Thursday, 15 January - Your heart's just like a drum

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 15 January. In your Squiz Today…

• US President Donald Trump is still weighing military intervention in Iran

• Counting the cost of the ongoing fires in Victoria

• And some K-Pop icons are back and heading our way…

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Squiz Sayings

Said Sydney teenager Bodhi Jackson, who was rescued in the Kosciuszko National Park yesterday after getting lost during a triathlon camp. Jackson travelled a total of 50km before he was found, so we think he deserves quite a few choccy milks…

A worsening crisis in Iran

The Squiz

As the death toll in the Iranian protests passes 2500, all eyes are on US President Donald Trump and whether the US military will intervene on the protesters’ behalf. As we mentioned yesterday, Trump said that “help is on its way”, and overnight he promised “very strong action” if the regime executes any of its citizens. That’s the current concern around 26yo Iranian man Erfan Soltani, who human rights groups say was arrested last week and could reportedly be executed in the coming hours.

And what might US action look like?

That’s an open question… As the Iranian regime is continuing to defy Trump’s warnings, the US has a number of options - analysts say the most likely response is air strikes on the country’s military bases, but oil facilities and targets that could cause financial damage to the Iranian regime might also be options. As the world waits to see what the US will do next, officials in Qatar - which sits across the Persian Gulf from Iran - say that some personnel at a US military base there have been told to leave. The Al-Udeid air base, which is near the Qatari capital of Doha, is the base that was attacked by Iran in June last year in retaliation for the US hitting its nuclear sites - but those in charge say this is just a precautionary measure, not an emergency evacuation.

And what’s happening on the ground?

Exact details vary due to the Iranian government’s decision to cut off internet access to the protesters. But reports say Starlink - the satellite internet service run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company - has made itself available to the demonstrators for free, to help them spread their message. Starlink terminals are illegal in Iran, so security forces have been confiscating them and the Iranian government has been trying to block access to it - with varying success. As the protests continue, reports say that one of their key supporters - the exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend. And speaking of Witkoff, just as we hit publish this morning he’s announced that Phase 2 of the US peace plan for Gaza is now going ahead, so expect to see more on that today…

The skincare ingredient that sounds weird but works wonders

Summer does a number on the skin, and for many of us, regular moisturisers just don't cut it. Enter Bescher Beauty's Sea Cucumber Collagen Glow Toner: it's packed with marine collagen, native botanicals, and hyaluronic acid that work together to deliver results. The proof? It sold out in 6 days after building a 35,000-person waitlist. Now it's back in stock, and if winter skin is the bane of your existence, it might be worth trying something that thousands of people couldn't wait to get their hands on. You can check it out here. 

Squiz the Rest

And Trump is also ramping up pressure on Greenland…

…as a meeting between senior figures from the US, Denmark and its self-governing territory of Greenland wrapped up this morning. US VP JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt for about an hour to discuss the territory, which President Trump has had designs on for a while. His argument is that the US needs it for security, and if the US doesn’t get it, China or Russia will. But Denmark and Greenland are both against the idea - Greenland’s PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “we choose Denmark, we choose NATO… we choose the EU.” How the talks went isn’t public yet, but Denmark did announce following the meeting that it is “expanding its military presence” in the region, so that’s another thing to watch…
*For the background to why the US is so keen on Greenland, check out our Squiz Shortcut…

Victoria’s grim tally grows

The damage bill is rising after the state’s worst bushfires since black summer - with more than 700 structures destroyed or damaged, including 228 homes. With people still surveying their properties, and some fires still burning, that could rise. Farmers are still counting livestock losses, and there’s also the mental trauma… Jason Heffernan, the Country Fire Authority chief, says many firefighters are “hurting”, thinking they could have done more. But with more than 200 fires burning on 9 January, plus extreme heat, Heffernan is surprised they “haven’t seen more devastation in communities”. Speaking of high temps, the World Meteorological Organisation’s latest report is out, showing last year was the third-hottest on record globally. For Oz, it was our fourth-warmest since national records began in 1910.

A premier is put on notice

We’re talking about South Oz Premier Peter Malinauskas, who’s been threatened with defamation proceedings by author Randa Abdel-Fattah. This is part of the fallout from the Adelaide Festival board cancelling Abdel-Fattah’s invite to Adelaide Writers’ Week - leading to an author boycott, the board’s resignation and the event’s cancellation… Malinauskas denied interfering in the board’s decision but was clear that he thought Abdel-Fattah should be disinvited, and has since been vocal in backing her removal. Yesterday, Abdel-Fattah called his remarks a “vicious personal assault”, with her lawyers issuing a concerns notice under the Defamation Act. In response, Malinauskas said his comments “are on the public record and people will see that they’re founded in a place of compassion”.

Some big winners in the tennis

Local amateur Jordan Smith had a night to remember last night, picking up a $1 million prize for winning the One Point Slam at the Australian Open. This is a tournament during the Open’s Opening Week where every match is, you guessed it, one point long - with a game of rock-paper-scissors deciding who serves first. It matches locals against pros like world #2 Jannik Sinner, who Smith managed to beat without playing a shot after Sinner missed his serve. And in the Hobart International, another Aussie, 20yo Taylah Preston, is through to her first top-level quarterfinal after an upset win over Slovakian Rebecca Šramková in straight sets yesterday. She also has a wildcard entry to the Aussie Open, so make a note of her name…

BTW, BTS is back

The South Korean boy band is making its triumphant return after a brief break for a spot of military service - and they’re heading on a world tour beginning in April. If you’re unfamiliar, they were a K-Pop (Korean pop) sensation around 2019-2021, setting YouTube view count records for songs like Dynamite, Butter and Permission to Dance. But South Korea has mandatory military service, so the 7 members of the group all had to do their time before returning to music. Now they’re done and out on tour, and their army of fans - who actually refer to themselves as ARMY (Adorable Representative MC for Youth) - are incredibly devoted, so expect tickets to their Oz concerts in Feb 2027 to absolutely fly off the digital shelves when they go on presale on 22-23 January, and general sale on 24 January. Load up those browsers…

Apropos of Nothing

Speaking of K-Pop, maybe BTS can have some special guest drummers after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi showed off their drum skillz with a K-Pop jam session following a summit in Japan. That’s some offbeat diplomacy…

We’re a year away from the Perth Bears team joining the National Rugby League, and they’ve just released their new logo, which sticks nice and close to the old North Sydney Bears logo. But maybe if you stand very still, it won’t attack you…

We’ve got a new sporting name for your radar… Antonio Arena is a 16yo Aussie footballer who plays with the famous Roma club in Italy, and he had a debut game to remember yesterday, scoring with his very first touch - here’s the highlight…

Squiz the Day

5.00pm (AEDT): Voting closes for Triple J’s Hottest 100… The countdown will begin at midday 24 January.

The Commonwealth Bank will release its Household Spending Insights for December 2025

Oscar contender Hamnet, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, is in wide cinema release today

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is also in wide cinema release

Wikipedia Day

A birthday for musician Pitbull (1981)

Anniversary of:

• the coronation of Elizabeth I as Queen of England (1559)

• the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. (1929)

• the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which was the largest this century (2022)

• Nepal's deadliest plane crash that killed 72 people (2023)