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  • Trump says ‘not a big fan’ of Pope Leo after his anti-war message

    Trump says ‘not a big fan’ of Pope Leo after his anti-war message

    A public rift between U.S. President Donald Trump and the newly seated Pope Leo XIV has burst into the open, after Trump publicly declared he is “not a big fan” of the Catholic leader over the pontiff’s repeated anti-war messaging and stance on Iran’s nuclear program. The sharp rebuke comes amid already simmering disagreements between the Holy See and the Trump administration on a range of policy issues, despite both sides moving quickly to dismiss earlier reports of a hostile behind-the-scenes confrontation.

    Trump made his critical remarks to reporters during a press gaggle at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews on Sunday. The president framed the pope as an overly progressive figure whose policy priorities do not align with global security needs, saying, “He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime.” He went further to accuse Pope Leo of softening his stance on nations pursuing nuclear capabilities, claiming the pontiff was “toeing with a country that wants a nuclear weapon.”

    Shortly after his in-person comments, Trump doubled down on the criticism in a post to his social media platform Truth Social, writing, “I don’t want a Pope who think it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

    The clash follows a series of public disagreements that stretch back weeks. The 70-year-old American pontiff, who made history as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church, used a public address to thousands of worshippers at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday to deliver a ringing plea for global peace. In an unflinching rebuke of modern conflict and power politics, he told the crowd: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

    The confrontation escalated earlier that same week, after the Free Press published a report claiming that a top Pentagon official had delivered a “bitter dressing-down” to the Vatican’s envoy to the U.S., Cardinal Christophe Pierre, during a January meeting at the Pentagon. According to the report, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby told the cardinal that the United States “has the military power to do whatever it wants — and that the Church had better take its side.”

    Both U.S. and Vatican officials quickly moved to discredit the account. The Pentagon dismissed the report as “distorted,” while Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a formal statement saying “the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way.” Both sides have also maintained that the January meeting was cordial and productive.

    Even so, open disagreements between the Holy See and the White House have been on full display for months. The pope has publicly denounced the Trump administration’s hardline mass deportation policy as “inhuman,” and he has repeatedly criticized the administration’s willingness to use military force in global hotspots including the Middle East and Venezuela. Tensions flared most recently after Trump made what was widely labeled a genocidal threat against Iran earlier this month, telling the public “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Pope Leo swiftly condemned the comment as “truly unacceptable” and called on all parties to return to diplomatic negotiations.

    Earlier this month, the pope did welcome a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a “sign of real hope,” but high-stakes peace talks wrapped up abruptly in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday. After a marathon negotiating session, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters that Washington had put forward its “final and best offer” to Iran, leaving the future of diplomatic negotiations uncertain.

  • House prices in two major cities to surge by over $50,000 this year, say Canstar

    House prices in two major cities to surge by over $50,000 this year, say Canstar

    Australia’s long-held cultural ideal of homeownership is edging further out of grasp for millions of prospective buyers, as new property industry forecasts reveal stark divergent trends across the nation’s major urban markets this year. Alongside uneven price shifts, successive cash rate increases continue to squeeze how much would-be buyers can borrow, creating fresh risks for household financial stability.

    Financial comparison site Canstar projects that two of Australia’s fastest-growing capital cities, Perth and Brisbane, will outpace all other major markets in 2026, defying broader monetary tightening to deliver double-digit and near-double-digit price growth respectively. By the end of the calendar year, median house prices in the two cities are set to jump by more than AU$50,000 each: Perth will see a 12.3% rise, while Brisbane will record a 9.7% gain.

    These gains will push median house prices to new unaffordable thresholds for many. Perth’s current median will climb from AU$551,690 to AU$1.11 million, while Brisbane’s median will surge from AU$754,919 to AU$1.26 million, according to Canstar’s analysis. The growth in these two markets has been fueled in large part by investor interest, drawn to Perth’s historically lower relative prices compared to other capitals and increasingly tight rental conditions across both southeast Queensland and Western Australia.

