Monday, 27 October - Crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man

Good morning, it’s Monday, 27 October. In your Squiz Today…

• A big week of meetings in Asia

• French police arrest 2 suspects over the Louvre heist

• And a crustacean migration… 🦀

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Wrote Albarito Bueno in an online post about a surfboard he’d found drifting off Raglan on New Zealand’s northwest coast. The board’s distinctive design helped identify it, and his hunch was right - it was lost 17 months ago in Tasmania and surfed its way 2,400kms across the ditch…

A big week in Asia

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese barely had time to unpack from his US trip last week before jetting off again - this time to Malaysia and South Korea for meetings that are set to dominate international headlines over the coming days. First up, he’s in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting of ASEAN leaders (aka the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which kicked off yesterday, and then the East Asia Summit. After that, he’s heading to South Korea for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. But the big name in attendance will be US President Donald Trump, who’s on his own diplomatic tour of Asia this week - and he’s already cracking out some moves…

So what’s on the agenda? 

Several regional issues. After leading ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, Trump yesterday oversaw an expanded truce being signed between Thailand and Cambodia - where fighting had flared up along the countries’ shared border earlier this year, killing more than 40 people. But aside from peacemaking, he also has trade deals on his mind… The big ones that Trump’s chasing are trade agreements with Malaysia, Japan and South Korea - some of the nations worst-hit by US tariffs. And then there’s the talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping… The leaders of the world’s 2 biggest economies have been locked in an on-again-off-again trade war for months, and will hash it out in person in South Korea on Thursday. Reports say a framework has been agreed between the 2 countries ahead of those talks, and the US has walked back threats of additional tariffs.

Anything else?

While Trump’s focused on deals in Asia, world leaders are watching his latest clash with the US’s northern neighbour, Canada - where a TV ad running over the past week has caused fresh tension. You read that right… The ad, from Ontario’s provincial government, uses audio from a 1987 speech by former US President Ronald Reagan where he criticises tariffs, saying “over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer”. Trump, who favours tariffs (obviously…), wasn’t happy, calling it a “serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act”. He’s since pulled out of trade talks and increased tariffs on Canada’s exports by another 10%. In response, Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford says the ad campaign will be paused today “so that trade talks can resume”.

Your holiday shop just got 10 times better

Skincare, perfume, gifts, whatever - Lotte Duty Free has 10x Qantas Points on online orders right now. Which means that the holiday shopping you were lining up is now working a lot harder for your next getaway. You can order from home or swing by any Lotte Duty Free location for the same duty-free prices - either way, the points stack up fast. Find out more here.

Squiz the Rest

And they’re back… 

There’s plenty to get on with when federal parliament returns this week, and one of the first policy cabs off the rank will be Environment Minister Murray Watt’s plan to set up a National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA). The new body would serve as a watchdog as part of a broader plan to reform federal environment laws, which Watt reckons are “fundamentally broken”. He says they’re “failing the environment, they're failing business, and they're failing the broader community”. There have been several attempts to overhaul them in recent years, and Watt’s got his work cut out to get the legislation over the line. Last week, Coalition leader Sussan Ley called it an “environmental approvals disaster”, while Greens leader Larissa Waters said the laws did “little to protect nature”.

A landmark lawsuit

In case you didn’t hear about this over the weekend, a class action lawsuit was filed by 4 servicewomen against the Australian Defence Forces last Friday, alleging widespread sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination. Lawyers for the women say they expect thousands more to join the lawsuit, in what's being described as a watershed moment for women in the military. The allegations from the women include instances of being pinned to a wall and groped, being subjected to lewd comments, and waking up naked and bruised after a party with male officers. All women who served between November 2003 and May 2025 will automatically be enrolled, but they can opt out if they feel they haven't been impacted. The ADF says it's working on a sexual misconduct prevention strategy and there's "no place for sexual violence" in the army.
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French police make their move

Investigators have arrested 2 suspects over last Sunday’s daylight heist of the Louvre in Paris, with DNA left at the scene leading police to identify at least one of them. Reports say both are men aged in their 30s, have criminal histories, and were trying to leave Paris - one was bound for Algeria and the other to Mali. It comes after evidence was found that a museum security staffer was in contact with suspects before the heist. More than 100 specialist police are working the case, but there’s no word on whether the stolen French Crown Jewels have been found… Getting nearly as much attention online as the jewels is a devastatingly dapper man who was photographed near police outside the art museum. The internet has been working overtime with theories about his identity (a better-dressed version of Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther…?). But prosecutors aren’t giving anything away, responding with: “We’d rather keep the mystery alive ;)”.

