Monday, 13 October - You don't own me

October 13, 2025

Good morning, it’s Monday, 13 October. In your Squiz Today…

  • The ceasefire agreement in Gaza kicks in

  • Tensions flare between China and the US over rare earth minerals

  • And vale Diane Keaton…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content.”

Said the judge who dismissed rapper/singer Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group for publishing and promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us. If you’re former Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie, it might be your next move…

The ceasefire agreement kicks in

The Squiz

As Israelis and Palestinians count down to today’s hostage and prisoner release, world leaders are headed to Egypt for new talks aimed at permanently ending the war in Gaza. US President Donald Trump, who led the ceasefire deal currently in motion, will attend with about 20 other leaders from the Middle East, Europe, and the UK. But first, the President - who’s been widely praised at huge rallies in Israel over the weekend for his role in the deal - will visit Israel today. Anticipation there for the return of the hostages is high, and in a brief address early this morning, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said "tomorrow is the beginning of a new path", but he also warned that there were still "big security challenges ahead". 

So it’s going to be a busy week…

It sure is… First - the hostage/prisoner swap. That deadline is midday today, local time - or this evening for us here in Oz… Hamas will hand over 48 Israeli hostages kidnapped during the 7 October attacks 2 years ago, 20 of whom are thought to be alive. In exchange, Israel has named 250 of the Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences it will release. About 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed in total, but we don’t yet have a clear timeline for when the rest will be released. Meanwhile, in Gaza, about 500,000 people have returned to the enclave’s destroyed northern region as Israeli troops retreat to the boundary agreed in the deal. And with famine confirmed for more than half a million Palestinians, Israel has agreed to let 600 aid trucks into Gaza daily from the end of the week.

And what happened with the protests here? 

Despite the NSW court ruling on Thursday blocking the largest one in Sydney from marching to the Opera House forecourt, it went ahead along a different route. Police estimate about 8,000 pro-Palestine protesters marched from Hyde Park to George Street yesterday afternoon - but the Palestine Action Group, which organised the event, said 10,000 people showed up. Thousands more protesters pushing for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza marched across our other capital cities, with no major incidents reported. Looking ahead, our Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman is hopeful that the Gaza ceasefire will improve social cohesion - although he’s pushing for a new anti-racism taskforce to address the “structural and institutional problems” that remain.

Bulk gift cards without the admin headache

If wrangling gift cards for team birthdays or customer thank-yous falls to you, GroupTogether just launched bulk eGift cards. Upload a spreadsheet with the names and amounts, and send up to 1,000 digital gift cards in one go. Recipients get an AnyCard with access to 100+ big-name retailers. Check out GroupTogether's bulk eGift cards solution because, let’s be honest, it’s probably easier than your current process...

Squiz the Rest

Meanwhile, the trade war heats up… 

China and the US are at it again, with China accused of holding the world "captive" with its grip on the supply of rare earth minerals. As of last Thursday, foreign companies exporting products made with rare earths produced in China must now get approval from the Chinese Government. Rare earth minerals are crucial to making things like EV motors, smartphone parts, and some defence tech - so pretty important... President Trump isn’t happy about the change - he’s threatened to retaliate with 100% tariffs on China’s imports to the US, and might pull his meeting with President Xi later this month. But the turmoil could bode well for Oz… PM Anthony Albanese’s keen to talk up our own supply of critical minerals when he meets with Trump next weekend.
*If you’re keen to know a bit more about critical and rare earth minerals and their uses, we’ve got just the Squiz Shortcut for you… 

The Qantas data breach gets darker

The personal details of nearly 5 million of the airline's customers have been released on the dark web, after a demand for ransom money by the cybercrime gang Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters was ignored. The criminals stole the data on 30 June in a breach linked to software giant Salesforce and threatened to release it online if a ransom wasn’t paid on Saturday. And it’s not just Qantas customers affected - around 40 global firms had data stolen in the hack, including Disney, Google, McDonald's and Air France. The big guns have been brought in, with the FBI, French prosecutors and cybercrime specialists all hunting the hackers. Several data sites linked to the group have been seized, but the group seems undaunted, posting online: "Seizing a domain does not really affect our operations FBI… try harder ;)". As for the Government, it's holding firm that it won’t negotiate with cyber criminals.

