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  • Superb Spain worthy winners of World Cup dominated by superstar names

    Superb Spain worthy winners of World Cup dominated by superstar names

    The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first edition of men’s football’s flagship competition expanded to 48 participating nations, will be remembered as a tournament dominated by the sport’s biggest global superstars. Yet when the final whistle blew on Sunday’s title decider at MetLife Stadium, it was a disciplined, defensively ruthless Spanish side that lifted the trophy, capping off a campaign that delivered what many analysts agree is a fully deserved world championship.

    This expanded tournament delivered record offensive output, with an average of 2.96 goals per match – the highest goals per game average recorded at a World Cup since the 1970 edition in Mexico. Many of the sport’s highest-profile attacking talents lived up to their billing, with France’s Kylian Mbappe claiming the Golden Boot after netting 10 tournament goals, Argentina’s Lionel Messi finishing second with eight, and elite forwards including Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembele, and Harry Kane all ranking among the top scorers.

    But Spain’s path to glory was built not on free-scoring attacking flair, but on unprecedented defensive solidity. La Roja conceded just a single goal across their eight matches, with their only blemish coming in a quarter-final clash against Belgium. That stout backline was anchored by captain Rodri, who was named the tournament’s best player – an honor that went to the defensive anchor rather than the global attacking superstars who dominated pre-tournament headlines. The result echoes Spain’s 2010 World Cup triumph in South Africa, where a similarly water-tight defense carried the side to their first ever world title.

    In the final, Spain faced defending champions Argentina, who were aiming to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend a World Cup crown. Spain completely outclassed the defending champions, holding Messi and his teammates to zero shots on target throughout the entire 120 minutes of play. It took a 106th-minute strike from substitute Ferran Torres to break the deadlock and secure a 1-0 extra-time win, giving Spain their second World Cup title.

    The result continues a remarkable 20-year run of success for Spanish men’s international football. Since 2008, Spain has now claimed two World Cups, three European Championships, and one UEFA Nations League title, fully shaking off its historic reputation as underachievers on the global stage. The current side also boasts a bright long-term future: 19-year-old winger Lamine Yamal – one of the tournament’s most talked-about young talents despite struggling with fitness and only scoring one group-stage goal against Saudi Arabia – and fellow 19-year-old defender Pau Cubarsi are now among only 10 players in history to win a World Cup before their 20th birthday.

    Spain’s success also reflects the steady leadership of head coach Luis de la Fuente, who took over the role following Spain’s disappointing round-of-16 exit at the 2022 World Cup. The 65-year-veteran has guided the side to rapid, impressive results and holds a contract through Euro 2028, with many of his high-profile peer coaching counterparts falling short of expectations at the tournament: Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil, Thomas Tuchel’s England, Mauricio Pochettino’s United States, and Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany all exited earlier than predicted.

    “These players are exceptionally talented and it is an honour to accompany them,” De la Fuente said, crediting his squad for the historic win. Spanish full-back Marc Cucurella, who recently completed a high-profile transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid, summed up the side’s collective philosophy: “When you don’t concede I think it is much easier to win. We attack together and defend together, and that is one of the key things about this team.”

    Goalkeeper Unai Simon joked of his underworked gloves through the tournament: “If you could speak to all the gloves I have worn in this World Cup, I think they would tell you they didn’t have much work to do.”

    With the title secured, Spain now has the unique opportunity to defend their crown on home soil in 2030, a historic first for World Cup holders. Before that, the side will return to action in just two months for Nations League fixtures against England and Croatia, but for now, the squad can savor their place as the new rulers of world football.

  • Young woman killed in devastating Sunshine Coast unit fire

    Young woman killed in devastating Sunshine Coast unit fire

    A tragic residential blaze on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has claimed the life of a 21-year-old woman and a pet dog, leaving local emergency responders and community members shaken in the aftermath of the incident.

