Feel

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists saySign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDo insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they stroke and groom a sore antenna in much the same way as a dog nurses its hurt paw.Associate Prof Thomas White, an entomologist from the University of Sydney, said the experience of pain was a “longer, drawn-out, ouchy feeling”, that differed from a hardwired nerve response.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Fair Work Commission deputy president Alan Colman rejects Victorian man’s case, warning there is no disincentive for speculative claimsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former Woolworths employee has been accused of wasting the Fair Work Commission’s time for filing an unfair dismissal case over feeling “upset” at being told to cover up his bum crack.In a decision published on Thursday, the Fair Work Commission deputy president, Alan Colman, said he had rejected the Victorian man’s application for compensation in part because the dismissal never occurred in the first place. Continue reading...

Tech giant accused of ‘cynical attempt to bust the union’ in decision to shutter location in Towson, MarylandWorkers at the first Apple store to unionize in the US are pushing back against the company’s decision to shut down the store by June, alleging the company’s decision is rooted in “a cynical attempt to bust the union”.On Monday, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple, alleging unionized employees at the store in Towson, Maryland, are being denied transfer rights and other rights compared with workers at non-unionized stores. The union is also alleging retaliation for being unionized. Continue reading...

A poll shows most Australians think the country is either in a recession or will be soon. Economists have a different viewGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian households were already on edge before the bombs started falling in Iran.The cost of living was high and inflation was accelerating again, forcing the Reserve Bank to start ratcheting up interest rates. Continue reading...

Antisemitism has been rising in years since 7 October attacks, including recent arson attacks at Jewish sitesBritish Jews feel under siege and worried about their children displaying religious symbols in public, community leaders have said.There have been a series of attempted arson attacks at Jewish sites over the past week, including incidents at two synagogues in London and one at a building used by the charity Jewish Futures. Four Jewish community ambulances were also set on fire in north London in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...

Extension of three-year lifespan for bronze coincides with 25th anniversary rerelease of original romcomA record 149 days have now passed without alcohol, cigarettes or ice-cream for Bridget Jones’s statue in Leicester Square in London – and her fast is set to be extended indefinitely.Originally conceived to be in situ for three years, the bronze statue, which was unveiled in November, has now been granted permanent residence opposite the Empire Casino and adjacent to the toilets, where she joins the likes of Harry Potter, Mary Poppins and Batman as part of Westminster council’s Scenes in the Square initiative. Continue reading...

After Singapore last week, the PM visits supplier of 9% of Australia’s diesel as treasurer travels to Washington for G20 finance ministers’ meetingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the first Australian prime minister to fly to the oil-rich country for a meeting with the sultan, where he’ll discuss fuel supplies with the world’s longest serving monarch, Andrew Greene has reported from the travelling media pool.Arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan yesterday for his second trip to Asia in a week, Albanese was officially welcomed on the tarmac before making his way to the Brunei Darussalam-Australia memorial to lay a wreath. Continue reading...