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Italian commuters find a moment of peace on a cable-guided ferry sketched by Leonardo da Vinci

Nestled along the scenic Adda River in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, a one-of-a-kind vessel has reclaimed its historic purpose, offering local commuters and visitors a quiet, eco-friendly alternative to gridlocked roads after a nearby bridge shutdown for maintenance.

Known popularly as Leonardo’s Ferry, this cable-guided reaction ferry operates on a 500-year-old design first sketched by Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci in 1513, during his detailed studies of northern Italian waterways including Milan’s famous canal network. The original drawing is held in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, outside London, and while historians debate whether da Vinci personally invented the reaction ferry concept, his detailed rendering has cemented the vessel’s place in engineering and cultural history. Today, it is the last fully operational reaction ferry of its kind remaining on the entire Adda, which stretches from the Alpine foothills to join the Po River.

Unlike modern motorized ferries, the vessel relies entirely on the natural current of the Adda for propulsion, making it a zero-emission form of transport. Its ingenious operating principle relies on basic high school physics: a fixed cable tethers the ferry to both banks, and the force of the downstream river current is split per the parallelogram rule of force, with one component creating resistance along the cable and the other generating lateral movement that carries the craft across the water. The ferry’s rudder adjusts the vessel’s angle to the current, fine-tuning its speed and trajectory across the 5-minute crossing.

The historic ferry almost vanished permanently last year, when its long-time concession operator stepped down, leaving the service without a steward. Refusing to let the centuries-old community link disappear, Imbersago mayor Fabio Vergani took matters into his own hands: he earned a commercial ferryman’s license himself, then partnered with the local tourism association to recruit and train a team of local volunteers to run the service.

Through 2024, the volunteer team primarily catered to weekend tourists drawn to the ferry’s historic charm and riverside scenery. That changed this spring, when a nearby connecting bridge was closed for extensive repairs, sending road traffic into hours-long gridlock and forcing local residents to take a 20-kilometer detour to cross between Imbersago on one bank and Villa d’Adda on the other. Stepping up to fill the gap, the volunteer crew added a daily commuter service to their schedule, operating from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily with a two-hour midday break.

Fares are modest: 1.50 euros (around $1.75) for foot passengers, 2 euros ($2.30) for cyclists, 2.50 euros ($2.88) for motorbikes, and 3.50 euros (roughly $4) for cars. For local residents, the ferry has become more than a tourist attraction — it’s a vital, welcome shortcut that cuts hours off daily commutes.

Gianpaolo Graffagnino, who lives in Villa d’Adda and works on the opposite bank, now bikes to work and uses the ferry to avoid the detour. “Right now this is the fastest system, but above all the nicest because you get five minutes of peace,” he said of the quiet crossing. Another local commuter, Mauro Carnati, who drives his car across the ferry to take his daughter to school, says the small fare is worth the unique experience. “It’s true that we spend a little money, and it’s not possible every day, but the romance and added value of the Adda and the ferry are truly amazing. It makes for a better start to the day,” he noted.

For volunteer ferryman Massimo Zoia, the ferry’s new role as a modern community link is a perfect full-circle moment for the centuries-old design. “This is a means of transport that has been here for 500 years and has always connected the two banks of the Adda,” he said. “And now it has returned to its original purpose: connecting two populations living on different banks of a river.”

8 6 月, 2026
He told us we were slaves – The fight for justice on a Scottish fishing trawler

After nine years of relentless campaigning for accountability, a landmark Scottish modern slavery case has finally drawn to a pivotal guilty plea, exposing horrific abuse of migrant fishermen at the hands of a local trawler operation. For Ghanaian fisherman Joshua Amissah, the moment the court confirmed the admission of wrongdoing was overwhelming: he stepped away from the witness stand, retreated to a quiet corner of the silent courtroom, and crouched to compose himself, overwhelmed by the weight of nearly a decade of unaddressed trauma.

Amissah was one of five Ghanaian fishermen recruited to work on the *Sea Lady*, a scallop trawler owned and operated by Annan-based TN Trawlers, headed by Thomas Nicholson Sr. The vessel’s skipper was Nicholson’s son, Tom Nicholson Jr., who Amissah says openly viewed his Black crew as disposable labor. “He told us we were slaves,” Amissah told the jury at Hamilton Sheriff Court. “He said that his father had told him that any black person he worked with, he must treat that person as a slave.”

