Young couple and photographer suffered severe injuries in crash just after vows.

‘The ministry really needs to come to the party and stump up with meeting the demands.’

The company behind Karen's Diner, the restaurant that gained internet infamy for its deliberately bad service, has collapsed.

Viral Ventures (Australia) Pty Ltd, which runs both Karen's Diner and Broadway Diner, went into liquidation on May 30, announcing on June 5 that Chris Johnson and Andrew McCabe from Wexted Advisors have been appointed to wind up the company.

Karen's Diner gained online notoriety for what it describes as "great burgers and very bad service", offering customers the unusual experience of being belittled by waitstaff.

READ MORE: Australian inflation is stubbornly high. Some countries don't have that problem

It launched in Australia in October 2021, with a mix of restaurants and pop-up locations opening across the country since then.

On its website, it brags of having more than 1.2 million social media followers and 1.5 billion views on TikTok.

Broadway Diner, on the other hand, is an American-style, 1950s-themed restaurant where staff performed musical numbers for diners. It had locations in both Sydney and Brisbane.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs2oYOcPGCi/

In social media posts on May 30, the day liquidators were appointed, Karen's Diner said some of its pop-ups were closing but didn't say what the future of its stores was.

"Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and Karen can't stay forever," the post read.

"Today marks the closing of some of our Australian pop-up stores.

"If your local pop-up store has closed, there will be a Karen's Diner On Tour coming to your city this September."

Bookings remain available on the chain's website.

It is unclear how many creditors or staff are affected by the company going into liquidation.

9news.com.au has reached out to Karen's Diner and the liquidators for comment.

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It's no secret Australia is in the midst of a major cost of living crisis, with prices of groceries skyrocketing across the board and in almost all of the nation's supermarkets.

As homeowners are clobbered by rate rise after rate rise, and with no immediate relief in sight to the seemingly endless hike on our staples, 9news.com.au has taken to one of the country's major supermarkets to compare a grocery shop in 2022, with one from today.

The result? A bleak picture for Aussies at the checkout.

READ MORE: Recession now major risk in next 12 months, economist warns

Last year, a basic list of household items – ranging from yoghurt, to tuna tins, fresh veggies and cleaning products – cost a little over $112.

In 2023, a shop made up of exactly the same products will now see shoppers spend a whopping $180, representing an increase of $68 – that is a 60 per cent rise.

Of the items, almost all increased in price, with a handful of supermarket brand staples remaining the same, and just one item having decreased – a two pack of lettuce.

Some cleaning products – a 900mL bottle of fabric softener, for example – more than doubled in price year on year.

Some sale prices from 2022 are not represented in the figures.

Shoppers who spoke to 9News outside of the supermarket said their weekly list was "noticeably more expensive".

"I don't know how much more expensive it can get," Mary, 56, said.

"We've tried to cut out some unnecessary buys in our house but even just a shop for the basics, cereal and things, is hundreds and hundreds of dollars."

While most items were notably more pricey, Mary conceded, she couldn't always "immediately tell what individual items were more" and "what stayed the same".

READ MORE: Inflation in Australia rises 6.8 per cent annually, defying expectations

"Toiletry prices are just unreal," she added.

Kate, 32, said that: "even a small handful of items can cost, you know, like upwards of $70".

"I've always found supermarket shopping expensive but it's not like we can go without groceries," she said.

Supermarket shop in 2022 

• 1 x extra virgin olive oil: $9
• 3 x mixed berry Greek yoghurt pouch: $1.70 = $5.10
• 3 x passionfruit Greek yoghurt pouch: $1.70 = $5.10
• 4 x Caramel Greek yoghurt pouch: $1.70 = $6.80
• 3 x strawberry Greek yoghurt pouch: $1.70 = $5.10
• 1 x mixed berry yoghurt Greek yoghurt pouch: $2 
• 1 x passionfruit Greek yoghurt pouch: $2
• 1 x Caramel Greek yoghurt pouch: $2
• 1 x strawberry Greek yoghurt pouch: $2
• 1 x fabric Conditioner: $4.5
• 1 x baby spinach packet $2
• 1 x sundried Tomato Strips: $2.65
• 1 x bottle of soy sauce: $2.50
• 1 x bucket of laundry powder: $13
• 2 x bunches of pak choy: $2.5 = $5
• 1 x jar of green stuffed olives $1.95
• 5 x mandarin imperial: $0.41 = 2.05
• 6 x mandarin: $0.34 = $2.04
• 4 x small tins of tuna in chili oil: $1.80 = $7.20
• 4 x small tins of tuna lite chili: $1.80 = $7.20
• 4 x small tins of tuna lite in oil: $1.80 = $7.20
• 2 x spicy flavour Thai noodle soup: $1.10 = $2.20
• 2 x Tom Yum Thai noodle soup: $1.10 = $2.20
• 1 x packet cos hearts lettuce: $4
• 1 x sliced mushroom punnet: $3
• 1 x organic silverbeet: $5

