SINGAPORE: Visitors going to this year's Istana Open House on National Day may, for the first time, round off their time there with an outdoor evening concert on the lawns. The Istana, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Singapore, will welcome visitors from 9.30am to 8pm on July 26, a Sunday. The evening performances will run from 5pm to 7.30pm, with the last entry at 6.45pm. Visitors are encouraged to take along their own mats or field chairs to take in the live performances by Singapore artistes, the President's Office said in a media release on Wednesday (Jul 22). Taking the stage are singers Amsden Huang and Shazza,…

Washington State’s request to block the prediction market, Kalshi, has been granted by a King County Superior Court Judge due to the platform potentially breaking state gambling laws. Kalshi rose to prominence as a prediction market platform that allows users to bet on the outcome of a wide variety of outcomes like sports events, elections and even what people will say during public appearances. It was famously more accurate than pollsters in predicting Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory over Kamala Harris. There is currently an ongoing feud between state and federal government over who has jurisdiction to oversee these prediction platforms with the…

Hasbro, parent company of Baldur's Gate IP holders Wizards of the Coast and backer of Exodus developers Archetype Entertainment, have announced a $56 million impairment as part of their latest financial results. This recording of assets decreasing in value compared to their theoretical worth is tied to the company having cancelled "several games scheduled for release in 2028 and beyond". That leaves Hasbro's games lineup thinner going forwards, but with releases targeting 2027, like Exodus and Warlock: Dungeons \& Dragons, still on the way. According to Kotaku, while Hasbro didn't specify exactly which cancellations make up the impairment, one is…

The Duskbloods' first playtest - which will likely mark the first time anyone outside FromSoftware and Nintendo has played the Switch 2 exclusive - is coming next month, yet Google's AI search believes the subreddit r/TheDuskbloods already has official information. As spotted and explained by Ian Walker at Video Game Town, the elaborate jokes and shitposts have been going for a while, probably the product of waiting too long for a game without crumbs of new information - a feeling the GTA 6 crowd knows all too well. The main difference here, though, is that the diehard FromSoftware fans are a traditionally goofy bunch. The Duskbloods - Official Closed…

Serial dine-and-dasher who downed nine pints, three double vodkas and fish and chips and claimed his friend would pay £95.80 bill is sent to jail By DAVID OLASEINDE Published: 03:12 EDT, 22 July 2026 \| Updated: 05:31 EDT, 22 July 2026 A serial dine-and-dasher has been jailed after consuming nearly £100 worth of food and alcohol at a pub without paying. The most recent incident occurred when Anthony Lamont went to The Charles Dickens in Broadstairs on July 16 and ordered a meal and drinks for himself. When the bill arrived, he told staff he had no way to foot the bill, but had texted a girlfriend to come and cover the cost for him. Waiters doubted his…

SINGAPORE - The Istana will open its grounds to the public on July 26 from 9.30am to 8pm in celebration of National Day on Aug 9, with an evening outdoor concert to be held for the first time at the open house. The open-air concert will feature performances by local artistes and bands Amsden Huang, Shazza, Fourteen Aces and Soft Boiled Eggs from Project #JalanJalan, the President’s Office said in a statement on July 22. The public can bring their own mats or chairs to enjoy the performances on the lawns, with last entry at 6.45pm. Visitors can also look forward to sport, heritage and community activities for all ages and abilities, as well as cultural…

The biggest individual prize ever claimed in Lotto was $44.06 million won in Auckland a decade ago. Previous winners One Auckland player became an overnight millionaire after winning the sole $1 million Lotto First Division prize in last Saturday night’s live draw. The winning ticket was bought on MyLotto. Lotto said 17 players also won $27,913 each with Lotto Second Division. Three of those winners also picked up Powerball Second Division, taking their total winnings to $39,190. The Second Division winning tickets were sold in Riverhead, Auckland, Paeroa, Waihī Beach, Hāwera, Hawke’s Bay, Christchurch, Westport and elsewhere on the West Coast,…

Crypto casino billionaire’s father’s mansion in ‘suspicious’ fire Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. AAA A luxury beachside trophy home owned by the father of Australia’s youngest billionaire caught fire just weeks after a local council approved a $30 million renovation of the property. The $16 million, 15-bedroom, 15-bathroom estate owned by Jamie Craven, a convicted fraudster and father of crypto casino kingpin Ed Craven, went up in flames on Tuesday night, with police treating the incident as “suspicious”. The Sapphire Beach trophy home owned by Jamie Craven caught fire on…