    Queensland emergency services were dispatched to a multi-unit property on King Street in the coastal suburb of Buderim at approximately 7:30 p.m. Sunday, after reports of a structure fire. When crews arrived, they found one residential unit fully engulfed in intense flames, prompting an immediate coordinated response to contain the blaze and evacuate nearby residents to prevent further harm.

    The 21-year-old victim, a resident of Kallangur who was inside the burning unit when the fire broke out, managed to escape the inferno before emergency crews arrived. She was rushed by ambulance to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital with life-threatening severe burn injuries, but police confirmed Monday that she succumbed to her wounds in hospital care.

    In addition to the fatalities, a second woman in her 30s was evaluated on-site by paramedics for minor impacts related to the blaze, and multiple neighboring residents were temporarily evacuated from their homes as a safety precaution while firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.

    As of Monday, investigations into the exact cause of the fire remain ongoing, with authorities confirming the probe is still in its very early stages. Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Robert Lowry told media outlets that investigators have locked down the site as a formal crime scene while they interview witnesses and collect evidence.

    “We have declared a crime scene. We’re speaking to people,” Lowry told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “They are assisting us with our inquiries and we will continue that process and we’ll probably know more at the end of the day.”

    Lowry added that the intensity of the scene was particularly distressing for all first responders who attended the call-out, and that formal support services have been made available to emergency staff, as well as to the family of the deceased woman.

    “The scene was quite confronting for all emergency services that attended and support is being provided,” he said. “I also feel for the family of the deceased lady and I understand the family is also receiving support.”

    Police have issued a public appeal for any witnesses or members of the public who were in the King Street area of Buderim around the time of the fire on Sunday evening to come forward with any information that could assist the ongoing investigation.

  • ‘Tom will not play’: Sea Eagles refuse to rule Tom Trbojevic out for the season after latest hamstring blow

    ‘Tom will not play’: Sea Eagles refuse to rule Tom Trbojevic out for the season after latest hamstring blow

    One of the National Rugby League’s biggest superstars is facing another spell on the sidelines, but his club has not ruled out a return to action before the end of the 2026 season. Manly Sea Eagles co-captain and star fullback Tom Trbojevic – affectionately known to fans as “Turbo” – was forced to exit the field midway through the first half of Sunday’s away clash against the Gold Coast Titans, sidelined by yet another hamstring injury.

    Scans completed after the match confirmed the injury is a low-grade strain to Trbojevic’s right hamstring, a far less severe diagnosis than many fans and club officials feared given the 31-year-old’s well-documented history of soft tissue injuries. This latest setback marks Trbojevic’s ninth recorded hamstring injury over the past eight seasons, with five of those injuries affecting his right hamstring and four impacting his left. Earlier this year, a left hamstring strain kept the star out of action for two months following a match against the North Queensland Cowboys, and he only made his return to first-grade football in Round 16.

    Following his latest injury, the Manly Sea Eagles released an official statement confirming Trbojevic will definitely miss the club’s upcoming Round 21 home match against the Cronulla Sharks at 4 Pines Park. His condition will not be re-evaluated until after the team’s Round 22 bye, giving the star fullback several additional weeks of rest and rehabilitation to recover from the strain. With current backup fullback Clayton Faulalo already sidelined with his own hamstring injury, reserve player Lehi Hopoate is widely expected to step into the starting fullback role for the coming matches while Trbojevic recovers.

    The timing of this injury could not be worse for the Sea Eagles, who currently sit in ninth place on the NRL premiership ladder and are clinging to narrow hopes of scraping into the top eight finals series. Manly has struggled for consistent form in recent weeks, and club insiders and rugby league analysts widely agree that the team’s finals ambitions are heavily dependent on having their marquee playmaker back fit and in form before the end of the regular season. Despite the worrying history of repeated hamstring issues, the Sea Eagles remain optimistic that Trbojevic’s latest minor strain will not end his 2026 campaign prematurely, leaving the door open for a return later in the season if his rehabilitation progresses as planned.

