
Coles’ shameless ‘Down Down’ promotions have been exposed. So why aren’t they even trying to rebuild trust? | John Quiggin
Like millions of Australians, I shop at Coles. I’m not as careful as I should be, but I try to buy things advertised as being discounted, or on special. But after following a recent case before the federal court, I’ll be checking my old receipts before accepting such claims. In particular, I’ll be avoiding “Down Down” promotions. On the evidence before the court, such promotions are routinely used as a way of implementing price increases

Trump’s immigration siege is rattling hospitality industry, workers say
Donald Trump’s immigration policies are having a chilling effect on the hospitality industry, where nearly a third of workers are immigrants, according to the largest hospitality union in the US.The number of employed hospitality workers dropped by 98,000 from December 2024 to December 2025, according to a report from Unite Here, which represents 300,000 workers across the hospitality, food and tourism industries in the US and Canada.Union leaders say the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown has not only scared workers but has also discouraged international tourism. The US saw a decline of $1.2bn, or a 5

Tesla avoids California sales ban by removing ‘autopilot’ from marketing
Tesla will avoid a 30-day suspension of its dealer and manufacturer licenses in California, its biggest market, after the US electric vehicle maker stopped using the term “autopilot” in the marketing of its vehicles in the state.Tesla now uses the term “supervised” in references to its full self-driving technology and has stopped using “autopilot” entirely in its marketing in the state.State regulators said Tuesday that Tesla had stopped misleading drivers about the safety of its cars, and so the state will not suspend its state sales license for 30 days, as had been threatened.The decision by the California department of motor vehicles comes after CEO Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company was found by an administrative law judge last year to have misled drivers about the ability of Tesla cars to drive themselves in its use of the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving”. In 2022, the DMV had accused Tesla of misleading consumers by using “autopilot” and “full self-driving” for its advanced driver-assistance features

Zuckerberg grilled in landmark social media trial over teen mental health
The Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, testified at a landmark trial of social media companies on Wednesday. Plaintiffs’ lawyers grilled Zuckerberg about internal complaints that not enough was being done to verify whether children under 13 were using the platform.Zuckerberg claimed Meta had improved in identifying underage users but also said: “I always wish that we could have gotten there sooner.”Zuckerberg also said some users lie about their age when joining Instagram and that the company removes those it identifies as underage. The plaintiffs’ lawyers hit back at those claims: “You expect a nine-year-old to read all of the fine print? That’s your basis for swearing under oath that children under 13 are not allowed?” After repeated questioning about age verification, Zuckerberg said: “I don’t see why this is so complicated

Winter Olympics 2026: USA defeat Sweden in men’s ice hockey and glory for Shiffrin on day 12 – as it happened
Wow. Nothing like some late night Olympic drama. Before you hit the hay, spare a thought for Sweden’s goalkeeper Jacob Markström who stopped 38 of 40 shots this evening but ends up on the losing side and with his medal hopes dashed. Beautiful, cruel sport.Friday’s men’s Ice Hockey semi-finals are confirmed as Canada vs Finland and USA vs Slovakia

When curlers need snookers: Team GB fight on at Winter Olympics after day of drama
These are strained days at the curling arena, where the chances of the two British teams are teetering like a bus full of bullion that’s backed over the lip of a cliff.Both the men and women ended up in a position where they need to win every game they play and hope other results go their way to have any chance of making the semi-finals. Curling is one of the very few sports left being contested at the Winter Olympics in which the British fancy their chances, and Team GB’s hopes of getting anywhere near their medal target will turn on the curl of the stones in the next few days.Hang on a minute lads, anyone got a bright idea? “Play better,” the British skip Bruce Mouat told his team. The Brits had three matches between them on Wednesday

UK politics: Starmer says Reform’s pledge to restore two-child benefit cap in full is ‘shameful’ – as it happened

Labour insiders fear ‘annihilation’ in Lancashire local elections after U-turn

Reform UK would restore two-child benefit cap, Jenrick says in policy U-turn

Boss of BAE Systems urges ministers to publish delayed military spending plan

Nigel Farage unveils Reform UK frontbench team and warns over dissent

What made ministers think they could delay local elections in England?
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