Winning

Jane Allan’s winning Darling portrait prize painting has raised eyebrows after her Doyles art award piece was compared to artist Nicholas HardingAn Australian painter was “clearly influenced” by New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a major prize-winning work, according to the National Portrait Gallery, after she was accused of winning a separate $20,000 prize with “an imitation” of a Nicholas Harding piece.The National Portrait Gallery has declined to comment further on the marked similarities between a 1982 work by Basquiat, Untitled (Two Heads on Gold), and a work by Lennox Head artist Jane Allan, titled Weight of the Mind’s Periapt. Continue reading...

• Actor Tom Hanks revealed on the podcast *The Rest is Entertainment* that there is a specific scene from the film *Cast Away* he cannot bear to watch. • The 69-year-old actor explained that he must leave the room during the emotional moment when his character, Chuck, returns Kelly's watch to her. • This admission highlights the intense emotional resonance of the Oscar-nominated film directed by Robert Zemeckis.

• U.S. stocks turned lower and remained mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited the first Federal Reserve rate decision under its new chair. • Market data from the CME Group's FedWatch tool indicates a 99% probability that the central bank will keep the fed funds rate flat. • This period of stability is critical as markets gauge the new leadership's approach to monetary policy and economic growth.

• Co-hosts Canada and the USA have officially begun their campaigns for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature an expanded 48-team format. • Former Australia international coach, hired in September 2024, has successfully led the Socceroos to qualification for the tournament. • Australia is set to compete in Group D, where they will face off against Turkey, the United States, and Paraguay.

A renowned academic, Wood was hit by a car as he was crossing a supermarket’s parking lot and later died of the injuriesGordon S Wood, a Pulitzer prize-winning author and historian, was killed on Sunday when he was struck by a car in a supermarket parking lot in Rhode Island.Wood, 92, won the Pulitzer in 1993 in the history category for The Radicalisation of the American Revolution, a landmark tome that advanced the theory of the break with Britain being at least as much of an internal social and political transformation as a desire to be rid of colonial masters. Continue reading...

• Pope Leo is continuing his visit to Spain on June 8, with scheduled meetings with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and members of the Spanish Parliament. • The pontiff's itinerary includes prayers at Madrid's Almudena Cathedral and a gathering with the Catholic community at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. • In sports, world number two Alexander Zverev secured his first major title by defeating Italy's Flavio Cobolli in a five-set match on Sunday.

Trump, still negotiating to conclude the war, claims it’s already over. Some Republican lawmakers have had enoughDonald Trump has two things to say about his war with Iran. The first is that it’s already over. And second, a symbolic congressional vote to end it – carried by four members of his own party – is a stab in the back that could derail the peace talks he’s conducting for the war that’s already over.By a 215-208 margin on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted to direct the president to withdraw US forces from hostilities with Iran, the first time either chamber has passed such a measure in the little over three months since Operation Epic Fury began on 28 February. By Thursday morning, Trump was on Truth Social calling the vote “unpatriotic” and blaming it on “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. Continue reading...