The eyes have it: Rory Stewart’s ‘magnificently strange’ Newsnight moment goes viral

• Hundreds of trucks are currently stranded at the Iran-Turkey border following a US Navy blockade of trade routes. • Drivers are facing severe conditions in eastern Turkey, including cold temperatures and a lack of food or rest facilities.

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a speech at the United Nations pairing vows of resistance with an openness to diplomacy. • The president stated that Tehran will never surrender while simultaneously signaling a willingness to negotiate.

• A president of Cambodia praised Donald Trump for his role in brokering an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and peace agreement. • The Cambodian leader credited Trump's "visionary, innovative diplomacy" and commitment to preventing catastrophic wars for the result.

• President Donald Trump is meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington to discuss foreign policy and trade. • The discussions focus on American leverage regarding semiconductors, critical minerals, and sanctions against Russia and Iran.

• World leaders met today at the UN Security Council to debate a path toward peace as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year. • Any proposed resolution faces a likely veto from Russia, which is one of the council's five permanent members with the power to block votes.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin is recruiting soldiers from 47 different countries to bolster manpower for the ongoing war in Ukraine. • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky identified many of these recruits as coming from developing nations where Russian military salaries far exceed local wages.

• The Middle East is experiencing ongoing turmoil that threatens to reshape global geopolitics and the world economy. • The situation has evolved beyond a localized conflict into a crisis requiring an immediate and calibrated diplomatic surge.

Mick Ferris was crushed to death when the 130kg pane fell 26 storeys from the Corniche housing developmentTwo companies have been fined a total of £1.3m over health and safety breaches after a coach driver was killed by a falling window pane.Mick Ferris, 53, was crushed when a window fell 26 storeys from the Corniche, a luxury development in Vauxhall, London, on 2 October 2018. Continue reading...

Council on AI Strategy chief says incident unlikely to be isolated and country should enhance capability to detect and report incidentsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTechnology experts have warned revelations an artificial intelligence agent hacked Medicare’s internal systems will not be the only dangerous breach of government data and have called for Australia to boost its protections against the growing risk.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, challenged the OpenAI boss, Sam Altman, on Thursday after the company’s agent infiltrated systems run by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Victoria’s Department of Health, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and the Medicare statistics reporting service portal of Services Australia. Continue reading...

Three million chickens a week will be processed at the state-of-the-art facility in Tamworth – a fifth of all those eaten nationwideIt is for birds? Is it for planes?The sleek, rust-coloured saucer settles into the earth, mirroring the surrounding hills. It looks like an art gallery or a high-end conference centre – an architectural masterpiece designed to sit lightly on the land. Continue reading...

Ombudsman finds government breached teen’s human rights, saying the conditions ‘bordered on solitary confinement’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA 16-year-old boy was held in conditions akin to solitary confinement in adult prison for 22 hours a day, leading him to have suicidal thoughts, a Victorian ombudsman report has revealed.The report, tabled in parliament on Thursday, found the Department of Justice and Community Safety breached the teen’s human rights when transferring him from the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct to the maximum-security Melbourne Assessment Prison in early 2025. Continue reading...

Centenarian accused of being accessory to multiple murders at Stalag 326 VI K in west Germany, as judiciary race to prosecute suspects before they dieA 105-year-old man is under investigation on suspicion of being an accessory to multiple murders at a Nazi prisoner of war camp, German prosecutors have said.The case, which is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund, centres on the Stalag 326 VI K camp in western Germany, in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Continue reading...