Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 22 May.

Top stories



The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has threatened Iran with the “strongest sanctions in history”, if it does not comply with a list of a dozen US demands. “The Iranian regime should know this is just the beginning,” Pompeo said. His speech did not explicitly advocate regime change, but in remarks immediately afterwards Pompeo suggested it would be up to the Iranian people to end the US pressure campaign by changing their own government. “The Iranian people will get to make a choice about their leadership. If they make the decision quickly that will be wonderful.”

Pompeo said the Trump administration would not separate negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program from other issues such as regional conflicts and missile development. However, he did not make clear how the US would be able galvanise international support for isolating Iran after Trump violated the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, responded by asking Pompeo: “Who you are to decide for Iran and the world?”

Voters are more attracted to Bill Shorten’s tax and economic plans than Malcolm Turnbull’s, but the contest between the major parties appears to be tightening, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The survey of 1,025 voters found 45% backed Shorten’s tax plan outlined in budget week, compared with 33% who supported the Coalition’s tax package. Similarly, 44% of the sample supported Labor’s plan to increase spending on health and education while giving a tax cut to low and middle-income earners, with 38% supporting the Coalition’s approach, which is to give both companies and workers a tax cut. But the gap between the major parties has narrowed over the past fortnight on the two-party-preferred measure.

Women are still living in “a climate of fear and vigilance” more than three decades since Australia introduced the Sex Discrimination Act, gender researcher Prof Catharine Lumby says. Her comments follow the release of a report by Plan International that found a quarter of women surveyed in Sydney said they were harassed on the street once a month or more, while 69% said they sometimes or always avoided going out at night out of concern for their safety. Four out of five respondents said they first experienced street harassment when they were under 18, more than one-third were first harassed between the ages of 11 and 15, and one in three of those harassed once a month or more reported experiencing anxiety, depression or mental health issues as a direct result.

Victoria’s only Aboriginal MP may vote against legislation intended to be the first step towards signing a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people if amendments recognising sovereignty are not adopted. The Greens MP Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai-Gunditjmara woman, has drafted nine amendments, beginning with editing the preamble of the bill to acknowledge that Aboriginal sovereignty was never ceded, and replace all mentions of “Aboriginal Victorians” with “sovereign clans”. Victoria offers the best chance of negotiating a state treaty, after the federal government’s negative response to the Uluru Statement.

The Swedish government has begun sending all 4.8m of the country’s households a public information leaflet telling the population, for the first time in more than half a century, what to do in the event of a war. The 20-page pamplet explains how people can secure basic needs such as food, water and heat, what warning signals mean, where to find bomb shelters and how to contribute to Sweden’s “total defence”. The illustrated guide also prepares the population for dangers such as cyber and terror attacks and climate change, and includes a page on identifying fake news. Similar leaflets were first distributed in neutral Sweden in 1943, at the height of the second world war.

Sport

Serena Williams will not be seeded for her return to grand slam tennis at the French Open following maternity leave. Williams was world No1 when she left the tour to give birth, but is now ranked No453. The WTA is considering a rule change to add protected seedings for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave but the earliest that could take effect is next year.

Arsenal have moved to appoint Unai Emery, the former PSG and Sevilla manager, as the successor to Arsène Wenger. Former player Mikel Arteta had been considered the favourite, but the signs on Monday were that Emery was set to be chosen.

Thinking time



There were undoubtedly some fresh faces at Australian Fashion Week, but not much has changed. Internationally the message on diversity appears to be getting through, but Australia still has a lot of catching up to do. Alexandra Spring and Carly Earl followed four models at last week’s shows to gauge progress.

Last week we heard that one million jobs had been created since September 2013. This sounds impressive, but a closer look at the data suggests that population growth and part-time work has been the main driver, writes Greg Jericho. It indicates that the achievement is rather less inspiring than the government would suggest.

Former US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle have signed a deal with Netflix to produce films and documentaries. The couple will develop ideas for shows, including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. “Michelle and I are so excited,” Barack Obama said in a statement. “We hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world.”

What’s he done now?

Donald Trump has promised that American farmers will not be able to keep up with demand from China once he sorts out the trade deficit. “Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce,” he tweeted.

Media roundup

Australian Joel Zamel has been linked to Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, the Australian Financial Review reports. The entrepeneur was reportedly interviewed by the special counsel as part of his investigation into foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election. The Sydney Morning Herald says traffic congestion in the city is at a “tipping point”, with a new study warning the NSW capital is falling behind comparable global cities in managing its traffic woes. The Courier Mail is among several papers to focus on the number of athletes who have remained in Australia since the Commonwealth Games, warning “Aussie taxpayers will have to stump up millions of dollars” to cover legal costs.



Coming up

The banking royal commission’s public hearings will hear further evidence about loans made to small and medium-sized businesses. Yesterday the commission heard Westpac made a claim against the house of an elderly pensioner with multiple debilitating health conditions after it had allowed her to become guarantor for her daughter’s loan, and her daughter’s business failed.

Journalist Nick Cater, who is being sued for defamation along with broadcaster Alan Jones, Harbour Radio and 4BC by the Toowoomba-based Wagner brothers over 32 broadcasts relating to the 2011 Queensland floods, will give evidence today.

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