Friday, 9 May - Ch-ch-changes

Good morning, it’s Friday, 9 May. In your Squiz Today…

• The new Pope is an American - for the first time ever…

• Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is switching parties

• And a porcini ragu that’s easy to do…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Kiwi scientist Ingrid Gruner after managing to capture footage of a huge, meat-eating snail laying an egg from its… neck. (Sorry if you were reading this over breakfast…) Here’s the article, including some footage if you’re interested, but proceed with caution… 

A new Pope is chosen

The Squiz

The conclave has made its decision on the new leader of the Catholic Church, and for the first time ever, he's an American. Around 2am AEST today, white smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel's chimney to tell the crowds below that at least 2 thirds of the 133 cardinals inside had voted for the same candidate, which was revealed to be 69yo Robert Francis Prevost. He'll be known as Pope Leo XIV, and he appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Square shortly after the vote to speak to the crowd below - "Peace be with you all" were his first words.

What do we know about him?

We know that he was born in Chicago in 1955 and that he had been talked about as a leading candidate. He became a priest in 1982, and Pope Francis made him the head of the dicastery of bishops in 2023. That's the office that decides who can be made a bishop in the Catholic Church, so it was an influential gig. During his career, he spent a lot of time in Peru as a bishop for the city of Chiclayo - he became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 - and when he spoke to the crowd following the decision, he spoke in both Spanish and Italian. As for his future vision for the Church, he said in his speech that "We must try to find out how to be a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogue and is open to receiving everybody."

Tell me more about the moment…

It took 4 rounds of voting in the conclave before the white smoke went up - here’s a video, featuring some showboating birds - and when it did, the crowd in St Peter’s Square cheered and clapped, and chanted “viva la papa” (long live the Pope). They cheered again when senior cardinal Dominique Mamberti announced the result with the words “Habemus Papam” - a Latin phrase meaning, quite simply, “We have a Pope”. Shortly afterwards, Pope Leo XIV appeared on the balcony and waved to the thousands of people gathered below. Quick note on the fact he’s the first American in the role - the conclave has reportedly been less than keen to pick an American before because the country is already so powerful on the world stage - but papal experts say Prevost’s Peruvian citizenship may have eased those fears a bit. US President Donald Trump called it “a great honour for our country”.

Holiday shopping from home

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Squiz the Rest

A long-awaited verdict

After a 12-week trial, a jury yesterday found 2 men guilty of murdering teenager Cassius Turvey in an eastern suburb of Perth on 13 October 2022 - they are 24yo Jack Brearley and 29yo Brodie Lee Palmer. The murder - and a comment from WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch that Cassius may have been “in the wrong place at the wrong time” - was met with public outrage. Noongar community leaders responded by saying that the Noongar Yamatji 15yo was "in his school uniform with his friends in broad daylight", and vigils were held for him across the country. After the verdict yesterday, Cassius's mother Mechelle said her son "died for absolutely nothing" after the prosecution said the men went "hunting for kids". The case will next be in court for a sentencing hearing on 26 June.

The special relationship pays off

UK PM Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have signed a trade deal this morning that will reduce some of the tariffs - taxes on imports - that the 2 countries have placed on each other’s products. Under this deal, the US will remove the 25% tariffs on UK steel and aluminium, and cut another tariff on cars from 27.5% to 10%. In return, the UK will remove tariffs on ethanol and beef. While the 10% baseline tariff announced by Trump during his Liberation Day announcement on 2 April will stay, Starmer called it a “really fantastic, historic day” - though the UK Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch wasn’t quite as keen - she said the UK had “been shafted” in the deal.

The post-election political shuffle

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price made waves yesterday by announcing she’s leaving the Nationals to join the Liberal Party. She was careful to say she’s “deeply appreciative” of the opportunities the National Party gave her, but feels “the Liberal Party is my natural home and somewhere I can contribute meaningfully”. As one of the Coalition’s most high-profile senators, Nampijinpa Price says she wants to help the Liberals “rebuild” after the loss of leader Peter Dutton, with reports saying she might be eyeing a deputy leadership role… Elsewhere, Greens leader Adam Bandt has formally conceded his seat of Melbourne, while PM Anthony Albanese has dumped a couple of senior ministers from his new cabinet. It’s all happening…

