Global Pulse

作者： admin

  • Susan Sarandon, Carol Burnett lead tributes to The Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry

    Susan Sarandon, Carol Burnett lead tributes to The Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry

    The global entertainment community is in mourning this week after news broke that legendary British actor Tim Curry, best known for originating the iconic role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*, has passed away at the age of 80. Curry died peacefully on August 25 at his home in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, his long-time manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz confirmed publicly.

    Curry first introduced the world to his boundary-pushing interpretation of the mad, cross-dressing scientist on the London stage in 1973, before reprising the career-defining role in the 1975 cult classic film adaptation. The role catapulted him to international fame and cemented his legacy as a subversive, one-of-a-kind performer whose influence still ripples through stage and screen today. Over a six-decade-long prolific career, Curry built an extraordinary body of work that spanned genres, mediums, and generations of fans. His resume includes memorable turns in beloved projects ranging from *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*, *Annie*, and *The Hunt for Red October* to the 1990 television miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s *It*, where he famously portrayed the menacing clown Pennywise. He later earned critical acclaim for originating the role of King Arthur in the hit Broadway musical *Spamalot*, and delivered a fan-favorite turn as the sharp-witted butler in the cult comedy film *Clue*, among dozens of other roles across film, theater, and voice acting.

    Since news of his passing broke, fellow performers, collaborators, and co-stars from across the industry have shared heartfelt tributes celebrating Curry’s talent, generosity, and irreplaceable impact on entertainment. Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon, who starred opposite Curry as heroine Janet Weiss in *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*, remembered the actor for his extraordinary spirit as much as his on-screen presence. “What I loved about him most was his heart,” Sarandon said, praising Curry as “a funny, sexy, original.” She added, “Even wheelchair bound he continued to be so sweet and generous with his fans. Thank you Tim for meaning so much to so many people.”

    Australian actress Nell Campbell, who played Columbia opposite Curry in the original *Rocky Horror* film, described the actor as the patriarch of the tight-knit *Rocky Horror* community. “I feel like the head of our family has just died because he was the head of the Rocky Horror family,” she told the BBC. Welsh actor Luke Evans, who stepped into the role of Frank-N-Furter for a Broadway revival of the musical, called Curry “a force, a bright fierce flame, an exquisite charm.” In a letter written to Curry before his passing, Evans thanked him for his groundbreaking fearlessness, writing that Curry “created something so enduring, and for inspiring generations of actors to be a little braver than they thought they could be.”

    The official Broadway production account for *The Rocky Horror Picture Show* echoed that praise, nodding to one of the musical’s most iconic lines delivered by Curry: “Don’t dream it, be it.” The account wrote that Curry “gave the world a little more freedom, a little more fearlessness, and through the tears in our eyes, the courage to BE IT.” Richard O’Brien, the writer and composer who co-created the original *Rocky Horror* stage musical, remembered Curry as a generous, humble talent in a statement to *Entertainment Weekly*. “He never sought attention and never put himself before the roles that he played,” O’Brien said. “He was, in short, a good egg and class act.”

    Other co-stars and collaborators shared their own personal memories of Curry, highlighting his extraordinary skill as a character actor and his warm personality off-screen. American comedy legend Carol Burnett, who worked with Curry on the film *Annie*, posted a clip of his performance as her scheming brother to social media, writing that “nobody could play lovable villains better than he could.” Actor Rob Schneider, who shared the screen with Curry as a bellhop in *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York* where Curry played the condescending hotel clerk, called him a “sensational character actor.” “A truly gifted performer of stage and screen, his one eyebrow could say more than most actors entire bodies,” Schneider wrote. “I am grateful to have the rare gift of watching him work, he made you better just standing near him.”

    Michael McKean, who co-starred with Curry in *Clue*, shared that his final conversation with the actor revolved around the simple joys of “life and love and laughter.” “The grim physical state he found himself in has now ended, a blessing. Our blessing was that we had Tim Curry in our lives. RIP, my friend,” McKean wrote. Fellow *Clue* co-stars Christopher Lloyd and Lesley Ann Warren also paid tribute, with Warren calling Curry a “dear companion in crime” and writing, “The brilliant, hilarious, hysterically funny, magician of artistry has left us. What an unbelievable joy to have shared a soundstage with him and to engage with such a master talent. I adored him. Bless his wild and inspired soul.”

    Even the Muppets franchise honored Curry, who starred as Long John Silver in 1996’s *Muppet Treasure Island*. The official Muppets social media account noted that Curry was one of the few human performers to earn the title of honorary Muppet, writing: “As a performer he was unparalleled – witty, charming, unnerving, and deeply funny. We will always consider it one of our greatest treasures to have been part of Long John Silver’s crew.”

