Welcome to the week where the most expensive FIFA World Cup in history kicks off. We’re talking tickets costing thousands (there are still some seats going for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but they start at US$2,273), inflated hotels and airfares, and even skyrocketing public transport fees in certain cities (a train ticket from New York City to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is $98 for a round trip, up from the usual fee of $12 return).

While we’ll be watching from home, we hope anyone departing for the tournament travels safely and feels it was money well spent.

Flights could soon become more expensive (again) with the global airline industry warning that soaring fuel prices triggered by the U.S.-Iran conflict will partially be passed on to passengers.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says airlines are on track to spend an extra $US100 billion ($A142 billion) on fuel this year, putting pressure on fares despite continued strong demand for travel.

So, before you book your next trip, here's what to know.

IATA predicts jet fuel prices will remain about 70% above last year's levels for the rest of 2026.

Fuel accounts for roughly one-third of an airline's operating costs, making the industry particularly vulnerable to sudden price spikes.

Jet fuel prices briefly surged by as much as 120% in the aftermath of the U.S.-Iran conflict, forcing airlines around the world to absorb billions of dollars in additional costs.

The effects are already being felt. Qantas and Virgin have both increased fares in recent months, while some airlines globally have reduced services in an attempt to offset rising fuel costs.

However, one thing that is helping non-U.S. airlines a little bit: The U.S. dollar is weaker at the moment, and because fuel is traded globally in U.S. currency, this means fuel is not as high as it otherwise would be.

In Australia, the local dollar has also remained relatively resilient, trading around $US0.70 and helping shield airlines from some of the worst impacts.

Despite those factors, IATA expects the industry's total profit will fall to $US23 billion ($A32.6 billion) this year. On average, airlines are expected to make $US4.50 profit per passenger – about half of last year's figure.

IATA director-general Willie Walsh said that amount "won’t even buy a hot dog" at this year's FIFA World Cup.

Despite the pressure on airlines, demand for travel remains strong.

IATA says nearly half of travellers already expect to spend more on travel this year.

The director-general said that "bodes well" for the upcoming northern hemisphere holiday season, although he acknowledged there is a limit to how much higher fares travellers will be willing to accept.

Reporting by Lachlan Keller.

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One of the world’s biggest AI companies has warned the world may soon need a "pause button" for artificial intelligence.

Anthropic, the company behind chatbot Claude, says AI systems are getting close to a point where they could begin independently improving themselves, raising concerns that the technology could advance faster than humans can safely control.

The company is calling for a coordinated global framework that would allow governments and leading AI developers to temporarily slow or pause development if risks become too great.

Here’s what you need to know.

Anthropic is the company behind Claude, an AI chatbot launched in 2023 that competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT.

While Claude has grown rapidly, it remains significantly smaller than ChatGPT. Anthropic reported about 19 million monthly users in the third quarter of 2025, compared to an estimated 800 million weekly users of ChatGPT.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently visited Australia, where he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss AI’s role in Australia’s economy, the country’s approach to AI safety, and how the technology should be regulated.

During the trip, Anthropic signed an agreement with the Government to collaborate on AI safety, research and the economic impacts of the technology, while also announcing plans to open a Sydney office.

In a blog post titled When AI Builds Itself, Anthropic said Claude is rapidly becoming capable of what researchers call "recursive self-improvement".

In simple terms, that means AI is increasingly helping to develop newer and more capable versions of itself.

When AI was first developed, humans wrote all of the code. Over time, engineers began using AI tools to speed up parts of that process, such as generating snippets of code or identifying bugs.

Anthropic says today's systems can already do much more. Claude can write, run and test code, while also delegating some tasks to other AI systems. As a result, human engineers are spending less time writing code themselves and more time overseeing the development process.

Anthropic argues the next step will be AI systems becoming capable of fully autonomously designing and building their own successors. If that happens, future AI models could be developed largely by other AI systems rather than by humans.

The company says this would be "a major development in the history of technology," with the potential for enormous benefits but also significant risks.

Anthropic warns that if AI reaches that point, progress could accelerate rapidly, making it harder for humans to understand, supervise or control the technology.

As AI systems become more powerful, researchers are increasingly focused on a challenge known as "alignment".

The idea is simple: if AI eventually becomes more capable than humans in many areas, how do we ensure its goals remain aligned with human values and interests?

Supporters of advanced AI argue the technology could deliver enormous benefits, from scientific breakthroughs to more efficient public services. But critics warn the same systems could also be used in harmful ways.

In its blog post, Anthropic said advanced AI could be used for "authoritarian surveillance of whole populations" or highly sophisticated influence campaigns capable of tailoring manipulation to individual people at a scale no human organisation could match.

In a separate essay, Amodei has argued that highly capable AI could bring both extraordinary benefits and significant risks. He said governments and developers should respond carefully, while cautioning that poorly designed regulation can create unintended consequences.

Anthropic argues governments and AI companies should develop a coordinated way to slow or temporarily pause the development of the most advanced AI systems if risks begin to outpace society's ability to manage them.

The company says this would give policymakers, researchers and regulators more time to understand the technology and put appropriate safeguards in place.

However, Anthropic warns such a system would only work if it were adopted across the industry (meaning the makers of ChatGPT, for example, would need to agree to it too). Otherwise, less cautious developers could continue pushing ahead, undermining any attempt to slow progress.

For that reason, the company says it will bring together policymakers, researchers, civil society groups and other AI companies to explore how a credible and verifiable AI slowdown or pause could work.

Reporting by Lachlan Keller.

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Taylor Swift is in her billionaire era.

According to Forbes, the singer is now the richest female musician in history, with an estimated net worth of $US2 billion ($A2.8 billion).

The Eras Tour, which was the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, helped accelerate that fortune.

Swift has since secured ownership of her entire music catalogue, either by buying back or rerecording her original albums.

For context, Beyoncé was the only other female musician on Forbes' list worth more than $US1 billion.

Reporting by Lachlan Keller.