Also

GP Clinic Data Stolen

US Launch Fresh Strikes On Iran

Starmer’s Final Days

ISIS Bride Denied Bail

Winmar Stripped Of Hall Of Fame Honours

Welsh Guards Honour Sam Neill

Shen - Director of the Strategic Technologies Program with the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

PM To Announce Office Of AI

The Prime Minister will announce an Office of AI today, aimed at tackling Australia’s concerns about data centres, job loss through workplace automation, copyright protections for artists and the use of AI by our defence forces.

The Office of AI will create new Australian standards for tech, including bringing together the different approaches to building new data centres by the states and territories.

The PM will say that we would be the first country in the world to bring AI into a single national framework, comparing it to other advances such as aviation in the 1920s and genetics in the 90s.

The move comes as AI giant Athropic, the creator of Claude, looks to make Australia one of its training bases, the second largest next to the US but it wants to do so without having to pay for material to train it’s AI on like music, voices and written material.

Charges Dropped Against Broadcaster

Prosecutors overseeing the case against veteran broadcaster Alan Jones have dropped four more charges after withdrawing one back in June.

The court is preparing to hear the case against Jones early next month, the prosecution withdrawing four charges of indecent assault leaving Jones to defend 22 charges against him, the majority of which centre around assault accusations.

According to court documents three charges relate to Complainant D who is accusing Mr Jones of touching him on the thigh, backside and penis on the outside of his clothing in an incident dating back to 2008.

The fourth relates to Complainant G who has also accused Jones of touching him inappropriately while watching a performance at the Opera House.

Both complainants are now no longer a part of the case.

Taylor Won’t Condemn Hanson Rules Out One Nation Alliance

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says he won’t condemn Pauline Hanson for meeting with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, the same person that saw Karl Stefanovik booted from his role at Channel 9 when he interviewed him on his podcast.

Senator Hanson was in London this past past week where she appeared on camera with Robinson, an anti-Islam activist who has been convicted of multiple assaults, stalking and inciting violence.

Image: Tommy Robinson (YouTube)

Mr Taylor says any negative commentary he makes around One Nation is done with a ‘’heavy heart’‘, but said he would not meet Robinson himself.

While he has been courted by Australian right wing politicians, Robinson has been condemned by conservative figures in UK politics including Reform leader Nigel Farage,

Mr Taylor says his focus is on Australia’s economic situation and he wouldn’t tell Senator Hanson what to do.

He also spoke to the ABC’s 730 program last night where he confirmed there would be no future coalition with One Nation saying he was ruling it out again saying that their economic policy would leave the country with an eternity of pain.

Oil Prices Surge As Iran And US Continue Strikes

Iran is firing missiles at Jordan ‌and Bahrain after the United States five-hour attack as both vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices have now ben pushed to four-week high, Brent crude futures gaining five per cent to hit $US87.49 ($A125.24) per barrel - the highest since mid June but still below the peak at the start of the war - before dipping slightly.

US forces carried out waves of ‌attacks for the third night in a row on Tuesday after Tehran said it had closed the strait, prompting US President Donald Trump to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose charging a 20 per cent fee to guard the waterway.

Iran hit back by attacking ‌a US Army base in Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base, said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles

Bird Flu Potentially In Queensland

A Sunshine Coast refuge is caring for a sick northern giant petrel found on a beach at Noosa as it waits for test results.

If it’s positive for H5N1, it would be Queensland’s first bird flu case which would then also mark positive cases in four states with several in WA, Sa and one in NSW already confirmed.

Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue - a charity managed by identical twins Paula and Bridgette Powers is now looking to expand its quarantine facility in anticipation of more sick birds arriving.

ISIS Bride Showed Children Propaganda Material

The prosecutors in the case against one of the so-called ISIS Brides, has opposed bail after it was revealed the mother of four had shown her children Islamic State propaganda.

Rayann El Houli returned to Australia from Syria in 2025 and was allowed to live in the community for 8 months before she was arrested and charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. Her lawyer claims his client has renounced Islamic State and regretted putting her children in harm’s way, but police say there’s no evidence that she has done so and she has not attended any deradicalisation programs since her return.

A video was also obtained showing Ms El Houli allegedly showing her children propaganda videos in 2015 where she allegedly told them that disbelievers would be put in hellfire. In another video she allegedly asks a child holding a toy gun how to hold the weapon and asks questions about whether they had seen how the Mujahadeen kill the infidels with a knife asking the child to answer the questions, how do they slaughter them with the knife?

A decision on whether she will be given bail will be made on Monday.

Jagger Says He Should Never Have Listened To John Lennon

Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger says he regrets advice given to him by Beatles legend John Lennon about Elvis.

Jagger told Conan O’Brien’s podcast that Lennon had met Elvis and it had shattered his idea of the singer so when he told Jagger never meet your heroes and “I would never meet Elvis Mick if I were you”.

He listened, but says now that he regrets the decision and wishes he had done it anyway and that maybe his version of Elvis would have been different.

Also

PM To Announce Office Of AI

Charges Dropped Against Broadcaster Alan Jones

Taylor Won’t Condemn Hanson, Rules Out One Nation Alliance

Oil Prices Surge As Iran And US Continue Strikes

Bird Flu Potentially In Queensland

ISIS Bride Allegedly Showed Children Propaganda Material

Jagger Says He Should Never Have Listened To John Lennon

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Image: @samneillprop Instagram

Sam Neill Mourned Across The World

Actors, politicians and fans have expressed their shock and grief over the passing of actor Sam Nell.

The 78 year old who is from Aeteroa New Zealand but adopted by Australia, died at his home in Sydney on Monday, a statement on his social media did not go into any detail as to the cause of his death but did state that he was cancer free at the time after recently revealing that he was in remission from a form of blood cancer that he was diagnosed with in 2022.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted that Neill earned a “special place in Australian hearts”. Kiwi PM Christopher Luxon said that “For more than 50 years he ⁠took New Zealand stories to ‌the world ​and his talents helped make our film industry into what ​it is today – one ‌of our greatest cultural exports,”

Australian comedian and fellow cancer survivor Magda Szubanksi made an emotional tribute to her friend saying “I really don’t have any words right now. I’m in complete shock. Last time we spoke he was going so well. My heart ​goes out to his family and all who love him - and ​there are ⁠so many of us. Vale my darling friend.”

Neill was best known for his role in Jurassic Park but appeared in around 150 films and TV shows across his long career, from Hollywood blockbusters to arthouse projects spanning 5 decades.

He is survived and missed by four children and eight grandchildren.

Hormuz Strait Shipping Slows Significantly

The number of ships making it through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped considerably, from a high of 49 just a week ago to 6 on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump says the United States is reinstating its naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed 20% for protecting cargo shipped through the Strait ‌of Hormuz after Iran claimed it had closed the waterway.

