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Thursday, 21 November - Everyone jump on the peace train

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 21 November. In your Squiz Today…

  • Tensions are ramping up in Ukraine

  • Train troubles in Sydney

  • And the Demon makes a comeback…👿

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"Go have a one night stand with someone... you never know what could happen."

Said Arias “chief vibes officer” Troye Sivan after taking out Album of the Year and Best Solo Artist. He started his speech with a shout out to his mate Missy Higgins, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and ended the night with an F-bomb and an overshare, like many a good time… Here’s a gallery for you to soak up the vibes with your morning coffee…

Tensions ramp up in Ukraine

The Squiz

Russia is pressing its advantage on the front lines of the war, gaining more territory despite Ukraine using US and UK-made long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time. Now, leaders from the US and Europe are watching closely for fears Russia will retaliate further using ‘hybrid warfare’, which aims to create global chaos and unrest via tactics like misinformation campaigns and sabotaging infrastructure. In the meantime, the American, Spanish, Italian and Greek embassies have closed in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, after the US received “specific information of a significant air attack”. 

There’s a lot going on there…

That’s because a lot has happened in the conflict in recent days. As we chatted about yesterday, the war has just gone past the 1000-day mark, and the devastating human and material losses continue to mount... This week, US President Joe Biden approved Ukraine’s use of their missiles, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to lower the bar for when nuclear weapons could be used. Reports this morning say Ukraine has also fired UK-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. The UK hasn't commented except to say "Ukraine's action on the battlefield speaks for itself". US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller and UK PM Keir Starmer said Putin’s comments were “irresponsible rhetoric”. On top of that, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called out leaders at the G20 summit for failing to lay blame at Russia’s feet for starting the war in the first place... 

So where to from here?

The hybrid warfare threat is a worry for Ukraine’s allies... Hybrid warfare basically broadens the scope of the war beyond the physical conflict over territory - analysts say it could include acts like assassination, hacking or industrial sabotage towards countries supporting Ukraine, along with more support for their enemies. And everyone’s keeping a close eye on incoming US President Donald Trump to see how he’ll handle the conflict. Analysts expect any peace deal brokered by Trump will be in Russia’s favour - that would likely mean Ukraine would have to give up territory occupied by Russia and would be denied membership to NATO. There are just over 8 weeks until Trump takes office, though, and if they’re anything like this week, things can change quickly…

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Squiz the Rest

Pay negotiations go off-track

A PSA for those who use trains in (or around) Sydney: a union-planned shutdown of the city’s rail services is scheduled to start at 4.15am tomorrow morning and is expected to last until 6.00am Sunday morning. That’s on the cards because about 14,000 union workers are going on strike after the Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s negotiations with the NSW Government over a 32% pay rise it wants for workers over 4 years stalled. With the state government refusing to go above its offer of 11% over 3 years, here we are… Union and government officials are still negotiating, but an emergency court hearing might be needed to iron things out. And a shoutout if you’re a Pearl Jam fan - tonight’s extra trains for concertgoers are scheduled to be on time

Changing our Future direction

The Federal Government will change the direction of the Future Fund - aka Australia’s $230 billion public wealth fund - to channel money into green energy, housing and infrastructure projects. The fund was founded by former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello, and it’s the first time in 18 years its investment direction has been altered. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher have promised not to draw down on it until at least 2032-33, and they say the changes won’t alter its performance or main aim, which is maximising returns. They say it’ll mean “more investment where we need it most but not at the expense of returns". The huge rainy-day fund was set up by the Howard Government back in 2006 to pay for public servant pensions, and reports say the move by Chalmers is likely to upset some, particularly Costello.

Searching for answers…

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) isn’t taking its foot off the pedal in its battle to decrease Google’s search engine dominance… In August, US Federal Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has a monopoly and used illegal means to become the go-to search engine for the world. Now, reports say the DOJ wants parent company Alphabet to sell Chrome. This is part of the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google, where the tech giant is accused of using anti-competitive tactics in the digital advertising part of its business, causing significant damage to news publishing businesses. Google denies that and says selling Chrome would cause harm to consumers and businesses. The DOJ’s request for Chrome’s sale is expected to land in court imminently…

Tapping our inner Demon

Top-ranked Aussie tennis dude Alex De Minaur will be in action tonight for our Davis Cup quarter-final against the US. It was a last-minute decision after a hip problem threatened to keep him out, but he's fit to join fellow Aussies Thanassi Kokkanakis and Alexei Popyrin. Wondering when the Aussies last took home the Davis Cup? It was over 20 years ago when the current Davis Cup captain (aka the non-playing coach) Lleyton Hewitt was still swinging a racquet. The action is from 8pm AEDT tonight in Malaga, Spain - which might be a glum place to be after national hero Rafael Nadal ended his professional career following a singles loss. “I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So we close the circle,” he said. A poetic ending for a master of the game…

Council artwork causes a blue

Mount Gambier’s council is standing firm in the face of blowback over a proposed sculpture set to be built smack bang in the middle of the South Australian city. Cast In Blue is supposed to evoke megafauna that once trampled their way through the area, but not everyone’s on board with the look (some have described it as a ‘blue, chewed bubblegum’), and the dosh spent on it - $136,000 after allocating an initial budget of $80,000. The money was particularly controversial after the council recently upped locals’ rates by more than 10%... But the councillors are sticking fast to their artistic principles - they argue the debate and discussion the sculpture is generating is the whole point - and a majority voted against a motion to pick a different design - so the big blue blob ain’t going anywhere…

Apropos of Nothing

Aussie author Richard Flanagan has knocked back the cash after winning Britain’s premier award for non-fiction writing for his book Question 7. The Baillie Gifford Prize is worth almost $100,000, but the sponsor’s link to fossil fuels led Flanagan to say thanks but no thanks.

Former US talk show host Jay Leno has revealed the mother of all shiners after taking a tumble down a hill while walking to a restaurant. He hit his head on a rock mid-fall but still performed his scheduled stand-up set the same day. What a trooper…

We know you’re not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth, but we might draw the line at 1,000 mice… A New Hampshire man has caused a US animal shelter significant grief by rocking up with a horde of rodents. To make matters worse, the mice are reproducing. Yikes…

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEDT) - Coles will front the ACCC supermarkets inquiry (on until 19 November) - Livestreamed here

8.00pm (AEDT) - Tennis: Davis Cup quarterfinal, Australia v USA - Spain, and watch on 9Now

11.00am (AEDT) - The family of cricket legend Shane Warne will launch The Shane Warne Legacy Edition of Monopoly - Melbourne

The Albanese Government’s proposed changes to social media laws, including introducing age restrictions, are set to go before parliament

2024 Australian Podcast Awards - Sydney

The Australian PGA Golf Championships begins (on until 24 November) - Brisbane

World Pancreatic Cancer Day

World Prematurity Day

Happy birthday to Tweety Bird (1942), Goldie Hawn (1945), Bjork (1965) and Carly Rae Jepsen (1985)

Anniversary of:

  • the premiere of Rocky (1976)

  • the release of Pharrell Williams' Happy single (2013)