14 h. ago Gold storms above $5,000 for the first time as global turmoil fuels 'astonishing' rally

Gold stormed past the $5,000 an ounce mark for the first time today as global upheaval sent investors to the apparent safety of precious metals.

Events

53 h. ago Trump’s ‘new normal’ leaves Australia marooned. We can no longer pretend otherwise | Zoe Daniel

The rules-based global order is rapidly disintegrating. It’s time for middle powers to stand togetherThe French president Emmanuel Macron borrowed some lines from Hugh Grant about bullies at the World Economic Forum in Davos. His target was Donald Trump, who had leaked a conciliatory text message from Macron who, evidently, was trying to get the US president to the table to shore up the rapidly disintegrating global order.In the love-it-or-hate-it Christmas film, Love Actually, Grant – playing the foppish British prime minister of the day – confronts the US president, saying: “A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend, and since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward, I will be prepared to be much stronger.”Zoe Daniel is a three-time ABC foreign correspondent and the former independent member for Goldstein. She is the chair of Mental Health Victoria Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Everything we know about Harry Styles’ new album and global tour

This May, the singer will embark on a global tour in support of his forthcoming album, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’

Politics

3 d. ago What time is Skyscraper Live on Netflix? Full list of start times in UK, US, and globally

Netflix has confirmed the start time for its Skyscraper Live ‘global event’ 🧗 ♂️📺

Events

4 d. ago Ubisoft cancels projects and announces restructure in fight to stay competitive

Video game publisher to cancel Prince of Persia remake and close studios after several difficult yearsThe video game publisher behind the Assassin’s Creed series has cancelled six projects including a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as it fights to stay competitive in the global gaming market.Ubisoft announced a sweeping reorganisation and said it would cancel six games, sending its shares to their lowest level in more than a decade on Thursday. Continue reading...

Sport

4 d. ago Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds

Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHuman-caused global heating made the intense heatwave that affected much of Australia in early January five times more likely, new analysis suggests.The heatwave earlier this month was the most severe since the 2019-20 black summer, with temperatures over 40C in Melbourne and Sydney, even hotter conditions in regional Victoria and New South Wales, and extreme heat also affecting Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Megadeth: Megadeth review – conspiracy theories and combustible fingers on thrash metallers’ curtain call

(BLKIIBLK/Frontiers)Tuneful yet overlong, Dave Mustaine and co’s final album is a recap of Megadeth’s strengths, flaws and familiar grudgesThere are long goodbyes, and then there is Megadeth’s retirement from the music industry. A final album and tour by the thrash metal pioneers was announced last August, with an AI-assisted video and a written statement that offered some classic grandstanding on the part of frontman and sole original member Dave Mustaine. Never a man to hide his light under a bushel, he equated Megadeth’s decision to quit with a global catastrophe (“some say this is the end of times”) and suggested that the US band “changed the world”.Their decision to quit makes sense, given the state of Mustaine’s health. Having conquered throat cancer and radial neuropathy, he’s now suffering from arthritis and something called Dupuytren’s contracture – a thickening of tissue under the skin that causes the fingers to bend, commonly known as the suitably metal-sounding Viking di...

Politics

5 d. ago A new Henry V is a barometer of our times – what can Shakespeare’s war play tell us amid global chaos? | Michael Billington

Revivals of this history play usually reflect the politics of the moment. Now a fresh RSC retelling arrives in a world of instability and fractured alliancesI have long argued that Shakespeare’s history plays have more urgent relevance today than his tragedies. The issues they raise – such as the nature of good governance and the difficulty of deposing a tyrant – are precisely those that still haunt us. Henry V, shortly to be given a new RSC production directed by Tamara Harvey, seems especially timely as we are living in a world where the threat of war is painfully real.It is also a play that constantly changes its meaning. James Shapiro wrote in the Guardian in 2008: “There’s no better way to know which way the cultural and political winds are blowing than by going to see a performance of Henry V.” He reminded us that in 1599, when the play was first performed, playgoers anxiously waited to hear whether an Irish uprising had been suppressed. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Toxicology report says late US chess star Daniel Naroditsky had drugs in his system

29-year-old had stimulants and kratom in systemDeath investigated as possible overdose or suicideAmerican chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky had a combination of stimulant and psychoactive substances in his system when he died last year, according to a toxicology report released by North Carolina authorities.Naroditsky, 29, was found dead at his home in Charlotte in October 2025, a loss that sent shockwaves through the global chess community. At the time, police said his death was being investigated as a possible overdose or suicide. No official cause was announced.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue read...

