Author: Press Room

It seemed like a good idea at the time.On Australia Day, with polls and betting markets predicting Peter Dutton was cruising to power, the Liberal leader said Jacinta Price would be minister for government efficiency in a Coalition government.The Trump-inspired appointment thrilled many conservatives — Mr Dutton’s natural supporters — who hoped Senator Price would bring an Elon Musk-style chainsaw to what they considered wasteful Indigenous and other social programs.In hindsight, it was a warning signal for Mr Dutton’s go-from-the-gut decision-making style: instead of years carefully planning detailed and well-crafted policies, the ex-policeman left important decisions late and seemed to…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Scottie Scheffler always seems comfortable on the golf course, but at his hometown TPC Craig Ranch for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this week it was pure bliss.Scheffler crushed the competition over the four-day event with a 31-under finish to win the event after posting another 8-under 63, the same result he put on the scorecard on Friday. But he had a chance at the PGA Tour’s all-time scoring record on the 18th green on Sunday when he looked at a birdie putt to finish 32-under. Only Justin Thomas (2017) and Ludvig Åberg…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldJohn F Kennedy was fond of the expression “don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up”. First laid out by English writer GK Chesterton, it is a reminder not to rush reforms through without considering the consequences. There are few better examples of how Donald Trump and his supporters are ignoring this principle than Republicans’ plan to scrap the US audit regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.Under the proposal, included as…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Swiss family offices that manage assets for the very wealthy are looking to move to Dubai as a confluence of factors from regulation to political debate over taxes erodes Switzerland’s attractiveness.Ronald Graham, managing partner of law firm Taylor Wessing’s Dubai office, said people at two large family offices, including one with billions of dollars of assets, had told him they were exploring moving to the United Arab Emirates and that regulation was the reason. One has already completed the move. He said:…

Comments aired ahead of Putin’s three-day ceasefire, as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says he does ‘not believe’ Russia will stick to pledge.Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that there has so far been no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, expressing “hope” that they will not be required. Putin said his country had enough “strength and means” to bring the three-year war, sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to a “logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires”. His comments were part of a documentary marking his quarter century in power by state television channel Rossiya 1 that was released on Sunday. Responding…

President Trump said Sunday he is directing his administration to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on an island near San Francisco, California.In a post on his Truth Social site, Mr. Trump wrote that, “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed…

A former assistant admissions director at Emmanuel College in Boston was arrested Friday and accused of soliciting an underage applicant for sex, the Justice Department said.Prosecutors charged the director, Jacob Henriques, 29, with one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor after he used his position to gain access to the personal information of admitted and prospective students, and tried to solicit them for sex, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Massachusetts.In a statement, Emmanuel College said that it fired Mr. Henriques after contacting law enforcement and starting an investigation. “Emmanuel…

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Microsoft — The tech giant jumped nearly 9% after beating Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations driven by its Azure cloud business. Microsoft issued strong guidance for the year. Meta Platforms — Shares popped 6% after the social media company reported first-quarter earnings of $6.43 per share on revenue of $42.31 billion. This beat analysts’ expectations of $5.28 per share on $41.40 billion in revenue, according to LSEG. On reports that Meta would be boosting its artificial intelligence spending, other semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia, Marvell Technology, Broadcom and Advanced Micro…

Westpac says Australian customers and the broader national economy are well placed to weather any potential fallout from Donald Trump’s tariff policy.Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller said despite the widespread uncertainty from the US President’s global tariff policies, Australia was in a good place.“Geopolitical uncertainty is a key risk that’s as high as it has been for a very long time,” he said.“Changes to global trade policies have impacted markets and funding for the bank.“Despite the volatility, it’s important that we look through the noise and avoid reacting to the headlines.“Australia is well placed to handle the instability.”For the six…

George Simion, a right-wing nationalist who has promised to “Make Romania Great Again,” won the first round of his country’s presidential election on Sunday, bucking the recent trend of voters punishing candidates seen as friendly to President Trump.With more than 98 percent of the votes cast inside Romania counted, Mr. Simion was far ahead of 10 rival candidates, garnering more than 40 percent. A partial count of the votes of Romanians living abroad, who generally tilt hard right, also gave Mr. Simion a big lead.The results, though incomplete, ensured Mr. Simion a slot in a runoff on May 18 against…