Friday, 2 October - Talk to me, talk to me

Good morning, it’s Friday, 2 October. In your Squiz Today…

• An Aussie couple was on board the Flydubai plane that got diverted after an alleged cockpit attack

• A convicted murderer on death row in Tennessee is alive after being given 2 lethal injections

• And a delicious cheesecake for the long weekend… 🍰

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Anna Pykett, Andrew Williams, Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Before we get into it….

We wanted to put up here, front and centre, that we’re taking the public holiday on Monday - that means we’ll be back for a news chat on Tuesday. Don’t miss us too much…

Squiz Sayings

Said AFL coach Chris Fagan, who’s announced he’s retiring after leading the Brisbane Lions to 3 straight flags. He’s one of the most successful blokes to ever do the job and is leaving the club with the pride well and truly intact - what a legend…

An Aussie link to Flight FZ1073

The Squiz

We’ve got a bit more detail about the alleged attack involving a co-pilot who apparently stabbed his captain and tried to seize control of a flydubai plane travelling to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Israel says the alleged attacker is an Omani man who PM Benjamin Netanyahu says “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination”. The United Arab Emirates is investigating whether the violence was linked to “terrorist activity”, and we also now know that at least 2 Australian citizens were among the 174 people on board the flight.

What do we know about them?

The Australian named them as Carol and Steven Moss, with the Israeli embassy confirming the passengers were a Jewish couple from Sydney. Steven Moss is the son of late prominent businessman Sam Moss, a Holocaust survivor who co-founded the Katies fashion chain. Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted on social media yesterday, saying she was “relieved to confirm” at least 2 Australians on the flight were both “safe”, and she thanked the “heroes” who thwarted the attack. PM Benjamin Netanyahu, along with India’s PM Narendra Modi, agreed; they’ve also praised the injured pilot, who’s been named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, calling him a “hero”. He’s been taken to hospital, and the Indian embassy says he’s "in good health and recovering well".

Any other updates?

Some incredible stories have emerged from passengers who described how they burst into the cockpit and overpowered the pilot, like Dr Shota Musaev. He said he tied the suspect up using headphone cords and plastic zip ties before helping the wounded pilot. It also turned out that there were other people on board who knew how to fly a plane - reserve pilots managed to regain control of the aircraft after the incident and land it safely. The suspected attacker hasn’t been named yet, but reports say that he is being questioned in Saudi Arabia, where he was arrested after the plane landed. We still don’t know how it all unfolded, and no motive has been officially confirmed, but PM Netanyahu has called it a “very serious security incident”, and investigations are continuing.

Squiz the Rest

On the topic of things that need investigating…

…an American woman who’d been on death row has been taken to hospital in an ambulance after surviving 2 lethal injections. Her name is Christa Pike, and she’d been sentenced to death for a murder in 1995, but her lawyers said the 50yo was still alive (and apparently loudly snoring) more than an hour after being given the shots. As a result, executions have been paused in Tennessee, where this all went down - and apparently it’s not the first time capital punishment hasn’t gone to plan this year. In May, staff couldn’t find a vein when trying to execute an inmate at a prison in Nashville. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee says a review into what happened in the case of Pike is now underway.

UK terror police have arrested a British-Iranian man

It’s in connection with the incident at RAF Fairford we told you about earlier in the week, where 3 suspicious vehicles were spotted travelling towards a military base used by the US Air Force in its war with Iran. It led to a huge police operation - 5 British men were originally arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and later terrorism offences, but they were all released on bail. Police later confirmed no explosive devices were found in the vans near the base in the Cotswolds (although they did find some petrol). This latest arrest is of a 27yo dual citizen who’s being held on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Counter-terror police say they’re considering all angles, “including possible foreign state involvement". Iran has denied any involvement in the incident.

Can we just talk…

…sings Khalid - but it turns out only a third of us learned how to have difficult conversations when we were growing up. Some new national research has found that 1 in 6 people are experiencing loneliness regularly - including those with partners. Relationships Australia NSW reckons this is partly because Aussies give their relationship skills far less attention than things like reading, writing or driving. CEO Elisabeth Shaw says many people avoid talking about challenging issues to avoid conflict, but she thinks it would be better to hash things out to feel less stressed, emotionally supported, and more confident in our daily lives. Now RANSW has launched a campaign called ‘Connection Is Protection’ to help people feel happier and closer to their loved ones.

Chook it up to my veins

Sunday is Grand Final day in our major rugby league competitions, with both the NRL and NRLW playing their deciders - and it’s going to be a big day for Sydney Roosters fans. The women will kick things off at 4pm AEDT (remember, daylight saving kicks in on Sunday morning) with the Chooks, as they’re affectionately known, going in as favourites against the Brisbane Broncos. That’ll be followed by a mystery pre-game entertainment - which reports say is a tribute to retiring star Jai Arrow, and then the men’s match begins at 7.30pm AEDT. The Roosters are favourites in that too, but neutrals will find it hard to resist the story of their opponents, the Newcastle Knights, who finished last in 2025 and could win it all this year. You could say their seasons have been Knight and day…

Cruisin’ for a schmoozin’

You might be seeing a lot of Tom Cruise in the media at the moment (he’s even doing podcasts), and that’s because he has a new movie out that’s creating quite a stir… Digger is the latest film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, the man who made Birdman and The Revenant. It stars Cruise in heavy prosthetics as an oil tycoon who accidentally sets off the end of the world and then decides he’s the only one who can save it. We mentioned a few newsletters ago that it might be divisive, and that’s come to pass - the Boston Globe called it the worst film of Cruise’s career, but the ABC says it might be the best film of the year. It’s out in cinemas now, and we suspect producers are hoping you might be so curious you check it out for yourself…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

