Prize

• De eerste Nobelprijsuitreiking sinds president Trump begin dit jaar het bestuur van curatoren hervormde, zal plaatsvinden waarbij nieuwe benoemingen invloed hebben op de selecties. • De wijzigingen zijn erop gericht de prijzen af te stemmen op Amerikaanse prioriteiten, wat leidde tot een internationaal debat over politisering. • Deze verschuiving is van belang voor de 'soft power' van de VS en zou toekomstige keuzes voor laureaten voor vrede en economie kunnen veranderen.

• In een zeldzame publieke verschijning waarschuwde Meta-klokkenluider Sarah Wynn-Williams voor 'netwerken van machtige elites' die rijkdom en invloed gebruiken om dissidente stemmen het zwijgen op te leggen. • Meta-klokkenluider Sarah Wynn-Williams en de overleden Virginia Giuffre hebben gezamenlijk de Freedom to Publish-prijs gewonnen bij de British Book Awards van dit jaar, wat de eerste keer is dat de prijs is gedeeld. • Wynn-Williams, een voormalig Facebook-executive, werd erkend voor 'Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism', haar bestseller-memoires over haar jaren bij Meta, voorheen Facebook.

• Jannik Sinner urged Grand Slam tournaments to show greater respect to players during an escalating prize money row. • Novak Djokovic backed player power in the standoff with tennis's four major events. • The dispute highlights growing tensions over equitable compensation at top-tier tournaments.

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...

Authorities investigate Florent Montaclair over award given to himself and others including Noam ChomskyAt a ceremony at the French national assembly attended by Nobel prize winners, former government ministers, MPs, decorated scientists and academics, all attention was on a previously unknown literature professor.Florent Montaclair, then 46, a balding, bespectacled figure in an ill-fitting suit and rosé-coloured shirt, was receiving the 2016 Gold Medal of Philology - the study of linguistics – from an international society of the same name. Continue reading...

The painting by self-taught artist Sean Layh was chosen by the Art Gallery of NSW staff who hang the finalists, ahead of the main announcement on 8 MayArchibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in picturesA portrait of actor Jacob Collins by Sean Layh has won the favour of Art Gallery of NSW staff, who awarded it the Packing Room prize on Thursday, ahead of the Archibald prize’s main announcement on 8 May.Layh, a self-taught painter, said winning the prize for his work – an oil painting titled The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke – was “one of the great honours of my professional life”. Continue reading...

• HHS launched the $4 Million KidneyX EMPOWER Prize Challenge on April 15, 2026, to advance living kidney donation and patient-centered health technologies. • The initiative aims to spur innovation in kidney care through science and programs improving American health outcomes. • This effort addresses critical needs in organ transplantation, potentially increasing donation rates and access to treatments.