Wednesday 30 September 2026
250 stories, newest first.
World104
- Mortgage stress service pauses new intakes as calls double across Victoria
- ACTU and academics push levy on big tech data centres to fund Australian AI industry
- Inflation rises, Greens elect new leader, card surcharges scrapped as crew stop midair pilot stabbing
- Former Wallaby Nathan Charles reveals motor neurone disease diagnosis, describes it as 'quite cruel'
- Passenger recounts cockpit chokehold as flydubai incident confirmed as terror attempt
- Nepal PM's UN climate warning followed days later by another wave of deadly floods
- WA coroner to hold joint inquest into four outback disappearances
- Australia's major telcos ready to activate disaster roaming during emergencies
- Australian airport doubles in size after $200 million transformation
- NSW drivers face 98% rejection rate on pothole damage claims
- California couple charged with murder of son-in-law in public park shooting
- Tobacco syndicates selling only after hours to evade Victoria's new shutdown powers
- Senate blocks Republican bill restricting stock trades by US lawmakers
- Trump administration indicts 10 Minnesota residents on noncitizen voting charges
- Tens of thousands march across Spain after housing legislation defeated; clashes and far-right arrests mark protests
- Israeli drone strikes kill four Palestinians including rescue worker in Gaza
- Brisbane Times and Sydney Morning Herald publish 30 egg recipe collection
- Al Jazeera roundup: Flight diverted after stabbing, Bangladesh dengue deaths pass 233
- Federal Reserve watchdog finds no criminal violations in renovation cost overruns
- Perth buyers trade beach views for sheds and granny flats as space becomes the 'ultimate luxury'
- Aldi home brand mayonnaise is Australia's cheapest and best tasting, Choice finds
- RBA 'ignores' full employment mandate, Guardian columnist argues
- Stabbed pilot hailed as hero after mid-air attack on Israel-bound flight
- Australian colleges warned 'do not try to game' student visas as enrolments in cancelled diploma soar
- Sweden urged to apologise to Sami people for historical harm, state-backed report finds
- Macron welcomes Burnham suggestion that UK could rejoin EU
- Ethiopia: At least 52 civilians killed in Tigray clashes, hospital sources tell BBC
- Victorians warned of heightened thunderstorm asthma risk as intense pollen season begins
- South African President Calls on Men to Address Gender-Based Violence After Wave of Murders
- Cities Funneling License Plate Data to Federal Surveillance Program, Records Show
- Grooming gangs inquiry to investigate offending in Wales and Birmingham
- More Than 1,000 Large Companies Paid No Tax in Australia, ATO Reveals
- Christa Pike remains alive after two doses of lethal injection, witnesses report abnormal procedure
- US withdraws from European anti-corruption watchdog Greco
- MI5 warns UK universities to sever ties with Chinese state-owned front company accused of research theft
- Execution of Tennessee inmate Christa Pike halted hour before scheduled time
- Australian house prices fall for sixth straight month as experts warn of up to 15 per cent decline
- Police seek charges against 54 people and 20 companies over Grenfell Tower fire
- Botswana criticised over plan to kill 23 elephants for independence celebrations
- Iranian singer's sentence of 74 lashes for performing without hijab upheld, rights groups cry torture
- Russia's largest attack on Ukraine's energy grid since spring kills five, triggers emergency power cuts
- Bogong moth return brings wonder and organ trouble, readers report
- Best of Cartoons Gallery Published for October 1
- Cartoonists round up the week in federal politics
- Trump Defends North Korea's Right to Nuclear Weapons, Reports Say
- Singapore launches matchmaking service for government workers to boost fertility
- Queensland lone holdout as Thriving Kids scheme launches nationally
- US Forces Complete Withdrawal from Iraq, Ending Two-Decade Mission
- Five luxury coastal homes hit the market across three states
- Stawell Gift winner Olufemi Komolafe stripped of title after failed drug test
- Writer says being an only child made her 'greedy for more friends'
- Giants seek first-round pick for Whitfield as Carlton and Melbourne circle
- Crews begin removal of 31-tonne whale carcass from City Beach
- Janetzki blames Canberra as RBA hikes rates to 4.6 percent
- Psychologist grapples with how to raise voluntary assisted dying with ailing friend
- Eviction of 87-year-old Madrid woman ignites nationwide protests over Spain's housing crisis
- Trad wife debate: Columnist says she was left 'exhausted' by encounter with man seeking stay-at-home partner
- Benjamin Clementine to tour Australia for the first time
- New Greens leader Shoebridge vows ‘red hot fight’ against One Nation and the top 1%
- Roosters NRLW side credits “sixth sense” bond ahead of grand final