Most of the ships traversing the waterway switched off their transponders while crossing to avoid detection and targeting amid the conflict that has seen strikes escalate from the US and Iran retaliating with strikes on US bases across the Gulf region.

The price of Brent crude oil has risen nearly 4% to $78.86 a barrel with US crude up 4.11% to $74.36 a barrel.

US officials said about 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous 24 hours, but ship tracking sites showed little traffic moving.

Some economists say that something will have to happen before the US mid terms to settle oil prices or President Trump faces a difficult sell to the American people about why their fuel prices are so high under his government.

Pauline’s Poll Slump

Rival parties are claiming that it’s the Aussie waking up to One Nation’s policies that has led to a slump for the party in recent polls.

While Labor’s backing remained steady at 28%, One Nation slipped three points to 26% while the coalition increased by three to 23%.

It’s believed the slump is in part due to Ms Hanson’s appearance at the National Press club where she outlined where One Nation stands on a variety of topics including immigration where she explained that she wants a monoculture not multiculturalism.

Monoculture means that we all abide by an agreed set of rules as a community, something we already do as well as being a multicultural nation.

Senior Albanese government minister Mark Butler says they believe that One Nation is appealing for those who feel frustrated by things happening in the world such as the increased cost of living, but when the solutions One Nation has in mind were presented they realised that the solutions would actually make the country worse not better.

The Opposition spokesperson Dan Tehan claimed the One Nation poll result was more about the coalition’s hard work giving details on their own policies on things like tax, immigration and energy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has bounced back as preferred PM up to 33% from 29, Liberal leader Angus Taylor is also up 2 points while Ms Hanson’s support dropped 8 points to 25%.

Jewish Students Describe Fears On University Campus

Jewish students have described the escalation of anitsemitism they experienced on campus.

Speaking at the Royal Commission into Anti Semitism and Social Cohesion, this week’s focus is the lived experience of both students and staff on university campuses, with one woman describing how the low hum of antisemitism escalated to Nazi gestures and salutes and being called a baby killer.

Another student explained how the University they attended and worked at did little to respond to accusations students had performed a Nazi salute, calling the response lacklustre and offensive, only giving the students a verbal warning.

After he went to police to report the incident, he claims he was not offered any more casual teaching shifts at the university.

The commission also heard from Pro Palestinian activists who defended their right to free expression in protesting the genocide in Gaza.

Last So Called ‘Isis Bride’ Considering whether To Return

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed that the government is keeping track of the last of the ‘so called’ Isis Bride who is yet to return to Australia.

Mr Burke explained that they are aware of Hodan Abby’s location after the order stopping her from returning to Australia on national security grounds was lifted. She is originally from western Sydney and has allegedly been threatening other women, arranging marriages and accused of beating a Yazidi slave who was bought by her husband when she was aged 9 or 10.

Ms Abby is facing possible arrest on her return home, Mr Burke saying that anybody who made a decision to go and join ISIS made an absolutely horrific decision and the government has no interest in helping any of them back.

Also

Sam Neill has been mourned across the world

Hormuz Strait shipping slows significantly as Trump declares the return of the naval blockade

Jewish students describe antisemitism increase

Pauline’s Poll Slump blamed on her own policy problems

The last so called ‘Isis Bride’ is considering whether to return to Australia

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

The US military has attacked Iran in retaliation for a strike on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

The crew of the vessel reportedly had to abandon the ship after it caught on fire.

There are reports that Iran has in return launched attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

The US Central Command has confirmed that it has hit 140 targets focusing on missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps and communication equipment.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted online “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay”. He also posted a picture of himself with a raised fist and the words Never back down Hashtag America First.

Image: X (Pete Hegseth)

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, responded online.

“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” he wrote on X. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route”.

One of them “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop”.

Iran said that the strait would remain closed “until further notice” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks.

Man Accused Of Filming Desi Freeman Hideout Charged

A YouTuber has been charged for allegedly filming the secret hideout of double cop killer Desi Freeman.

Police yesterday confirmed that detectives have charged a 43 year old man with trespassing at a property at Thologolong on April 16. They allege he filmed the hideout where Mr Freeman was ultimately killed after a stand off with police before posting it online.

56 year old Freeman, triggered one of Australia’s largest manhunts after he killed Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson at his home at Porepunkah, in Victoria’s High Country, in August 2025.

He remained on the run until he was traced to a Thologolong property, near Walwa, on the Victoria-NSW border, where he was ultimately shot dead by specialist police in March.

Video posted by the YouTuber of Freeman’s makeshift campsite showed items strewn everywhere, including tipped camping chairs, cooking utensils on tables, and an overturned tinny with multiple bullet holes.

The Yea man will appear in Wodonga Magistrates Court in October

One Nation Defends No Policy Costing, Blames Lack Of Resources.

One Nation Treasury Spokesperson Barnaby Joyce has told Sky News that his party lacks the resources to properly cost all of its policies.

Mr Joyce says that they are in a trap because they want you to act like a major party but refuse to give them the resources to do so. He didn’t confirm who ‘they’ are.

One Nation has been slammed by both Labor and Opposition leader Angus Taylor after recent announcements by leader Pauline Hanson such as promising to lift defence spending to over 5% of economic output, a measure that could cost the taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars.

She has since walked back the policy, Mr Joyce saying it’s fair to accept that they don’t have the resources.

Mr Taylor claimed during a speech last week that just four of One Nation’s commitments could cost the federal budget $1 trillion over a decade, saying “They have no clear or credible plan for how they’d pay for these commitments,”.

Mr Joyce questioned the trillion-dollar figure but did not go into detail about how One Nation plans to cut spending.

“We only have four people and I’m doing a lot of work on my own,” he said. “I’m back to accountancy and being an economist at the moment. I need further resources to get to the bottom of this.”

Australian Man Dies In Bali

An Australian man has died in a Balinese detention centre as he awaited deportation.

29 year old Cameron Hughes had been living in Bali for more than a decade alongside his Indonesian wife, who together shared an eight year old son.

They had reportedly recently separated with Mr Hughes working to update his visa so he could remain in the country and be close to his child.

He was taken to immigration detention on Friday, authorities saying he had breached his visa conditions, he was found unresponsive hours later and was declared dead on the way to hospital with initial reports saying he had suffered a heart attack.

Girl Killed In Gaza

Palestinian authorities are reporting that a 9 year old girl is among those killed in the most recent Israeli attacks in Gaza.

Tala Abu Matar died during an exchange of gun fire directed at the east side of the al-Bureij refugee camp, although the Israeli military says they are not aware of the incident.

An airstrike also took the lives of 4 others in Gaza’s Sabra neighborhood, witnesses saying three missiles landed in the area. Israel explained that they were targeting terrorist infrastructure.

And a 6th person died after a strike on a tent encampment in Khan Younis that also wounded several others.

Israel also says they took out at least two Hamas fighters in the north of the strip.

