Global Pulse

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  • Australia PM under fire for remarks on Japanese counterpart’s melon gifts

    Australia PM under fire for remarks on Japanese counterpart’s melon gifts

    A seemingly lighthearted podcast exchange has sparked a major diplomatic row between Australia and Japan, leaving Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mired in controversy and facing widespread demands for an official apology. The dispute centers on comments made during an episode of the comedy podcast *Bush Deep*, which was first broadcast in July, and has reignited tensions just months after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s official visit to Canberra in May.

    During the podcast recording, host and comedian Nikki Osborne — who bills her show as a space for “wildly inappropriate” questions no other journalist would dare ask — steered the conversation toward the two premium crown melons Takaichi had gifted to Albanese during her visit. Osborne drew a crude parallel to 1990s celebrity Pamela Anderson, quipping that the two large melons evoked the entertainer’s famous figure. In response, Albanese simply commented: “She brought two, and they are beautiful.”

    When the episode first aired, the exchange received little public attention. That changed this week, however, when Shingo Yamagami, Japan’s former ambassador to Australia, published a scathing opinion piece in *The Australian* that labeled the exchange a demeaning, sexist joke that constitutes a direct insult to Takaichi and undermines the longstanding close strategic partnership between the two nations.

    Yamagami emphasized that crown melons hold profound cultural significance in Japan, where the specially cultivated fruit is considered the country’s most prized agricultural product. A single high-grade crown melon regularly retails for more than 30,000 yen, equal to roughly $188, making it a luxury gift reserved for important diplomatic and personal occasions. “The last thing [Takaichi] expected was to be so casually mocked by the trusted leader of Japan’s special strategic partner,” Yamagami wrote. He closed his op-ed with a direct rebuke: “So, prime minister, please enjoy Japan’s sweet and juicy melons without thinking about a woman’s anatomy, and instead focus on what our two countries must do together.”

    Notably, Yamagami’s tenure as ambassador in Canberra was marked by public friction with members of Albanese’s center-left Labor Party over stark disagreements on policy toward China, a point that has been highlighted by allies of the prime minister pushing back against the criticism.

    In the days following the op-ed’s publication, Australia’s conservative opposition has seized on the controversy to attack the government. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor labeled the comments an outright insult, while an opposition Member of Parliament confronted Albanese on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, demanding he apologize for what the MP called “foul-mouthed, classless comments about women.” Albanese rejected the criticism outright, telling lawmakers he “rejected the assertion of the question.” He went on to reaffirm that the Australia-Japan strategic partnership is stronger than ever under his administration, stating “Australia and Japan have never been closer. My government has taken our special strategic partnership to new heights.”

    Albanese has pushed back against claims he made the inappropriate joke, telling the BBC that the crude quip originated with the podcast host, not him. Senior members of his cabinet have rallied to his defense, arguing that critics and media outlets have deliberately misinterpreted his words. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher noted that “the remarks were not intended to be interpreted the way that our political opponents and some media outlets are reporting.” Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek echoed that sentiment, calling the negative framing “a completely unnecessary interpretation of what the prime minister said,” and adding that “people watching it for themselves can make their own minds up.”

    This is not the first controversy to stem from Albanese’s appearance on the *Bush Deep* podcast. Last month, the prime minister already faced widespread public condemnation for another comment he made during the same July episode. When Osborne asked him to play a game of “shag, marry, date” with three Australian female celebrities — Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, and Rhonda Burchmore — Albanese responded “Kylie, clearly… all of the above.” The comment drew sharp public backlash, prompting Albanese to issue an immediate, unreserved public apology. Plibersek previously defended that incident as nothing more than the prime minister showing he was a fan of the pop star.

    As the debate continues, the row has put bilateral diplomatic sensitivities on public display, with both sides standing firm in their positions and no immediate sign of a resolution.

  • Aged care times fall as Labor nixes debate on anti-algorithm reforms

    Aged care times fall as Labor nixes debate on anti-algorithm reforms

    Australia’s federal aged care system has recorded continuing improvements in wait times for home-based care funding, but those gains have been overshadowed by a bitter parliamentary standoff over how to assess senior care needs. The center-left Labor administration has shut down debate on a cross-party proposal that would restore formal human oversight to the country’s algorithm-driven assessment framework, drawing fierce criticism from the conservative opposition.

