RUSH HOUR: Stories you need to know today

ALDI has come up with a bizarre solution for feeding vegetarians — and customers say it makes giving up meat look a whole lot more appetising.

Passengers are warned to expect delays at airports around the country today. Picture: Tom Huntley

• Surprising killer of meth users
• Lotto loser’s enormous bill
• Former Ipswich mayor’s brothel scandal
• Aldi’s bizarre vegetarian solution
• Royals had no sex for “seven years”
• Passengers face nationwide delays
• Crash on Melbourne’s EastLink
• Sydney meat mincer bomb plan

Live: Rush Hour

Good morning! It’s been alleged the two father-and-son teams arrested in terror raids in Sydney over the weekend were planning to hide a homemade bomb inside a meat mincer. Drivers are warned to take care on Melbourne’s EastLink Freeway following a crash early this morning, and passengers should arrive early and expect delays at security at airports around the nation.

9:00am

Surprising killer of meth users

The number of Australians killed as a result of methamphetamine use has doubled in just six years, but not necessarily as a result of overdose.

Professor Shane Darke from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre described the findings of a new study, released today in the academic journal Addiction, as a public health crisis.

His team examined 1649 fatalities linked to the illicit drug between 2009 and 2015 and found a mortality rate up to six times greater than the general population.

Professor Darke found a “hidden danger” in meth-related deaths, in the form of damage to vital organs from even modest amounts of the drug.

In 22 per cent of cases, ‘natural’ disease like cardiac arrest or stroke were the common causes of death, Professor Darke said.

“Many users may be unaware that heart disease is a major factor in methamphetamine-related death.”

8:30am

Lotto loser’s enormous bill

The broke factory worker who lost a legal bid to get a slice of a $40 million jackpot from his colleagues has moved to the US.

Father-of-five Brendan King, from Sydney, has accepted a transfer from his company to South Carolina after being hit with a $1 million bill for legal fees.

“It got too much for Brendan, he’s a good guy, he transferred with the company to Lexington two weeks ago and will be there for two years,” Fahad Saleem, a co-worker from the Cromer plant, told the Daily Telegraph.

“It’s a fresh start in life for him and his family.”

- click here to read more

Mr King’s colleagues formed a syndicate that won a $40 million Powerball draw. Picture: Toby Zerna

8:00am

Former Ipswich mayor’s brothel scandal

Paul Pisasale, the former mayor of Ipswich in Brisbane’s southeast, took developers to brothels in his council car, according to explosive new claims.

The Courier-Mail reports Mr Pisasale’s former driver, Stephen Potts, has now detailed his account to corruption investigators.

Mr Pisasale was a wildly popular mayor whose career crashed spectacularly in May this year when he was stopped with $50,000 at Melbourne airport.

He resigned a month later when it emerged the Crime and Corruption Commission was probing his activities.

The former politician has since been charged with extortion and other offences unrelated to these allegations, which he plans to defend.

— read more in the Courier-Mail

7:30am

Aldi’s bizarre vegetarian solution

Aldi has come up with a bizarre solution for customers looking to maintain a vegetarian diet — but it’s not exactly balanced.

This freezer, spotted at one of the discount grocery chain’s British stores, is stocked entirely with garlic bread.

Journalist Joe took Twitter to share a photo of the stock, commenting: “The ‘vegetarian’ section at my local aldi is literally just garlic bread and as a vegetarian i’m very happy and here for it.”

Many have joked that it would be easy to give up meat if it meant they could eat the buttery, garlicky deliciousness all day instead.

the "vegetarian" section at my local aldi is literally just garlic bread and as a vegetarian i'm very happy and here for it pic.twitter.com/CvAbffK42K

— joe (@gnarlydweeb) July 29, 2017

6:55am

Royals had no sex for “seven years”

Prince Charles and Princess Diana didn’t have sex for seven years, according to a new program on Britain’s Channel 4, which lays bare the couple’s marital dysfunction.

The program draws on taped sessions between Diana and her voice coach, claiming Charles was “all over Diana like a bad rash” when they first started dating, but it wasn’t long before their sex life fizzled out altogether.

The Princess worked with Peter Settelen for two years in the early nineties to help improve her public speaking voice, and their appointments became a safe place for her to vent her anxieties and frustrations.

The show “Diana: In Her Own Words”, reveals Charles told her he had a right to a mistress, that when Diana begged the Queen for marriage advice she was simply told “Charles is hopeless”, and that she fantasised about running away with her bodyguard.

A new British TV show has laid bare Diana’s anxieties and frustrations. Picture: Ken Goff

6:30am

Passengers face nationwide delays

Airport security has been drastically ramped up following terror raids in Sydney over the weekend, with passengers are warned to expect long delays.

Thousands across the country have been hit with enhanced screening processes, including more ID checks and increased cabin and checked baggage inspections.

Teams of sniffer dogs will also be on hand.

Domestic travellers have been warned to arrive two hours before their flight; international three hours early.

“(Passengers) should limit the amount of carry-on and checked baggage so far as possible, as this will help to ensure that security screening is efficient,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said when he announced the enhanced security.

Security has been ramped up in Brisbane following terror raids at the weekend. Picture: Adam Head

Adelaide passengers had lengthy delays at security, which will continue today. Picture: Tom Huntley

6:05am

Crash on Melbourne’s EastLink

Melbourne drivers are warned to allow extra time on their commute this morning, following a crash on EastLink.

Southbound traffic has been affected, with two trucks and a car blocking the ramps onto the Monash Freeway at Dandenong North.

Drivers are advised to take the earlier exit onto Wellington Road.

EASTLINK Frankston bound - Bad smash, no access to the MONASH in either direction #victraffic pic.twitter.com/OAErSHqH7V

— Jimmy Traffic (@JimmyTraffic) July 30, 2017

5:45am

Sydney meat mincer bomb plan

Two father-and-son teams are allegedly behind a plot to blow up an international flight out of Sydney with a homemade bomb disguised as a meat mincer.

Until last week the four men were totally unknown to the nation’s counter-terrorism authorities, with only one conviction for negligent driving between them.

But that all changed when police picked up a “small piece of intelligence” about the possible “Islamist-inspired” plot to use a crude explosive device.

It is believed the plot involved smuggling the bomb onto a flight bound for the Middle East, possibly Dubai, hidden in carry-on luggage.

Police arrested them Saturday due to the risk to public safety.

Five homes were raided across the city.

— click here to read more