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Pope Leo XIV had a cancerous growth removed from his right lung in a 90-minute operation on Tuesday and "woke up normally" after the procedure, the Vatican said.

Leading US-based AI firms have disclosed over recent months a series of incidents where models under development have escaped containment measures to access the internet and have gone on to hack websites, including gaining unauthorised access to Australian government sites.

Follow the day’s news live.Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia missing out on $45bn of revenue from resources: GreensAs Labor prepares to introduce its bill for a gas reserve, the Greens are pointing out that there are tens of billions being left on the table because the government won’t properly tax the resource.We’re giving away billions in resource wealth while families struggle to pay the rent, put food on the table and afford basic healthcare.Labor can find billions to prop up the fossil fuel industry, but when it comes to making corporations like Santos, Woodside and Adani pay a fair return, suddenly it’s all too hard.The prime minister has a kink for punishing small businesses and a fetish for humiliating his treasurer. So I say this is a consistent pattern of behaviour where the prime minister constantly goes in, overrides his treasurer, humiliates him in public. I suspect it’s going to sour the relationship somewhat. Continue reading...

Golf clubs, private schools and car washes may face tighter rules from water companies as England’s drought continuesThree water companies are seeking to impose severe restrictions on businesses as the drought continues across most of England, putting rivers and wildlife under huge pressure.Golf clubs and private schools could be barred from using mains water to irrigate playing fields and courses, and commercial car washes stopped from operating, under “non-essential use bans” being sought by the companies. Continue reading...

Public gatherings stymied by bureaucracy, Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University researchers findGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCouncil red tape is stymieing the right to protest, a report has said, after a regional New South Wales council told a protest organiser they needed a $20m public liability insurance policy to hold a rally in a park.A report released on Wednesday, co-authored by Australian Democracy Network (ADN) and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection, raised concerns about incidents in which councils have required protest organisers to obtain insurance when rallies are held on council land. It also expressed concern about the power some regional and urban councils have to issue financial penalties if public gatherings are held without a council permit. Continue reading...

Federal court overrules decision by former environment minister for the McPhillamys goldmine development at BlayneyFollow our Australian politics live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal court has overturned a rare protection order issued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek under Indigenous heritage legislation, which the company said effectively blocked a goldmine in the central west of New South Wales.Regis Resources challenged the decision by the former minister to issue the order in 2024 under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Continue reading...

Rights groups warn of Tehran regime’s increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 600 this yearHuman rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post.Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court. Continue reading...

Faced with deadlier threats, demining groups are coming up with new ways of working using drones and AICrouched over on her hands and knees in a field of weeds, Olena Kabanova is digging into the ground. With a shovel and a steady hand, the 58-year-old digs out a neat square around the spot where a mine detector has sensed a suspicious object.Four years ago, this field in eastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian soldiers. Now back under Ukrainian control, it is littered with landmines. Civilians such as Kabanova are trying to make the land usable again. Continue reading...