    New quarterly data for the government’s Support at Home program, published Tuesday, shows measurable progress in reducing wait times across all priority brackets as of June 30, 2026. All seniors classified as urgent care applicants now receive their funding approval within 30 days, a sharp reduction from previous wait periods. For medium-priority applicants, average wait times have dropped from 8–9 months to just 5–6 months, while standard-priority candidates now wait 7–8 months, down from a peak of 11 months prior to the government’s reform push.

    Aged Care Minister Sam Rae framed the results as proof the government’s targeted investments are delivering tangible results for older Australians. This financial year alone, the administration has added 32,000 new Support at Home places, building on the 83,000 extra slots rolled out in the 2025–26 period. When all announced places are fully deployed, the total number of seniors accessing support under the program, which launched in November 2025, will be nearly three times the original baseline.

    “Demand for aged care continues to grow as Australia’s population ages, but what matters most to older people is how quickly they can access the support they need,” Rae said in a statement following the data release. “We’re making significant progress in driving these times down, and we’ll continue to invest so every older Australian can access the care they need sooner. These numbers are encouraging signs our methodical work to secure more care for more older Australians than ever is making a material impact.”

    Despite the positive wait time data, the government is facing intense backlash over its rejection of a bipartisan amendment bill that would allow qualified aged care assessors to override the federal Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT)—an algorithm-driven system that assigns care priorities to applicants. The Coalition’s 2026 Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill, which already passed the upper house Senate earlier this year, was blocked in the House of Representatives, where Labor holds a majority, when the government moved to end debate on the proposal.

    Opposition health spokesperson Anne Ruston condemned the move, arguing the IAT algorithm is fundamentally “broken” and fails to capture the full scope of many seniors’ care needs. “It is consistently under-assessing older Australians and failing to identify frailty, vulnerability and complex care needs,” Ruston said. “Labor has built an aged care system focused on algorithms and bureaucracy instead of the needs of older Australians. Labor had the opportunity to fix this urgent issue today on the floor of parliament, but after months of defending this system, they would rather gag debate than fix it.”

    Labor officials have pushed back against the criticism, arguing that the opposition’s proposal would create unintended disruptions to the care system. Labor Senator Anita Green noted last month that while the government acknowledges the IAT is not perfect, the opposition’s broad grant of override power to assessors risks undermining systemic fairness and could actually slow access to care for vulnerable seniors. Instead of the opposition’s amendment, the Albanese government has already announced its own targeted reform: a new legislated escalation pathway that allows IAT assessment outcomes to be reviewed and adjusted by an independent System Governor in “extenuating circumstances” where an applicant’s unique needs are not captured by the algorithm.

    Rae framed the government’s alternative plan as a practical, measured response to concerns about the assessment system. “We’ve listened to older Australians, and their experience with the aged care system,” he said when the escalation pathway was announced earlier this year. “We’ll deliver a practical, responsible safety net for the older people whose circumstances don’t fit neatly into a tool. We’ve always said that we would continue to review and refine the assessment tool. This announcement marks another step in our work to improve assessment outcomes in the service of older Australians and their families. This will not be the end of our work to improve the fairness, efficiency and equity of aged care assessments, but it is an important step forward.”

    The standoff comes as Australia’s aged care sector continues to grapple with growing demand from an aging population, and ongoing calls for systemic reform to improve both access and quality of care for seniors across the country.

  • One Nation’s second-ever MP David Farley calls for removal of those who ‘want to bring harm’, says Aussie ‘generosity’ should be guarded

    One Nation’s second-ever MP David Farley calls for removal of those who ‘want to bring harm’, says Aussie ‘generosity’ should be guarded

    David Farley, the second lower-house Member of Parliament in Australia’s One Nation party, has used his first address to federal parliament to lay out his policy priorities, anchored by a hardline call for the rapid removal of individuals seeking to harm Australian communities and protect the nation’s longstanding culture of welcoming new migrants. Farley won a surprise victory in the May by-election for the regional seat of Farrer, replacing former opposition leader Sussan Ley to claim the seat.