    “Both of these markets are hurtling towards prices that are fast becoming unaffordable for people looking for four walls and a patch of grass,” said Sally Tindall, Canstar’s director of data insights.

    The picture looks very different in Australia’s two largest property markets, Sydney and Melbourne, where prices are projected to dip slightly over 2026. Sydney’s median house price is forecast to drop 0.6%, equal to a AU$2,139 decline, while Melbourne will see a steeper fall of AU$7,829. While even a small price drop might sound like promising news for aspiring first-home buyers, the reality of rising interest rates has erased any potential affordability gains.

    Major Australian banks including ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are already forecasting another cash rate hike in the coming month, adding to the two increases implemented in February and March this year. Westpac goes further, predicting three additional 0.25 percentage point rate hikes by the end of 2026.

    Canstar’s analysis calculates that these hikes have already dramatically cut borrowing capacity for average earners. A single full-time worker on the national average wage has already lost AU$25,000 in borrowing power after the February and March increases alone. If Westpac’s forecast of three more hikes comes to pass, that total cut to borrowing capacity will jump to AU$58,700.

    Beyond worsening affordability, Tindall warned that current market conditions create significant long-term risk for overstretched buyers. “The danger is, people will borrow to the limit, banking on prices continuing to climb. If circumstances change – whether that’s interest rates, job security or the economy – it could leave some households overexposed,” she said.

  • Lost film of French cinema pioneer retrieved from US attic

    Lost film of French cinema pioneer retrieved from US attic

    For a full century, a dented, well-worn wooden trunk passed from one generation of the McFarland family to the next, shuffled between attics, barns, and garages without anyone suspecting the cinematic treasure locked inside its walls. It took the curiosity of 76-year-old retired high school teacher Bill McFarland to finally unpack its secrets – a discovery that has rewritten a key chapter of early film history.

    McFarland had served as the trunk’s caretaker for 20 years, having inherited it from his great-grandfather William DeLyle Frisbee, a traveling silent film exhibitor who brought moving pictures to rural Pennsylvania audiences at the turn of the 20th century. “It was just this trunk of films that seemed too good to throw away. But I had no idea what they were or how to show them,” McFarland told Agence France-Presse in an interview.

    Early attempts to offload the collection hit a snag: after McFarland tried to sell the reels through a local antique shop, the owner quickly asked him to remove them over safety concerns. Nitrate film, the standard photographic material of early cinema, is highly flammable and prone to combustion if not stored properly. Undeterred, McFarland loaded the 10 fragile reels into his car last summer and drove from his Michigan home to the U.S. Library of Congress’ National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, where archivists made a stunning find:
    spliced between other reels was a 45-second 1897 silent short by French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès, *Gugusse and the Automaton* – a film thought lost to history for more than a century.

    Méliès, a former stage magician and theatrical showman, revolutionized the art of moving pictures just two years after the Lumière Brothers held the world’s first public film screening in Paris in 1895. He was among the first filmmakers to experiment with fictional storytelling and innovative special effects, and remains best known for his iconic 1902 work *A Trip to the Moon*, famous for its legendary scene of a rocket crashing into the Man in the Moon’s eye. After Méliès attended the Lumière Brothers’ landmark screening, he left inspired to create his own films, cementing his legacy as one of the founding fathers of modern cinema.

    By the 1910s, however, Méliès’ work fell out of public favor as the global film industry’s center of gravity shifted from Europe to the United States. He eventually closed his studio and spent his later years working as a toy seller at Paris’ Gare Montparnasse train station, a chapter of his life immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film *Hugo*. Despite his late-life professional decline, his contributions to cinema never faded. “He was one of the first filmmakers,” said George Willeman, head of the Library of Congress’ nitrate film vault. “And one of the first to experience film piracy.”