TOTAL: $112.79

Supermarket shop in 2023 

• 1 x extra virgin olive oil: $10.50
• 4 x mixed berry Greek yoghurt pouch: $3 = $12
• 4 x passionfruit Greek yoghurt pouch: $3 = $12
• 5 x Caramel Greek yoghurt pouch: $3 = $15
• 4 x strawberry Greek yoghurt pouch: $12
• 1 x fabric Conditioner: $10
• 1 x baby spinach packet $3
• 1 x sundried Tomato Strips: $2.65
• 1 x bottle of soy sauce: $2.65
• 1 x bucket of laundry powder: $26
• 2 x bunches of pak choy: $2.5 = $5
• 1 x jar of green stuffed olives = $1.95
• 11 x mandarin imperial: $0.34 = $3.74
• 4 x small tins of tuna in chili oil: $4 = $16
• 4 x small tins of tuna lite chili: $4 = $16
• 4 x small tins of tuna lite in oil: $4 = $16
• 2 x spicy flavour Thai noodle soup: $1.10 = $2.20
• 2 x Tom Yum Thai noodle soup: $1.10 = $2.20
• 1 x packet cos hearts lettuce: $3
• 1 x sliced mushroom punnet: $3.80
• 1 x organic silverbeet: $5

TOTAL: $180.70

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An international team of scientists discovered three historical shipwrecks during an underwater archaeological expedition last year in the Mediterranean Sea.

The expedition also gathered high-resolution images of three Roman wrecks initially discovered by oceanographer Robert Ballard and archaeologist Anna Marguerite McCann in the 1980s to 2000s.

Researchers' findings were presented on Thursday during a UNESCO press conference in Paris.

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Twenty scientists from Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia set out on French research vessel, the Alfred Merlin, on a 14-day voyage between August and September.

Using remotely operated underwater vehicles, called ROVs, the researchers explored the Skerki Bank of Tunisia and Italy's Sicilian Channel.

The team used the research vessel's underwater mapping and imaging equipment to record shipwrecks, dating from ancient times to the 20th century, with sonar.

The ROVs dived to depths inaccessible to humans to collect images and video of the wrecks and their artifacts. One ROV, named Arthur, was able to reach depths of 700m to 900m.

Located along a heavily travelled route in the Mediterranean, the Skerki Bank in the Strait of Sicily is one of the most treacherous maritime areas. Its shallow waters feature an intensely rocky seabed, some of which is less than one metre beneath the water's surface.

The Skerki Bank's perilous features have caused shipwrecks for more than 3,000 years, sinking ancient trading vessels as well as ships during World War II. The area is of interest to researchers because the route has served as a point of contact between multiple cultures traversing the Mediterranean.

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An ROV named Hilarion descended through the most dangerous zone of the Skerki Bank called Keith Reef to conduct the first detailed study of the ocean floor. Resting along the bottom of the Tunisian continental shelf were three ships, all previously unknown to researchers.

Two of the shipwrecks were likely from the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, including a "large motorised metal wreck" with no traces of cargo. In that wreck, researchers noted that the davits, which would have been used to lower lifeboats, were facing outward, which means any crew may have been able to leave the ship. The second ship was likely a wooden fishing boat.

A third shipwreck was likely a merchant vessel that sailed between the first century BC and the second century. The ROV spotted artifacts that appeared to be amphoras, or tall, two-handled jars with narrow necks used by Greeks and Romans, possibly to store wine.

The team hopes that looking through archives could reveal the individual names of the ships that sank since none of them was easily identifiable.

Meanwhile, exploration along the Italian continental shelf revisited three Roman shipwrecks dating between the first century BC and the first century, including two merchant vessels and one cargo ship. All three littered artifacts across the seafloor, including amphoras, ceramics, building materials, jugs, pots and lamps.

The items were likely part of trade between cultures that crisscrossed the Mediterranean thousands of years ago.

READ MORE: Remains of three new Pompeii victims unearthed

"We are going to write a new page in the history of trade," said Barbara Davidde, underwater archaeologist and director for the national superintendency for underwater cultural heritage in Italy.

"Thanks to the analysis of the cargo, we can study the relationships between the countries in the Mediterranean and the sea trade that connected different parts of the Mediterranean."

The shipwrecks and their artifacts surprisingly remained largely undisturbed since being discovered between 1988 and 2000.

The wrecks were initially outside territorial waters, meaning that their artifacts were easy targets for looting. Now, the areas around the wrecks will be protected under UNESCO's 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The designation will allow for more precise mapping of shipwrecks and defining protection zones.

