Datacentre company Firmus’s high flying valuation may be coming back down to earth ahead of expected ASX debut 08. October 2026 (02:57) Sources say Firmus is slashing its price and may even shelve initial public offering altogetherThe momentum behind Firmus Technologies’ high-flying valuation is showing severe cracks just weeks out from its anticipated ASX debut.Multiple sources briefed on the matter told Guardian Australia the AI datacentre company is slashing its valuation to entice sceptical investors – or may even shelve its initial public offering altogether.Jonathan Barrett is Guardian Australia’s business editor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Margaret Hamilton, trailblazer whose software powered Apollo 11 moon landing, dies at 90 08. October 2026 (02:40) MIT computer scientist led development of software for moon mission and earned Presidential Medal of FreedomMargaret Hamilton, the computer pioneer whose software powered the first moon landing, has died, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Wednesday. She was 90.In an era before titles such as software engineer and computer scientist became mainstream, Hamilton, who died on 30 September, learned to program under the tutelage of a renowned MIT meteorologist. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Patricia Krenwinkel, former Manson follower, granted parole for third time 08. October 2026 (01:37) The 78-year-old has spent nearly six decades in prison and California governor has overturned last two parole grantsPatricia Krenwinkel, a former Charles Manson follower, was granted parole on Tuesday after nearly six decades in prison for her role in the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles.This is the third time that Krenwinkel, 78, has been approved for release by California’s board of parole hearings. After both of her last two parole grants, Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, reversed the parole board’s decisions and denied her freedom, and Krenwinkel’s attorneys are now urging the Democrat to allow this latest ruling to stand. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Leon Botstein resigns from Bard roles as key Democrat demands investigation into Epstein links 08. October 2026 (01:07) Jamie Raskin says ‘startling’ email asked whether young woman was ‘for me, or are you keeping her for yourself’A powerful Democratic lawmaker has called for a criminal investigation into former Bard College president Leon Botstein after congressional investigators uncovered an email from Botstein to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in which he says Botstein asked if a young woman was “for me, or are you keeping her for yourself”.The latest development appears to have triggered the immediate resignation of Botstein from all Bard-affiliated positions, including his professorship and roles in Bard’s music programs. Botstein had led the college for 50 years and only recently stepped down as president. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bendy elm still standing against all odds crowned UK tree of the year 08. October 2026 (01:01) Hundred-and-fifty-year-old Wych elm in Newcastle, Co Down has grown sideways owing to strong windsThe “astonishing and bizarre” Bendy Tree in Northern Ireland has been crowned the winner of this year’s tree of the year competition.The wych elm tree, located in Newcastle, County Down, owes its name to its near horizontal trunk, which has grown sideways owing to the strong seaside winds coming off the Irish Sea. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rubio in Greece digs into past to tout Trump’s ‘America first’ approach 08. October 2026 (00:05) In the shadow of the Parthenon, the secretary of state gave a selective reading of history as he urged Europe to ‘awaken from its slumber’The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, delivered a classically inspired apologia for Donald Trump’s “America first” foreign policy on Wednesday, giving a sweeping speech to the backdrop of the Parthenon in Athens that appeared tailor-made for campaign ads if he runs for president in 2028.In the speech, the top US diplomat drew historical parallels from the founders, philosophers and conquerers of antiquity to the modern American spirit – as well as his family’s own journey to the United States – as he called on Europe to “awaken from its long slumber” and reject a “future of atrophy and servitude and decline”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Texas set to carry out first US execution since botched lethal injection of Christa Pike 07. October 2026 (23:57) Jamaal Howard’s lawyers urged halt, citing risk of another failed execution, but court denied requestTexas on Wednesday is scheduled to carry out the first execution in the US after the the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee last week.Lawyers for Jamaal Howard, a Texas man on death row for capital murder, sought to halt the execution, arguing there are similar risks as in the case of Pike, but a Texas court denied the stay request on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Family of student who took his own life say university ‘will be held to account’ 07. October 2026 (23:52) Ethan Scott Brown died after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate from the University of Glasgow The family of a student who took his own life after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate have said the University of Glasgow “will be held to account”.Ethan Scott Brown, 23, was due to graduate in December 2024 after studying geography. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Christa Pike ‘angry, confused’ and unable to move arms after failed execution, lawyers say 07. October 2026 (23:34) Attorneys say Pike was set to be taken off life support before she woke up, as judge orders officials to preserve evidence Christa Pike awoke “angry and confused” after surviving two lethal injections, her attorneys said on Wednesday, as a judge ordered Tennessee state officials to preserve all evidence related to the failed execution.Pike, 50, was taken to hospital unconscious but alive from Tennessee’s execution chamber last Wednesday after two supposedly lethal doses of the barbiturate pentobarbital. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Neither war nor peace’: Palestinians in Gaza on existing amid disease, despair and ruins 07. October 2026 (23:00) People tell of lives changed beyond recognition after the 7 October attacks by Hamas three years ago and the subsequent Israeli offensive Ahmed Ishtaiwi has six chairs. They are cheap and plastic and battered, but they are among the 43-year-old driver and mechanic’s most valuable possessions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
