IAEA director general Rafael Grossi confirmed inspections will take place under Iran's preliminary peace agreement with the US, saying "the inspections will indeed take place." However, Iran's deputy foreign minister pushed back, saying access to damaged nuclear facilities would only be addressed in a final deal. This dispute comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Gulf states to reassure allies — and as the US Senate, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution demanding Trump halt or seek approval for military action against Iran.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 50-48 to demand Trump halt the Iran war or seek congressional approval — the first time both chambers have approved such a concurrent resolution since the War Powers Act of 1973. Trump dismissed it as "poorly timed and meaningless," but experts called the bipartisan rebuke "almost unprecedented." The vote is largely symbolic (a concurrent resolution, not a binding joint resolution) but reflects growing unease with the unpopular conflict now approaching its fifth month.
President Trump has cancelled the signing of a widely-supported bipartisan housing bill, pulling the legislation at the last minute. The bill was seen as one of the few cross-party achievements this term, aimed at addressing rising housing costs across the US. No reason was given for the cancellation, though it follows a pattern of Trump shelving bipartisan initiatives as the Iran war and domestic politics intensify.
A federal judge has blocked Trump's executive order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, agreeing that the Constitution gives states and Congress authority over federal election rules. The ruling is a significant check on Trump's executive power ahead of the 2026 midterms and America's 250th anniversary celebrations this weekend.
France's national temperature indicator hit 30°C — the highest since records began in 1947 — breaking the record set just a day earlier. More than half the country remains under red alert, with tens of thousands without power and temperatures hitting 43°C in Poitou-Charentes. The UK saw 36.1°C in Hampshire (a June record) with a rare red heat alert in place. The heatwave, worsened by climate change, is now spreading east toward the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Hungary.
Colombia's progressive presidential candidate has conceded defeat in a closely-watched runoff election, with the Trump-endorsed conservative outsider winning. The result signals a rightward shift in Latin American politics and strengthens Trump's influence in the region amid flagging domestic approval. The new president has promised a crackdown on crime and closer US relations.
Rockstar Games announced GTA 6 will retail at $79.99 for the standard edition and $99.99 for the premium edition, launching 19 November on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Physical copies will contain a digital download code rather than a disc — a first for a major AAA title. Pre-orders opened at midnight local time on 25 June. Analysts say the $10 increase over the standard $70 AAA price tag is a "clever strategy" but could set a new benchmark for the industry.
Today show host Karl Stefanovic is reportedly leaving Channel Nine following crisis talks over his podcast interview with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The interview was pulled from YouTube after backlash, and the fallout has escalated into Stefanovic's departure from the network. The Guardian reports the podcast featured the founder of the English Defence League, who is banned from entering Australia. The incident has sparked broader debate about media responsibility and the platforming of extremist figures.
Pauline Hanson has intensified her "monoculture" push, citing the Socceroos as an example of her vision for a unified Australian identity — a claim that drew immediate pushback. Socceroo Awer Mabil responded by saying multiculturalism "makes Australia the best country in the world." The comments come as Hanson's popularity rises while One Nation gains traction, and as Liberal leader Angus Taylor faces internal backlash for refusing to explicitly endorse multiculturalism.
Prominent fund manager and Labor tax critic Geoff Wilson has deleted an AI-generated video he reposted from a nationalist account portraying Albanese and Chalmers taking money from white Australians and giving it to migrants in Islamic dress. Wilson said he "did not watch the full video" before sharing it and removed it once "inappropriate associations were identified." The clip was from an account also posting Holocaust denial content. The incident has sparked debate about AI-generated political disinformation.
The independent Teal movement has formally launched as a new political party, revealing its name, logo, and founding principles. However, the group has not yet named a leader. The announcement marks a significant step in institutionalising the independents who won key seats in 2022, now organising as a coordinated political force ahead of the next federal election.
ASIO director-general has revealed that an Australian citizen working as a spy for Iran orchestrated a firebombing in Bondi. He also warned the current terror threat level underestimates the true danger Australians face, citing "unprecedented threats" including potential Iranian-directed assassinations on Australian soil. The revelation comes as the national security landscape intensifies amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
A deadly strain of bird flu has been detected in a second Australian state, raising concerns about the spread of the virus across the country. Authorities are monitoring the situation closely, with biosecurity measures being ramped up. The discovery follows earlier outbreaks and adds to pressure on Australia's agricultural and wildlife sectors.
Analysis by the Australia Institute's chief economist shows the proposed CGT discount changes are already cooling the housing market before becoming law, with national house prices falling ~10% and Sydney/Melbourne dropping 7-8% over the year to November. The data undercuts conservative arguments that the CGT discount wasn't driving the housing crisis. Weekend auction results and ATO tax statistics confirm the effect is real — and fast.
