The Algorithm Age

Children's imaginations ran wild when a man from the moon with a pencil for a nose began to squiggle. Mr Squiggle lit up TV screens for 40 years — and now, decades after the kids' program last aired, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra is displaying hundreds of iconic Mr Squiggle items. The exhibit includes creator Norman Hetherington's artworks, scripts, and puppets. Hetherington operated and voiced the blue-haired, floppy, pencil-nosed puppet, with the role a perfect marriage of his skills as a cartoonist and puppeteer. Nineties kids will remember Mr Squiggle's sidekicks grumpy Blackboard, Bill Steamshovel and Gus the Snail. There was also Miss Rebecca, the daughter of Norman Hetherington and the show's last host. "The museum has done such an amazing job of collating it and restoring bits and pieces that needed a little bit of attention," Rebecca Hetherington said. "I'm so excited that...

One thing is certain when Wimbledon rolls around each year – aside from, y'know, the tennis. It's that the crowd at the tournament is inevitably dotted with famous faces , be they Hollywood stars, influencers or icons of the sporting world. Some are even lucky enough to wind up in the famous Royal Box , sitting in the presence of actual royalty at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. READ MORE:  The Aussie dressing royalty: 'Often they'll buy things themselves' After seeing the photos, you might have quietly pondered: how, exactly, does a David Beckham or an Olivia Rodrigo end up in the prestigious section when they aren't a royal? The hottest ticket in town The Royal Box, a Wimbledon institution since 1922, is a strictly invite-only section next to the stadium's Centre Court that sits 74 people, with no tickets available to the public. As you can guess from the name, members of the British and overseas roy...

Chris Carmack , who plays Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln on Grey's Anatomy , is hopeful his character makes it out alive after the Season 21 finale aired on May 15. The explosive episode left viewers with more questions than answers, particularly about Link and if he made it out of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital alive after it went up in flames. "Well, I can tell you how I feel about the ending because I thought it was really exciting. I thought it was a fun episode, and I've been on the show for seven seasons now, and I've never been able to be part of those nail biting cliffhangers where you don't know what's going to happen. We've had them happen — just not to my character. Mine is always like, 'Is he going to propose?' or, 'Is she going to say yes?' Mine has always been kind of romantic, but finally, it's like, 'Does he live or die?' I haven't talked to the writers yet, so fingers crossed, but I ...

Wimbledon 2025 day four is underway and the royal box is already packed with a star-studded guest list made up of TV presenters, actors and sports stars. Day four of the world-famous tennis tournament features a packed schedule with a raft of British players in action, including Jack Draper and Dan Evans , the latter taking on Novak Djokovic on Centre Court . Yesterday, Emma Raducanu headlined a brilliant day for British tennis at Wimbledon that also saw wins for Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. Beyond the tennis, there have been plenty of famous faces for fans to spot, with the likes of Dave Grohl , Olivia Rodrigo and John Cena showing up on day three . The opening day at SW19 saw England football icons Sir David Beckham and Gareth Southgate rub shoulders with actors Eddie Redmayne and Jason Isaacs. Perhaps the biggest draw on day four is Bear Grylls , the infamous adventurer and TV presenter. The royal box, situated in the prime-vi...

Lizzo is working on her fitness after debuting a shocking weight loss . The "Juice" singer, 37, gave a glimpse inside her gym routine in a Wednesday, July 2, video. The pop star flaunted her slimmed-down physique as she performed ball slams, bicep curls, skater hops and battle rope exercises. She alternated between several athleisure looks, including a red, long-sleeve cut-out top and tiny black biker shorts. Lizzo later donned a white bodysuit and sweatpants while performing step-ups onto a stool. The Instagram video was set to one of the musician's recent releases, "CRASHOUT." Lizzo posed for the summer 2025 Women's Health cover, holding a rope while extending her back leg into a lunge. "The Covergrrrl is BACK 💪🏾😤," she captioned a July 2 post announcing the feature. Lizzo's Weight Loss In January, the Grammy Award winner shared that she reduced her body mass index (BMI) by 10.5 points a...

