Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting to pay hundreds of millions’ worth of royalties to rival family in ‘half loss half win’

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to retain royalties from the mammoth Hope Downs iron ore project and will be forced to pay Wright Prospecting half of its royalties from the project, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.In a landmark ruling in the Western Australian supreme court on Wednesday, justice Jennifer Smith said that Wright Prospecting had successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties paid from the project.But the court has dismissed Wright Prospecting’s claim to ownership in other mining assets held by Hancock Prospecting.“It could be found that Wright Prospecting won half of its case and lost half of its case,” Smith said.A spokesperson for Wright Prospecting said it “welcomes the decision of Justice Smith delivered in the Supreme Court today”

Air New Zealand's economy Skynest bunk beds set for launch

Economy passengers on Air New Zealand’s ultra-long-haul flight between Auckland and New York can book a spot in the airline’s bunk-bed style sleeping pods from May, which will take to skies in late 2026.In what the airline says is a world first, six full-length, lie-flat sleeping pods, are squeezed into the aisle of the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The pods, known as “Skynest”, will include fresh bedding, a privacy curtain, ambient lighting and kit with eye-masks, skincare, earplugs and socks.Premium and economy passengers will still be required to buy traditional seats for the 17-hour flight but have the option of booking a four-hour pod session, for an additional NZ$500-600 ($295; £217) per session. There will be two sessions available per flight initially, and passengers will be restricted to booking one slot

NAACP lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s xAI of polluting Black neighborhoods near Memphis

A new lawsuit accuses Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company of illegally spewing toxic pollutants into the Black neighborhoods on the border of Tennessee and Mississippi.The suit, filed on Tuesday in Mississippi federal court, alleges xAI is violating the Clean Air Act due to emissions from its makeshift power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, which powers its datacenters in south Memphis. The NAACP, represented by environmental groups Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, says xAI has been polluting the surrounding historically Black communities by using dozens of methane gas generators without permits. The organization is seeking to force the company to stop operating its unpermitted turbines in Southaven.“All too often, big corporations like xAI treat our communities and families like obstacles to be pushed aside,” said Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP

China now the ‘good guy’ on AI as Trump takes ‘wild west’ approach, MPs told

China is now the “good guy” on AI rather than Donald Trump’s US, where the technology is being pursued in a dangerous “wild west” manner, a former UN and UK government adviser has told MPs.Prof Dame Wendy Hall, who was a member of the UN’s AI advisory board and co-wrote a review of AI for Theresa May’s government, told the House of Commons business and trade committee that China was backing multinational attempts to introduce global governance of AI, in contrast to America, which had set up a race between profit-hungry companies that relied on hype.“China is doing some amazing work in AI, and in fact, at the moment they’re acting as the good guys because the US is totally against any regulation and talk about global governance,” said Hall, who is director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton. “It’s all Maga. It’s all: we’re going to win at all costs

NFL reporter Russini resigns amid ‘self-feeding speculation’ over photos with Patriots’ Vrabel

NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet.The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at an Arizona resort and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on 29 March.“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini said in a letter sent on Tuesday to The Athletic’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg. “When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful

Javokhir Sindarov earns world chess title shot with stunning Candidates win

Javokhir Sindarov will challenge for Gukesh Dommaraju’s world chess championship this fall after clinching the Candidates tournament with a game to spare on Tuesday afternoon in Cyprus.The 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster closed out an emphatic victory in the 14-game double round-robin with a tame 58-move draw playing with the black pieces against Dutch star Anish Giri, moving to 9½ points and leaving the world No 9 two adrift with one round remaining.“After he exchanged queens [20 Qxa6] ..