UK and US governments are signing two agreements to accelerate commercial nuclear fusion development by combining national expertise in artificial intelligence and high‑performance computing. The pacts are expected to support faster optimisation of plasma confinement and reactor control algorithms, and to improve simulation of tokamak and stellarator designs that currently demand exascale‑class computing. For civil and nuclear engineers, this signals future design programmes where structural, thermal and neutronic load cases for fusion plants are iterated rapidly using shared AI‑driven modelling frameworks.

Australian mining bodies are urging the Federal Government to extend capital gains tax (CGT) concessions to junior mineral explorers, matching relief already available to tech and other start-up sectors. The Minerals Council of Australia and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies warn proposed CGT changes could deter high-risk greenfields exploration, particularly for early-stage ASX-listed juniors reliant on equity raisings. Industry groups argue that without tailored CGT treatment, pre-discovery investors may exit earlier and reduce funding for drilling campaigns and resource definition.

Switzerland has banned the purchase, import and transit of Sudanese gold and restricted mining supplies such as mercury and cyanide, aligning its sanctions with European Union measures adopted on 13 July to cut funding to Sudan’s three-year conflict between the SAF and RSF. The Swiss rules also block related technical, brokering and financial services, and will be folded into its existing Ordinance on measures against Sudan, which already enforces a UN arms embargo and financial and travel bans on 36 listed individuals and entities. For refiners, traders and chemical suppliers, this tightens due-diligence and effectively closes a key European route for Sudan-linked gold flows.