Fell

He should be upping pressure on the government over the second major telco breakdown in 12 months, but Angus Taylor can’t stop scoring own goalsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAs the government was being questioned over the regulation of telcos and the latest massive Telstra outage, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, was being asked about communications failures of a different kind: his own, and those of his ministerial team.Millions of phone connections around the country went out for hours on Wednesday. Trains ground to a halt, Eftpos transactions went blank, hundreds of triple zero calls failed and welfare checks were being urgently carried out. The bulk of the fault lies with Telstra. But there are important questions to answer about whether the critical telecommunications sector is being appropriately regulated, and whether the government has learned from last year’s devastating Optus outage and made the necessary changes. Continue reading...

• Approximately 96% of domestic stocks declined following the launch of twice-leverage ETFs for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. • BNK Investment & Securities reports that while semiconductor performance outlooks are being upgraded ahead of Q2 earnings, other sectors remain stagnant. • The surge in semiconductor concentration has increased KOSPI volatility, causing the Korean market to behave like an individual stock linked to Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix.

Archie Law, 15, sailed his own boat to save men in distress, beating lifeboat service to the sceneA 15-year-old boy rescued two men who had fallen from an inflatable toy boat off the Isle of Skye by sailing his own boat to save them – beating the lifeboat service to the scene.The teenager, Archie Law, beat a volunteer crew of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to the rescue on Saturday evening, after the UK coastguard received reports of “two males in difficulty in the water” off Broadford Bay around 9pm. Continue reading...

A month after the tragedy, mystery surrounds the death of the ‘cheerful’ 25-year-old who came to Australia to pursue her dreamsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt was meant to be Sheila Chebii’s last shift as a housekeeper.For weeks, the 25-year-old international student had stripped linen, made beds and refilled towels in the rooms of a luxury high-rise hotel above central Sydney. Continue reading...

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zonesLow emission and clean air zones attract controversy whenever they are proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work in improving air quality. The Bradford zone was followed by a reduction of about 25% in GP visits for heart and breathing problems and survey data shows that the central London zone was followed by a reduction in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave.Now analysis of health records has found emergency admissions to hospital reduced after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) in central London. Continue reading...

Restaurant chain took chainsaw to ancient oak tree in Enfield without permissionThe restaurant chain Toby Carvery has settled a legal dispute after taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without permission by agreeing to pay for the restoration of a lost orchard.The unauthorised partial felling of the 500-year-old oak next to a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, in April last year, prompted widespread public outrage and questions in parliament. Continue reading...

The ex-reality TV star, who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire, cast himself as the antidote to the city’s woesSpencer Pratt, an ex-reality TV star, cast himself as the antidote to Los Angeles’s woes as he campaigned to be the city’s next mayor.He curried favor with swaths of disillusioned voters who related to his diatribes against city leadership. His fervent social media posts, including re-shares of AI-generated campaign ads showing LA in an apocalyptic light, garnered national attention. Continue reading...

Case draws nationwide attention amid debate over racial tensions, as defendant is Black and slain student was whiteTestimony has been unfolding in the murder trial of a 19-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a fellow high schooler during a track meet in Texas more than a year ago.The case has drawn nationwide attention amid debate over racial tensions, as defendant Karmelo Anthony is Black and slain 17-year-old Austin Metcalf was white. Prosecutors allege Anthony stabbed Metcalf during a Frisco independent school district track meet at Kuykendall Stadium on 2 April 2025. Continue reading...

• French startups raised €6.7 billion in 2025, marking a 5% year-over-year decline in total funding. • Artificial Intelligence dominated the landscape, accounting for 43% of all capital, with Mistral alone capturing 25% of the total funding. • Market exits reached a five-year low of €5.3 billion, signaling a cooling period for liquidity in the French ecosystem.

Laura Clery says she was able to call 911 and have the fridge lifted off her by firefighters after she was pinned under it US comedian Laura Clery has described how she almost died when her 600lb fridge fell on her while she was at home with her two young children and found herself pinned under the massive appliance and struggling to breathe.In an Instagram post on Thursday, Clery said the experience was the “most terrifying night of my life as a single mom”. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard to send files to CPS with ‘strong evidence’ of potential wrongdoing – but any trials could be years awayScotland Yard has said it hopes to bring criminal charges against 77 companies and individuals for the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died.The lead investigator, Garry Moncrieff, said his team of 220 detectives had gathered “strong evidence” of potential wrongdoing. Continue reading...