Michael Madsen , a stoic actor who worked frequently with director Quentin Tarantino and appeared in various acclaimed films from the 1980s onward, has died, according to his publicist Liz Rodriguez. He was 67. Rodriguez told CNN that Madsen had a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in his Malibu, USA home Thursday morning. "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many," said a joint statement from his managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith of Bohemia Entertainment and Rodriguez. READ MORE: Photo that fuelled Beckham family feud rumours Sgt. Christopher Jauregui, watch commander for Los Angeles Sheriff Department Lost Hills Station confirmed to CNN Thursday that deputies responded to Madsen's home in Malibu this morning and found him "unresponsive." He was pronounced dead at 8:25am local time and no foul play is suspected, Jauregui added. Illustrious body of work Madsen was a pr...

The US Congress has passed President Donald Trump's huge tax breaks and spending cuts bill, bringing an end to days of debate and overnight voting in the Capitol. House Republicans propelled the $4.5 trillion (€3.8 trillion) One Big Beautiful Bill Act to final congressional passage on Thursday, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve Trump's signature second-term policy package before a 4 July deadline. The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of sceptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to him to sign into law. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting by holding the floor for more than eight hours with a record-breaking speech against the bill. "We have a big job to finish," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. "With one big bea...

Of the five charges Sean 'Diddy' Combs faced trial over, he was only found guilty of two — and they were the least serious ones. A relieved Combs celebrated in court and told his family he would be home soon, but the matter is not over yet. And the verdict is not the end of the road for alleged victims, with dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse which are yet to be dealt with. Here's what happens next. What was Diddy found guilty of? Two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution These were the least serious charges against Combs. What was Diddy found not guilty of? One count of racketeering conspiracy Two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion One of the trafficking charges was related to Combs's ex girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura. The other trafficking charge related to another ex-gir...

The Israeli government said Thursday that Donald Trump’s plan to relocate nearly two million Palestinians from Gaza is “still active,” despite widespread opposition from U.S. allies and warnings from rights groups that it would constitute a war crime. “President Trump has made clear that plan is most definitely still active,” Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said in response to a question from The Independent about the plan’s status. “We think it's a good idea. The Prime Minister has praised the idea. It's certainly out-of-the-box thinking,” he added. The White House did not deny the plan was still a possibility when asked by The Independent. “President Trump has long advocated for creative solutions to improve the lives of Palestinians, including allowing them to resettle in a new, beautiful location while Gaza rebuilds,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said. The comments come ahead of a visit from Israeli Prime Minist...

Queensland Police have been handed a covert recording in which it is alleged a representative of a Chinese investment group asks a player at an NPL club to engage in match-fixing – and even provides instructions on how he could manipulate a game without being caught. The audio file has been submitted to Football Australia, Football Queensland and the police as investigations continue into a suspected failed betting scheme at Gold Coast United , the former A-League club previously owned by billionaire Clive Palmer which now participates in the Queensland NPL, the state’s top men’s division. This masthead revealed last week that a match between third-placed Gold Coast United and second-placed rivals Moreton City Excelsior had been called off just hours before it was to begin, as football authorities learned of a suspected plot to lure players into a match-fixing operation. Multiple sources with knowledge of what took place, who spoke to this masthead on ...

A woman walks her dog down a street in Clayfield. It’s windy, but sunny, and tradesmen rush about renovating multimillion-dollar homes. Most of the houses are empty on this weekday afternoon. A scattering of teenagers, having ditched their private school blazers during the holiday weeks, roam palatial properties barefoot and carefree. In a nearby park, small children laugh and squeal in the playground. But just days earlier, flashing sirens and homicide detectives swarmed the streets, slicing through the gentle holiday buzz following reports of a brutal stabbing. Halfway up the road, a towering white wall wraps around a property protecting the home from peering eyes. Behind it is a sprawling home with bay windows lapping up vistas from Brisbane’s city skyline. The events inside this $5.4 million home reverberated beyond the close-knit neighbourhood and captured the nation’s attention. Greg Josephson, the co-founder of clothing chain Universal Store, w...