- Sydney Airport near-collision among most severe in 20 years, investigators say
- Passengers report stabbing as flydubai flight to Israel makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia; Israeli minister cites 'terrorist' motive
- WA prison boss eyes Bullsbrook quarantine centre as potential jail
- Bathurst childcare centre to close after 126 breaches
- Indonesia Suspends Five Prison Officials Over Luxury Prison Compound
- New BBC film documents Gaza girl's 20 surgeries after strike
- NDIS slashes $2.8 billion from participant plans over 21 months, documents reveal
- NSW man accused of murdering neighbour and relative two weeks apart
- Paisami to appeal four-match ban as Wallabies face centre crisis before Eden Park Test
- Cummins opens door for Marsh Test return as Australia weighs squad renewal
- New Victorian laws require sale price disclosure, but buyers lack clarity on where to find data
- Big four banks expected to pass on RBA rate rise, Macquarie leads the way
- Sydney airport near misses and runway incursions exceed national average as ATSB probes staffing gaps
- Global brief: Femicide response ordered in South Africa, Morocco names first female prime minister
- DV offender jailed for five years over fatal crash that killed ex-partner
- WA environmental watchdog failed to track contaminated sites, audit finds
- South Korea demands apology from North Korea over landmine blasts that injured three soldiers
- South African President Orders Action on Femicide After Killings
- US Supreme Court clears way for Christa Pike execution after appeal fails
- NSW planning commission approves coal mine extension to 2045, saving 1,500 jobs
- Rate rises tighten squeeze on Tasmanian mortgage holders
- Forrestania Resources boosts gold resource at WA hub with updated estimates for Lady Ada and Lady Magdalene
- Online safety commissioner hints at departure, warns of power imbalance with big tech
- The Age Opens Applications for 2026 Journalism Traineeships
- Emergency water restrictions for Clermont after pump failure at Theresa Creek Dam
- Federal judge ends 23-year oversight of Oakland police department, longest in US history
- One EV sold every 100 seconds as Australian electric car sales more than double
- Inflation surges as RBA weighs further rate rise amid building boom
- The Sydney Morning Herald opens applications for 2027 journalism traineeship
- Sydney Airport near miss rated at most serious level, fatigue risks flagged
- Newcastle hooker Harrison Graham to start NRL grand final in place of suspended Phoenix Crossland
- Inflation jumps to four-month high a day after RBA rate rise
- Fired bullet found beneath kitchen floor in Lamarre-Condon murder trial, jury hears
- Roosters superfan goes all in with BYD Shark purchase and a patch of home ground
- Australian MPs lead English-speaking world in AI-generated speeches, analysis finds
- Ancelotti praises 'really good' Socceroos after Brazil's 4-2 win in Brisbane
- Ai Weiwei Recalls Childhood Exile in Candid Australian Interview
- Nathan Cleary tipped for first Dally M Medal as 12,000 fans flock to Knights training
- Doctor’s journey through psychosis: ‘It is intoxicating, like existing in technicolour’
- Zaporizhstal steel plant shut down indefinitely after Russian missile strikes
- Breaking Bad stars rule out holiday special, announce Australian tour
- Lachie Neale tells Brisbane he will join Collingwood as free agent
- Police search for gunman near Geraldton after man shot in leg
- Greens Face Rare Three-Way Leadership Contest After Waters Resignation
Tech40
- OpenAI unveils Decisions API, a fast classifier reminiscent of startup Jev
- DIVD Breach Traced to Two Zammad Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Exploited by AI Agent
- Russian State Hackers Deploy New 'RedFlick' Malware Installation Tactic
- Google unveils Gemini 4 Argon, outperforming rivals on most benchmarks but with limited initial access
- Discord launches self-serve Ads Manager for smaller advertisers
- New 'Relapse' Exploit Broadens PS5 Jailbreak to Recent Firmware Versions
- OpenAI delays IPO over AI safety concerns, CEO Altman says
- Reddit to end RSS feeds and public API access citing AI scraping
- Consumer AI is booming, but the economics remain stubbornly weak
- Destro AI exits stealth with $8M seed round, takes software-first approach to warehouse robotics
- Instinct's AI product recommendations draw user backlash
- CISA warns of critical pre-auth RCE flaw in MikroTik RouterOS
- DoorDash launches text-to-order AI agent on Apple Messages
- Google develops watermark for AI-designed proteins
- Brazil's state oil giant taps Cardano blockchain to track cleaner jet fuel and diesel
- Meta's Muse AI Agent Accused of Accessing Private Messages Without Permission
- Anthropic report claims Chinese GLM-5.3 model rivals its own Mythos AI at cyber exploits