Events

6 d. ago UK visa changes to help attract talented foreign workers announced by Chancellor

Rachel Reeves vowed to refund visa fees for some global businesses and speed up the time it takes for a company to qualify as a sponsor of migrant staff

Economics

6 d. ago UK greenlights China’s new London embassy after years of delay, ‘signaling shift toward pragmatic China policy’

UK greenlights China’s new London embassy after years of delay, ‘signaling shift toward pragmatic China policy’  Global Times

Events

8 d. ago ‘Brazen’ political influence of rich laid bare as wealth of billionaires reaches $18.3tn, says Oxfam

Governments opting for oligarchy while brutally repressing protests over austerity and lack of jobs, charity report saysThe world saw a record number of billionaires created last year, with a collective wealth of $18.3tn (£13.7tn), while global efforts stalled in the fight against poverty and hunger.Oxfam’s annual survey of global inequality has revealed that the number of billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time during 2025. Since 2020, their collective wealth grew by 81%, or $8.2tn, which the charity claims would be enough to eradicate global poverty 26 times over. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago At the root of all our problems stands one travesty: politicians’ surrender to the super

There are many excuses for failing to tax the ultra-wealthy. The truth is that governments don’t tackle the problem because they don’t want toThere is one political problem from which all others follow. It is the major cause of Donald Trump, of Nigel Farage, of the shocking weakness of their opponents, of the polarisation tearing societies apart, of the devastation of the living world. It is simply stated: the extreme wealth of a small number of people.It can also be quantified. The World Inequality Report (WIR) 2026 shows that about 56,000 people – 0.001% of the global population – corral three times more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. They afflict almost every country. In the UK, for example, 50 families hold more wealth than 50% of the population combined.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Changed your tune, Nick? Now Clegg backs tougher regulation of tech firms after pocketing millions from Meta

The ex-Liberal Democrat leader is reported to have made almost £15million from the sale of shares in Meta during his time as the tech giant's president of global affairs.

Economics

1 week ago Economic conflicts are world’s greatest risk, WEF survey suggests

Extreme weather events and biodiversity loss identified as the biggest global threats over a 10-year timeframeEconomic conflicts between major powers are the greatest risk facing the world over the next two years, according to experts polled ahead of next week’s Davos summit.Among 1,300 business leaders, academics and civil society figures surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), “geoeconomic confrontation” was identified as the most pressing threat. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago White House reportedly raises concern over new Chinese embassy plan in London, a move expert calls blatant interference in UK’s domestic affairs

White House reportedly raises concern over new Chinese embassy plan in London, a move expert calls blatant interference in UK’s domestic affairs  Global Times

Society

2 w. ago We can safely experiment on reflecting sunlight away from Earth. Here’s how | Dakota Gruener and Daniele Visioni

Reflecting a small fraction of incoming sunlight to reduce global heating is not a new idea. It is time to safely experimentThe world is warming fast – and our options to avoid catastrophic harm are narrowing. 2024 was the first full year more than 1.5C hotter than the 19th-century average. Emissions are still rising, with fossil fuel use expected to hit a new high in 2025. Permanent carbon removal technologies – often cited as a fix – are removing just tens of thousands of tonnes annually, almost nothing relative to the 5-10bn tonnes needed. Cutting emissions and scaling carbon removal remain essential. But they may not be enough.As suffering grows and ecosystems unravel, more people will ask: is there anything we can do to prevent these harms? The idea of reflecting a small fraction of incoming sunlight to reduce warming is not a new idea. In 1965, Lyndon B Johnson’s science advisers proposed it as the only way to cool the planet. Earth already reflects about 30% of incoming sunli...

Politics