WORLDTaiwan Travelogue, a love letter to food and adventure, wins International Booker PrizeThe story of romance, food and colonialism is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the prestigious award.BBC News·May 19, 2026
WORLDFormer governor general and Brisbane’s Anglican archbishop Peter Hollingworth dies at 91<p>Hollingworth, appointed governor general by John Howard in 2001, resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church</p><p>Former governor general Peter Hollingworth, who resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church, has died.</p><p>Hollingworth, whoThe Guardian·May 19, 2026
WORLD'Taiwan Travelogue' wins the 2026 International Booker PrizeThe novel is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.NPR·May 19, 2026
WORLDTickle Me Elmo and the ‘Elmo-Mania’ That Consumed AmericaIn 1996, the giggling stuffed doll turned holiday shopping into chaos, a preview of every sneaker drop, PlayStation launch and Taylor Swift ticket rush to come.NY Times·May 19, 2026
WORLDGreg Hyman, Co-Creator of Tickle Me Elmo, Dies at 78An electronics wizard, he was already a veteran inventor when he collaborated with Ron Dubren on an idea for a toy that giggled. The rest is retail history.NY Times·May 19, 2026
WORLDThe future of Google is a search box that does everythingLast year, after watching Google's I/O keynote, I wrote that it felt like Google's future was Google googling. After watching this year's I/O keynote on Tuesday, I don't think Google just wants to google for you - I think it wants to do everything for you, all from a search box. Take the trusty GoogThe Verge·May 19, 2026
WORLDDiscord enables end-to-end encrypted voice and video calling for every userGood news! Discord's hundreds of millions of users now have their communications scrambled, so not even Discord can see them.TechCrunch·May 19, 2026
WORLDNAACP urges athletes to boycott southern US universities over voting rightsOrganisation calls for Black athlete fan boycott over Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling, southern redistricting.Al Jazeera·May 19, 2026
WORLDVideo shows oil spill on Iranian island after refinery attack last monthThe impact of an oil spill caused by an attack on Iran’s Lavan refinery last month has been revealed.Al Jazeera·May 19, 2026
WORLDBoats, fire and a TikTok song - inside Arsenal's title winThe inside story of how Mikel Arteta turned Arsenal from 'nearly men' into Premier League winners.BBC News·May 19, 2026
WORLDHere are our favorite Memorial Day deals (so far)Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and the holiday’s sales include plenty of deals on gadgets that can help you make the most of the season. If your plans involve beach days, pool parties, or backyard barbecues, now’s a great time to pick up a portable Bluetooth speaker, as many of oThe Verge·May 19, 2026
WORLDDemocrats preview how they’d go after the Ticketmaster settlement if they regain powerA handful of Democrats called an unofficial hearing on Capitol Hill Monday to slam the Department of Justice's "trivial" and "pathetic" settlement with Live Nation-Ticketmaster, previewing how they might go after Trump administration antitrust deals if they win back congressional power in November. The Verge·May 19, 2026
