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• Herstelbetalingen voor het gedwongen installeren van apparaten in woningen van kwetsbaren omvatten een boete van £20 miljoen en kwijtschelding van schulden ter waarde van £70 miljoen. • Duizenden British Gas-klanten bij wie prepaidmeters gedwongen zijn geïnstalleerd, zullen tot £112 miljoen ontvangen aan compensatie en kwijtschelding van schulden op hun energierekeningen. • De Britse energieregulator stelde vast dat British Gas prepaidmeters heeft opgelegd aan huishoudens die hun rekeningen niet konden betalen tijdens het hoogtepunt van de Russische gascrisis, in een van de meest complexe Ofgem-onderzoeken in haar geschiedenis. Lees verder...

• One Nation-leider Hanson en Barnaby Joyce vlogen in het vliegtuig van Gina Rinehart van de Sunshine Coast naar Mount Isa, voordat ze een charter namen om overstroomde gemeenschappen te bezoeken. • Pauline Hanson heeft de belastingbetalers bijna $16.000 in rekening gebracht voor privéchartervluchten om door het door overstromingen getroffen Queensland te reizen op suggestie van miljarderes Gina Rinehart, ondanks haar eerdere bewering dat de reis "geen kosten voor de belastingbetaler" met zich meebracht. • In januari vlogen Hanson en Barnaby Joyce in de luxe Gulfstream G700 van Rinehart van de Sunshine Coast naar Mount Isa, waarna ze met chartervluchten naar overstroomde gemeenschappen rond Julia Creek reisden om lokale burgemeesters te ontmoeten.

• Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation noemt uitspraak van federale rechtbank tegen ijzerertsuitvoering Solomon Hub van mijngigant 'onbevredigend' • Volg onze liveblog voor het laatste nieuws uit Australië • Ontvang onze breaking news e-mail, gratis app of dagelijkse nieuwspodcast

Onderzoekers stellen dat de budgetbeslissing om een commercialiseringsprogramma te schrappen ter financiering van de CSIRO en andere wetenschappelijke initiatieven de eigen prioriteiten van de regering ondermijnt.

Politie en sheriffs kantoor stemmen in met schikking nadat Ronald Greene tijdens arrestatie in 2019 fataal werd geschokt en geslagen

• Ondanks zorgen dat de superrijken vertrekken vanwege de belastingdruk, was 88% van de ondervraagden trots om in het VK te wonen en zouden zij meer betalen om publieke diensten te financieren • Negen op de tien Britse miljonairissen zijn trots om in Groot-Brittannië te wonen en driekwart zou bereid zijn meer belasting te betalen om ervoor te zorgen dat publieke voorzieningen de nodige financiering krijgen, volgens onderzoek. • Ondanks veelgehoorde zorgen dat vermogenden ervoor kiezen het land te verlaten vanwege hogere belastingen, bleek uit de enquête dat miljonairissen zich veel meer zorgen maakten over medisch personeel dat vertrekt dan over emigrerende rijken. Lees verder...

Anil Kochhar hoopt dat textielstudenten van North Carolina State kunnen vertrekken met 'meer vrijheid om hun doelen na te streven'. Anil Kochhar, een donateur van North Carolina State University, gaf de afgestudeerden van het Wilson College of Textiles veel meer dan alleen woorden van wijsheid toen hij onlangs zijn keynote-toespraak hield tijdens de diploma-uitreiking. De Indiaas-Amerikaanse ondernemer kondigde ook aan dat hij alle studieleningen zal afbetalen die door de studenten van de opleiding tijdens hun laatste jaar zijn afgesloten. Lees verder...

Werknemers zijn opgeroepen realistisch te zijn over de uitkomst van vakbondsonderhandelingen, nu de corporatie besparingen nastreeft via ontslagen.