Any support in a storm

The South Oz government yesterday crashed in to rescue the Adelaide Lightning, a team in our Women's National Basketball League that was established in 1993 and has won the league 5 times. But after its previous owners gave up the licence and handed it back to Basketball Australia, the side's future has been under a cloud. To help the team weather this tough period, Premier Peter Malinauskas' government is making it rain by chipping in over $1.5 million across 3 years, in partnership with the new owners of the WNBL, which also changed hands recently. But one problem has struck - the team might be unable to use the Lightning nickname, as it's chained to the previous management. So we're using up all our puns now, just in case…

One in a Minion

Give it up for Perth woman Liesl Benecke, who’s scored a Guinness World Record with her collection of 1,035 official Minion items. If you’re thinking ‘huh?’, Minions are the yellow, overall-wearing, bespectacled creatures from the 2010 kids’ film Despicable Me. Benecke first saw them when she took her children to see the movie in cinemas and was so enamoured that she began collecting plastic figurines, with a trip to Singapore’s Minion Land fanning the flames. Now, 15 years later, the tribe has grown… Benecke has everything from Minion-themed toilet seat covers to Swarovski crystals - and a child-sized plush, Stuart, who goes for car rides, “waving” at other drivers at traffic lights. Benecke’s also not worried about her record being surpassed - she says “hey, the more Minions, the better”. Words to live by…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If the weather's been chilly where you are and you're thinking it's time to crack out the pasta, we'll point you toward this porcini ragu. It’s warm, moreish and vegetarian - although we reckon you could get creative with a few add-ons. Buon appetito…

Those partial to puzzles might enjoy the new-ish video game Blue Prince, which is available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. It's an ingenious puzzle-mystery game that sees you exploring a 45-room mansion trying to find a mysterious 46th room and the secret that might be inside… It's a ripper. 

We’re enjoying the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale - even though we sometimes have to watch through our fingers… And in case anyone needs to debrief, SBS does a great job of unpacking each episode in the podcast Eyes on Gilead, so give that a listen…

Squiz the Day

Friday
10.00am (AEST) - Motorsport: Snowy River Caravans Tasmania Super 440 begins - Launceston, Tasmania

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

5.30pm (AEST) - Basketball: Australia v NZ (game 2 of 3) - Hamilton, NZ and watch on 9Now, followed by the women’s match at 7.30pm

9.30pm (AEST) - Giro d’Italia bike race begins in Durrës, Albania - watch it on SBS On Demand

The iconic hobbit statue in NZ’s Wellington Airport is being replaced with a mystery exhibit

Chinese President Xi Jinping will join Russian President Vladimir Putin for Victory Day celebrations in Moscow 

ABS Data Release - Monthly business turnover indicator, March 2025; Preschool attendance, 2025

Europe Day

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)

• Justin Trudeau being elected leader of Canada's Liberal Party (2013)

Saturday
From 11.00am (AEST) - No More: National Rally Against Violence will take place in cities across the country, protesting violence against women

12.00pm (AEST) - Vogue Online Shopping Night 2025 (until midnight 11 May)

3.00pm (AEST) - Women's Rugby Union: Pacific Four Series - Wallaroos v New Zealand - Newcastle, watch it on Stan Sport

Top economic Chinese and US officials will meet in Geneva to discuss trade 

Tennis world #1 Jannik Sinner will return to centre court at the Italian Open for his first competitive match in 3 months following his doping ban - Rome

Are You Safe At Home? Day

World Migratory Bird Day

World Lupus Day

World Fair Trade Day

🚂 National Train Day

Birthdays for musician Bono (1960) and 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)

Sunday
🌸 Mother's Day

9.00am (AEST) - It’s Sydney’s turn to host the Oz Feline Fair

12.00 noon (AEST) - Basketball: Australia v NZ double header (game 3 of 3) - Hamilton, NZ and watch on 9Now, followed by the women’s match at 2.00pm

The 3-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is scheduled to end

Albania will hold parliamentary elections

National Road Safety Week (until 18 May)

Start of Food Allergy Awareness Week (until 17 May)

Anniversary of:

• William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth embarking on their expedition westward of Sydney (1813)

• the birthday of Salvador Dali (1904)

• the premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats (1980)

• the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when 8 climbers were caught in a blizzard and died