What the fishermen endured on the *Sea Lady* in 2017 matches the legal definition of modern slavery, the court has confirmed. Work demanded was non-stop, with no scheduled rest periods. Amissah and his crewmates were forced to create an underground, secret rotating schedule just to steal minutes of sleep between shifts. Food rations were so inadequate that crew members resorted to scavenging raw fish and octopus caught by the vessel’s dredges to avoid starvation. There was no formal onboarding, no safety training, and no opportunity to push back against the exploitative conditions. “As soon as we got there, he said we should just get to work,” Amissah recalled. “[Tom Jr] said there was no time and that we needed to go hunt for scallops. There was no rest during the trip.”

The ordeal only came to light after a life-threatening accident forced the vessel into port. In rough December 2017 weather in the English Channel, 55-year-old crew member Augustus Mensah fell and struck his head open on the hard deck. The only first aid supply on board was a single bandage. When the *Sea Lady* docked in Portsmouth for emergency medical care, police were alerted, launching what would become a years-long battle for justice.

After three days of witness testimony, the case took a sudden turn when Nicholson Jr. changed his plea to guilty on amended charges, admitting he failed to provide adequate food, rest, and mandatory safety training to his Ghanaian crew during their months-long 2017 voyage. The unexpected plea meant three other accusers—Kow Mensah, Gershon Norvivor, and Kojo Attah—never got the chance to deliver their testimony in court. Augustus Mensah, who waited nine years to share his account, said he was still relieved that justice finally moved forward. “It wasn’t easy for me, but I am very happy that at long last we got our justice,” he told reporters outside court.

The convictions are not the first for the Nicholson family or TN Trawlers. In 2022, Thomas Nicholson Sr. pled guilty to failing to provide adequate care for a Filipino crew member in a separate case stemming from a 2012 probe that identified 18 Filipino crew as modern slavery victims. He was fined £13,500 and ordered to pay £3,000 compensation to the injured worker.

This week, the elder Nicholson pled guilty to breaching a landmark Trafficking and Exploitation Risk Order (TERO), a court order designed to restrict the movement of vessels operated by those under trafficking investigation. He is the first person in Scottish legal history to breach one of these orders, which required him to disclose details of all non-European crew before moving any of his vessels. Nicholson moved his trawler *Olivia Jean* from the Netherlands to Scotland without submitting the required documentation to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; his defense claimed the breach was a “genuine mistake” with no foreign crew on board, but the court still fined him £2,700. He remains under active investigation for human trafficking.

The case, which originated from a three-year undercover investigation by BBC journalists, has sparked widespread criticism over systemic failures in the UK fishing industry and government oversight of public funding for abusive operators. Charity Open Seas director Phil Taylor revealed that TN Trawlers received more than £250,000 in public funding while human trafficking investigations were already ongoing, calling the fine against Nicholson Sr. “paltry.” “This is a really concerning case, and it’s hard to understand how this firm was provided with public funding,” Taylor said. “It shouldn’t be possible for ministers to hand out tens of thousands of pounds to a business under investigation for human trafficking. This case shows how important it is for government to scrutinise the work of firms it is supporting with public money, and to publish details of historical convictions and ongoing investigations on the UK fishing vessel register, to ensure those who break the rules are held accountable.”

Detective Chief Inspector Paul McNamara of Police Scotland said the case was the result of a years-long joint operation between multiple agencies, noting that TEROs play a critical role in stopping exploitation before more harm occurs. “They allow police to step in at an early stage to prevent harm and disrupt organisations while we investigate. Partnership working is essential as we share knowledge and skills to target those who make money by exploiting others. We want to make Scotland a hostile environment for organisations involved in slavery and exploitation, to protect potential victims and keep our communities safe,” McNamara said.

Industry advocates say the TN Trawlers case is not an isolated incident, but evidence of deep, systemic exploitation of migrant workers in the UK fishing sector. Chris Williams, fisheries section co-ordinator at the International Transport Workers Federation, called for sweeping regulatory reform to guarantee basic labor protections for migrant crew. “What we need is a solution that enables workers from the Philippines, Ghana, Sri Lanka and India to come into the UK fishing industry with employment rights, minimum wage protections, and their hours of work and rest being recorded,” Williams said. “We should not allow a ‘race to the bottom’ where workers can be exploited and abused. If we’re so desperate to have them to keep this food-producing sector working, we should be paying people fairly and treating them fairly.”