The ceasefire agreed in October 2025 between Israel and Hamas halted major fighting ​in the strip but it has failed to stop Israeli attacks that have killed more than 1000 Palestinians since it ​took effect.

Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in the enclave over the same period.

The latest violence comes as Hamas leaders visited Cairo for further talks over implementing the second ​phase ​of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza Strip peace ​plan.

The discussions include Hamas disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals, ‌according to sources close to the talks, adding that there had not yet been a breakthrough.

Missing New Mum Remains Found

Remains believed to be those of missing new Mum Jana Armstrong have been found in Toowoomba.

The 30 year old was reported missing on July 7, her car was later found unlocked and in the middle of the road .

The remains, which are currently being tested by police to confirm the identity, were found in bushland not far from where she went missing by pig hunters late Saturday night.

A 48 year old man, believed to be the father of the woman’s 4 month old child, was arrested and charged with one count of domestic violence murder. He was in custody of the child at the time.

The baby is now being cared for by Ms Armstrong’s sister

13 Year Old Layla Jeffrey Allegedly Murdered By A 16 Year Old Boy

Image: Supplied (Victoria Police)

The body of missing Victorian girl Layla Jeffrey has been found, a 16yo boy taken into custody accused of her murder.

The 13 year old was last seen in Donald on July 4. She was reported missing the next day, her remains were found during a search of nearby bushland.

A teenage boy was arrested on Friday and charged on Saturday with one count of murder.

The Donald community were asked by Layla’s friends to wear a touch of pink to the town’s netball, football and hockey games over the weekend in memory of her. The Donald netball team also wore both black and pink armbands.

Rosie O’Donnell Reveals The Number That Made Her Walk Away

Former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell has revealed the amount of money she made before walking away from her TV show.

O’Donnell told Page Six that her decision to leave the Emmy Award winning Rosie O’Donnell show at the peak of its popularity in 2002 came about because she felt accruing a $US100 million fortune was enough to leave and be able to devote more time to her family.

She said it also gave her enough to take care of everyone in her life and contribute some to philanthropy and strangers.

The choice to walk away came as Warner Bros offered her another $100 million US to stay for a further 2 years.

When pushed on why she said no, she said “Because I already have that money and if I think I need more, something’s wrong with me.”

She also said “I don’t get the billionaires. I don’t get how people only measure their life in money, not what they can do for other people.”

O’Donnell, who immigrated to Ireland after Donald Trump won the 2024 US Presidential Election, has returned to the US for the limited Broadway run of her one-woman show Common Knowledge.

World Cup Semi Finalists Set

Argentina claimed a 3-1 extra time victory over Switzerland to set up a semi final clash against England.

Baby Hewitt Misses Out At Wimbledon

Lleyton and Bec Hewitt’s son Cruz has lost the Wimbledon boys final.

The 17 year old is hoping to follow in his Dads footsteps, managing to make the final of the event this year but fell short of taking the title, the 2026 honour going to American Jordan Lee.

Jai July Birthday Party

In the NRL the South Sydney Rabbitoh’s have won against the Knights 26-24 in the game honouring former player Jai Arrow on his birthday.

If you’ve seen any NRL coverage recently you might have seen players from across the code pulling a bow and arrow move after a try. It’s for Jai Arrow, who was forced to medically retire back in May after he was diagnosed with MND, Motor Neurone Disease.

Jai July has been a month-long campaign to help raise money to support the former Rabittoh’s player, with sponsors donating $1000 for every try scored across the NRL, NRLW and State of Origin. It’s estimated nearly $1 million has been raised so far

As the code threw Jai Arrow the world’s biggest birthday party yesterday, he says he will fight motor neurone disease until he has nothing left to give.

The league will submit footage from the game to the Guinness Book of World Records for assessment; they’re confident they have broken the record for largest gathering of people wearing party hats.

The show explores her childhood, including the death of her mother from breast cancer when she was just 10 years old and what it’s been like for her family to raise their family in Ireland and thier experiences with thier youngest child, Clay, who has autism.

YouTuber who filmed Desi Freeman's hideout charged

US launches attacks on Tehran, Strait of Hormuz closes again

One Nation defends not being able to cost policy

Australian man died in Bali

9yo killed in Gaza

Remains of missing Mum found in Toowoomba

16yo charged over the alleged murder of 13yo girl in Victoria

Rosie O'Donnell reveals how much she was offered to stay on TV

Argentina will face England in the World Cup semi final

Cruz Hewitt has lost the Wimbledon boys final

Jai July raises $1 million as Rabbitohs win

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Bonnie Tyler Dies Suddenly In Portugal Hospital

Power Ballad Legend Bonnie Tyler has died suddenly in hospital in Portugal.

The Welsh Singer was being treated for complications relating to emergency intestinal surgery she underwent back in May, where doctors had placed her in an induced coma to assist in her recovery. She was later taken out of the coma but a spokesperson said she remained very unwell in intensive care.

Her 1983 hit Total Eclipse Of The Heart went to number one in multiple countries. Her song, Holding out For A Hero was included on the Footloose soundtrack, she was 75.

Telstra Says Secondary Fault Is Fixed

A secondary fault that only became apparent after Telstra’s first outage fault was being repaired, has now also been fixed.

Telstra’s acting CEO Michael Ackland has again apologised for the outage which left millions of customers without service.

He described the software defect as a time synchronisation issue, a glitch in the software that reset the GPS timer.

He also told the media yesterday that they have conducted 639 welfare checks on those callers who failed to connect to Triple 0 during the outage. 230 of those responded to an SMS saying they didn’t need any further assistance. 402 were followed up with voice calls and out of those, 170 calls were passed to the police for either a further welfare check or assistance.

7 required immediate assistance and they were referred to the relevant emergency services.

The Victorian regional train service the V/Line started bringing their service back on line around midday yesterday after they were knocked out by the Telstra outage. They conducted testing to ensure the train communication systems were working in a stable, continuous and reliable manner.

Telstra’s CEO Vicki Brady, who has been on leave overseas, is due to start back at work today.

ABC And SBS Face Anti Semitism Royal Commission.

The ABC has been accused by the country’s envoy to combat anti semitism as being its own judge, counsel and jury.

Both the ABC and SBS were called to give evidence at the royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion yesterday, the ABC’s editorial director admitting that allowing an incorrect statement said on its News Breakfast program that 14,000 babies would die in 48 hours in Gaza, a statement not retracted and apologised for until 4pm that afternoon, was a bad mistake.

Special envoy Jillian Segal explained that the public broadcasters coverage of the State of Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023 attacks and the ensuing conflict in Gaza lacked balance, was over emphasised relative to other global conflicts and disproportionately gave voice to anti Israel perspectives.

She suggested the ABC be overseen by an independent oversight board, saying it’s the gold standard, they don’t mark their own homework.

Meet With Modi In Melbourne Attracts Huge Crowd

Indian leader Narendra Modi has been celebrated at an event in Melbourne with a crowd of up to 30,000 people filling Docklands Stadium.