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Cuba has agreed to allow China to build a spying facility on the island that could allow the Chinese to eavesdrop on electronic communications across the south-eastern United States, two sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

The US learned about the plan in the last several weeks, the first source said, and it is unclear whether China has already begun building the surveillance facility.

The second source familiar with the intelligence says it suggests that a deal has been struck in principle but there hasn't been any movement on building the facility.

READ MORE: China defends buzzing American warship in Taiwan Strait

It would not be the first time China has attempted to spy on the US' electronic communications, known as signals intelligence.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited the US in February was capable of gathering signals intelligence and is believed to have transmitted back to Beijing in near-real time, sources told CNN at the time.

In that case, the US took steps to protect sensitive sites and censor intelligence signals before shooting down the balloon.

But it is unclear what the US can do to stop the construction of a Chinese spying facility in Cuba.

"This report is not accurate," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

"We have had real concerns about China's relationship with Cuba, and we have been concerned since day one of the administration about China's activities in our hemisphere and around the world.

"We are closely monitoring it and taking steps to counter it. We remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home and in the region."

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the new intelligence about the facility.

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Kirby initially told Journal on Thursday that he "cannot speak to this specific report," but that US officials are "well aware of—and have spoken many times to—the People's Republic of China's efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere."

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio denied the reports.

At a press conference in Havana on Thursday, he called them "totally untrue" and "slanders."

"Slanders like these have been fabricated frequently by US officials," he said, alleging that the reported spy base was being used to legitimise US sanctions on Cuba.

"Fallacies promoted with the malicious intention to justify the unprecedented reinforcement of the economic blockade, destabilisation and the aggression against Cuba and deceive public opinion in the United States and around the world," de Cossio added.

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat, and vice chairman Marco Rubio, a Republican, released a statement expressing concern about the reports.

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"We are deeply disturbed by reports that Havana and Beijing are working together to target the United States and our people. The United States must respond to China's ongoing and brazen attacks on our nation's security. We must be clear that it would be unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence facility within 100 miles (160kms) of Florida and the United States, in an area also populated with key military installations and extensive maritime traffic. We urge the Biden administration to take steps to prevent this serious threat to our national security and sovereignty," Rubio and Warner said.

The CIA declined to comment. CNN has reached out to the Chinese and Cuban embassies in Washington, DC.

The first source familiar with the intelligence noted that while an eavesdropping base on Cuba would be concerning, China has already established footholds inside the US – namely, secret police stations that the Biden administration has begun to crack down on.

The US also conducts spying missions near China, using reconnaissance aircraft that routinely engage in electronic eavesdropping. One of those US planes was recently intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet, in what the US described as a dangerous and unprofessional manner.

But the revelation about the potential Chinese outpost in Cuba comes as US-China relations have reached a low point, following the spy balloon incident and several aggressive manoeuvres by aircraft and ships against US assets in the South China Sea.

READ MORE: US releases video showing close call with Chinese destroyer

The US has been trying to mend the relationship, and dispatched CIA Director Bill Burns to Beijing last month for talks with Chinese officials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to visit China in the coming weeks.

But last week, China's defence chief refused a meeting request by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and warned the US to stop operating near Chinese waters and airspace.

"The best way to prevent this from happening is that military vessels and aircraft not come close to our waters and airspace," Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu said in Singapore last week, referring to recent close calls between Chinese and US planes and ships. "Watch out for your own territorial waters and airspace, then there will not be any problems."

The Biden administration has done little to try to improve relations with Cuba and has only resumed limited bilateral conversations on matters like migration.

Following rapprochement efforts under the Obama administration, relations plummeted due to the so-called "Havana Syndrome" illness that impacted US diplomats posted in the Cuban capital and the Trump administration's decision – during the final days of that administration – to re-list Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Inflation of 2.2 per cent. Interest rates at 1.5 per cent. It's a scenario that seems too good to be true for Australians struggling with the cost of living crisis, but it's a reality in another part of the world.

While undoubtedly a global issue, some nations aren't feeling the pinch as much as others. Switzerland is renowned for its stable consumer price index (CPI) – while Japan's is also under four per cent.

So what separates these nations from Australia? And what can we learn about taming inflation – without killing the family budget.

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Inflation in Switzerland

When CPI in Switzerland hit 3.5 per cent last August, it was the highest it had been in the country in almost 30 years. Australia's, by comparison, was 7 per cent for the March quarter.

Switzerland's current mark is 2.2 per cent – far lower than Australia and also the rest of Europe – and the nation is often sheltered from rising inflation due to a number of factors.

The strong Swiss Franc allows the nation to purchase goods at relatively low prices, insulating it from import inflation, while high levels of household wealth and government controls on some sectors also play a role.

