Ellie BusbyUpdated July 22, 2026 — 6:54am,first published 6:42amThis morning’s headlines at a glanceBy Ellie BusbyGood morning and welcome to our national news live coverage for Wednesday, July 22. I’m Ellie Busby, and I will be bringing you the news from around Australia and the world as it happens this morning.Here are our top stories so far today:Eastern suburbs developer Arash Tavakoli bypassed Sydney’s Woollahra Council to gain approval for a 25-storey tower in Edgecliff. It’s a win not only for Tavakoli, but also for former premier-turned-lobbyist Morris Iemma, given his work in recent years shepherding the development through the state’s planning approval processes.Victorian apartment buyers are forking out a “Gatto tax” as plastering, precast and other businesses allegedly pay gangland figure Mick Gatto for CFMEU-backed, privileged access to the state’s high-rise housing sector.The Labor Party collected more than $4 million in gambling donations in five years, including $1.5 million around the last election, as it dithered on reform before backing down from a full crackdown on betting advertising. On Wednesday, the party’s left faction will consider whether they should make a last-ditch effort to push Prime Minister Anthony Albanese into a tougher position on reducing gambling harm.Opposition leader Angus Taylor has killed off the idea of a merger with One Nation, as Senator Malcolm Roberts’ fringe views continue to attract scrutiny and party leader Pauline Hanson returns to Australia.Latest Posts6.54amJudge approves $2.1b Anthropic settlement for authors over pirated books used to train chatbotBy San Francisco: A US judge has approved a $US1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) copyright settlement in which artificial intelligence company Anthropic will pay thousands of authors about $US3000 per book after using pirated copies of their works to train its Claude chatbot.District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said in a ruling that the class-action settlement provides “meaningful relief” to affected authors and publishers.About 91 per cent of the more than 482,000 books covered by the ruling have been claimed by authors or publishers who are now due payment.US District Judge William Alsup issued the preliminary approval in San Francisco federal court last September and has since retired. Alsup had dealt the case a mixed ruling finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites.Bestselling thriller novelist Andrea Bartz first brought the suit with two other authors in 2024. It’s the first major settlement in dozens of AI copyright lawsuits that are still working their way through US courts.AP6.38amZelensky fires Ukraine military chief after protestsBy Kyiv: President Volodymyr Zelensky fired General Oleksandr Syrskyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, following days of mass protests in Kyiv and other cities nationwide demanding his removal.Zelensky appointed Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new army chief, according to a statement on social media.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.GettyIn an evening address, Zelensky also said that he had offered former defence minister and so-called drone mastermind Mykhailo Fedorov – whose surprise dismissal sparked a political crisis – a “decent post” to oversee defence technology.Ukraine would continue its deep strikes on Russia under the new commander in chief, Zelensky said.AP, Reuters6.37amFrance follows Australia and bans social media for childrenBy Paris: French lawmakers approved a ban on social media access for children under the age of 15, as concerns grow around ​the world over the impact social media have on the health and safety of minors.France becomes the first in Europe to follow Australia, where the world’s first ban for under-16s on platforms including Facebook, ​Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are facing a ban in France as Australia’s social media policies inspires other nations to follow suit.BloombergBoth houses of parliament adopted the ban on Tuesday (France time).French President Emmanuel Macron wants the law to take effect at the start of the new school year.“France is leading the way in Europe in protecting our children and our teenagers,” he said. “We will keep on going.”Pinned post from 6.36amThis morning’s headlines at a glanceBy Ellie BusbyGood morning and welcome to our national news live coverage for Wednesday, July 22. I’m Ellie Busby, and I will be bringing you the news from around Australia and the world as it happens this morning.Here are our top stories so far today:Eastern suburbs developer Arash Tavakoli bypassed Sydney’s Woollahra Council to gain approval for a 25-storey tower in Edgecliff. It’s a win not only for Tavakoli, but also for former premier-turned-lobbyist Morris Iemma, given his work in recent years shepherding the development through the state’s planning approval processes.Victorian apartment buyers are forking out a “Gatto tax” as plastering, precast and other businesses allegedly pay gangland figure Mick Gatto for CFMEU-backed, privileged access to the state’s high-rise housing sector.The Labor Party collected more than $4 million in gambling donations in five years, including $1.5 million around the last election, as it dithered on reform before backing down from a full crackdown on betting advertising. On Wednesday, the party’s left faction will consider whether they should make a last-ditch effort to push Prime Minister Anthony Albanese into a tougher position on reducing gambling harm.Opposition leader Angus Taylor has killed off the idea of a merger with One Nation, as Senator Malcolm Roberts’ fringe views continue to attract scrutiny and party leader Pauline Hanson returns to Australia.1 of 1