  • ‘Back to where it belongs’: Path is clear for the Dragons after club confirms Dean Young will coach the team next year

    ‘Back to where it belongs’: Path is clear for the Dragons after club confirms Dean Young will coach the team next year

    After a weeks-long structured selection process that followed a turbulent season for the club, the search for St George Illawarra Dragons’ next permanent full-time head coach has come to a close. The position has been awarded to Dean Young, a 2010 premiership-winning club legend, who will lead the team for the next two seasons.

    Young stepped into the interim head coach role earlier this year after the club dismissed former coach Shane Flanagan, following a disastrous start to the season that saw the Dragons lose their opening 11 consecutive matches. His first game at the helm was the annual Anzac Day clash against the Sydney Roosters, a contest that ended in a lopsided 62-16 defeat for the Red V — a result that stood as the lowest point of the club’s 2024 campaign.

    Despite the rough opening, on-field performance has shown marked improvement under Young’s interim leadership. Holding a 2-8 win-loss record in matches since his appointment, the side has come close to securing additional upset wins that would have flipped their seasonal record. While a late-season miracle that would lift the Dragons off the bottom of the ladder (and avoid the wooden spoon) remains extremely unlikely, observers and club leadership have highlighted clear encouraging signs: the team’s young forward pack has turned in standout, improving performances week over week, and the club is set to welcome a wave of high-profile recruited stars ahead of the 2025 season.

    Speaking after his appointment was confirmed, Young emphasized the honor and weight of leading the historic club. “Leading this great club is a privilege, but I understand that it also comes with responsibility and pressure,” he said. “I have experienced success and failure in this game, as both a player and a coach. Those experiences have given me the confidence to lead this club back to where it belongs. I want our fans to be proud of our football team — proud of how hard we compete and how consistent we are. It’s my job to create an environment that delivers these values. We have only just started to see the potential of this team. There’s a lot more work to be done.”

    Fellow 2010 premiership winner Ben Hornby was also shortlisted for the permanent role, but the club’s board and shareholders issued a unanimous endorsement of the leadership team’s recommendation to appoint Young. Dragons Chief Executive Tim Watsford explained that the appointment was based on merit, not Young’s legacy with the club. “We said from the outset that we would take the time needed to make the right decision for the club’s future,” Watsford said. “This has been a structured process, and Dean has emerged as the candidate we believe is best placed to lead the next phase of our football program. Dean’s history with the Dragons is well known and respected, but that is not why he has been appointed. This decision is based on the strength of his football plan, his connection with players, his leadership of staff, his alignment with our pathways and recruitment strategy, and his understanding of what this club needs to become. We understand our members and supporters want results. So do we. Dean recognises the responsibility that comes with this role, and he will be supported by a football structure designed to drive standards, development and performance throughout the program.”

    The club’s incoming high-profile recruits have already signaled their support for Young’s appointment: five new players — Scott Drinkwater, Connor Watson, Luke Metcalf, Phil Sami and Keaon Koloamatangi — will join the Dragons ahead of the 2025 season, a group of signings widely expected to add enough firepower to push the side into its first finals appearance since 2018. Just last week, Drinkwater publicly stated he hoped Young would secure the permanent head coach role.

    Dragons Chair Andrew Lancaster confirmed the board has given full backing to the new coach, while also outlining clear performance accountability. “The board understands the significance of this appointment and all that comes with it,” Lancaster said. “Tim and our leadership team have undertaken a thorough selection process, and the Board is confident in, and supportive of, that process and the outcome. Dean has the board’s full support, and there will be clear accountability for the performance standards expected of him in the role.”

  • Brisbane couple welcome ‘one in 15 million’ identical quadruplets

    Brisbane couple welcome ‘one in 15 million’ identical quadruplets

    Against staggering 1-in-15-million odds, a Brisbane mother has welcomed four naturally conceived identical quadruplet girls, expanding her family from six members to 10 in a single moment that has stunned medical teams.