    Curry had suffered a major stroke in 2012, and had used a wheelchair in the years following his illness, continuing to make occasional public appearances and connect with fans until his passing.

  • Two of Australia’s biggest banks backflip to predict painful new interest rate hike

    Two of Australia’s biggest banks backflip to predict painful new interest rate hike

    Australia’s stubbornly persistent above-target inflation has prompted two of the nation’s largest lenders to revise their interest rate outlooks, delivering a bleak update for mortgage holders already grappling with years of rising borrowing costs. Both the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) now confirm that additional Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate increases are on the horizon to cool persistent price pressures.

    NAB’s chief economist Sally Auld has reversed her earlier forecast that rates would remain on hold, now projecting a rate hike as early as the RBA’s September monetary policy meeting. Auld pointed to newly released July Consumer Price Index (CPI) data that came in hotter than RBA leaders had projected just weeks earlier, noting that the central bank’s Monetary Policy Board has repeatedly warned it would take immediate action if inflation risks continued to trend upward. Beyond September, Auld added that the outlook leans heavily toward a second additional hike in November, particularly if broader economic activity data remains resilient in the coming months.

    CBA’s head of economics Belinda Allen shares the expectation of a 2025 rate hike but pushes back the timeline, arguing that current economic data does not yet justify a September increase. Even with a slower timeline, Allen warned that holding rates steady through the November meeting would shock markets and analysts, given the RBA’s laser focus on reining in inflation even as signs of a slowing economy emerge. On a slightly more positive note for struggling mortgage holders, Allen projected that the period of elevated rates could be relatively short: she forecasts the RBA could begin cutting rates as early as May 2027, with a follow-up cut in August, once inflation returns to the central bank’s target range.

    Two other major Australian lenders, Westpac and ANZ, have not yet released updated rate forecasts following the July inflation release. However, independent economic analysts have echoed the big banks’ cautious outlook, arguing that the latest inflation data leaves the RBA with little choice but to resume tightening after its recent pause.

    KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne explained that the RBA’s decision to leave rates unchanged at its August meeting now leaves the central bank playing catch-up on inflation. So far in 2025, the RBA has delivered three rate hikes totaling 75 basis points, lifting the official cash rate from 3.60% to 4.35%, before pausing rate movements in June and holding again in August. “Today’s data supports the view that without policy action we may be in for a long, costly grind to get inflation under control, and the Reserve Bank may have missed an opportunity at the last board meeting to get ahead of the game by raising rates,” Rynne said.

    Russel Chesler, head of investments and capital markets at global asset manager VanEck, put it more bluntly, noting that July’s data shows the “inflation fire is still smouldering” across the Australian economy. “The inflation fight is far from won,” Chesler said. “We remain firmly of the view that inflation is becoming entrenched and has little chance of returning to the 2.5 per cent midpoint of the RBA’s target range by late 2027.”

    To understand why markets and forecasters are bracing for rate hikes, it is important to break down the latest inflation figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). While headline inflation edged lower to 3.6% in the 12 months to July, down from 3.8% in June, the core trimmed mean inflation rate – a closely watched metric that strips out the most volatile price movements to reflect underlying inflation – held steady at 3.6%, well above the RBA’s 2-3% annual target range. Market analysts had expected a sharper decline in headline inflation to roughly 3.2%, making the higher-than-forecast reading an unwelcome surprise.

    Breaking down price pressures, the biggest driver of ongoing inflation was housing costs, which rose 6% over the past 12 months, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased by 3.2%. Energy prices also continued to distort national inflation data: a sharp 2024 electricity price increase dropped out of the annual comparison, but fuel prices spiked 7.5% month-over-month in July following three consecutive months of declines. The jump in fuel prices was driven by two key factors: rising global oil prices and the partial rollback of the federal government’s temporary fuel excise subsidy, which was cut in half this July.

    ABS head of price statistics Rachael McCririck confirmed that while there has been some progress on lowering headline inflation, much of that progress stems from calendar effects, as the extreme price spikes seen in July 2024 roll out of the 12-month calculation. Following the release of the inflation data, money markets immediately priced in an 87% probability that the RBA will deliver at least one additional rate hike before the end of 2025, leaving millions of Australian mortgage holders bracing for new increases to their monthly repayment.

  • US designates Palestine Action activist group ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’

    US designates Palestine Action activist group ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’

    In a sweeping new move targeting pro-Palestinian advocacy groups, the outgoing Trump administration has added UK-based activist network Palestine Action to the U.S. government’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list, framing the designation as part of a broader crackdown on what it calls “violent far-left terror networks”.