It’s been a bad week for cruise ships . First there was the young girl who fell overboard in the Bahamas, swiftly pursued by her heroic dad. Then Cannes followed Venice, Nice, Barcelona and Amsterdam in becoming the latest city to ban or restrict giant cruise ships . Finally, Netflix’s new documentary Trainwreck: Poop Cruise told of how in 2013 a fire caused a ship to be cast adrift without power in the Gulf of Mexico. With the toilets no longer flushing, the 4,200 people aboard spent four days defecating into plastic bags. But if that’s the nightmare version of cruising , then Channel 4’s new series Supercruising: Life at Sea is all about selling the dream. This extended advert for a Dutch-American company follows two of their ships: one that is sailing 3,000 passengers from Dover to North Africa, and another that is ferrying a similar number around the Caribbean. The series is very much in the vein of all those other Channel 4 programmes about five-sta...

The Wolves Always Come At Night ★★★ While Berlin-based Australian filmmaker Gabrielle Brady is currently developing her first fully fictional feature, The Wolves Always Come At Night marks her second foray into what she calls “docu-feature”, a hybrid storytelling form that merges observational documentary with elements of fiction, driven by the subjects of the film. Her first was Island of the Hungry Ghosts , which was set on Christmas Island and used the visually arresting annual migration of land crabs as a metaphor for the journeys of asylum seekers across the world. A counsellor called Poh Lin Lee served as a kind of focal point in that movie, helping give individual human shape to stories of mass movement. Lee is involved in the new film too, credited as “narrative therapy consultant”. Also returning is Aaron Cupples, whose work on the ethereal land- and windscape-inspired score is just as impressive as it was on the ...

Ozzy Osbourne is heading to his home to take his final bow with a little help from his heavy metal friends. The self-styled Prince of Darkness announced in February he was getting the band back together for the first time in 20 years for one last concert. The singer and his original Black Sabbath bandmates will reunite on stage to perform as part of a day dedicated to the music. Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, the show’s music director, said: “This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever.” It will also be a fundraising event for charities chosen by the artist and an opportunity for the 76-year-old, who has Parkinson’s, to bid farewell to fans and the genre he was instrumental in creating. When is the Black Sabbath ‘Back to the Beginning’ gig? Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert will be held on Saturday 5 July at Villa Park, the home ground of Aston Villa FC . Osbourne has been a life-long supporter of the club. Gates open at 1...

One of OJ Simpson’s attorneys has explained how a single “smart move” made by Sean “Diddy” Combs’s defense team may have been why the rapper was found not guilty on two of the more serious charges in his sex trafficking trial. Alan Dershowitz, part of the Simpson “Dream Team” that got the late disgraced athlete acquitted in the killing of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994, said Combs’s defense team was right not to put him on the stand. “Ultimately, the smart decision was not putting OJ on the witness stand. The smart decision here was not putting Combs on the witness stand,” Professor Emeritus Dershowitz told Fox News Digital. “The difference is we want a complete victory. They got a partial victory, but an almost complete victory, so I commend them for excellent work.” “I think this was a good day for justice today, and it showed the power of juries to stand up against the federal government,” he added. “And that's a nec...

Director John Maclean is back in cinemas this summer with his second film, a decade after his award-winning and critically acclaimed debut, Slow West. The revisionist Western starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee saw him named by Bafta as ‘a Brit to Watch’ and claim a jury prize at Sundance. It was dubbed one of the films of the year and still has a 92% score from critics on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes . And now Maclean’s finally returned with his second film – ‘notoriously difficult’ in Britain, he says – a Scottish samurai Western, naturally. Starring Jack Lowden, Tim Roth , Japanese model and songwriter Kōki and Shogun’s Takehiro Hira, Tornado sees a Japanese puppeteer’s daughter get caught up with criminals when their show crosses paths with a crime gang in 18th-century rural Scotland. A refreshingly unusual combination of things, Maclean reveals that Tornado ‘led on’ from Slow West as an idea, examining the concept of nationality aga...