Morning Briefing
Israel's election has delivered a cliffhanger — exit polls show the anti-Netanyahu bloc with a narrow lead, but Likud has emerged as the single largest party, meaning Israel wakes up to another hung parliament and days of coalition horse-trading ahead. Meanwhile, crypto is taking a beating and markets are sending mixed signals globally.
What Matters Today
- Israel election too close to call: Exit polls project a majority of Israelis voted against Netanyahu's coalition, but Likud remains the biggest party. No clear winner, no clear path to government — expect volatility in Israeli assets and fresh geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. Guardian AU
- Albanese's approval hits equal-record low: The PM's disapproval rating has climbed to 56% in the Essential poll, with One Nation's primary vote now on par with Labor's. That's a flashing red light for a government that looks increasingly vulnerable — and One Nation using Bluey in campaign material isn't helping anyone's mood. Guardian AU
- Critical UEFI firmware flaw threatens most servers on Earth: A code-execution vulnerability in EDK2 — the open-source UEFI firmware used across enterprise servers globally — lets attackers run code before the OS even boots. If you manage infrastructure, this one needs immediate attention. Ars Technica
- Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil: The far-right senator reportedly boarded a plane to the US after missing the deadline to surrender his passport following his father's presidential election loss to Lula. Brazil's political drama is far from over. Guardian AU
- Ukraine ceasefire holds in Kherson region: Russia and Ukraine both report no breaches of the localised truce in the Oleshky area — a rare, small moment of de-escalation. Norway and Finland leaders also held a rare call with Putin, signalling cautious diplomatic stirring. BBC World
- Starc drags Australia back into the Cape Town Test: After a horror start and South Africa cruising at 140-0 at lunch, Starc's devastating spell helped bundle the hosts for 329. Day two sets up as a genuine decider — this series is on the line. ABC News
- Harry Kane wins the Ballon d'Or: First Englishman in 25 years to take the award. Whatever you think of the voting, Kane's consistency at Bayern has been extraordinary — and this cements his place among the game's greats. ABC News
Markets
The ASX 200 had a cracking session, up 2.14% to 8,850 — a standout performer while most other major indices struggled. The Nikkei took a serious hit, down 4.66%, dragging broader Asia-Pacific sentiment lower. The NASDAQ shed 2.18% as tech stocks continued to wobble, likely driven by macro uncertainty and rate jitters. The AUD is holding firm at 0.703, up slightly, which is notable given gold dropped 2.27% — suggesting the Aussie dollar's strength is being carried by commodity export optimism rather than safe-haven flows. Bitcoin slid 4.48% to around $80,600, but Ethereum's 12.86% drop is the real story in crypto — that kind of move suggests something more than routine selling, possibly a large liquidation event or negative protocol news worth digging into.
Worth a Read
- Gen Z fighting back against big tech — Guardian AU: From distraction-blocking apps to dumb phones, young people are actively building workarounds to the attention economy. Genuinely interesting piece on whether this becomes a mass movement or stays niche.
- Grok AI's Homer adaptation is exactly as bad as you'd expect — Guardian AU: The Guardian's reviewer eviscerates Elon Musk's AI-generated Odyssey film with some genuinely sharp writing. Worth it for the prose alone, regardless of where you sit on Musk.
- UEFI firmware critical flaw deep-dive — Ars Technica: If you work in tech or manage any server infrastructure, stop scrolling and read this now. Pre-boot code execution via EDK2 is as serious as it sounds.
- Ford's Fathom EV with built-in home battery output — Ars Technica: Ford's $30K Fathom pickup can push 10kW to your home without a wall inverter. Vehicle-to-home is finally getting practical — this is the product that could mainstream it.