Thursday, 27 February - Go baby go go

February 27, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 27 February. In your Squiz Today…

  • Chinese navy drills are rocking the boat for the federal government

  • A fresh search for flight MH370

  • And our Eurovision contestant is named… 🪩

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Sport is for everyone and these views are for no one."

Said Matilda Clare Wheeler after radio host Marty Sheargold said on air that the team "reminded him of Year 10 girls" and asked his sports presenter, "Got any men's sport?". He apologised, but Triple M has still shown him the door. You don't mess with the Tillies...

Military action rocks the boat

The Squiz

Chinese warships caught carrying out practice drills in the Tasman Sea last week are likely to next pass through the Great Australian Bight, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) says. Officers tasked with surveilling the ships believe they may be accompanied by a nuclear submarine - but it’s hard to know for sure… Chief Admiral David Johnston yesterday told a Senate estimates hearing that “task groups occasionally do deploy with submarines, but not always. I can’t be definitive”. What is definitive is that the ships’ presence and their live fire drills have caused alarm…

Wait - live fire?

Yep. Johnston says the flotilla held the practice drills on Friday and Saturday. It’s not illegal - the ships were in international waters at the time and performed them in line with international law. But what isn’t above board is that the ADF wasn’t told in advance… They didn’t find out until 40 minutes after the drills began, and even then, it wasn’t direct notice. The Chinese crews contacted a Virgin Australia commercial pilot flying nearby at 9.58am Friday to say the plane should steer clear. The pilot then contacted Airservices Australia, our aviation safety body, who notified the ADF. A report from the New Zealand navy, which was tailing the ships in cooperation with the ADF, only came through at 11.01am…

Please explain…

“Irresponsible” and “disruptive” is how Johnston has described the Chinese military’s behaviour, given the risk to planes and other boats in the area. PM Anthony Albanese has also come under fire for saying the military and civilian notifications came in “at around the same time”, with Coalition leader Peter Dutton accusing him of “failing to answer basic questions” (although he’s had a few of his own to answer this week)... Albanese didn't respond to that but said he's in contact with Kiwi PM Christopher Luxon as our defence forces continue monitoring the ships. As for China, its Defence Ministry spokesperson says the drills were compliant with international law and that officials are "deeply surprised and strongly dissatisfied" at the "unreasonable accusations" against them.

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Squiz the Rest

A rare earth deal in the making

The US is on the cusp of making a deal to share Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for ongoing support when the war against Russia ends. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be the next in a line of world leaders to visit Washington, where US President Donald Trump is keen for him to sign “a very big agreement” tomorrow. In the deal, Trump says the US will “get our money back, and we're going to get a lot of money in the future”. You can read about what’s in it here, but it aims to set up a jointly owned investment fund for projects in Ukraine. Zelensky still isn’t completely over the line though - he wants the US to put some clarity around its security commitment.

An arrest over an antisemitic video

One of the 2 nurses who appeared in a video where they allegedly threatened and claimed to have refused to treat Israeli patients while working at Bankstown Hospital has been arrested and charged by NSW police. Antisemitism taskforce Strike Force Pearl has charged 26yo Sara Abu Lebdeh with threatening violence to a group and using a carriage service to threaten to kill and harass or cause offence. Lebdeh's colleague Ahmad Rashad Nadir also appeared in the video, which was posted by an Israeli content creator, but police say they haven't charged - or spoken to - Nadir yet because he's "receiving ongoing medical treatment". Lebdeh is due to appear in court on 19 March.

A search resumes

Nearly 11 years since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, a new search has begun in the southern Indian Ocean. Spearheading it is private maritime exploration company Ocean Infinity, which operates robots that scan the ocean floor. It’s on a “no find, no fee” basis, with Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke saying his government will pay the firm $70 million if the wreckage is found. A previous, 3-year search - conducted by Australian authorities - failed to turn up anything substantial, but parts of the plane have been found washed up near Tanzania and Mozambique. Families of the victims have welcomed the new search, with one saying they “just want to know where it is and what happened”.

*If you’d like to know more about missing flight MH370, we’ve got a Shortcut for you…

The end of an election-calling era

If you’re someone who picks the ABC as your election-night viewing of choice, you’ll be all too familiar with the face of Antony Green, who has been calling results on-air for over 30 years. The 68yo said yesterday the upcoming contest will be his last on our screens, and he wants to wind up before “he plays on a season too long”. Green started with the national broadcaster as a researcher in 1990 and soon became a fixture explaining things like electorates and preferences while covering around 100 state and federal elections. He’ll stick around behind the scenes, and his on-air shoes will be filled by up-and-coming journo Casey Briggs - no pressure, Casey…

Go Go-Jo, Go

Our representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be a 29yo TikTok star known as Go-Jo. Born in Manjimup, Western Australia, Go-Jo - real name Marty Zambotto - will perform the catchy ditty Milkshake Man - which you can hear/watch here, but spoiler alert, we don’t think it’s really about milkshakes… He’ll be the 10th act to represent Australia in Eurovision when it takes place in mid-May, joining names like Jessica Mauboy, Kate Miller-Heidke and Dami Im, who finished runner-up back in 2016. Go-Jo rose to online fame with the song Mrs Hollywood in 2023, and he’s also a busker who is known to give out free broccoli to his audiences. Broccoli and milkshakes - that’s quite the combination…

Apropos of Nothing

Rapper and professional beef-haver Drake has cancelled the last 4 shows of his tour of Australia and New Zealand to a “scheduling conflict”, with ticketholders in Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland told to hold on to those tickets while he goes home - organisers say they’re looking to reschedule.

A physicist from Melbourne has become the first Aussie woman to head into space as part of the crew of New Shepard, a rocket made by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin. Elaine Chia Hyde said it gave her “a new definition of what home is.”

And if you’ve ever felt like suing a cinema over how long the ads and trailers last before the movie starts, this guy has beaten you to it. The film's scheduled start time was 4:05pm but it didn't begin until 4:30, and he was so ropeable he went to court, collecting a cool $1000 payout. That's a lot of popcorn…

Squiz the Day

10.15am (AEDT) - Closing submissions are due in the unfair dismissal case journalist Antoinette Lattouf has brought against the ABC - Sydney

11.00am (AEDT) - The federal government will launch Allergy Assist, a world-first allergy advice platform for rural and remote Aussies - Melbourne

11.30am (AEDT) - Soccer: Matilda’s v Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup - San Diego, US, and watch on Paramount+

12.30pm (AEDT) - A Lowy Institute panel will discuss the topic: What 2025 holds for Australia in the world - Sydney

7.30pm (AEDT) - NBL: Game 1 of best-of-3 series, Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats - Melbourne, and watch on Kayo

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House - Washington DC

Company half-year results for Coles, Medibank, Qantas, Ramsay Health Care, and Southern Cross Media

CMO ANZ Summit 2025 (until 28 February) - Gold Coast

NRL Fan Fest - Las Vegas

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of author John Steinbeck (1902) and actor Elizabeth Taylor (1932) 

  • the world's first women's magazine Ladies' Mercury published in London (1693)

  • the discovery of carbon-14 (radiocarbon dating) at the University of California Radiation Laboratory (1940)

  • General Hafez al-Assad becoming head of Syria via a military coup, beginning the family's rule over the country (1969)