Popular Australian author pleads guilty over child exploitation material
The Jasper Jones and Runt author was arrested in January during a police raid at his Perth home.
Google DeepMind workers in UK vote to unionize amid deal with US military
Exclusive: Worker pointed to Iran war and Pentagon’s Anthropic feud as indications the department is ‘not a responsible partner’
Workers developing Google’s artificial intelligence products in the UK have voted to unionize, in part out of concerns about a deal between the company and the US military that was announced last week.
In a letter slated to go to management on Tuesday and shared exclusively with the Guardian, workers at Google DeepMind, the company’s AI research laboratory, requested recognition of the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as joint representatives of the lab’s UK-based staff.
Continue reading...Concierge firm co-founded by queen’s nephew went on ‘ill-timed’ hiring spree before Iran war
Quintessentially almost quadrupled staff in Middle East and Asia less than year before wealthy began to flee Gulf
The embattled luxury concierge service co-founded by Queen Camilla’s nephew Ben Elliot embarked on what appeared to be an inopportune hiring spree in the Middle East and Asia before wealthy individuals began fleeing the region because of the US-Israel war on Iran.
Quintessentially almost quadrupled staff in the regions from 22 to 84 during its financial year to 30 April 2025, according to newly released annual accounts, which again reported multimillion-pound losses and warned of “material uncertainty” about its future.
Continue reading...Vote Lib Dem or ‘regret it’ living under a Reform council, Davey tells voters
Party leader says vote for Labour or Greens in closely run seats will result in Reform victory at local elections
Voters in the home counties will “regret it for a long time” if they do not back the Liberal Democrats and wake up to a Reform-led council, Ed Davey has said.
The Lib Dems leader has identified five councils – East Surrey, West Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Huntingdonshire – where his party could win overall control, as well as swathes of the former “blue wall” where Davey said it was a “straight fight” between his party and Reform at the English local elections.
Continue reading...‘Time the rest of us stepped up’: terror survivors’ group writes letter in support of UK Jews
Letter coordinated by Survivors Against Terror, which includes bereaved relatives, after spate of attacks on Jewish community
Dozens of survivors and bereaved relatives of 19 separate terror attacks have written an open letter of solidarity to the Jewish community, saying: “Standing together in the face of hatred is not just the right thing to do – it’s the most effective way of defeating terrorism.”
The letter was coordinated by the group Survivors Against Terror (SAT), after terror attacks on two Jewish men in north London earlier this week, in what was the latest in a series of attacks on the community in the UK.
Continue reading...Jaguar Land Rover could have shifted production from UK without £380m battery subsidy, officials warned
Government officials said in December that Britain’s largest automotive employer could lead exodus from UK
Jaguar Land Rover would have considered moving car production out of the UK and slashing jobs if not for a £380m subsidy for its sister battery company, government officials claimed privately.
Officials at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) warned in December that Britain’s largest automotive employer may have triggered an exodus from the UK car industry, according to state aid documents prepared by the competition regulator.
Continue reading...A small plane crashes into building in Brazil, killing three
A small plane carrying five people crashed into a residential building in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, shortly after takeoff.
Australian author Craig Silvey pleads guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material
Prosecutors drop two other charges against Jasper Jones author, 43, including allegations he produced child exploitation material
Award‑winning author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material, while a charge that he produced such material has been dropped.
Silvey, 43, was first charged in January after detectives from Western Australia police’s child abuse squad raided his Fremantle home, allegedly catching him communicating online with child exploitation offenders and seizing his electronic devices.
