Thursday, 23 January - Come and get this pollen

January 23, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 23 January. In your Squiz Today…

  • Another arrest over antisemitic attacks

  • Prince Harry reaches a settlement 

  • And the demon is out of the Aussie Open singles… 👿

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“It’s also quite deep and not as dirty as I thought it would be.”

Said swimmer Alhassan Dauda, one of the first to take the plunge in Sydney’s newest “beach”, which opened in Putney yesterday. It might look more like some stairs in a river but locals say they're thrilled not to have to drive to the coast for a swim…

More info on antisemitic attacks

The Squiz

The Australian Federal Police has clarified a statement made on Tuesday that it was looking into whether “overseas actors” might be responsible for a growing number of antisemitic attacks in Australia. Commissioner Reece Kershaw said yesterday that while investigations are still going, the AFP believes that specifically organised crime groups that are funded overseas might be responsible for some of the attacks, and there’s no evidence that either terrorist organisations or foreign governments have had a hand in them. 

What happened yesterday?

Kershaw raised some eyebrows when he used the term “overseas actors” to describe those who might be behind antisemitic attacks in Australia. Coalition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson was after more info - he said if the “overseas actors” were terrorist groups or foreign governments, it would be "one of the most serious security crises that Australia has faced in peacetime". While PM Albanese said he couldn't answer that for fear of putting the AFP's investigation in jeopardy, Kershaw shed some more light on things yesterday afternoon - he explained that the AFP's enquiries were still going, and nothing was being ruled in or out. Kershaw said he used the term "overseas actors" publicly because "providing information is not only a deterrent, but keeps the public informed".

Are the police making any headway?

While the AFP’s investigation continues, there was another arrest yesterday - a 33yo man from Sydney’s inner west was charged by NSW police with attempting to set fire to a local synagogue. He’s the ninth person to be charged by Strike Force Pearl, which was set up to investigate antisemitic crimes in the eastern suburbs of Sydney - and NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb says more arrests are expected. But while Strike Force Pearl doubled its team numbers this week with an additional 20 investigators added to their ranks, the NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Peter McKenna said “we can’t just arrest our way out of these things” and that policing alone wouldn’t solve the problem.

Squiz the Rest

Appealing for backup

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, pushing for international support to end the war with Russia. During his speech, he encouraged European leaders to come together to defend the continent against Russia rather than relying solely on the US. As part of that, Zelensky says “at least 200,000” allied troops would be needed as peacekeepers in Ukraine if any ceasefire deal with Moscow is locked in. The timing of that - a day after US President Donald Trump was sworn in - hasn’t gone unnoticed… Trump has vowed to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. This week, he got tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he’ll impose sanctions on Russia if Putin won’t come to the negotiation table.

A busy week for Team Trump

Speaking of the Trump administration… Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, yesterday. It was one of the first meetings he took, with Wong saying the moving vans were still in the driveway of the West Wing… On the agenda was the future of the AUKUS defence deal - which Wong said they had a “very positive discussion” about. Rubio has previously committed to supporting the pact, which was brokered under the former Biden administration. On the economic front, Wong downplayed concerns that Australia could be subjected to US trade tariffs like those floated against Canada, Mexico and China. The pair also met with leaders from the other 2 Quad nations, India and Japan, to speak about “strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific” - ahead of their annual summit in India later this year.

A Royal settlement

Prince Harry has settled his privacy lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids, with News Group Newspapers (NGN) offering a "full and unequivocal apology" for years of "phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information". It also apologised for its treatment of his mum, Diana, the Princess of Wales... He'll be paid substantial damages - we don’t know exactly how much yet, but some reports say it'll be upwards of £10 million. This case is about the now-defunct News of the World and The Sun’s phone hacking scandal, which blew up in 2011. The Royals weren’t the only victims - more than 1,300 others settled with NGN over fears of pricey legal bills - but Harry had promised to publicly expose the wrongdoing at trial. It was due to start on Tuesday but was delayed as settlement talks progressed. Outside court, his lawyer said the result was vindication for “other claimants who were strong-armed into settling”.

The demon goes (down) under

He was our homegrown hope, but Alex de Minaur's dream of winning through to his first semi-final in the Aussie Open is over after he was beaten by world #1 Jannik Sinner last night. The demon lost in straight sets against the in-form Italian - and said he was “disappointed”. "I don't want to leave like this … after playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you just have been slapped across the face”, he said. Before the match, a rumour that Sinner wasn’t well was doing the rounds - but there was no evidence of it in his game. As commentator John McEnroe said: "If he's got pneumonia, give me a case.” Sinner will now play #21 seed Ben Shelton from the US, who defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego earlier in the day. Sonego may have lost, but pulled off arguably the shot of the entire tournament…

Pride & Party Planning

It is a truth universally acknowledged that British novelist Jane Austen’s works are timeless, which is probably why so many people are planning events to celebrate her 250th birthday… It’s not until 16 December, but the UK towns and cities Austen once called home will welcome swathes of people promenading in their finest Regency garb throughout the year. Jane Austen's Words and Music Chamber concert will be one of the big events, held on 8 June in the field where her childhood home stood in Steventon, Oxfordshire. And it wouldn’t be an Austen celebration without a turn around the ballroom floor… The Brighton Royal Grand Pavilion Ball is the first of many, kicking things off this Saturday. Zack Pinsent, organiser/Regency-era tailoring expert, reckons “anyone can attend, as long as they have the right outfit”. Bonnets ready everyone…

Apropos of Nothing

Sydney’s corpse flower Putricia has won the heart of the internet, becoming a cult figure around the world as people from far and wide exchange banter about how hot she is on the Botanical Gardens' livestream chat - the big consensus: she's bloomin' slow…

Formula One has its first female race engineer - Laura Mueller has been given the nod by the American-based team Haas. As the main link between the driver and the rest of the team, it's a crucial role and Haas management says she's the right person for the job.

French authorities have put out a warning about ‘love honey’ after demand spiked amongst locals for honey illegally imported from overseas and filled with medication we won’t describe by its scientific name because we don’t want this email to get flagged by your spam filter…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEDT) - Myer shareholders are set to vote on a deal to buy Premier Investments, which owns clothing brands Just Jeans, Portmans, Jay Jays, Dotti and Jacqui E - Melbourne

12.00pm (AEST) - The Queensland Government will deliver its mid-year budget update - Queensland Parliament, Brisbane

6.45pm (AEDT) - Women's Cricket: T20I - Australia vs England- Canberra, and broadcast live on Kayo

ABS data release, Labour Force and Payroll Jobs

This year’s Oscar nominations will be announced in Los Angeles

The Sundance Film Festival begins (on until 2 Feb) - Utah, US

Winter X Games - Colorado, US 

Anniversary of:

  • the Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest ever recorded that killed 830,000 in Shaanxi Province, China (1556)

  • the first musicians being inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, including Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Elvis Presley (1986)