Victoria fast-tracks machete ban as more arrests made over Northland shopping centre fight

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Police say further arrests ‘imminent’ after Sunday’s clash between alleged ‘rival youth gangs’

The sale of machetes will be banned in Victoria from Wednesday, after an alleged clash involving the weapon forced Northland shopping centre into lockdown at the weekend.

It comes as Victoria police made further arrests and said more were “imminent”, after the alleged fight between “rival youth gangs” on Sunday.

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‘A steamy wrestle’: Guardian article inspires play on Shakespeare and Marlowe collaboration

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Exclusive: Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, coming to West End, imagines rival dramatists working together

A Guardian report on William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe being literary rivals and collaborators has inspired a play that will be staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in London’s West End this summer.

The RSC’s co-artistic director Daniel Evans will direct Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, an Irish-American playwright, who has imagined two of the greatest dramatists of all time working together, wrestling creatively, both envious and admiring of each other.

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Academic with apparent ties to Beijing has forged links within UK parliament

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Exclusive: Prof Yu Xiong, who has met king and queen and attended House of Lords events, apparently linked to CCP influence group

An academic with apparent connections to the Chinese Communist party has forged links inside the UK parliament and met King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Yu Xiong, a professor of business analytics at the University of Surrey and a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has attended a dozen events in the House of Lords since 2022 and had regular contact with peers including Baroness Uddin, a cross-bencher.

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Starwatch: Venus will be unmistakably brilliant in the predawn sky this week

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The planet will reach its maximum western elongation from the sun, making it visible in the early hours

Venus will reach maximum western elongation from the sun on 31 May. Maximum elongation means that it appears as far from the sun as it can, making it the most easily visible. The fact that it is to the sun’s west means that it is visible in the morning sky.

From the UK, Venus rises at about 03.15 BST, giving an observing window of about an hour from 03.30 BST. The sun rises at about 04.45 BST, and no observations should be undertaken once the sun is in the sky because permanent eye damage can occur from looking at its fiery surface.

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Southeast Asian nations want to discuss tariffs with Trump as a unified bloc, Malaysia PM says – AP News

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  1. Southeast Asian nations want to discuss tariffs with Trump as a unified bloc, Malaysia PM says  AP News
  2. US Tariffs Loom Over Asia Summit as Ties With China Strengthen  Bloomberg.com
  3. PM Lawrence Wong to Attend the 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (26-27 May 2025)  Prime Minister's Office Singapore
  4. Malaysia's Anwar writes to Trump seeking summit with ASEAN leaders  Nikkei Asia
  5. PHOTO COLLECTION: Malaysia ASEAN  The Washington Post
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Energy bills to rise by up to 9.7% as Australian regulators approve price increases

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Hundreds of thousands of households in line for electricity bill increases with NSW customers on standing offers facing steepest rise

Power bill increases of upwards of 9% have been locked in for some Australian households as energy regulators make a final call on safety net prices.

Caps on what retailers can charge households and businesses in NSW, South Australia, south-east Queensland and Victoria are designed to protect the hundreds of thousands of customers who tend to set-and-forget their power plans.

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North Korea arrests four over failed warship launch as images show vessel shielded from prying eyes – CNN

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  1. North Korea arrests four over failed warship launch as images show vessel shielded from prying eyes  CNN
  2. North Korea arrests senior official over warship launch failure  BBC
  3. North Korea Arrests 3 Over Failed Ship Launch That Angered Kim Jong-un  The New York Times
  4. Failed Launch and Damage of the Second Guided Missile Destroyer  Beyond Parallel
  5. North Korea detains 4 officials over the failed launch of a naval destroyer  AP News
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King Charles III visit to Canada underscores Canada’s sovereignty to Trump – AP News

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  1. King Charles III visit to Canada underscores Canada’s sovereignty to Trump  AP News
  2. King travels to support Canada as it fends off Trump  BBC
  3. King Charles to open Canada’s Parliament amid Trump’s 51st state talk  The Washington Post
  4. The King's visit is a response to Trump's 51st state threats. Will it help?  CBC
  5. King Charles to walk diplomatic high wire with Ottawa speech  Financial Times
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EU officials accuse bloc of taking ‘little to no meaningful action’ on Gaza

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EU Staff for Peace letter accuses institution bosses of failing to exert influence to help Palestinians

A group of EU officials has written to the leaders of the European institutions criticising the bloc for “little or no meaningful action” in response to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The group EU Staff for Peace said that more than 2,000 officials working for the European Commission, European parliament and EU agencies had signed a letter drafted in May 2024 which accused the EU of apathy to the plight of Palestinians.

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About £1bn in car loan compensation at risk because data deleted, lawyers warn

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Lenders’ routine purging after six years means details of some car buyers due compensation may have been lost

Consumers are at risk of losing £1bn of compensation over inflated car loans because high street banks and specialist lenders deleted their data, claims lawyers have warned.

Borrowers, banks and the government are anxiously awaiting a ruling from the supreme court that could spark one of the biggest redress schemes since the £50bn payment protection insurance (PPI) saga.

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Taxpayers set for £10bn loss on NatWest as disgraced ex-boss takes £600k-a-year pension

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Government expected to sell last shares in banking group this week, drawing a line under 2008 financial crisis bailout

Fred “the Shred” Goodwin, the disgraced ex-boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, is estimated to be receiving an annual pension worth nearly £600,000, as the government prepares to declare a £10bn loss after selling its final stake in the bank as early as this week.

The banking group, now known as NatWest, is expected to return to full private ownership within days, drawing a line under a £45bn state bailout that saved the bank from the brink of collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

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Estonia eschews phone bans in schools and takes leap into AI

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Country at top of education charts aims to equip students and teachers with ‘world-class artificial intelligence skills’

While many schools in England have banned smartphones, in Estonia – regarded as the new European education powerhouse – students are regularly asked to use their devices in class, and from September they will be given their own AI accounts.

The small Baltic country – population 1.4 million – has quietly become Europe’s top performer in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s programme for international student assessment (Pisa), overtaking its near neighbour Finland.

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Marcel Ophuls, Oscar-winning film-maker of The Sorrow and the Pity, dies aged 97

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The German-French documentarian, who fled the Nazis twice as a child, spent his career exploring wartime atrocities and conflicts around the world

Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning French film-maker whose documentary The Sorrow and the Pity uncovered the truth of the Vichy government’s collaboration with Nazi Germany during the second world war, has died aged 97.

Ophuls “died peacefully” on Saturday, his grandson Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert confirmed on Monday.

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Head of US-backed Gaza aid group resigns, saying he will not abandon ‘principles’

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Jake Wood’s resignation comes after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation faced criticism from the UN and other aid groups

The head of a US-backed private humanitarian organisation that is tasked with distributing aid in Gaza using an Israeli-initiated plan has resigned, saying that the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to “humanitarian principles”.

Jake Wood, the executive director, announced his resignation in a statement from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), adding fresh uncertainty to the operation’s future.

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Emmanuel Macron touts France as ‘reliable’ partner for south-east Asia – Financial Times

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  1. Emmanuel Macron touts France as ‘reliable’ partner for south-east Asia  Financial Times
  2. France, Vietnam sign Airbus, satellite deals as Macron visits Hanoi  Reuters
  3. Vietnam, squeezed between America and China, looks for new friends  The Economist
  4. Macron Kicks Off Asia Tour in Vietnam With Focus on Energy  Bloomberg
  5. Macron pitches France as reliable trade and defence partner on Vietnam visit  France 24
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