    Wednesday’s designation marks one year exactly after the United Kingdom formally banned Palestine Action under national counterterrorism law, following a series of the group’s direct actions targeting facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. Elbit, a top supplier of military technology to the Israeli military, operates amid mounting global condemnation of Israel’s nearly three-year military campaign in Gaza, which the United Nations and leading Holocaust scholars have formally characterized as a genocide against Palestinian civilians.

    In an official statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury justified the sanctions by arguing Palestine Action has “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, an act of terrorism”. The department further claimed the group has carried out multiple high-profile break-ins at British defense infrastructure and military installations, causing millions of dollars in damage to military equipment, and has promoted its tactics across social media to encourage copycat actions internationally, including within U.S. borders and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

    The SDGT framework at the center of this action is not a new tool: it was created just days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when then-President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13224 to enable sweeping counterterrorism sanctions. The very first entity targeted under the order was the Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Muslim charity operating in the U.S. In a widely criticized outcome, five Palestinian-American men connected to the charity were tried twice and sentenced to decades in prison on allegations of funneling funds to Hamas-affiliated groups, despite no court ever presenting evidence linking the men to violent activity.

    Addressing growing concerns over potential censorship of protected political speech, the Treasury’s statement asserted that “the United States does not sanction persons for engaging in political speech or other constitutionally protected activities”. It went on to cite the text of E.O. 13224, which defines terrorism as “violent acts and acts dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure, that appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion”.

    Palestine Action is not the only Palestinian rights group targeted in the Trump administration’s latest announcement. Officials also unveiled new sanctions against Masar Badil, a movement that advocates for a “alternative revolutionary path” to secure Palestinian rights and self-determination after decades of stalled peace negotiations failed to deliver progress. According to the Treasury, Masar Badil is inextricably linked to Samidoun, another Palestinian advocacy network that was sanctioned by both the U.S. and Canada in 2024. Samidoun has repeatedly and publicly denied any connection to terrorist activity.

    Founded in 2020, Palestine Action launched after a group of activists broke into and spray-painted Elbit Systems’ London headquarters, marking the start of its campaign against what it calls the “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex”. Since its founding, the group’s decentralized network of activists has relied on non-violent direct action tactics to target companies that supply the Israeli military, with Elbit remaining its primary focus. Group members have broken into corporate offices and factory facilities to spray-paint or damage equipment they argue is used to enable war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza.

    The campaign has yielded tangible impacts for the group: Palestine Action says its pressure has forced multiple companies to sever ties with Elbit, costing the arms manufacturer “billions” in lost contracts and shareholder divestments. Most recently, British banking giant Barclays sold its 16,000-share stake in Elbit in October, and the UK Ministry of Defence canceled a £280 million portfolio of contracts with the firm.

    Last July, the UK government proscribed Palestine Action under Section 3 of the country’s 2000 Terrorism Act, a move that criminalizes membership in the group as well as any public invitation or reckless expression of support for the organization. In the months since the ban went into effect, British police have arrested hundreds of protesters — including elderly and disabled activists — solely for holding signs declaring public support for Palestine Action. Videos of these arrests circulating widely on social media have drawn intense backlash, with critics dismissing the crackdown as political theater that wastes valuable law enforcement resources. Multiple Palestine Action activists who participated in actions against Elbit have also reported developing severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their detention by British counterterrorism police.

    The group’s crackdown in the UK has already resulted in a high-profile legal case that spotlights divisions over the government’s ban. Eight Palestine Action activists face charges of violent disorder and criminal damage connected to an August 2024 break-in at an Elbit Systems plant in Filton, near Bristol. The defendants are accused of coordinating the raid by carrying out pre-action reconnaissance and purchasing supplies, though prosecutors do not allege any of the eight entered the factory during the action. In a recent development, defendant William Plastow, 35, was acquitted of violent disorder by presiding judge Patrick Field, who ruled the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to support the charge; Plastow still faces separate criminal damage charges. After an eight-week trial and 37 hours of deliberations at London’s Old Bailey court last week, jurors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts for the remaining seven defendants, who are now expected to face a retrial.

  • LIV Golf to lay off majority of staff

    LIV Golf to lay off majority of staff

    The breakaway professional golf circuit LIV Golf is set to implement sweeping layoffs affecting most of its employees starting next week, a company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The drastic restructuring move comes as the tour enters a period of deep uncertainty following the sudden termination of massive backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the deep-pocketed backer that poured an estimated $5 billion into the league over multiple years to poach top-tier talent from the established PGA Tour.

    PIF’s funding commitment wrapped up immediately after LIV wrapped its 2024 regular season at the Indianapolis season finale last weekend. In an official statement, the LIV spokesperson outlined that the organization is scaling back its current operations as it transitions toward a planned rebranded “LIV 2.0” iteration set to launch under new ownership next season.

