Monday, 17 March - Go grease lightning

Good morning, it’s Monday, 17 March. In your Squiz Today…

• Firming up our commitment to Ukraine

• The US takes action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels

• And a fisherman’s remarkable rescue…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said astronaut Suni Williams on the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew-10, who'll relieve her and Butch Wilmore at the ISS where they’ve been since June on a mission that was meant to last 8 days. They’re set to depart on Wednesday night, heading back to quite a homecoming…

A call-out to the willing

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese says Australia would make a “small contribution” to peacekeeping efforts in Ukraine if a ceasefire goes ahead - depending “on our capacity and comparative strengths”. That’s something Coalition leader Peter Dutton reckons is best left up to Europe, but Albanese says it’s in our national interest to back Ukraine and “will continue to do so for as long as it takes”. It comes after he jumped on a call yesterday with leaders from more than 25 other European and Commonwealth allies, organised by UK PM Keir Starmer, to discuss a pathway to restoring peace in Ukraine.

Who is involved?

Starmer calls it a “coalition of the willing” - nations that want to help “build up Ukraine's own defences and armed forces, and be ready to deploy [peacekeeping troops] in the event of a peace deal”. It’s made up of many of our longstanding Western allies - leaders from Canada, New Zealand and several European countries also took part. Notably absent from the call was the US… That’s after President Donald Trump’s about-turn on support for Ukraine in recent weeks and ceasefire planning with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Starmer says there’s been “dithering and delay” from the Kremlin over the current US-backed ceasefire plan, so he’s been upping his diplomatic talks with other Western leaders as a show of support to Ukraine.

So what happens next?

The coalition has agreed to ramp up its military support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia - aimed at increasing the pressure on Putin to agree to a ceasefire. Only then would peacekeeping troops be sent into the region. Starmer says “sooner or later” Putin will have to “come to the table”, but in the meantime, they need to “keep pushing ahead, pushing forward, and preparing for peace”. To that end, defence chiefs from the nations involved will meet in the UK on Thursday “to put strong and robust plans in place”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is feeling positive - he thinks there’s “a good chance” to end the war, although “active pressure is needed, not just talks”. Stay tuned…

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Squiz the Rest

The US takes action in Yemen

A series of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump have hit Yemen’s capital Sana’a over the weekend, killing at least 31 people and injuring over 100 others. Trump says it has to do with Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group - a big supporter of Hamas - and its attacks on US ships in the Red Sea freight corridor. You might remember the Houthis - they've been targeting Western ships in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza, and Aussie forces have helped to protect the region. But last week, Houthi leaders said they'd begin attacking Israeli ships again in response to Israel’s blockade in Gaza. Trump then ordered the strikes - saying “no terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World”.

Some weighty evidence

With mounting evidence that drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy help those living with obesity to “gain health”, Australia’s peak GP body is calling for them to be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for weight loss purposes. At the moment, the meds are listed on the PBS for the treatment of diabetes, while people using them for weight loss are paying up to $2,000 per year. Around 32% of Aussies are categorised as obese, and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) reckons the health benefits of the drugs warrant them being subsidised by the government. Dr Terri-Lynne South, the chair of RACGP’s obesity focus group, says it would help even out access to the drugs, given “the people who need it most are the ones who can afford it least”.

Hot in the city

A cool change has blown through Sydney this morning after the city sweltered through a scorcher of a weekend and its hottest night in 149 years. At midnight on Saturday, the temperature was 25.9C, rising to 28C at sunrise. Yesterday, things got even steamier, hitting 39C in the city's west before this morning’s windy change dropped the temperature by 15C. The heatwave contributed to nearly 7,500 emergency calls over Friday and Saturday, and a further 3,800 were expected yesterday. Meteorologists say the blast of hot weather - which also baked Adelaide and parts of Victoria - is coming from the red centre. One city to escape the heat was Melbourne, where showers played havoc with the opening of the Aussie Grand Prix.

Slippery when wet

Speaking of rain in Melbs… All hopes of a local Formula 1 win at the Aussie Grand Prix were left in the dust yesterday after Oscar Piastri spun out in the wet conditions and rookie Jack Doohan crashed out early. Piastri qualified second-fastest behind his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, and it was from that pole position that Norris took victory. It’s the first time we’ve opened the F1 season since 2019, but Melbourne’s soggy start didn’t put a dampener on the crowd (a record 465,498 people) - or the trackside glamour… And speaking of speedsters - another Aussie continues to break records (even if unofficially) on a different track. Teenage sprinter Gout Gout cracked 20 seconds over 200m at the Queensland Athletics Championships yesterday - the fastest time in the world. 

A happy seafaring return

A Peruvian fisherman who was stranded at sea has been rescued and reunited with his family after 95 days adrift. Maximo Napa Castro began a fishing trip on 7 December with enough food for 2 weeks, but he was thrown off course in a storm and ended up rudderless in the Pacific Ocean. His family launched a search and all but gave up hope, but the 61yo was found by an Ecuadorian patrol boat last week 1,094km from the coast. He said he survived on roaches, birds, turtles, and rainwater collected in his boat, but rescuers found him severely dehydrated, and he hadn’t eaten for 15 days. But even after his ordeal, he hasn’t lost his appetite for the ocean - after a belated birthday dinner of his favourite Andean stew, he plans to take to the sea again. 

Apropos of Nothing

St Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century - and also bright green water to the Chicago River. This year will be the 63rd that the US city has dyed its iconic waterway lurid green in honour of St Paddy and his feast day which falls today. You can check out the photos here…

Good haircuts are hard to come by, and they’re even harder to come by in the outback. So it’s no wonder the people of Papunya have been lining up outside the latest addition to their community - a hair salon in an old shipping container - which means they no longer have to make the 230km drive east to Alice Springs for a tidy up. 

And while we’re talking local fixtures, the word among Geraldton golf club members is that Charlie, the long-billed corella who lives next to the course, is over 100yo - and he’s spent a good 30 of those years heckling the players with a well-timed “fore” - which means watch out in golf lingo - as they swing. What a legend.

Squiz the Day

9.15am (AEDT) - A 5-day hearing over pay rates for NSW psychiatrists will be heard by the Industrial Relations Commission, which comes after warnings that there aren’t enough mental health doctors left to run services safely - Sydney

11.30am (AEDT) - Australian Energy Market Commissioner Tim Jordan will speak on energy security in NSW - Sydney

6.00pm (AEDT) - Lowy Institute and Carnegie Endowment experts will discuss the future of the Australia-US alliance - Sydney

Dua Lipa kicks off the Oz leg of her Radical Optimism Tour in Melbourne

🍀 St Patrick's Day

Start of Harmony Week (until 23 March)

Birthdays for actor Kurt Russell (1951), singer Billy Corgan (1967) and musician Grimes (1988) 

Anniversary of:

• the deaths of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (180) and Saint Patrick (461)

• Edward the Black Prince being made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England (1337)

• the patenting of the rubber band and self-raising flour (1845)

• Albert Einstein finishing his scientific paper detailing his Quantum Theory of Light, one of the foundations of modern physics (1905)