    Ironically, that widespread piracy of Méliès’ work has become a gift to modern film historians. The director reportedly destroyed hundreds of his own original negatives, melting their celluloid down to be repurposed into raw material for soldiers’ boots during World War I, leaving many of his works surviving only in bootleg copies. The recovered *Gugusse and the Automaton* reel is believed to be a third-generation pirate copy – a rare miracle of survival that brings a previously lost work back to public view.

    The recovered short follows Méliès himself, playing a stage magician who activates a growing automaton that strikes him over the head with a stick. The magician retaliates by smashing the automaton with a sledgehammer, causing it to shrink and disappear through a remarkably precise sequence of jump cuts. “These single frame cuts are really precise for a movie this old, and the gags are timeless,” said Jason Evans Groth, curator of the library’s moving image section.

    The discovery has also opened a new window into the life of McFarland’s great-grandfather Frisbee. A jack-of-all-trades born in 1860 in rural northwestern Pennsylvania, Frisbee grew potatoes, kept bees, produced maple syrup, and taught for three months out of the year. In his free time, he traveled by horse and buggy across Pennsylvania and neighboring states with his traveling “exhibition,” which featured an early Edison phonograph, a magic lantern projector, and eventually silent films. Frisbee’s well-worn pocket diaries chronicle his journeys, with one entry reading, “Gave the exhibition at Garland, $5 receipts, rough crowd” – leaving McFarland to wonder whether the rowdy audience was disappointed by the new technology or simply excited by the unprecedented experience.

    When McFarland arrived at the conservation center with the reels, archivists immediately rushed the highly flammable nitrate reels to a custom-built refrigerated vault, which already holds tens of thousands of films from Hollywood’s golden age, designed to prevent catastrophic nitrate fires. “It finally really registered that I had been…carrying a ticking time bomb,” McFarland joked.

    Preservation specialists spent a full week restoring the film one frame at a time and digitizing it for long-term preservation. Though the reel had shrunk and frayed after decades of storage in temperature-fluctuating attics, it remained in surprisingly good condition. Today, the recovered film is available to view on the Library of Congress’ website, preserving a key piece of early cinema history for future generations of researchers and film fans.

  • ‘Toughest decision of my life’: Cooper Bai explains massive Storm decision and the huge PNG interest that’s about to come

    ‘Toughest decision of my life’: Cooper Bai explains massive Storm decision and the huge PNG interest that’s about to come

    Nineteen-year-old rugby league prodigy Cooper Bai has opened up about the agonizing choice that saw him walk away from a pre-agreed move to the Melbourne Storm to re-sign with the Gold Coast Titans, a decision that already appears vindicated after his standout performance in Sunday’s dominant 50-point win over the Parramatta Eels.

    Still only seven games into his senior NRL career, Bai already displays the physical tools and mental maturity of a veteran front-rower, and has emerged as one of the Titans’ most critical long-term building blocks under new head coach Josh Hannay. The teen talent confirms that backing out of his earlier agreement to join Melbourne was the hardest call he has ever had to make, one that pitted his childhood home against a storied franchise with deep family connections.

    Bai’s father Marcus is a club legend of the Storm from their early championship-winning years, and top club figures including legendary head coach Craig Bellamy and football director Frank Ponissi held extensive talks with the young forward to convince him to make the move south to Victoria. “Those conversations were really helpful to get a different perspective on how other clubs operate,” Bai explained. “But at the end of the day, this is where I’ve grown up my whole life, this is all I’ve ever known. I had to make the choice that felt right for me, and that was staying here with the new coaching group that’s building something new.”

    While Bellamy’s decades of sustained success at Storm made the opportunity to learn from one of the game’s greatest coaches incredibly tempting, Bai says Hannay’s fresh approach and personal mentorship have been transformative for his early career. Under Hannay’s leadership, the Titans have overhauled their defensive structure and clicked into attacking form, notching only the second 50-point game in franchise history against the Eels.