    “The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion. As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality,” the spokesperson said. “This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September. We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition.”

    LIV’s leadership says it has already secured a preliminary agreement with an unnamed prospective lead investor, and has offered top players substantial equity stakes in the reorganized league to incentivize them to stay. The circuit is also actively seeking additional minority investors, targeting a finalized restructuring deal by the end of October. A source familiar with the internal plans told Agence France-Presse that only a small core team will be retained through the transition period, and the organization hopes to rehire many laid-off employees if the new investment deal is successfully completed.

    Despite these tentative plans, the very survival of the reimagined tour hinges entirely on one critical factor: whether LIV can convince its biggest drawing card players to remain on the roster. Currently, the league’s lineup includes major champions and fan favorites such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Sergio Garcia, none of whom have publicly confirmed they will stay with the circuit through the transition.

    Multiple industry reports have suggested several top LIV stars are in informal talks about a potential return to the PGA Tour, though PGA Tour officials confirmed this week that they currently have no formal pathway in place to allow LIV players to rejoin the established tour. Speaking at the Indianapolis season finale Sunday, DeChambeau struck an optimistic tone, saying he was “proud” of what LIV had built and that he held “great thoughts about what could happen next year.” Just one day later, however, the 2020 U.S. Open champion posted a cryptic message to Instagram: a photo gallery of his biggest LIV victories paired with the caption “It was a good run,” leaving fans and analysts speculating about his next move.

  • Mbappe hits treble as Real Madrid thrash Real Sociedad

    Mbappe hits treble as Real Madrid thrash Real Sociedad

    Just 30 minutes after the final whistle dropped at the Santiago Bernabeu, La Liga fans are still buzzing from a masterclass performance that delivered Jose Mourinho his first home victory since returning to Real Madrid’s dugout. The headline act on the night? French superstar Kylian Mbappe, who bagged a stunning hat-trick to anchor the Los Blancos to a dominant 4-1 thrashing of Copa del Rey holders Real Sociedad, extending their perfect start to the new campaign with two wins from two opening matches.

    Mourinho made a bold call ahead of kickoff, sticking with the exact starting XI that earned a dramatic late 2-1 away win over Espanyol in his first match in charge last weekend. The Portuguese veteran had previously acknowledged that getting his three global superstars — Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham — firing at full capacity at the same time would be a tricky challenge, but not an impossible one. Saturday’s fixture proved he is already moving in the right direction, as the star trio combined to tear apart the Basque visitors, with Bellingham notching two assists and Vinicius adding a fourth goal to wrap up the result.

    The opening 40 minutes of the match was a tightly contested end-to-end affair, with both sides creating clear-cut chances. Vinicius fired over the crossbar early on, while Real Sociedad keeper Alex Remiro made a sharp low save to deny Mbappe at his near post. At the opposite end, Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois pulled off a brilliant reflex stop to keep out Mikel Oyarzabal, and Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez sent a flying volley just inches wide of the far post.

    The breakthrough finally came five minutes before halftime, when Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde threaded a perfect through ball to Mbappe. The two-time defending La Liga top scorer took a clever first touch to shake off his marker before burying a blistering strike into the top corner, opening his goal account for the new campaign.

    Real Madrid could not hold onto their lead through to halftime, however. A misplaced turnover from Job Ochieng led to a blocked shot that fell kindly into the path of Luka Sucic, who fired home the equaliser via a deflection off Alvaro Carreras, sending the sides into the break level at 1-1.

    After the interval, Valverde revealed after the match that Madrid adjusted their pressing strategy, and the tweak immediately paid dividends. Early in the second half, Remiro pulled off another save to deny Mbappe after a clever pass from Arda Guler, but he could do nothing to stop the Frenchman’s second strike. A smooth build-up between Valverde and Bellingham ended with Bellingham playing Mbappe through on goal, and the former Paris Saint-Germain forward calmly slotted home to restore Madrid’s lead.

    Madrid’s third goal came from Vinicius, who had been relatively quiet for most of the match until that point, and it was Bellingham’s tenacity that created the chance. The English midfielder’s initial shot was blocked, but he fought to win back possession in the penalty area before squaring the ball for an unmarked Vinicius to tap into an empty net.

    Buoyed by his goal, Vinicius turned provider for Mbappe’s third just minutes later, playing a perfectly weighted through ball that put the striker one-on-one with Remiro. Mbappe lifted a delicate chip over the onrushing keeper that bounced into the net, capping his hat-trick with what many observers are already calling the goal of the match.

    In a small moment that carried bigger off-pitch significance, Vinicius was substituted with seven minutes left to play for new signing Yan Diomande, and he left the pitch all smiles while embracing Mourinho. That stands in stark contrast to last season, when the Brazilian forward openly showed anger after being substituted by former coach Xabi Alonso during a Clasico win over Barcelona in October. The 2024-25 season already looks different for Vinicius, who recently signed a contract extension with Real Madrid keeping him at the club until 2032.