SNP leader wants to ensure voices of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘are heard loud and clear’John Swinney has said he plans to work with the nationalist first ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland in a coordinated opposition to Labour’s policies on the cost of living and UK government spending.The Scottish National party leader said he had spoken to Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin first minister of Northern Ireland, on Friday night after she had called to congratulate him on his party’s “emphatic” victory in the Holyrood elections. Continue reading...

• Researchers at The Rockefeller University uncovered new clues to why hepatitis B virus infects humans but not other species, published April 22, 2026. • The study identifies key viral and host factors restricting cross-species transmission, as reported in Science News. • These insights could enable novel animal models for testing therapies, addressing a major gap in hepatitis B research.

With most major European cities well-served by trains and buses, bringing US transit up to par would cost $4.6tnThe only train station in Houston, the US’s fourth-largest city and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country, is a diminished, morose sight. Intercity trains arrive at this squat, shed-like Amtrak building, which cringes in the shadows of roaring highways, just three times a week.That such a meager train station could ostensibly serve a metropolitan area of about 7 million people is a stark symbol of how the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world where people can rely on extensive, high-quality public transport to get around. Continue reading...

• The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the launch of the 2026 class of Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF), showcasing its commitment to hiring top technology talent. • The new PIF class will focus on key Administration priority projects, including developing AI-powered tools to accelerate infrastructure permitting processes. • The initiative demonstrates the federal government's strategy to leverage specialized technology expertise for modernizing government operations and infrastructure development.

Simon Dudley fired after his comments were condemned by prime minister and families of fire victimsReform UK’s housing spokesperoson has been sacked his role after he described the Grenfell Tower fire as a “tragedy” but said that “everyone dies in the end”.Keir Starmer had called on Nigel Farage to sack Simon Dudley, a former head of Homes England, after his comments, which were condemned by Grenfell families and others. Continue reading...

Labour says it is ‘untenable’ for Simon Dudley to continue in his role after he said that Grenfell was tragic ‘but everyone dies in the end’Good morning. One of the big policy decisions for all parties ahead of the next election is whether or not to keep the pensions triple lock. Most mainstream economists and welfare experts think it is overly generous (pensioners used to be significantly poorer than working-age people, but that is no longer the case), and ultimately unaffordable. But it is popular, and pensioners turn out to vote in elections in much higher numbers than younger people.The Conservatives at one point suggested they might drop it, but Kemi Badenoch now defends the triple lock quite strongly. Labour has not said what its election plans are yet. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK, says he will take tough decisions to cut welfare spending, and he was thought to be sceptical about the triple lock. But Robert Jenrick, his Treasury spokesperson, is thought to be in favour, and at a press conference later they are expected to confirm Reform UK would keep it.Reform UK is facing calls to sack its housing spokesman after he said the Grenfell Tower fire was a “tragedy” but that “everyone dies in the end”.Simon Dudley, a former executive at Homes England and the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said the pendulum had “swung too far the wrong way” on regulation after the deadly blaze at the west London tower block in 2017.If Nigel Farage has an ounce of decency, he will sack his housing chief immediately.These disgraceful comments about those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire are beyond the pale and it is completely untenable for Simon Dudley to continue in his position. Continue reading...

Party’s housing spokesperson made comments while criticising safety regulations brought in after 2017 tragedyCampaigners for Grenfell families have called on Reform UK and its housing spokesperson to apologise after he said the tower fire was a “tragedy” but that “everyone dies in the end”.Simon Dudley, a former head of Homes England, had announced in February that he was joining Reform, as Nigel Farage said he was planning to bring more “experts” onboard to advise the party. Continue reading...

• Columbia University announced on March 26, 2026, that three faculty members were selected as AAAS Fellows for distinguished scientific contributions and service. • Recognition by the American Association for the Advancement of Science honors excellence across research disciplines. • Fellows represent Columbia's leadership in advancing peer-reviewed scientific discoveries.

Autopsy reveals James ‘Jimmy’ Gracey’s injuries consistent with repeatedly hitting breakwater’s rocks, Spanish media reportA University of Alabama student who was found dead in Barcelona after going missing while vacationing evidently fell into the sea on accident in view of surveillance cameras – and an autopsy revealed injuries on his body that were consistent with having repeatedly struck a breakwater’s rocks.Such details about James “Jimmy” Gracey surfaced in the Spanish media as a spokesperson for police in Barcelona told the Associated Press that “all signs point” to the 20-year-old’s death as having been an accident. Continue reading...

Nigeria had largest increase in terrorism-related deaths, ranking fourth in global index behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and NigerJihadist violence rose sharply in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo last year, even as global deaths from terrorism dropped to their lowest level in a decade, according to a new report.Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally in 2025, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750, placing it fourth in the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Niger. Continue reading...