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• Indonesia is experiencing a revival of authoritarian and strongman politics, driven by the rise of personalistic political parties that prioritize individual leaders over institutionalized competition. • This shift undermines the country's democratic framework by displacing structured electoral processes in favor of loyalty to powerful political figures. • The trend is significant because it suggests that democratic backsliding is not merely the result of individual presidential agendas, but a systemic evolution of the party system.

Robert Assaf separately tells anti-corruption inquiry money funnelled through lobbying firm to create ‘maximum benefit from a tax perspective’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA group of young conservative Liberal power brokers accused of soliciting illegal donations used some of the funds to pay for a bucks night, one of its members has told a corruption inquiry.The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Friday heard again from Robert Assaf, who this week was the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence. Continue reading...

• The European Union is implementing new salary transparency rules to combat a gender pay gap where women earn an average of 11.1% less per hour than men. • Several major economies, including Germany, France, Spain, Austria, and the Netherlands, have missed the deadline to put implementing legislation into force. • Brussels has signaled that infringement proceedings may follow for countries that fail to comply with the transparency mandates.

• A joint study by UNESCO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reveals that the region will have 38.3 million fewer school-age children by 2050. • The report highlights a significant demographic shift and recommends integrating data on births, migration, enrollment, and location to better manage educational resources. • This decline matters as it threatens the efficiency of current education systems and requires a strategic reallocation of funding to avoid wasted investment.

• The Jammu and Kashmir Awareness Campaign (JAAC) reports that 14 activists were killed and dozens injured during clashes with security personnel in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). • The violence occurs amid a phased election cycle, with the first round of voting already completed in Mirpur on Monday. • Further polling is scheduled for Muzaffarabad on August 2 and the Poonch division on August 10.

Video appears to show a person kicking the federally protected animal in San Diego, CaliforniaFederal wildlife authorities are investigating after a video appeared to show a person kicking a protected sea lion at a beach in California.A spokesperson for the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed an investigation into the case but declined to provide additional details Sunday. Continue reading...

Hackers access Australian customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and some bank account details, company saysOrigin Energy customers’ addresses, phone numbers and partial bank account data have been accessed in a hack, the company has confirmed.The company has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia, providing electricity, natural gas, LPG, and internet services to homes and businesses. Continue reading...

Outbreak has been traced to Upper East Side cooling towers, but Mamdani says source of exposure has been eliminatedA fifth person has died in New York City in connection with the legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood, according to the city’s health department.In an update issued Tuesday, the department said that 82 cases of legionnaires’ disease have now been identified and five people have died. Eight people remain hospitalized, while 56 have been discharged. Continue reading...

US health officials say source of Upper East Side cluster has likely been eliminated after 76 people fell illAn outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in New York City has claimed a fourth life, officials have said, as they again expressed confidence the source of the exposure had been eliminated.A statement from the city’s health department on Monday said the outbreak, which was traced to cooling towers in buildings in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, had sickened 76 people – with 53 discharged after hospital treatment, and 12 others managing their recovery at home. Continue reading...

• Recent attacks in Ukraine over the weekend resulted in at least 12 civilian deaths and numerous injuries across the country. • Infrastructure damage was reported at World Food Programme (WFP) warehouses in Dnipro and World Health Organization (WHO) facilities near Kyiv. • In response to the crisis, the UN and humanitarian partners successfully delivered 11 metric tons of essential aid to frontline communities in Kherson.

Outbreak has sickened dozens in the city but officials say they believe source of outbreak ‘has likely been eliminated’A second person has died amid a legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City, according to officials, who also say there is evidence that the source of the outbreak “has likely been eliminated”.New York City’s health department served notice of the second death in a statement on Saturday. The statement didn’t have any information about that person’s identity, age, or details on when and how they fell ill, as was the case when city officials on Friday announced the first death in the outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Continue reading...

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that over 100 aid organizations have launched emergency responses in Venezuela. • These groups have conducted more than 2,200 activities across 14 states, providing hot meals and tents to those affected by earthquakes last month. • This large-scale intervention is critical for addressing both immediate disaster relief and preexisting humanitarian needs in the region.

Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell illA legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill. Continue reading...

Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, 45, found ‘unresponsive’ while being transferred between detention facilities in GeorgiaAnother person has died in federal immigration custody this week in Georgia, officials announced on Wednesday, His is the 22nd death in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year.Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, a 45-year-old Venezuelan man, died on Monday morning while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia. In a press release, ICE said Arenas-Silva was arrested last Thursday and had been detained at the Irwin county detention center, a privately run facility in Georgia. He was being transferred to another ICE facility, the Folkston ICE processing center, when he was found “unresponsive” in a transport bus. ICE said the “suspected” cause of death was cardiac arrest. Continue reading...

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is scaling up containment efforts to combat an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. • The disease has expanded into two additional provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, with specific cases reported in Kisangani. • This spread is critical because Kisangani serves as a major hub, increasing the risk of wider transmission along key transport corridors.

