Monday, 28 July - I can't forget you

July 28, 2025

Good morning, it’s Monday, 28 July. In your Squiz Today…

  • All eyes are on Gaza’s hunger crisis

  • Calls for calm after a border dispute turns deadly between Thailand and Cambodia

  • And the hottest 100 Aussie bangers…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"Thank you for your interest in Astronomer."

Said Gwyneth Paltrow, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s ex, and the company’s surprise new spokeswoman. She’s been hired to shift the focus back to the bruised and battered company’s core work in what can only be described as a very conscious PR coupling…

All eyes on Gaza’s hunger crisis

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese has accused Israel of “quite clearly” breaking international law by withholding aid deliveries from civilians in Gaza, saying it’s in “breach of decent humanity and of morality, and everyone can see that”. He made those comments as world leaders ramp up the pressure on Israel to take action after shocking images of starving babies and children in the Palestinian territory circulated last week. Yesterday, Israel began airdropping food packages - and followed that up by announcing a “tactical pause in military activity” in parts of the Strip “to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine”.

What is the situation?

The word ‘dire’ is being used a lot… The United Nations says almost a third of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are going without food for days, with “90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment” for malnutrition. The Hamas-run Health Ministry reports 5 people died from starvation on Saturday, taking the total number of deaths from malnutrition to 127 people - including 85 children - since the war began. Doctors say that’s likely to rise. And again to those pictures - Albanese yesterday raised the photo of Hedaya al-Muta’wi and her emaciated 18mo son Mohammed as one that “breaks your heart”. Food shortages in Gaza have been worsening since Israel cut off all food deliveries in March, accusing Hamas of stealing it. But recent official reports found no evidence of that happening regularly. 

And what’s this talk about Palestinian statehood? 

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will formally recognise a Palestinian state. About 147 countries around the world already recognise Palestinian statehood - but France will be the first major Western nation to do so. For context, it’s part of a 2-state solution proposal, which would see Israel and Palestine coexisting as separate recognised states - something neither side wants. Macron’s declaration upped the pressure on other Western nations, including Oz, to follow suit, and it’ll be one of the big talking points among world leaders when they meet tonight at the UN headquarters in New York to discuss the war. The US, Israel’s biggest ally, is planning to skip the meeting, so there are already questions brewing about what it can achieve. Only time will tell…

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Squiz the Rest

Trouble in paradise

Thailand and Cambodia are popular tourist spots for lots of Australians, but something you mightn't know is that the 2 Southeast Asian countries have been involved in a long-running feud over their border - and last week, fighting broke out again. You can read about its history here, but reports say the conflict is mainly focused on an area called the Emerald Triangle, which is where the border meets Laos, and where several ancient temples are. Since Thursday, at least 32 people have been killed in gunfire exchanges, and nearly 200,000 have been displaced. After calls for calm by international leaders, the 2 sides have agreed to ceasefire talks, but the fighting is yet to stop. One who weighed in was US President Donald Trump, who told both the Thai and Cambodian leaders that he wouldn’t make trade deals with them if the dispute continued. 

Keeping our ties to the UK tight

The US might be reviewing its position on AUKUS, but defence ties between Australia and the UK are stronger than ever after our Defence ministers signed a 50-year partnership on nuclear submarines. The deal, called the Geelong Treaty because it was signed by Defence Minister Richard Marles and UK Defence Secretary John Healey in, you guessed it, Geelong, cements the first stage of the AUKUS agreement… It's been a busy weekend for Marles and his UK counterpart - they flew to Darwin next, where they toured a naval base, as Talisman Sabre (the biggest international military exercise in the world that we run alongside the US) wrapped up. This year, around 43,000 troops took part, and it gave us a chance to test fire a new weapon called the Precision Strike Missile. It can hit targets up to 500km away and travels at more than 3 times the speed of sound. Yikes… 

When it rains, it pours…

… and nowhere is the old adage truer than in parts of southeastern Australia, where millions of people are sloshing through the most widespread rain event in 2 years. Meteorologists say it’s down to a low-pressure system pushing very wintry conditions from Western Oz to South Oz and Victoria. Far from being a nuisance, it’s brought rain to some drought-stricken parts in those states, but as one farmer says, “one rain doesn't break a drought… we’ll still need follow-up, and we'll need a very kind spring”. Despite the downpour making transportation tricky, they have more help on the way in the form of a massive drought relief convoy of more than 80 trucks carrying hay. And PSA - the cold front’s due to continue across much of southern Australia this week, so let this be your warning to carry a brolly…