    After the final whistle, Mourinho was full of praise for his side and for Mbappe in particular. “This guy is incredible,” he said of the French forward. “I see him really hungry to make history with Real Madrid, and I see a team where, despite Kylian being Kylian, it’s hard for me not to talk about the team.”

    The Portuguese coach added that he was happy with every aspect of his side’s performance, even the patchy first half. “I liked everything, and you might tell me the second half was good and the first half wasn’t, but I liked the team even when it wasn’t good,” he said. “I’m really happy that the players ended up content, winning at home, smiling, and tomorrow — training — because on Sunday comes Malaga.”

    Valverde echoed his coach’s praise for Mbappe, telling Real Madrid TV after the match: “It’s spectacular, incredible (to have Mbappe), we have to enjoy Mbappe and make the most of him as possible. We have to give him a thousand balls so he is comfortable, he can score goals, and he’s happy.”

    Looking ahead to the rest of the matchweek, Spanish champions Barcelona will host Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, with new high-profile signing Rodri expected to make his debut from the bench under new manager Hansi Flick.

  • At least one dead after car crashes into crowd in northern France

    At least one dead after car crashes into crowd in northern France

    A tragic vehicle collision has claimed one life and left 10 other people hurt after a car ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians near the main train station in the northern French city of Caen, regional law enforcement officials have confirmed.

    Local authorities told the British Broadcasting Corporation that a suspect has already been taken into police custody following a large-scale emergency response deployed across the Normandy region site moments after the incident occurred. According to initial on-the-ground reports, the crash unfolded close to a local bar, with regional media outlets indicating that a violent altercation broke out at the venue shortly before the car struck the crowd.

    Footage shared across social media platforms from the incident area shows large groups of onlookers gathering at the perimeter of a wide cordoned-off zone, where dozens of police cruisers and emergency ambulances have been positioned to respond to the event. A spokesperson for the Calvados regional administration, the department that administers Caen, confirmed to reporters that four of the injured people are currently receiving urgent care in the emergency department of a local hospital.

    The remaining six injured people are being treated for minor injuries that do not pose life-threatening risks, the spokesperson added. The probe into the exact circumstances of the collision is now being led by detectives from Caen’s Specialised Crime Division, who are working to piece together the sequence of events and determine whether the incident was intentional or accidental.

    Local residents and visitors have been formally advised to avoid the entire area surrounding the Caen train station while emergency and law enforcement operations remain ongoing. This is an active developing breaking news story, with more details surrounding the incident expected to be released as investigators uncover new information. Readers can access real-time updates by downloading the BBC News mobile app, or by following the official BBC Breaking account on X for the latest alerts.

  • Bunnings and Kmart sales grow as shoppers hunt for lower prices

    Bunnings and Kmart sales grow as shoppers hunt for lower prices

    Against the backdrop of a widespread cost-of-living squeeze hitting households across Australia, retail giant Wesfarmers has delivered an unexpectedly resilient full-year financial performance, with its two flagship discount-focused brands Bunnings and Kmart attracting growing numbers of budget-conscious shoppers. The Perth-based conglomerate, which operates across multiple retail and industrial segments, released its full-year earnings report on Thursday, revealing a net profit of $2.87 billion — a marginal 1.8% decline from the prior financial year.
    Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott attributed the company’s solid performance to its deliberate long-term strategy of prioritizing everyday low prices, a positioning that has resonated strongly with consumers navigating rising inflation and stagnant wage growth. “Bunnings and Kmart Group’s everyday low prices continued to drive sales and earnings growth,” Scott stated in the company’s official release. “Disciplined execution of strategies helped offset broad-based cost pressures and delivered operating leverage across both businesses.”
    Heading into future trading periods, Scott confirmed that price competitiveness will remain a core strategic pillar, as the company acknowledges that persistent inflation continues to stretch household and business budgets across the country. “While Australian consumer demand remains resilient, cost-of-living pressures continue to affect many households across the economy,” he added. “Uncertainty regarding the outlook for inflation, house prices, interest rates and tax settings are affecting consumer sentiment, while higher costs of doing business are weighing on business confidence and spending.”
    Breaking down segment performance, Bunnings, Wesfarmers’ home improvement and outdoor living retail chain, once again carried the bulk of the group’s earnings growth, posting a 5.1% rise in earnings to reach $2.455 billion for the 12 months ending June 30. Discount department store chain Kmart Group matched that momentum, with earnings climbing 6% to hit $1.11 billion, while total sales for the brand rose 2.8% to $11.7 billion.
    The strong results from Bunnings and Kmart were partially offset by a sharp downturn at office supplies retailer Officeworks, where earnings fell 22.2% to just $165 million, reflecting softer business and consumer demand for office goods post-pandemic. Across the entire Wesfarmers group, total annual revenue rose 3.4% year-on-year to $47.27 billion. Excluding one-off significant items, earnings before interest and tax increased by 7.3% to $4.49 billion.
    In a positive signal to shareholders, the company confirmed it will issue a fully franked final dividend of $1.20 per share, payable to investors on October 7.

