Australia’s big four banks not making it easy for customers to get bonus interest despite watchdog’s calls

Guardian analysis found no major bank has adopted ACCC recommendations in full – but NAB, CommBank, Westpac and ANZ say they offer in-app alerts

Australia’s big banks have not implemented several recommendations designed to help customers qualify for bonus interest rates on savings products, more than 18 months after the regulatory advice was issued.

Two in three customers of bonus accounts miss out on the headline interest rate and instead receive a far smaller base rate, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry found in late 2023.

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Green zone: Australian city of Shepparton to grow a huge pear

The three-storey fibreglass fruit is estimated to cost at least $1.3m but historian says regional city in the running to be the ‘capital of big things in Australia’

Not content with building the world’s largest Murray cod, the city of Shepparton is now planning the construction of the biggest pear on Earth.

The proposal for a three-storey fruit in the heart of the Goulburn Valley has generated headlines in recent weeks after the return of a business case that estimated construction of the fibreglass fruit alone at just over $1.3m.

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Skeleton found in pot is first ancient Egyptian to undergo whole genome analysis

Unusual burial of man, thought to have been a potter, in sealed vessel may have helped DNA survive past four millennia

A man whose bones were shaped by a lifetime of hard labour more than 4,500 years ago has become the first ancient Egyptian to have his entire genetic code read and analysed by scientists.

The skeleton of the man, who lived at the dawn of the Age of the Pyramids, was recovered in 1902 from a sealed pottery vessel in a rock-cut tomb in Nuwayrat, 165 miles south of Cairo, and has been held in a museum since.

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Trump says Israel has agreed to conditions for 60-day Gaza ceasefire – BBC

  1. Trump says Israel has agreed to conditions for 60-day Gaza ceasefire  BBC
  2. Israeli Officials Express Optimism on Gaza Cease-Fire as Netanyahu Prepares to Meet With Trump  The New York Times
  3. Israel confirms it has agreed to the U.S. proposal for ceasefire with Hamas  NBC News
  4. Hamas says it is studying ceasefire proposal labelled 'final' by Trump  Reuters
  5. Trump and the IDF chief want to end the Gaza war. It's not clear if Netanyahu is on board  Haaretz
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In Rattling Japan Islands, ‘It’s Very Scary to Even Fall Asleep’ – Newser

  1. In Rattling Japan Islands, 'It's Very Scary to Even Fall Asleep'  Newser
  2. Japan islanders sleepless after 900 earthquakes in two weeks  BBC
  3. Residents evacuate quake-hit Japanese island village of Toshima  nhk.or.jp
  4. Hundreds of Small Earthquakes Rattle Remote Islands in Japan  The New York Times
  5. Japanese islands shaken by earthquake after more than 1,000 tremors  upi.com
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Former UK civil service chief calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ over Taiwan threats

Comments from Simon Case come as UK defence review highlights Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as driver of global instability

The former head of the UK’s civil service has described the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and said Donald Trump had put “helpful pressure” on Europe to increase defence spending.

Simon Case, who served as the cabinet secretary until December, when he stepped down on health grounds, said China had sent a clear message to “prepare for serious conflict” in Taiwan.

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Dalai Lama says he will be reincarnated, Trust will identify successor – Reuters

  1. Dalai Lama says he will be reincarnated, Trust will identify successor  Reuters
  2. Dalai Lama confirms he will have a successor after his death  BBC
  3. Dalai Lama confirms reincarnation search plans outside China, escalating Beijing-Tibet tensions  WBUR
  4. Dalai Lama Tightens Grip on Reins of Succession in the Face of Chinese Pressure  The New York Times
  5. Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama  The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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European summers are getting brutally hot. So why is air conditioning so rare? – CNN

  1. European summers are getting brutally hot. So why is air conditioning so rare?  CNN
  2. Europe’s heatwave moves east as row erupts in France over air conditioning  The Guardian
  3. Europe heat wave intensifies as fresh warnings issued  DW
  4. Facing blistering heat, the French ponder the unthinkable: Air conditioning  The Christian Science Monitor
  5. Is 'AC guilt' justified? French papers divided over use of air conditioning amid heatwave - Press Review  France 24
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‘There will be no Hamastan,’ Netanyahu declares as terror group reviews US ceasefire proposal – The Jerusalem Post

  1. 'There will be no Hamastan,' Netanyahu declares as terror group reviews US ceasefire proposal  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Netanyahu calls for end to Hamas after Trump ceasefire call  USA Today
  3. Netanyahu insists Israel can free hostages without giving up on goal of defeating Hamas  The Times of Israel
  4. Israel at a crossroads in Gaza: A deal or a new military phase?  JNS.org
  5. Breaking News Live Updates: Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held from 21st July to 21st August  The Economic Times
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Israel’s Time is Running Out on Gaza Operation – COLlive

  1. Israel’s Time is Running Out on Gaza Operation  COLlive
  2. Visiting troops in Gaza, Katz says Israel won't 'give up or compromise' on defeating Hamas, recovering hostages  The Times of Israel
  3. It is time to end the war and defeat Hamas for good - opinion  The Jerusalem Post
  4. "If not now, then when? There is no better time for a ceasefire"  ReliefWeb
  5. Why is it taking so long to beat Hamas?  Ynetnews
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5 Examples of How Wildly Hot It Is in Europe – Newser

  1. 5 Examples of How Wildly Hot It Is in Europe  Newser
  2. Heat Wave Forecast: Tracking High Temperatures in Europe  The New York Times
  3. Scorching European heatwave turns deadly in Spain, Italy and France  BBC
  4. European heat wave fuels deadly Spanish wildfire as European Union presents plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  PBS
  5. Deadly heatwave across Europe sparks wildfires and shuts nuclear plant  Euronews.com
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