The Melbourne Meets Modi event was held after the Indian Prime Minister met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

@albompPrime Minister Modi, thank you for joining me in Melbourne tonight. Our Indian community has contributed so much to the story of modern Australia. And it’s made our country a better place.  Tonight we celebrated the special relationship between Australia and India.

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The pair signed a range of deals including a revived uranium trade deal with Australia to begin regular shipments of the fuel as Modi attempts to shift his country away from fossil fuel use.

They also signed a maritime security road map with plans to boost coast guard service on both .

India will also be given use of Australia’s Cocos Islands for a temporary space tracking terminal, and further education deals were signed off with a campus of the South Australian University Flinders, to be approved in India.

Human rights protestors also attended the event, with groups such as Amnesty International condemning Mr Modi for declines in India’s living standards and for targeting journalists and academics through anti-terror legislation.

Marginal religious groups including Muslims and Christians have also been targeted.

Taylor Warns Of One Nation Consequences

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has warned Australians that a decision to back One Nation will send the country broke calling the party a column of smoke.

It’s the strongest attempt by the Liberal party to hit back at One Nation, who have been eating away at its voter base in recent years, Mr Taylor saying an eternity of pain could follow handing One Nation leader Pauline Hanson power.

He made the comments during a speech at the Sydney Institute yesterday, saying One Nation has no credible plan to pay for any of it promises and that one of their policies would cost the country a trillion dollars over a decade and that national debt would nearly triple

US and Iran Trade Fire

Iranian forces have targeted US military bases in ‌neighbouring Gulf states following US strikes on Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces.

The strikes put further strain on the three-week-old ceasefire agreement which US President Donald Trump said this week he believed was over.

Meanwhile Iran has also been preparing to bury supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at ‌the country’s holiest shrine in Mashhad after a week of mass funeral processions and rallies.

Khamenei was killed in a US air strike on the first day of the war on February 28.

Ebola Crisis Spreads

New suspected cases of Ebola have been reported in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo that were previously unaffected.

The death toll from this current outbreak of the deadly virus has now reached 600 with the total number of confirmed cases currently at 1759

Storms To Hit Taiwan And China

China and Taiwan are bracing for one of the biggest tropic storms to hit in years as Typhoon Bavi approaches.

The storm, that could bring winds of up to 200km an hour, is expected to touch down in northern Taiwan before also making landfall in China’s Fujian province Saturday night.

China is still in recovery mode after Typhoon Maysak killed at least 39 people in Guangxi 9 people remain missing.

Also

Singer Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75

Telstra says secondary outage fault is now fixed

ABC & SBS Faced the Anti Semitism commission

Indian PM Narendra Modi met by fans in Melbourne

Angus Taylor's warning about Pauline

US and Iran trade blows

The Ebola criss in the DNC is spreading

Taiwan and China brace for typhoon Bavi

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Telstra Says Software To Blame

Telstra says yesterday’s outage was caused by a software defect which was fully restored as of 4pm yesterday afternoon, however the impact on the Victorian regional train system is likely to continue this morning.

The telco went down around 4:30am on Wednesday leaving the majority of their 25 million mobile customers without service, businesses without the ability to function and train services in two states forced to stop all services.

Acting CEO Michael Ackland said that there was no indication of malicious activity despite allegations from One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce

V/Line have advised that their network will still be impacted this morning, advising passengers to defer travel where possible.

Communications minister Anika Wells advised that some triple 0 calls had not connected during the outage despite most being able to camp on to other networks, meaning they can use other networks that aren’t experiencing an outage to still call Triple 0 even though you aren’t their customer. She advised that welfare checks were being conducted.

But after Liberal Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson admitted live on air that she was testing the service to see if it was working Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain reminded people not to prank call Triple 0 and to leave it free for people who actually require assistance.

Trump Threatens To Strike Iran

President Donald Trump says the US may strike Iran again after saying the ceasefire deal with the Islamic Republic is “over”.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in ‌Ankara, Trump criticised Iranian officials for what he described as not sticking to the deals they negotiated, warning that the United States will likely engage in additional strikes over ships being targeted as they travel through the Strait of Hormuz

“I’ll give a little warning: we’re going to hit them ‌hard tonight but we’ll see how it all works out,”

In earlier comments to reporters Trump said the memorandum of understanding that served as the basis for the current ceasefire deal between the two countries was over

Identity Rape Accused Says Victim Made It Up

A well known Melbourne identity accused of raping a former employee, claims the woman made it up.

The man, whose name and identity has been suppressed, is currently on trial in Victoria after pleading not guilty to sexual assault and rape.

Police allege the man assaulted the woman at his home in March 2023. She had been employed by the man in 2022 before reconnecting with him just the day before the alleged assault.

She had agreed to go to his house to have a conversation during which she alleges the man produced cocaine and they drank alcohol before she became emotional about a recent break up. It’s during this moment that she claims he went to comfort her before sexually assaulting her.

He has denied the claims of rape, assault, cocaine use, masturbation and being punched by the woman, his defence lawyer questioning the woman’s credibility.

If this story has brought up things that you need to speak to someone about, please reach out to 1800 respect or the national sexual abuse and redress support service on 1800 211 028.

NSW Seal Origin Win

NSW have bragging rights for the next 12 months after taking out game three of State of Origin.

The Blues defeated Queensland 30 to 12 with Nathan Clearly taking out the Wally Lewis medal as player of the series

Spice Girls Pay Tribute To The Song That Changed It All

Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm has paid tribute to the song that started it all for the group as Wannabe officially turns 30.

Chisholm, who is also known as Sporty Spice, posted on social media “30 years of Girl Power, happy birthday Wannabe” also sending love to her former band mates Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Mel Brown and Geri Halliwell

She signed off saying that the song changed their lives forever

Brown, aka Scary Spice, posted the song’s famous “zigazig ahhhh” line. Bunton, who was known as Baby Spice, said “Love you all, thank you.”

Halliwell-Horner, who was known as Ginger Spice said in her post: “30 Years of Wannabe – thank you to my beautiful spice sisters.”

Also

Telstra says software defect to blame for outage

Trump threatens to strike Iran

A high profile Melbourne man says rape allegations against him are made up

NSW seal origin win

Spice Girls celebrate 30 years of Wannabe

Guest: Nicole Madigan - Journalist, Author and Board member of Friends With Dignity

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Chinese Missile Destabilising

The Prime Minister has called a Chinese missile test in the Pacific incendiary and destabilising.

China fired their nuclear capable long range missile from a submarine in the Pacific ocean on Monday, the Australian government was given just a few hours notice of the test. It is believed to have landed somewhere between Nauru and Tuvalu.

The test coincided with Australia singing a new defence alliance with Fiji aimed to counter Chinese influence in the region.

