Friday, 17 April - I ran so far away

April 17, 2026

Good morning, it’s Friday, 17 April. In your Squiz Today…

  • A huge fire at Viva Energy’s oil refinery adds to our fuel pressures

  • Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire

  • And a cake to take New York… 🎂

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Squiz Sayings

“Personally, the sight of this robot chasing boars does not surprise me anymore.”

Said Radosław Grzelaczyk, the co-creator of humanoid robot Edward Warchocki who’s become an internet star through his exploits around Poland. As well as being chatty, he’s useful - here he is chasing wild boars out of the capital Warsaw… 

Pumping up the pressure

The Squiz

After burning for around 13 hours, a huge fire at Viva Energy’s oil refinery in Geelong was brought under control just after midday yesterday. With the war in the Middle East already stretching our fuel supplies, Energy Minister Chris Bowen conceded that the disruption to fuel output at one of Australia’s only 2 working refineries is “not great timing”. The facility has been working at full capacity in recent weeks to supply half of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of the nation’s, and Bowen has warned that as a result of the fire, petrol production “may be impacted for some time”. 

What caused the fire?

Here’s a good explainer, but reports say a gas leak was found by workers shortly before the fire broke out at 11pm on Wednesday night. No one was hurt, and after an initial inspection, Fire Rescue Victoria found the fire was an accident, also saying it “appears to have been caused by an equipment failure” - possibly a pipe leak or a valve malfunction. Viva Energy’s refinery manager Bill Patterson said it was “a failure that we have to really thoroughly investigate and learn from”, and the company’s CEO Scott Wyatt said production would only start increasing again “once we’re confident that we can do that safely”. He says any shortfalls will be covered by imports, which are “quite full for the next couple of months”. 

So what now?

Well, speaking of imported fuel, we’re set to be even more reliant on it until production catches up again, and experts reckon we could see a jump in petrol prices of 5c to 20c per litre, particularly in Victoria. But the state’s Premier Jacinta Allan pushed back on calls for our national fuel plan to be lifted to Stage 3, saying it would only cause "stress and uncertainty" and we have enough imported fuel on the way to cover us. To that end, PM Anthony Albanese was in Malaysia yesterday, where he announced we've locked in an extra 100 million litres of diesel from Brunei and South Korea. He’s been meeting with South East Asian trade partners, but he’ll be back in Victoria today to visit the Viva refinery and receive a briefing on the fire’s impact on our national fuel supply.

Game on

The countdown's on for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with CommBank yesterday named as the Founding Partner and Official Bank. The deal is aimed at supporting what’s expected to be a major economic moment for Oz, with early estimates putting the Games' impact at up to $17.6 billion nationally and adding more than 120,000 jobs in construction, tourism, hospitality and event delivery. Olympic and Paralympic stars Ian Thorpe, Jess Fox and Rae Anderson, who were there for the announcement, reckon there's nothing like a home ground advantage.

Squiz the Rest

Israel and Lebanon agree to a temporary truce 

The 10-day ceasefire starts in the next hour (7.00am AEST) and comes after US President Donald Trump had “excellent conversations” with both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. For background, since the start of the Iran war, the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon has been fighting Israel, leaving more than 2,100 people dead and over a million displaced. Hezbollah says people have "the right to resist" if Israeli troops stay in Lebanon, but Israel says its forces won't be withdrawing - so whether the deal holds remains to be seen. It ties into the success of peace talks between the US and Iran - no date has been set for them to resume, but reports say Pakistan's mediators are working on it…

Dan Duggan to be extradited

The former US Marine Corps pilot has lost his appeal against being sent to the US after a protracted court battle. To backtrack, Duggan used to be part of the US military, before he moved to Australia in the early 2000s - later becoming an Oz citizen. Around 2012, he's accused of training Chinese pilots to land on an aircraft carrier - which is a breach of arms trafficking legislation in the US. He was arrested in 2022, and he's been fighting extradition (while being held in a maximum security prison) to the US ever since. Now that the Federal Court has dismissed his appeal, he'll face trial in the US - and if found guilty, could spend up to 65 years in prison. 
*Want the background on this big news story? Check out our Squiz Shortcut on Daniel Duggan here.