    In his 20-minute inaugural speech, Farley opened by acknowledging Australia as a uniquely fortunate nation built on a diverse tapestry of racial and religious backgrounds, noting his own early schooling experience brought him together with First Nations Australians and new migrants from across the globe. He recognized that Australia’s history of inviting skilled migrants from every corner of the world who go on to become contributing citizens is a core part of the national identity, but argued that this privilege of entry must be actively protected.

    “Our national generosity, kindness, and humanity has offered the opportunity of new life to those who have been discriminated and persecuted against,” Farley told parliament. “That same generosity and kindness must be guarded and respected. As we open our welcoming doors, there are those who arrive onto our shores who want to change, and expect that change must be on us and not them. We must, with expediency and with minimal cost, remove those who want to bring harm and disrespect to this great nation of ours.”

    Farley, a long-time resident of regional New South Wales with deep roots in agriculture, centered much of his speech on the specific concerns of his rural electorate. He launched sharp criticism of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, labeling it a “failing, expensive ideology” that has failed to deliver on its core promises and cannot sustain functioning regional communities. He also hit out at the decision to end live cattle exports to Indonesia, arguing policymakers pushed the change through without fully examining the cascading harm the policy would cause across regional Australia. Farley claimed the damage extended far beyond farm gates, rippling through local transport businesses, Indigenous enterprises, regional communities, worker families, and even tourism links to Bali.

    A third-generation Australian with a lifelong background in farming, Farley drew heavily on his personal and professional experiences to frame his political philosophy. Raised in Narrandera, NSW, he recalled learning core values of accountability and collective responsibility from his local community, and keeps two formative texts — a framed copy of Rudyard Kipling’s poem *If* and a transcript of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “Man in the Ring” speech — as reminders of those values. He left home at 17 to work in agriculture, where he said he learned that success is earned through hard work, reliability, and commitment to team goals, rather than granted by entitlement. That career also taught him what “productive capital” can achieve, and that societal progress is not created by government mandate alone.

    Looking to broader national and global challenges, Farley noted that for decades, most Australians have enjoyed relative security and prosperity under the U.S.-led post-war global order, but argued that long-held assumptions about steady access to critical goods like medicine and technology can no longer be taken for granted. He described the current global order as shifting toward a more fragmented, transactional, and multipolar system, where key resources and sectors — from artificial intelligence and semiconductors to energy, critical minerals, food, shipping lanes and supply chains — have become tools of strategic geopolitical power.

    “Australia cannot be blind, deaf, arrogant or naive about that change,” he said. “A sovereign nation must possess the productive capacity to withstand shocks and to survive on its own.” Farley stressed that this requires urgent action to shore up national energy and food security.

    Farley closed his speech by thanking One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who first entered Australian politics in 1995, for her ongoing support. He framed his political career as a generational obligation: Australians inherit the nation built by previous generations, and hold a temporary responsibility as custodians to leave the country stronger for future generations. “That obligation between generations is at the heart of why I’m here,” he said. His 98-year-old mother, two daughters, and grandchildren were in attendance for the speech, which he closed by saying “They are not incidental to what I say today. They are the reason for it.”

    Following the speech, Hanson embraced Farley, and One Nation’s only other sitting lower house MP, Barnaby Joyce, praised the address, telling Farley “Great speech, Nailed it.” Hanson and other One Nation party representatives were in the chamber for the inaugural address. Farley also said he is willing to work across the aisle with any political party that shares the goal of leaving Australia stronger than it was inherited, noting that the challenges facing the nation are larger than any single party.

  • Congo says 2,000 people have died in its Ebola outbreak, the fastest growing on record

    Congo says 2,000 people have died in its Ebola outbreak, the fastest growing on record

    In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak that has already become the fastest-growing in recorded history has crossed a devastating mortality threshold, with latest official government data confirming at least 2,000 fatalities among confirmed cases. The grim milestone comes as international and local health response teams face overlapping barriers that slow urgent care delivery to remote, conflict-affected communities, leaving the virus far outpacing containment efforts.

    Data released publicly overnight ahead of Tuesday puts the total cumulative confirmed cases at 4,381, with the death toll reaching 2,011. As of the latest update, 704 patients remain isolated and under care for the virus. The scale of the outbreak’s spread has alarmed global health experts: just under three months have passed since the Congolese government officially declared the outbreak on May 15, but the acceleration of deaths shows an alarming upward trajectory. It took nine weeks to record the first 1,000 fatalities, yet only three additional weeks to push the death toll to 2,000, a pace that responders have struggled to match.

