The Guardian Australia

The actor answers your questions on working with her dog, becoming a dame, Harry Potter, and making televisual history in The Singing DetectiveYou and Bill Nighy were comrades in Pride, but play estranged spouses in & Sons. Was it more fun marching alongside him or giving him a piece of your mind? MrSOBaldrickIt’s fun doing anything with Bill Nighy!I once saw you at RHS Garden Wisley. Are you a keen gardener? What’s your favourite plant? HeyJudithB Yes, I am a gardener. We love doing the garden

Unseen material gives insight into how death-defying attempts by drivers made impact on public imaginationWith the Bonneville salt flats in Utah echoing to the sound of a new land speed record achieved by a British team, the timing could not be more apposite. The historical legacy of the challenge of pushing the envelope of pace is being dusted down and made public in the form of an extraordinary archive from more than a century of record-breaking machines and their singularly driven pilots.On T

The congresswoman’s decision is an assertion of women’s freedom and dignity at a time when our status is rapidly eroding“Don’t be weird about this,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive star and rumored 2028 presidential contender, said on her live video broadcast as she raised her shirt to angle the syringe into her abdomen. Then, with resignation, “even though I know all of you will be.”The New York Democrat is 36 years old, and this week she revealed that she is beginning

It’s a decade since the Los Angeles musician released the seminal album Blonde. To lessen the pain of his hiatus, we count down the best of an artist who redefined R&BFrank Ocean’s pre-fame demos are hard to find – there’s a fan-made, 64-track compilation called The Lonny Breaux Collection floating around – but worth checking out, as evinced by this brief but potent piano ballad. Sweet but heartsore, it packs an emotional punch; it would have been a highlight of the mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, had

It’s a nice sentiment, but all AI users should ask three questions about their preferred choice of AI platformOn Monday, Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay, The Future Is for Everyone. The essay came with something even rarer: a new Meta open-weight model. An open-weight AI model is the kind of AI with which you download the entire thing, and it works on your own computer (with or without the internet) and nobody can switch it off except for you. Almost every mainstream AI tool you use

Mount Etna has continued to erupt in Sicily, sending molten lava, rocks and ash down its slopes as hikers watch nearby. The Italian volcano is Europe's most active Continue reading...

Cricket Australia boss backs women’s vice-captain’s leadershipMonica Wright went public over ex’s affair with Georgia VollAustralia vice-captain Ash Gardner has apologised for the pain caused by her marriage breakdown and thanked Cricket Australia for backing her leadership.Gardner’s affair with Australian teammate Georgia Voll while married to ex-wife Monica Wright created headlines. Continue reading...

The order cannot effect change, and is only ‘undermining trust in vaccines’ as CDC guidance remains the sameDonald Trump’s executive order on vaccines does not change the US recommendations for the shots – but experts say it does create confusion and doubt about vaccines, which will lead to more illness and possibly deaths among children and will make it harder for families and pediatricians to protect them.The executive order was an attempt to reinstate sweeping changes to the vaccine schedule

Palace take a risk with new manager Pierre Sage, who is tasked with building on Glasner’s unprecedented successGuardian writers’ predicted position: 16th (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons’ prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 15th Continue reading...

The former England full-back is back in the Championship after 12 years away, hoping to lead Wolves out of itWhen the question inevitably comes, Kieran Trippier is happy to set the record straight. Fresh from training, head to toe in Wolves kit – vest, shorts and club-branded sliders – he walks into a suite at their Compton Park base, conversation soon shifting to an episode that rocked supporters and stopped outsiders in their tracks: three days after signing, the manager Trippier cited as a si

Move blocking funds through Medicaid and Chip to make it harder for vulnerable children to get healthcare, experts sayThe Trump administration finalized a rule on Tuesday to end gender-affirming care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip), a move that will make it harder for vulnerable children to access healthcare and that eschews evidence to advance an anti-transgender ideology, opponents say.The rule is set to take effect on 13 October – but legal challenges could

Auto-hagiography it may be – most of the interviewees were in the band at some point – but this portrait of the seminal Manchester indie group is charming stuffBy the time of their first flush of success – concomitant with the turn-of-the-90s Mancunian baggy scene, when indie discos thronged with people in big daisy petal T-shirts, and the anthemic Sit Down was only kept off the No 1 spot in the charts by Chesney Hawkes – James had already had as many ups, downs and near misses as most bands hav

The dangers of AI become clearer every day. Why are we still acting as if we have no choice about our future?Rather than producing jobs, the US economy actually lost 23,000 jobs in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Friday. In addition, May and June’s job numbers were revised downward, showing a combined 103,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.As if this weren’t bad enough, wage growth has also slowed. Average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1% from June. Continue

More students are advocating for their own digital wellbeing and developing programs to thrive in tech-free learning environmentsAs students across the country return to school this month, many will be confronting a new reality: classrooms without smartphones.Educators and parents have long fronted the fight against the debilitating influence technology can wield. Yet, many young people say they’ve been left out of important conversations around school phone policies, which are now in effect in

Two years after southern Brazil’s worst climate disaster ravaged the city, and with poor areas still recovering, many fear official neglect has left them exposed once againIn the backstreets of Porto Alegre, a state capital in southern Brazil, you can still see signs of the devastating flood that swept through the city two years ago: scattered debris, waterlogged homes and destroyed businesses.In May 2024, flooding killed 183 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and displaced more than 600,0

Critic of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leadership was put under investigation and suspended from jobThe Trump administration has been accused of “bullying and intimidation” after a labor union leader and critic was put under investigation and suspended from his job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).Stephen Wheeler, a data scientist at the agency since 2022 and chair of the CFPB union organizing committee, was placed on administrative leave effective immediately earlier t

How a bride decides to look on the big day tells us a lot about that person. But the singer is leaving us hangingHaving hope in your heart is all well and good, but you also need to know when to give up. At a certain point it’s time to accept cold, hard reality: we’re never going to see pictures of Taylor Swift in her wedding dress, are we?There are many reasons this matters, and the first, admittedly, is plain old nosiness, with a side order of entitlement. We’ve spent years absorbing – some un

Manchester City want around £65m for Spain midfielderAl-Qadsiah closing on move for City’s Tijjani ReijndersManchester City have rejected Barcelona’s second bid of around €60m (£51m) for Rodri, while Chelsea have set a 5pm (BST) Friday deadline for the club to bid £120m for the midfielder’s potential replacement, Enzo Fernández.On Tuesday Barça improved on their initial offer of €45m but this has been turned down. City, it is thought, want between £60m and £65m for Rodri, who captained Spain to

How can our understanding of mortality shape the way we live? Palliative care doctors and death doulas share the lessons they have learnedWe will all face death one day, but our attitude towards this is individual. How can our understanding of mortality shape our approach to life? Here, palliative care doctors and death doulas share what they know about the end – and how it informs the way they live. Continue reading...

First Test, day one: Australia 198; Bangladesh 96 for 1 in DarwinNo 4 batter hits 71 as Hasan Mahmud takes six wickets for touristsSteve Smith has played a lone hand as Bangladesh exposed Australia’s batting frailties on day one of the first Test in Darwin, before taking on their bowlers with class.Bangladesh pace bowler Hasan Mahmud starred with 6 for 55 as Australia were bundled out for 198 in 53 overs at Marrara Stadium. It was the 26-year-old’s best Test figures in an innings. Continue readi