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• Nour Haydar and Hannah Ellis-Petersen discuss the drivers behind a surge of growing protests across India. • The conversation examines the emergence of unconventional political movements, such as the "Cockroach party," and their potential to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration. • This development is significant as it highlights increasing civil unrest and a diversifying political opposition within the country.

Passage of annual bill complicated by Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran without congressional approvalThe US House of Representatives passed a $1.15tn defense policy bill in a near-party-line vote on Wednesday, after Democrats refused to back the measure amid the war with Iran and Donald Trump’s push to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide.A key plank of the president’s plan to spend $1.5tn on the military in the 2027 fiscal year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed the Republican-controlled chamber by a 216-212 vote, with all but six Democrats opposing its passage. Seven House Republicans broke ranks to oppose it. The measure now goes to the Senate. Continue reading...

• Microsoft and Mistral have expanded their sovereign AI partnership to strengthen artificial intelligence infrastructure across Europe. • The collaboration integrates Mistral’s Medium 3.5 and OCR 4 models into Microsoft Foundry, with Medium 3.5 also becoming available via Microsoft Copilot Studio. • This allows organizations to develop multilingual AI applications and deploy them across Azure, Azure Local, and disconnected environments without needing to redesign workloads.

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...

• Opposition politicians, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, shut down proceedings in the Indian parliament on Wednesday to protest police violence and education scandals. • Protesters gathered outside the Delhi parliament building dressed in black and waving placards demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. • The demonstration, linked to the "cockroach" protests, highlights growing tensions between the Modi government and opposition parties over governance and human rights.

• Friedrich Merz is leveraging the resignation of party heavyweight Jens Spahn to eliminate a political rival and stabilize his coalition. • The move facilitates a strategic cabinet reshuffle, allowing Merz to implement a political reset ahead of critical regional elections this fall. • These elections are particularly high-stakes in eastern Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to perform strongly.

• Microsoft has announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Mistral, a leading AI firm based in France. • The collaboration aims to strengthen and expand AI infrastructure across Europe to support regional technological growth. • This move is significant as it leverages Mistral's specialized models to enhance Microsoft's AI offerings within the European market.