    Already, this outbreak ranks as the second-largest Ebola event in global history. It is only surpassed by the 2014-2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,000 people and killed over 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. For the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is the 17th Ebola outbreak the country has confronted since the virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River within the nation’s borders, and it is already the largest the country has ever faced.

    Multiple overlapping crises have undermined containment efforts, according to response officials and aid workers. Active rebel conflict in affected regions makes access to remote communities dangerous at best, while poorly maintained infrastructure leaves many affected areas cut off from rapid medical support. Compounding these issues, hundreds of frontline health workers have launched work stoppages to protest delayed and missing hazard pay promised when the outbreak was declared.

    Adding to the complexity of the response, this outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain, for which no specific approved vaccines or targeted treatments currently exist. Early-stage clinical trials for candidate vaccines and therapies have been launched in Ituri province, the geographic epicenter of the outbreak, but regulatory and logistical delays mean widespread access to these tools remains months away.

    The World Health Organization revealed new findings on Monday that show the outbreak was circulating undetected far earlier than official detection. WHO officials confirmed the virus likely began spreading in February, three months before the formal declaration, in one of Congo’s most underserved and remote regions. Early cases were misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid, and initial testing only screened for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, allowing the virus to establish unmonitored transmission in local communities. Today, most new confirmed cases are found among people not already on contact tracing lists, a clear sign that community transmission remains widespread.

    Speaking at a press briefing, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, summed up the ongoing challenge facing responders: “We are chasing the virus, and the virus is ahead of us.” Aid groups that have expanded response operations across the five affected provinces acknowledge that the outbreak continues to outpace the incremental growth of containment efforts, leaving global health authorities bracing for further increases in case counts and deaths in the coming weeks.

  • Watch: Huge blaze after attack on petrol tank in Libya

    Watch: Huge blaze after attack on petrol tank in Libya

    A large-scale inferno has broken out at a major petroleum storage tank located west of Libya’s capital city Tripoli, after the facility was struck in an attack by assailants whose identities remain unconfirmed. As emergency response crews work around the clock to bring the blaze under control, local authorities have not yet released details on potential casualties, infrastructure damage, or disruptions to regional fuel supplies that may result from the incident.

    Libya has long grappled with widespread political instability and frequent acts of targeted violence against critical energy infrastructure, which forms the backbone of the North African nation’s economy. Attacks on oil and fuel storage facilities often exacerbate existing challenges around energy access across the country, and can disrupt global energy markets that rely on Libyan crude oil exports. Firefighting teams on the ground have reported facing significant hurdles in their containment efforts, including limited access to heavy firefighting equipment and ongoing security concerns in the area surrounding the storage site.

  • Young driver narrowly escapes with minor injuries after car wraps around tree in South Adelaide

    Young driver narrowly escapes with minor injuries after car wraps around tree in South Adelaide

    A 21-year-old motorist has walked away from a near-fatal road incident in south Adelaide with only minor injuries, in what emergency responders are calling a remarkable escape. The shocking collision, which left the driver’s four-door Mitsubishi sedan completely destroyed after it wrapped around a large tree on Education Road in Chandlers Hill, unfolded shortly after 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

    South Australia Police were the first emergency authorities dispatched to the scene after multiple witnesses called to report the single-vehicle crash. Investigative photos released by SA Police lay bare the full extent of the wreckage: the tree left a deep indent in the vehicle’s frame after impact, shattered the entire front windscreen, and crumpled the passenger-side compartment beyond repair. The vehicle had veered off the paved road before striking the tree, according to initial police statements.

    First responders worked quickly to extract the Seaford Heights resident from the mangled wreckage. Despite the severity of the crash, the young driver only sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital for observation and treatment. No other passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the incident, and no other motorists were involved.

    To clear the blocked road and remove the fallen tree and destroyed vehicle, Education Road was closed to through traffic for several hours following the crash. The thoroughfare has since been reopened to regular vehicle movement. Local law enforcement is still conducting an investigation into the circumstances that led to the crash, including potential factors like speed, road conditions, and driver distraction. Authorities are asking any members of the public who were in the area at the time of the incident and may have dashcam footage or additional information about the crash to contact the South Australia Police to assist with the ongoing inquiry.

