Afternoon Update: Federal investigation into Telstra outage; ICE fatally shoot motorist; and flaky AI skincare advice

Good afternoon.

The federal government has dismissed speculation that foreign interference caused a major overnight Telstra outage, adding that an investigation has been launched.

The telco, which powers about 25m mobile services nationwide, has blamed an issue with a time-keeping server for the disruption, which left thousands of mobile customers unable to make calls or access data.

Speaking at a press conference in Canberra this afternoon, the communications minister, Anika Wells, confirmed services have “largely returned to business as usual, with only a small number of devices now still experiencing issues”.

Top news

‘Cannot justify such expenditure’: why the corruption watchdog dropped two investigations into former boss

Diplomats assisting Australian woman charged over allegedly voting in US elections

ICE agent fatally shoots motorist during traffic stop in Houston

Arizona toddler declared dead after near-drowning was alive for hours in ‘cold room’, records say

Djokovic sees off Auger-Aliassime in Wimbledon epic to set up Sinner semi-final

World Cup 2026

Argentina have secured a spot in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a 3–2 win over Egypt.

The South American country staged one of the tournament’s strongest comebacks, scoring their winning three goals in the last 20 minutes of the match.

In a later game, Switzerland also booked their place in the next round after knocking out Colombia in a penalty shootout.

The victory marks Switzerland’s first appearance in the quarter-finals since 1954, with manager Murat Yakin describing the match as “a dream”.

Argentina and Switzerland will now go head to head on Sunday.

In pictures

Scientists have called for better land management alongside reduction in greenhouse gases as record wildfires burn in Europe. Rampant wildfires had burned 28,000 hectares (69,160 acres) in France and 50,000 hectares in Spain as of 1 July, more than double the average for that time of year, and more land has been charred by bigger fires in the week since.

What they said …

“Absolutely bananas” – Mike Simonsen, Compass’s chief economist

San Francisco’s AI boom has buyers spending unprecedented amounts of money on homes – much more than sellers are asking for. New analysis from real estate brokerage Compass found that in the first half of 2026, more than 140 homes in the city sold for at least $1m above their asking price.

Today in Focus

Did Iran win the war?

Patrick Wintour reports from the funeral of Ali Khamenei as the Iranian regime puts on a show of confidence and resilience. Robert Malley, a US special envoy for Iran during Joe Biden’s presidency, explains what the ceasefire memorandum tells us about the outcome of the war.

Listen to the episode here

Before bed read

Can AI be trusted when it comes to skincare advice? There are more than 3,000 conditions in dermatology, and as people increasingly turn to chatbots for health advice, experts warn the recommendations can be flaky.

Daily word game

Today’s starter word is: DAM. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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