Thursday, 31 July - Can you take me higher

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 31 July. In your Squiz Today…

• Countries in the Pacific remain on tsunami alert after a massive earthquake

• Australia has taken another step towards recognising Palestine

• And Minjee Lee chases history…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said gun Aussie swimmer Kaylee McKeown after taking out the 100m backstroke gold at the World Swimming Champs in Singapore. McKeown says she's stopped putting so much pressure on herself, and it's paying off big time - some food for thought there…

On alert after a massive quake

The Squiz

One of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history hit the east coast of Russia yesterday, triggering tsunami warnings and mass evacuations in countries around the north Pacific. Some warnings are still in place for parts of the Pacific and South America, but the threats to other countries that were on high alert yesterday have mostly been downgraded. Japan and the West Coast of the US cancelled warnings when the waves rolling in were smaller than expected. And despite the size of the quake, reports from Russia so far say that the damage has been relatively small, with only minor injuries caused so far. 

What happened?

It was late yesterday morning when we first heard reports of the magnitude-8.8 earthquake striking near the Kamchatka Peninsula. To put that into context, it’s the sixth-strongest earthquake ever recorded - tied with the one that hit Chile in 2010, and slightly weaker than the 9.1 quakes that caused enormous tsunami damage to Japan in 2011 and Southeast Asia in 2004. There’s a good map here to give you an idea, but given the size, where it hit and the fact that it was shallow, at a depth of less than 20 kilometres, it had authorities on guard. It led to tsunami warnings and evacuations in Japan, Hawaii and some parts of the US West Coast - and warnings were even issued for our Kiwi cousins. No warning was issued for Oz - though WA did have a 4.8-magnitude earthquake of its own yesterday. 

And what now?

Most of those countries downgraded their warnings once the tsunamis proved to be less serious than initially feared - and where waves did cause significant damage, like in the Russian port town of Severo-Kurilsk, the locals had been warned and evacuated in advance. It also led to the eruption of the Klyuchevskoy Sopka volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, which you can see here. But it’s not over yet… There are still tsunami warnings in place for Chile, Easter Island, Colombia and Peru, where authorities are evacuating people living in coastal or low-lying areas. Experts say a quake of this size will lead to ongoing aftershocks (some have already been reported…) and strong ocean currents in the coming days.

Partnerships with hope at their heart

Rural Aid does incredible work supporting Aussie farmers hit by drought. In the last decade, it's distributed $125 million worth of assistance via 160,000 bales of hay and 13,000 counselling sessions. But CEO John Warlters says it’s also about hope: “And there's no 4-letter word that's more powerful than that one.” Woolworths is a longtime supporter of Rural Aid - a relationship that’s the subject of a new podcast episode called From Grassroots. Listen here.

Squiz the Rest

Another step towards recognising Palestinian statehood…

…has been taken by the Australian Government. We’ve signed a joint statement with 14 other countries welcoming a number of commitments by the Palestinian Authority - the governing body of the Palestinian people. It follows UK PM Keir Starmer’s declaration that Britain intends to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September if Israel doesn’t broker peace in Gaza beforehand. PM Anthony Albanese stopped short of that, but he spoke with Starmer overnight and said more conversations will happen over the coming days. Albanese said the statement by the group was a “significant step forward” and that it’s working towards a “day after” plan for Gaza to ensure that it’s rebuilt, Hamas isn’t involved in its governance, and that it’s demilitarised. The PM said “Israel needs to be able to be confident … that they're able to exist without a threat to their security.”

An arrest is made over the Adass attack

Police have a 21yo man in their custody after charging him for his alleged involvement in last year's firebombing attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in the southeast Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea. You'll likely remember that attack in December… It left the synagogue destroyed and deeply shocked Australia's Jewish community. Police have been investigating ever since, and yesterday said the man (who hasn't been publicly named yet…) is facing charges of arson, conduct endangering life and theft of a car. They allege he's one of 3 people to break into the synagogue and set fire to it - forcing several people inside to flee out the back door. Police say it's a "complex" investigation, but are treating the arson as politically motivated - and are now looking into possible links to “criminals offshore”. 

