Friday, 8 May - Boots with the fur

May 08, 2026

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

  • The ‘ISIS brides’ have landed back in Oz - and 3 are facing charges

  • The US tries to smooth things over with Pope Leo XIV

  • And a big birthday for Sir David Attenborough… 🎂

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Squiz Sayings

"Seems you're never too old to get your invitation to Hogwarts.”

Said writer Jon Brown after Season 2 of the Harry Potter TV series was greenlit. S1 is due to drop at Christmas on HBO Max - here’s the trailer. Both will follow the books, and with potentially 5 more to follow, they’ll be hoping to cast a spell over a whole new generation…

Landing in hot water

The Squiz

It wasn’t a smooth homecoming for a group of 4 women known as the ‘ISIS brides’ who landed in Australia with 9 children last night after spending years in a Syrian refugee camp. Along with a throng of media, federal police officers were waiting to arrest 2 of the 3 women who flew into Melbourne, and another who flew into Sydney. Before boarding, one of the women told the ABC: "We just want our children to be safe. It was like hell [in Syria] for them”. But travelling to a known terror zone is illegal, and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says if the women are found to have committed crimes, they “can expect to face the full force of the law”.

What do we know about them?

Reports say the women, who left a Syrian refugee camp 2 weeks ago to travel back to Oz, are from the same family… They’re 53yo Kawsar Abbas and her 2 daughters, 33yo Zahra Ahmed and 31yo Zeinab Ahmed. Both daughters were married to IS fighters and had children with them. The Sydney woman is Abbas’ 32yo niece, former nursing student Janai Safar, who left for Syria in 2015 to join her IS fighter husband. Here’s the list of charges the women are facing, but both Zeinab and her mother are accused of crimes against humanity for slavery - reports say 2 Yazidi women (they’re an ethnic minority) allege they were held by Abbas’ husband Mohammad Ahmad, who’s in a Syrian jail. Safar was the first to be charged last night with being a member of a terror organisation and entering a declared terror area. The other 2 are expected to be charged this morning.  

What happens next?

The 3 women facing charges are in police custody and are expected to appear in court today. The AFP says authorities began investigating the alleged offences back in 2015, including gathering evidence from Syria… But in the years since IS collapsed in 2019, some members of the family have been interviewed by reporters and say they’re not a danger to Australians. Now that they’re back, there are also concerns around what will happen to the children, many of whom were born in detention. The AFP says they’ll be put through integration and de-radicalisation programs, but Save the Children Australia’s Mat Tinkler says we need to “give them a chance of resuming a normal life in Australia”.

The 40-year argument that could finally be settled….

Not sure what negative gearing actually means? You’re not alone… Some reckon it’s been shifting housing ownership away from everyday buyers and towards investors. With the Budget landing next Tuesday, could a change be on the cards? Today’s CommBank Newsroom explainer gets you up to speed on what to watch out for.

Squiz the Rest

Extending an olive branch

We’re still waiting to see if Iran will accept US President Donald Trump’s one-page deal to bring the war to an end and open up the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions remain high - even though Trump says talks are “going really well”, he also threatened to restart military action against Iran if it didn’t take it up… But at least one offer of peace was accepted overnight - after weeks of historic tensions between Trump and Pope Leo XIV, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the American Pontiff to smooth things over. The 2-hour meeting took place on the eve of the first anniversary of Leo's election as Pope, and peace in the Middle East was one issue covered before gifts were exchanged. Rubio gave the Pope a crystal football paperweight, and in return he was presented with a pen made of olive wood, with Leo saying "olive being, of course, the plant of peace”. 

It’s all about gas, gas, gas

Our third biggest export-earner was back in the news yesterday with the Albanese Government announcing a plan to force gas companies to keep 20% of new supplies for domestic use. The new east coast gas reserve will kick in from July next year, and Energy Minister Chris Bowen reckons it’ll result in “a modest oversupply” which should push down prices. Despite Oz being a major exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), there's no mandate to hold any for local use, resulting in forecasted shortfalls and higher prices. Critics say the plan could flood the market and threaten investment, but Bowen rejected that and also said it wouldn’t affect our exports. He added: "This is Australian gas, so Australians should have 'first go' at it".