To date, the UK Home Office has recognized 35 former TN Trawlers workers as official victims of modern slavery, following investigative reporting by the BBC that first exposed the widespread abuse in 2024’s *Slavery At Sea* documentary. In October 2024, a separate group of Ghanaian fishermen rescued from another TN Trawlers vessel, the *Olivia Jean*, each received £20,000 in government compensation for their abuse. TN Trawlers has repeatedly denied all allegations of modern slavery and human trafficking, maintaining that all its workers have always been well-treated and fairly paid. Tom Nicholson Jr. will return to Hamilton Sheriff Court next month for sentencing.

8 6 月, 2026
Survivors share experiences and lessons from Congo’s 2018 Ebola outbreak

In the bustling eastern Congolese border city of Beni, where trade routes connect the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda and Rwanda, the word “Ebola” still triggers sharp, traumatic memories for local survivors like Vianney Kambale Kombi. Kombi lived through the 2018–2020 Ebola epidemic, the second-largest in recorded history that infected more than 3,400 people and claimed over 2,200 lives. While that outbreak was ultimately contained through the rollout of experimental vaccines, Kombi says community denial, deep-rooted skepticism, and violence against frontline health workers accelerated the virus’s deadly spread. Back then, many residents in his community blamed the outbreak on supernatural forces, he recalls.

“We thought it was witchcraft,” Kombi explained. “The community had not accepted that this disease existed and it had not accepted that we could recover from it.”

Now, as Beni faces a new, emerging Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, local residents and health workers fear the same damaging patterns of misinformation and distrust that fueled past tragedy could derail the response once again. Compounding these concerns is the absence of a widely approved, targeted vaccine for this specific strain of the virus. As of the latest update, 515 confirmed infections have been reported, with 91 people dead and only 12 confirmed recoveries.

Kombi, who survived the 2018 outbreak after contracting the virus, says misinformation took many forms during that crisis beyond the belief in witchcraft. Many residents dismissed Ebola as a Western conspiracy invented to draw international aid funding, while others framed it as a political tool amid national election campaigns. This widespread denial made life hard for survivors even after they recovered from the virus. “The community had not accepted that we could recover from this disease, that’s why reintegrating into the community at first was a bit difficult,” Kombi said.

Bienfait Wanzire, another 2018 Ebola survivor, echoed this account of community confusion. “When a pandemic hits here in Congo, we initially think it’s a political issue,” he said. “At first, we thought it was a spiritual illness. Then because there were election campaigns, we believed it was political.”

For frontline health workers, the legacy of that mistrust remains personal. Dr. Babah Mutuza Lusungu, a physician at Beni’s “Dieu Est Grand” Medical Center, lost his uncle and two colleagues to the 2018 outbreak, even as he worked tirelessly to convince local residents the virus was a real, treatable threat. “There was very strong resistance,” Lusungu recalled. “And so there was a climate of mistrust that took place between the population, the authorities, the partners too, right, and the health workers.”

Looking back at the failures of the 2018 response, Lusungu argues that local leaders made a critical mistake by excluding young people from public outreach and response efforts. He is now urging officials to partner directly with youth community leaders to spread accurate information about the new outbreak before the virus can gain further traction. “If we wait until they have so many declared cases to start making an effective response, we will have totally missed the target,” he warned.

Esperance Masinda, who worked for the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF in Beni during the 2018 outbreak, knows firsthand the dual toll of the virus and community stigma. She contracted Ebola while caring for her husband, a medical doctor who also caught the virus. Both survived, thanks in part to early access to experimental Ebola vaccines, but the treatment that saved their lives left them isolated from their own community.

“When we were in the community, we were told that you’re not going to make it even five years, you’re going to die with that medication that you took there,” Masinda recalled. Years later, however, that stigma has slowly faded. “And today, when they see us, these people no longer stigmatize us,” she said. “We are all humans, even though we have been victims of Ebola, all of us are humans.”

For Beni’s residents and public health experts, that hard-won lesson—of recognizing Ebola as a treatable, human disease rather than a curse or a plot—could make all the difference in containing the new outbreak before it repeats the scale of the 2018 crisis.

8 6 月, 2026
Simon Lara: Fake seizure guy gives odd interview after pleading guilty to public nuisance charges

A 44-year-old Melbourne man has made headlines after pleading guilty to three criminal charges linked to a pattern of bizarre public behavior, where he faked medical emergencies to trick strangers into restraining him. Simon Lara entered guilty pleas to two counts of public nuisance and one count of public indecent behaviour during a Tuesday morning hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court, with the charges stemming from three separate incidents across 2023.

