After collapse and controversy, Adelaide writers’ week has a new director: ‘I don’t envy anyone in this position’ 23. April 2026 (16:35) Rosemarie Milsom, who formed and runs Newcastle writers festival, will take over from Louise Adler after the literary festival imploded over invitation to Randa Abdel-FattahIn January, as the implosion of Adelaide writers’ week made headlines around Australia and the world, Rosemarie Milsom was watching closely.The Adelaide festival board, which oversees AWW, had overridden the literary festival’s director, Louise Adler, and disinvited the Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah over past comments she’d made about Israel and Zionism. This decision resulted not in a quieter, less-controversial festival as the board members may have hoped, but a boycott by 200-odd writers, the resignation of Adler – followed by the whole board – a potential defamation lawsuit against the South Australian premier and the collapse of AWW. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New documentary reveals ‘kill room’ rituals of Gilgo Beach serial killer 23. April 2026 (16:31) Episode four of Peacock’s Gilgo Beach Serial Killer: House of Secrets features interviews with Rex Heuermann’s familyThe meticulous rituals of the Long Island serial killer, Rex Heuermann, have been revealed in a Peacock documentary released on Thursday.The confessed killer of eight women relays via a therapist that he maintained a four-day ritual of preparation, building trust with his victims, murdering them in a basement “kill room”, a day of “playtime” with their bodies, and then using a stopwatch to perfect dumping them on a beach 20 miles from his home. He would use the fourth day to deal with any unforeseen complications. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
JetBlue sued over claims it uses customers’ personal data to set ticket prices 23. April 2026 (16:12) Lawsuit follows exchange on X in which airline suggested customer should clear cache or book with incognito windowSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxJetBlue has been sued in a proposed class action claiming it uses customers’ personal data to set ticket prices, after its response to a social media post raised concern that the carrier employed “surveillance pricing” to make flying more expensive.According to a complaint filed late on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, JetBlue conceals its use of “trackers” to set prices dynamically, and shares data with third parties whose programs help it decide when to raise fares. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A history of the Earth’: Twelve Apostles revealed to be as old as 14m years 23. April 2026 (16:01) Tectonic plate movements over millions of years have lifted and tilted the layers, with records of ancient earthquakes in the rocksGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMicroscopic fossils embedded in limestone have helped reveal the true age of Victoria’s Twelve Apostles, as 8.6 to 14m years old.The conclave of giant golden pillars is visited by 2.8 million tourists each year, a highlight for those travelling along the Great Ocean Road south-west of Melbourne. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lebanese journalist killed in Israeli attack had spoken of death threat 23. April 2026 (15:22) Media rights groups condemn killing of Amal Khalil, who said in 2024 she had been threatened by ‘an Israeli enemy’Middle East crisis – live updatesThe Lebanese journalist killed in an Israeli attack on Wednesday had previously spoken of receiving a threat via an unidentified Israeli phone number that she would be killed if she did not leave southern Lebanon, where she had long been based and worked.Amal Khalil, 43, who worked for al-Akhbar newspaper and had described herself as supporting the resistance against Israel “whether communist or Islamist”, was killed in a sustained attack by Israeli forces in which a colleague was also wounded. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
St Vincent and Grenadines government pauses constitutional amendment bills after public backlash 23. April 2026 (15:01) Bills are seeking to change section that opposition says makes Godwin Friday, a dual citizen, ineligible to be PMThe St Vincent and the Grenadines government has delayed a controversial effort to amend a section of the country’s constitution that the opposition says renders the prime minister ineligible for his position in parliament.Two bills, among six listed for the parliament session on Tuesday this week, were aimed at clarifying a section of the 1979 constitution governing the citizenship eligibility of members of parliament. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Former Labour MP calls for Starmer to face Commons committee over Mandelson vetting 23. April 2026 (14:56) Karl Turner, who lost Labour whip after criticising PM, calls for privileges committee to examine if Starmer misled parliamentUK politics live – latest updatesA former Labour MP has joined opposition parties calling for Keir Starmer to face a Commons committee to examine whether the prime minister misled parliament as the government’s crisis surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington continues.Karl Turner, who lost the Labour whip last month after making a series of interventions criticising Starmer and No 10, has written to the speaker of the Commons urging him to refer Starmer to the privileges committee, the same body that found Boris Johnson had lied in the Commons over the lockdown parties scandal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration moves to reclassify marijuana to schedule III drug 23. April 2026 (14:44) Marijuana had same classification as heroin, LSD and others before Trump signed an order to move it to schedule IIISign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana, more than four months after Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.The schedule I classification meant marijuana was alongside heroin, LSD, MDMA and synthetic opioids, whereas a schedule III classification put it in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate Republicans bypass Democrats to advance $70bn ICE and border patrol plan in ‘vote-a-rama’– US politics live 23. April 2026 (14:41) Republicans deploy measure known as budget reconciliation to push through plan without backing from Democrats during lengthy late-night voteSign up for the Breaking News US emailA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog. This includes the news that the Pentagon abruptly announced that the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, would be leaving his job on Wednesday.Phelan’s departure is the latest in a series of shake-ups of top leadership at the defense department, all while the US blockade of Iranian ports in the strait of Hormuz continues. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Five things we learned from Cat Little’s evidence to MPs about the Mandelson saga 23. April 2026 (14:14) Top civil servant reveals more details of vetting process and lack of paper trail for approval of appointmentUK politics live – latest updatesIn more than 90 minutes of evidence to the foreign affairs select committee about the Peter Mandelson scandal, Cat Little, the head civil servant in the Cabinet Office, was low key and often cautious.But she did reveal several pieces of new information – or at times information different from that given to the same committee by Olly Robbins, the former permanent undersecretary at the Foreign Office. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
