From delays to refunds: how Australia’s air passenger charter could affect your travel rights

The Albanese government has bowed to pressure from Qantas and other airlines to not pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.The omission of a compensation scheme in the government’s draft aviation customer rights charter follows claims from airlines such as Qantas that compensation rules – which exist in the European Union – would force them to preempt costs and increase air fares. The charter was released on Sunday.When the government announced it would introduce an airline passenger charter of rights – to fall under a forthcoming industry ombuds scheme – it left open the door for the interim ombudsperson, Pauline Sullivan, to determine if a compensation scheme should be in the charter she was tasked with drafting.However, such a scheme is not included in the draft charter, which is now open for public consultation until the end of February

Party City shutters after nearly 40 years, firing workers without severance pay

The party is over at Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as the company announced Friday it was closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business.Barry Litwin, the Party City CEO, told employees that the chain was “winding down” operations immediately and that today would be their last day of employment.Staff were told they would not receive severance pay, and they were told their benefits would end as the company goes out of business, CNN reported.Litwin said the company’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges that had included inflation that had contributed to higher costs and dragged on consumer spending.The abrupt end comes just four months after Litwin was appointed CEO of the New Jersey-based company

The god illusion: why the pope is so popular as a deepfake image

For the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna.The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her. It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role.The head of the Catholic church is used to being the subject of AI-generated fakery. One of the defining images of the AI boom was Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket

Can I survive for 24 hours without GPS navigation?

Taxi and ambulance drivers are less likely than other workers to die of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a Harvard study published in the British Medical Journal.On the one hand, it makes total sense, navigation and spatial memory belonging in the hippocampus, which is the first region of the brain the disease atrophies. On the other hand, life expectancy is significantly lower than average in both jobs – 68 and 64 respectively – and Alzheimer’s typically afflicts those over 65.Nevertheless, there is a good argument to ditch the GPS simply because memory, particularly spatial, is use-it-or-lose-it, as a study in Scientific Reports demonstrated in 2020. We have become more and more reliant on Google Maps, even using it for journeys we know well

New Zealand lose to Australia: second women’s one-day international – as it happened

Thank you for joining me this afternoon, and Martin earlier in the day. We’ll see you back here bright and early on Monday for more, but in the meantime here is the report from Australia’s victory.It was a comprehensive victory set up by Annabel Sutherland’s stunning 105 from just 81 balls – her second ODI ton in succession. Four other Australians reached 25 or more but none pressed on to a major contribution.Australia were tidy with the ball without being spectacular

Michael van Gerwen promises ‘more to come’ after fast start at PDC worlds

Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a fourth PDC world title with a comfortable 3-0 victory against England’s James Hurrell.Van Gerwen, champion in 2014, 2017 and 2019, has struggled for form of late and not won a major televised tournament this year. But the Dutchman eased past Hurrell, who beat Jim Long on his world championship debut on Tuesday, in winning each set 3-1.“I think I played OK, of course like everyone knows it’s been a tough year for me,” Van Gerwen, the No 3 seed, told Sky Sports after his second-round victory. “To stand up here and do the thing you want to do always takes a lot of energy