Court documents and prosecutor accounts detail a consistent pattern of deception across all three events. The first incident unfolded just after 6 p.m. on March 13 outside a Carlton North venue on Rathdowne Street. Lara collapsed on the ground, and when two passersby stopped to offer assistance, he claimed to suffer from a chronic muscle spasm condition that required physical restraint to subside. The two good Samaritans followed his instructions, kneeling on his back as he writhed on the ground for two to three minutes, before Lara stated the spasms had passed and he departed the scene.

The second incident occurred in the late evening of June 3 outside Windsor Railway Station. A member of the public found Lara shaking on the ground, and Lara again asked the man to kneel on his back. When the passerby expressed discomfort with the request, Lara stood up unassisted, thanked him, and left the area. The man later reported the encounter to police after recognizing Lara in a viral Reddit post about the fake seizure scheme.

The third incident took place on Flemington Road in Parkville on August 4, when Lara asked another stranger to kneel on his buttocks. The man complied for roughly 30 seconds while asking bystanders to contact emergency services, before Lara stood up, shook the man’s hand, and walked away. Five days later, that same man recognized Lara in a 9News report about the so-called “Fake Seizure Guy” and alerted authorities.

Notably, these three incidents all occurred before Lara was sentenced in August 2023 for nearly identical offending linked to an incident at a local Melbourne beach earlier that year. For that prior conviction, Lara was ordered to serve a community corrections order that included mandated treatment for what the court described as his “complex needs.” Legal representatives confirmed Lara has two additional pending matters before the courts, but he has not been accused of any similar offending since October 2023.

Outside the courtroom following Tuesday’s hearing, Lara gave an unorthodox interview to assembled television cameras, spinning for the lens and openly stating that he has always dreamed of becoming a TV star. “Go right ahead put it on television. I’ve got nothing to hide, not all disabilities are visible,” he told reporters, pointing to a flower emblem stitched to his shirt. Lara also reaffirmed that his previous expressions of remorse for his actions were genuine, and claimed the public would not see any further issues from him moving forward.

Lara’s defense team has confirmed the defendant has significant documented vulnerabilities, including a diagnosis of autism, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, alongside a history of traumatic life experiences. His legal team has requested a lengthy adjournment of the current case to allow time for a psychologist to conduct a full assessment of Lara and prepare a formal psychiatric report for the court. The case will return before Magistrate William Parker for a further hearing in August.

8 6 月, 2026
Pope Leo will tap into the Sagrada Familia’s allure while honoring Catalonia’s holy mountain

On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV will embark on a landmark day of religious and cultural engagement during his seven-day trip to Spain, bringing together a millennium of Catholic heritage and modern global faith at two of Catalonia’s most iconic sites: the mountain-top medieval Benedictine monastery of Montserrat and Barcelona’s world-famous Sagrada Familia Basilica.

Nestled a short drive outside Barcelona atop a steep, rugged slope, Montserrat holds a deeply cherished place in the cultural and spiritual identity of Catalonia’s people. Each year, more than 2 million pilgrims and travelers journey to the 11th-century abbey complex, which also houses a 16th-century basilica and the revered Black Madonna statue. While historical analysis confirms the carving was originally white, centuries of exposure to candle smoke and incense darkened its surface before it was repainted black, cementing its status as a beloved symbol of faith for locals. For Catalans, Montserrat is far more than a religious site: it is a core pillar of regional culture, tied closely to efforts to preserve the Catalan language and centuries-old traditions. As Catalan theologian Francesc Torralba explained, many Catalans turn to the Black Madonna in times of hardship, calling the mountain a spiritual home for the region.

For global observers, however, the undisputed highlight of the Pope’s visit will be his evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia, held to mark 100 years since the death of the basilica’s visionary architect, Antoni Gaudí. During the trip, Pope Leo will deliver nearly all remarks in Spanish, with select addresses in Catalan, reflecting a careful balance of national and regional outreach.

Unlike most of Europe’s ancient cathedrals, the Sagrada Familia’s enduring global allure stems from its one-of-a-kind design and ongoing construction. Work first began on the site in 1882, during the papacy of Leo XIII — Pope Leo XIV’s namesake — and continues to this day, funded entirely by visitor entrance fees. Gaudí’s masterpiece blends natural imagery — from towering tree-like columns and carved birds to abundant fruit motifs — with narrative scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, creating a space that bridges 2,000 years of Christian history with modern and postmodern design sensibilities. As Ferran Sáez, a humanities professor at Barcelona’s University of Ramón Llull, notes, the building communicates complex theological ideas in an accessible way that resonates with believers and non-believers alike.

