Move aside sheep, crops are taking over in mixed-farming regions
Mixed farming, which involves growing crops and rearing livestock, used to be standard practice in Australia, but there are almost 100 million fewer sheep in Australia than there were 35 years ago. ⌘ Read more

Locals to be consulted on plan for new Alice Springs library
The location for the new Alice Springs Public Library was announced late last month, with residents soon able to have their say on what they want included in the $20 million facility. ⌘ Read more

Woman Hailed As a Hero For Smashing Man’s Meta Smart Glasses On Subway
“Woman Hailed as Hero for Smashing Man’s Meta Smart Glasses on Subway,” reads the headline at Futurism:

As Daily Dot reports, a New York subway rider has accused a woman of breaking his Meta smart glasses. “She just broke my Meta glasses,” said the TikTok user, who goes by eth8n, in a video that has since garnered millions of views.

” … ⌘ Read more

‘Treasured’ gallery that costs ratepayers millions faces a problem
More than three years after a Tasmanian council green-lit a plan to ease the financial burden of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, stakeholders worry momentum has stalled. ⌘ Read more

Government reveals future plan for Queensland racing industry two months late
The Next Lap plan will establish a $200 million infrastructure fund, streamline governance, and maintain taxation levels, and comes about two months after an independent review into the sector. ⌘ Read more

EU hits Musk’s X with $210 million fine for breaching bloc’s social media law
European Union regulators say the breaches of the bloc’s digital regulations could leave users exposed to scams and manipulation. ⌘ Read more

Elderly accountant jailed for $9.6m scheme ripping off friends, family
An elderly Perth accountant who stole nearly $10 million from family, friends and former clients is jailed for more than 11 years. ⌘ Read more

Native trees poisoned along beach in exclusive township where homes sell for millions
Six Australian native trees have been poisoned on public land along one of Queensland’s most expensive and exclusive beachside streets. ⌘ Read more

Miners build massive gold stockpiles at Perth Mint amid record prices
WA gold miners are stockpiling millions of dollars worth of the precious metal, believing it is more valuable than cash in the current environment. ⌘ Read more

Bending Spoons Buys Eventbrite For $500 Million
Longtime Slashdot reader williamyf writes: The Italian company Bending Spoons seems to be on an acquisitions spree. Their recent acquisitions of AOL and Vimeo are not yet finalized, yet on Dec. 2 they announced they are buying Eventbrite, a company specializing in publicizing and organizing local events, for just half a milliard USD. Bending Spoons’ portfolio also includes other c … ⌘ Read more

Queensland government raking in billions as land tax net widens
Thousands more properties have fallen under Queensland’s land tax regime, as the state is projected to raise hundreds of millions in extra revenue each year from the charge. ⌘ Read more

‘Read the fine print’: Insurers are short-changing patients, doctors say
A new report from Australia’s peak doctors’ body says private health insurance is increasingly failing to deliver value to the roughly 15 million Australians who hold a policy. ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Loses Fight To Keep ChatGPT Logs Secret In Copyright Case
A federal judge has ordered OpenAI to hand over 20 million anonymized ChatGPT logs in its copyright battle with the New York Times and other outlets. Reuters reports: U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in a decision made public on Wednesday said that the 20 million logs were relevant to the outlets’ claims and that handing them over would not risk vio … ⌘ Read more

ATO pursues accomplished barrister over long-standing tax debt
Brisbane-based lawyer Matthew Hickey has been quietly facing a tax fight, with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) bill now sitting at about $2.7 million. ⌘ Read more

Live: Marles says Australia will stay with Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says Australia will stay with Ukraine for as long as it takes, after announcing an additional $95 million in military assistance. Follow live. ⌘ Read more

Windows 11 Growth Slows As Millions Stick With Windows 10
Despite Windows 10 losing free support, Statcounter shows Windows 11 holding only a modest lead of 53.7% market share compared to Windows 10’s 42.7%. Analysts say the slow transition reflects both hardware limitations and a lack of must-have Windows 11 features compelling organizations to refresh their fleets. The Register reports: The Register spoke to Lanswee … ⌘ Read more

Australia to provide Ukraine with $95m funding boost
Australia will provide an additional $95 million in military assistance to Ukraine and slap a fresh round of sanctions on ships believed to be part of Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet”. ⌘ Read more

More than 1 million people left homeless by deadly floods in South-East Asia
More than 1,300 people are dead and 1.2 million displaced following devastating flooding and landslides in South-East Asia. ⌘ Read more

