Champagne and caviar? Anyone can do it.

Blackstone says it has agreed to buy popular Whitsundays island from Australian winemaking family * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Hamilton Island, a popular tropical holiday destination on the Great Barrier Reef, has been sold to a US private equity firm, reportedly for $1.2bn. New York-headquartered Blackstone – which owns the casino-hotel chain Crown Resorts – released a statement on Tuesday night announcing it had entered into an agreement to acquire the Hamilton Island resort from the Oatley family, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Continue reading...

US president says tariffs on imported goods will come down from 145% rate but insists ‘we’re doing fine with China’ Donald Trump said during a White House news conference that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”. Trump’s remarks were in response to earlier comments on Tuesday by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who said that the high tariffs were unsustainable and that he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Continue reading...

Italy preparing for major security operation ahead of funeral on Saturday which is expected to bring a host of world leaders including Donald Trump Pope Francis’ body will be moved to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning where it will lie in state for three days to allow Catholic faithful to pay their final respects ahead of a funeral expected to bring a host of world leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump. Francis, a groundbreaking reformer, died aged 88 on Monday from a stroke and cardiac arrest, ending an often turbulent 12-year reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. Continue reading...