Video shows ‘pontoon pleasure boat’ partially submerged about 600 yards from famous tourist attractionOne person was missing and 17 people were rescued after a fire broke out on a pontoon near San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island on Tuesday, authorities said.The US coast guard confirmed search-and-rescue efforts were “ongoing” Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading...

Royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion hears from professor whose office was occupied by protesters Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Jewish professor has told the royal commission into antisemitism the University of Melbourne needs to show it doesn’t “tolerate misbehaviour” after the expulsion of two pro-Palestine student activists who occupied his office was overturned.Steven Prawer, a professor of physics, said on Tuesday that he had not known at the time if it was a “terrorist attack”. Continue reading...

Shooting occurs days after man killed by immigration agent during traffic stop in TexasUS politics live – latest updatesA person was ⁠killed on Monday in a shooting involving US immigration agents in Maine, media outlets reported citing a prominent state lawmaker, days ⁠after a man ⁠was ​killed by an immigration agent during a traffic stop in Texas.Media reports of the shooting ⁠in Biddeford, Maine, cited a post by the Maine state house’s speaker, Ryan Fecteau, on a personal Facebook ⁠page. Continue reading...

Woman dies after her home is swept away as heavy rainfall batters parts of state, forcing rescues and evacuationsA woman was found dead in Missouri on Saturday after heavy rainfall battered parts of the state the previous day, forcing numerous emergency rescues and evacuations, including at a summer camp with more than 200 children.The body of Faith Gregory, who went missing in Missouri’s Crawford county after her home was swept away from its foundation, was found by volunteers late Saturday morning. Her body was discovered about 1.8 miles (3km) downstream from her residence in Huzzah creek, according to the county sheriff’s office. Continue reading...

Shooting death at an extended-stay motel is fourth officer-involved death since initiative began in SeptemberFederal agents killed a man at a Memphis motel Wednesday morning in a Drug Enforcement Administration operation with the Memphis Safe Task Force, the fourth officer-involved death since the anticrime initiative began in September.Donald Trump established the federal taskforce by executive order last year, amid a surge of troops and federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-run cities that he claimed were overrun with crime. All four of the deaths have occurred in the last two months. Continue reading...

• MHProNews is drafting a report titled “American Freedom and Housing at 250” to coincide with the United States' 250th anniversary. • The analysis utilizes research from R. J. Rummel on democide and Thomas Sowell’s critiques of big government to argue that the modern regulatory state has stifled prosperity. • A primary focus is the "man-made" U.S. housing crisis, which the publication attributes to restrictive zoning laws and financing barriers that prevent affordable homeownership.

• HTF Market Intelligence has released a comprehensive study on the Asia Pacific Personal Luxury Goods Market, forecasting trends from 2025 to 2032. • The report highlights a shift toward data-driven strategies, noting that industry giants like LVMH and Kering SA can no longer rely solely on historical sales data to maintain competitiveness. • This evolution matters as the luxury sector becomes increasingly competitive, requiring brands to leverage real-time insights to capture the booming Asia Pacific consumer base.

• The UN Secretary-General expressed concern over the reported detention of political and civic actors in Uganda, specifically highlighting cases where the whereabouts of some individuals remain unknown. • The Secretary-General emphasized that the rights to liberty, security of person, and freedom of expression—including media independence—are legally enshrined in Uganda’s own Constitution. • This intervention underscores the international community's focus on human rights violations and the erosion of democratic freedoms within the country.

San Jose police say Sunday incident in area that has been hosting watch parties ‘is being investigated as a homicide’One person was killed and another seriously injured on Sunday night ⁠in a shooting at a popular entertainment spot in San Jose, California, that has been hosting a World ⁠Cup “fan zone” as well as screening ⁠matches, police ​said.There were no World Cup games being screened at the time of the shooting, with the only match ⁠of the day in the tournament finishing at about 2pm local time. Continue reading...

British-born, older men among those most likely to have disease found only postmortem, say researchersOne person a week dies with undiagnosed and therefore untreated tuberculosis in England, a study has found.British-born, older men were among those most likely to have TB diagnosed only after death, researchers said, suggesting healthcare workers could be overlooking the possibility of the disease in these patients. Continue reading...

• The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is worsening, with the International Organization for Migration reporting over 2,600 people displaced in Artibonite following clashes between armed groups last week. • UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the urgent need to strengthen regional diplomacy and accelerate sustainable development to ensure global peace and dignity. • The Secretary-General announced the appointment of Mohamed Yahya of Somalia as the new Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.

All branches of the military will be taught how to use technology that has become a ‘game changer on the battlefield’, says defence ministerAll of South Korea’s military forces will be trained as drone operators in a sweeping overhaul of its warfare strategy, the defence minister has said.“All soldiers should be able to use drones like a second personal firearm,” Ahn Gyu-back, who heads the defence ministry in Seoul, said on Friday. Continue reading...

• India has emerged as the leader in AI adoption within the Asia Pacific region, according to the 16th annual Adobe AI and Digital Trends Report published on June 25. • A significant 60% of Indian consumers expressed a desire to build their own personal AI agents to manage complex tasks. • This trend highlights a shift toward "agentic AI," where systems move beyond simple responses to autonomously executing sophisticated workflows.