- UK Opens Crypto Regulatory Application Window With February Deadline
- Google Launches Pilot Program Paying Publishers for AI Search Content
- Cisco Patches Actively Exploited Critical Zero-Day in SD-WAN Manager
- Florida attorney general seeks injunction to stop OpenAI from developing new AI models without third-party approval
- OpenAI chief research officer defends company's handling of hack incidents
- Trump Hosts AI Summit at White House, Tech Leaders Sign Self-Regulation Pact
- SEC Modernizes Transfer Agent Rules; Industry Warns Against Data Fragmentation
- Airbnb Adds AI Search and Expanded Services in Fall Update
- Tokyo court rules human voice has legal protection in landmark AI cloning case
- Bank of England governor calls for 'right to intervene' in AI amid rogue model fears
- Over half of UK businesses lack confidence in basic cybersecurity skills, survey finds
- OpenClaw Enterprise Platform Launches with Nvidia and Red Hat Support
- OpenAI pauses model training after agents hack Australian healthcare system
- OpenAI, Google and Meta pledge outside AI audits under voluntary White House deal
- Pentagon breach: millions of military personnel notified as unencrypted personnel records stolen in months-long hack
- Academic calls Nvidia chief's AGI claim 'preposterous' and urges calm over AI fears
- XRP Ledger Starts Carrying Fund Records From Brazilian Operator Overseeing $4 Trillion
- AI Agents Refactor 300,000-Line Codebase in Three Weeks, Case Study Shows
- OpenAI's Altman: No IPO until models are safe
- Microsoft makes WSL Containers generally available, bringing Linux containers to Windows
- Robinhood launches AI trading agent that operates 24/7, introduces 10x crypto perpetual futures
- Trump administration signs voluntary AI accord with tech firms: companies to self-police frontier models
- Chinese AI Model Bypasses Safety Limits to Share Bioweapon Instructions
Business27
- Neko Health expands to America as investors bet on body-scanning preventive care
- Factory CEO fires board adviser, alleges he leaked secrets to AI rival Cognition
- Federal and Tasmanian governments pledge $200 million to secure Bell Bay aluminium smelter
- Asus wins US router ban exemption without disclosing manufacturing plans
- Xbox is not for sale, says Microsoft gaming chief Asha Sharma
- ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22B in employee tender offer
- EDF boss calls new North Sea oil and gas projects a 'no-brainer' ahead of UK government decisions
- FedEx orders 2,000 electric trucks from Harbinger in $300M deal
- Softer inflation reading lowers odds of October Fed rate hike
- Charter Space raises $5M seed to insure satellites and spacecraft
- Restate secures $20M Series A as AI agents drive demand for durable workflow infrastructure
- UK income growth revised up as economy shows resilience, official data shows
- Two Google Alumni Raise $11.3M Fund for Enterprise AI Startups
- UK banks remain Europe's largest coal financiers since COP26, report says
- Poundland management in advanced rescue talks that could save 11,000 jobs
- Greggs to close four UK factories with potential 740 job losses
- Larvotto expands high-grade gold-antimony zone at Hillgrove as tungsten prices surge
- Kalshi in talks to raise $1 billion at $40 billion valuation
- Great Britain energy bills forecast to rise by £276 from January as Iran war drives up cap
- Broken Hill Gold doubles South Australian exploration footprint with historic goldfield tenements
- Vodafone launches four-year phone repayment plan, first Australian telco to offer 48-month terms
- Bitcoin Rally Shows Signs of Cooling as Bull Score Gauge Nears Ceiling
- PLC Resources hits geological sweet spot in WA gold drilling campaign
- Anthropic Targets $2.9 Trillion IPO Valuation Despite Billions in Losses
- Viral backlash hits Massachusetts lesbian bar over mask-optional change
- Jim Chalmers says Kohler will be 'really missed' as ABC finance presenter retires after 31 years
- CDC Proposes $15 Billion Data Centre Near Wagga Wagga Landfill
Australia13
- Pedestrian killed in Acacia Ridge crash, driver assisting police
- Good Food rounds up new Melbourne openings, from Light & Tangy pizza to corner store smash burgers
- McDonald's begins work on Newtown store after King Street bid rejected
- Scott Pickett's empire deepens in crisis as eighth company enters liquidation
- Liberal preselection intervention in Pakenham sparks local campaign revolt
- Dally M awards 2026: Red carpet arrivals kick off NRL's night of nights at Barangaroo
- Hello Please stakes a claim as Brisbane's most underrated restaurant
- Direct shuttle fares and trip times for Western Sydney International Airport revealed
- Sydney dentist stripped and indecently assaulted young women, court told
- Victorian Opera's The Turn of the Screw: three-star staging at Palais Theatre
- Helios Hotel opens in Malvern as three-storey Greek restaurant, not a pub
