الوصف
STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Tensions between the US and Iran have flared up again, leaving the Strait of Hormuz and a deal to end the war in jeopardy. The roar of jets and missile launches is echoing around the Middle East, as the US and Iran trade blows once again. This all comes after Iranian forces attacked a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the important passageway that around 20% of the world's oil supply has to go through. Even though last month, Iran and the US signed a ceasefire agreement, which included reopening the Strait. Both countries have continued to disagree on who controls it. Iran said on Sunday that the Strait was closed until further notice following the US strikes, but the US says that the strait is still open, with President Donald Trump saying his country will block all of Iran's ports and become the "guardian of the Strait", protecting all other countries' ships that pass through it. It'll come at a cost, though. The US says it'll charge 20% of the ship's cargo value as a toll. Iran says it won't allow the US to interfere with the management of the Strait, and the tension has restricted marine traffic, causing the price of oil to jump again, which some reckon could lead to a jump in fuel prices in Australia. While many also worry that the ceasefire agreement is falling apart altogether, President Trump has said that peace talks will continue to hopefully bring an end to the fighting.
DE MINAUR
Aussie tennis star Alex de Minaur has just snagged a career-high ranking. Despite a devastating knockout at Wimbledon, things have turned around this week for the demon, who's now landed himself at number 5 in the men's tennis global rankings. That makes him the first Aussie to make the top five since Lleyton Hewitt 17 years ago, and the seventh overall after tennis legends like Rod Laver and Pat Rafter.
FASTEST SPIDER
A new study has found the world's fastest spider, and spoiler, it's right here in Australia. Australia is famous for its spiders. Including some of the world's most venomous ones, and now, it's officially got the fastest. Meet the Australian Jungle Huntsman, aka Heteropoda jugulans. Well at least it's the fastest one according to this preprint study. It's a pretty common spider in Queensland, and while it might look a bit intimidating, it's harmless to humans. You see, the study analysed the speeds of 258 species of spiders from new and past research, and this huntsman was the fastest. This is professor Clemente and the new study included his huntsman data from 2021. The jungle huntsman can reach a top speed of 3.59 meters per second or 13 kilometres an hour, which is a faster than the average human jogs. But experts are still investigating other species, in case there might be a faster one somewhere out there.
SWAN COUNT
First up, to the annual swan count happening on the River Thames in England. It's an 800 year old tradition that started out as a way of hunting swans for banquets and special dinners. Teams of swan uppers row up and down the river, counting all the adult swans, and weighing the cygnets, which are the babies. And once they're done, the swan marker prepares a report and delivers it to the king!
BASTILLE DAY
Now, to France. Where it's Bastille Day! That's a day marking the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, a key moment during the French Revolution. And now, it's a national holiday, with fireworks and drone shows.
LUMBERJACKS
And finally, to a lumberjacking competition in Hungary! Where competitors have to chop wood in various ways as fast as they can. In the end, it was Andrea Hand from Canada, and New Zealand's Jack Jordan who took home the medals.
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