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• Nine Japanese political parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition groups, agreed on Thursday to require social media operators to reduce disinformation, misinformation and slander during elections. • The plan would push platforms to halt reward payments to users, respond faster to deletion requests, and label AI-generated content, with lawmakers aiming to pass legislation during the current Diet session. • The move matters because Japan is trying to blunt online interference before unified local elections next spring, while also increasing transparency around how platforms moderate election-related content.

Exclusive: Contract changes mean Post Office outlets inside TG Jones stores would be easier to close, with up to 60 possibly affectedThe owner of WH Smith’s former high street business is aiming to change contracts with the Post Office to make it easier to close outlets within its stores, increasing fears that communities will become “postal deserts”.TG Jones operates 180 post offices and it is understood that as many as 60 could be closed under a restructuring plan by Modella, the private equity group that renamed the WH Smith high street chain as TG Jones after buying it last year. Continue reading...

There was wind, there was fire, there was Goodrem’s remarkable upper-range – resulting in a refreshingly self-assured offering from Australia‘Sung by a silver robot from 1984!’ The 11 biggest bangers in Eurovision 2026Standing before a glistening crescent moon and adorned in more than 7,000 Swarovski crystals, Australia’s 2026 Eurovision hopeful Delta Goodrem has delivered a powerful performance on the 70th anniversary of the global song contest – and become the first Australian act to qualify for the grand final since 2023.Heading into the competition as an early favourite behind Eurovision heavy-hitters Denmark and Finland, Goodrem delivered a note-perfect rendition of her power-ballad entry, Eclipse. The track is impressive if a little formulaic – and of the 35 countries competing, 15 are represented by solo female performers, so Goodrem needed to find a way to stand out in a crowded field. Continue reading...

• U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday to discuss U.S.-China relations, Taiwan, and economic cooperation, with no major breakthroughs expected by analysts. • Asian markets were mixed: Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 62,654.05 after hitting an intraday record above 63,700; South Korea's Kospi rose 1.8% to a record 7,981.41 driven by AI tech stocks; Shanghai Composite dropped 1.5% to 4,177.92 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng flatlined at 26,389.04. • The leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open amid the ongoing Iran war over two months old, with hopes Beijing could leverage ties with Tehran; U.S. crude dipped 0.2% to $100.86 per barrel.

• A federal judge granted final approval to a $303 million class-action lawsuit settlement against the NCAA for former volunteer coaches. • The payout addresses compensation issues for volunteer coaches in Big 12 Conference programs and beyond. • This resolution provides financial relief to affected coaches and underscores ongoing legal pressures on the NCAA amid evolving college sports economics.

Addition of Tasmanian crossbencher means Labor has gained a seat in the Australian senate – but still doesn’t have a majorityFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFormer Jacqui Lambie ally Tammy Tyrrell has defected to the Labor Party, becoming the latest party-hopping senator to be lured by Anthony Albanese’s government.Tyrrell, the Tasmanian senator who had a falling-out with Lambie in 2024, has sat as an independent for more than two years. But on Thursday, in an unexpected move during budget week, the prime minister announced she would be admitted to the Labor Party and would serve out the rest of her term as a government member. Continue reading...

Changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing will make the strategy of renting in a preferred area while buying a cheaper property elsewhere less attractive, experts sayExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRent-vesting – a popular strategy used by young Australians to save for their first home – could be killed off by Labor’s tax changes on investment properties, experts warn.Renters have used the strategy to keep living in their preferred area while buying a cheaper property elsewhere, hoping it will rise in price so they can sell and put the profits towards their first home. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor to give budget reply speech tonight. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take the helm (with Krishani Dhanji ready to take over this afternoon in the lead-up to tonight’s budget reply speech from Angus Taylor).Anthony Albanese has denied that the additional 700,000 gen Z voters being added to the electoral roll by the time of the next federal election was a factor in deciding on the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes in Tuesday’s federal budget. More coming up. Continue reading...

