Landmark laws will give security agencies new powers to obtain the encrypted communications of criminal suspects. How far do the powers go? And what do they mean for you? Here's what you need to know.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Joe Cannataci, has told a joint parliamentary committee that the government's proposed “Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 will lead to invasions of privacy and do nothing to actually thwart crime. He told the committee that increased use of encryption is not a problem and that criminals will simply use their own systems rather than commercially available ones.

Being the Queen of England definitely has its perks. In addition to being the fabulously wealthy figurehead of an entire nation and getting to have your face on coins and stuff, it turns out you also get first dibs on any dolphin entering British waters. No, really.

Double demerits will be in full force in select states and territories this long weekend. Stuff up just once and you could lose your licence. We explain where double demerits apply and the various traffic offences that are included.

Last week, authorities urged consumers in Queensland, NSW and Victoria to throw away strawberries from two Queensland brands after needles were discovered in punnets purchased at a Woolworths. Since then, the localised fruit tampering has mushroomed into a major health scare.

For many people there is something irresistible about chocolate. But in the hungry rush to make it part of our bodies there is a missed opportunity to meditate on the different gestural experiences chocolate affords.

As more affordable options have entered the market in recent years, the number of drone owners in Australia has dramatically increased.

But are there any laws or regulations surrounding drone usage? Absolutely, and if you're a drone user it's best to know them so you don't accidentally get fined.

The European Union has slapped Google with a $6.8 billion fine, alleging that the tech giant has acted in an uncompetitive manner by pre-loading apps and its services, such as Google search and the Chrome browser, onto Android phones. But as the specifics of the complaint are being pored over, it’s not clear how this will affect the more than 2 billion people across the globe who use Google’s Android operating system every month.

Ninjas (AKA shinobi) were covert mercenaries in feudal Japan who were trained in the arts of espionage, sabotage and guerrilla warfare. In the 1980s and early '90s they became a popular subject matter in Western entertainment, with countless masked assassins popping up in movies, TV shows and comics.

For some reason, this freaked the hell out of the UK government.

On the weekend, Netflix's US communications chief Jonathan Friedland was fired from the company for "descriptive use of the N-word" in the workplace. In an internal memo to staff, CEO Reed Hastings explained that Friedland had been let go for exhibiting "unacceptably low racial awareness and sensitivity."

Meanwhile, here in Australia, much has been made of "the right to be a bigot". This got us wondering - is it legal to terminate an Australian employee for using a racial epithet? Or would they have a case for unfair dismissal? Let's find out.

Double Demerits are in full force between June 8 and 11 June, 2018. Here are the states and territories where you need to be extra careful on the road this weekend and the various offences that the scheme applies to.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration have come down hard on the sale of 'Gold Viagra' capsules, after finding undeclared amounts of sildenafil - commonly known as Viagra - within. Sildenafil is a regulated substance and cannot be sold without TGA approval.

Dear Lifehacker, I played paintball for the first time over the weekend and I am addicted. I'm considering getting into it a little more professionally but I've heard a paintball marker is considered a firearm and I don't want to buy something if it can get me in some hot water. Do I need a licence?

The Easter holiday period is a bad time for road fatalities, so police will be cracking down on motorists in select states and territories. We explain where double demerits apply and the various traffic offences they apply to.

Australian-born Justine Damond was infamously shot and killed in Minneapolis by US police in July last year after innocently approaching their car. In Australia, far fewer people are killed by police firearms than in the US - even after taking population size into account. We look at what's causing this huge disparity.

The only thing that makes long-distance driving tolerable is music and/or podcasts. Unfortunately, using the car stereo isn't always an option. Perhaps the speakers are busted, or the person in the passenger seat hates your taste in music. In these situations, the obvious solution is to don a pair headphones. But is this actually legal?

AI-generated pornography – known as “deepfakes” – is becoming more convincing, seamless and real. People with rudimentary computing knowledge can now use artificial intelligence to swap the faces of actors in pornographic videos with those of people they know. Welcome to a new, terrifying era of revenge porn.

You don't want to live in a place that doesn't respect you as a person. Destination Pride, built by PFLAG Canada and ad agency FCB/SIX, rates cities around the world based on the legal rights and protections they give to LGBTQ people. While it's packaged as a holiday rater, it's more useful when choosing where to stay long-term.

You're probably aware of Newton's Laws of Thermodynamics, but are you aware of the physical and scientific laws that govern our interactions on the internet? No? Then you can educate yourself with this infographic.