Another Narungga nailbiter

The South Oz election result is back in the spotlight after 3 boxes of uncounted votes were found by the Electoral Commission… In total, 642 votes were found, but only the seat of Narungga will be recounted because of its razor-thin margin of 0.1%. There were 81 votes in the boxes for the electorate, and the fallout could be huge for One Nation's Chantelle Thomas, who won by just 58 votes over Liberal candidate Tania Stock after an initial recount due to the tight margin. The win brought One Nation's seats in the Lower House to 4 - its strongest result in 30 years. An investigation will be held into how the boxes were missed, but first up, the recount's happening today…  

LIV might be DED

We’re talking about LIV Golf, FYI… Four years after its first series and coming to Adelaide, reports have surfaced that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is considering cutting the $7 billion international tour. It comes as players teed off at LIV’s Mexico City event overnight, with some saying they haven’t been paid for their performances this year. But LIV execs who were called to an emergency meeting yesterday are staying tight-lipped, and chief Scott O’Neil says it’s fully funded through 2026. For context, LIV (a rival to the US and European golf tours…) has racked up huge financial losses over the years, and O’Neil has said it could take a decade to turn a profit. Stay tuned - there’s a bit to play out…

A wild wolf chase 

A major search effort is underway in South Korea for a 2yo wolf named Neukgu who’s been on the run for over a week after escaping from a zoo in the city of Daejeon. More than 300 firefighters, police and military troops are looking for him, but the furry fugitive has evaded capture - and he's become a national icon, with the public reporting sightings (and throwing in a couple of AI red herrings…) on social media. Neukgu is an important part of a conservation program for the Korean wolf, now extinct in the wild. But he's still a wolf, so authorities aren't taking any chances with people's safety. They've closed the zoo, and to lure him back, they're playing wolf howls over its speakers. Even President Lee Jae Myung has weighed in, posting on X: "I hope no human casualties occur and I pray that Neukgu also returns home safely".

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

It’s been a tough news cycle since checks notes as long as we can remember, so why not take a break and a laugh with one of the most fun shows on TV - Taskmaster. The new season is airing on Binge right now, and it’s a really good time… 

A few people we know got quite excited about singer Laufey’s new video clip for Madwoman this week, so we think you might also enjoy her take on Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now with the BBC Concert Orchestra… 

Speaking of smooth, the first time we tasted red velvet cake was in New York and we were instantly smitten. Melbourne baker Natalie Paull’s version comes very close - you can find it in her first cookbook Beatrix Bakes and here…

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.30am (AEST) - Bail hearing for Ben Roberts-Smith over war crime allegations, Downing Centre Local Court - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - Sentence hearing for police sergeant Benedict Bryant convicted of dangerous driving causing the death of 16yo Jai Wright, Downing Centre District Court - Sydney 

7.50pm (AEST) - Aussie rules: AFL Sydney Derby Sydney Swans v GWS Giants, Sydney Cricket Ground - Sydney, watch on 7plus 

Strait of Hormuz International Summit hosted by France and the UK 

Coachella weekend 2 (until 19 April) - headline acts are Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G

Meghan Duchess of Sussex due to appear at Her Best Life wellness retreat (until 19 April) - Sydney

ABS data release: Australian defence industry account, 2024-2025 financial year; Preschool education, 2025 

Syria’s National Day

✋ National High Five Day

Birthdays for politician Barnaby Joyce (1967), actor Jennifer Garner (1972) and Posh Spice Victoria Beckham (1974)

Anniversary of:

  • the invention of modern snooker by Sir Neville Chamberlain (aka not the former UK PM...) (1875)

  • the premiere of Game of Thrones on HBO (2011)

  • the deaths of Benjamin Franklin (1790), Linda McCartney (1998), Gabriel García Márquez (2014) and Barbara Bush (2018)

Saturday
12.00 midday (AEST) - Athletics: Gout Gout to contest the 100m race at the Australian Athletics Junior Championships, Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre - Brisbane, watch on 7plus 

NBA playoffs begin - watch them on Kayo

Record Store Day

🎪 World Circus Day

Birthdays for actor James Woods (1947), talk show host Conan O'Brien (1963), actor David Tennant (1971), and media personality Kourtney Kardashian (1979)

Anniversary of:

  • the publication of the world's first crossword puzzle book, by Simon & Schuster (1924)

  • the death of Albert Einstein (1955)

  • the marriage of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1956)

Sunday 
8.00am (AEST) - Wrestling: WrestleMania 42 begins (until 20 April), Allegiant Stadium - Las Vegas, watch on Netflix 

🧄 National Garlic Day

Birthdays for actors Tim Curry (1946) and Kate Hudson (1979), and tennis player Maria Sharapova (1987)

Anniversary of:

  • the deaths of Lord Byron (1824) and Charles Darwin (1882)

  • Charles Manson being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of actress Sharon Tate and 6 other people (1971)

  • Advance Australia Fair being proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold becoming the national colours (1984)

  • Fidel Castro resigning from the Communist Party of Cuba's central committee after 46 years (2011)