Stop, it’s Farrer time

The federal by-election for former Coalition leader Sussan Ley’s old seat in NSW is happening tomorrow, and it’s a big one… The stakes for new Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan are high, as they’re tipped to lose a seat that one of those 2 parties has always held. The frontrunner to win the seat is One Nation candidate David Farley - who has had a few minor disagreements with party leader Pauline Hanson in recent weeks. If he does pick it up, it’ll be the first federal lower house seat One Nation has won via an election in its history. But with Independent Michelle Milthorpe, another major contender, it could be a long count - and a nervous weekend for many in Canberra… 
*For the full background on the Farrer by-election and some of the issues voters are thinking about, check out our Squiz Shortcut…

Get your woollies out…

…especially if you’re in Southern Oz. The bottom half of the country is in for a polar blast over the next few days, which could bring Autumn snow to NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The Bureau of Meteorology says it’s down to a high-pressure system in the Great Australian Bight that’s pushing a cold front northeast - and it could blow up to southern Queensland and Central Oz today. Snow has already fallen in the Victorian Alps, but it's not just up high - parts of the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney and the hills near Canberra could also be in for a dusting. Reports say it's a sudden turnaround from the warm April we've had, which has been 1.14C above average across the country. Time to dig out the Ugg boots…

Attaboy, Attenborough

The famed nature documentarian David Attenborough turns 100yo today, and you better believe the world is celebrating… The TV legend with the distinctive voice made his first documentary series, Zoo Quest, all the way back in 1954, and since then he’s made over 100 series and specials about the natural world. Two of those - Planet Earth and Planet Earth II - are ranked 3rd and 2nd on IMDB’s user-generated list of the best TV shows ever made. To celebrate - apart from a new species of parasitic wasp being named after him - the BBC is airing a live 90-minute special from Royal Albert Hall and 2 new shows, and the Australian Museum is offering free entry to its Bloodsuckers exhibition in Sydney all weekend. And if you have a spare 6 hours handy, the BBC has this compilation of 100 of his greatest moments. Weekend sorted…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

We enjoyed Aussie actor Patrick Brammall’s interview with Kate Langbroek on No Filter. It covers a lot of ground, including how the success of Colin from Accounts (written by and co-starring his wife Harriet Dyer) set him up for his latest role in The Devil Wears Prada 2, how being a dad changed him, and why being in a blockbuster won’t…

Knowing we can’t resist an animal live cam, Squizer Marnie pointed us to the Denali Puppy Cam this week. These fluffballs are Alaska’s newest litter of canine rangers - aka sled dogs - and to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, they’re named after national parks… 

And it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday - and apart from being left alone for an hour (or 2…) with a coffee and a book, we know a few mums who’d also appreciate this plum and ricotta tart… Once the pastry’s done it’s simple to assemble, and while it presents on the rustic side, it’s a showstopper.

Squiz the Day

Friday
10.00am (AEST) - Closing submissions in Charlotte MacInnes’ defamation case against Rebel Wilson, Federal Court of Australia - Sydney

12.00pm (AEST) - The winners of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes will be announced at the Art Gallery of NSW - Sydney

Macquarie Bank will release its annual financial results 

David Attenborough turns 100 (1926)

And it’s been one year since Pope Leo XIV was elected as pope

Anniversary of:

  • the first Westminster Dog Show (1877)

  • Coca Cola being sold publicly for the first time at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia – cocaine and all… (1886)

  • World War II ending in Europe after Nazi Germany formally surrenders (1945)

  • The Beatles releasing their final album Let It Be (1970)

Saturday
2.00pm (AEST) - Football: A-League Women semi-final, second leg Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory, City Football Academy - Melbourne, watch on 10play 

4.00pm (AEST) - Football: A-League Men semi-final, first leg - Auckland FC v Adelaide United, Go Media Stadium - Auckland, watch on 10play 

7.40pm (AEST) - Football:  A-League Men semi-final, first leg - Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets, Allianz Stadium - Sydney, watch on 10play 

The Farrer by-election is on

Groovin the Moo returns after a 2-year hiatus - Lismore

Venice Biennale begins (until November 22)

Archibald exhibition begins (until 16 August) - Sydney 

🍷 National Moscato Day

Anniversary of:

  • the opening of the first Parliament of Australia (1901)

  • the US becoming the first country to legalise the birth control pill (1960)

  • Nelson Mandela becoming President of South Africa (1994)

  • Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years (2023)

Sunday
12.30pm (AEST) - Football: A-League Women semi-final second leg: Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar, Jerry Collins Stadium - Porirua, watch on 10play 

Mother's Day

World Migratory Bird Day

National Train Day

Birthdays for singer Bono (1960) and Australian journalist Leigh Sales (1973)

Anniversary of:

  • Germany’s invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and the appointment of Winston Churchill as UK’s PM after the resignation of Neville Chamberlain (1940)

  • India’s population reaching 1 billion (2000)

  • Apple becoming the first company to be worth more than US$800 billion (2017)

  • Uber listing on the New York Stock Exchange (2019)