    “Hannay has honestly been a game-changer for me,” Bai said. “He’s drilled me on the core basics of my position, helped me get my mindset right for the physical grind of the NRL, and taught me to start strong from the first minute instead of playing catch-up. As a young middle forward, there’s a lot of external noise, but he’s helped me stay focused on my role and keep improving every week.”

    Sunday’s blowout win has already validated the call for Bai and captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, both of whom committed long-term to the rebuilding Titans. “It silences a lot of that off-field noise,” Bai said. “We got to show our home fans what this new Titans brand is all about. We’re not just here to play flashy footy – we’re putting in the hard work to change the culture around this club. I never doubted that staying was the right call. I loved training every day with this group, and I didn’t want to look back and wonder what if I left. I’m young, there will be more choices down the line, but right now this is where I want to be.”

    Looking ahead, the newly approved 2028 entry of Papua New Guinea’s NRL franchise – widely nicknamed the PNG Chiefs – is set to trigger intense pursuit of Bai, who already has two Test caps for PNG and earned hero status among local fans when he featured off the bench in last year’s Prime Minister’s XIII match. Bai says he has no plans to think about future moves for now, but made clear he holds the PNG rugby league community close to his heart.

    “The love and support I get from everyone in PNG is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” Bai said with a smile. “It’s such an honor to play for them there. Right now, though, I’m just focused on my time here with the Titans. If opportunities come up later, they come up, but my focus is here right now.”

  • Liverpool seek ‘special’ Anfield night to salvage troubled season

    Liverpool seek ‘special’ Anfield night to salvage troubled season

    Liverpool Football Club enters one of the most pivotal nights in its recent history this Tuesday, tasked with a seemingly insurmountable mission to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals – a result that could not only rescue a deeply underwhelming season but also decide the future of manager Arne Slot.

    Just 12 months after lifting the Premier League title, the Reds have endured a turbulent 2024-25 campaign. Currently sitting fifth in the top-flight table, the club was eliminated early from both the FA Cup and EFL Cup, leaving the continent’s premier club competition as their only remaining path to silverware this term. Their challenge became far steeper after a dominant PSG side outclassed them in the French capital two weeks ago, but wasteful finishing from the Parisians kept Liverpool in the tie, setting the stage for a potential iconic night at Anfield.

    As one of European football’s most successful clubs with six Champions League crowns to their name, Liverpool has a storied history of pulling off miraculous come-from-behind wins on their home ground. The most famous of these recent examples came in 2019, when current captain Virgil van Dijk was part of the side that erased a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Lionel Messi’s Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield, a result that propelled the club to its sixth European title under then-manager Jurgen Klopp.

    That legendary night stands as the high water mark of Klopp’s trophy-laden reign, which included three Champions League finals in five seasons. But for the core group of players who featured in that iconic run, Tuesday’s clash could be their final Champions League chapter at Anfield bar a stunning turnaround. Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have already confirmed they will depart the club at the end of the season, while Van Dijk and Alisson Becker face an uncertain future, with no guarantee Liverpool will even qualify for next season’s tournament despite five English spots being on offer this cycle.

    For Slot, the pressure could not be higher. The Dutch manager is in the final stretch of his second season at the helm, and his position has been in serious doubt after a string of underwhelming results. Following a humiliating 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester City last month, Liverpool supporters chanted the name of Xabi Alonso, the club’s former midfield icon and the overwhelming favorite to take the job should Slot be sacked at the end of the campaign, who left his role at Real Madrid earlier this year.

    A much-needed 2-0 victory over Fulham at the weekend has given Slot and his squad a boost, snapping a three-game losing streak and extending their advantage over the sides chasing Champions League qualification spots in the Premier League. In the aftermath of that win, Slot issued a public rallying cry to Anfield supporters, urging them to recreate the iconic atmosphere that has lifted the club through past crises.