Tanker On Fire In The Strait Of Hormuz

The British military is claiming that a tanker has caught on fire after being struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media is reporting that the tanker ignored warnings before the attack but did not directly take credit for it. Tehran has repeatedly made it clear that only their approved route through the strait is safe. They have been accused of firing on those who choose to try sailing closer to the shore of Oman.

The tanker is carrying liquefied natural gas

There are also reports that a Saudi crude oil tanker has been damaged while traversing the strait. The crew are reportedly safe but the ship now has no engines or steering.

Iranian authorities have now said they will halt peace talks with the US if they repeatedly threaten to restart the war.

Pam The Bird Artist Arrested

The man who is allegedly behind Pam the Bird artwork that’s been popping up all around Melbourne, has been arrested.

The 22 year old allegedly scaled Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge where he painted a giant version of the bird, before police, after 9 hours, managed to bring him down where he peacefully surrendered.

Jack Gibson Burrel has been charged with 209 previous offences over his graffiti, allegedly causing around $700,000 in damages to heritage listed Victorian landmarks including the Flinders Street station clock.

Mother Of Alleged Double Murderer Released On Bail

Coleen Lamarre, the mother of an ex police officer accused of a double murder, has been released on bail after being accused of attempting to interfere in her son’s trial.

Mrs Lamarre Son, Beau Lamarre Condon allegedly shot TV presenter Jesse Baird, who he briefly dated, and his flight attendant partner Luke Davies in their Sydney home in February 2024. It’s alleged he then placed their bodies into surfboard bags and dumped them at a rural property near Goulburn. They were found 8 days later.

Mrs Lamarre has been charged with doing an act with the intent on perverting the course of justice after she allegedly attempted to persuade a witness in her son’s trial to give a false statement.

Her son will face trial in September.

AI Fuelling Child Exploitation Material

Research by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children shows AI is now one of the major drivers in the creation of child exploitation material.

Their research claims that at least one in every 25 Australians has now experienced or has a close friend who has experienced online sexual victimisation involving AI before they turn 18.

The data also shows that more than a third of victims didn’t tell a single human about it, about 19% saying they told an AI chatbot that they had been abused.

Modra Out Of Hospital

Former AFL player Tony Modra has been released from hospital in Adelaide and will continue his recovery from home.

The 57 year old has undergone surgery to repair damage caused to his face when a tree branch pierced the windscreen of his truck on a windy Thursday night south of Adelaide.

Doctors had to repair his jaw, cheekbone and eye socket.

Mods says he’s overwhelmed with all the support he and his family had received and says he remains deeply grateful to all those who helped him on the night he crashed as well as the medical staff who’ve cared for him since, he said his progress has been encouraging but asked for privacy moving forward.

Harry, Elton And Others Lose Privacy Lawsuit

The lawsuit in which a range of high profile British people including Elton John and Prince Harry, claimed that the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, ran stories about them based on information that had been illegally obtained, has been dismissed.

The judge ruled that the claimants needed to prove that the information published about them had been obtained unlawfully, saying suspicions that this was the case was not enough. The summary explained that while Associated, the parent company of the Mail, could not positively explain how those stories had been sourced, that did not prove that it was done illegally.

Prince Harry had previously won cases he brought against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and settled with Rupert Murdoch’s papers.

US Out Of The World Cup

Despite help from their president the US couldn’t keep their World Cup campaign going, defeated by Belgium on home soil.

Folarin Balogun, who was suspended from playing, was reinstated after Donald Trump rang FIFA and complained about his red card, the President later admitting he didn’t know what a red card was or that you could be suspended from a game you hadn’t played yet.

But that wasn’t enough for the US to prevail, going down 4-1.

In yesterday’s other game Spain beat Portugal 1 nil

AFL Teams Wear Arm Bands For Nathan

All 18 teams across the AFL will wear black arm bands this weekend in honour of Nathan Fitzgerald.

The 27 year old had his life support turned off on Monday after he suffered several knocks to the head during a tackle before landing on a covered cricket pitch on the ground he was playing at over the weekend.

Players on all teams will wear the band in honour of the high school teacher, Richmond, the team he was a supporter of, will also hold a minute’s silence before the game against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

Also

Chinese Missile Destabilising for the region

Pam The Bird Artist Arrested

Mother Of Alleged Double Murderer Released On Bail

AI Fuelling Child Exploitation Material

Modra Out Of Hospital

Harry, Elton And Others Lose Privacy Lawsuit

US Out Of The World Cup

AFL Teams Wear Arm Bands For Nathan

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

People have been asking me for the tea around our redundancies and the behaviour of our former employer.

Today you will be getting some of that, but I also want you to know that I have my former employer to thank for Kersh and my (possibly unholy) new partnership.

When I got the call that I was being made redundant, there was one thing that I was forced to think about that I’d never had to consider before. How do I protect my voice from being used to train an AI agent or to be used in a capacity that I don’t give permission for?

I’ve been making a daily podcast for the past 7 years, so that’s nearly 2000 episodes that feature my voice. Podcast episodes that are the intellectual property of my former employer.

My voice is my livelihood. I not only use it as the host of my daily independent news show The Solo Bureau, but I have also been working as a voice over artist for more than a decade.

Voice actors discovering unauthorised use of an AI replica of their voice on adult content websites or video games is on the rise.

Australian voice actor Jacinta Kelly signed a contract with an AI to text speech platform that included conditions that her voice not be used for any profane or explicit content. It was just months later that she was alerted to her AI generated voice being used for exactly that on Porn Hub.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT has also been caught out. They introduced an AI voice they called Sky. They wanted it to be voiced by Scarlett Johansson, who had famously voiced an AI character in the movie ‘Her’. She refused. They went ahead and launched Sky anyway. It sounded so much like Johansson and they were forced to take it down.

There are a ton of stories of actors having their voices used legitimately for one thing, only to find out it’s been misused as an AI clone in another.

So when it came time to leave my last job, I worked with a friend of mine to draft a contract that asked them to agree not to use the IP they owned of my voice to train an AI agent or create an AI version of my voice.

They refused.

I need to add in here, for full disclosure, that I have allowed my voice to be cloned but not for news. I have worked for Abe’s Audio for more than 10 years. Abe Udy and I have basically grown up together from our baby radio roots at 5CC and Magic FM in Port Lincoln, to him running an incredibly successful production company out of Tasmania.

He came to me a while back and asked me how I felt about AI and voice cloning and we had an open discussion about what that would mean for voice over artists, what that would look like for the industry and how we could ethically create something that would allow the business to continue without being constantly undercut by cheap AI voices.

He drafted a contract that made it very clear how and when the AI version of my voice could be used and by who. I have the right to pull the plug on my participation at every stage. I trust Abe 100% on this.

I get paid every single time my AI voice is used with very clear contractual parameters as to when and where it can be used.

I won’t go into too much detail about why my former employer decided they didn’t want to agree to not use my voice in this way. They have assured me that they won’t do it and there is company policy that says they won’t. But company policy is subject to change.

