Thursday, 1 August - You're up then you're down

🙋🏻‍♀️ Scroll on for The Paris Sprint, our short ‘n sweet Olympics update…

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 1 August. In your Squiz Today…

• The political leader of Hamas has been killed

• The UK PM Keir Starmer criticises rioting after the tragedy in Southport

• And in Paris, it’s yay again for Jess Fox and soz for the Matildas…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Is how NBC referred to the bespectacled gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who launched himself into internet stardom with his pommel routine and earned the US men’s team their first medal since 2008. He has to take his glasses off for the routine, leaving him to feel his way through…

Taking Hamas from the top

The Squiz

Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, has been killed in a raid in Iran’s capital Tehran according to a statement from the Palestinian terror group yesterday. Hamas immediately blamed Israel for his death, but Israel hasn’t claimed responsibility - although PM Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have repeatedly promised to kill Haniyeh and other senior Hamas figures in response to the 7 October attack.

Who was he?

Good question. He was one of the most senior leaders of Hamas for the past 2 decades - he rose to the top job in 2017 and had been living in Qatar for several years. He’s directed the group’s political operations from exile in Qatar for the past couple of years and has been in charge of leading their Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel. Another thing to note - he was said to be a pragmatic figure compared to other Hamas leaders... There aren’t many details about his death, but reports say he was in Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of their new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Photos show the pair together in the hours before Haniyeh's death. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard - aka the Islamic Republic's ideological army - confirmed his death after Hamas’s statement yesterday, saying he was assassinated. 

What does it mean for the war in Gaza?

That’s another unknown, but it’s worth noting that Haniyeh wasn’t responsible for Hamas’s military operations - the man in the frame there is Mohammed Deif. Israel says he may have been killed in a targeted strike in Gaza earlier this month, but that’s been hard to confirm… So Haniyeh’s death might not have much impact on what’s happening in Gaza, except that retaliation from Iran against Israel is expected… Keep in mind this comes after Israel killed a senior leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Beirut after last weekend’s attack in the Golan Heights. The US has also struck a base south of Baghdad that was used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (another Iranian-aligned group) in what it said was self-defence. So those fears that a broader Middle East conflict involving Iran are bubbling up…

Upping your at-home game

Hommey make your home a place to get comfy, and their new pinstripe collection of robes, hair wraps and towels are an elevated take on the classic design. If you want that sense that you have it all under control (even if you're fakin' it 'til you make it...) because you're organised with great out-of-the-shower items, you'll find that across 6 new colours. Explore the bathroom collection’s enduring style at gethommey.com

Squiz the Rest

Starmer scolds Southport rioters

There have been riots in Britain’s Southport hours after a vigil for the victims of Monday’s stabbing attack which left 3 children dead. UK PM Keir Starmer says those responsible for the “violence and thuggery" will "feel the full force of the law". The chaos that was thought to have been led by the far-right English Defence League left 39 police officers injured, a mosque and local shop vandalised, and several fires burning. Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said it was "sickening" to see this happen within the "devastated" community. The 17yo allegedly behind the attack can’t be named due to his age, which has led to false reports of his identity circulating online. It was speculated he was a Muslim asylum seeker, but authorities say he was born in the UK. 

A disabling response

Geez the Albanese Government’s response to the Disability Royal Commission report has gone down like a lead balloon with disability advocates… It’s accepted 13 of the 222 recommendations - another 117 were accepted in principle, but things like phasing out special schools or group homes despite evidence of “appalling treatment” have been shelved. The Commission ran for 3 years and cost $600 million - it’s also taken the government 10 months to respond… For her part, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says protecting disabled people from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation is the priority, but advocacy groups say they are “devastated, disappointed and completely caught off guard” by the response. The government says it will be transparent with the implementation of the agreed recommendations “to remain accountable”.

Economic ups and downs

New quarterly inflation data yesterday shows a bump up to 3.8% over the year to June - the first annual increase since December 2022. That was in line with economists’ predictions, which experts say makes the Reserve Bank more likely to leave interest rates on hold next week. Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the news, but Coalition Treasury spokesperson Angus Taylor says it proves “inflation is out of control”... There was also an update from Rex yesterday as 350 staff were stood down, with up to 610 more facing the axe after the company went into voluntary administration. It’s grounded capital city routes, but regional flights are still operating… Transport Minister Catherine King says the government will work with administrators because keeping the airline flying "is in the best interest of regional Australians".

