News Corp had no first-hand source suggesting Sam Groth’s wife underage at start of relationship, MP’s lawyer tells court 30. October 2025 (03:26) Australia’s new privacy laws to be tested as Victorian Liberal MP and wife Brittany Groth sue over Herald Sun articlesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA News Corp journalist had “not one piece of information” to suggest the deputy Victorian Liberal leader, Sam Groth, began a relationship with his wife when she was underage, the MP’s lawyers have told a court.In what a federal court judge described as a “test case” for Australia’s new privacy laws, Groth and his wife, Brittany, are suing the Herald and Weekly Times (HWT), reporter Stephen Drill and the Herald Sun’s editor, Sam Weir, over a series of articles published in July. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to hold meeting in South Korea amid hopes for trade deal – live updates 30. October 2025 (02:49) Summit on sidelines of Apec is the first between the leaders of US and China since 2019, and comes after tensions have been strained by Trump’s trade warDonald Trump says he has instructed his defence department to immediately begin nuclear testing on a par with Russia and China’s testing.The US president posted on his Truth Social platform a short while ago in the lead-up to today’s talks with Xi Jinping that the US “has more nuclear weapons than any other country” and claimed he accomplished that during his first term, also saying:Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump directs Pentagon to ‘immediately’ start testing US nuclear weapons 30. October 2025 (02:40) US president references China and Russia in Truth Social post shortly before meeting with President Xi JinpingDonald Trump has instructed the US Department of Defense to begin testing nuclear weapons at a level equal to China and Russia.In a Wednesday post to Truth Social, Trump said that, “because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
National guard deployment in Washington DC extended until February 30. October 2025 (02:28) Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth gives approval for troops to remain in US capital past November end, CNN reportsNational guard troops sent to the nation’s capital will reportedly remain there through at least February.The order was set to lapse at the end of November but was extended by Pete Hegseth, who leads the US Department of Defense. As of Wednesday, there are nearly 2,400 national guard troops in Washington DC, according to CNN. The network also notes that their presence costs about $1m daily. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate showdown looms after Watt labels Pocock revolt against government secrecy a ‘dummy spit’ 30. October 2025 (02:21) Labor could retaliate against Coalition for supporting Pocock’s motion after government loses control of SenateFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor could remove Coalition members from parliamentary committees as punishment after the government lost control of the Senate on Wednesday, when a complicated stoush over transparency saw David Pocock lead a push to dramatically extend question time and force ministers to answer more questions.A major showdown is looming after the Coalition, Greens and crossbench defied the government to force changes to long-held conventions and rules in the upper house, a rare move Labor minister Murray Watt labelled a “dummy spit”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Boris Johnson tells Tories to stop ‘bashing green agenda’ or risk losing next election 30. October 2025 (02:00) Former PM says he has not seen party ‘soaring in the polls as a result of saying what rubbish net zero is’Boris Johnson has warned the Conservatives they will not win the next election by “bashing the green agenda”.The former prime minister said he had not seen the Conservatives “soaring in the polls as a result of saying what rubbish net zero is”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Grieving daughter of cruise ship passenger left behind on remote Australian island says ‘there was a failure of care’ 30. October 2025 (01:15) Suzanne Rees, 80, was found dead on Lizard Island a day after her cruise ship the Coral Adventurer left without herFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe family of an 80-year-old who was left behind by her cruise ship and died on a remote Queensland island has alleged there was a “failure of care and common sense”.Suzanne Rees was on the second day of a luxury 60-day circumnavigation of Australia when she disembarked the Coral Adventurer at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday morning. She and other passengers had intended to hike the island’s Cook’s Look mountain. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Only full abolition of two-child benefit cap will substantially cut poverty, thinktank says 30. October 2025 (01:01) Half-measures would have little or no meaningful impact on child poverty rates, Resolution Foundation analysis findsFailure to abolish the two-child benefit limit would wreck the government’s child poverty ambitions and risk creating levels of hardship not seen under a Labour government for more than half a century, an analysis warns.The Resolution Foundation said political courage was required for ministers to show they are serious about reversing trends that, if not addressed, would push the rate of child poverty to a historic high by the end of the decade. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Teenage boys using ‘personalised’ AI for therapy and romance, survey finds 30. October 2025 (01:01) Male Allies UK worries rise in chatbot ‘girlfriends’ will leave boys unable to socialise and respect boundariesThe “hyper-personalised” nature of AI bots is drawing in teenage boys who now use them for therapy, companionship and relationships, according to research.A survey of boys in secondary schools by Male Allies UK found that just over a third said they were considering the idea of an AI friend, with growing concern about the rise of AI therapists and girlfriends. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Microsoft reports strong earnings as Azure hit by major outage 30. October 2025 (00:56) Tech giant reports earnings of $3.72 per share day after deal with OpenAI pushed value of company to more than $4tnMicrosoft blew off concerns of overspending on AI on Wednesday, reporting elevated earnings even as it faced an outage of its cloud computing service, Azure, and its office software suite, 365. The strong earnings report comes a day after a deal with OpenAI pushed the value of tech giant to more than $4tn.After its Xbox and investor relations pages went down, the company issued a statement that said: “We are working to address an issue affecting Azure Front Door that is impacting the availability of some services.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