And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to… 

Not Donald Trump… He missed out on the gong, despite lobbying the judges, who were clear that the prize was given based on last year’s efforts. But it’s not all about him... The winner is Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado - a longtime democracy campaigner in her country, where President Nicolás Maduro's 12-year rule is seen by many as illegitimate. The Nobel committee called Machado “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times”. The full statement singing her praise is worth a read. Analysts say Venezuela is a country in crisis with millions living in poverty, and Machado has called on the US President to help... Trump congratulated her over the phone, and she told him the Venezuelan people are thankful for what he's doing "around the world for peace, for freedom, for democracy".

Vale Diane Keaton

Tributes have been flooding in for the legendary actress after the news broke yesterday that she’d died aged 79yo. A lot of us have grown up watching her onscreen, and she was groundbreaking in her acting and her style - from her androgynous necktie and pants in Annie Hall to making coastal grandmother/turtlenecks chic in Something’s Gotta Give. Her career began on Broadway and shifted to film in 1970, and her breakthrough role in 1972’s The Godfather won best picture. Six years later, she won an Oscar for her turn in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. Other notable hits include The First Wives Club, Father of the Bride, and (one of our favourite Christmas movies) The Family Stone. Heartfelt messages from fans and peers amassed yesterday on her last Instagram post. One tribute we reckon is worth a read comes from her mate Goldie Hawn. Keep the tissues handy…

Going batty for birds

Spring means our birdlife is in full swing (or swoop…) - and if you’re an Aussie twitcher/birder/birdwatcher, it’s one of the best times of the year to pull out your binoculars and cameras - and to vote in the Guardian’s Australian Bird of the Year competition that gets to the pointy end this week… Environmentalist/author Natalie Kyriacou is a self-proclaimed birder who’s encouraging others to get involved as “an act of quiet rebellion” from our busy schedules. She reckons birdwatching has a bad rep as “the Dungeons & Dragons of the natural world”, but it’s actually a way to connect “in profound and unexpected ways”. Her tip if you’re looking to start? Make sure you’ve got some sensible shoes - which we reckon is applicable to most things in life…

Apropos of Nothing

Our Aussie Diamonds made it a clean sweep of South Africa’s Proteas yesterday, winning the third and final Test 65-42 in Adelaide. Already shining bright, the netball world champs are now gearing up to take on New Zealand in the opening Constellation Cup Test on Friday night.

We’ve covered some weird stuff in this section of the newsletter, but a Kansas collection of over 3,000 locks of hair that’s being rehomed to museums around the US is up there... It includes tresses from famous heads including Ozzy Osborne, Marilyn Monroe and, according to them, Jesus. Those are some valuable hairlooms… 

And in that rich vein, a 21-karat gold dress has set a new Guinness World Record for the most valuable, coming in at - cha-ching - more than $1 million. Weighing nearly 9kg - as much as a dachshund or 1.5 bowling balls, it’s a good time to be golden…

Squiz the Day

School goes back for kids in Tasmania, Western Oz and South Oz for Term 4

10.00am (AEDT) - Ebony Bell, charged over an assault on Senator Lidia Thorpe at the MCG AFL Dreamtime game in May 2024, is due to be sentenced - Melbourne

10.00am (AEDT) - Independent Tasmanian MP Craig Garland is due to be sentenced on a drug driving charge - Burnie, Tasmania

10.00am (AEDT) - SXSW Sydney, driving new ideas and creativity across Asia Pacific, begins (until 19 October) - Sydney

Start of National Nutrition Week (until 19 October) 

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting (until 18 October) in Washington DC

Birthdays for actor Sacha Baron Cohen (1971), swimming champ Ian Thorpe (1982), and US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989)

Anniversary of:

  • Greenwich in London established as the universal time meridian of longitude (1884)

  • the 'miracle in the Andes' plane crash that inspired the film Alive (1972)

  • US champion Simone Biles becoming the most decorated gymnast in history when she won her record 25th medal at the World Championships (2019)