The country’s new leadership has pledged to reverse years of democratic backsliding, but they must act quickly• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereUnder blue skies on Saturday, crowds cheered as the EU flag was raised on the facade of the Hungarian parliament after a long absence. It was a powerful symbol on the day Péter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary’s prime minister, with a declaration that Hungarians had given his party a mandate to launch “a new chapter” in the country’s history, and change the system.The new government, seen as an experienced technocratic team, immediately signalled its new direction. “Hungary’s place is in Europe; naturally, firmly and without question,” foreign minister designate Anita Orbán said. Soon after, Hungary dropped its long-standing veto over sanctions against violent Israeli settlers – a sign it no longer sought to be outside the EU mainstream. Continue reading...

• The United States Women's National Team secured a 3-0 victory over Japan in a friendly match held in Colorado on May 12, 2026. • Kennedy Wesley, coming off the bench in her sixth cap, scored her first international goal and provided her first assist, highlighting the team's depth. • Sophia Wilson made her return to the USWNT after nearly a two-year hiatus, contributing to the dominant performance against the Japanese side.

Legal and child advocates have criticised the changes, which include eroding the Aboriginal child placement principle, as ‘dangerous, ignorant and wrong’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Northern Territory government is removing a protection introduced to avoid a repeat of the Stolen Generation as part of sweeping reforms to the child protection system.The draft legislation was revealed alongside details of a major review into the Territory’s child protection system, announced in the wake of the high-profile death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby in Alice Springs. Continue reading...

Opposition leader Angus Taylor and shadow treasurer Tim Wilson say future Coalition government would reinstate generous rules for property investorsThe Coalition has vowed to repeal Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in they win power, setting up a major fight ahead of the next election over key tax reform measures from the budget.The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, and the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said a future Coalition government would reinstate more generous rules for property investors, as well as for Australians minimising their tax through trusts, pledging to fight the proposals in parliament in coming weeks. Continue reading...

• China officially launched a global artificial intelligence education service platform on May 12, 2026, to broaden international access to digital learning resources. • The platform integrates AI-driven tools for personalized learning, multilingual content delivery, and interactive modules supporting over 100 languages. • This initiative strengthens China's soft power in education technology amid intensifying global competition in AI applications for Southeast and East Asian markets.

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says his objective is to ‘defeat’ changes to capital gains and negative gearing. Follow today’s news liveSee all our Australia budget 2026 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Coalition said last night it would repeal changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing if elected as it tried to hit back at Labor’s budget measures.The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, told Sky News the prime minister promised not to touch the incentives during last year’s election campaign and that therefore Labor did not have a mandate for the reforms.We’ll repeal these measures if necessary, but our objective is to defeat them and to make sure that they’re never legislated. Because this government doesn’t have licence from the Australian community support these changes. Continue reading...

• Charms Interactive, Inc. announced the launch of Charms.ai and closed a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round to build the economy for AI characters. • The funding supports development of an AI-driven platform enabling interactive AI character ecosystems for various applications. • This investment highlights surging interest in AI personalization technologies amid broader AI industry growth.

Hack of online learning system caused chaos for students and faculty last week, delaying some final examsThe company that operates online learning system Canvas said it struck a deal with hackers to delete the data they pilfered in a cyberattack that created chaos for students, many of them in the middle of finals.Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, said in an online post that it “reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved in this incident”. Continue reading...

• Rotterdam-based healthcare AI startup Ditto has secured €7.6 million in funding led by Heal Capital to expand its AI-powered patient communication application across European markets. • The platform leverages AI to automate and personalize patient interactions, improving healthcare communication efficiency and patient engagement for healthcare providers. • The funding demonstrates investor confidence in AI solutions for healthcare administration and patient management, a growing segment within healthcare technology.

• Anecdotes, an enterprise governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform powered by agentic AI, has been recognized as a Rising in Cyber 2026 honoree by leading cybersecurity analysts. • The platform uses autonomous AI agents to transform enterprise security operations and streamline compliance workflows across organizations. • The recognition reflects the growing market trend of agentic AI reshaping cybersecurity and enterprise risk management, with AI agents now central to modern security operations.