    “This was a massive win not only for the league but looking forward to Tuesday,” Slot told reporters. “Not only for the players but also for the fans. After a 4-0 loss and a 2-0 loss everybody could do with this win. One thing is clear is that on Tuesday we need our fans. There were fans in Paris but we had a very hard time. Anfield has shown many times that it can lift the team to another level and we need that again. Half an hour before the game the players need that support and need to feel it is going to be another special evening.”

    Van Dijk echoed that sentiment, drawing on his experience of the 2019 Barcelona comeback to inspire his teammates. “It’s down to us to be in the best shape possible to make a special evening on Tuesday,” the captain said. “We are at home and we have to show belief that we can do it. It needs a special performance but I’m lucky I have been part of special performances so I will try and bring that across for the team.”

    Even beyond the tie, a second humiliating defeat in as many weeks on home soil would deal a further blow to Slot’s standing with supporters. Another underperformance matching the debacles in Manchester and Paris could prove to be the final straw for the fanbase, putting even more pressure on the club’s hierarchy to make a change at the end of the season.

  • AFL 2026: Darcy Cameron on the age profile of Collingwood’s list

    AFL 2026: Darcy Cameron on the age profile of Collingwood’s list

    As the 2026 AFL season gets underway, Collingwood Magpies star and reigning best-and-fairest winner Darcy Cameron has pushed back hard against growing fan and analyst speculation that the club’s veteran-heavy playing list is the root cause of its underwhelming opening stretch.

    Through the first five rounds of the new campaign, the Pies have only secured two wins, dropping three consecutive matches to premiership contenders Adelaide, the Brisbane Lions, and Fremantle. This underperformance has reignited long-simmering questions about Collingwood’s list composition, with critics arguing the club overrelies on young star Nick Daicos and 400-game veteran Scott Pendlebury, warning that an ‘age cliff’ is imminent for the side that reached two preliminary finals and one grand final over the past four seasons.

    Cameron, however, has labelled these concerns nonsensical. He pointed to Collingwood’s sustained on-field success over the previous four years as evidence that the current group of players remains competitive, even with the advancing age of several key leaders. “I know those guys are getting a little bit older but they’re still performing at a really high level,” Cameron told reporters, doubling down that the narrative of an impending age-related collapse is unfounded.

    Instead of focusing on age, Cameron shifted the conversation to the Pies’ well-documented attacking struggles, particularly in the inside 50, which he identified as the far more pressing issue for the club to address. The Magpies controlled the inside 50 count in their recent loss to Fremantle, but failed to convert that territory into meaningful scoreboard damage. Outside of a win over GWS where coach Craig McRae adjusted the side’s attacking structure, Collingwood has only posted low totals of 78, 79, 65 and 39 points in its other four 2026 outings, leaving the forward line starved of quality scoring opportunities.

    Cameron said the root of the problem lies with the midfield’s ball movement, not the forward group’s ability to convert. The ruckman acknowledged that midfielders, including himself, too often fell into predictable attacking patterns against Fremantle, which flooded extra defenders behind the ball to clog the Collingwood forward 50. “We probably missed a few opportunities in the first half to lower our eyes and not be so predictable,” Cameron explained. “Freo flood a lot of numbers back and we probably played into their hands at times. We just need to create more opportunities to link up with our forwards. We will go back and look at the vision and fix this moving forward.”

  • Eight to be awarded for bravery in Bondi Junction stabbing

    Eight to be awarded for bravery in Bondi Junction stabbing

    Two years to the day after a horrific mass stabbing tore through Sydney’s busy Bondi Junction Westfield shopping center, eight people who risked their lives to protect complete strangers during the deadly attack will receive formal national recognition for their extraordinary courage. The 2024 tragedy left six innocent people dead and 10 others wounded, shocking communities across Australia and the globe.