  • AFL 2026: Western Bulldogs coach addresses Tim English’s selection, future at the club

    AFL 2026: Western Bulldogs coach addresses Tim English’s selection, future at the club

    As the AFL finals race reaches a fever pitch, the Western Bulldogs have delivered a major boost to their premiership hopes, confirming star big men Aaron Naughton and Tim English are on track to take the field against Collingwood in Friday night’s do-or-die blockbuster clash. The announcement comes amid swirling off-season speculation linking English to an interstate move, but Bulldogs head coach Luke Beveridge has moved to ease fan fears, insisting the club is confident the ruckman will see out his contract and remain at the Whitten Oval beyond this campaign.

    English has been sidelined since sustaining a knee injury in round 22 of the regular season, while Naughton was forced to cut short his round 24 outing against Melbourne after an existing ankle injury flared up. Both stars completed a full training session this week, and Beveridge confirmed their fitness has progressed far better than expected ahead of the high-stakes encounter.

    The coach noted that the club will carefully manage English’s game time to avoid aggravating his still-healing knee, but the outfit is targeting 70 percent game time for the key ruckman. “They both got through training yesterday, and all signs point to them being available to play,” Beveridge told reporters ahead of the clash. “We’re already short on tall personnel down the spine, so losing either of these two would have forced us to get creative with our line-up, like we had to do last week. Ryan Gardner stepped up really well in that fill-in role, even with limited minutes, and that was a great outcome for the whole group.”

    Beveridge added that Collingwood’s relatively undersized forward line and midfield eases some of the immediate pressure on the Bulldogs’ ruck division, even with English coming off a layoff. “Collingwood aren’t a side stacked with elite height across the park, so that takes some of the sting out of any potential disadvantage,” he said. “That said, the ruck contest is always a critical battle every week. Tim has had a few weeks off to recover, so there’s no question he’ll be a little underdone coming into this game. We’ll work through his minutes step by step, but right now it looks like he’ll get through, and we’re hoping he can spend at least 70 percent of the match on the field.”

    Beyond the immediate on-field preparation, Beveridge addressed rampant off-season speculation that English could request a trade to GWS at the end of the 2024 season, following his partner Rudi Ellis’s recent signing with Sydney-based Super Netball club the NSW Swifts. The coach pushed back on the rumours, saying the club has not received any internal indication that English wants to leave.

    “We’re pretty secure in the fact that Tim will be here next year, and for a fair bit longer beyond that,” Beveridge said. “We haven’t seen or heard anything internally that gives any of this speculation any credence. I fully expect him to see out his current contract. He hasn’t given any hint that he’s unhappy here, and he’s been an incredible servant of this club for a long time.”

    Beveridge added that he has no interest in entertaining hypotheticals about player movement during the finals campaign, with the club’s full focus fixed on this week’s cutthroat clash. “It’s probably not a time to be dealing in hypotheticals, and I’d rather not speculate on what might happen after the season,” he said. “All this silly season talk is not something we want to get wrapped up in right now. We’ll deal with those questions when we have to, but right now every bit of our energy is going towards preparing for this game.”

  • Dozens of US and Canadian citizens missing after flash flooding in Nepal

    Dozens of US and Canadian citizens missing after flash flooding in Nepal

    A devastating natural disaster has unfolded along the Nepal-Tibet border, where catastrophic flash floods and massive mudslides have left more than 150 people dead and hundreds more unaccounted for, including dozens of citizens from the United States and Canada, according to official Nepali authorities.

    Aerial footage of the disaster zone captured sweeping views of submerged communities and destroyed infrastructure, illustrating the full scale of the destruction that struck the region on Wednesday. Official data from Nepal police confirms that over 500 tourists are currently missing, 466 of whom are foreign nationals hailing from 28 different countries. Among the missing are 54 citizens of the United States and 24 citizens of Canada, alongside dozens of people from India, the United Kingdom, and more than 100 Nepali nationals.

    The U.S. State Department has confirmed that it is aware American citizens have been impacted by the disaster, but has declined to release specific figures or additional details due to privacy protections for affected individuals. A spokesperson for the department added that the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu is working in close coordination with local tour operators and Nepali authorities to provide support to any affected U.S. citizens. In a public statement shared on social media, the U.S. Embassy expressed its grief over the tragic loss of life. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and devastation caused by the Bhote Koshi flood that struck Rasuwa district and communities downstream,” the statement read. “We extend our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, and our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster.”