Today, the Sagrada Familia tops nearly every international traveler’s bucket list, with foreigners making up 90% of its annual visitor base — and more Americans visiting than Spanish nationals. Its recent completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ earned it the title of the world’s tallest church, drawing even more attention, and it has proven remarkably popular with adolescents and young adults, a stark contrast to the aging parishioner base of most traditional Spanish churches, at a time when the global Catholic Church is working to re-engage younger generations.

Pope Leo’s visit comes at a moment of profound religious shift in Spain, and particularly in Catalonia, one of the country’s most secular regions. Following Spain’s transition to democracy in the late 20th century, religious adherence has declined steadily: a 2024 state poll found just over half of Spaniards identify as Catholic, and only one in five of those are practicing believers. Unlike more religious regions of Spain such as Seville, Catalonia’s Catholic tradition is understated, focused on sacred sites rather than large public processions. In this context, the Pope’s dual visit to Montserrat and the Sagrada Familia represents a deliberate balancing act: upholding centuries of religious tradition in a rapidly secularizing society, while using the Sagrada Familia’s global profile to reach audiences far beyond Spain’s borders.

What many visitors and even locals do not know is that the two sites share a hidden historical connection. According to Mònica Santín, a tour guide, historian, and doctoral candidate researching Gaudí, the young architect got his early training working on a Montserrat chapel project for the original architect tapped to design the Sagrada Familia. When that architect’s neo-Gothic plan proved too costly to execute, the commission passed to Gaudí, who wove elements of Montserrat into his iconic design: the basilica’s distinctive soaring towers echo the jagged, spire-like rock formations of the Montserrat range, leading Santín to call the Sagrada Familia “a Montserrat in the middle of the city.”

For all its cultural and spiritual significance, the Sagrada Familia’s global fame has also created frictions. Many Barcelona residents blame the basilica’s popularity for worsening overtourism in the surrounding neighborhood: cruise ship day-trippers flood local streets, the area is dominated by chain fast-food outlets and souvenir shops, and tensions boiled over last year when water gun-wielding protesters targeting mass tourism were stopped by police before they could reach the basilica. Sagrada Familia rector Rev. Josep Turull acknowledges the inevitable friction between locals and tourists, but frames growing pains as an opportunity for improvement, noting the basilica works to ensure local parishioners still feel it is their spiritual home even as it welcomes millions of global visitors.

Basilica construction CEO Xavier Martínez projects that Pope Leo’s Mass will drive a similar surge in visits to the one that followed Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 consecration of the site, which boosted annual attendance from 3 million to nearly 5 million by 2025. While Santín secured a spot to see the Pope in person, she chose to join him at Montserrat rather than the Sagrada Familia, following in the footsteps of her grandmother, who made a barefoot pilgrimage to the mountain during the Spanish Civil War to pray for her husband’s safety. Even as she acknowledges the Sagrada Familia’s ability to move believers and non-believers alike, she joins many local residents in expressing concern that the Pope’s visit could push tourism levels to unsustainable heights for the Barcelona community.

8 6 月, 2026
Outdoor hospitals, cut-off communities as Philippine quake toll hits 41

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Mindanao, the southern major island of the Philippines, on June 8 has left 41 people dead, more than 450 injured, and thousands displaced, with disaster response efforts hampered by ongoing aftershock risks and widespread infrastructure damage, according to latest updates from national and local disaster management agencies.

The quake, which triggered immediate tsunami warnings across the Pacific region that forced thousands of coastal residents in the Philippines and neighboring Indonesia to evacuate to higher ground, was followed by a cascade of powerful aftershocks that began just two hours after the initial tremor, with hundreds of smaller seismic events continuing to rock the disaster zone in the days after the main shock. By midday the day after the quake, all tsunami warnings had been lifted, with the highest recorded waves reaching just 20 centimeters off Japan’s Pacific coast, well below dangerous thresholds.

Sarangani province, the hardest-hit region, faces particularly acute challenges: local government officials confirmed Tuesday that several remote communities remain completely cut off from outside aid, with damaged roads and a collapsed bridge expected to block access for at least a week. Some isolated areas can only be reached by helicopter, and repeated aftershocks have forced rescue teams to proceed with extreme caution to avoid being caught in further structural collapses.

“There are still aftershocks, so the rescuers are very cautious in their approach. That’s a challenge,” regional civil defence chief Rodrigo Sosmena told reporters during a Tuesday briefing.