• Federale rechtbank stelde vast dat de Solomon Hub ijzerertsmijn van de mijnbouwonderneming culturele en sociale schade heeft veroorzaakt, waaronder de vernietiging van 140 erfgoedlocaties • Volg onze Australia news live blog voor de laatste updates • Ontvang onze breaking news e-mail, gratis app of dagelijkse nieuwspodcast

Partij stelt dat leider 'onmiddellijk stappen heeft ondernomen' om eventuele verschuldigde belasting te betalen na een 'onbedoelde fout'.

• Democraten in het Congres zijn een formeel onderzoek gestart naar de vraag of de gratiemaatregelen van president Trump werden gedreven door zogenaamde "pay-to-play" regelingen waarbij financiële bijdragen of andere tegenprestaties een rol speelden. • De Democratische afgevaardigde Dave Min uit Californië is een van de drie wetgevers die het onderzoek leiden naar de verdachte omstandigheden rondom selecte presidentiële gratieverleningen. • Het onderzoek weerspiegelt de zorgen van de Democraten over mogelijke corruptie of quid pro quo-afspraken die de inzet van de presidentiële bevoegdheden tot gratieverlening door de regering-Trump zouden hebben beïnvloed.

Automaker had given ‘numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so’, says California attorney generalGeneral Motors (GM) agreed to pay $12.75m to resolve claims that it illegally sold hundreds of thousands of Californians’ location and driving data to two data brokers, said the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, on Friday. He said this came after the Detroit-based automaker had given “numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so”.“General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent,” Bonta said in a statement. “This trove of information included precise and personal location data that could identify the everyday habits and movements of Californians.” 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...

Ryan Cohen selling tube socks and baseball cards after offering $55.5bn, although source of funds remains unclearThe CEO of GameStop, Ryan Cohen, said he was selling vintage video games, baseball cards, GameStop merchandise and a $14,000 pair of tube socks to help fund the company’s proposed $55.5bn acquisition of eBay.His platform of choice? eBay, of course. Continue reading...

About 120 journalists and broadcast staff expected to protest about pay freeze as STV invests in new radio stationUK politics live – latest updatesCoverage of Scotland’s election counts by STV, the commercial broadcaster, is expected to be heavily hit by strike action in an escalating dispute over pay.The National Union of Journalists and the technical union Bectu have targeted STV’s election reporting for their second strike this year in protest at its decision to impose a company-wide pay freeze after a significant fall in revenues. Continue reading...

• Ecosystem Roundup from e27.co reports that the AI pay gap in Southeast Asia's startup industry has emerged and is accelerating, with AI-skilled workers commanding significantly higher salaries than non-AI peers as of May 5, 2026. • Key details highlight disparities where AI engineers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia earn 30-50% more than general software developers, driven by demand from firms like Sea Limited and Grab. • This matters as it risks exacerbating talent shortages and inequality across ASEAN tech hubs, potentially slowing non-AI startup growth while fueling AI dominance in Vietnam and Thailand.

Job ready graduates program will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students with debts exceeding $50,000Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne in four humanities students will take more than 25 years to fully repay their student loans because of Morrison government changes to university fees, newly public Treasury modelling reveals.The job ready graduates program, introduced in 2021 under the former prime minister Scott Morrison, will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students saddled with debts exceeding $50,000. Continue reading...

• HitPay aims to capture more tourist spending by enabling small businesses to accept foreign digital wallets via Singapore's unified QR system. • The strategy targets the growing influx of international visitors seeking seamless payment options. • This move enhances competitiveness for SMEs in tourism-heavy sectors, potentially increasing transaction volumes significantly.

Treasurer says next week’s budget will save more than it spends. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government is boasting of making bigger than usual savings in next week’s budget, with Jim Chalmers saying his fourth budget will have “more restraint”.The treasurer said:Responsible economic management has been a hallmark of this Albanese Government and the May Budget will be our most responsible yet.We’re getting the budget in better nick because that helps to fund the things that Australians need and deserve like Medicare, aged care and cost-of-living relief.In this Budget you’ll see more responsible economic management and more restraint from the Albanese Government. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Union body finds workers describing themselves as ‘gambling’ because wages felt like the outcome of chance rather than workThe practice of using “dynamic pricing” to set pay on gig economy platforms including Uber should be banned because it leaves workers at the mercy of shadowy algorithms with no certainty over their earnings, trade union leaders have urged.In a report exposing the human cost of the gig economy practice, the Trades Union Congress said pay was becoming decoupled from time, skill or effort. Instead, work had become a speculative practice with the rewards determined by an algorithmic process with little transparency. Continue reading...