Continue reading...Taiwan’s president says state visits are ‘basic right’ after trip he says Beijing tried to block – AP News
- Taiwan’s president says state visits are ‘basic right’ after trip he says Beijing tried to block AP News
- Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies Reuters
- Taiwan's Lai returns from Eswatini trip amid China objection dw.com
- Taiwan’s Lai Defied China to Reach Africa. Now He Must Get Home Bloomberg.com
- Taiwan Outfoxes China in Test of Wills Over Tiny African Country WSJ
Australia hikes rates again and warns inflation will stay higher for longer – CNBC
- Australia hikes rates again and warns inflation will stay higher for longer CNBC
- RBA governor’s frank message on the economy is the biggest shock The Guardian
- Australia's central bank set to cool its heels after rapid-fire rate hikes Reuters
- Australia bucks global trend and raises interest rates Financial Times
- RBA Signals Pause After Delivering Third Straight Rate Hike Bloomberg.com
Deadly China plane crash was caused by fuel cut-off, says report
The Boeing 737 plane crashed into a Chinese hillside in 2022, killing all 132 people on board.
Ukraine drone hits luxury skyscraper deep in Moscow, just days ahead of Victory Day parade – Business Insider
- Ukraine drone hits luxury skyscraper deep in Moscow, just days ahead of Victory Day parade Business Insider
- Ukrainian drone hits upmarket Moscow high-rise ahead of Victory Day celebrations BBC
- Drone Hits a Moscow High-Rise Days Before a Major Military Parade The New York Times
- Drone Hits Upscale Moscow Tower as City Readies for Parade Bloomberg.com
- Explosion reported in Moscow, authorities claim drone attack – videos Українська правда
States should tax windfall oil profits to fund their way out of crisis
A major economic crisis is boosting energy profits. Taxing those can help countries survive and become immune to shocks.
NSW police urged Jewish man to drop claim he was subject to antisemitic slurs and death threats, commission told
Nir Golan was told that there was not much police could do and the case would get thrown out
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New South Wales police encouraged a Jewish man to abandon a case against a man who made antisemitic slurs, death threats, and performed Nazi salutes at him in public because the investigation would be “a lot of wasted effort”, the antisemitism royal commission has been told.
Jewish Australian Nir Golan gave evidence on Tuesday, telling commissioner Virginia Bell that police had encouraged him to drop any action because “there’s not much that they could do and the case would ultimately get thrown out”.
Continue reading...Two volunteers among three dead off NSW coast after rescue boat rolls while trying to help sinking yacht
‘Hero’ rescuers aged 78 and 62 confirmed dead, while four others made it to shore after yacht broke up
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Two marine volunteers who died while attempting a dangerous rescue mission have been remembered for their courage and heroism.
The men were deployed as part of a six-person Marine Rescue New South Wales team after a good Samaritan saw a yacht in distress near the breakwater at south Ballina, in the state’s north, on Monday night.
Continue reading...Mysterious green rocks in Pyrenees cave hint that prehistoric people were working copper there for 4,000 years – Live Science
- Mysterious green rocks in Pyrenees cave hint that prehistoric people were working copper there for 4,000 years Live Science
- Above 2,000 meters: Cova 338 redefines Pyrenean prehistory EurekAlert!
- Prehistoric mining: Ancient malachite processing found in Spanish highlands Open Access Government
- Prehistoric child’s finger bone, bear tooth pendant, and more discovered in Spanish cave Popular Science
- Ancient Copper Mining Camp Unearthed in the Pyrenees Discovery Alert
The most talked-about looks at this year’s Met Gala
The theme for 2026 Met Gala fundraiser is "Costume Art", exploring fashion as an embodied art form.
Next Scottish government faces ‘really difficult’ spending choices, economists say
Parties accused of ‘fiscal denial’ and failing to tell voters the scale of the challenge
The next Scottish government will need to make “really difficult” spending decisions soon after taking power, including tackling its large public sector pay bill, senior economists have said.
Economists with the Fraser of Allander Institute, at the University of Strathclyde, believe the manifestos published by Scotland’s political parties during the campaign failed to tell voters about the true scale of the challenge.
Continue reading...An explosion at a fireworks plant in China has killed at least 21 people
An explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province has killed at least 21 people and injured 61 others.
‘Dangerous escalation’: World condemns Iran after attacks on UAE
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain denounce strikes, as Germany, UK and Canada urge Iran to return to talks.