The widespread damage to buildings has left medical facilities across the region unable to operate normally, forcing medical teams to treat patients in makeshift outdoor wards set up under the scorching tropical sun. At a hospital just outside General Santos, the region’s largest urban center, reporters with Agence France-Presse witnessed one young mother successfully give birth behind a temporary fabric screen, with medical staff guiding her through the delivery in the open air.

In Glan municipality, where 13 residents were killed after being buried by landslides that hit their residential areas, a local hospital administrator told AFP that all 60 of the facility’s patients had been moved to outdoor beds after structural inspections found severe damage to the building that rendered it unsafe for occupancy. “The hospital sustained a lot of damage,” the staff member said. “The municipal engineer decided we could not use the building.” As of Tuesday morning, only four people remained listed as missing across the entire disaster zone.

Recovery efforts have resumed in General Santos after pausing overnight, with search and rescue teams and specialized canine units working through the rubble of a collapsed local grocery store to reach two employees who were trapped when the building crumbled. A local rescuer told reporters the operation had shifted from active rescue to recovery, though a senior regional official later clarified that no formal decision on this shift had yet been made. The Philippine Coast Guard is also still searching for two swimmers who went missing off a local beach resort when the quake triggered violent churning of coastal waters.

Social media videos verified by AFP have captured the scale of the destruction: one clip shows the full collapse of a General Santos shopping center that housed a popular Jollibee fast food outlet, while another shows an empty school building crumpling to the ground. A third video, posted to a local school’s official Facebook page, captures young students screaming as they cling to their teachers during the violent shaking, with a flimsy metal structure visible toppling in the background before the clip cuts off. The school’s caption confirmed no one was injured when the structure fell.

This latest major seismic event comes just eight months after two powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitude 7.4 and 6.7, hit eastern Mindanao in October of the previous year, killing at least eight people.

8 6 月, 2026
Australia elects to field in 1st one-day cricket international against Bangladesh

The first 50-over one-day international between Australia and Bangladesh kicked off in Mirpur on Tuesday, marking the resumption of a bilateral ODI series between the two nations after 15 years. Australia won the pre-match coin toss and opted to take the field first, holding the hosts to bat in the opening fixture of a three-match ODI tour that will also include three T20 games.

The Australian side is led by wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis for the second consecutive tournament, stepping in for regular 50-over captain Mitchell Marsh, who remains sidelined as he recovers from an ankle injury sustained during this year’s Indian Premier League. Star batter Travis Head also opted out of the tour to take personal leave, forcing a reshuffled lineup for the visitors.

Australia’s most recent series, on spin-friendly wickets in Pakistan last week, ended in a 2-1 defeat, but conditions in Mirpur are set to be drastically different for this series. All three ODIs are being hosted at the Mirpur venue, which is expected to deliver pitches that heavily favor fast bowling over spin. To adapt to these local conditions, Australia’s squad features a pace-heavy bowling attack, including seamers Nathan Ellis and Xavier Bartlett, and seam-bowling all-rounder Cameron Green. The selectors also retained middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne in the starting XI, despite the batter delivering a series of under-par performances against Pakistan.

Bangladesh enters this opening match on a strong run of home form. The hosts have won their last four consecutive home ODI series, defeating Sri Lanka, the West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand thanks to their consistent strategy of preparing pace-friendly wickets. For the first ODI, Bangladesh named a three-man seam attack led by star quicks Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, alongside young talent Nahid Rana. The fixture also marks the long-awaited return of batter Mosaddek Hossain to ODI cricket, who takes the field for the first time in the format since 2022.

Full starting lineups for the opening match are as follows:
– Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, Tanvir Islam
– Australia: Matt Short, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

8 6 月, 2026
Pauline Hanson defends senator over eligibility question, attacks Fatima Payman

A fresh political firestorm has erupted in Australian federal politics over constitutional eligibility rules, after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson launched a fierce defense of one of her party’s senators and reignited a long-running public conflict with independent legislator Fatima Payman. The clash comes as senior figures from the opposition Coalition are demanding the eligibility question be formally escalated to either the parliamentary privileges committee or Australia’s High Court for a binding ruling.

The controversy centers on One Nation West Australian Senator Tyron Whitten, after reporting from *The Australian* newspaper raised red flags over his ongoing financial holdings. The outlet claimed Whitten, who co-founded construction firm Whittens Group with his brother, still retains shares in the company – a business that holds a contract for the major Snowy Hydro 2.0 infrastructure project. In recent days, Whitten updated his mandatory parliamentary register of interests, removing both Whittens Group and a second associated entity, Whittens Bros Investments Pty Limited, from his public disclosures.