We raced through season 2 of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen on Netflix this week - and we particularly enjoyed British actor Theo James’s performance. The next James Bond hasn’t been announced yet, but we reckon this drama doubles up as a pretty good audition tape for him…

In that topsy-turvy time of spring where temps aren’t reliable, we’ve been living in these Flashdance pants from Lorna Jane. The name hooked us, of course, but they’re lighter than leggings, longer than shorts, and dare we say, more stylish than trackies. They’re also on sale… 

A few states have a long weekend on the horizon, and what better time to trot out a cracker of a dessert for friends or the fam… This White Chocolate and Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake from chocolate queen Kirsten Tibballs is a bit of a time investment, but you’ll thank yourself later. It’s the goods.

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.30am (AEST) - Directions hearing for 54yo Kawsar Ahmad and 31yo Zeinab Ahmad, the 'ISIS brides' charged with slavery-related offences after returning from Syria in May and being arrested by the Australian Federal Police - Melbourne 

9.30am (AEST) - Contested hearing for Yarra City Mayor Stephen Jolly charged with assault - Melbourne 

10.00am (AEST) - Directions hearing in the case between former TV host Karl Stefanovic and his company co-founder Keshnee Kemp (Ibrahim) over Stefanovic's buyout of 123 Podcast - Sydney 

12.45pm (AEST) - Rugby league: NRLW Grand Final press conference with the Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos coaches and captains ahead of the game on Sunday - Sydney  

The 2026 Deni Ute Muster begins, with Tones and I headlining... (until 3 October) 

The 38th Jalsa Salana Annual Muslim Convention (until October 4) - Sydney 

AFL Free Agency Period begins (until 9 October)

ABS data release: deaths, 2025

International Day of Non-Violence 

National Day for Guinea

Audiophile Day 🎧

World Smile Day 😃

Kids Music Day

Birthdays for musician Don McLean (1945), photographer Annie Leibovitz (1949), and singer Sting (1951) 

Anniversary of:

• the first commercial publication of Beatrix Potter's children's classic The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

• the first Peanuts comic strip featuring Charlie Brown (1950)

• the surrender in the Warsaw Uprising by Polish resistance fighters, which saw some 200,000 people killed (1944)

• the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi (2018)

Saturday
2.00am (AEST) -  70 Up, the final part of the 7 Up documentary series, airs its final episode, watch on SBS

Arts Centre Melbourne's refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre set to reopen 

Latvia parliamentary election

Mean Girls Day - "it's October 3rd"... 

Day of German Unity - anniversary of the reunification of East and West Germany (1990)

South Korea’s National Foundation Day

Birthdays for Fleetwood Mac member Lindsey Buckingham (1949) and rapper ASAP Rocky (1988)    

Anniversary of:

• US President Abraham Lincoln designating the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day (1863)

• the TV Premiere of The Mickey Mouse Club (1955)

• OJ Simpson being found not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman (1995)

• OJ Simpson being found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery (2008)

Sunday
2.00am (AEST/ACST) - Daylight saving begins. Clocks jump forward an hour to 3am in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT

4.00am (AEDT) - Rugby league: English Super League Grand Final Warrington Wolves v Wakefield Trinity - Manchester, watch on Kayo 

4.00pm (AEDT) - Rugby league: NRLW Grand Final Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos, kicking off the grand final double-header - Sydney, watch on 9Now 

6.00pm (AEDT) - Motorsport: The Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia - Sepang, watch on Kayo 

7.30pm (AEDT) - Rugby league: NRL Grand Final Sydney Roosters v Newcastle Knights - Sydney, watch on 9Now

Olivia's Walk for Wellness, the final edition of the annual fundraiser for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre - Melbourne 

Bosnia and Herzegovina general elections 

General election in Brazil and first round of the presidential election - if no candidate wins outright, a runoff election is scheduled 25 October 

World Animal Day

Start of World Space Week (until 10 Oct) 🚀

Cinnamon Roll Day

Birthdays for actors Susan Sarandon (1946), Alicia Silverstone (1976), and Dakota Johnson (1989)

Anniversary of:

• the deaths of Dutch painter Rembrandt (1669), Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose cancer cells provided one of the most important cell lines in medical research (1951), and musician Janis Joplin (1970)

• the Soviet Union launching Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth satellite (1957)

• the domain registration of WikiLeaks, founded by Julian Assange (2006)

Monday
Public holiday in NSW, ACT, and South Australia (Labour Day), and Queensland (King's Birthday) - which means we’ll be off Monday and won’t be in your inbox

10.30am (AEST) - Full emblems unveiled for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games - Brisbane

8.30pm (AEDT) - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine announced - Stockholm, watch the livestream on YouTube

Australia and Pacific nations co-hosting a special Pre-COP Leaders' Event in Fiji and Tuvalu (until 8 October), ahead of COP31 in Türkiye

School returns in Victoria for term 4 

Aussie rules: AFL trade period begins (until 14 October)

World Habitat Day

World Architecture Day

Birthdays for astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958), actor Guy Pearce (1967), actor Kate Winslet (1975)

Anniversary of:

• the release of the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), the first James Bond film Dr No (1962), The Beatles' debut single Love Me Do (1962), Elton John's album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), and Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight (2005)

• the New York Times publishing an investigation into sexual harassment behaviour by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein (2017)

• the death of Steve Jobs (2011)