Tributes flow from across political spectrum for man known for high ideals but also remembered for controversially slashing welfare and health spending
Former New Zealand prime minister Jim Bolger, whose political legacy was defined by his deep commitment to reconciliation with Māori as well as his brutal cuts to welfare and deregulation of the labour market, has died aged 90.
Bolger died peacefully surrounded by his wife, Joan, nine children and 18 grandchildren, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. Bolger suffered kidney failure last year and had been undergoing dialysis.
News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by the Defense chief that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.
ASI Sandeep’s cremation to be held in Julana after post-mortem today, relative confirms
Following the confirmation that Assistant Sub-Inspector Sandeep’s cremation will occur in Julana at around noon today after a post-mortem examination, concerns surrounding his death continue to grow, reports 24brussels.
His relative, Satyawan Lathar, stated that the family has reached an agreement with the government to proceed with the post-mortem. “After the consent of the family, the post-mortem will be done today, and at around 12 noon, the last rites will be performed in Julana,” he explained. Lathar emphasized that the family has made no additional demands from authorities, confirming that they are cooperating fully to ensure a dignified farewell for Sandeep.
Sandeep’s body was discovered under suspicious circumstances on Tuesday near an agricultural field in Ladhot village, Rohtak. Rohtak Superintendent of Police Surendra Singh Bhoria identified the victim as Sandeep, who served in the Haryana Police’s Cyber Cell. Bhoria noted that a forensic team has been dispatched to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. “This was a hardworking ASI of our Police Department, Sandeep. He was very honest. His body has been found, and an investigation is being carried out,” Bhoria told reporters.
The case has drawn attention in light of another recent incident involving Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who died under questionable circumstances at his residence in Chandigarh on October 7. The emergence of both cases has raised serious concerns about the safety and mental health of police personnel in the region.
On Wednesday, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini met with ASI Sandeep’s family to express condolences and discuss the situation. The case has also prompted notable political reactions, including a visit by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who conveyed his grief over the incidents impacting the police force in Haryana.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent raises possibility of taking more direct stakes in companies to protect national security in wake of Beijing’s curbs on rare earths exports
The Trump administration has criticised China’s increased restrictions on rare earth exports as a threat to global supply chains, and said it would seek to tighten control over strategic sectors by taking more stakes in key companies to counter Beijing.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told an event on Wednesday that China’s dramatic new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets demonstrated the need for the US to be self-sufficient in critical materials or rely more on trusted allies.
Matthew Wilson and Saaras Mehan, the founders of Jack & Jill.
Jack & Jill
Jack & Jill raised $20 million for its AI recruitment agents that work autonomously for job seekers and companies.
The startup says its agents are used by more than 49,000 job seekers and hundreds of companies.
Business Insider got an exclusive look at the pitch deck Jack & Jill used to secure the funding.
A startup that’s built AI agents to autonomously match job seekers with hiring companies has raised $20 million in funding.
London-based Jack & Jill has developed two conversational AI agents for each side of the recruitment process.
One agent, called Jack, works with job seekers. It gathers information from a candidate’s LinkedIn profile, CV, and a 20-minute introductory conversation. Jack then searches for suitable jobs across the internet, provides coaching, and conducts mock interviews.
Jill, the other agent, works with companies. It scans job descriptions and has a briefing conversation with the in-house talent team to understand what the company is looking for in a candidate. Jill can then review applicants, source candidates from public platforms like LinkedIn, and conduct initial interviews.
The two AI agents can also interact with each other and make introductions over email.
“The key insight that we had with Jack & Jill is that AI enables us to combine the nuanced understanding that a human can have, with the scale that you can get from technology,” Matthew Wilson, the startup’s cofounder and CEO, told Business Insider.
Wilson cofounded Jack & Jill six months ago with Saaras Mehan after they became frustrated with what they saw as inefficiency in the recruitment process.
The startup says it has more than 49,000 job seekers using its platform, and counts hundreds of companies, including Airtable, Airwallex, and TrueLayer, among its customers. The service is free for job seekers, while Jack & Jill charges companies 10% of the base salary of a successful hire.
Wilson said he thinks AI will be “very disruptive for a lot of roles.” He added that there’s still plenty of room for humans in the recruitment process, such as focusing on “quality conversations” and strategy. AI can instead handle work that’s not “hugely value-additive” like scrolling through LinkedIn and reviewing CVs, he said.
The startup has 12 employees, and Wilson told Business Insider that it uses AI in areas such as coding, AI-generated marketing videos, and reviewing user interactions to complete more work with fewer people.
Investors pumped $2.8 billion into agentic AI startups globally in the first half of 2025, according to Dealroom data. The buzzy space has seen startups build AI agents for coding, customer support, cybersecurity, and many other areas.
Jack & Jill’s seed round was led by Creandum. It was also backed by Dig Ventures, Entrepreneur First, Ada Ventures, Firedrop, Repeat.vc, Episode1, and Playfair, in addition to more than 50 angel investors from companies including Lovable, Anthropic, and ElevenLabs.
The startup plans to use the fresh funding to expand in Europe and the San Francisco area.
Here’s an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Jack & Jill used to raise its $20 million seed round. Some commercially sensitive content has been redacted.