    The attack was carried out by Joel Cauchi, a man who had first been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. On the day of the attack, Cauchi was unmedicated and experiencing a severe psychotic episode, and was homeless when he entered the crowded shopping mall armed with a knife. After the attacker wounded multiple people and lunged toward responding New South Wales Police Inspector Amy Scott, Scott made the split-second decision to shoot Cauchi dead, ending the rampage and preventing further loss of life. Scott is one of the recipients of the prestigious Australian Bravery Decorations, set to receive a Bravery Medal for her actions that day.

    Several awards will be bestowed posthumously to victims who gave their lives to protect others. Ashlee Good, a 38-year-old mother, was stabbed from behind by Cauchi as she pushed her infant daughter in a stroller. When the attacker turned to her child, Good shoved him away, sustaining a second fatal stab wound, but successfully got her baby to safety before she died. Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old security guard working his very first shift at the shopping center, also suffered a fatal stab wound to the stomach when he and colleague Muhammad Taha responded to a “code black” alert and confronted Cauchi. Both Tahir and Taha will receive Bravery Medals; Taha survived his injuries and called the honor a meaningful tribute to everyone who stood against the attacker that day.

    Two French tourists, Silas Despréaux and Damien Guerot, also stepped up to intervene, arming themselves with heavy metal bollards to block Cauchi’s path, and they will also receive bravery honors. Two other Australians round out the list of honorees: Noel McLaughlin, the husband of victim Jade Young, who rushed to the scene after a call from his daughter and shouted warnings to others to retreat before administering first aid to his fatally wounded wife, and Catherine Ann Molihan, an experienced nurse who left her safe hiding place in a retail store to stabilize the wounded security guards as they waited for emergency services.
    In a statement announcing the honors, Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn highlighted the extraordinary selflessness of all eight recipients. Hailing from across Australia and around the world, each person prioritized the safety of strangers over their own in an unimaginably violent situation. “Every one of them showed strength, and profound courage, as they placed the safety of others above their own, demonstrating ultimate care for others,” Mostyn said.

    In the wake of the attack, a coronial investigation into the tragedy uncovered systemic gaps in mental health care. The coroner referred Cauchi’s long-time psychiatrist to state health regulators, raising concerns that the provider missed critical opportunities to restore the attacker’s antipsychotic medication after he was weaned off the treatment. The inquiry also produced 23 formal recommendations, calling on the New South Wales government to expand community mental health outreach services and fund emergency short-term housing for vulnerable people living with mental illness, many of whom face unstable housing like Cauchi did at the time of the attack.

  • Uber driven by fuel crisis to fresh price hike

    Uber driven by fuel crisis to fresh price hike

    Australian riders using Uber will soon face another increase to their ride costs, as the rideshare giant has rolled out a new temporary fuel surcharge to support drivers grappling with unprecedented global fuel price spikes.

    This new charge comes less than four weeks after a routine fare review already pushed average Uber prices up by 6% across the country. Designed as a targeted short-term intervention to offset drivers’ growing fuel-related expenses, the new 5 cent per kilometer surcharge will go into effect this Wednesday, stacked on top of the March fare increase.

    Industry union leaders have thrown their support behind the measure, noting that it is structured to deliver direct financial relief to drivers who bear the full cost of fuel for their work. Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) national secretary Michael Kaine estimates that the extra revenue from the surcharge could add up to roughly $35 in extra savings for drivers every time they fill up their tanks. Kaine pointed out that rideshare operators face the same inflated fuel costs as all other transport workers, with drivers now paying $40 to $50 more per tank than just a few months ago, and the surcharge will go a long way toward easing their financial strain.

    The TWU has actively collaborated with major rideshare brands operating in Australia, including Uber and its main competitor Didi, to address the mounting pressure on drivers amid the ongoing fuel crisis. Didi was the first major player to roll out the exact same 5-cent per kilometer surcharge, a policy that the company says has been widely well-received by its driver base. Uber’s matching surcharge will launch this Wednesday, and will run as a temporary emergency measure through June 8 of this year.