Questioning the cost of sports gambling

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has apologised to basketball fans after last week’s betting scandal saw the arrests of more than 30 people, including Portland coach Chauncey Billups and Miami guard Terry Rozier (both household names in the US…). Silver said there’s “nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition” and that he’s “deeply disturbed” by the allegations. For context: online gambling is relatively new to America - it was only legalised in 2018, and commentators say it’s now facing a reckoning. Players not caught up in the scandal say betting has led to an uptick in online abuse from fans after games… Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics has called on the NBA to do more, saying “it creates a negative discourse around the game and players when people have money involved”.

A crustacean migration

You might’ve heard about whale or bird migrations, but every year in Oz, there’s one that makes for a spectacularly moving sight. On Christmas Island - a remote Oz territory in the Indian Ocean - millions of tiny red crabs make their way from the rainforest to the shore, turning the ground into a moving carpet. And although massively outnumbered, the 1,200 humans on the island are happy to help them get there using leaf blowers and rakes to clear the roads. Local hotel owner Chris Bray has even designed a guard for the front of his car - which he calls the "crab mobile" - to steer the crabs gently out of the way. The migration kicked off early this year due to warmer ocean temperatures, and the crabs' high numbers are a sign that pests are being kept at bay. Christmas Island National Park’s Alexia Jankowski says while some people think they’re a nuisance, “most of us think they’re a bit of a privilege to experience”.

Apropos of Nothing - Succession edition

The Republic of Ireland has a new President after left-wing independent candidate Catherine Connolly won the election by a landslide. She’s taking over from President Michael D. Higgins - but there’s no word if there’s a new presidential pooch yet…

Speaking of presidential elections - former US Vice President/candidate Kamala Harris says she may “possibly” have another run at the White House. In a recent BBC interview, she says she hasn’t decided yet, but still sees a future for herself in politics. Watch this space…

Thailand is in mourning after the Thai Queen Mother Sirikit died on Friday due to a blood infection at 93yo. She was known as a royal style icon back in the 60s/70s/80s - even making the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly in 1962. Vale…

Squiz the Day

The Senate and House of Reps are sitting (until 30 October)

APEC Economic Leaders' Week begins, bringing together leaders, ministers and senior officials from APEC’s 21 member economies for high-level meetings - Gyeongju, South Korea

7.00am (AEDT) - Motorsports: F1, Mexican Grand Prix - Mexico City, watch on Kayo

9.00am (AEDT) - Bega Cheese AGM - Bega, NSW

10.00am (AEDT) - A 2-day hearing is due to begin for neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell, charged with behaving in an offensive manner during a white supremacist rally in Ballarat in December 2023 - Ballarat, Victoria

10.00am (AEST) - Bruce Lehrmann’s application to permanently stay a rape trial will be heard in Ipswich District Court (he’s been charged by Toowoomba detectives with 2 counts of rape over an incident in October 2021) - Ipswich, Queensland

Year 12 exams begin for students in Queensland 

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

National Mentoring Day

🐈‍⬛ National Black Cat Day

Birthdays for actor/comedian John Cleese (1939) and Aussie cricketer David Warner (1986)

Anniversary of:

• China announcing its population had reached 1 billion people (1982)

• the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead (2018)

• the release of the groundbreaking film Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

• the release of Amy Winehouse's 2nd and final studio album Back to Black (2006)

• the release of Taylor Swift's fifth studio album 1989 (2014)