headlines
Friday
15
May
2015
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Business chief: employers must rearrange benefits despite 'scam' claimJoe Hockey calls it a scam, but Kate Carnell says employers will have no choice but to find ways to help employees to keep government payments -
BB King was rare – a game-changer who was also belovedThe blues legend, who has died aged 89, pioneered a style – with a grace that made him a hero
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Government refuses to rule out funding coal projects with new fundThe $5bn budget package to develop infrastructure in the region aims to boost economic activity through funding at cheap interest rates -
Budget week 2015 atmospherics tell us an early election is a possibility, cuddly Scott Morrison reverts to Old Scott, and a new imperative looms for Bill ShortenFive things we learned in budget week
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highlights
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Queensland: the new coal frontierWhat will the proposed massive coalmining complex in the Galilee Basin and port mean for the Indigenous community, the Great Barrier Reef and the world’s climate?
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15 quirky contendersNew Zealand is appealing to the public to design and vote on a new flag, and the results are as weird and wonderful as you’d expect
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SBS’s Struggle Street has been criticised for exploiting its subjects. But poverty in Australia is a little-understood problem that deserves attentionStruggle Street is only poverty porn if we enjoy watching, then turn away
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Islamic school allegations to be investigated by Christopher PyneEducation minister to look into reports school scrapped national anthem, banned piano on the grounds it is evil and stopped boys and girls sharing corridors
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Chinese-language backpacker websites used to advertise $9-an-hour jobsTaiwanese working holiday maker advocacy group investigates listings offering pay rates well below award wages and insisting on unpaid training periods
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US calls on Nauru to lift restrictions on Facebook and other sitesBan imposed weeks ago limits Nauruans’ access to information and makes communication difficult for asylum seekers held in Australian detention centre
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Kim Jong-un's vulnerability on display as rumours aboundCancelling his first trip abroad and purging his once-powerful defence chief suggest the young leader is struggling for legitimacy, says Adam Cathcart
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in depth
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Detainee says he was sexually abused by policeAngel Perez, now the 13th person to describe to the Guardian detainment at the secret police site, is joined by four others in a lawsuit seeking justice from the city
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What would happen if Britain left the EU?Growth, trade, immigration, jobs, diplomacy: what would the impact be if a 2017 referendum pushed UK towards the exit?
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The ups and downs of a pop superstarDo you find it hard to keep up with the world of Britney? Here's a handy timeline, from Britney aged 10 belting out the heartbreak, to age 30, a Vegas veteran
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The chair flew up and knocked out my teethOur readers share their wildest job interview disasters. You can read more of their stories on GuardianWitness
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Amtrak: How America lags behind rest of developed world on train safetyExperts say US rail signaling is ‘primitive’ after officials admit an automatic safety system common elsewhere would probably have prevented the derailment
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'Greece's claim is nationalist rhetoric that deserves to fail'The Greek restitution case is romantic, sure, but doomed – and false. Imagine the chaos if all countries, from Italy to Turkey, started demanding treasures back
pictures & video
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Why Róisín Murphy's Hairless Toys is the one album you should hear this week
Alexis Petridis recommends Hairless Toys, pop outsider Róisín Murphy's new album
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Shock jock explodes over threat against Johnny Depp’s dogs
Shock-jock Kyle Sandilands and Barnaby Joyce go head to head in an explosive radio interview over Johnny Depp's dogs
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New York's hair-raising 90s drag queen scenePhotographer Michael James O’Brien captures Manhattan’s most glamorous drag queens – Miss Guy, Ebony Jet, Butch Queens in Chanel – who were out in their finery and fetish gear for Wigstock festival in 1992
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Shattered schools remain closedFollowing the two devastating quakes, urgent action is needed to assess the damage to buildings and allow children to resume their education, says UN report
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Knee-high rainforest: push for Unesco protection in WA
A group of scientists in Western Australia are leading the bid for a Unesco world heritage area to be created in the south-west of the state
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Shia pilgrims carry a mock coffinPhoto highlights of the day: a symbolic funeral in Baghdad, anti-government protests in Burundi, and a pop-up kitten cafe in Sydney
people
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Director to tackle Stalin satireIannucci to return to film for first time since 2009’s In the Loop with adaptation of graphic novel charting chaotic days following death of Soviet dictator
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Real girl in la-la landPitch Perfect 2 star is an expert in playing twitchy high-achievers with a hint of control freakery. In real-life she’s an endearing dork. She talks about passionate fans and Hollywood gender equality
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'I’ve been married to Quentin Tarantino for 22 years – the best marriage of my life'Presenting his annual preview slate of upcoming Oscar hopefuls at the Cannes film festival, super-producer wheels on stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Sienna Miller and makes touching tribute to The Hateful Eight director
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‘We live in a very toxic world’The star of George Miller’s return to a world of petrolhead mania on why we should be worried about the issues of sustainability and healthy procreation raised by the film
the big picture
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The Giro d'Italia through the yearsWith the 2015 Giro d’Italia well under way, we’ve had a rummage through the archives to checkout some of the races from yesteryear
Spending more time with your baby is not a rort, it's the point of PPL