    Kaine expressed confidence that Uber customers will be understanding of the extra cost, noting that Australian consumers are already well aware of skyrocketing fuel prices from their own household budgets. “Australians have grown accustomed to the reliable convenience that rideshare services provide, and they recognize the pressure that drivers are under to keep operating right now,” Kaine explained. “If paying a small extra amount means drivers can earn a fairer income while keeping that convenience available, I believe the vast majority of customers will accept this change.”

    Emma Foley, Managing Director of Uber Australia, confirmed that the surcharge was developed through close, productive collaboration between the company and the TWU. “We have worked hand-in-hand with the union to tackle the rising fuel costs that cut into our driver partners’ earnings,” Foley said. “This temporary fuel surcharge delivers immediate, short-term relief for drivers as we navigate this ongoing fuel crisis, and it builds on the national fare update we rolled out in March that already boosted driver earnings across the country. This move reaffirms our ongoing commitment to improving driver compensation.”

    For its part, Didi implemented its 5-cent per kilometer surcharge roughly a month ago, and has reported that the policy has been popular among its driver workforce. Following the positive reception of the initial surcharge, Didi has also moved to increase its minimum fare prices across several major Australian markets. “We will continue to monitor fuel prices and adjust our fare structures and surcharge policies as needed to ensure our driver community gets the support they need through this crisis,” a Didi spokesperson said.

  • AFL 2026: Carlton captain Patrick Cripps on the Blues’ floundering flag chances

    AFL 2026: Carlton captain Patrick Cripps on the Blues’ floundering flag chances

    Against a backdrop of early-season struggles that have left many questioning Carlton’s 2026 premiership hopes, captain Patrick Cripps is holding firm to his belief that the club is still on track to compete for Australian Football League’s ultimate prize, despite a disappointing 1-4 record through the first five rounds.

    The 31-year-old skipper, now competing in his 13th professional season, has not written off his chance to lift the club’s long-elusive premiership trophy this year. For Cripps, the slow start is far from a final verdict on what the evolving Blues squad can achieve in the coming months.

    With a high-stakes clash against longtime archrival Collingwood scheduled for Thursday night, Cripps argues it is far too early to count his side out of contention. A win against the Pies, he insists, could provide exactly the momentum shift Carlton needs to turn its season around.

    “Competing for a premiership is still what drives me. Any player in the back half of their career plays for that one goal above everything else,” Cripps told reporters ahead of the Collingwood game. “What I and a lot of us learned last season is that when you fixate too much on the end prize, you lose the joy of putting in the work week after week. That ultimate goal will always be there for as long as I keep playing, but I still love this game – I love training, I love competing against the best.”

    Cripps highlighted that while the early results have not gone Carlton’s way, the internal culture and training intensity at the club remain as strong as he has ever experienced in his tenure. “My focus lately has been on leading this group day in and day out. We’ve carried great energy through the first weeks of the season, and that’s one thing we’ve really nailed this year. The start has obviously been challenging, and we haven’t gotten the wins we wanted, but the energy around the club and the standard of our training is higher than I’ve ever felt it. Even when results aren’t going your way, I still love showing up to the club every day – that’s always the biggest test. It’s still early, there’s so much untapped potential in this group, and we can’t wait to get out there on Thursday and kick this campaign into gear.”

    Carlton turned in an improved performance against Adelaide last week, fixing the second-half slumps that had plagued earlier outings, but still walked away empty-handed without the four competition points. That result followed a controversial call from head coach Michael Voss to drop George Hewett, the club’s reigning best and fairest winner, a decision that sent shockwaves through the competition.

    Cripps acknowledged that the cutting of a popular, experienced teammate like Hewett serves as a wake-up call for every player in the Carlton squad. “It’s always tough losing George – he’s someone I love playing alongside, we’ve shared the field for four years now, every player at the club loves having him around, you always know what you’re going to get from him,” Cripps said. “But at the same time, when results aren’t going your way, you have to be willing to shake up the combination to get things back on track. The way George has handled this, showing up and putting in the work this week, that’s a credit to his character. He puts in more effort than anyone I’ve ever seen at this club, and I’m proud to call him a teammate.”

