Friday, 15 November - I want to change my mind

November 15, 2024

Good morning, it’s Friday, 15 November. In your Squiz Today…

  • Trump tops the APEC agenda

  • Samantha Murphy’s alleged killer enters a plea

  • And a crowd-pleasing cheesecake… 🍓

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Wow, this was here when Napoleon was alive.”

Said videographer Manu San Felix after finding the largest coral ever recorded. The megacoral in the southwest Pacific Ocean might be over 300 years old and is bigger than a blue whale. It’s not quite the lost doubloons that pirates fought over, but rather a natural treasure…

Trump tops the APEC agenda

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese is in Peru’s capital Lima alongside 20 other global leaders - including Chinese President Xi Jinping and outgoing US President Joe Biden - for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. They’re there to do what it says on the box: discussing economic cooperation, along with challenges/opportunities in this everchanging world, and Albanese will promote Australia as a trading partner... But someone who’s not there will still have a sizable influence over the discussion, and that’s US President-elect Donald Trump.

Why?

Because America’s economy is so big, it matters to the world - and Trump has promised to shake things up domestically and internationally. And a lot of the nervousness comes down to the word ‘tariffs’… That’s about a promise to protect/revive domestic industries, and to do that, Trump says he'll implement a 10% tariff (aka a tax) on all global imports and 60% on Chinese imports. That has trade experts and economists concerned… Take China, for example. In 2022, Chinese imports to the US were worth more than $867 billion - and that’s why some say Trump’s plan amounts to launching a trade war… And because the US and China are the world’s largest and second-largest economies, any economic pain they go through can be felt around the world. Given China is Australia’s largest trading partner, we’re not immune…

What do the experts say? 

That only time will tell whether Trump will hit the mark in delivering increased growth and reduced inflation, but with the Republicans getting control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, he’s unlikely to face much pushback to his plans. And while we’re talking Team Trump - he’s also made some early controversial appointments… Two to call out are Congressman Matt Gaetz who has been named Attorney-General, putting him in charge of the department that investigated him for alleged sex crimes. And Fox News host/veteran Pete Hegseth will be Secretary of Defense - reports say senior military commanders aren’t thrilled…

Your fresh market update…

At the Squiz, we’re all about giving you the useful stuff. So, we’ve teamed up with Woolies to share their top weekly fruit and veg picks. Here’s what to grab this week:

🥭 Lady Jane mangoes - The red blush means they're embarrassed - about how good they taste...

🥬 Iceberg lettuce - So retro/so fab, look for crisp green heads for all your lettuce needs

🥦 Broccolini - Grilled, sautéed, steamed - you can't go wrong

🍍 Pineapple - This tasty tropical fruit is in abundance right now… And they're the perfect prelude to summer…

Squiz the Rest

Samantha Murphy’s alleged killer pleads not guilty

That means Patrick Orren Stephenson’s case will skip a magistrate’s court committal hearing and head straight to Victoria’s Supreme Court. Stephenson’s lawyer Michael Allen said the 23yo understood that his plea meant he was opting to stand trial following his arrest/charges over the murder of 51yo Murphy in March this year. You might remember that she went missing during a morning run in February - her body hasn’t been found. At the time of the arrest, Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the investigation was “painstaking and methodical”, and at Stephenson’s last court appearance in August, defence lawyer Moya O’Brien described the brief of evidence against him as “unprecedented in size”. The next court date will be a directions hearing on 27 November.  

Changing our vote

The Albanese Government has voted in favour of the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians over occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. It also supports Arabs' sovereignty over natural resources in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The vote, which took place at a United Nations committee meeting yesterday, still needs to go to a vote in the UN General Assembly to be formally adopted. The thing to clock is that Australia’s support marks a departure from our previous stance… We’ve abstained from voting on similar resolutions since 2011, and this vote puts us at odds with the US. US diplomat Nicholas Koval said the resolutions are “one sided” and "unfairly critical of Israel". These resolutions don't make it happen, but they're an indicator of what the wider world thinks. 

Thrown under the Cbus

Cbus CEO Kristian Fok apologised yesterday for delays in processing death and disability insurance claims. On Tuesday, the construction industry super fund was sued by corporate regulator ASIC for dragging its feet on processing the claims, thousands of which allegedly took over a year to get done, costing claimants in the realm of $20 million. ASIC says it’s likely an industry-wide problem and that all super funds should be “put on notice”. In the Cbus case, Fok says compensation is in the works - but he didn’t say if members would foot the bill for the snafu. He delivered this information to a Senate committee and he was also asked questions over Cbus links to the CFMEU, which is facing allegations of corruption and criminal activity. It's not been a super week for the fund… 

No more second chances 

There are only 6 teams left duking it out for a spot in the first-ever night AFLW grand final, which is 2 weeks away. Tomorrow arvo, Adelaide and Fremantle will play for a place in the preliminary finals, and Cinderella stories Hawthorn and Port Adelaide (who finished 14th and 15th last year) play in Melbourne tomorrow night. The 2 winners will go on to face perennial top-4 finishers North Melbourne and Brisbane in the prelims next weekend. This year’s AFLW season has been a mixed bag with low crowd numbers and a high rate of injuries, leading to criticism of the AFL for not doing more to support the health of the women’s game. But there have also been some incredible on-field achievements - check out these marks and goals of the year that are well worth a watch… 

