Push

• The Trump administration has entered into a highly unusual agreement to develop Venezuela's vast oil reserves, granting the United States majority control over the resources. • The deal is facing significant pushback from Venezuelans who view the country's oil as a national birthright and are skeptical of U.S. control. • While the accord could bring essential major investment into the region, critics argue it fails to guarantee broader economic stability or political change.

• Iran is calling for a global effort to oppose U.S. sanctions while maintaining that diplomatic solutions remain possible. • The Iranian government demanded an immediate end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, alongside an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and a cessation of attacks on Syria. • In a strategic shift, Iran has opened a "temporary and limited" corridor for ships passing through the Hormuz Strait.

Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to acquire land to construct private road to development outside parkThe Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, the country’s first national park and one of its most popular, to a Nevada-based private developer.Staff with the National Park Service have been exploring how the agency can give a quarter-mile parcel to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the news outlet Notus reported on Friday, citing agency documents and unnamed sources “directly familiar with discussions”. Continue reading...

• OpenAI and over 100 companies have issued a formal warning to governments and businesses regarding an imminent surge in AI-powered cyberattacks. • The group cautions that within a few months, hacking attempts will become significantly more advanced, widespread, and difficult to defend against. • This alert highlights the critical need for a global defense push to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure before these AI-enabled threats scale.

• Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How is urging Singaporean businesses and public-sector organisations to adopt a "problem-first" approach to artificial intelligence. • The initiative emphasizes practical outcomes and solving meaningful problems over the superficial adoption of AI technology for its own sake. • Key priorities for this strategic shift include workforce transformation, inclusive innovation, and the responsible deployment of AI at a meaningful scale.

• Iran has launched a renewed diplomatic push, proposing a plan with Oman to ensure the continued movement of ships through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. • Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is visiting Tehran to facilitate mediation efforts between Iran and the United States. • This diplomatic shift comes as U.S. economic pressure intensifies, with Iranian officials suggesting that the next move toward de-escalation rests with Donald Trump.

Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan distances himself from Hasan Piker and debates Fox News hostThe Democratic candidate for Senate in the swing state of Michigan has spent the week trying to keep his affordability message front and center as scrutiny mounts from both ends of the political spectrum.In the span of two days, Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself from leftwing streamer Hasan Piker, spoke out against rightwing hate directed at the Muslim community, and debated Fox News host Jesse Watters on taxing billionaires. The clip circulating most from the Fox interview, though, focused on circumcision - specifically, El-Sayed asking Watters if he was, in a retort to Watters’ question about gender-affirming care. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nearly 100 Labour MPs support commission on changing the system used for Westminster electionWhy do some Labour MPs want electoral reform and will it happen?Andy Burnham will face an immediate test of his backing for electoral reform in his first week in parliament as prime minister, with almost 100 Labour MPs supporting a bid for a new national commission.Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, will be asked to support the new commission into ditching first past the post in his first 100 days as prime minister. Continue reading...

• Arsenal are pushing to sign Julian Alvarez, who has reportedly been given the "green light" for a move following a negative reception from Atletico Madrid fans. • Liverpool are continuing their pursuit of a new winger, receiving a positive update regarding their interest in Bradley Barcola. • Manchester City are targeting a Liverpool winger, while Manchester United have identified a new target to strengthen their left-back position.

A day after suggesting other projects were more important to Victorians, Carroll has committed to pushing ahead on train lineGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has made an about-face, committing to pushing ahead with the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop while promising to reduce its total cost by about 6%.Carroll will on Tuesday announce changes to the scope of the first stage of the project, known as SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill – estimated to save $1bn. Continue reading...

Poll also finds sizeable majorities who believe it should be easier to install air con in homesGiven the choice, more people across five major European nations including the UK favour encouraging the adoption of air conditioning over keeping carbon emissions down, a survey has found.After four extreme heatwaves that have caused thousands of excess deaths across the continent, the survey showed between 30% and 52% of people in six countries had feared for their household’s health in temperatures close to or above 40C (104F). Continue reading...

• Mayor Andy Burnham is pushing for a devolution deal that would grant mayors the power to overrule local councils to either approve or block major housing developments. • Under this proposal, mayoral decisions must align with national policy and local planning rules, though government ministers will retain a backstop power to intervene. • Mayors would gain increased influence over the allocation of national housing funding from Homes England and the ability to charge development levies to finance infrastructure.

Michigan Senate nominee and others have re-energized one-time Democratic voters who abandoned the party under BidenTwo years ago, Zainab Bibi Ahmed thought she had turned her back on the Democrats for good. Now, she is volunteering for the party’s US Senate nominee in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.Ahmed was one of 100,000 people to vote uncommitted in the February 2024 Democratic Michigan primary, in a bid to send a message to then US president Joe Biden about his support for Israel, as people watched what Amnesty International later called a “live-streamed genocide” in Gaza on their screens. Continue reading...

• India has approved ₹4,896 crore in foreign direct investment (FDI) across 29 different projects under revised regulatory rules. • The new guidelines permit up to 10% Chinese ownership in these ventures, reflecting a calibrated approach to foreign capital. • For FY26, the government approved only one direct Chinese FDI proposal worth ₹1 crore, though 13 proposals from Hong Kong were cleared.

Expected quarterly rise highest in three years and likely to wipe out Burnham’s VAT cut on electricity billsHousehold energy bills across Great Britain are expected to climb to a three-year high this winter as the impact of the Middle East war wipes out Andy Burnham’s tax cut on electricity bills.The government’s cap on energy prices is on track to rise by 4% from this October to the equivalent of £1,729 a year through the last three months of 2026, which could hit struggling households especially hard this winter, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Continue reading...