    Thirty-four-year-old Jenitar Na-amoana and her husband Jortham are now the parents of newborns Emily, Harriet, Alexa, and Catherine, who were delivered via C-section on July 14 at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Prior to the quadruplets’ arrival, the couple already had four children ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old.

    Medical professionals overseeing the high-risk pregnancy say this birth is an extremely rare event. Unlike many multiple births that rely on fertility assistance, the Na-amoana quadruplets are monozygotic: they developed from a single fertilized egg that split into four identical embryos during early embryonic development. Even more unusually, all four fetuses shared the same placenta — a combination that leading obstetric staff describe as unheard of in clinical practice.

    Dr. Alexa Bendall, the lead specialist caring for Jenitar throughout her pregnancy and the namesake for quadruplet Alexa, called the outcome a remarkable miracle. “Jenitar has taken everything in her stride from day one – we have never seen a spontaneously conceived pregnancy of this type with quads, and she has somehow dodged every complication and risk for both herself and her babies to be here today, with four gorgeous newborn girls,” Bendall shared. The pregnancy reached 28 weeks and four days, a milestone the medical team had viewed as a major success. “We always said that if we could get her to 28 weeks, we would be doing well, so we are happy she could make it to this gestation,” Bendall added.

    All four newborns are currently receiving specialist care in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where they will remain to grow and develop to full-term size. Medical updates confirm the quadruplets are currently in stable condition as they continue to gain strength.

    As the family adjusts to their sudden expansion from six to 10 members, they have launched a public GoFundMe campaign to cover the unexpected costs of caring for four newborns at once. In a statement shared on the fundraising page, Jenitar noted that while the couple is overflowing with gratitude for their four miracles, the practical challenges of their new life are overwhelming. “Our precious miracles have arrived safely, and while our hearts are overflowing with gratitude, the reality of caring for four newborn babies at once has brought challenges we never could have imagined,” she wrote. The family is seeking support to purchase a larger 10- to 12-seat van, acquire essential baby gear, and cover ongoing medical costs, travel expenses, and daily living needs that come with raising four additional children.

  • Truck driver reported over concrete slab carnage crash

    Truck driver reported over concrete slab carnage crash

    A serious crash that triggered major traffic chaos on one of South Australia’s busiest arterial routes has left a 38-year-old truck driver facing criminal charges and an immediate year-long driving suspension, South Australian Police have confirmed. The dangerous incident unfolded on the North-South Motorway at Bolivar on the morning of Friday, July 10, as the truck driver was merging between lanes.

    Two 15-tonne concrete panels secured to the back of the truck slipped their restraints and crashed onto the road surface, before careening into the hard shoulder where three parked cars had stopped for an earlier vehicle breakdown. Two pedestrians who had exited the broken-down vehicles were caught in the path of the sliding heavy cargo.

    Authorities have described the outcome as nothing short of miraculous: no one was killed in the incident. One pedestrian suffered a suspected broken arm, while the other two people involved escaped with only minor injuries. “It is a miracle that we are not talking about multiple fatalities here,” a police spokesperson noted in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

    Following their investigation, police confirmed the driver, a resident of Para Hills West, faces four distinct allegations: causing harm by dangerous driving, operating a mobile phone while behind the wheel, failing to wear a seatbelt, and committing a serious breach of load restraint regulations that created extreme public risk. Officers have issued an immediate 12-month driving disqualification notice, and the driver is scheduled to appear at a local court at a later date to answer the charges.

    The crash brought southbound traffic on the major motorway to a complete standstill for hours while emergency crews responded, damaged vehicles were towed from the scene, and tonnes of concrete debris were cleared away. Commuters faced lengthy delays as authorities worked to reopen the roadway, leaving widespread disruption across Adelaide’s northern transport network.

