A year on from the failed Voice referendum, the value of acknowledgement of country ceremonies are again being widely debated in Australia. But no one expected such a ceremony would be performed by an Australian government delegation in the Azerbaijan, 13,230km from Sydney, which has been dubbed ‘a complete farce’. Most Australians probably couldn’t find Azerbaijan on a map – it’s a former Soviet republic, partly in Asia and partly in Europe – but that didn’t stop delegate Dr Clare Anderson from performing an acknowledgement of country there to a near empty-room.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will soon have a new powerful job assisting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer plans to create a Congressional subcommittee chaired by the firebrand Republican from Georgia. Greene confirmed the ‘big news,’ writing on X that she’ll be working closely with Trump’s top allies.

An art installation of a banana duct taped to a wall that was previously hailed as a ‘defiant work of pure genius’ has sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $6.2 million. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ piece was snatched up by Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who outbid six other offers on Wednesday. ‘After over 6 minutes of heated bidding, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s and Chairman of Sotheby’s China, Jen Hua, placed the winning bid for ‘Comedian’ on behalf of, Chinese collector and founder of cryptocurrency platform TRON, Sotheby’s announced on X.

Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth has broken his silence on sordid sexual assault claims in a police report released on Wednesday night. ‘As far as the media is concerned, the matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,’ he told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday. ‘That’s where I’m gonna leave it,’ he said before walking away before meeting with more Republican senators who will vote on his nomination.

Captain Tom’s daughter and her husband were today branded ‘greedy and wicked’ as fury grew over their decision to pocket a £1.5million advance from the lockdown hero’s book deal and give none to charity. The Charity Commission concluded that Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore benefited ‘significantly’ through their association with the high-profile charity and were guilty of ‘repeated misconduct’. Among those criticising them today was former Met detective Mick Neville, who said their behaviour ‘strikes me as greedy and wicked’.

Ally McCoist has revealed he has an incurable hand condition which causes his fingers to bend towards his palms. The Rangers and Scotland legend said he has suffered from Dupuytren’s contracture for several years. The inherited condition causes an abnormal thickening of the skin in the palm of your hand at the base of your fingers which over time can cause one or more fingers to curl towards the palm or pull sideways.