A light in the FOG

After bringing you the nauseating news that the 'tar balls' that washed up on Sydney beaches were likely sewer material similar to fatbergs (blobs of fat/oil/grease - aka FOG - that congeal together in sewer systems), it’s only fair to update you on the work of scientists fighting the fatberg menace. Around 40% of sewer blockages in Australia are the work of fatbergs costing Aussies $100 million a year, but researchers from RMIT have come up with a protective coating for concrete sewer pipes that might help. The coating aims to keep calcium from releasing from the concrete, which means the amount of FOG buildup is reduced by 30% - but the team hopes to improve that percentage, so they’re not just dealing with the tip of the fatberg…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

Tens of thousands of young Chinese people have caused a traffic jam in the city of Kaifeng after jumping on the social media trend of riding their bicycles to get dumplings. It’s got us wondering…

What do you think about social media trends?

Click to cast your vote and tell us about a social media trend that's roped you in. We'll share 3 responses in Saturday's newsletter.

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Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If you like a spy thriller, we’d recommend The Day of the Jackal on Binge. It's a modern TV take on Frederick Forsythe's 1973 book, starring Eddie Redmayne as the Jackal and Lashana Lynch as the ruthless officer tracking him down, and it's full of disguises, fancy guns, and twisty reveals. 

For something a bit cosier, quiz show host Richard Osman has been dominating bestseller lists ever since The Thursday Murder Club first popped up in bookstores - he recently released the first novel in a new series called We Solve Murders, and it’s his usual mix of humour, loveable characters and gentle mystery. 

If you're starting to think about what you'll take to upcoming holiday parties (or just want a sweet treat while you read a new murder series…), this baked cheesecake recipe is one of our go-to's. You can add anything you like to it: lemon, berries, chocolate - the choice is yours…

Squiz the Day

Friday
8.00am (AEST) - A Senate inquiry into nuclear power generation in Australia continues with a public hearing in Brisbane, wrapping up a week in Queensland visiting towns earmarked for nuclear power plants under the Coalition’s energy proposal - Brisbane

8.30am (ACDT) - NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton will address the National Public Sector Governance Forum 2024 - South Australia

9.00am (AEDT) - A Senate inquiry into the use of AI in the public sector will hear from the CSIRO, the Australian Signals Directorate and the Digital Transformation Agency at its first public hearing - Canberra

10.00am (ACDT) - Motorsport: Supercars Championship, Adelaide 500 - Adelaide, and find where to watch here

🍷 11.00am (AEST) - Pinot Palooza and Mould Cheese Festival - Brisbane 

APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (on until 16 November) - Peru

Birthdays for ABBA singer Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (1945), Jimmy Choo (1948), and Shailene Woodley (1991)

Anniversary of: 

  • the ousting of Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe (2017)

  • the death of rapper Lil Peep at 21yo (2017)

  • the world's population reaching 8 billion (2022)

Saturday
3.35pm (ACDT) - AFLW: Semi-final - Adelaide v Fremantle - Adelaide, and see where to watch here 

7.00pm (AEDT) - Men's Cricket 2nd T20I - Aus v Pakistan - Sydney, and watch on Kayo

7.30pm (AEDT) - AFLW: Semi-final - Hawthorn v Port Adelaide - Melbourne, and see where to watch here 

State by-election in SA seat of Black

Schoolies Week starts for Queensland school leavers

Anniversary of:

  • New Zealand officially becoming a separate colony within the British Empire, severing its link to New South Wales (1840)

  • the founding of Qantas (1920)

  • Milli Vanilli being stripped of their Grammy Award because they did not sing on the Girl You Know It’s True album (1990)

  • the debut of Lionel Messi for FC Barcelona (2003)

Sunday
8pm (AEDT) - Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final: Australia v (USA or Slovakia) - Spain, and watch on 9Now

Start of National Skin Cancer Awareness Week (on until 23 Nov) 

Birthdays for Martin Scorsese (1942) Danny Devito (1944), RuPaul (1960), Kate Ceberano (1966), and Rachel McAdams (1978)

Anniversary of: 

  • Elizabeth I ascending the English throne at 25yo following the death of her half sister, Queen "Bloody" Mary (1558)

  • the opening of the Suez Canal, linking Mediterranean and Red seas (1869), as well as the anniversary of the first ship sailing through the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (1913)

  • of Douglas Engelbart receiving a patent for the first computer mouse (1970)

  • of the premiere of the film Twilight, based on the best-selling series by Stephanie Meyer (2008)

  • of the birthday of the late musician Jeff Buckley (1966)

Monday
3:10am AEDT - Rugby: Autumn Internationals, Wallabies v Wales - Cardiff, and watch on Stan Sport