*If you’d like to know a bit more about the drought that’s been affecting our southern states, we’ve got a Squiz Shortcut to help there… 

A huge weekend of sport…

Let’s start with the good news… Aussie F1 racer Oscar Piastri won the Belgian Grand Prix overnight, notching up his sixth title of the season and extending his lead in the World Championship rankings… Also in top form last night were our swimmers - they beat the US to gold in the women’s and men’s 4x100m freestyle relays at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on 12yo Chinese prodigy Yu Zidi who’s in her first final tonight… Over to Paris now, where the men's Tour de France wrapped up early this morning with Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar clinching his fourth victory… And we can’t not mention the Wallabies’ “gutsy” 26-29 loss to the British and Irish Lions in the last minute of the second Test match at the MCG on Saturday night. It means the Lions have won the series, but there's still one match left of the tour - that's in Sydney on Saturday, so keep your green 'n gold woollies handy… 

*For more on why the Lions tour is such a crucial moment for Australian rugby, check out our latest Squiz Shortcut…

The hottest Aussie bangers…

Everyone has an opinion on their favourite homegrown song, so it’s no surprise that Triple J’s list of the Hottest 100 Australian Songs caused a few upsets… Although there weren’t too many complaints about the song that came in at #1 - Never Tear Us Apart by INXS. Some called it a ballad but others said it’s become more of an anthem, so make of that what you will… As for the controversial singles, one that needed a bit of explaining was the Veronicas hit Untouched, which came in at #3. This covers its backstory as a hit amongst the LGBTIQ+ community, and as it turns out, a lotta people voted for it… Others high on the list were Cold Chisel, Missy Higgins, Crowded House, and the Hilltop Hoods. Consider the playlist for your next barbie sorted…

Apropos of Nothing

Borat is suddenly ripped and more than ready to take on a mankini… The transformation of actor Sacha Baron Cohen has been so startling he’s had to deny that his recent Men’s Fitness cover is the work of AI. But with a new Marvel flick in the works, no one’s questioning his reasons…

A London church choir has been told their singing was “a terrible racket” and to wrap it up early by a crotchety bishop. Appearing in his dressing gown, the bishop of Fulham told the 360-strong choir the night was over, and to get out of his house. Aca scuse me…? 

And on the tail of other welcomed sequels (ahem Devil Wears Prada 2…), we’re getting set to Bend it Like Beckham - again. The director hopes the sequel will feature cameos from the current English Lioness squad, many of whom are from a generation of girls inspired by the original movie to take up football. And it’s super timely given England’s win over Spain this morning in the women’s Euros…

Squiz the Day

Federal Parliament sitting, both houses (until 31 July) - Canberra

28 July: 9.00am (ACST) - The trial of Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, accused of perverting the course of justice over the death of his co-worker Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson in a helicopter crash, is set to begin (set down for 8 weeks) - Darwin

US President Donald Trump is in Scotland for the next 3 days. He’s just announced a trade deal with the EU which includes a 15% baseline tariff on most EU imports into the US. Next up, he’s due to meet with UK PM Keir Starmer…

A UN summit on a 2-state solution for Palestine and Israel is set to begin after it was postponed due to the Israel-Iran war - New York

Powerful Ecuadorean gang leader Adolfo Macías Villamar (of the Los Choneros gang) will plead not-guilty at a US court 

AgriCULTURED Festival in Tasmania (until 3 August) 

Independence Day in Peru

Birthdays for Garfield creator Jim Davis (1945) and Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn (1952)

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of author Beatrix Potter (1866) and former FLOTUS Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929)

  • the invention of the hamburger in Connecticut (1900)

  • the beginning of WWI, after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia (1914)

  • the release of Walt Disney's Alice In Wonderland (1951)

  • the Provisional Irish Republican Army calling an end to their 30-year armed campaign in Northern Ireland (2005)

  • the Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash during a training exercise in Queensland that killed 4 members (2023)