Nutting out a cure

Anaphylactic shock isn’t fun, so hard core peanut allergists will be interested to know a revolutionary new approach is being led by Australia. A free, world-first program for those aged under 12 months with the condition will be offered at 10 hospitals across the country where they’ll be given gradually increasing doses of peanut powder each day for at least 2 years to reduce sensitivity. Experts say it could “change the trajectory of allergic disease” - something that’s important to do because 3% of Aussie babies are affected. Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney has labelled it a “game changer” and a big shift for doctors who’ve previously advised parents to avoid peanuts altogether. Those wanting to participate need to see their GP and seek a referral to a participating hospital with experts warning people not try it at home. 

Apropos of Nothing

Squizers searching for a good book need look no further than author Charlotte Wood who’s become the first Aussie longlisted for the Booker Prize since 2016 with her latest novel Stone Yard Devotional. Note to self: run to the bookshop before it sells out…

Move over Melbourne because Shanghai is coming for your café culture crown… China’s financial capital now has so many coffee shops, their government reckons it has the most of any city in the world. Ahem we’ll stick with quality over quantity any day…

Princess Beatrice has gone from fashion faux pas to style icon after taking the top spot on fancy mag Tatler’s 25 best dressed list. The 35yo UK Royal sure has come a long way from the infamous “flesh pretzel”...

🏊🏼‍♀️ The Paris Sprint

Each day of the Paris Olympics we’ll bring you 3 of the top stories from the action overnight and 3 events to put on your radar for the coming day. 

Paddler Jess Fox has won her second gold medal in Paris in the canoe slalom, making her the first Aussie to win 6 individual Olympic medals. In her next event, the kayak cross, she’s up against little sister Noemie. It’s described as a contact sport (because the race has the paddlers all in the water at the same time), but aren’t most sibling rivalries?

And while the Hockeyroos maintained their winning streak, thumping the US 3-0 to move into the quarterfinals of the women’s hockey, the Matildas had no such luck in the women’s football, going down 2-1 to the Americans early this morning. That means it could be au revoir to their Olympics campaign depending on whether Colombia beats Canada - that match is playing out as we speak…

And something not Aussie-focused but notable for these Olympics. French swimmer Leon Marchand has raised the roof as he took gold in the 200m butterfly this morning, breaking US GOAT Michael Phelps’ Olympic record. He’s aiming to do what even Phelps couldn’t and win that and the 200m breaststroke on the same day, so tune in at 6.31am to see if he can. Marchand is a whole thing - he’s the “face of the Games”… 

Reckon you read the email each day?

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Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Public hearings to be held for a federal parliamentary inquiry into the importance of Antarctica to Australia’s interests - Hobart

9.30am (AEST) - Federal Court judicial review of the decision to reject mining company's Glencore/CTSCo application to pump industrial waste into the Great Artesian Basin begins - Brisbane

9.40am (AEST) - Representatives for Cadbury, Mondelēz, and Lark Distilling Co to appear before a federal parliamentary inquiry into food and beverage packaging in Australia - Hobart

Miles Franklin Literary Award winner announced

Data release: CoreLogic Dwelling Prices

ABS data release: International Trade in Goods, June; Labor Force, June 

Start of World Breastfeeding Week (until 7 August) 

Start of Pawgust (for Guide Dogs Australia)

Switzerland's national day

Birthdays for director Sam Mendes (1965), actor Jason Momoa (1979) and all Aussie horses 

Anniversary of:

• English chemist Joseph Priestley discovering oxygen by isolating it in its gaseous state (1774)

• the publication of the first Michelin Guide by the brothers Édouard and André Michelin (1900)

• Mahatma Gandhi founding the Non-Cooperation Movement aiming to end British rule in India (1920)

• the production of the first Jeep car (1941)

• te reo Māori becoming an official language of New Zealand (1987)

• the publication of George RR Martin’s A Game of Thrones, the first in his series A Song of Ice and Fire (1996)