    Canadian officials have also stepped in to monitor the rapidly evolving situation. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed via social media platform X that the Canadian government is tracking developments closely. “As rescue efforts continue, Canada stands ready to provide support,” Carney wrote, urging all Canadian citizens currently in the region to register for the Registration of Canadians Abroad, a free emergency service that allows the federal government to reach and assist citizens during crises overseas. Global Affairs Canada noted that 820 Canadian citizens are currently registered as present in Nepal, with another five registered in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, though the department emphasized these figures are only estimates, as registration is voluntary and may include individuals who have altered their travel plans. The department confirmed it is aware that Canadian citizens have been affected by the floods and stands by ready to provide consular assistance.

    On the Chinese side of the border, state media reports confirm three people have been killed and another 265 are missing after the floodwaters hit a border crossing crossing. Footage broadcast by Tibetan CCTV captured a massive surge of water and mud crashing into border infrastructure and nearby buildings.

    Initial reports after the disaster suggested a small earthquake may have triggered an ice avalanche that preceded the landslides and floods. However, new analysis from the U.S. Geological Survey has disproven this early hypothesis. The organization confirmed that further examination of seismic data shows the recorded seismic activity was actually generated by the landslide itself, not the other way around.

    Scientists note that landslides and avalanches in high-altitude Himalayan regions can have multiple triggers. One leading hypothesis is that increased water content—whether from heavy seasonal rainfall or accelerated glacial melt—destabilized the mountain slope and ice pack. While climate change is widely documented to be accelerating glacial melt across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, researchers say it is too early to draw a direct link between this specific disaster and long-term climate shifts.

    The disaster caused widespread damage to critical infrastructure across the affected region. Initial estimates from Nepali government officials put the total cost of destroyed and damaged roads and bridges at more than 15 billion Nepalese rupees, equal to approximately £72.18 million or $98.33 million. Entire small communities were swept away by the fast-moving flash flood, leaving rescue teams working to reach cut-off areas and locate survivors.

    Nepali President Ram Chandra Paudel has issued a public call to action, urging government agencies, political parties, civil society organizations, security forces, and the general public to scale up rescue and relief operations. “I urge everyone to remain vigilant and actively engage in necessary coordination and cooperation in the lower coastal areas,” President Paudel said.

  • ‘If you started running, they shot you’ – inside Nigeria’s growing kidnapping crisis

    ‘If you started running, they shot you’ – inside Nigeria’s growing kidnapping crisis

    Deep in north-western Nigeria’s Zamfara state, 55-year-old Fatima sits in a dusty makeshift displacement camp, her voice breaking as she recounts the pre-dawn attack that stole her entire family. In the early hours of a June morning, dozens of motorcycle-borne bandits swept into her small village of Bia Buki, splitting into three units to trap every resident before opening fire. “If you hid in a room, they burned it down. If you ran, they shot you dead,” she told BBC World Service in a harrowing firsthand account. By the end of the coordinated raid, an estimated 70 villagers—including Fatima’s husband and six of his seven siblings—lay dead. Children fleeing the gunfire fell into hidden ditches and were left injured or abandoned, while surviving residents fled into the surrounding bush for shelter.

    Fatima is one of roughly 800,000 Nigerians displaced by unrelenting violence in the country’s north-west, according to United Nations estimates. While some attacks in the region are carried out by militant Islamist factions, the vast majority of violence is perpetrated by local criminal gangs widely known as bandits. These groups, whose members are mostly drawn from the traditionally pastoralist Fulani ethnic group, have abandoned livestock herding and cattle trading for far more lucrative criminal enterprises: kidnapping for ransom, extortion, theft, and targeted killings. Operating in large mobile convoys of up to hundreds of motorcycles, they launch lightning-fast raids, escape before under-resourced security forces can respond, and enforce their control by forcing local communities to pay crippling protection fees—barring farmers from accessing their own fields unless they hand over large cash sums.

    Official and independent conflict data confirms the crisis is worsening at an alarming rate. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled) recorded a 78% jump in bandit attacks across north-western Nigeria’s bandit heartlands in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2025. Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission reports that nationwide kidnappings have doubled over the same timeframe. “There is no region in northern Nigeria currently that does not experience one form of mass abduction or the other,” explains Malik Samuel, a security analyst at the non-profit research and advocacy group Good Governance Africa.

