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May 5, 2026 - World

Labor’s 2026-27 budget shows $727m operating surplus for this financial year as debt forecast to soar by decade’s endWinners and losers: Victoria’s 2026 budget cuts transport costs and helps parents - but will future generations suffer?Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictoria has recorded a surplus for the first time since the pandemic but the state’s financial recovery remains uncertain with debt forecast to near $200bn in coming years amid global uncertainty.The 2026-27 Victorian budget, handed down on Tuesday, shows the state recorded a $727m operating surplus in 2025-26, a slight improvement on December’s pre-budget update of $710m and the $611m forecast last May. Continue reading...

May 5, 2026 - World

In today’s newsletter: With the use of facial recognition skyrocketing, there are calls for the rapid development of safeguardsGood morning. Over the last couple of days, the Guardian has been reporting that facial recognition technology is being rolled out across the UK at a pace that appears to be outstripping the rules designed to govern it. Police forces are increasingly using live systems to scan members of the public in real time, while retailers are deploying similar tools to identify suspected shoplifters.Advocates of the technology argue that facial recognition is effective and here to stay. Critics warn it risks creating a system where people are monitored – and sometimes wrongly flagged – without clear safeguards.Middle East crisis | Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait of Hormuz.Delivery industry | More than 7,000 Just Eat couriers are taking legal action against the food delivery company in an attempt to gain better employment rights, including the minimum wage and holiday pay.Europe | At the European Political Community summit in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Keir Starmer has called on Europe to “face up” to tensions with the Trump administration, as heads of government gathered to discuss the EU’s loan scheme for Ukraine.UK news | Keir Starmer will call for a whole-of-society response to rising antisemitism on Tuesday, saying that it is not enough simply to condemn the scourge, but people “must show it” through their actions too.Cost of living | Food prices are set to be 50% higher by November compared to 2021, according to research by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. Continue reading...

May 5, 2026 - World

Foreign minister Penny Wong visits Fiji this week to progress the security and economic agreementFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia looks close to signing a landmark security and economic agreement with Fiji as part of the Albanese government’s efforts to contain China’s growing influence across the Pacific.But pushback from Beijing has undermined a separate pact with Vanuatu’s government, resulting in a scaling back of a deal aimed at locking in Australia as the country’s primary security partner. Continue reading...

May 5, 2026 - World

OpenAI's co-founder and president, Greg Brockman, on Monday disclosed deeper financial ties to CEO Sam Altman than previously known as well as a stake in the ChatGPT maker worth almost $30 billion.

May 5, 2026 - World

Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates for third consecutive meeting, lifting them to early-2025 levelsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastUse our loan calculator to see how rate hikes could affect you The Reserve Bank has delivered a third straight interest rate hike to contain growing inflationary pressures linked to higher fuel prices, even as it warned the Iranian war would deliver a major blow to the economy.The widely expected decision to lift the cash rate to 4.35% from 4.1% comes as the central bank revealed a gloomy new set of forecasts that showed intensifying cost-of-living pressures alongside weaker growth. Continue reading...