Warn

• Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller warned that Scott Bessent, a Trump ally and potential Treasury Secretary, will likely fail if he attempts to suppress bond yields. • Druckenmiller argues that Bessent should prioritize cutting the US budget deficit rather than fighting market forces to lower borrowing costs. • Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute highlighted the irony of Bessent's approach, noting his past association with figures who famously broke the Bank of England in 1992.

Government resilience campaign aims to ensure people can cope in a national disaster, in order to free resources for most vulnerableUK citizens will be told to stock up on tinned food and take steps to ensure they are prepared for national emergencies as part of a new government campaign to improve the nation’s resilience.The new campaign from the Cabinet Office will set out ways people can prepare for extreme weather events and potential attacks from hostile states, including stocking up on bottled water, sources told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Trump administration proposes new rule to dismantle requirement for datacenters to publicly report air pollutionA new rule proposed by the Trump administration aims to kill public notification for datacenter air pollution, public health advocates warn, and allow emission permits to be issued behind closed doors.The datacenters are often sources of nitrogen oxide, which helps form ozone, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, among other pollutants. Continue reading...

Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent’s attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America’s cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary’s former mentor.Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros’s fund management firm in the 1990s, has warned that his former pupil is courting danger by trying to suppress US bond yields. Continue reading...

• Iran has issued warnings of a "harsh response" following expectations that the United States will impose new economic sanctions. • The Iranian government indicated that the consequences of these anticipated measures could extend to its neighboring countries. • China has intervened by urging all involved parties to avoid actions that could intensify regional conflicts or disrupt global financial stability.

Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pupsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastScientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia.SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1. Continue reading...

Prime minister will use national cabinet meeting to assuage premiers over new AI law as AEMO forecasts seven-fold rise in datacentre power useGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese will seek to use Wednesday’s high-stakes talks with premiers to quell growing unhappiness about national controls on datacentre developments, promising new approval laws will complement state rules.Faced with growing opposition from conservative governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory, Albanese will tell national cabinet he plans a major piece of legislation next year to ensure the economic benefits of AI are shared widely. Continue reading...

• Economist Saravelos warns that recent U.S. Treasury moves in bond and currency markets constitute "soft-form financial repression" designed to artificially lower debt costs. • The analysis suggests that if U.S. Treasury prices are prevented from adjusting downward, the dollar must weaken to adjust the value of bonds held by foreign investors. • This strategy effectively loosens financial conditions, which may conflict with the Federal Reserve's goal of keeping inflation at or below its 2% target.

• OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane has warned that the world is entering a new chapter where AI models possess the advanced capabilities to plan and launch "ongoing, persistent" cyber-attacks. • In response to these rising safety concerns, OpenAI announced a pause in the development of its most advanced internal models this week. • The warning comes amid mounting criticism from experts who argue that leading AI firms are acting "recklessly" regarding the deployment of powerful technology.

Victims have lost tens of thousands – and in one case £300,000 – due to fake emails from solicitor or estate agentYou are poised to move house and are awaiting the solicitor’s instructions that things are ready to go and it is time to hand over your deposit. When the email arrives giving you their bank details, you set up the transfer and move the cash. And then the solicitor calls to ask where the money is.Conveyancing fraud involves criminals getting access to an email chain between homebuyers and their solicitors or estate agents and requesting payment to a bank account they control. Sometimes the solicitor has been hacked, but often the homebuyer has been the victim of a phishing exercise. Continue reading...

• European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has warned that the European Union must overcome market fragmentation to remain competitive in the global AI race. • Lagarde emphasized that a disjointed single market hinders Europe's ability to support and scale the technological infrastructure necessary for artificial intelligence. • This warning highlights the critical need for regulatory and economic cohesion to prevent the EU from falling behind global leaders in AI innovation.

Prolonged detention of children, insufficient staffing and hazardous damage to buildings are among the ombudsman’s concernsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDrugs are being openly dealt inside Villawood detention centre; makeshift weapons are being manufactured amid intimidation, standover tactics and a “culture of fear”; people are sleeping outside under CCTV cameras for their own safety; and children are being kept from going to school, a scathing report from the independent monitor has found.The commonwealth’s National Preventive Mechanism issued the report based on a three-day visit in March this year. A total of 428 people were held in Villawood at the time, including children. Some 78 beds were offline because of damage still not repaired from a fire three years ago. Continue reading...

• Toumas Malinen, a professor specializing in financial crises, warns that the US economy is currently dangerously close to entering a recession. • In contrast, economists at the Atlanta Fed provide a more optimistic outlook, estimating that GDP will expand by 4% over the third quarter. • The discrepancy between these views highlights ongoing uncertainty regarding whether the US is tipping into a technical recession or maintaining growth.

People told they and their pets should keep out of river at Ham amid anger over Thames Water’s treated sewage planSwimmers are being warned not to enter the water at the first official bathing site on the River Thames, in south-west London, because of toxic blue-green algae in the water.The blue-green algal blooms are rare in moving water but are likely to be caused by the extreme heat, low river flow, and nutrient pollution from sewage waste. Continue reading...

A mother, father and their teenage daughter died after getting into difficulty in water off Shoreham-by-Sea, and a younger girl remains in hospitalAndy Burnham has warned of the dangers of open-water swimming as he called the deaths of a mother, father and their teenage daughter who got into difficulty in water off Sussex “a terrible family tragedy”.The prime minister expressed his sympathies to their loved ones as a young girl from the same family remained in a critical condition in hospital. Continue reading...