    What began as a localized crisis in the north-west and north-east has now spread across the country, touching regions once considered safe. For over a decade, the north-east has faced an insurgency led by Boko Haram, which first gained global notoriety for the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Chibok schoolgirls. Today, kidnapping of soft targets—including schools, churches, mosques, and remote rural communities—has become a widespread revenue stream for armed groups of all ideologies, and violence is pushing steadily southward.

    In May of this year, that spread became impossible to ignore when motorcycle-borne gunmen raided three schools in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria—a region long viewed as a stable, low-violence area. Thirty-nine children (the youngest just two years old) and seven teachers were abducted; one teacher was killed during the attack, and a second’s murder was filmed and shared widely on social media. After 56 days in captivity, the remaining 44 hostages were released; Nigerian authorities report they refused to pay ransom, and the hostages were freed following a security operation, with three perpetrators sentenced to life in prison after confessing to links with a Boko Haram affiliate. The attack left the community of Oriire reeling: hundreds of parents pulled their children out of school, dozens of families fled the area, and one attacked school remained shuttered for months. Oba Tajudeen Abioye, the area’s traditional ruler whose niece was abducted, says fear still grips the region. “For those of us who are left here, we are relying on the security officials, the soldiers” sent to protect the community, he says.

    The spread of violence comes as Nigeria’s security forces are already stretched thin by multiple overlapping crises: the long-running Islamist insurgency in the north-east, separatist unrest in the south-east, and recurring ethnic and resource-fueled clashes in central Nigeria, where competition over water and grazing land has fueled deadly intercommunal violence. A 2025 UN report found that most Nigerian police stations are chronically underfunded and understaffed, with officers widely reported to lack critical training in hostage negotiation and forensic investigation.

    In response to the growing crisis, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has increased Nigeria’s defence and security budget by 10% since December 2025, bringing it to the largest allocation in the country’s history, and has approved the recruitment of 28,000 new soldiers. To further augment overstretched regular forces, the government has turned to arming and training local community vigilante groups, particularly in violence-hit Zamfara. Thousands of local residents have joined these groups to fight back against bandit incursions.

    One anonymous vigilante, interviewed by the BBC in July, says he has fought bandits at least 20 times, and requests for his group’s intervention come in weekly. Armed with an AK-47 and operating from a small concrete headquarters, he says the government has tasked his group with rooting out bandits from local communities. “Let the bandits understand that when they attack a place and kill, they can also be killed,” he says. While he notes that some areas have become safer, violence remains rampant in others, and he has called on the state government to arm and recruit more volunteers, arguing that “these people won’t be afraid of you unless you have proper weapons to fight them.”

    But analysts warn that reliance on untrained, armed vigilantes carries long-term risks. Back in 2020, Zamfara state banned a large vigilante faction over evidence that extrajudicial killings carried out by the group were driving cycles of retaliatory violence. Authorities argue the new generation of vigilantes are better trained and regulated, but Samuel calls the policy a “time bomb waiting to happen.” “If citizens arm themselves how do you control them at the end of the crisis, how are you able to disarm them?” he asks.

    For displaced survivors like Fatima, who now lives in a makeshift camp in Gusau, Zamfara’s state capital, 16 miles from her destroyed village, the daily reality of survival is grim. She shares the overcrowded camp with more than 1,000 other displaced people, where there is no adequate shelter, food is chronically scarce, and humanitarian aid arrives only irregularly. Families send children out to collect firewood to sell for small amounts of cash to buy food—but 22 of these children have already been kidnapped by bandits while gathering wood, Fatima says. Many days, most women in the camp go without breakfast. “When we had peace, we had our own wealth, but now the tables have turned and we have become beggars,” Fatima says, breaking down in tears.

    Even 25 miles from her former home, the threat of violence never fully disappears. While army and vigilante patrols have reduced gunfire near the camp, the security situation remains tense, and military escorts are now standard for all traffic on the main road into Gusau. Fatima says she longs to return to her village, but holds little hope of that ever happening: her former home is now a de facto bandit base, where the local gang leader acts as the unofficial ruling authority, even resolving domestic disputes for families that remain. Nearby villages have been completely emptied, she says—“completely empty, not even a chicken lives there… empty villages like that are countless.” Even if she were able to return, there would be no way to rebuild: “you farm and when you go to harvest, they stop you or kidnap you.”

    Fatima stops short of accusing the government of failing her community, but echoes the vigilantes’ call for more action. “Even if it is trying, it needs to do more,” she says. “There are problems and we think with more effort and more security agents, villages will be peaceful.”

    Nigeria already holds one of the world’s highest out-of-school child populations, with UNESCO estimating 19 million children currently out of school, a crisis deepened by the targeting of schools for abductions. As violence spreads and insecurity grows across all regions of the country, the human cost continues to mount, with hundreds of thousands of displaced residents left waiting for more robust action to restore safety.