Friday, 8 August - Dance the night away

August 08, 2025

Good morning, it’s Friday, 8 August. In your Squiz Today…

  • Trump floats a meeting with Putin

  • A compensation payout for Kathleen Folbigg

  • And a cracking quiche to try this weekend… 🥚

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"A disaster movie in the most literal sense.”

Said film critic Matt Patches about Amazon Prime Video’s recently released adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, which landed a very rare 0% rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Not a single critic liked it - that's almost impressive. Almost…

Pushing for peace in Ukraine

The Squiz

A face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could be on the cards as soon as next week - but whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be there is TBD. Trump wants Putin and Zelensky to meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, but while Putin said overnight that he was open to meeting Trump, he’s “very far” from meeting with Zelensky. But the US says any discussions about ending the war have to include the Ukrainian leader - and if Putin doesn’t agree to a ceasefire, Trump will slap new sanctions on Russia and continue to raise tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, as he did for India this week.

What’s the latest on the war?

It’s been more than 3 years and 5 months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and as the war has dragged on, Russian troops have slowly seized more territory. There are some good maps here showing where they’ve made progress. Despite the huge expense of war (estimates say it’s set Russia back $260 billion this year) and the defence of Ukraine’s military, reports say Russia has managed to win ground partly because of the sheer number of soldiers it’s sent to the frontlines. But that’s also come at a cost… One US study released in June estimated more than 250,000 Russian troops have died, and put total Russian casualties, including the injured, at more than 950,000 people. On Ukraine’s side, the same study estimated 60,000-100,000 soldiers have died, and about 400,000 Ukrainian casualties in total.

So what’s going to happen next?

[Insert shrugging emoji]… There have been several unsuccessful rounds of ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia since the war began, with Putin refusing to back down on his demands. They include a promise that NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) won’t expand eastwards to include more countries, and for Ukraine to give up its territory that Russia is now occupying… But Zelensky says that won’t happen. All that’s led to Trump (who made ending the war quickly a feature of his election campaign) growing impatient and setting a deadline for Putin to make moves towards ending the war. That deadline’s today, and the war’s still going - so all eyes will be on Trump to see if he can make any progress next week.

Turning water into shine

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Squiz the Rest

Israel moves to take control of Gaza

Ahead of a meeting of his security cabinet this morning, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said his government intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip - but not keep it. At the moment, Israel controls about 75% of Gaza, and reports say the idea of controlling the rest was met with some pushback from the Israeli army chief, Eyal Zamir, and families of the remaining Israeli hostages, who have been protesting outside Netanyahu’s offices. But he believes it’s the only way to remove Hamas from the Palestinian territory and “pass it to civilian governance”. Hamas has responded, saying that a full occupation of Gaza means Netanyahu is willing to “sacrifice” the remaining Israeli hostages. As we hit publish, the security cabinet meeting’s still running - so we’re likely to hear more…

Taking things off the (round)table

We’re inching closer to the Albanese Government’s productivity roundtable on 19 August, and as pollies, industry groups and thinktanks start to float their ideas, tax has been a hot topic. But yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese poured cold water on the idea that there would be any big changes to tax before the next election. He said while all ideas are welcome, that didn't mean they would become policy, and "the only tax policy we're implementing is the one we took to the election" (aka the already-legislated tax cuts and proposed super tax changes). Tax is the main topic of the roundtable’s third day, so we’ll see what comes out of that… If you’d like to see the full agenda and who’s going to be there, that info is at the bottom of this article - only 11 sleeps to go…

*And if you’re keen to learn more about the economic challenges our leaders will discuss at the roundtable, this Shortcut has you covered…  

Debating a compensation figure

The NSW Attorney-General approved compensation yesterday of $2 million for Kathleen Folbigg after she was wrongfully convicted of murder over 20 years ago. In 2003, Folbigg was convicted of killing her 4 children via suffocation and sentenced to 25 years in prison. But in the years following, questions were raised over whether her children had died from natural causes, or a genetic mutation, which was later supported by scientific evidence. Folbigg was cleared and released in 2023, and submitted a compensation claim last year - which has just been approved. But her lawyer Rhanee Rego says the figure is "profoundly unfair" for 20 years of lost time, and compared it to the $1.3 million Lindy Chamberlain received for 3 years in 1994. She's calling for an inquiry into how the NSW government came up with the number.

C’mon in to the Hall of Fame

Aussie tennis star Lleyton Hewitt is one of the big names that will be inducted into Sport Australia’s Hall of Fame in November - one of the highest honours in Oz sport. He’ll join former Socceroo Mark Schwarzer, snowboarding Olympian Torah Bright, netball legend Laura Geitz, rugby league star Cameron Smith and Aussie Rules goalkicker Jason Dunstall in this year’s class. Hewitt said the honour was “pretty surreal”, but he’s no stranger to a Hall of Fame - he’s already in the Australian and International tennis halls as well. If you’re interested in what calibre of athlete gets the nod for this sort of thing, here’s the full list - with names like Bradman, Freeman, Goolagong-Cawley and Fraser, it’s very good company…

Bird-er on the dancefloor

The cockatoo is a bird that's been known to bust the occasional move - but no one's catalogued their entire repertoire, until now… Some scientists at Charles Sturt University, who might have the best jobs in the world, have been hard at work doing just that, and they've discovered cockatoos have 30 distinct movements. Across the 21 species of cockatoo, their moves include the headbang, the side-to-side and the fluff. But they haven't just been identifying the moves, they've also been trying to work out why cockatoos dance at all. While they can't be exactly sure, they think the most likely explanation is precisely the same reason humans do it - it's fun….