Labor’s ambitious and politically risky tax reform aims to help first home buyers and foster intergenerational fairnessFederal budget 2026 LIVE updates: Australia government budget announcement and speech – latest newsExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers has announced the most ambitious and politically risky tax changes since the Howard era as part of a federal budget that defies the looming economic threat of the Iran war to push Australia along the “hard road to reform”.Arguing that the Australian public is ready for difficult choices aimed at reviving intergenerational fairness and the collapsing dream of home ownership, the government will scale back tax breaks for landlords by abolishing negative gearing for new investors and replacing the 50% capital gains tax discount with the inflation-linked approach that existed before 1999. Continue reading...

Richard Adam, Zafar Khan and three others are also fined by Financial Reporting CouncilBusiness live – latest updatesFive former executives at the collapsed government contractor Carillion have been bannedby the UK’s accountancy regulator, effectively ending the career of its former finance chief, after they “acted recklessly”.Before Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January 2018 – one of the biggest corporate failures in UK history – it was a large multinational construction and facilities management services company and employed 43,000 people around the world. Continue reading...

• Quiq Inc. launched a new voice-enabled AI agent platform on May 11, 2026, extending its conversational AI beyond text for enterprise rollouts. • The update targets scaling customer service past pilot phases, integrating voice capabilities to handle complex interactions more naturally. • As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, Quiq's move positions it to capture demand for multimodal AI in high-volume support operations, with refreshed branding to emphasize reliability.

• OPM veteran Ely Buendia will perform as a guest artist at Cup of Joe's "Sandali" concert on May 23 at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. • The concert features the popular Filipino band Cup of Joe and brings together established and emerging OPM artists for a celebration of Filipino music. • The event marks a significant collaboration in the Philippine music scene, showcasing the enduring influence of veteran artists alongside contemporary performers.

Stuart Prior, who was elected in Essex last week, allegedly celebrated the rape of Sikh woman and called Muslim people ‘rats’A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”.Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex county council last Thursday, winning 2,404 votes, the highest total of any candidate in the ward. Continue reading...

Exclusive: state is now without caps on political donations or disclosure requirements, months out from November electionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast“Unlimited dark money” will keep flooding into Victorian politics after Labor failed to reach agreement with the Liberals or the Greens about donation reforms the Allan government vowed to fast-track through parliament.Victoria is now without caps on political donations or disclosure requirements, months out from the November election after the high court struck down the state’s donation laws last month. Continue reading...

Paul McCartney hails plans for 3 Savile Row, which include access to rooftop where the band played their final gig The address may not sound familiar, and the street name is best known as the heart of British tailoring. But 3 Savile Row is one of the most iconic buildings in British pop and rock: the former home of the Beatles’ record label Apple Corps, and the location of the band’s final public performance when they took to its rooftop in 1969.Apple Corps has now re-acquired the building in Mayfair, central London, and plans to open it to the public as a new tourist attraction in 2027. Continue reading...

Members of minority communities in Birmingham and elsewhere fear results could lead to rise in hostile rhetoricConceding defeat at the election count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday, the outgoing Labour leader of the city council, John Cotton, made a plea. “What I would encourage the next administration in this city to do, whatever form that administration takes, is that it ensures it champions the diversity of this city,” he said.Labour’s 14-year rule of the local authority had come to a crashing end, with Reform emerging as the largest party with 22 councillors so far, followed by the Greens on 19, albeit both parties a long way off the 51 needed for a majority. Continue reading...

Man, 45, and 52-year-old woman held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson after blaze in WhitechapelTwo people have been arrested by counter-terrorism officers investigating an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London.A 45-year-old man and a woman, 52, were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson and have been taken into police custody. Continue reading...

Independent scientists who reviewed the results said most samples were contaminated with Pfas or phthalatesThe Trump administration announced earlier this month that hundreds of baby formula samples it tested for toxic chemicals “meet a high safety standard”, but public health advocates warn this claim contradicts data showing a majority were contaminated with dangerous substances, such as Pfas or phthalates.Independent scientists who reviewed the results say the data gaps and the contamination raise concerns, though they added the testing shows some bright spots, and praised the US Food and Drug Administration for expanding the testing program, then making the results public. Continue reading...