• OpenAI's president recently published a blog post promoting "agentic AI," though analysts argue the piece omitted critical discussions on safety and control. • Mark Tauschek of Info-Tech Research Group notes that major AI labs are deprioritizing early ethics guardrails in favor of cybersecurity capabilities to attract investment. • The shift is significant because it suggests a waning appetite to slow development for the sake of ensuring models act ethically for average users.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise would end on 21 August at the request of the USSouth Korea’s military has confirmed that joint military drills with the US will be cut short, days after Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back the exercises.In a statement on Wednesday, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said at the request of the US side, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise – which began on Monday would end on Friday, six days earlier than originally planned. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Raúl Torrez is drafting two bills with state lawmakers to bolster consumer protections and child safety online, building on state’s landmark case against MetaNew Mexico’s attorney general is mounting a full-court press against technology companies to improve their child safety measures, capitalizing on a landmark win in court against Meta earlier this year.Raúl Torrez is working with state lawmakers to draft two new bills he says will strengthen consumer protections and child safety online. The legislation, expected to be announced in the coming weeks, will build on the state’s case against the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. A jury found in March that the company misled its users about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation. The social media giant was fined nearly $1bn as a result of the case. Continue reading...

• India is accelerating its electronics and AI infrastructure ambitions, highlighted by Google advancing a US$15 billion AI data center. • Key industry players are expanding, with Dixon Technologies growing its smartphone OEM business and Larsen & Toubro restructuring its cloud operations. • The push faces significant headwinds, including mounting environmental opposition, tighter visa restrictions for Chinese nationals, and fierce global competition for semiconductor investments.

Heavy machinery seen operating in famous Santa Elena Canyon amid outcry over new wall infrastructure in beloved Texas parkBulldozers have begun plowing up ground at the mouth of Big Bend national park’s famed Santa Elena Canyon as part of the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar “smart wall” expansion on the US-Mexico border, according to new footage taken by activists who have been monitoring the site.Tensions have run high since the Trump administration announced plans to erect new border security infrastructure in the roughly 500-mile Big Bend region of south-west Texas, which includes the Lone Star State’s largest and most-visited national park. Continue reading...

• European stock indices closed lower due to falling oil prices and bond yields, contrasting with a rally on Wall Street led by the Nasdaq 100. • AI-driven demand fueled significant gains for CoreWeave (+19%) and Nebius (+34%), while Databricks secured $5 billion in funding at a $190 billion valuation. • In New Zealand, the July manufacturing PMI slowed to 54.3 from 60.1, with BusinessNZ citing concerns over Middle East costs and election uncertainty.

GDP expanded by 0.4% in three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, says ONSEconomic growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, as the disruption unleashed by the Iran war began to take its toll, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP expanded by 0.4% in the three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, in line with City economists’ expectations. Continue reading...

• French AI company Mistral is expanding its sovereign AI strategy in Europe by introducing regional inference and providing access to third-party open-weight models. • This move aligns with broader European efforts to maintain regional control over AI workloads, supported by a €13 billion fund from France and Germany for deep tech and frontier companies. • Sovereign AI is critical for ensuring that AI infrastructure, such as data centers, and foundation models are tailored to specific regional laws, cultural norms, and security requirements.

Customers will be able to pay using face and palm scans, potentially speeding up transactions – but rollout of the technology is likely to be slowGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe company behind 300,000 Eftpos terminals across Australia is hoping shoppers will want to make payments by simply glancing at a screen, as biometric technology pushes further into retailing.Verifone is selling the innovation as “pay for your coffee with a smile”, promising faster checkouts for people who opt in to having their face or palm-vein – the veins in people’s hands – biometrics used for Eftpos transactions in Australia. Continue reading...

• Donald Trump is facing a lawsuit following his efforts to implement a new approach to limit birthright citizenship, despite existing Supreme Court rulings. • The policy instructs government agencies to deny citizenship documents to children of diplomatic staff, alleged members of terrorist organizations, and those engaging in "commercial transactions" to ensure a US birth. • This push serves as a strategic move by Republicans to use the issue as a conservative rallying point ahead of the November midterm elections.

Justice department is asked to weigh new charges against David Hearn after US attorney dropped vandalism chargesThe White House has asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to weigh new charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, according to a person familiar with the matter, pushing to revive a case Donald Trump has fumed about ever since an ally dropped the case citing insufficient evidence.Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, dropped the charges against the man, David Hearn, on 31 July, blaming a contractor for a flawed installation. In a 20-page filing dismissing the charges, Pirro’s office said it had received evidence that damage to the pool occurred before Hearn visited it, and that “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hearn has maintained that he reached in the water to touch a piece of already detached lining while he was on bike ride in June. Continue reading...

Largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US reported $6.8bn in profits, while employees find it difficult to make ends meetUnion workers with HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US, are holding picket protests across the country as they push for pay and staffing increases in a new contract.The hospital system has over 300,000 employees in the US and the UK, with 22,000 US workers represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who are in contract negotiations with HCA. Workers are asking for a pathway to a $25 an hour minimum wage, improved wage scales and raises that match the increased cost of living, along with benefits including paid vacation, sick time and bolstered work protections. Continue reading...

• Several high-profile films, including Joel Coen's 'Jack of Spades,' 'Here Comes The Flood,' 'The Riders,' and 'The Entertainment System Is Down,' have been pushed to 2027. • These delays mean the projects will miss the 2026 festival and awards season windows, leaving their potential for nominations uncertain. • The shift highlights the unpredictable nature of production timelines for prestige cinema aiming for critical acclaim.