Inflation has dropped again

The headline rate for the April-June quarter was 2.1% - the lowest it’s been since March of 2021, and the trimmed mean, which clips away some of the temporary or outlying numbers at the margins, is 2.7% - the lowest it’s been since December the same year. You might remember earlier this month when the Reserve Bank unexpectedly decided to keep interest rates on hold, Governor Michele Bullock said at the time that the RBA was waiting on these quarterly numbers to be released - and keeping an eye on the trimmed mean in particular - before the bank could snip with certainty. Now those numbers are here and inflation is still within the RBA’s target range of 2-3%, economists say the chance of a rate cut at the RBA’s next meeting on 11-12 August is a near certainty. As long as there are no more surprises… 

*We’ve done a Squiz Shortcut on the trimmed mean if you’d like to know a bit more about how it impacts the Reserve Bank’s decisions on rates…

Local golfers coming to the fore

Keep an eye on superstar Aussie golfer Minjee Lee today - she’s one of 9 Aussies that will be teeing off in the Women’s Open in Wales this afternoon. After she won the PGA Championship last month, taking out this tournament would mean she’s won 4 of the 5 women’s majors and make her the 8th woman to ever achieve the feat. And if she can add the 5th slam - the Chevron Championship - she’ll be only the second woman after fellow Aussie great Karrie Webb to do that. And in good news for Aussie fans, hometown boy and 2013 Masters champ Adam Scott is heading home to play some local tournaments at the end of the year, so they’ll get to see him in action. That’s great, Scott… 

Very Happy Gilmore

And speaking of golf… about 30 years after the original came out, the Adam Sandler sequel Happy Gilmore 2 is a big hit for Netflix, racking up 46.7 million views in its first 3 days, which makes it the most-watched opening for a movie in the streamer’s history. If you’ve never seen the original, Sandler plays the titular ice hockey player who turns to golf in an attempt to make money - but rubs the golfing establishment the wrong way with his antics. The sequel features much of the same cast, a stack of cameo appearances and has been reasonably well reviewed - well, not by this guy - but the sheer amount of eyeballs on it will have Netflix execs pretty happy. That sound you can hear is a truckload of money being backed up to Sandler’s place for a Happy Gilmore 3…

Apropos of Nothing

A rocket launch by Aussie company Gilmour Space Technologies was successful yesterday, though not for long - it crashed less than a minute later. But co-founder Adam Gilmour says just getting it off the ground was an achievement, so he’s a happy Gilmour… 

Speaking of achievements, despite clinching the Euro 2025 trophy for a second year running, the English Lionesses weren’t sure anyone would turn up to their victory parade in London. They shouldn’t have been worried - along with 65,000 fans, they even had royalty cheering them on. Smashing…

And he might’ve been known as the ‘Prince of Darkness’, but Ozzy Osbourne wanted his funeral to be “a celebration, not a mope-fest”. Accordingly, his last ride was in a hearse through his hometown of Birmingham, accompanied by a brass band playing (what else…?) Black Sabbath songs…

Squiz the Day

7.30am (AEST) - Bondi’s Lamrock Cafe will hold a rave to celebrate National Avocado Day - Sydney

9.20am (AEST) - RBA Deputy Governor Andrew House will sit for a fireside chat at Barrenjoey Economic Forum - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - Olympic Diver Sam Fricker will take the plunge at Bondi’s Icebergs for the Daffodil Day Dip to launch the Cancer Council Fundraiser - Sydney

10.45am (AEST) - The Archibald Prize People’s Choice winner will be announced - Sydney

5.00pm (AEST) - The winner of the Australian Life photography competition will be announced - Sydney

48 hours of fare-free travel in NSW after a period of disruptions

ABS data release: International trade price indexes, June period; outcome from the review of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard, July 2026; Building approvals Australia, jun 2025; retail trade, Australia june 2025

Birthdays for author JK Rowling (1965), Harry Potter (1980)

Anniversary of:

• New Zealand's Christchurch becoming chartered as a city (1856)

• Germany’s adoption of the Weimar Constitution (1919)

• the end of Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland. It was the British Army's longest-running operation (2007)

• Michael Phelps becoming the greatest medal winner in Olympic history after securing his 19th. He ended his swimming career with 28 medals... (2012)