French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen has declared she will run for the presidency in 2027, ending months of speculation, after a Paris appeal court found her guilty of embezzling €2.8m in EU funds but ruled she could stand while wearing an electronic tag for a year. Le Pen told French TV she "can't campaign with a tag" and will appeal to the Court of Cassation. She said Jordan Bardella would serve as prime minister if she wins. Public prosecutors have also said they will appeal the court's decision.
The NATO summit in Ankara is dominated by Donald Trump's disruptive presence. Trump repeated his call for the US to take over Greenland, told allies "we don't need anybody's help," and singled out UK PM Starmer for criticism over Iran war support. Behind the spectacle, major contracts were announced — Airbus will build a new fleet of transport aircraft, Sweden's GlobeEye planes will replace NATO's ageing AWACS fleet. Zelensky urged allies for "affordable mass-produced anti-ballistic systems" after recent Russian strikes killed dozens in Kyiv. NATO delegates also discussed joint missile projects as Europe races to build credible defences.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has resigned as MP for Clacton and will stand in the subsequent by-election, saying the "people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions." He's been under investigation for failing to declare a £5m gift from a billionaire donor, and questions have also been raised about support from ally George Cottrell. Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Restore have all ruled out standing against him, calling it a "circus" and a "gimmick." Farage's resignation suspends the standards investigation.
Three oil tankers were struck in the latest round of attacks in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the British military confirmed. The attacks come amid a fragile US-Iran truce and highlight the continued volatility of the region's shipping lanes. The Strait handles roughly 20% of global oil transit, and any sustained disruption threatens the recent recovery in global oil prices, which have fallen from war highs of $US120/bbl back to around $US72.
Prince Harry has lost his High Court privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, with the judge ruling against his claims of unlawful information gathering. Harry called the ruling a "whitewash." He and other claimants could now face a £50m legal bill after also losing a related phone-hacking case. The ruling deals a significant blow to Harry's years-long legal campaign against the British tabloid press.
Explosions injured 18 people in the Syrian capital Damascus during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. The blasts occurred near the hotel where Macron was staying. Details remain limited, but the attack underscores the fragile security situation in Syria, even as France attempts to re-engage diplomatically with the post-Assad leadership.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a landmark AI regulation bill into law, positioning the state as a leader in AI governance. The legislation requires transparency from AI systems, mandates risk assessments for high-impact uses, and establishes consumer protections against algorithmic discrimination. The bill is one of the most comprehensive state-level AI regulations in the US and could serve as a template for other states.
The choreographed funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has provided rare insight into Tehran's power structure. Three of Khamenei's sons were shown praying behind his coffin, but Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was noticeably absent — he hasn't been seen since the start of the war. Analysts say he's believed injured in the same attack that killed his wife, sister and father. The funeral, held on America's 250th Independence Day, was intended as a message of defiance.
Fears of a recession have receded with the de-escalation of the Middle East conflict lowering oil prices back to prewar levels (~$US72/bbl). CBA's Belinda Allen says the impact was "less severe than anticipated." But GDP per person is set to contract for two straight quarters, consumer confidence is at around a 50-year low, and inflation at ~4% remains a concern. CBA sees Brent dropping to $US60 by year-end, though risks of the war flaring up again remain. Unemployment is 4.4%, up only slightly.
A pricing stoush between the federal government and drugmakers Roche and Novartis threatens to leave 10,000 Australians with multiple sclerosis paying up to $33,000 a year for treatments Ocrevus and Kesimpta. The PBS advisory committee meets today to discuss prices after drugmakers rejected demands for a 40-50% cost cut, which they argue is commercially unsustainable. Health Minister Mark Butler says he wants the drugs to remain on the PBS. The US pharmaceutical industry has been lobbying against the PBS system.
Hodan Abby, the last of the known Islamic State-linked Australian women in Syria, has been granted permission to return under strict conditions. The ABC has spoken to a Yazidi woman who alleges she was enslaved, beaten and raped in Abby's home in Syria a decade ago when she was just nine or ten years old. Abby was previously blocked by a Temporary Exclusion Order. The AFP's Operation Kurrajong has been investigating Australian women's conduct in Syria, leaving open the possibility of charges on her return.
Labor's draft policy platform, circulated before the party's national conference later this month, waters down rather than scraps its long-held opposition to mandatory minimum sentencing. The new draft says mandatory sentencing "does not reduce crime and undermines the independence of the judiciary" — a weaker formulation than previous platforms. The Albanese government has repeatedly breached the platform to support mandatory sentences, including on antisemitism laws. The document also commits Labor to cracking down on online gambling inducements.