These revelations have triggered fresh scrutiny under Section 44 of the Australian Constitution, a statute that bars sitting parliamentarians from holding any direct or indirect financial interest in Commonwealth government projects or public assets. Rejecting the Coalition’s calls to refer the matter to the High Court acting as the Court of Disputed Returns, Hanson launched a blistering attack on opposition lawmakers, labeling them “gutless wonders” and “pure hypocrites” for their stance.

Hanson pushed back firmly against the eligibility claims, arguing: “The fact is, there is no question over Senator Whitten’s eligibility. Snowy Hydro is a public company, not a government department.” Instead of addressing the Coalition’s demands, Hanson pivoted to renew her earlier questioning of Payman – a former Labor senator who now sits as an independent – dragging the years-old debate over Payman’s citizenship status back into the national spotlight.

Payman, who was born in Afghanistan, took steps to renounce her Afghan citizenship ahead of the 2022 Australian federal election. However, her request was never finalized by the Afghan embassy after the Taliban seized control of the country, a regime that Australia does not formally recognize. Section 44 of the constitution bars dual citizens from serving in federal parliament, except in cases where a candidate can prove they took all reasonable steps to renounce their additional citizenship.

In a social media statement published over the dispute, Hanson argued: “The most questionable senator in parliament, Fatima Payman, holds Afghan citizenship. It’s a case that still needs investigation and an answer. I tried to have her qualification to sit in parliament under section 44 of the constitution referred for an inquiry. The hypocrites in the Coalition joined with Labor and the Greens to kill that inquiry and make sure she was never investigated. If the Coalition didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any. I wish the Coalition would put as much effort into working together and fixing the country as they put into trying to take One Nation down.”

Section 44-related disputes are not a new feature of Australian politics. Between 2017 and 2018, 15 sitting federal politicians were forced to resign from their seats after being found to breach the dual citizenship provision of the rule, in many cases for holding secondary citizenship they had no prior knowledge of. All affected lawmakers were required to contest their seats in subsequent by-elections to regain their positions.

8 6 月, 2026
Apple ‘inspired’ by Australian social media ban, CEO Tim Cook says

In a development that marks a significant shift for one of the world’s largest technology companies, Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the firm’s upcoming suite of child-focused digital safety features was directly inspired by Australia’s groundbreaking ban on social media use for users under 16 years old. The revelation came during a personal phone call between Cook and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, just months after the national policy sparked fierce pushback and concern across Silicon Valley’s tech ecosystem.

Cook shared with Albanese that the new set of parental management tools, which will roll out as part of Apple’s autumn software update this year, grew partially out of Australia’s regulatory lead. The features are designed to give parents far greater control over their children’s device usage, including streamlined access to content filters, communication restrictions, and app access scheduling. Among the key updates are a simplified onboarding process that automatically installs a curated set of age-appropriate essential apps, a new “Ask to Browse” approval system for unapproved content, custom time allowances for app and device use, and a full redesign of Apple’s existing Screen Time activity tracking tool.

Following the call, Albanese released a public statement confirming the details of the conversation, noting that Cook also extended an invitation for the prime minister to visit Apple’s Cupertino, California headquarters on his next trip to the United States. Albanese said he has accepted the invitation to continue collaborative talks on child online safety, adding that he is proud of Australia’s role as a global trailblazer in protecting young people from the well-documented harms of unregulated social media use.

“Mr Cook told me these changes are in part inspired by Australia’s world-leading social media age ban, as well as the continued research Apple is undertaking into the impact of social media on kids,” Albanese said. “I welcome this announcement, and I am proud of the world leading work Australia is doing to fight for a safer online world for our children. I plan to take up that offer so we can keep learning how best to protect our kids.”

Australia’s under-16 social media ban was enacted after years of advocacy from the grassroots “Let Them Be Kids” campaign, and requires 10 major global social platforms — including industry leaders Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube — to bar users under 16 from creating and accessing accounts on their services. To date, the Australian government reports that more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been removed, deactivated, or restricted across participating platforms. Still, Albanese acknowledged that regulatory enforcement remains a work in progress: eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant recently told Senate estimates that no formal compliance action has yet been taken against platforms, as the watchdog continues to verify disenrollment data from companies.

Despite the ongoing implementation work, the policy has already spurred global ripple effects. A growing list of nations, including Malaysia, France, and Spain, have either pledged to introduce similar age-based bans or are currently advancing draft legislation to adopt comparable regulations. Albanese highlighted this global momentum in his remarks, emphasizing that Australian parents were the driving force behind the push for reform.