Proton therapy cancer unit debacle leads to $US32m lawsuit
Seven years ago, cancer patients forced to travel overseas for proton therapy were promised an Australian-based service — but the project collapsed last year and is now at the centre of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. ⌘ Read more

Zillow Drops Climate Risk Scores After Agents Complained of Lost Sales
Zillow has removed climate risk scores from over a million home listings after real estate agents argued the data was scaring off buyers. TechCrunch reports: Zillow first added the data to the site in September 2024, saying that more than 80% of buyers consider climate risks when purchasing a new home. But last month, following object … ⌘ Read more

Trump Administration To Take Equity Stake In Former Intel CEO’s Chip Startup
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: The Trump administration has agreed to inject up to $150 million into a startup (source paywalled; alternative source) trying to develop more advanced semiconductor manufacturing techniques in the U.S., its latest bid to support strategically important domesti … ⌘ Read more

High-rise hotel planned for Darwin Waterfront scrapped after controversy
A $100 million luxury hotel planned for the Darwin Waterfront has fallen through, after concerns were raised by Larrakia traditional owners over its interference with a sacred site. ⌘ Read more

Zipcar To End UK Operations
“The car-sharing company, first launched in the U.S. in 2000, has been active in the UK since 2010 and has just under half a million members,” writes Slashdot reader guesstral. “‘I’m writing to let you know that we are proposing to cease the UK operations of Zipcar,’ wrote Zipcar UK’s general manager, James Taylor, in an email to members today. He went on to say that Zipcar will temporarily suspend new bookings after D … ⌘ Read more

Korea’s Coupang Says Data Breach Exposed Nearly 34 Million Customers’ Personal Information
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: South Korean e-commerce platform Coupang over the weekend said nearly 34 million Korean customers’ personal information had been leaked in a data breach that had been ongoing for more than five months. The company said it first detected the unaut … ⌘ Read more

Coral reefs have fuelled severe global warming in Earth’s past
Over the past 250 million years, periods when coral reef growth has peaked have coincided with big rises in sea temperatures ⌘ Read more

UK ‘Not in Favor’ of Dimming the Sun
The British government said it opposes attempts to cool the planet by spraying millions of tons of dust into the atmosphere – but did not close the door to a debate on regulating the technology. From a report: The comments in parliament Thursday came after a POLITICO investigation revealed an Israeli-U.S. company Stardust Solutions aimed to be capable of deploying solar radiation modification, as the t … ⌘ Read more

Overlooked solution to housing crisis could unlock a million new homes: CEDA
The public policy think tank, CEDA, believes Australia could increase its current housing stock by nine per cent if just one in four standalone homes in the five biggest cities are developed into dual occupancies. ⌘ Read more

WACA seeks total exemption from paying council rates until 2035
The Western Australian Cricket Association has asked the City of Perth for a 10-year exemption from paying any rates. If granted it would potentially cost the city $2.5 million in revenue. ⌘ Read more

Hillcrest jumping castle operator seeking possible ‘millions’ in costs
The operator of the jumping castle at the centre of the tragedy in which six schoolchildren died in 2021 is seeking to recoup potentially “millions” in court costs following her being found not guilty of a health and safety charge in relation to the incident. ⌘ Read more

Death toll tops 800 as intense storms hammer Asian countries
At least 212 people are dead and 218 are missing in Sri Lanka as floods, cyclones and torrential rain continue to affect millions of people across Asia. ⌘ Read more

Gold Coast urged to curb car dependence after light rail loss
With the population heading toward 1 million, the Gold Coast is being urged to overhaul its transport system or risk becoming defined by traffic. ⌘ Read more

Info to Decipher Secret Message in Kryptos Sculpture at CIA HQ Auctioned for Nearly $1M
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Associated Press:

The information needed to decipher the last remaining unsolved secret message embedded within a sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia sold at auction for nearly $1 million, the auction house announced Friday. The winner will get a pri … ⌘ Read more

WA government pledges $14.8m for domestic violence refuges across state
The WA government commits $14.8 million towards family and domestic violence refuges across the state, with one provider saying it will help support women facing “life and death” situations. ⌘ Read more

What Happens When You Kick Millions of Teens Off Social Media? Australia’s About to Find Out
27 million people live in Australia. But there’s a big change coming if you’re under 16, reports CNN:

From December 10, sites that meet the Australian government’s definition of an “age-restricted social media platform” will need to show that they’re doing enough to eject or block children u … ⌘ Read more

‘Dirty, disgusting money’: The heiress giving away her entire fortune
When Marlene Engelhorn inherited tens of millions of dollars from her grandma, she felt she had two choices: do something about it, or confirm she was “full of sh*t”. ⌘ Read more

The Battle Over Africa’s Great Untapped Resource: IP Addresses
In his mid-20s, Lu Heng “got an idea that has made him a lot richer,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

He scooped up 10 million unused IP addresses, mostly form Africa, and then leases them to companies, mostly outside Africa, “that need them badly.”

[A]round half of internet traffic continues to use IPv4, because changing to IPv6 can be expensive a … ⌘ Read more

Sterile flies take to the sky in Kangaroo Island eradication push
Researchers on Kangaroo Island have been breeding and releasing millions of sterile Australian sheep blowflies in an attempt to eradicate the pest. ⌘ Read more

Viral Song Created with Suno’s genAI Removed From Streaming Platforms, Re-Released With Human Vocals
An EDM song by the British group Haven ran into trouble in October after it shared clips of upcoming song “I Run” on TikTok.

The song “was an overnight viral sensation online,” writes Digital Music News — racking up millions of plays “even before it hit streaming serv … ⌘ Read more

Framework Computer Now Sponsoring LVFS / Fwupd Development
With the Linux Vendor Firmware Service serving more than 135 million downloads for Linux users updating their system and device firmware, LVFS has been working to get more hardware vendors to contribute either engineering resources or directly contributing annual dues as sponsors. Framework Computer is now the first one to have executed an agreement under these new sponsorship efforts… ⌘ Read more

Terminated Bedford staff in limbo, with millions owed in entitlements
Former Bedford staff have said they are owed millions of dollars in entitlements after they were made redundant when the disability employment provider entered voluntary administration earlier this year. ⌘ Read more

Police seize $8.4m in assets after alleged illicit tobacco raids in the NT
Police have seized about $8.4 million in assets, including two cars and a jet ski, and almost 1 million cigarettes, following an operation targeting the NT’s illicit tobacco trade. ⌘ Read more

Australia’s Streaming Quotas Become Law
Australia’s streaming quotas have become law. Legislation requiring the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max to spend a portion of their local earnings on original Australian content has been passed in parliament, and now comes into effect. From a report: The quotas were announced earlier this month. This will see global streamers with more than one million Australian subscribers made t … ⌘ Read more

Robots and AI Are Already Remaking the Chinese Economy
China installed 295,000 industrial robots last year – nearly nine times as many as the United States and more than the rest of the world combined – as the country races to automate its manufacturing base amid rising labor costs at home and tariff threats from abroad.

The nation’s stock of operational robots surpassed 2 million in 2024, according to the Intern … ⌘ Read more

Dispute over Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre’s estate lands in Supreme Court
A legal battle over the reported multi-million-dollar estate of Virginia Giuffre, who was abused by US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is underway in Western Australia. ⌘ Read more

A crystal Fabergé egg is expected to sell for more than $40 million
The egg is covered in a snowflake motif. It was designed to open up to reveal a surprise — an intricately made bouquet of flowers. ⌘ Read more

Travel company embroiled in overcharging scandal worth more than $100m
Corporate Travel Management helps arrange travel bookings for clients ranging from Wesfarmers to the Australian government. ⌘ Read more

Man allegedly travelled with $2.75m drug haul on bus from Melbourne to Adelaide
Police say a man has been charged for allegedly carrying $2.75 million worth of illicit drugs while travelling on a bus from Melbourne to Adelaide overnight. ⌘ Read more

Australia Spent $62 Million To Update Its Weather Web Site and Made It Worse
quonset writes: Australia last updated their weather site a decade ago. In October, during one of the hottest days of the year, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) revealed its new web site and was immediately castigated for doing so. Complaints ranged from a confusing layout to not being able to find information. Farmers were parti … ⌘ Read more

AI Can Technically Perform 12% of US Labor Market’s Wage Value, MIT Simulation Finds
Researchers at MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have built a simulation that models all 151 million American workers and their skills, then maps those skills against the capabilities of over 13,000 AI tools currently in production to see where the two overlap. The answer, according to their analysis: 11.7 … ⌘ Read more

Vatican records first surplus in years, driven by $421m in donations
Donations to the Holy See in 2024 helped it turn around a 51 million euro deficit to record its first surplus in years, according to the Vatican’s economic secretariat. ⌘ Read more