  • Spain’s world champions head home to million-strong Madrid welcome

    Spain’s world champions head home to million-strong Madrid welcome

    Fresh off a historic 1-0 final victory over Argentina at the 2026 World Cup hosted in the United States, Spain’s men’s national football team is set to return to Madrid on Monday for a jubilant heroes’ welcome that is projected to draw up to one million adoring fans across the parade route.

    This triumph marks only the second men’s World Cup title in Spanish football history, following the team’s breakthrough win in South Africa 16 years prior in 2010. For millions of young Spanish supporters, this is the first men’s world title they have ever witnessed, turning the victory into a historic outpouring of national pride across the football-obsessed nation.

    After Sunday’s tense final in East Rutherford, where La Roja held off a persistent Argentine defense to secure their narrow win, the squad and coaching staff led by manager Luis de la Fuente are scheduled to land at Madrid’s airport at 12:50 pm local time (1050 GMT), bringing the golden World Cup trophy back to Spanish soil for the first time in 16 years.

    Following their arrival, the team is set to be received by Spain’s head of state King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at official residences before boarding an open-top parade bus to begin the victory procession through central Madrid starting at approximately 4:30 pm. According to Francisco Martin, the central government’s representative in Madrid, the parade will kick off near Moncloa Palace, Sanchez’s official residence, and travel through the city center to Cibeles Square, the iconic traditional gathering spot for Spanish national team celebrations that has hosted similar events following major tournament wins for decades. A formal victory ceremony with the full squad will then be held at the square.

    To manage the unprecedented crowds expected to line the parade route, local authorities have rolled out extensive security and public transport adjustments. In total, 2,050 local police officers and 400 Civil Guard personnel have been deployed to maintain order and ensure the event runs smoothly. As of Monday morning, however, final details of the timetable were still being adjusted: Prime Minister Sanchez is scheduled to complete a brief official visit to Algeria before returning to Madrid in time for the celebrations, and the royal household had not issued a final confirmation of King Felipe VI’s attendance at the events.

    Even before the team touched down on Spanish soil, spontaneous celebrations broke out across the entire country on Sunday night immediately after the final whistle, stretching from the crowded streets of Madrid to the smallest rural villages across Spain. Thousands of supporters who had gathered in city-center bars and three official fan zones flooded into the capital’s streets the moment the match ended, with car horns blaring across the city and fireworks lighting up the warm summer sky.

    An Agence France-Presse reporter on the ground at Madrid’s Colon Square, one of the city’s main fan zones, documented jubilant supporters draped in Spain’s iconic red-and-yellow national flag singing, dancing, and setting off flares and fireworks long into the night. Crowds chanted repeatedly “Campeones! Campeones!” (Champions! Champions!) and shouted “Que viva España!” (Long live Spain) as they celebrated a rare golden era for Spanish football: this 2026 men’s World Cup title comes just two years after Spain won the men’s Euro 2024 championship, and the Spanish women’s national team already holds the women’s World Cup title won in 2023.

    In an official statement posted to social media platform X, the Spanish Royal Household praised the team’s historic achievement, writing “You have faced each challenge with the conviction of a great team and have carried the name of Spain to the very top.” The statement noted the title was a reward for the team’s “exemplary commitment in every match,” adding “Today, we celebrate a title. Tomorrow we will remember a legend.”

    Organizers and officials expect the celebrations to echo the massive outpouring that followed Spain’s 2010 World Cup win, when hundreds of thousands of fans packed Madrid’s streets to welcome the team home, marking another defining moment for Spanish football.

  • Rayann EL Houli: Woman accused of joining ISIS to be freed

    Rayann EL Houli: Woman accused of joining ISIS to be freed

    A 34-year-old Australian woman who stands accused of traveling to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group more than a decade ago is set to walk free on bail within hours, after a Melbourne magistrate ruled that exceptional circumstances justified her release ahead of trial.

