Thursday, 4 September - I see your face in the crowd

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 4 September. In your Squiz Today…

• Dan Andrews raises eyebrows by attending a Chinese military parade

• The Epstein files have been unsealed

• And telling Labubus from Lafufus…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said PM Anthony Albanese, announcing the Richard Scolyer Chair in Brain Cancer Research - a new position at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Sydney. Scolyer is the gun medical researcher now living with incurable brain cancer - but he’s still making a difference and loving life…

A familiar face in the crowd

The Squiz

Chinese President Xi Jinping threw the country’s biggest ever military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square yesterday to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. Xi showed off China’s military hardware, including tanks, drones and long-range missiles to the world leaders in attendance, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And, in an appearance that raised some eyebrows here in Oz, former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews… 

Why was he there?

Along with former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Andrews was invited by the Chinese government - but not as official representatives of Oz. Carr opted out of the parade in the end, but Andrews went along, shaking hands with President Xi on the red carpet and appearing in a group photo with some of the other prominent leaders. Given those leaders include Putin - who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, and Kim Jong Un, who runs a dictatorship in North Korea, his decision came in for some stick. Former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was "a bridge too far" - Andrews himself, who has business interests in China, has yet to explain why he decided to go along. The PM was asked about it, but he stopped short of criticising Andrews.

What else went on at the parade?

It ran for 70 minutes and featured plenty of troops, flags and balloons in addition to the military merchandise - you can see a gallery here. A lot was made in reports about a chat caught on a hot mic between Putin and Xi about biotech and life extension. But in his official speech, President Xi said that "mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation" and that China was "on the right side of history". The show of unity between China, Russia and North Korea had US President Donald Trump weighing in from afar, posting on Truth Social: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America”. And one other thing to note - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was planning to skip the parade due to protests in his country - but he changed tack after “a strong request from the Chinese government”.

Smiling wide

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Squiz the Rest

The Epstein files are unsealed…

… And there are 33,000 pages - plus videos - in the first batch alone, so they could take a while to wade through. To save you time/summarise, they’re mostly court documents and previously released information relating to the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein (who died by suicide waiting for his sex trafficking trial in 2019…), and Ghislaine Maxwell. There's been plenty of build-up to their release, with the Trump administration facing pressure from Americans on both sides of politics who believe details about the case are being hidden. Yesterday, US Democrat Jim McGovern was critical of what he did see, saying "nearly everything Republicans just supposedly 'released' … has already been released". Epstein's victims, along with other Democrats and Republicans, are pushing for all the files to be released. To be continued…

*We’ve dived into the background of the Epstein files in this Squiz Shortcut if you’d like to know more about it… 

Riding the economic wave

New data from the Bureau of Stats (the ABS) shows our gross domestic product (or GDP, the value of everything we produce…) grew 0.6% in the June quarter, and 1.8% over the past year. That's better than expected, with KPMG Australia economist Brendan Rynne saying households have "come to the party" by spending more as interest rates have fallen this year. The ABS says the growth follows a downturn in the March quarter, which was "heavily impacted by weather events" like Tropical Cyclone Alfred causing economic disruptions in Queensland and NSW. As for what it means for future interest rate cuts, the Reserve Bank has other numbers to consider - like the monthly household spending for July, due today - but many economists reckon they could be held steady at its next meeting later this month...

Google’s hanging onto Chrome…

… After notching a win in the long-running antitrust case brought against it by the US Government. A US federal judge says the company doesn’t have to sell Chrome, the world’s most popular internet browser - going against the wishes of the US Department of Justice. Its concern was that Chrome had become the dominant browser over the years through anti-competitive behaviour, like deals with other companies to make it the default on smartphones. Yesterday, District Judge Amit Mehta banned Google from holding exclusive deals/ordered it to share its search data with rivals. Google, which says Chrome’s popularity is because it’s superior, said the result “underlines what we've been saying since this case was filed … competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want”.

The AFL finals begin

The 4-week finals series kicks off at 7.40 AEST tonight, and it's got a national flavour, with a team from every AFL-playing state taking part. Tonight's game is in South Oz, where Adelaide, who were bottom 4 last year, take on 2023 Premiers Collingwood - and tomorrow night we head to Victoria where perennial finalists Geelong and Brisbane will go head-to-head. On Saturday, it's off to NSW where the GWS Giants play Hawthorn, and that night we finish up in the West where Fremantle, who have never won a flag, and Gold Coast, who have never made the finals, have a high-stakes game in Perth. They're all playing off for an opportunity to be in the mix on Grand Final Day on 27 September… And while we're on high-stakes finals, Alex de Minaur has bowed out of the US Open in the quarterfinals this morning, losing to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in 4 sets.

Making a bit of a La-boo-boo

A Seattle airport has foiled the plans of some master criminals, intercepting a shipment of fake Labubus - those collectible dolls that are all the rage at the moment. The real things are often clipped to bags or belts and have become a big deal - to give you an idea of how big, if this package of pretend plushies had been real, they would have been worth nearly $800,000. But given they were fake Labubus, or ‘Lafufus’, which sounds a bit rude but isn’t, they’ll be destroyed. Airport authorities said the shipment came from South Korea and was labelled as ‘LED Bulbs’, which wouldn’t look nearly as good hanging off your bag. And Lafufus are a real problem - a couple of days ago, a council in the UK warned that the furry fakes could be a choking hazard, and that you should only get a Labubu if it’s the real thing. Don’t be delulu about your Labubu…

Apropos of Nothing

Yesterday was a sad day for fans of nominative determinism (where your name leads you to a certain profession), as McDonald’s UK Chief Restaurant Officer Zoe Hamburger is leaving her roll role after 18 months. She must not have been lovin’ it there…

Canadian rapper Drake is really, really, really confident that Italian star Jannik Sinner is going to win the US Open - he’s betting a casual $460,000 on that happening. Drake has a spotty sports betting history, as this handy website tracking his progress shows… 

And he only took up golfing 8 years ago, but 92yo Boydie Collyer will have his name added to Casino’s board of legends after hitting his first hole-in-one from nearly 120 metres away. ‘Young Boydie’ made the 12,500-to-one shot on Tuesday, proving it’s never too late to take a swing at a new skill…  

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Labor MP and climate special envoy Kate Thwaites, Greens and Independent MPs and senators will attend the Health + Climate Forum 2025 at Parliament House - Canberra

9.00am (ACST) - High-profile businessman Adrian Portelli will face trial on charges of conducting an unlawful lottery worth $3 million - Adelaide 

10.00am (AEST) - The 2025 Fathering Awards will be announced - Sydney

1.30pm (AEST) - Rugby union: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will announce the team’s lineup for Sunday’s Test against Argentina - Sydney

1.50pm (AEST) - Aussie surfer Molly Picklum will arrive back in Australia after winning the world championship title in Fiji - Sydney

7:10pm (ACST) - AFL: The first round of the AFL finals begins with Adelaide v Collingwood at Adelaide Oval - