California announces minimum wage increase as governor taunts Trump

California governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state’s minimum wage will rise to $17.40 next year, a ay floor set to become the highest of any US state.

The pay bump will go into effect starting 1 January, Newsom announced on Friday. The state’s current minimum rate is $16.90. In a news release, Newsom touted the move as a salve for working families amid high living costs and took a jab at the Trump administration.

Fighting breaks out in western Tigray as Ethiopia and TPLF trade blame

Clashes near Sheraro mark one of the most serious threats yet to the fragile 2022 Pretoria peace deal.

Fighting has broken out in western Tigray, in one of the most serious breaches yet of the three-year-old peace deal between Ethiopia’s federal government and fighters in the northern region.

Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row defends his work

A Cambridge University professor has defended his academic work after finding himself at the centre of a plagiarism row.

The row erupted after another academic - self-defined "race realist" Nathan Cofnas, who was sacked from his Cambridge role in 2024 - said he found numerous instances of plagiarism in Prof Jason Arday's work and questioned some of his stated achievements.

Greece battles raging wildfires as flames appear to ease in France

French wildfires show signs of easing, with containment efforts holding in Var and Gironde after destructive blazes.

Gale-force winds have fanned flames across multiple parts of Greece, intensifying a new front in Europe’s wildfire emergency, while major fires in France and Spain show signs of easing, with blazes either not advancing or under control.

Oil droplets remodel themselves, swallow their surroundings like living cells

Oil droplets remodel themselves, swallow their surroundings like living cells
Microscopic oil droplets change shape simply by being exposed to a soap-like molecule, eventually closing into a sealed capsule that traps a bit of the surrounding liquid and suspended particles. Credit: Florent Fessler, NYU

NYU researchers have made microscopic oil droplets in water do something usually reserved for living cells: change shape in complex, controllable ways and even engulf their surroundings.

The Rolling Stones ‘Behind the Song’: See Mick Jagger and Producer Andrew Watt’s Deep Dive on the Creation of ‘Mr. Charm’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Unlike most of his peers, the lead singer of the world’s greatest rock and roll band has never been one for looking back, even at the recent past. There’s a scene in one of the countless Rolling Stones documentaries in which that singer — Mick Jagger — and drummer Charlie Watts are walking into Olympic Studios in London, the incubator of some of their greatest work, and rather than waxing nostalgic, Jagger exclaims, “Old recording sessions — who gives a shit?” before he gamely gets back on the task and shares some memories.

How to create and delete stickers on your iPhone - Engadget

Add flair to your conversations and clean up those reactions everyone's getting tired of seeing

A person using iMessage on an iPhone

guteksk7/Shutterstock

Emojis and GIFs are great for reactions and conveying emotion, but new emoji offerings arrive slowly and there are only so many of them. GIFs offer lots more options, but you can't always find the right one to capture exactly how you're feeling. If you're looking for something that's much more personalized to yourself and your friend groups, you need to check out stickers on your iPhone.