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• Dana Williamson, die banden heeft met Gavin Newsom, conspiracy om campagnegelden van gouverneurskandidaat Xavier Becerra te stelen. • Dana Williamson, een top politiek strateeg uit Californië met banden met de gouverneur van de staat, Gavin Newsom, en gouverneurskandidaat Xavier Becerra, heeft donderdag schuldig gepleit aan fraudeklachten; een bekentenis die waarschijnlijk de aanvallen van andere kandidaten in de race zal aanwakkeren. • Federale autoriteiten stellen dat Williamson samenzwoerde om $225.000 te stelen van een slapende campagne-rekening behorend tot Becerra, die niet bij naam is genoemd in de schikking, en het geld door te sluizen naar zijn stafchef, Sean McCluskie.

De Amerikaanse fascinatie voor 'de Hamptons van Engeland' heeft een positief effect op de verkoop, waardoor het luxueuze Britse modehuis weer jaarwinst draait. • Het luxemerk Burberry heeft verklaard dat een nieuwe handtas van £ 2.000, vernoemd naar de Cotswolds, de omzet heeft gestuwd, aangezien de Engelse regio steeds populairder wordt bij vermogende Amerikanen. • Joshua Schulman, de baas van het Britse merk, zei dat de tote bags – een combinatie van leer en de kenmerkende Burberry check – hebben bijgedragen aan de beste prestaties in tasverkoop sinds 2023. Lees verder...

Ofcom probeert de toegang vanuit het VK tot de site, die in meerdere rapporten van lijkschouwers wordt genoemd, te blokkeren

Tijdens het onderzoek komt naar voren dat Kyle Hudson, die op 22-jarige leeftijd overleed, meerdere keren zijn gokaccounts opzegde maar meer dan 300 stimulansen ontving.

Honderden vierjarigen behoren tot de 'extreem overgewicht' patiënten bij 39 specialistische centra sinds 2021

• De coroner onderzoekt de omstandigheden die leidden tot de dood van Kyle Hudson uit Werribee in 2021, die meerdere gokaccounts bezat. • Een man uit Melbourne heeft in de vier jaar tussen zijn 18e verjaardag en de dag waarop hij geselficideerde $895.733 verspeeld via online gokplatforms, zo bleek tijdens een gerechtelijk onderzoek. • Het onderzoek van de Victoriaanse coroner Paul Lawrie naar de omstandigheden van de dood van Kyle Hudson op 6 juli 2021 begon maandag; er zal worden onderzocht of gokbedrijven het risico op gokgerelateerde schade in de jaren voorafgaand aan het overlijden van de man uit Werribee correct hebben ingeschat.

• Sunrun overtrof de verwachtingen voor Q1 2026 door bijna 19.000 klanten toe te voegen, wat leidde tot een totale abonneewaarde van 1,1 miljard dollar dankzij de uitbreiding van het verkoopteam en productiviteitsverbeteringen. • De volumeprestaties lagen boven de richtcijfers, wat de sterke vraag in de residentiële zonnesector onderstreept te midden van de impuls voor hernieuwbare energie. • De resultaten positioneren Sunrun voor aanhoudende groei in klantwerving en een sterke omzetdynamiek.

• Op 8 mei 2025 heeft India een succesvolle test uitgevoerd van de geavanceerde Agni-5 raket, uitgerust met MIRV-technologie, vanaf Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island voor de kust van Odisha, waarbij de lancering tot in Bangladesh zichtbaar was. • Onder de codenaam Missie Divyastra vuurde de enkele raket meerdere gevechtskoppen af die in staat zijn om gelijktijdig verschillende doelen te raken, waardoor India zich schaart bij de elite-naties met deze strategische capaciteit. • Minister van Defensie Rajnath Singh omschreef de test als een 'enorme sprong' in de defensieparaatheid tegen 'groeiende dreigingspercepties', waarbij de volledige vlucht werd gevolgd door grond- en schepsystemen.

• Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced on May 8 a major initiative to upskill 40,000 tech professionals over the next three years, including final-year information and digital technologies students, to help them stay current with rapid AI advances. • The program expands the TechSkills Accelerator Programme (TeSA) launched in 2016 and falls under the National AI Impact Programme (NAIIP), with strategic partnerships with industry partners to develop AI fluency courses. • AIxTech, a flagship program created by IMDA and AI Singapore, will equip professionals with technical and responsible AI skills throughout the software engineering life cycle, providing access to AI coding tools like Claude, Codex, and Gemini.

Findings come after third-hottest April on record globally and amid fears of more brutal European summer weatherEconomic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.Cutting the level of inequality to that of Europe’s most equal region, as measured by the Gini index, would reduce temperature-related mortality by as much as 30%, equating to 109,866 people, the study found. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese rejects calls for her to resign over the breaches, saying she had done the right thing and had also apologised The communications minister, Anika Wells, has repaid more than $10,000 for incorrect travel claims, identified amid controversy about her use of taxpayer-funded entitlements.In a statement released on Friday, Wells said an audit by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority identified four mistakes in her claims dating back to Labor’s 2022 election victory, worth a combined $8,092.89. Continue reading...

Australia’s most prominent portrait prize was announced on Friday at the Art Gallery of NSW, where the finalist exhibition will open on SaturdayArchibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in picturesRichard Lewer has been awarded the 2026 Archibald prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken.The New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist was announced as the winner of the $100,000 prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday. The judging panel, comprised of the gallery’s trustees, selected the work unanimously from a field of 59 finalists whittled down from 1,034 entries. Continue reading...

Court in Hanover says man entitled to payout after he and his family had to lie on concreteA German holidaymaker has won a payout of almost €1,000 after being unable to find a sunlounger for himself and his family because other guests had got there first.The man, whose identity is not known, holidayed on the island of Kos, in Greece, with his family in 2024. He said that, despite waking up at the crack of dawn every morning to carry out a 20-minute search, he had not been able to lay claim to a lounger. Continue reading...

Organisers of nationwide protest say its aim is to stop the government turning young Germans into ‘cannon fodder’Tens of thousands of pupils across Germany are expected to boycott the classroom and take to the streets in a nationwide protest organisers say is to stop the government’s rearmament policy turning young people into “cannon fodder”.Despite threats from teachers’ associations and education ministries, which have said anyone who demonstrates during school hours could risk penalties and even expulsion, organisers say they expect the number of participants at Friday’s school strike to be at least as high as the estimated 50,000 who attended each of the first two. Continue reading...

Local beekeeper Mitch McLennan says hive thefts have become ‘quite commonplace’ due to rise of parasitic varroa mitesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice are searching for thieves who allegedly stole $150,000 worth of beehives from a rural property in the New South Wales northern tablelands, with a local apiarist saying they may well have been taken by a fellow beekeeper.Eighty beehive boxes containing active colonies were taken from a property on Bruxner Way, 15km west of Bonshaw and 100km north-west of Glen Innes. NSW police believe the alleged theft occurred sometime between Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 6 May. Continue reading...

• Samsung has launched its 2026 startup acceleration program in India, inviting applications from deep-tech startups to collaborate within its global mobile ecosystem. • The program provides up to $50,000 in grant funding with no equity stake required for Proof-of-Concept (PoC) development, allowing startups to validate and scale innovations. • Building on the success of the initiative launched in 2023, the program aims to bridge the gap between emerging Indian startups and Samsung's established mobile technology infrastructure.

Authorities investigate leak of 2.9 million voters’ details, adding to turmoil around independence pushAlberta separatists have delivered more than 300,000 signatures to elections officials in western Canada, in support of their attempt to force an independence referendum in Canada’s oil-rich province.But the effort stumbled immediately as a separatist-linked group posted the personal data of nearly three million residents online in one of the largest data breaches in Canadian history, fomenting fears of a possible political interference crisis. Continue reading...