"It's a very rich country," RMIT associate professor of economics Bilgehan Karabay told 9news.com.au.

"If you look at household essentials – where we see around the world that most of inflation is – household essentials constitute only a small portion of Swiss households' income.

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"If you look carefully, you can see the largest item in household income is healthcare costs… it constitutes 17 per cent of CPI.

"So essential price increases do not affect households that much.

"On the other hand, healthcare costs affect it, however the government pressured healthcare companies, insurance companies, in order to lower premiums. This helped Switzerland keep inflation low."

Helping further is the country's energy supply. While others have been particularly vulnerable to rising power prices on the back of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland hasn't had that issue.

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"It has hydropower capacity; it can produce 60 per cent of its own energy production needs," Karabay said.

"They have not been affected as much as some European countries regarding rising prices of oil, gas and coal.

"On top of that, Switzerland regulates electricity prices – and in general if you look at Switzerland and compare it to Europe, it has the highest proportion of regulated goods and services.

"So in that sense, the market is much more stable… it's not as volatile whenever prices change."

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Inflation in Japan

Japan is another case entirely. Inflation currently sits at 3.5 per cent, and even though the cash rate is negative, at -0.1 per cent, spending remains low, putting the nation in a "liquidity trap".

"People are not spending at all. They're not doing anything. They're not investing. They're just hoarding," Karabay said

"There is weak household consumption, and this has been historically the case for Japan. They're not big spenders.

"This is quite different than, for example, the Australian economy or the US economy which are basically consumption economies.

"But Japan is not like that – people like to save."

READ MORE: How other nations have moved to tackle housing affordability

Add in sluggish wage growth in a workforce where more than a third of employees are part-time or contract workers, and the incentive to spend only decreases.

However, similarly to Switzerland with medical cost controls, COVID-era price limitations are playing a part in Japan.

"In Japan, the important elements were gas, electricity and wheat prices," Karaby said.

Regulations permit gas and electricity prices to only increase gradually, while wheat costs are also controlled.

"Japan is a wheat importer, and the government imports the wheat but the resale price in the country is fixed for six months," Karaby said.

"As a result, for example when the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened, they were not affected that much by increasing wheat prices."

So what inflation lessons can Australia learn?

While noting there's no one, single underlying cause of inflation across different nations, Karaby said Australia could look to emulate Japan and Switzerland's approach to regulating prices in vulnerable parts of the economy – in our case, the housing market.

"One thing I might think of is proactive government policy in targeted sectors… In Australia, I think the part that is very vulnerable is the housing sector," he said.

"There could be some redistributive policy that can be implemented, for example, active government policy like a short-term rent freeze."

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Karaby said any such move would need to be clearly outlined as a short-term measure, not a permanent one, but could also apply to different areas of the housing market.

He suggested the possibility of pausing mortgage repayments, or taxing high-income earners and redistributing some of those takings to poorer families – but admitted while there's an economic case to be made, any such policy would be a hard sell politically.

"It's a bit of a contentious topic in Australia because the housing market is very sensitive," Karaby said.

"It's easy to specify a policy but it is hard to implement a policy… they can't do anything quickly on that because they can have negative (political) effects in the future."

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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended Labor Senator Katy Gallagher over claims she may have had knowledge about the Brittany Higgins allegations before they became public.

Marles was speaking on Today this morning after leaked texts were obtained by News Corp which are purportedly between Higgins and her partner David Sharaz.

The text messages are claimed to show Sharaz had discussed Higgins' rape allegation with Katy Gallagher – who is now finance minister – before it was made public.

https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/racist-jacinta-price-demands-apology-from-lisa-wil/embed?style=cover

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Marles insisted Gallagher did not then mislead parliament months later when she denied anyone had any prior knowledge, after Higgins and Sharaz went public with the rape allegation in February 2021.

"No, she didn't. And she has made that really clear this week.

"Katy has made her position very clear earlier in the week, and she has made clear that she is very comfortable with the statements that she's made, and that's the end of the matter in terms of Katy's position," Marles said.

"Katy is a person of enormous integrity."

READ MORE: Higgins settlement 'absolutely standard', says Attorney-General

Higgins accused former fellow political staffer Bruce Lehrmann of rape in 2021, a charge he has always denied.

His trial was abandoned last October following a case of juror misconduct and no findings were made against him.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said yesterday a a Commonwealth Government compensation payment awarded to Brittany Higgins was made "to the letter of the law".

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has backed former defence minister Linda Reynolds over referring the compensation payment to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission, which will begin operations in July.

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The ATO has released a list of the highest-paying jobs in the country.

In 1975, 23-year-old Kodak engineer Steve Sasson went to his bosses with an ingenious invention.