“We have a long way to go, however, we are now seeing a number of nations follow Australia’s lead and take forward their own social media age bans,” he said. “Australian parents led this effort, and we are proud to back them. Social media companies have a social responsibility, and we make no apology for holding them to account to help keep kids safe.”

Alongside the software updates, Apple has launched a dedicated public website to support parents as they adopt the new safety tools, offering step-by-step guidance and educational resources on setting age-appropriate digital boundaries. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of Health and Fitness, said the company’s approach to child digital safety centers on flexibility, recognizing that every family has different needs and every child develops at a different pace.

“Our work to help families create safer digital experiences is grounded in the belief that every child is unique,” Desai said. “That’s why we build simple and intuitive tools, based on expert guidance, to let parents tailor their kids’ digital journey. Today, we’re introducing major updates to help families thoughtfully establish age-based protections and develop healthy digital habits.”

8 6 月, 2026
20,000 people displaced by the Philippine earthquake that killed at least 37

On Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake — one of the most powerful seismic events to strike the Philippines in 50 years — hit off the coast of Mindanao, the nation’s second most populous island. As of Tuesday, official tallies confirm at least 37 people have been killed, nearly 500 injured, and more than 20,000 displaced by the disaster, with only four people still listed as missing.

By Tuesday, rescue teams had shifted to a methodical search of collapsed and severely damaged structures across southern affected provinces, working to locate any possible trapped survivors or unaccounted casualties. Rafaelito Alejandro, spokesperson for the Philippine Office of Civil Defense, emphasized that even structures that appear partially intact require full inspection to account for anyone who may have been caught in the collapse.

Most of the casualties are concentrated across four southern regions. In General Santos, a bustling coastal city of 700,000 known nationally as the Philippines’ tuna capital, at least 13 lives were lost to falling debris and building collapses. Sarangani province recorded 18 fatalities, the majority of which came from a single massive landslide that buried multiple homes in the mountain town of Glan. Additional deaths were reported in South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island.

Immediately after the quake, widespread tsunami fears prompted thousands of residents to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) recorded tsunami surges reaching up to 1.4 meters above average tide levels along Philippine coasts, but the only confirmed tsunami damage was the destruction of six stilt-built shanties in one small coastal village. Smaller after-surges were also documented as far away as Indonesia, Palau, and southern Japan.

Preliminary government damage assessments count roughly 2,000 private homes and 117 public government facilities damaged across affected provinces. General Santos’ international airport, a key regional transport hub, remains closed to all traffic except humanitarian missions, forcing the cancellation of 63 scheduled domestic flights. The quake struck on June 8, the first day of public classes across the Philippines following a two-month summer break, leaving many injured students who had gathered for mandatory morning flag-raising ceremonies. Roughly 6,000 public school buildings in impacted provinces now require full structural safety assessments before classes can resume, and authorities have warned that cracked, compromised structures face high risk of collapse during major aftershocks. “We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings,” Alejandro said.

PHIVOLCS director Teresito Bacolcol confirmed the quake originated from tectonic movement along the Cotabato Trench, an undersea fault system off Mindanao’s southern coast. The epicenter was located 33 kilometers below sea level, roughly 32 kilometers southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province. This week’s quake is the strongest to hit the Philippines since an 8.1-magnitude event also triggered by the Cotabato Trench in August 1976, which killed an estimated 8,000 people and generated catastrophic tsunami waves between 8 and 10 meters high that engulfed multiple coastal towns. PHIVOLCS had already been preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 disaster this August with the installation of public seismic hazard markers to encourage ongoing community preparedness, Bacolcol told the Associated Press. Another 7.8-magnitude quake in 1990 killed more than 1,000 people across northern Philippines.

In response to the disaster, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has dispatched senior national disaster mitigation officials from Manila to oversee on-the-ground operations. The government is currently distributing tens of thousands of food packs and emergency construction materials to displaced survivors, while conducting full assessments of damage to critical infrastructure including bridges and roads. International allies have already offered support: the United States, a long-time treaty ally of the Philippines, confirmed it is coordinating with Manila and prepared to deploy additional assistance if requested, while France, Japan, and New Zealand have also issued statements of solidarity and offers of support.

Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active arc of tectonic faults that circles the Pacific Ocean basin, the Philippines faces frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The archipelago also sees an average of 20 typhoons and tropical storms annually, making it one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth.

8 6 月, 2026