• OPEC+ announced fresh oil production increase for June 2026, with seven key members—Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman—collectively raising output by 188,000 barrels per day. • The move follows UAE's exit from the bloc and represents a gradual rollback of voluntary production cuts first introduced in 2023, with officials emphasizing flexibility to adjust output based on market conditions. • This supply boost decision comes amid volatile global crude prices and could directly impact fuel costs and inflation worldwide, particularly affecting energy-dependent economies like India.

• Myanmar campaigners on May 5 condemned US lobbyist Roger Stone, a close confidante of President Donald Trump, for accepting US$50,000 to lobby on behalf of interests in the country. • Stone's involvement highlights renewed US political engagement with Myanmar despite the country's ongoing political turmoil and international isolation following the 2021 military coup. • The controversy underscores tensions between Myanmar's activist movements and foreign political actors, particularly those with direct access to the Trump administration.

• President Trump stated the US will pull 'a lot further than 5,000' troops from Germany, confirming Pentagon plans for an initial 5,000 withdrawal. • Key Republicans expressed worry over the move, while Germany views it as a spur for European defense spending increases. • The announcement heightens transatlantic tensions amid NATO concerns, with Polish PM Tusk warning of alliance 'disintegration'.

Over the next two weeks stargazers have a chance to spot the blue-green orb and smudgy tail of comet known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS A comet formed on the edges of the solar system will grace southern skies over the next fortnight, giving viewers a rare chance to glimpse it before it disappears from view for another 170,000 years.The comet – known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS – had been travelling through the northern hemisphere but has “swung around the sun” and is now visible in the south, said Josh Aoraki, an astronomer at Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland, New Zealand. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration announced plans to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany over the next 6 to 12 months, impacting the approximately 35,000 American service members currently stationed there. • Defense Secretary Hegseth is pulling the troops amid ongoing tensions between Trump and the German Chancellor over defense spending and NATO contributions. • The reduction marks a significant shift in U.S. military presence in Europe and signals potential strains in the transatlantic alliance during this period.

• The Trump administration announced plans to withdraw approximately 5,000 US troops from Germany over the next 6-12 months. • The troop withdrawal fulfills an earlier Trump threat and reflects tensions over Germany's stance on the Iran conflict. • The move signals a broader shift in US military posture in Europe and could weaken NATO presence in a key strategic location.

Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Robert Jenrick, among others, have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole Pro Reform UK’s leading figures have repeatedly promoted a new pothole-fixing machine by the construction company JCB, while the party received £200,000 from the British digger maker, the Guardian can reveal.Several Reform politicians including Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick, Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole Pro machine. Continue reading...

Staff warned news operations face 15% cut, above BBC-wide 10% target, as corporation pushes through £600m savings planThe BBC’s news operation is to cut costs by a steeper-than-expected 15%, with staff told to expect heavy redundancies.The division, home to about a quarter of all BBC staff, is being saddled with one of the highest cost-cutting targets as the corporation attempts to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years. Continue reading...

• Insurance giant Cigna announced it will exit the Affordable Care Act individual market in 2027, impacting 369,000 members amid reports of millions dropping Obamacare coverage due to higher long-term costs. • State officials and industry analysts note surging premiums are driving enrollment declines, exacerbating access issues for remaining policyholders. • Cigna reported a $1.65 billion profit while making the exit, highlighting tensions between profitability and marketplace sustainability.

UK was close behind, exporting 675,000 tonnes, with much of the waste sent to Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia Germany was the world’s largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025 and sent more than 810,000 tonnes abroad, according to analysis of trade data carried out for the Guardian.The UK followed close behind, according to the analysis by Watershed Investigations and the Basel Action Network. It exported more 675,000 tonnes, its highest level in eight years and enough to fill about 127,000 shipping containers. Continue reading...

Actor and presenter broke his hip, right leg, pelvis and ribs when he gave a talk at CogX festival at O2 Arena in 2023Stephen Fry is suing two companies that organised a tech conference where he was injured in 2023 after falling off the stage, high court documents show.The actor and presenter broke his hip and had multiple breaks in his right leg, pelvis and ribs when he attended the CogX festival at the O2 Arena, where he delivered a talk on artificial intelligence on 14 September 2023. Continue reading...