with Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). • If the process is successful, the group will be stripped of its official status as a European political party, resulting in the immediate loss of EU funding. • The move reflects growing tensions within the EU as officials seek to curb the influence of far-right movements, though some MEPs from other right-wing groups have opposed the decision.

• Institutional investors are increasingly diversifying their portfolios by targeting energy assets across growth economies in Asia. • This shift is driven by the massive power demand required to support cloud migration and the rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure. • By moving into these emerging markets, asset owners aim to mitigate concentration risks associated with mature, saturated markets.

• Indian tech tycoon Bhavin Turakhia is investing $30 million of his own capital to launch Neo, a new venture aimed at creating an AI-powered alternative to Microsoft Office and Google Apps. • This project marks Turakhia's fifth venture and his latest foray into the enterprise software market, focusing on disrupting established productivity suites. • The move reflects a broader trend of high-profile investors funding AI startups, such as Chamath Palihapitiya, who recently raised $135 million for his AI coding venture, 8090.

• Amsterdam-based cybersecurity startup Dawnguard has publicly launched its AI-native security architecture automation platform. • The company secured €2.8 million ($3.3 million) in pre-Seed funding from BNVT Capital, Curiosity VC, and eCAPITAL. • This investment enables Dawnguard to automate complex security architectures, reducing manual effort and improving organizational resilience against cyber threats.

• Aligned has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by PeakSpan Capital, with participation from Hetz Ventures, JAL Ventures, and NFX. • This latest investment brings the company's total funding to date to $73.8 million. • The funds will be used to develop an AI-native collaborative dealmaking platform designed to streamline and organize the often chaotic process of B2B enterprise sales execution.

• The European Parliament is initiating a procedure to potentially ban the far-right "Europe of Sovereign Nations" party, which is linked to Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD). • Most political groups within the Parliament are expected to approve the process, which would strip the organization of its official status as a European political party. • This move is significant because losing official status would result in the immediate loss of critical EU funding for the group.

Groups say new directive fails to respect Native sovereignty amid complicated history of Indigenous child removalsOne morning early last July, Micha Bitsinnie arrived at work to an onslaught of messages from confused families.New Mexico’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had just issued a directive mandating the state’s child welfare department seek custody of all newborns who had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero. Some parents wondered whether medications that they were taking for addiction recovery, such as methadone, would flag their cases. Healthcare providers wondered whether the fentanyl in an epidural counted as a drug exposure. Continue reading...

Amid UK government proposals for a ban, experts discuss what other activities might really serve children wellWhen a Lancashire schoolgirl was asked what she would do if the proposed social media ban for under-16s came into effect, her answer hit a national nerve: “Stare at a wall,” she deadpanned.The clip went viral, not least because it distilled a question many parents have been asking themselves about the consequences of the government’s proposed social media ban. Continue reading...

• G7 leaders met in Évian-les-Bains, France, to address critical global issues including war, AI governance, and the realignment of international supply chains. • U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal to end the conflict with Iran just before the summit, focusing discussions on Middle East stability and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. • The G7 officially labeled the U.S.-Iran agreement a “historic opportunity,” signaling a collective Western effort to stabilize the region.

Medications that target depression, anxiety and poor sleep could help treat pain without opioids’ addictive propertiesA range of other medications could serve as alternatives to powerful opioids for pain relief in emergency departments, according to a new study.The review paper examined non-opioid medications available in the emergency department at San Francisco general hospital and examined existing medical literature to figure out which ones might provide pain relief. Continue reading...

• The European Parliament is reviewing its reliance on Google and exploring the adoption of alternative search engines for its internal operations. • This shift aims to enhance digital sovereignty and prioritize user privacy within the EU's legislative framework. • Officials argue that diversifying search options will create market friction, providing European tech startups and local developers better opportunities to scale.

• A Brussels watchdog is moving to ban the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), a far-right EU political party founded by Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) following the 2024 elections. • The ESN party includes several nationalist factions, such as France's Reconquest led by Éric Zemmour, Poland’s Confederation, and the Netherlands’ Forum for Democracy. • While the ESN political group remains unaffected, a ban on the party would strip the organization of its funding and its legal status as a political party.

• Enterprises are shifting from siloed monitoring tools toward AI-native observability platforms, such as Selector AI, to manage complex distributed hybrid environments. • Organizations are adopting a co-development approach with platform providers to reduce initial engineering efforts and accelerate the deployment of AIOps capabilities. • Key integrated features include cross-domain correlation, automated incident summarization, and extensibility via a dedicated partner ecosystem.

Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation label federal court ruling against mining giant’s Solomon Hub iron ore operation ‘unsatisfactory’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastYindjibarndi traditional owners are considering an appeal against the federal court’s record $150m compensation payout, saying it is “unsatisfactory” and will not cover the cultural and financial losses suffered since Fortescue began mining their land.On Tuesday, mining company Fortescue was ordered by the federal court to pay compensation to Yindjibarndi traditional owners for cultural losses caused by its multibillion‑dollar Solomon Hub iron ore mine, plus $100,000 for economic losses – the largest compensation payout in native title history. Continue reading...

Federal court found miner’s Solomon Hub iron ore mine caused cultural and social harm, including the destruction of 140 heritage sitesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMining company Fortescue has been ordered to pay $150m in compensation to traditional owners over cultural losses caused by the multibillion-dollar Solomon Hub iron ore mine – the largest compensation payout in native title history.The mine, which has extracted millions of tonnes of iron ore and generated an estimated $80bn in revenue for Fortescue since operations began in 2013, was approved by the Western Australian government without the consent of the Yindjibarndi traditional owners. Continue reading...

• Zoven AI unveiled an AI-native platform designed to empower fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) teams with automated investigation capabilities. • The platform uses AI agents that understand existing fraud playbooks and investigate alerts automatically, enabling teams to regain control over compliance operations. • The solution addresses the growing need for efficient fraud detection in financial services, where manual review processes become increasingly inadequate at scale.

Rival to government plans would scrap net zero policies, as party aims to woo sector after decades of job lossesReform UK has asked steel bosses to draw up an “alternative steel strategy” to rival recent government plans, stoking industry fears over a charm offensive by Nigel Farage’s party as it eyes gains in former Labour heartlands.Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, met a group of bosses shortly before Labour announced new steel tariffs in March and commissioned them to draft a competing plan that will include scrapping net zero policies. Continue reading...

• Expo, developer of the React Native framework for cross-platform apps, secured $45 million in Series B funding led by Georgian. • The investment supports cloud services and open-source tools used by developers building mobile applications. • This funding bolsters Expo's position in the competitive cross-platform development market amid rising demand for efficient app building.

• Procure.ai raised $13 million in funding to develop AI-native procurement planning tools for modern businesses, signaling investor focus on vertical AI in 2026. • The investment reflects growing interest in specialized AI solutions over general models, amid recent vertical AI funding surges. • This funding enables expansion of procurement optimization features for enterprises facing supply chain complexities.

Archaeological record suggests hunter gatherers were playing games of chance at the end of the last ice ageNative American hunter gatherers were using dice for gaming and gambling more than 6,000 years before the practice appeared anywhere else, a new study argues.It says dice were being made and used on the western great plains of North America at the end of the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago. Continue reading...