- Brisbane 2032 emblem: Thurston and Thaiday reveal second piece, admit guessing game
- Brisbane researchers' futuristic breakthrough offers new hope for rare blood types
Science3
AI research63
- Motion-space analysis exposes object movement flaws in generated videos
- Privacy guidance combining instructions and metadata labels halves agent confidential access
- Open-weight agents pose a distinct and growing risk for LLM pollution in online surveys
- New benchmark tests AI's ability to spot invalid code reviews
- Contrasting multiple trajectories sharpens skill learning for LLMs
- Query-side adapters recover full-context quality in KV cache reuse
- Attention distillation complements token-level supervision for reasoning models
- Curriculum training finds prompt injections that direct attacks miss
- More Harness Programs Do Not Necessarily Produce Useful Specialization
- Real tumor board discussions expose gaps in medical language models
- Sparse Human Label Overlap Undermines Reliable LLM Judge Validation
- Refining rejected candidates makes AI system optimization more efficient
- StepLearn lets agents use new knowledge immediately while requiring validation before persistent reuse.
- Temporal distance improves self-supervised goal-directed reinforcement learning
- Steering tool decisions helps, but correction does not guarantee repair
- Fixed LLM judges can mismeasure upgrades as agents change
- Verifying pivotal agent decisions improves reinforcement learning credit assignment
- Code-linked evidence lets AI software claims expire when dependencies change
- Typed action encoding helps language models learn adaptable agent policies
- Statistical gates help self-editing agents avoid lasting performance regressions
- Streaming KV caches makes agent context compaction faster to train
- Skill Images Can Steer Agents Into Unauthorized Actions
- Language models often hide flaws when summarizing their own work
- Learning options by focusing on relevant features instead of whole states
- Safety instruction influence controlled via eigenvalue modulation in transformers
- Targeted feedback improves memory retrieval for language model agents
- LLM-generated PTX rivals autotuned Triton across three GPU generations
- Models struggle to predict software behavior after stateful interventions
- Robots recover more often when vision-language models monitor failures
- Agents learn software repair rules that transfer across repositories
- Averaging rollout contexts improves label-free language model training
- Lightweight constitutional adapters improve jailbreak defenses without adversarial training
- Safety systems that learn from runtime experience protect LLM agents
- Activation steering sharply reduces indirect prompt injection in open models
- Structured intermediate rewards improve robots on long, dependent tasks
- Off-policy sampling avoids suboptimal traps in reward-guided self-training
- Complex hidden reasoning leaves traces, though monitors may miss them
- Coding agents struggle to turn software proposals into working changes
- Whole-system training improves general-purpose agents’ use of external tools
- Entity maps help search agents connect evidence across documents
- Adaptive mechanism selection improves LLM optimization across changing search states
- Conversational graph querying exposes a gap in model autonomy
- Correct Answers Often Fail to Prove Genuine Multi-Hop Reasoning
- Sampled text can steer black-box models past safety safeguards
- Hindsight-guided branching cuts reinforcement learning rollouts while improving results
- Incorrect peer messages can override an agent’s evidence-backed answer
- Validation-gated co-evolution improves agent models and execution harnesses
- Grounding long-video memories in visual identity lets QA systems track objects across days
- Self-privileged critic improves value estimation for RLVR
- Multi-agent framework generates spatial QA data via code execution
- Execution graph helps off-the-shelf teachers supervise student agents better
- Latent feedback helps Transformers carry information across generation steps
- Specialized executors follow declared agent plans more faithfully
- Fisher-Rao prompt curricula make GRPO training more rollout-efficient
- Merged coding-agent performance fixes often miss their claimed gains
- Counterfactual credit teaches language models which memories stay useful
- Some harmful fine-tuning examples drive far more misalignment than others
- FOCUS Compresses Agent Histories While Preserving Future Decisions
- Delayed recommendation feedback can guide useful evolution of agent memory
- Language models can manage their own context more efficiently
- Retrieving existing agent skills improves optimization across different execution harnesses
- Self-generated failure summaries help models solve previously impossible tasks
- Counterfactual videos teach humanoids to handle unfamiliar objects