They explained that they didn’t want to lock themselves into a side agreement with me because they didn’t know what the future held.

A handful of my now former colleagues were aware of this happening, including my redundancy buddy Kersherka Sivakumaran.

She and I discussed what to say in this article and she had a really good point. She explained that we sign a contract at the start of our employment accepting that the company we work for owns the IP you create for them, which seems fair. That’s what you’re getting paid to produce.

But in 2026 it’s a bit beyond that. We’re now essentially being asked to hand over our identity which can be recreated and reassembled in ways that can put us out of a job, create a whole new ‘us’ in that workspace or risk our reputation if it’s used nefariously down the track.

Should we now be challenging the accepted norm that IP doesn’t fully belong to a company when your voice, your likeness and your words, can be used to train an AI agent to essentially become you?

“In 2026 with what AI is capable of, we are not just handing over what we do but our identity and how we think.” Kersh said. “The transaction for working has fundamentally changed and because of the imbalance of power, specifically how scared we are of losing our jobs, we’re not stopping to recognise this was never an agreement made”.

Kersh is a data queen, but what not all of our colleagues may have known is that she is also the founder of BCD Theatre and has Directed and Produced successful plays including ‘And What Will People Say?’ a stunning reflection of women facing domestic violence.

She has now also written her first play with co-writer Jane Estrada called ‘The Algorithm Of Us’.

Not long after we were both let go from our jobs, she posted this on LinkedIn.

I loved the idea. It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve acted in anything, but I was without a job, at home, trying to figure myself out, so I told Kersh that if I was in a different geographic situation I’d jump at the chance.

Yes, there’s an AI character. It was almost too much. Too perfect, too timely, too everything. The fact that this conversation was also happening on Linkedin is an irony not lost on the both of us.

We started to talk about it, we thought it would be incredibly funny that two redundancy rejects teamed up to make art based on the corporate world that we’d just left behind.

“I’ve been working in corporate Australia for 10+ years now and although it’s always been ‘about profits’ to an extent I did feel there were values and a level of integrity that with the introduction of AI have just been depleted now” Kersh said. “And I know I’m not alone in feeling this shift”

We also thought the irony of me playing the AI character after trying and failing to protect myself from being cloned was an opportunity almost too delicious to pass up.

“Theatre is at its best when real life and the ridiculous collide - that’s where the comedy lives.” says Kersh.

So I am very excited to announce that I (well my voice) will be making my theatre debut in Kersh’s amazing play ‘The Algorithm Of Us’ at the Sydney Fringe Festival September 13 to 19 as the AI character Em-dash.

Tickets are on sale from July 13 and I’d love you to get around this exciting adventure Kersh and I are embarking on together.

We’re also hosting a fundraising night on Wednesday August 13 at Soul Trap Bar in Surry Hills. You can buy tickets here

I’ll be your MC, there’ll be unlimited pizza and comedians making jokes about what it’s like to live in and survive the corporate world.

Come and have some fun as we hope to get this production off the ground.

From redundancy buddies, to partners, there’s life in these two yet!

P.S If you ever hear a version of my voice on something you think doesn’t sound right, please let me know. Thank you to those who have done so already, it hasn’t been me yet so fingers crossed, it never will be.

Cannibalism Part Of Child Death investigation

NSW Police are investigating the death of a 4yo boy on the Central Coast where cannibalism is allegedly involved.

According to police the woman walked into the Wyong station just after 4:30pm on Saturday which led officers to a home where they found the remains of a little boy. The 32 year old was charged with domestic violence and murder and was refused bail.

According to court documents cited by media outlets, police obtained an urgent court order to forensically examine the woman’s mouth. Taking swabs of any forensic material.

The child’s death will be reviewed by the Department of Communities and Justice, who last had contact with the family 18 months ago

PM Apologises For Kylie Comment

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised for comments he made about Kylie Minogue while appearing on the Bush Deep podcast.

In a game of shag, marry or date, the PM initially avoided answering how he would rank Kylie, Nicole Kidman and Rhonda Birchmore saying he’d just gotten married to his wife Jodie Haydon 6 months ago, when he was pressed he said oh Kylie clearly, all of the above.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce slammed the PM saying he’d like to “break into regular broadcasting for a special mention from the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia : People Anthony would like to have sex with”, saying he should have just not answered,

The PM has said sorry saying he apologises unequivocally.

Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Now Exceeds 3000

The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating double earthquakes has now gone past 3000.

Authorities say they have confirmed 3334 dead with more than 16,000 injured and the number of people without shelter exceeding 17,000.

Search-and-rescue operations are now winding down, with focus now shifting to the clearing debris in the hardest-hit areas as hopes of finding more survivors fades.

Brisbane Airport To Trial Lower Emission Fuel

Brisbane Airport will become the first in Australia to trial jet fuel made from used cooking oil.

The war in Iran and the subsequent fuel shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has led to the fast tracking of projects like the use of waste products for jet fuel.

Airlines using Brissie airport will now be able to buy sustainable aviation fuel or SAF, blend it right into their regular supply and they can fly business as usual.

Melbourne’s Tobacco Shops Wars Erupt

In what looks like the plot of the next Underbelly series, Melbourne’s tobacco shop wars have erupted in flames.

Unknown offenders drove a car into the front of the shop on Victoria Street at Richmond just after 4am yesterday, setting it alight before the offenders fled on foot.

Another tobacco store was targeted in nearby Bridge Street last week as the demand for illegal tobacco products explodes across the country.Just in Victoria, there have been at least 150 tobacco store fires and another 30 involving cars, restaurants and other venues since March 2023. It’s believed criminal syndicates are competing in turf wars.

The Gang Crime Squad has executed hundreds of raids and arrested more than 200 people involved in the illegal tobacco trade with more than $50 million worth of cash, illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vapes seized.

Trump Posts Another Obama Doctored Pic & Helps A Soccer Player Get Off

US President Donald Trump has posted another AI doctored picture of the Obamas.

Just months after he posted a picture depicting the Obamas as primates in a jungle setting, which he later deleted, this time he has posted a picture of Barak and Michelle Obama smiling and waving at the top of the stairs of Air Force One which has been spray painted with graffiti that says things like Black Lives Matter and Obama’s Democratic campaign slogan Yes We Can along with Arabic writing under the Obama name that translated means Praise be to God, or Thank God.

The use of graffiti in pictures involving black people in America, has been in the past used to show them as aligned with crime and urban decay.

Still on Trump and the President has intervened at the World Cup, calling the president of FIFA to review a red card given to an American player.

Folarin Balogun was suspended after he stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia Herzegovina player last week, but after a call from Trump, the suspension has been lifted allowing him to play against Belgium.

Former Socceroo Crag Foster posted to X just one word, Disgraceful.

Royal Hugs For Kate & No Harry Can’t Stay with Dad

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released pictures of the Princess after she completed the Three Peaks challenge raising money for charity.