  • Lieutenant General Susan Coyle appointed first female Australian Chief of Army

    Lieutenant General Susan Coyle appointed first female Australian Chief of Army

    The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is undergoing one of its most high-profile leadership reshuffles in recent years, with a series of historic appointments announced just days after the service was thrown into turmoil by the arrest of Australia’s most decorated veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith. Amid growing global geopolitical friction including escalating conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government has confirmed a shake-up that will see the ADF welcome its first female Chief of Army and a new Chief of Defence.

    On Monday, Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, a decorated 40-year veteran with extensive operational experience across multiple global deployments, was officially named to the top army post. Coyle, who most recently served as Chief of Joint Capabilities starting in 2024, will step into the role vacated by Lieutenant General Simon Stuart AO, who has held the position since 2022. A graduate of both the United States Army War College and Harvard University and a Member of the Order of Australia, Coyle has completed deployments to Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, bringing deep on-the-ground experience to her new command.

    In a parallel senior promotion, outgoing Chief of Navy Mark Hammond AO will ascend to the role of Chief of Defence, taking over from Admiral David Johnston, whose two-year term is set to conclude in July. Upon his promotion, Hammond will be elevated to the rank of Admiral, while Rear-Admiral Matthew Buckley will step into Hammond’s current role as the new Chief of Navy.

    Speaking to reporters following the announcement, Hammond struck a humble note about his new appointment, acknowledging the weight of the responsibilities ahead. “This is probably the most humbling moment in my career,” he said. “I certainly look forward to serving with, and for Australia’s sailors, soldiers, and aviators as their Chief of Defense through the challenging times ahead.”

    Hammond also used the press briefing to address growing concerns over regional security following recent Iranian drone attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing back against any questions about the ADF’s operational readiness. “Today, that navy is as ready as it ever has been,” he stated, adding that Australian vessels deployed to the Red Sea are equipped with the world’s most advanced radars alongside cutting-edge missile and defensive systems. Responding to questions about a potential request for contribution related to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed blockade of the strait, Hammond noted that no formal request for Australian support had been received, and any deployment decision would rest solely with the Australian government.

    Defence Minister Richard Marles framed Coyle’s historic appointment as a landmark moment for the ADF, ahead of his much-anticipated national defence strategy update — a two-yearly policy review scheduled to be delivered to the National Press Club on Wednesday. Marles described Coyle as “the standout candidate” for the role, emphasizing that her elevation to Chief of Army carries profound meaning for both current and future servicewomen in the ADF. “It is deeply significant … for women who are thinking about serving in the Australian Defence Force in the future,” he said. The role of Chief of Army carries core responsibilities for overall command of the service, as well as oversight of training and operational readiness.

    The leadership overhaul comes at a sensitive juncture for the ADF, which is already navigating multiple pressures. In recent days, the government has faced intense scrutiny and pressure from veteran communities following the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, who is currently being held on remand on multiple war crime-related charges. Roberts-Smith has consistently maintained his innocence and has not entered any pleas in the case.

    On the strategic front, the Australian government has been actively reframing its national defence posture in recent years, with a growing focus on countering potential threats along the country’s northern border. Earlier this year, Canberra announced a large-scale sell-off of ageing defence assets as part of this reset, while the alliance has also faced repeated calls from Donald Trump for U.S. allies to dramatically increase their defence spending commitments.

    Prime Minister Albanese paid tribute to the departing leaders, Admiral Johnston and Lieutenant General Stuart, for their years of service to the nation. “There is indeed no higher calling than to serve in the Defence Force, and all Australians owe a debt to those who protect the Australian way of life,” he said.