One in three new participants in the government's First Home Guarantee scheme earns more than the previous income caps, according to Housing Australia data. Since Labor scrapped the $125k single / $200k joint caps last October, nearly 14,000 borrowers over the old thresholds have used the scheme — including nearly 1,000 singles earning $200,000+. Economists warn the uncapped scheme is pushing up property prices by increasing buying capacity for people who would have bought anyway, without meaningfully expanding home ownership.
Nathan Fitzgerald, a 27-year-old Melbourne school teacher, died after a horror accident during an Epping reserves grade football match. He is believed to have clashed heads with another player and then struck his head on a concrete-based cricket pitch in the centre of the ground. Sports safety advocates are calling for urgent reform, noting the deadly risk of uncovered concrete cricket pitches — a problem that has plagued Aussie rules for over 120 years. The Epping club president said the issue "absolutely" needs to be examined.
China conducted a nuclear submarine-launched strategic missile test in the South Pacific, just hours after Australia and Fiji signed the Ocean of Peace defence alliance. Experts say the timing is not a coincidence — it's an attempt to intimidate Pacific states. Penny Wong condemned the test as "destabilising." China says it informed relevant countries in advance and called the launch "routine training." The test landed in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.
Broadsheet's June roundup includes Newtown's Thai-ish spot, Mexico City's hottest taco, a chocolate shop from an old-school pro, and a cardamom bun worth knowing about. While these opened last month, they're all current and worth visiting. The roundup reflects Sydney's ongoing strength in mid-market openings across the inner west and city fringe.
Broadsheet's Dine Out festival is in full swing with 40+ events across Sydney. Highlights include Mimi Wong's second Attenzione pop-up, Brendan Pang at Refettorio, and a Bistro Livi x South End collaboration dinner. The festival runs across multiple venues throughout July, with tickets still available for many events.
From July 1, all pubs, clubs, restaurants and takeaway stores in Australia must display the country of origin for seafood. The new rules, which started last week, aim to give diners transparency about whether their fish is locally caught or imported. This is directly relevant to RSN's hospitality clients — sommeliers and F&B managers will need to update menus and sourcing documentation.
Broadsheet's winter preview includes a hotly anticipated Korean fried chicken joint, Bar Planet's inner west Margarita bar, two new sanga spots, and the Bar Copains trio's latest project. Winter continues to be a strong season for Sydney openings across the mid-market and casual dining segments.
As NAIDOC Week continues (50th anniversary), Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School in Western Australia has been highlighted as a success story in Indigenous early education. The school's structured literacy approach has significantly improved reading outcomes for Indigenous students, closing the gap in foundational learning. The program is a partnership between the school, community elders, and education authorities — a model that blends cultural knowledge with evidence-based teaching.
As part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, remote Indigenous artists have travelled to Sydney for exhibitions and cultural events. The "deadly" (a term of endearment in Aboriginal English) artists are showcasing work that blends traditional techniques with contemporary practice. The program highlights the ongoing support for remote Indigenous art centres and the importance of cultural tourism and exhibition pathways for artists living in remote communities.
Guardian Australia has published a photo essay tracing the depiction of gumtrees in Australian art, from colonial-era paintings of giant eucalypts as symbols of settler dominance through to contemporary Indigenous and non-Indigenous interpretations. The piece examines how the gumtree has been a recurring motif in Australian visual culture, reflecting changing attitudes to land, ownership and identity.
No major arts funding announcements today. The previous day's briefing flagged that the Music Australia Export Development Fund deadline has now closed (July 7), and the Regional Arts Fund project grants remain open (closes Aug 17, info session July 10). The Venice Biennale 2028 EOI is still open until August 4. No new Creative Australia, Australia Council or philanthropic funding news has been published in the last 24 hours.
📋 Status
Governor JB Pritzker signed Illinois' comprehensive AI regulation bill into law, requiring transparency, risk assessments for high-impact AI uses, and consumer protections against algorithmic discrimination. This is the most significant US state-level AI regulation to date. If other states follow, it could create a patchwork of AI compliance requirements — something to watch for thest.art's AI tooling and any automated systems used in the print or customer-facing operations.
No new Hermes Agent or frontier model releases in the last 24 hours
The model release cycle remains quiet since Claude Sonnet 5 (June 30). The AI release trackers show no new frontier model launches in the past week. Hermes Agent v0.18 "The Judgment Release" (July 2) is still the current version — no v0.18.1 or v0.19 has been published yet. Nous Research's GitHub shows no new releases since the v0.18 milestone. Expect the next model wave later in July.