• Asia-Pacific's cross-border payments market, valued at $13.5 trillion in 2025, is forecast to surge to $24 trillion by 2033, fueled by QR payments and digital adoption.• Thailand ranks second in regional economic optimism, supporting robust growth in transaction volumes across Southeast Asia.• Expansion driven by e-commerce boom and fintech innovations enhances trade efficiency in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.• Regulators eye next steps in harmonizing standards to sustain projected CAGR amid rising geopolitical tensions.

• The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced a draft version of the National Defense Authorization Act that includes language to block automatic military pay reductions triggered by certain budget gimmicks tied to the sequester framework. • The provision comes after Pentagon officials warned that artificial pay cuts could drive recruitment and retention problems and after several advocacy groups lobbied lawmakers to permanently repeal the sequester caps. • Senator Adam Smith and other committee members argued that service members should not be collateral damage in political budget fights.

Company accepts it failed to prevent bribery in public sector contracts in Algeria and Oman, sought through use of agentsThe British defence company Ultra Electronics has accepted responsibility for failure to prevent bribery and agreed to pay £15m after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.The penalties are part of a deferred prosecution approved by the high court on Friday, after an investigation opened in 2018, when the company referred itself to the UK law enforcement agency a month after corruption allegations were published by Algerian media. Continue reading...

Analysis finds real wages fell 12% since 2019, with inequality widening in the US beyond global levelsCEO pay increased 20 times faster than worker pay around the world in 2025, according to a new analysis from Oxfam and the International Trade Union Confederation, the world’s largest trade union federation.When adjusted for inflation, global worker pay declined 12% between 2019 and 2025, the equivalent of 108 days of free work during that time period. In comparison, CEO compensation increased by 54% between 2019 and 2025. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Government should back projects that prioritise renewables to protect consumers from ongoing price shocks, they sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFormer oil and gas industry leaders, including senior executives from BP and Shell, are warning the Albanese government that Australians risk ongoing price shocks and higher costs if it prioritises fossil fuel development in response to the global energy crisis.Sixteen ex-executives and professionals – who had worked for companies including Woodside, Inpex, Exxon Mobil and Esso – have urged the government to reject calls for fast-tracked gas and coal extraction, arguing it would do nothing to improve the nation’s liquid fuel security. Continue reading...

• U.S.-relevant cross-border paytech startup Latitude exited stealth mode this week with $8 million seed funding led by NEA to tackle slow, costly business money transfers. • The funding supports Latitude's mission to streamline international payments, positioning it as a challenger in the fintech space amid rising demand for efficient B2B transfers. • Launch coincides with April 2026 fintech surge, highlighting investor confidence in paytech innovations despite economic uncertainties from energy prices and Fed policy.

Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions, and companies shut off power to customers 13m times in 2025The US’s top utilities’ CEOs enjoyed a 16% pay raise last year – to an average of $12.3m – even as consumers shoulder the pain from high bills spurred by continuing inflation, the Iran war and datacenter growth, a new review of industry financial documents shows.Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions since 2021, and, nationwide, utilities shut off power to customers 13m times last year, federal data shows. Continue reading...

• Medicare underpayments to hospitals totaled more than $100 billion in 2024, according to testimony provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by the American Hospital Association. • Hospitals are managing significant cost pressures while treating a sicker, more medically complex, and aging patient population, with persistent misalignments between care provision and reimbursement rates. • The financial strain reflects broader healthcare system challenges as providers struggle with inadequate government reimbursement alongside rising operational costs.