Kate climbed the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours, the couple’s instagram account showing her being hugged by her husband and children after she returned. One shows that eldest son George is now as tall as if not slightly taller than his Mum

And while we’re talking royals Prince Harry’s visit to the UK has been thrown into chaos after his Dad reportedly rescinded the invitation to stay at Buckingham palace while he and his family are visiting.

The offer had reportedly been withdrawn at the last moment due to the Duke’s case against Associated Newspapers which could compromise the king’s constitutional position.

At the weekend it was announced that Meghan and the kids would no longer be accompanying Harry to the UK amid concerns for their security and safety.

Winmar ‘s Hall Of Fame Status Under Review

After being found guilty of assaulting a woman, former footballer Nicky Winmar’s Hall of Fame status is under review.

The former St Kilda player who famously lifted his shirt and pointed at his skin after racist taunts from the crowd, has already had a statue of him performing that action taken down from Perth’s Optus Stadium.

The now 60 year old was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2022 to reflect his 251 game career with both the Saints and the Bulldogs, but the league has now confirmed it is reviewing that decision.

Harry Styles Breaks Records

Singer Harry Styles has broken a Guinness World Record for the longest residency at Wembley Stadium.

Styles wrapped up 12 shows at the venue as part of his Together, Together world tour, securing the record on Saturday at the final show.

He kicked Coldplay out of the record holding position who played 10 shows there during their 205 world tour.

Aussie Cricketers Win Again and De Minour Out Of Wimbledon

To Sport and the Aussie women’s cricket team have taken out the T20 World Cup for the seventh time crushing England by 7 wickets at Lords.

Alex de Minour, the last Aussie man standing at Wimbledon has lost his fourth round match to Italian Flavio Cobolli…

McEnroe’s Racket Up For Auction

If you’re into sports memorabilia, a tennis racket once smashed up by Wimbledon champ John McEnroe is up for auction later this month.

The Wilson Pro Staff racket is still just holding together by its strings after the 7 time Grand Slam winner, in a fit of rage, launched it several times into the court surface during a match sometime between 1977 and 1980.

He gifted it to Linda Matthews, who owned the accommodation where he was staying while playing at the English tournament.

It’s worth around 3000 to 5000 pounds or nearly 10k Australian.

NSW Child death being investigated for cannibalism

PM apologises for his Kylie comment

Venezuela death toll exceeds 3000

Brisbane airport to trial cooking oil jet fuel

Melbourne' s tobacco shop wars

Trump posts another doctored pic of the Obamas

Princess Kate posts pics post mountain climb while her brother in law's accommodation plans are thrown into chaos

Nicky Winmar's Hall of Fame status under review

Harry Styles is breaking records

The Aussie women's cricket team are the T20 World Cup winners for a 7th time

Last Aussie man Alex de Minour is out of Wimbledon and

John McEnroe's smashed up racket is up for auction

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Calls For Bird Flu Calm

Authorities are insisting there is no bird flu crisis in Australia despite a growing number of wild birds confirmed to be carrying the deadly virus.

Poultry farms have been asked to consider moving their birds inside for the time being as NSW confirmed their first case of the H5N1 strain of avian flu over the weekend, the Giant Petrel found on a beach at Hawks Nest on the state’s Mid North Coast.

This case is in addition to several birds testing positive in Western Australia and South Australia.

The NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty called for calm saying she wants to stress that there has only been one bird found so far, that there is no crisis and no need to panic.

We’re also being told that eggs and poultry bought from stores are safe to consume.

If you see sick or dead wild birds: avoid contact, record with photos/video, and report to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

NAIDOC Week Gets Underway With Award Finalists Announced

NAIDOC Week is now underway with local events and activities happening across the country to mark this year’s milestone year, 50 years of deadly.

The 2026 National NAIDOC Award finalists were announced yesterday recognising First Nations Elders, organisers, artists and communities who have built and sustained the NAIDOC movement over five decades.

National NAIDOC Committee Co-Chair, Aunty Lynette Riley says “These finalists reflect the strength, diversity and excellence of First Nations people right across the country. “Their stories are a powerful reminder of why NAIDOC continues to matter after 50 years.”

The winners will be announced on on August 15 in Mparntwe Alice Springs.

NAIDOC Week Gets Underway With Award Finalists Announced

NAIDOC Week is now underway with local events and activities happening across the country to mark this year’s milestone year, 50 years of deadly.

The 2026 National NAIDOC Award finalists were announced yesterday recognising First Nations Elders, organisers, artists and communities who have built and sustained the NAIDOC movement over five decades.

National NAIDOC Committee Co-Chair, Aunty Lynette Riley says “These finalists reflect the strength, diversity and excellence of First Nations people right across the country. “Their stories are a powerful reminder of why NAIDOC continues to matter after 50 years.”

The winners will be announced on on August 15 in Mparntwe (UM-BARN-TWA) Alice Springs

Slain Iranian Leader’s Sons Attend Funeral But Not His Successor

Three sons of the former Iranian leader killed by Israeli and US strikes, have attended his funeral but not the son who has become his successor.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died alongside several of his family members in an air strike back in February, three of his sons, Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud were seen praying by their father’s coffin but Mojtaba, the son who has been named to take over from him. Was not in attendance.

It’s believed Mojtaba was injured in the attack that killed his father and he hasn’t been seen since then.

Strike Kills Two In Gaza

Despite a US mediated ceasefire with Hamas Israel has reportedly struck Gaza killing two people.

The Israeli military is yet to comment on the strike, which hit a group of people walking on the road in the middle of Omar Al-Mokhtar, a city in the north of the enclave.

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, but Israel has accused Hamas of the same. Both parties remain deadlocked in the peace talks that have so far failed to agree on the second phase of the deal.

July 4 Speech Delivered After Weather Delay

US President Donald Trump has delivered his 4th of July address despite a delay due to storms and soaring temperatures.

The crowd had waited hours to get inside the fences near the Washington monument after spending time in nearby museums and government buildings to get away from the 39 degree heat and a thunderstorm that rolled in.

Trump said that marking the country’s 250 year anniversary was always going to happen despite the weather related setback saying “There’s no way we can be deterred”.

The 250 year milestone was being planned before Trump took office with a non-partisan group set up to run it, but the Trump administration has brought in the Freedom 250 group to run it instead, fencing off an area of the National Mall for the Great American State Fair which featured displays from conservative groups and defence contractors.

The White Nationalist Organisation the Patriot Front marched through the streets of Washington in the lead up to the event which several Democratic led states declined to send a delegation to and many performers, who had been scheduled to perform, pulled out of citing concerns about the celebration being less about the 250 mark and more about campaign style politics.

Everything We Know About Taylor & Travis’ Wedding Day

So you may have seen some of the wedding details from New York as Taylor Swift and her man Travis Kelce got hitched. Here’s what we know.

