Alice Dempster

This is a Squiz podcast, where your shortcut to being informed.

Good morning, I'm Alice Dempster.

It's Wednesday the 15th of April.

In your Squiz today, Middle East peace talks are back on the table, Australian aviation tightens the belt, a change for world aquatics and a supersized mammal.

This is your Squiz today.

Andrew, I don't know about you, but we're nearly seven weeks into the war in Iran, and it's hard to guess what news we'll wake up to on it each morning.

The latest is that after the US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz began yesterday, President Donald Trump is saying this morning that peace talks may pick up again in Pakistan over the next two days.

And on that, since the war broke out, fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 2,000 people and at least 14 Israelis.

And so Lebanon's government is looking for a ceasefire.

Before that happens, though, Israel wants the Lebanese government to start disarming Hezbollah.

No, they're both still running competing blockades on the strait.

Some ships have been passing through, but the latest update from the US is that its military has warned six ships trying to make it through to turn around, and all six did.

So there's still not much movement happening there until there's a diplomatic breakthrough.

Music

While we're talking about the global fuel crisis, it is officially hitting the aviation industry here in Australia.

Yesterday, Qantas said it'll be raising its airfares and cutting domestic flights in response to the rising cost of fuel.

And it goes without saying at this point that it's not only airfares being impacted.

From today, Uber's adding five cents a kilometre to its fares.

But both Uber and the Transport Workers Union say that money will be passed on to the drivers, not Uber itself.

Coalition leader Angus Taylor made headlines yesterday when he laid out the first part of the coalition's hardline immigration plan.