    Rayann El Houli, a Melbourne native, was formally charged in May this year with two key offenses: being a member of a designated terrorist organization and illegally entering a declared conflict zone. The charges were laid eight months after she returned to Australia from Syria alongside her four children, ending a six-year detainment in a Kurdish-run internally displaced persons camp following the collapse of the ISIS caliphate.

    Court documents and prosecution allegations lay out a timeline of El Houli’s time in the Middle East: prosecutors claim she first traveled to Syria in 2014, when she was just 21 or 22 years old, alongside her first husband Allak Hamad, with the explicit intention of joining ISIS ranks. Hamad was killed fighting for the group by early 2015, and El Houli went on to marry two more ISIS-linked fighters, both of whom also died in conflict before she wed a third member in 2018, a marriage that ended in divorce within months.

    In 2019, after the territorial defeat of ISIS, El Houli was captured by Kurdish forces and held in Syria’s Al-Hawl camp, a sprawling facility notorious for housing thousands of former ISIS supporters and their families. She was smuggled out of the camp in June 2023 and eventually made her way back to Australia, where she was taken into custody to face terror-related charges.

    El Houli’s bail application was heard over a two-day hearing last week, with Melbourne Magistrate Brett Sonnet releasing his ruling on Monday afternoon. In his decision, Sonnet confirmed that he found clear exceptional circumstances to meet the requirements for bail, noting that the assessed risk El Houli poses to the Australian public is “relatively low”.

    “In my view the application for bail must be granted,” Sonnet told the court.

    Prosecutors had pushed back hard against bail, presenting disturbing evidence collected by Australian Federal Police that they argued demonstrated El Houli’s deep commitment to ISIS ideology during her time in Syria. Senior AFP Constable Paul Sherlock told the court that communications El Houli sent to family in Australia before 2019 clearly showed her active support for the terrorist group.

    This evidence included messages encouraging other Australians to travel to Syria to join ISIS, as well as multiple videos filmed by El Houli that show her exposing her young children to extremist propaganda. One of the most disturbing videos, dated March 2016, captures El Houli questioning her then two-year-old eldest child about the killing of non-believers by ISIS fighters. Prosecutors say the video shows her asking the toddler to describe how mujahideen slaughtered “kuffar” (infidels) and “apostates” with knives, prompting the child to mimic the actions. Additional evidence presented to the court includes a photo allegedly showing El Houli teaching her child how to hold a toy rifle.

    Despite the severity of the allegations and the disturbing nature of the evidence, the court heard arguments from El Houli’s defense that painted a picture of a young woman manipulated into joining the group, who has since renounced all ties to violent extremism. Her barrister, Peter Morrissey SC, told the court that El Houli was a naive young woman when she traveled to Syria, who “drank the Kool-Aid” and followed her husband into the conflict zone, without fully understanding the ideology she was aligning herself with.

    Morrissey added that in the months since her return to Australia, El Houli has worked diligently to rebuild her life, addressing ongoing physical and mental health trauma, enrolling her four children in local schools and community sports programs, and completely cutting all ties to extremist groups. “She renounces ISIS and violent jihad, wanting nothing to do with it,” Morrissey told the court.

    Magistrate Sonnet echoed many of these points in his ruling, noting that while the videos presented by prosecutors were unquestionably disturbing, he accepted the assessment of clinical psychologist Katie Seidler, who used standardized clinical assessment tools to evaluate El Houli and found her to be at low risk of reoffending or supporting extremism. Sonnet also highlighted a number of strong protective factors that support bail: El Houli has custody of her four minor children, has the consistent support of her extended family in Australia, has fully cooperated with federal law enforcement since her return, and has already accessed ongoing physical and mental health care to address the trauma she experienced during her time in Syria.

    El Houli is expected to be released from custody on Monday afternoon, with strict bail conditions yet to be publicly announced ahead of her upcoming trial.