The corner terrace in Paddington — home to high-profile past venues Darcy's, Guillaume and Ursula's — has a new operator confirmed. A fresh cuisine concept will take over the landmark site, though the specific details of the restaurant and its offering are still emerging. The venue change is closely watched in Sydney's competitive fine dining scene.
Jon Osbeiston, the face behind Wine Bank, has been appointed to curate the wine program for a luxury Hunter Valley hotel. The move signals the growing prestige of Hunter Valley's hospitality scene and represents a significant sommelier move worth noting for RSN's trade network. Hunter Valley's semillon is also gaining attention — The Real Review recently featured it as "the secret wine for sushi lovers."
Prince Wine Store, a respected Melbourne fine wine institution, has expanded into Sydney — a significant development for the city's wine retail landscape. The opening gives Sydney-based wine enthusiasts and hospitality buyers another premium wine source and increases competition in the high-end wine retail space, relevant for RSN's sommelier and trade network.
Good Food's review of Park St. Diner in the CBD finds the gimmick-driven menu — honey pancakes and Coke floats — actually delivers. The diner-style venue is positioned as a fun, accessible addition to the city's casual dining scene. Also on Good Food: Tom Sarafian's go-to kebab shops and underrated restaurants, and a look at whether Rockpool Bar & Grill still has what it takes.
Good Food takes stock of MasterChef's midway point — some early favourites have dropped off and new contenders have emerged. Meanwhile, a feature on business owner Salina who walked back her use of AI and "went lo-fi" explores the risks of AI-generated food imagery in hospitality marketing. The piece asks "Can you tell when food photos are AI-generated?" — noting hospitality operators use AI more than you might think.
Creative Australia has announced nine new scholarships for outstanding emerging artists, providing financial support for the next generation of Australian creative talent. The scholarships are part of Creative Australia's ongoing investment in arts development across multiple disciplines. The organisation also published a new 10-part video series supporting board financial literacy in the arts and cultural sector, aimed at strengthening governance in arts organisations.
Creative Australia's 2026 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards have been announced, celebrating excellence, leadership and innovation across Indigenous arts and cultural practice. The awards recognise First Nations artists and cultural practitioners making significant contributions to Australia's cultural landscape. This is a priority area for Rowan given the thest.art's Indigenous representation mission.
An award-winning Australian artist has been accused of copying a second artwork, raising questions around originality and intellectual property in the visual arts sector. The allegation follows previous controversies and adds to ongoing debates about appropriation, attribution, and ethical practice in Australian contemporary art.
[Previously reported June 24] Creative Australia's latest survey found 74% of Australians attend live arts — a record high — but 60% say cost remains a barrier. Acclaimed Australian artist Stanislava Pinchuk was awarded a prestigious Rome residency. Music education was identified as a major economic driver of Australia's $10.76 billion music industry.
OpenAI announced Jalapeño, its first custom-built inference processor designed and manufactured in collaboration with Broadcom. The chip was designed specifically for OpenAI's inference workloads, with OpenAI's own AI models assisting in development. Early results show "significantly better performance-per-watt" than current alternatives. The move reduces OpenAI's dependence on Nvidia GPUs — following Google and Amazon's playbook — and is meant to lower inference costs for products like Codex. Named after the spicy pepper, the chip is still in testing.
Krea AI released Krea 2, a series of open-weights foundation models for image generation released under a permissive license. Built on a custom Diffusion Transformer (DiT) architecture, Krea 2 is among the top 10 models on the Artificial Analysis leaderboard for text-to-image, and scores 2nd place among independent labs. The model emphasises "creative exploration" and aesthetic diversity rather than a single polished default — a deliberate counter to the homogenisation of AI image generation. No AI-generated images were used in pretraining.
The New York Times reports the NSA has lost access to "Mythos," an AI tool developed by Anthropic, following a dispute between the intelligence agency and the AI company. The revelation raises questions about the intersection of national security and commercial AI development, particularly as frontier AI companies navigate relationships with government agencies while maintaining their ethical commitments.
RubyLLM launched as an open-source Ruby framework providing unified access to all major AI providers. The project hit the Hacker News front page, indicating strong developer interest in multi-provider AI tooling. The framework supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, and others — suggesting growing demand for provider-agnostic LLM integration layers.
BBC reports that Stanford graduates are rethinking their career trajectories as AI fundamentally transforms the tech industry. The piece captures the anxiety and opportunity among top-tier graduates facing an industry where traditional CS roles are shifting rapidly — with AI automation affecting both junior and mid-level engineering positions.