  • US judge drops bribery and fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

    US judge drops bribery and fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

    A high-profile transnational legal saga centered on one of India’s wealthiest business magnates has reached an abrupt conclusion after a federal judge in the United States approved the Justice Department’s request to dismiss all criminal bribery and fraud charges against Adani Group chair Gautam Adani. While the case is now permanently closed, the ruling left behind sharp public criticism of the unusual behind-the-scenes process that led to the dismissal, raising lingering questions about procedural fairness and equal application of the rule of law.

    The case dates back to 2024, when federal prosecutors brought charges alleging Adani had paid millions in bribes to senior Indian government officials to secure approvals for large-scale renewable energy projects, while intentionally misleading American investors about the illegal practice. From the outset of the proceedings, Adani and all Adani Group entities have forcefully denied any and all wrongdoing, and maintained that stance through the conclusion of the case.

    On Monday, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis formally granted the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the indictment in a 47-page written ruling. The decision to drop the case came after senior department official R. Trent McCotter, principal associate deputy attorney general, collaborated directly with Adani’s defense team to craft the dismissal request — a move that cut out the line prosecutors and FBI and SEC investigators who had spent months building the criminal case.

    In his ruling, Judge Garaufis did not mince words in condemning the irregular process. He described the arrangement as “highly unusual,” noting that McCotter had overstepped to replace the independent judgment of the career law enforcement officials directly involved in the investigation with his own. “The irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning,” Garaufis wrote in the official order. While he ultimately concluded that there was no direct evidence that Adani’s November 2024 pledge to invest $10 billion in U.S. infrastructure projects and create 15,000 jobs — announced in a post congratulating Donald Trump on his presidential election victory — influenced the Justice Department’s call, he acknowledged that the public retains the right to draw its own conclusions about how these backchannel discussions could shape public trust in equal justice.

    The Justice Department first formally requested dismissal of the charges in May of this year. Department officials argued that most of the alleged misconduct occurred outside U.S. borders, making successful prosecution extremely challenging, and added that pursuing the case no longer aligned with the agency’s current prosecutorial priorities. The request came only after Adani assembled a high-powered new legal team led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr., co-chair of elite Washington law firm Sullivan & Cromwell and a longtime personal attorney to former President and current President-elect Donald Trump. Multiple reports confirm Giuffra met with senior Justice Department officials earlier this year to push back on the case and raise the defense’s objections. Judge Garaufis initially rejected the department’s first dismissal request in June, writing that the agency’s explanation for abandoning the prosecution was insufficient and ordering additional disclosures to clarify the decision-making process.

    While the criminal charges are now dismissed with prejudice — a legal designation that means they can never be refiled against Adani — this case is not the only ongoing U.S. legal action involving the billionaire and his conglomerate. Earlier this year in May, Adani agreed to pay a $6 million civil penalty, and his nephew Sagar Adani agreed to a $12 million penalty, to settle civil disclosure allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, without admitting or denying the agency’s claims. Separately, Adani Enterprises, the Adani Group’s flagship publicly traded company, reached a $275 million settlement to resolve potential civil liability over apparent violations of U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran.

    Adani, 64, who never appeared in any U.S. court during the criminal proceedings, issued a public statement welcoming the ruling, writing on social media platform X that “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.” He added that he accepted the court’s order with humility and deep respect for the U.S. judicial process. A well-connected tycoon, Adani chairs a sprawling multinational conglomerate with core holdings in ports, energy, airports, and large-scale infrastructure across India and beyond, and is widely recognized as one of the richest men in India, with long-documented personal and political ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from the same western Indian state of Gujarat.

  • Reality TV personality Tamika Chesser pleads not guilty to partner’s murder

    Reality TV personality Tamika Chesser pleads not guilty to partner’s murder

    A former Australian reality television competitor has made her first official court plea in a high-profile case that has shocked local communities, entering a not guilty plea to charges of murdering and beheading her former partner.

    Thirty-four-year-old Tamika Chesser, who previously appeared on the matchmaking series *Beauty and the Geek*, is accused of killing 39-year-old Julian Story in Port Lincoln, South Australia, back in June 2025. Prosecutors claim that following the alleged killing, Chesser beheaded Story and burned the rest of his remains. The gruesome discovery of Story’s severed head was made just one month later, in July 2025, when a dog walker and their beagle named Benji stumbled across the remains in a public area.

