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British musician and producer Jamie XX Photo: Alasdair McLellan When it comes to fine-tuning a dance track, nothing beats real-time feedback from a live audience says electronic musician Jamie xx. "As a DJ you get to stand there and really engage with how a song works. A lot of it has to do with the structure and where the bass and the kick sit and how they hit and how they feel on a massive sound system," he told RNZ's Music 101. As he completed his new solo record In Waves, xx says he was excited to finally share the finished songs. "If I'm still in love with that piece of music I can get such an instant visceral reaction from the crowd." This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. Jamie xx (aka James Smith) has made three albums with indie band The xx and rel...

Former Acting Regent of Nduga, Edison Nggwijangge, far left, with Susi Air Pilot Phillip Mehrtens, right, after his release. Photo: Dok. Istimewa New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed from more than 1 1/2 years in captivity in West Papua, Indonesia, Indonesian police announced on Saturday. "We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani said in a statement released to media. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and is undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said. "We managed to pic...

Philip Mehrtens is seen in video from Indonesian media. Photo: Screenshot New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has reportedly been freed from more than 1 1/2 years in captivity in West Papua, Indonesia. The Indonesian police announced it in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reported. "We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani said in a statement released to media. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and is undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said. New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens wa...

By Andrew Goudsward and Kanishka Singh, Reuters Republican presidential candidate, former US president Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo: JEFF SWENSEN / AFP / GETTY A US Secret Service probe found communication gaps and a lack of diligence ahead of the July attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. "There was complacency on the part of" some agents "that led to a breach of security protocols," Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters on Friday, adding that agency employees will be held accountable. "These penalties will be administered according to our disciplinary process," Ro...

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Joe Biden Saturday. (File image) Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that he is confident the AUKUS defence pact will be supported by any future US administration, after a meeting with President Joe Biden that covered bilateral defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Biden is set to hand over the presidency after a 5 November election that will deliver the White House to his vice president, Kamala Harris, or Republican Donald Trump, who has vowed a confrontational approach with China and voiced scepticism about traditional US alliances. The US is Australia's closest security ally. "There is no question in my mind that AUKUS will continue to have the support of any future US admin...

By Larissa Ham, ABC News Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett were found dead at their home in Easey Street, Collingwood on 13 January 1977. Photo: Supplied / Victoria Police A man has been arrested in Italy over the infamous Easey Street murders in inner-city Melbourne almost 50 years ago. A 65-year-old man, who is a dual citizen of Australia and Greece, was nabbed at an airport in Rome on Thursday night, with a charge and warrant placed for his arrest. The arrest follows a decades-long investigation by Victoria Police's Homicide Squad, following the murders of housemates Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, who were found dead at their home in Easey Street, Collingwood on 13 January 1977. Both women, who had last been seen alive on the evening of 10 January that year, had...

By Juveria Tabassum and Nicholas P Brown, Reuters Nike said on Thursday that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO. Photo: AFP Nike said on Thursday that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO, as the sportswear giant shakes up its leadership amid efforts to revive sales and battle rising competition. The company's shares rose 8 percent in after-hours trading. Hill was at Nike for 32 years and held senior leadership positions across Europe and North America where he helped expand the business to more than US$39 billion, the company said. He was previously Nike's president, consumer marketplace, leading all commercial and market operations for the Nike...