  • Scott Pape has compared switching super strategies to a married man on Tinder

    Scott Pape has compared switching super strategies to a married man on Tinder

    Well-known Australian finance commentator Scott Pape, popularly known as the Barefoot Investor, has issued a sharp warning to Australian superannuation holders against making impulsive portfolio changes in response to viral market crash warnings, using a striking analogy to drive his point home. Pape’s comments came after a 42-year-old superannuation member, identified only as James, reached out for guidance following a high-profile podcast appearance from veteran investor Jeremy Grantham.

    Grantham, the British billionaire co-founder of global asset management firm GMO who built his reputation for correctly predicting both the 2000 dot-com collapse and the 2008 global financial crisis, recently appeared on *The Diary of a CEO* podcast. In that episode, titled “Billionaire’s WARNING: I’m SELLING. The Crash Is Already Here!”, Grantham doubled down on his long-held claim that the U.S. stock market is currently the largest investment bubble in American history. He predicted a catastrophic 70% downturn, dismissed cryptocurrency as worthless, and drew parallels between the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and the unsustainable dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

    Alarmed by Grantham’s warnings, James told Pape he planned to reallocate his superannuation and personal investment holdings away from U.S. and Australian equities over fears of an imminent market collapse. Pape responded by acknowledging that he does not fault James for feeling anxious, but made clear he found the podcast itself reckless. Pape compared the clickbait-driven warning to a married man mindlessly swiping through dating app Tinder: a provocative act designed to spark unnecessary dissatisfaction with a stable, long-term arrangement in favor of a riskier, more glamorous alternative.

    “That podcast felt like the financial version of a married bloke on Tinder,” Pape wrote in his latest advisory post. “The whole thing is designed to make you restless and think ‘Maybe I should ditch my boring old index funds for some sexy emerging markets.’” He went on to dismiss the strategy of timing the market based on crash predictions as a “rubbish way to invest your money.”

    Notably, Pape conceded that he actually agrees with much of Grantham’s core analysis: U.S. and Australian equities do show signs of significant overvaluation right now. Where he disagrees sharply is with the advice for ordinary retail investors to sell their holdings and exit the market in anticipation of a crash. Pape pointed out that profiting from a market crash requires being correct not once, but twice: an investor must sell before the downturn hits, then correctly time their re-entry to buy back in at the bottom. That kind of consistent market timing is notoriously difficult even for professional investors, he argued.

    As evidence, Pape noted that Grantham has been labeling the U.S. stock market a bubble since 2021. In the years since his first warning, the S&P 500 has still surged more than 100%, leaving investors who followed his early advice out of the market and missing out on massive gains.

    For ordinary long-term investors like James, who is 42 and has decades of contributing to and growing his superannuation before retirement, Pape advocated for a “married to your portfolio” approach. He explained that he committed to his own diversified holdings years ago, vowing to stick with them through both market booms and corrections. Historical data, he noted, consistently shows that equities deliver stronger long-term returns than any other major asset class, even with periodic steep crashes.

    “Every crash has eventually been followed by new highs,” Pape said. “So I keep a few months’ cash in the bank and accept that happily ever after only exists in fairy tales.” His advice to James and other anxious Australian superannuation holders is straightforward: stay committed to a diversified long-term equity portfolio, keep a cash buffer to avoid being forced to sell during a downturn, and avoid the hype-driven “spicy dating apps” of viral market crash predictions.

  • Andy Burnham set to take over as new British PM

    Andy Burnham set to take over as new British PM

    Fifty-six-year-old Andy Burnham will formally step into the role of British Prime Minister on Monday, marking the seventh person to hold the office in just 10 years, taking the reins of a nation grappling with a stacked in-tray of deeply entrenched challenges that have already derailed multiple predecessors, with very limited time to leave a lasting impact on the country.

