Shipping firms question safety in strait of Hormuz despite Trump plan

High winds have hit the South Aegean and heavy rain has fallen in Turkey, but Central Europe has felt summer heatGreece and Turkey have found themselves in the grip of a late-season cold spell this weekend. Conditions will persist over the next few days as an area of low pressure situated over Turkey is pulling in colder, moisture-laden air from the north-east via the Black Sea; this meteorological set up has suppressed temperatures well below where they should be for the time of year. Away from the Mediterranean coast, much of Turkey struggled to reach double figures, which is around 10C below the average, while Greece saw a similar chill. In Athens, temperatures only crept into the low teens Celsius, a far cry from the mid-20s typically expected in early May.But they haven’t just faced cold. Greece had gale force winds whipping through the islands in the South Aegean – gusting around 60mph on Sunday evening, and the unsettled weather has brought a surge of heavy rain to Turkey. The Central Anatolia region of Turkey would normally see about 50mm of rainfall across the entire month of May, but on Sunday had already seen many areas pick up half that total in just 24 hours. With colder air in place, higher elevations have even seen a return to winter, with up to 30cm of fresh snow forecast across the Anti-Taurus Mountains on Monday and Tuesday. In Ankara, temperatures on Monday 4th are expected to peak at just 7C – nearly 14C below average – before slowly edging back towards normal by the weekend. Continue reading...

More than 7,000 join employment tribunal that will include claims for minimum wage and holiday pay More than 7,000 Just Eat couriers are taking legal action against the food delivery company in an attempt to gain better employment rights including the minimum wage and holiday pay.The employment tribunal, which begins on Tuesday and is set to run until 2 June, will determine if the couriers are classed as workers, a status that comes with improved rights, or self-employed independent contractors. Continue reading...

Job ready graduates program will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students with debts exceeding $50,000Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne in four humanities students will take more than 25 years to fully repay their student loans because of Morrison government changes to university fees, newly public Treasury modelling reveals.The job ready graduates program, introduced in 2021 under the former prime minister Scott Morrison, will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students saddled with debts exceeding $50,000. Continue reading...

The PM is clearly not prepared to risk backlash from Asian energy trading partners during a fuel crisis – but his government will face domestic challenges if it doesn’t move eventuallyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo separate events on Monday – one in rain-soaked Canberra, the other in sunny Gladstone – neatly explain why the federal government won’t pursue a new gas export tax in next week’s budget and why it might have no choice but to do so in the future.In the nation’s capital, Anthony Albanese hosted his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, for annual leaders’ talks that coincided with the 50th anniversary of the signing of a landmark treaty between the two nations. Continue reading...

Owner-occupier mortgage growth slowed under growing costs while investor loans grew by $42bn in the year to March, a 9.6% increaseGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProperty investor borrowing rose at its fastest rate in a decade in March, according to the Reserve Bank, despite higher interest rates and speculation about property tax changes.Owner-occupier loan growth slowed under the weight of growing mortgage costs but investor lending is continuing its record surge. Continue reading...

Austrian foreign minister says ‘forest of antennae’ at mission in Vienna being used for illicit collection of dataAustria has expelled three Russian embassy staff on suspicion of spying after determining that a “forest of antennae” on the diplomatic mission in Vienna, Europe’s espionage capital since the cold war, was being be used for illicit data collection.“It is unacceptable that diplomatic immunity be used to commit espionage,” Austria’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said on Monday. She added that the three embassy staff – whose expulsions bring the number of Russian diplomats sent home by Vienna to 14 since 2020 – had already left the country. Continue reading...

US secretary of state’s two-day visit reportedly intended to thaw Washington’s frosty relations with Vatican and ItalyThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will meet Pope Leo on Thursday, weeks after Donald Trump’s unprecedented broadside against the pontiff.Rubio will meet the first US-born pope privately in the Vatican’s apostolic palace at 11.30am (10.30 GMT), the Holy See’s press office confirmed on Monday after media reports on Sunday. Continue reading...

Future of Calvin Duncan’s position as the clerk of New Orleans’ criminal district courthouse remains unclearLouisiana Republicans eliminated an elected position days before a Democratic exoneree who overwhelmingly won the New Orleans-based post was set to take office on Monday.A temporary restraining order did allow the exoneree, Calvin Duncan, to take office as scheduled Monday as the clerk of New Orleans’ criminal district courthouse – though it remained unclear how long his tenure may prove to be. Continue reading...

Chris Minns says technology has been ‘weaponised against women, and our laws have not kept pace’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter their marriage of 25 years deteriorated and his wife expressed a desire to leave, a man in regional New South Wales bought a GPS tracking device from an auto parts retailer.He used it to monitor her movements for the month, and up to at least the day before he shot and killed her, and then turned the gun on himself. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sperm re-transplant offers hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could have biological children one dayIn a groundbreaking fertility trial, a man whose testicular tissue was frozen before he underwent chemotherapy as a child to be re-transplanted 16 years later has been able to produce sperm.It is the first time a transplant of cryopreserved prepubertal testicular tissue has been demonstrated to restore sperm production in an adult patient. The 27-year-old man had the sample frozen when he was 10, before undergoing potent chemotherapy as part of treatment for sickle cell disease. Continue reading...

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey backs launch of Vine reboot, Divine, where content must be made by a humanAs a pioneer of the short-form video format, Vine has been credited as one of the most influential – if short-lived – social media platforms.The app, which allowed users to record a looping six seconds of video, boomed in popularity after its launch in 2013, creating a plethora of viral comedy sketches and internet memes. It hit 100 million monthly active users at its peak and helped launch the careers of influencers like Logan Paul. Continue reading...