    Chesser appeared before Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday via a video link from James Nash House, a secure mental health facility in South Australia where she has been held since her arrest. Court observers noted she wore full makeup and a standard issue prison shirt when responding to the charges of murder and destroying human remains to pervert the course of justice, clearly stating “Not guilty” to both counts.

    What makes the case even more unusual is that Chesser was pregnant at the time of her arrest last year. She gave birth to her child while in custody at the Oakden mental health facility, located roughly 10 kilometers north of central Adelaide, in March 2025.

    With not guilty pleas now on the record, Chesser is scheduled to stand trial on the two serious charges, but proceedings will not move forward until a formal assessment of her mental state is completed. Her legal team confirmed to the court they are requesting a Part 8A investigation, a process outlined in South Australian law that is designed to determine whether an accused person is mentally fit to stand trial.

    Magistrate John Cover ordered that Chesser remain in custody at the secure mental health facility, scheduling the next hearing for November at the South Australian Supreme Court. The investigation into the killing and the assessment of Chesser’s mental fitness are expected to be completed in advance of that court date.

  • NRL team lists: Ricky Stuart swings the axe after star forward’s ‘brain explosion’, mixed news on superstar fullbacks for key matches

    NRL team lists: Ricky Stuart swings the axe after star forward’s ‘brain explosion’, mixed news on superstar fullbacks for key matches

    The future of star Canberra Raiders prop Corey Horsburgh at the club has been thrown deeper into uncertainty after coach Ricky Stuart made his dissatisfaction clear by dropping the forward from the team’s latest squad. The axing comes directly after a high-stakes clash against the Newcastle Knights, where a rash “brain explosion” from Horsburgh cost the Raiders any chance of qualifying for this season’s finals.

    During the match, the fiery forward was sin-binned for slapping Knights winger Dane Gagai. The penalty that followed gifted Newcastle two easy points directly in front of the posts, ending Canberra’s slim hopes of sneaking into the semi-finals. Stuart did not hold back his criticism in his post-match press conference, and this week he followed through with disciplinary action by leaving Horsburgh out of the matchday squad. With Simi Sasagi sidelined by injury, Savelio Tamale has been recalled to the centres to fill the gap in the Raiders lineup.

    The sudden demotion has fueled widespread speculation that Horsburgh will leave the Canberra club at the end of the current season. Following the Knights defeat, Stuart pulled no punches when addressing the incident. “It should have been 26-all, and there’s a brain explosion when we got a penalty,” Stuart told reporters. “It was a fucking brain explosion and (we) lost the opportunity. We lost the start of the season because we were self-entitled and undisciplined and we lost the opportunity to still then continue and try to make the semis. It wasn’t everybody’s fault. There are 16 other blokes there that made a massive effort. There’s one shit bloody decision that has cost us.”

    Beyond the Raiders drama, the latest NRL team selections brought mixed injury and availability updates for some of the league’s biggest stars across the competition. For the Sydney Roosters, star fullback James Tedesco is set to return to the field this week after missing last round’s victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, a major boost for the club’s push up the ladder.

    Penrith Panthers, currently fighting for the top spot on the ladder, have listed Dylan Edwards, who replaced Tedesco in the NSW State of Origin side this year, on their extended reserves bench. Edwards has missed the last two matches with a shoulder injury, and his potential return comes as Panthers lose starting lock Isaah Yeo to injury, forcing Lindsay Smith into the starting lineup. Liam Henry has been promoted to the front row, with Edwards set to replace Jaxen Edgar if he passes his final fitness clearance.

    Manly Warringah Sea Eagles faced a major setback despite widespread speculation that star fullback Tom Trbojevic would make his return from a hamstring injury for Friday’s must-win clash against the Dolphins. Trbojevic has remained sidelined with the ongoing hamstring issue, though the Sea Eagles did receive one positive injury update, with winger Clayton Faulalo set to make his return from his own hamstring problem.