With a little under one month left until the launch of Soulslike Mortal Shell 2, one of the game's physical versions can no longer be pre-ordered. Stock of the £55 ($70) PlayStation 5 Revered Edition is completely depleted, publisher Playstack announced. Making matters worse, the Revered Edition is exclusive to PS5. In fact, Sony's platform is the only way to get a physical copy of Mortal Shell 2 at all, which is quite ironic given that it's Sony who's eager to get rid of discs entirely. "Demand for the PS5 physical Revered Edition of Mortal Shell 2 has exceeded expectations and unfortunately supply across a number of retailers has now been fully…

Another senior Xbox executive has left the company. Jared Palmer has quit Xbox just two months after being appointed vice president of engineering and a technical adviser to chief executive Asha Sharma. He has joined artificial intelligence startup Cognition, where he will lead the company's engineering organisation. Palmer's departure follows a series of high-profile leadership changes at Xbox. Long-time Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer retired in February 2026 after 38 years at Microsoft, while Xbox President Sarah Bond also left during the same leadership reshuffle. Palmer announced his exit in a post on X, writing: "Personal update: I've joined…

Pauline Hanson has described domestic violence as “wrong” but a “two-way street”, and that women being abused should not put up with it, drawing condemnation from advocates who have accused the One Nation leader of victim-blaming. On Wednesday, Hanson told radio station 4BC domestic violence in Australia was a scourge but that society was under “so much pressure”, when asked to call out the issue. “It is wrong but it’s also a two-way street. I’m not saying that it’s just men, women can lose their cool as well. Society is under so much pressure … Everyone is under so much pressure and it’s really hard,” Hanson said. “Domestic violence is a scourge but…

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political…

The QS Best Student Cities 2027 rankings are out, and this year, four Indian cities have secured places among the world's top 150 student destinations. The annual index, compiled by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluates 150 cities across six indicators: university rankings, employer activity, affordability, desirability, student mix, and student view, offering a comprehensive picture of the world's best places to study. This year, Delhi has been recognised as the world's most affordable city for students, while Mumbai has emerged as India's highest-ranked student city, underlining the country's growing appeal as a higher…

Rebel Wilson has been cleared of accusations that she defamed a young Australian actress, a Sydney court has found. Charlotte MacInnes, who starred in Wilson's film The Deb, sued the Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect actress for allegedly harming her reputation in Instagram posts in 2024 and 2025. In the posts, Wilson accused MacInnes of retracting her complaint of sexual harassment against a film producer so she could further her career - a claim MacInnes denied. In court on Wednesday, Justice Elizabeth Raper dismissed the case, saying the imputation that MacInnes had changed her story about the incident was not defamatory. The judge ordered MacInnes to…

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 10: An aerial photo taken with a drone shows a group of white tents, constructed in a parking lot at the United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, serving as a mass COVID-19 vaccination center on March 10, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The site, which opened at full capacity today, expects to vaccinate 6,000 residents-per-day. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty Images The WNBA will host its 2026 All-Star Weekend on July 24-25 in Chicago. While the main events will take place at Wintrust Arena and United Center, fans can expect plenty of festivities throughout the city. Wintrust Arena will host the State…

PAX Aus has revealed an eclectic lineup of gaming and gaming-adjacent guests will be on deck for PAX Aus 2026 this October. Leading the list is Austin Creed, formerly known to wrestling aficionados by his WWE superstar Ring name Xavier Woods. A lifelong gamer, Creed is the host of popular gaming YouTube channel UpUpDownDown. Also appearing will be award-winning Australian composer and sound designer Mick Gordon, whose incredible work on the likes of 2016’s Doom and the follow-up Doom Eternal – as well as the much-loved MachineGames Wolfenstein series – has earned him enormous praise. Gordon will be taking fans on a tour behind some of this music.…

Former head of Burnout developer Criterion Games Fiona Sperry is doubling down on 2025’s Wreckreation by announcing a sequel is on the way. The news may come as unexpected, considering the lukewarm response to the original, and the fact that the entire team at developer Three Fields Entertainment was placed on notice of redundancy in the immediate wake of Wreckreation’s release, with no further support from publisher THQ Nordic forthcoming. Wreckreation 2 is technically being developed by a new studio called When Tides Turn, although this studio is reportedly staffed by veterans of Three Fields Entertainment. Prior to Wreckreation, UK-based Three…