Why are OpenAI and Anthropic cheering on regulation in Australia? The answer has global reach

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The companies hope to follow in the footsteps of SpaceX, which raised $86bn and soared to a $2.1tn valuation after it listed on public markets in June

Top US AI developers Anthropic and OpenAI cheered when Australia announced it would set new AI rules.

Big tech celebrating limits on their Silicon Valley VC-funded free-for-all might seem counterintuitive but there’s a much broader play than just what happens in one relatively small market.

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Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science

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Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different viruses

More than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.

Analysing DNA from seawater samples of 48 reefs, researchers have mapped the microbiome of the Great Barrier Reef, documenting more than 360,000 distinct viruses as well as more than 500 new bacterial species not previously known to science.

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Tankers make sharp U-turns after Houthi shipping threat – BBC

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  1. Tankers make sharp U-turns after Houthi shipping threat  BBC
  2. Houthis deploy missiles and drones to attack ships in southern Red Sea, naval group says  CNBC
  3. Houthi Red Sea threat would challenge a stretched US military  Channel 3000
  4. Houthis enforce Red Sea blockade, bringing fears of further economic disruption  The Washington Post
  5. Iran War Latest: Key Oil Chokepoints in Mideast Face Disruption as Threats Mount  Bloomberg.com
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​Andy Burnham’s ​domestic ​revolution ​could ​unobtrusively pull Britain ​closer to Europe

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The new PM talks less about the continent than his predecessor, but his agenda is more closely aligned with the EU’s

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Europe’s leaders queued up this week to welcome Andy Burnham as Britain’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote – all expressing the hope that his tenure would continue the thaw in EU-UK relations initiated by his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, said she was looking forward to strengthening cross-Channel ties, adding that a “very good” first discussion had confirmed a common commitment to “bringing the EU and UK closer and closer”. France’s Emmanuel Macron said he hoped for a deeper relationship that gave “new momentum to the partnership” between the EU and the UK. Germany’s Friedrich Merz said he, too, was looking forward to forging an even closer bond.

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Ukraine’s strike on Russian retail giant Wildberries’ warehouses may have cost sellers at least 150 billion rubles – Meduza

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  1. Ukraine’s strike on Russian retail giant Wildberries’ warehouses may have cost sellers at least 150 billion rubles  Meduza
  2. Russia’s Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries is now in Ukraine’s crosshairs. Here's why  CNBC
  3. A New Target for Ukraine’s Long-Range Attacks: Russia’s Version of Amazon  The New York Times
  4. Ukrainian drones hit Russian online giant retailer Wildberries for second time  BBC
  5. Ukraine war briefing: War on Wildberries burns two more warehouses  The Guardian
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Food price fears after Europe’s heatwave destroys estimated €2bn of crops

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Record June temperatures expected to cut grain harvest by 9m tonnes to its lowest level since 2018

The heatwave that swept across Europe in June is estimated to have cost the continent’s grain farmers €2bn (£1.7bn) in lost revenue and destroyed 9m tonnes of crops, sparking concern about the impact on the price of food.

Coceral, the European cereals and oilseeds trade association, made the estimate for the harvest of crops such as wheat, barley, maize and oats following the heatwave.

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France becomes first European Union country to ban social media for kids under 15 – CBS News

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  1. France becomes first European Union country to ban social media for kids under 15  CBS News
  2. French lawmakers approve a sweeping social media ban for children under 15  NPR
  3. France becomes the first EU country to ban social media for children  CNN
  4. France passes law banning under-15s from social media  BBC
  5. French lawmakers race to introduce an under-15 social media ban before the new school year  AP News
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Nicaragua’s congress announces ‘work plan’ to suspend elections

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US secretary of state says international community should ‘join forces’ against authoritarian Ortega regime

Nicaragua’s congress, controlled by the country’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has announced a “work plan” to implement the authoritarian leader’s order that the country should no longer hold elections.

The UN and the US strongly condemned Sunday’s announcement by Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 and, after a controversial constitutional change last year, now governs alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-president”.

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Daniel Siad—Model Recruiter With Epstein Ties—Found Dead Amid Investigation – Forbes

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  1. Daniel Siad—Model Recruiter With Epstein Ties—Found Dead Amid Investigation  Forbes
  2. Model recruiter who introduced young women to Jeffrey Epstein found dead in France  CNN
  3. Model scout for Jeffrey Epstein found dead at his home near Paris  The Guardian
  4. Modeling agent who introduced women to Jeffrey Epstein found dead in France  The Washington Post
  5. Daniel Siad, Model Scout Who Connected Women to Epstein, Is Found Dead in France  The New York Times
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