Thursday, 26 June - Daddy, Daddy cool

June 26, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 26 June. In your Squiz Today…

  • NATO members commit to boosting their defence spend

  • Police have raised the reward for information about the remains of Peter Falconio

  • And voting on the world’s best modern movies…🍿

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I remember in school recess time when boys would go off to the local cricket playground, and girls had to stay behind.”

Said activist Malala Yousafzai, announcing that she and husband Asser Malik have launched a new investment fund called Recess Capital, which will put money into women’s sports teams and leagues around the world. Her Nobel Peace Prize was just the beginning…

All eyes on Trump at NATO

The Squiz

Fresh off a busy week dealing with the Middle East conflict, US President Donald Trump has met with his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies at its annual summit and secured their commitment to ramp up defence spending. It left NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who some say has been working overtime to get on Trump’s good side, all smiles. Rutte backed the strikes Trump ordered on Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend and excused his outburst at Israel and Iran as their truce looked shaky, saying "Daddy has to sometimes use strong language". So there's that…

Which brings us to the Middle East…

The US and Iran are set to hold talks about Iran’s nuclear program next week. Trump dismissed leaked US intelligence showing Iran’s nuclear program has only been set back months by the strikes, calling it “inconclusive” - but his Secretary of State Marco Rubio was clearer, saying the US “can't even find” where one of the sites used to be, “because the whole thing is … wiped out”. Regardless of the damage, Rafael Grossi from the International Atomic Energy Agency (the IAEA - the UN’s nuclear watchdog) says Iran has the technical knowledge and industrial capacity for nuclear weapons, so they “need to work together with them”. That could be tricky though - the country’s parliament has just passed a bill (which still needs final approval…) to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.

And what about the ceasefire between Israel and Iran?

It's still holding as we hit publish this morning - Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff says talks with Iran have been “promising”, and he's hopeful "long-term peace" can be reached. But despite the truce and Israel easing restrictions across the country, airspace restrictions are still in place over the Middle East - although more than 100 Aussies were able to evacuate Israel by air yesterday. The other big talking point at NATO has been Russia’s war in Ukraine - overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had another meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the summit, where the US President said he’s up for restarting peace talks with Russia. And for our part in the whole shebang, Australia has committed to sending 100 ADF troops to help protect aid going into Ukraine.

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Squiz the Rest

A long journey begins for the Coalition

New leader Sussan Ley was at the National Press Club yesterday, talking about how the Liberal party might win voters back after she said it was "smashed" in May's federal election. First up: a major review of the party's policies and strategy (on top of one that's already looking into the election loss). She's also set up a working group to nut out what the party's energy policy is going to be - the tricky bit there will be getting the Nationals on board after the 2 parties briefly split up post-election, partly on that issue. Ley also flagged that she wanted Australia to up its defence spending to 3% of GDP - but even with NATO allies boosting their spending, Treasurer Jim Chalmers still says our planned increase to 2.3% is enough…

*If you want to know a bit more about Sussan Ley, we’ve got a Shortcut for you… 

Another attempt to find the remains of Peter Falconio

The British backpacker’s name is infamous in Oz - he’s the 28yo who was travelling around the country with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, when he was shot beside an outback highway about 300km north of Alice Springs in July 2001. Lees escaped from his murderer, Bradley John Murdoch, by hiding in bushes in the dark, but Falconio’s body was never found. Now, nearly 24 years later, NT Police have offered a $500,000 reward for information that could help find his remains. They’ve never had any luck with Murdoch, who’s serving a life sentence for Falconio’s murder - and with the 74yo’s health in decline, they’re not likely to. But they say Murdoch may have confided in others over the years, so they’ve taken the chance to “up the ante” in their investigation.

The ABC loses a legal battle

After journalist Antoinette Lattouf won her wrongful termination lawsuit against it yesterday, Managing Director Hugh Marks said fighting the case wasn’t “a good use of taxpayers’ money”. ICYMI, Lattouf’s 5-day stint as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023 ended abruptly after she posted about the war in Gaza on social media - she says she was sacked because of those posts. Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah agreed - he found the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it took Lattouf off the air. The ABC spent at least $1.1 million defending the case, and Lattouf was awarded $70,000 in damages - she says she was "punished for her political opinion" and she'll have more to say on the subject in the coming days. 

Gout Gout does it again

The speedy Brissy sprinter broke another Aussie record yesterday - his own - by setting the fastest time for the 200m at the Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic. It was the first time the 17yo had ever raced in Europe, but he wasn’t remotely fazed as he mowed down the competition, including rival Reynier Mena from Cuba, to win the race in a time of 20.02. For comparison, Usain Bolt’s time at the same meet when he was Gout’s age was 20.28, so the hype is real… As for what's next for the young star, he's got another major meet in Monaco on 11 July, and the big one for 2025 is the World Athletics Championships, which begin on 13 September in Japan. Mark those dates down - it could be something to see… 

Get the popcorn ready…

If it’s anything like ours, your social feed might be full of people sharing their favourite modern movies at the moment - and you can thank the New York Times for that. The US paper is doing a feature on the 100 best films of the 21st century, where they’re rolling out a list voted on by 500 movers and shakers in the world of film. You can see what’s made the cut here, and make your own top 10 ballot here if you’d like to join in (you’ll just need a free NYT account). But the really fun part is seeing what some celebs have picked - now you know Brett Goldstein (aka Roy Kent from Ted Lasso) loves Bridesmaids, Aussie star Toni Collette likes Parasite, and Pamela Anderson’s a big fan of The Lobster. Get picking, film buffs…

Apropos of Nothing

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez made a snap decision to move their Venetian wedding from the centre of the city to a more isolated venue after protestors threatened to fill the canals with inflatable crocodiles. Locals said see ya later alligator…

A couple of British bears who were briefly on the lam from a British wildlife park have been safely returned, but not before they broke into a food storage area and, in an effort worthy of Pooh Bear, scoffed down a week’s worth of hunny. Silly old bears… 

Speaking of classic stories, the Miles Franklin shortlist is out - 6 books are still in the running for the literary prize, with 2-time winner Michelle de Kretser getting another nod and 3 authors making the list for the first time - you can check out the full list here…

Squiz the Day

6.00am (AEST) - Cricket: Australia is finishing up day one of a 3-test series against the West Indies - Bridgetown, Barbados, and watch on Kayo

10.00am (AEST) - Round 1 of the NBA Draft - here’s a list of the Aussies vying for multi-million-dollar contracts (paywall) - New York, US

12.00noon (AWST) - A sentencing hearing is set to begin for Jack Brearley and Brodie Palmer, found guilty of murdering teenager Cassius Turvey - Perth

7.00pm (AWST) - Soccer: The Matildas will play Slovenia in the first of 2 friendlies - Perth, watch on 10Play. 

ABS data release - Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, May 2025; Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, March 2025; Job Vacancies, May 2025

🍿 F1: The Movie is out in cinemas in Australia

The Bear season 4 drops on Disney+

Birthdays for actors Nick Offerman (1970), Aubrey Plaza (1984) and singer Ariana Grande (1993)

Anniversary of:

  • the invention of the toothbrush in China using boar bristles (1498)

  • the signing of the UN Charter (1945)

  • Elvis Presley’s last ever performance (1977)

  • the publication of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)

  • Kevin Rudd rolling Julia Gillard to become PM for the second time (2013)

Friday
12.00am (AEST) - Cricket: Australia v West Indies, Day 2 of a 3-test series - Bridgetown, Barbados, and watch on Kayo