The guest list was huge with 1000 invited, but we know for sure that her bestie Abbie was there along with both the bride and groom’s family and friends. As far as celebs go, Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid were in attendance, as were Millie Bobby Brown, Graham Norton, Seth Myers, Stephen Colbert, Dakota Johnson, Steven Spielberg, Ellie Goulding and a bunch of people who we all know but the list is too long to read out here.

Taylor’s brother was her Man of Honour and Jason Kelce, Travis’ brother was his Best Man. Travis’s nieces were the flower girls, outside of that they didn’t have a bridal party.

Adam Sandler officiated the event, you might remember he’s a bit of a Swiftie himself and had Travis do a cameo in his Happy Gilmore sequel recently.

Sandler also reportedly reprised his Wedding Singer role and played a song for the couple. Stevie Nicks also performed.

Swift walked down the aisle to one of her own songs being played by a string quartet. The couple exchanged their own personal vows inside Madison Square Garden which had been transformed into a fairytale castle built inside the arena with a peach and white theme, described by guests as a garden inside the garden.

The bride and groom wore outfits designed by Christian Dior’s Jonathon Anderson. No pictures of either of them have been released yet but someone mentioned Travis wore a white tux.

The wedding favours included a lace handkerchief with the couple’s wedding logo on it, two T’s with two hearts linking them together, under which was written “So It’s gonna be forever” a lyric from Swift’s 2014 song Blank Space. Singer Maren Morris posted a pic of it.

The couple reportedly kicked off their wedding weekend by donating a ton of money to charities across the US and as soon as they said I Do, screens outside the venue lit up with the words Just Married with the word Just with 2 Ts for Taylor and Travis.

Socceroos Wing Back Hoping For Best After Knee Scans

It wasn’t the outcome Aussie fans were after, the Socceroos going down to Egypt on penalties on Saturday.

Now the team is sweating on Jordan Bos who went down with a serious knee injury late in the first half of the game.

The wing back was left laying on the ground after a challenge in Australia’s round of 32 loss, he was then helped from the field by trainers only to return to the bench on crutches a while later.

The 23 year old has now undergone scans and hopes that he’s avoided doing his ACL or something equally as serious.

Adelaide Are Super Netball 2026 Premiers

The Thunderbirds capped off a stunning season with their Super Netball Grand Final victory on Saturday night.

Demolishing the Melbourne Vixens 61 to 40 to clinch their third premiership in four years.

Beyonce Drops First New Track In 2 Years

Ending with a surprise Fourth of July pressie from Beyonce, the singer dropped her first new track in 2 years.

It’scalled Morning Dew (Donk).

A press release from her people said it’s a direct nod to her loyal BeyHive community to commemorate the upcoming celebration of BDay, which is the 20 year anniversary coming up in September of her second album.

The song will appear on the 20th anniversary reissue of B’Day.

Also

Calls for calm over bird flu

Slain Thai teen's family decline compensation

NAIDOC Week underway

Iranian leader's sons attend funeral but not his successor

Israeli airs trike kills 2 in Gaza

Donald Trump's July 4th speech delayed

Everything we know about Taylor & Travis' wedding day

Socceroos sweat on inured Wing Back

Thunderbirds take out the Super Netball Grand Final

Beyonce drops her first new track in 2 years

Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

If you have a story idea, shoot me a DM on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on the socials at the⁠⁠ ⁠Solo Bureau Instagram ⁠⁠

The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative

Survivor Pulled From Venezuelan Rubble

More than a week on from devastating back to back earthquakes in Venezuela, a security guard has been pulled alive from the rubble.

The 44 was working in the mall when the quakes hit, burying him under tons of concrete.

Rescuers discovered him on Monday, sending a tube down so he could drink water and digging two separate tunnels to get to him due to the instability of the ruins. After 70 hours he was finally free.

The Venezuelan crews were helped by teams from Chile, the US, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Russia Slams Ukraine

Russian drones and missiles have reigned down on the Ukrainian capital in an 11 hour attack killing at least 20 civilians and injuring many more.

Moscow says the strikes are retaliation for the recent Ukrainian hits on Russian oil facilities which have caused fuel shortages and placed mounting pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian officials say they are trying to force Moscow to the negotiating table but so for any diplomatic solution has not ben successful with Russia instead choosing to hit back.

Nancy Guthrie Case Still Being Investigated

Despite a ransom note reportedly saying that the missing mother of US TV show host Savannah Guthrie had died, the FBI is continuing to treat the case as a kidnapping for ransom.

Authorities wouldn’t comment on how many ransom notes they have received since the 84 year old disappeared from her home in February this year, but say they have discounted some as purely extortion attempts while others they believe may be legitimate.

A Tucson TV station said they received a note demanding millions in bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie’s return.

Authorities believe she was taken against her will, with her blood found near the front doorstep of her home but despite extensive searches and in depth investigation she still hasn’t been found.

Real Estate Websites Face Off In Court

RealEstate.com.au (REA) and Domaine have faced off in court over accusations of breaching consumer laws with claims made about how many sales they are responsible for.

Domain claims that the statement made by REA that they found buyers for 9 in every 10 properties listed on its platform was not supported by underlying data. A spokesperson for REA says the company stands by the claim and that they were based on analysis of one million sales and independently verified.

If Domain is successful they are asking for REA to stop using the data in advertising after they put it out in a press release, in a statement to shareholders and on a billboard that Domain claim REA put up outside the Gold Coast airport to catch the attention of thousands of real estate agents who were flying in for a national conference.

REA has also claimed Domain have made misleading statements, specifically that listings using their 3D modelling receive 5.5 times more listing views and 4.2 times more buyer inquiries

Aged Care Algorithm Change

The federal government will allow human intervention to overrule a controversial automation tool that determines care packages for aged care assessments.

The Integrated Assessment Tool was rolled out in November with complaints that it has chosen packages not suitable for those undergoing the assessment.

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae conceded yesterday that changes would be made to allow reviews of decisions in extenuating circumstances.

He denied that AI is being used saying it is dishonest for any actor to pretend otherwise.

Farmer Inks Deal With First Nations To Share In Carbon Credit Windfall

Far North Queensland cattle farmer Rory Robertson has signed an historic deal with the local Wik and Way peoples in Cape York to ensure a 50/50 split of the clean energy scheme.

The 25 year agreement will see Traditional burning practices undertaken on the 250,000 hectare station which Mr Robertson says is one of the most diverse non coastal properties in Queensland with it’s wetlands, wilderness and wildlife.

The carbon credit scheme incentivises effective fire management based on traditional knowledge and burning practices.

Projects earn carbon credits for every tonne of carbon dioxide stored or reduced which can then be sold back to the government or businesses who need to offset their emissions, that money will be shared evenly.

Also

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Host/Producer⁠⁠ ⁠Claire Murphy⁠⁠⁠

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The Solo Bureau Artwork is by Gabi Revell from ⁠Foundry Creative