Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Often dismissed as summertime sniffles, the condition that affects a quarter of UK adults can lead to serious and life-limiting health problems Read more: Pollen peril: how heat, thunder and smog are creating deadly hay fever seasons Sometimes the season starts as early as mid-April; other times it’s slower to get going. But for Lisa Ventura, June is consistently the cruellest month. “I might get lulled into a false sense of security: ‘Oh, it’s the end of May, it hasn’t started yet’,” she says in a heavy tone. “Then, as if on cue, it’s June the first – and bang.” Ventura suffers from “debilitating” hay fever. For about three months from early May, she cannot be outside for more than a few minutes before she starts sniffing and sneezing. “When it’s really bad, my eyes look like I’ve gone 10 rounds with a boxer – they are that swollen,” says Ventura. Continue reading...

‘During an election campaign, the last thing you want is to catch a cold from someone – so that’s on me,’ environment minister says Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Polls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverage Anywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guide Listen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: Gina Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese have brushed off an awkward moment at Sunday’s Labor federal election campaign launch when the prime minister appeared to block a hug from the environment minister, insisting that the pair are good friends. The interaction took place as Albanese greeted members of his frontbench in the audience, with Jim Chalmers giving him a backslap and the former PM Julia Gillard shaking his hand, before Albanese held her arm up in the air. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Early reports have led experts to believe there could be a surge in the deadly invader, threatening native species They have bright yellow legs, are about 25mm (almost 1in) long, and a single colony, if left unchecked, can “butcher” 90,000 pollinating insects in just one season. Since the first UK sighting in 2016 of Vespa velutina – the Asian or yellow-legged hornet – beekeepers and scientists have waged a vigorous campaign to minimise the damage this invasive species can do to Britain’s biodiversity and bee colonies. Continue reading...

Avadale’s one police officer says damage is heartbreaking but locals are resilient – ‘They’ll get it done’ Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast When Koss Siwers returned to his pub in outback Queensland nothing was where he left it and pretty much everything was coated with mud. Residents of Adavale, 900km west of Brisbane, have started coming back to the tiny outpost after evacuations forced by widespread flooding. Continue reading...