• Circuit Judge J. Kennedy Peabody warned against using government authority to punish dissent, criticism, or perceived political disloyalty during the opening of the 15th Judicial Circuit in River Gee County. • The judge argued that public institutions "bleed" and suffer significantly when administrative decisions are driven by personal interests, resentment, or revenge rather than the law. • This warning highlights the critical need for intolerance and retaliatory leadership to be removed from the exercise of public power to maintain institutional integrity.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres marked World Humanitarian Day 2026 by warning that attacks on aid workers are illegal and demanding immediate global action. • The campaign emphasizes the need for accountability for those targeting humanitarian staff and urges the world to respect existing protections. • This call for action comes as rapidly evolving military technology and shifting warfare dynamics make it harder for aid organizations to identify threats and maintain safe routes.

• Five economists and researchers from the European Central Bank (ECB) have warned that the current generative AI boom could lead to a market bubble burst. • The ECB compares the current AI surge to historical precedents like the 19th-century railway boom and the dot-com era, where transformative technologies initially caused extreme stock price inflation. • This warning matters because a sharp correction in AI valuations could trigger systemic financial fallout across global markets.

• The European Central Bank (ECB) has warned that the eurozone faces a potential financial crisis if the current artificial intelligence investment bubble bursts. • Concerns are driven by the fact that eurozone households have invested approximately €440 billion in US tech stocks, creating significant stability risks. • In a related development, a US tech giant is providing credit capped at $105 billion to fund a data center designed to house over one million AI chips.

All the days news as it unfoldedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChalmers calls gambling amendments ‘very substantial changes’Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the opt-out register on gambling advertising will be revenue neutral, because the gambling industry will have to cover the costs.These changes that we’re proposing are very substantial changes. And they will make it much easier for people to opt out of this advertising. At the same time, as we make it easier for the regulator to enforce the rules around inducements.I understand people’s concern about inducements. And the minister and the government does as well. I think primarily there’s an important role for the regulator to crack down on and enforce these inducements.There’s absolutely no doubt that the implementation of the reforms has made everything worse for older Australians … the government’s got a lot to do to fix the implementation of these once-in-a-generation reforms that should have and could have and still can be what they were intended to be, but they just aren’t being rolled out like that.If the automation that we’re seeing in aged care is transferred over into the NDIS, yes I have very serious concerns about that. We saw 250,000 older Australians reassessed under aged care.Are we talking over 750,000 Australians who live with disability who possibly need to be reassessed? If they’ve got an algorithm that’s as botched as the one we’ve got in aged care, well we would have very serious concerns and certainly we’ll be raising those matters. Continue reading...

Andrei Klepach of VEB said Russia’s economy was falling behind China, US and ‘in some respects Ukraine’The chief economist at Russia’s second largest bank has been fired after a series of critical comments about the state of the economy, including warnings that Moscow would not win a prolonged economic war with Ukraine.Andrei Klepach, who had served in the role at the state-controlled development bank VEB since 2014, was fired days after Russian media reported on a scathing speech he had delivered to fellow economists in May. Continue reading...

Billionaire CEO of world’s biggest bank says any windfall tax on sector’s bumper profits could harm jobs in the CityJamie Dimon, the boss of the US bank JP Morgan, has urged John Healey not to use his first budget as chancellor to increase taxes on banks’ bumper profits.Speculation has been growing that a windfall tax could be imposed on UK lenders to fund Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, with campaigners estimating such a move could raise £19bn. Continue reading...

Parents of Michaela Hall, whose partner killed her after he left prison in 2021, say Probation Service cannot cope with mass releaseMore women will die if ministers include domestic abusers in the early prison release scheme, the parents of a woman murdered by her partner shortly after he was freed have warned.Michaela Hall, a 49-year-old charity worker, was killed in her home in Cornwall, by Lee Kendall in 2021 two weeks after he was released from prison, where he had been serving a sentence for assaulting her. Continue reading...

President says move is based on ‘very good relationship with Kim Jong-un’ but US military officials have said Ukraine war is boosting regime’s combat capabilitiesDonald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime was learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war.The drills under Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of two major annual exercises held by South Korea and the US, start on Monday and run until 27 August. Continue reading...

Dozens of non-profit groups urge Labor not to limit work rights for temporary migrants. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJoyce says One Nation are ‘not homophobes’, but won’t be seen at Mardi GrasOne Nation leader Barnaby Joyce says his party are not homophobes, but will absolutely not attend a Mardi Gras event.Everybody’s trying to make us as a pack of homophobes, which we’re not. It’s just ridiculous. And we’re not racist, we’re not homophobes, but we always get these tropes thrown at us …You can absolutely bet I would not go to the Mardi Gras. But that’s my business, and we just want you to live your own life.This is not the Australia we want to be and it is not the answer to the growing challenges facing our community. Continue reading...

Australia’s corporate watchdog says PM is the figure most commonly used in deepfakes to promote phony investment opportunitiesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere has been a steep rise in scammers luring victims into phony investment opportunities using deepfakes of celebrities and politicians, Australia’s corporate watchdog has warned.And Anthony Albanese is the figure most commonly co-opted. Continue reading...

• On August 16, 2026, Moscow's chief economist warned that Russia may be unable to secure a victory in its prolonged war of attrition against Ukraine. • The warning highlights critical economic or strategic vulnerabilities that could undermine Russia's long-term ability to sustain military operations. • This assessment is significant as it suggests a potential shift in the internal economic outlook of the Kremlin regarding the conflict's sustainability.

• Indonesian officials have lifted a tsunami warning following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck off the coast of Flores island in eastern Indonesia. • The warning was initially issued because the earthquake was shallow, increasing the risk of displaced water causing coastal surges. • This event highlights the region's extreme vulnerability to seismic activity, as Indonesia sits on the "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates frequently collide.