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

To celebrate 10 years since the musical hit Broadway, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has announced a filmed version will hit Oz cinemas on 13 November. And if you’re a fan of the show, this ‘childhood instruments’ version of songs from the show is a fun watch… 

For a weekend read, this piece on Artbank, which is the Oz government’s collection of artwork that it loans out to people and businesses, is worth a look. It’s been going strong for 45 years, and it’s got a new exhibition starting today if you’re lucky enough to be in Melbourne… 

If you’re looking for something to bake this weekend, we’ll point you in the direction of this asparagus quiche. We swapped the cheese in the recipe for parmesan and served it with salad leaves - and if you want to make it super easy, go for a pre-made crust. We won’t tell…

Squiz the Day

Friday
US President Donald Trump’s deadline has arrived for Russia to make moves to negotiate a ceasefire with Ukraine or face secondary sanctions on its trading partners

9.00am (AEST) - The Australian Alpaca National Show begins, celebrating 35 years (until 10 August) - Melbourne

9.00am (AEST) - Mount Isa Mines Rodeo, featuring the world’s oldest competing cowboy 95yo Bob Holder (on until 10 August) - Mount Isa

10.00am (AEST)) - Motorsport: Supercars, Ipswich Super 440 at Queensland Raceway (until 10 August) - Ipswich, watch on Kayo

4.45pm (AEST) - The Byron Writers Festival begins (until 10 August) - Byron Bay

5.30pm (AEST) - The Barefoot Fashion Show will be hosted by the Western Sydney First Nations community and First Peoples Disability Network to raise money for First Nations children on Darug land - Sydney

7.00pm (AEST) - Darts: 2025 Australian Masters begins (until 9 August) - Wollongong, watch on Kayo

ABS data release - Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, June 2025

QBE 2025FY earnings

🐱 International Cat Day 

Birthdays for Aussie radio announcer John Laws (1935), actor Dustin Hoffman (1937), tennis great Roger Federer (1981), Beatrice Princess of York (1988), and singer Shawn Mendes (1998)

Anniversary of:

  • the invention of Corn Flakes by William Kellogg (1898)

  • the US, USSR, Britain and France signing the Treaty of London, which set down procedures for the Nuremberg war trials of Nazi leaders (1945)

  • the formation of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (1967)

  • the death of Olivia Newton-John (2022)

  • Aussie fashion brand Zimmermann being purchased by Advent International - making it Australia's most valuable fashion brand (2023)

Saturday
1.00am (AEST) - Basketball: Men's FIBA Asia Cup, Australia v Lebanon - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, watch on Kayo

10.00am (AEST) - The Ekka, Royal Queensland Show, begins - Brisbane (until 17 August)

11.00am (AEST) - The World's Ugliest Dog Contest is back - California, USA

7.00pm (AEST) - The National Indigenous Music Awards, presented by YouTube, will get underway - Darwin

Nagasaki Day, commemorating the victims of the second atomic bombing of the city of Nagasaki in 1945

🇸🇬 Singapore's National Day

National Science Week begins

Raksha Bandhan - a Hindu festival honouring the love between brothers and sisters

Birthdays for tennis player Rod Laver (1938), fashion designer Michael Kors (1959), and actors Gillian Anderson (1968), Eric Bana (1968), and Anna Kendrick (1985)

Anniversary of:

  • the opening of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican (1483)

  • the publication of Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1854)

  • the US dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan (1945)

  • the Manson family committing the Tate-LaBianca murders (1969)

  • the resignation of US President Richard Nixon (1974)

Sunday
7.35am (AEST) - The 2025 City2Surf kicks off - Sydney

10.30am (AEST) - Chocolate Winterfest opens - Latrobe, Tasmania

1.00pm (AEST) - The first preliminary final in the Central Australian Football League kicks off at Traeger Park after the Alice Springs council reversed its ban on the league’s finals - Alice Springs 

6.00pm (AEST) - Basketball: Men's FIBA Asia Cup, Australia v Qatar - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, watch on Kayo

7.00pm (AEST) - Cricket: Australia’s men’s T20 side will play the first of a 3-match series against South Africa - Darwin, watch on Kayo

🇪🇨Ecuador’s National Day

World Lion Day

International Vlogging Day

Birthdays for actor Antonio Banderas (1960), Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins (1962), and reality TV personality/businesswoman/Timothée Chalamet’s girlfriend Kylie Jenner (1997)

Anniversary of:

  • the Louvre Palace officially opening in Paris as the Museum Central des Arts (1793)

  • the marriage of Virginia Woolf and Leonard Woolf (1912)

  • the release of Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album (1979)

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg being sworn in as a US Supreme Court Justice (1993)