    South Sydney Rabbitohs have landed a huge boost ahead of their blockbuster clash against the Bulldogs, with star winger Campbell Graham returning to the matchday squad after recovering from a calf strain. The Rabbitohs will be without starting halfback Ashton Ward, however, who is out with a hamstring injury, opening the door for a rare starting spot for Jayden Sullivan. For the Bulldogs, the same injury has ruled out enforcer Sitili Tupouniua for an extended period on the sidelines.

    Elsewhere, Cronulla Sharks will be without both Jesse Ramien (injury) and suspended prop Addin Fonua-Blake for their clash against Canberra, with Mawene Hiroti tapped to replace Ramien in the starting lineup. Brisbane Broncos will again be without halfback Adam Reynolds, who continues his recovery from a concussion, while the Dolphins have lost bench utility Kurt Donoghoe to a thumb injury. The Knights have received a major boost with key players Bradman Best and Phoenix Crossland named as inclusions for their upcoming clash. For the Parramatta Eels, starting fullback Isaiah Iongi will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, replaced in the lineup by Apa Twidle.

  • Oil prices add more than 2%, while world shares are mostly lower

    Oil prices add more than 2%, while world shares are mostly lower

    Global financial markets traded mixed on Tuesday, driven by persistent uncertainty around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global crude oil shipments. The supply uncertainty sent oil prices surging more than 2% following a 5% jump in the previous session, while benchmark U.S. futures retreated modestly after Wall Street pulled back from recent all-time highs.

    The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz intensified after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s demand that Washington pay reparations for five months of conflict-related damage as a precondition for reopening the waterway, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s daily crude oil supplies. By Tuesday trading, international benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.4% to settle at $89.80 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.6% to hit $84.20 per barrel. Last month, oil prices swung wildly between $72 and $102 a barrel as expectations for a breakthrough U.S.-Iran agreement to allow unimpeded tanker transit through the strait rose and fell.

    In early European trading, major regional indexes all posted modest losses. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.2% to close at 8,708.85, Germany’s DAX also slipped 0.2% to 26,272.81, and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2% to 10,840.84. Across the Atlantic, futures tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both traded 0.1% lower, extending a pullback from Monday when the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% away from the record high it set the previous Friday. The Dow fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.3% on Monday.

    Asian markets delivered a mixed performance, with Tokyo closed for a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi outperformed regional peers, gaining 0.7% to reach 6,345.53, lifted by a 4.1% jump in shares of industry giant Samsung Electronics and a 0.4% advance for memory chipmaker SK Hynix. However, the extreme volatility that rocked tech stocks in recent weeks, fueled by shifting expectations for AI-driven corporate profit growth, has calmed in recent days. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, noted that the broad AI-driven chip rally of the past year may be fading, even if major Korean chip manufacturers will continue to see benefits from global AI infrastructure expansion.

    Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1% to 25,652.82, China’s Shanghai Composite retreated 0.8% to 3,934.09, India’s Sensex lost 0.5%, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% higher to 9,250.60 after the Reserve Bank of Australia announced it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 4.35%, matching market expectations.

    On Wall Street, the AI-fueled rally that pushed major indexes to record levels has slowed in recent sessions, even as second-quarter earnings have outperformed expectations. Data from FactSet shows that S&P 500 companies are on track to report a 50% year-over-year jump in second-quarter earnings per share, which would mark the strongest growth since 2020, when the economy was rebounding from the initial COVID-19 recession. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, one of the latest companies to beat analyst profit forecasts, gained 1.5% on Monday. In contrast, chip giant Intel fell 4.1% after announcing plans to sell $15 billion in new common stock, a move that will dilute existing shareholders’ ownership stakes. The company noted it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to fund massive AI-related capital investments.

    All eyes on Wall Street this week are fixed on Wednesday’s release of U.S. inflation data for July. Economists forecast that annual inflation will cool to 3.4% from 3.5% in June. A lower-than-expected inflation reading would ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to implement additional interest rate hikes. Higher interest rates curb inflation by slowing the overall economy, but they also raise borrowing costs for households and businesses and typically push down asset prices for stocks and bonds.

    In currency markets on Tuesday, the U.S. dollar inched up slightly to 159.35 Japanese yen from 159.30 yen, continuing its gradual upward climb despite recent joint market intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the yen’s value. The euro dipped modestly to $1.1539 from $1.1544. Safe-haven gold, which is commonly used as a hedge against market uncertainty, added 0.3% to trade at $4,434.20 per ounce.