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The plan to sell off soccer's World Cup was controversial... and turned out to be shortlived.

After an intense backlash, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has scrapped his plans to sell a stake in the World Cup - and other events - to private investors.

In a statement, he said that after listening carefully to different views, it's become clear the project has created divisions that are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.

The backdown comes after one of his senior advisors resigned too.

A Qantas aircraft set to be used for direct flights between Australia and Europe has completed a marathon 24-hour test flight from Melbourne to France.

When launched, the route will become the world's longest commercial passenger service.

How do the pilots achieve such a feat?

Millions of Australians use offset accounts to reduce interest costs on their mortgage, but the corporate regulator says some banks are not delivering the savings as promised.

ASIC found Australian banks paid more than $55 million in compensation to customers in just two years, for failures with mortgage offset accounts.

Ben Carroll is Victoria's 50th premier, but his rise to the top job did not come without a fight, and he has a battle ahead of him against public opinion in the state.

He rose the ranks from a Kmart worker, to become a state MP in 2012 and eventually the leader of the Labor party.

But can he distinguish himself from the former Labor leaders Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews and turn the polls around for Labor before the next election? 

Could we be building more homes in Australia if complex regulations were wound back?

What rules should we have around minimum floor space for homes, the size of windows or the number of car parks on site?

The government's economic think tank the Productivity Commission has some suggestions that could makes homes cheaper and faster to build. 

Victoria has a new premier with Jacinta Allan's former deputy Ben Carroll elected unopposed following a chaotic Labor caucus meeting.

Jactina Allan reluctantly resigned, after facing sustained pressure over slumping polling numbers and allegations of corruption in the construction sector.

Hundres of thousands of people in France and Spain displaced by unprecedented wildfires say they are victims of the climate crisis, as the blaze burns dangerously close to the city of Bordeaux. 

As the CSIRO tests a cluster of dead and sick birds found in South Australia, there are growing fears the H5 flu virus is now spreading between local wildlife.Australia already has at least 20 confirmed cases, and the discovery of five dead birds in one location has prompted renewed calls by environmentalists for stronger action.But, the Australian Government says it's confident the nation's biosecurity system is responding appropriately.

Australia's new AusAlert emergency system has sent a 10-second test warning signal to all compatible mobile phones and devices across the country.

It will be officially used from October during natural disasters or public safety situations like terrorist attacks.

But some people didn't receive the alert and there are number of reasons why that might be the case. 

In India, a protest movement of so called cockroaches have led to a huge change at the very top of government - claiming the scalp of the country's Education Minister.

The rise of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro has transformed the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. But as their use rapidly increases, a growing list of potential risks are emerging.So how do GLP-1 drugs work? And what are the potential risks and benefits?

The two leading AI companies in the world, Anthropic and OpenAI, have revealed breaches where their models broke out of tests and hacked into other companies.

In the latest case Claude models started roaming the internet. 

It's a warning about what these advanced models are capable of if there's any lapse in cyber security safeguards.

What do we know about why this is happening?

A new 12.5 per cent tariff is now in effect for Australian goods imported to the United States, after the Trump administration announced new levies for all of its major trading partners.

It's been described as 'completely unjustified', but why is Australia being targeted with a higher rate and what will it mean for our exporters?

Roughly a month after the global fuel crisis looked to be settling down, things have fallen apart.

The latest escalation in the Middle East is from the Iran-backed Houthi Rebels attacking Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and rocking global trade.

So what will the impact be on fuel supplies and prices here in Australia?

The Commonwealth Games have begun in Glasgow, Scotland.

But they were originally supposed to be held in Victoria, with the state government cancelling due to escalating costs.

So do the games stack up financially, and are they still relevant?

Energy company Origin has confirmed there has been unauthorised access to and disclosure of some customers' data, with dates of birth and the last few digits of credit cards potentially revealed.

Reports suggest a hacker might be sharing details with news outlets.

So, what do we know and how worried should you be if you're an Origin customer?

The US and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, a deal that allows the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium.

Some concerns have been raised though about the spread of nuclear technology and whether Saudi Arabia could eventually develop nuclear weapons. 

Australia's housing market has hit a turning point, with prices falling nationally for the first time in more than three years.

Domain's quarterly report shows combined capital city prices dropped 1.4 percent over the quarter, while units fell 1.2 percent.

So could this be the end of the housing boom?

Brain injury experts and sports professionals are calling for changes in sports at all levels to help prevent neurodegenerative diseases linked to repeated impacts to the head.

The discussion has been reignited after Former Socceroos captain and Australian soccer icon Paul Wade  announced he'd been diagnosed with suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI says it is still investigating an “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a testing environment and hack into another AI company.

Hollywood actor and director Rebel Wilson has been cleared of defamation against the lead actor on her film The Deb.

Charlotte MacInnes sued Ms Wilson in the Federal Court over a series of social media posts.

How did it play out? 

The war in the middle east is intensifying.

Over the past two weeks, in the wake of a failed ceasefire, the US has escalated strikes on Iran, and so too has Iran on shipping, and its Gulf neighbours.

President Donald Trump says the US isn't finished.

He's warning American forces could soon target a location known as Pickaxe Mountain, near Iran's heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

So what is pickaxe mountain and why is Trump talking about it? 

Gaza's ruling militant group Hamas has agreed to lay down its arms under the US president's peace plan.

Donald Trump has announced on social media that his so-called 'Board of Peace' has reached a deal for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

ABC Americas editor John Lyons explains why it may just happen. 

Petrol prices are expected to jump after a 16-cent cut in the fuel excise expires as of Monday.

And, of course, this is amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East where a fresh wave of attacks from the United States and Iran this week has made shipping even more treacherous across the Strait of Hormuz.

It's seen the price of oil also rise steadily the past few weeks.

So, what can we expect to see at the bowser?

It is probably an understatement to say that football's world governing body, FIFA, is no stranger to controversy.

But it looks like the organisation's current boss, Gianni Infantino, has pushed things a bit too far.

He's been dealt a huge blow in his bid to sell stakes in the soccer World Cup to private investors.

Fifty-five European countries have now promised to boycott all FIFA competitions if the proposal goes ahead. 

The eSafety commissioner has taken action against the messaging app "Telegram" for not taking steps to remove terror content.

The commissioner has launched Federal Court proceedings against the app, alleging the platform left videos of mass shootings and executions up for weeks after they were flagged.

Julie Inman Grant says Telegram has failed to comply with its obligations under Australian law.

Outrage over soccer governing body FIFA's plans to sell stakes in a nearly AU$29 billion subsidiary to manage its competitions is continuing.

FIFA wants a venture capital firm run by the brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law to lead a group of private backers.

The governing body of European soccer remains steadfast in its rejection of the move, saying FIFA cannot continue to use the sport to enrich themselves and their friends.

A drug company that had been planning to remove a breast cancer and endometriosis medication from Australian shelves now says it will offer it for free to all patients who need it, indefinitely.

The most important bit of data is in ahead of the August Reserve Bank board meeting to set the direction of interest rates.

It's inflation, and the rate of price rises is still too high, but crucially, it came in below expectations and plenty of traders on the markets now think interest rates will stay where they are, for now at least.

What does the data reveal about the cost of living and your mortgage repayments?