    His ascension comes just two years after outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a landslide general election victory, ending 14 consecutive years of Conservative rule. Starmer, whose time in Downing Street ended when he announced his resignation as both prime minister and Labour Party leader in late June, brought down by a cascade of scandals, repeated missteps and unpopular policy reversals that eroded public trust and left his government deeply unpopular.

    The formal handover of power will follow longstanding British constitutional protocol. Starmer will first travel to Buckingham Palace to officially submit his resignation to King Charles III, before delivering a final farewell address outside 10 Downing Street. Immediately after that, Burnham will make his own trip to the palace, where the king will formally ask him to form a new government. Shortly after the audience, he will deliver his maiden speech as prime minister from the steps of 10 Downing Street.

    According to statements from Burnham’s inner circle, his first speech will lay out his core policy priorities: rebuilding public faith in national government, easing economic pressures amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, delivering sustained economic growth, and devolving more political power from London to regional communities across the country. The address will frame the moment as one of “reflection and resolution,” with Burnham expected to emphasize that the country must be honest about the scale of the challenges it faces. An announcement of senior cabinet appointments is also scheduled for Monday, with political observers and the public particularly focused on who will replace Rachel Reeves as finance minister.

    A former Member of Parliament between 2001 and 2017, who served as a junior minister in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Burnham most recently served as the popular Mayor of Greater Manchester, earning him the nickname the “King of the North” for his strong regional profile and advocacy for northern England. He only returned to the House of Commons as an MP four weeks ago, and was fast-tracked into the Labour leadership by party MPs, who see him as the party’s best bet to counter rising support for Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party.

    Deputy Labour Leader Lucy Powell defended Burnham’s qualifications in a Sunday interview with BBC Television, noting that his years of governing outside London’s central political bubble gave him unique insight into the “bigger, bolder” policy changes needed to deliver on the pledges Labour made in its 2024 election manifesto. Powell said Burnham’s core goal is to radically rewrite Britain’s over-centralized political system and overhaul an economic model that has prioritized the interests of powerful, well-connected groups over the needs of ordinary working people. “It’s about giving ordinary people security in work, security in their home, a home they can afford and live in a community that they can feel proud of and knowing that their children are going to have opportunity for the future,” Powell explained.

    Burnham faces an immediate stack of urgent policy challenges. A sluggish domestic economy, persistently high government borrowing costs, a rapidly growing national welfare bill, and the ongoing crisis of irregular migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats—all of which have helped fuel Reform UK’s rising popularity. Adding to these domestic pressures are unpredictable global energy prices driven by tensions between the United States and Iran, and potential policy volatility stemming from Donald Trump’s volatile leadership in the White House that could roil global markets and international relations during Burnham’s premiership.

    Compounding his challenges, the new prime minister operates with very limited room for policy maneuvering, bound by strict fiscal rules that require balancing government spending against tax revenue, in the context of slow growth and extremely high levels of national public debt. With the next general election scheduled for 2029, just three years away, current polling puts Reform UK on track to win a majority, leaving Burnham with a very narrow window to turn the party’s fortunes around. Burnham himself framed his takeover of the party and government as Labour’s “last chance” to get it right during remarks to supporters last Friday.

    Critics have long argued that Starmer’s Labour government was woefully underprepared to take power when it won office in July 2024, a weakness that contributed to its collapse in popularity just two years later. While Burnham has repeatedly insisted he has a clear “plan” to address Britain’s problems, his rapid ascension to the leadership has raised questions among political analysts about how he will deliver on his ambitious promises, given the constraints he faces.

    In his first policy announcement since becoming Labour leader, Burnham announced on Saturday that he would scrap Starmer’s flagship nationwide digital ID scheme, a program that was projected to cost £1.8 billion over three years. A spokesperson for the new prime minister said the funding and administrative resources allocated to the scheme would instead be redirected “to where it’s most needed, such as helping with the cost of living”, aligning with his core priority of easing pressure on hard-pressed British households.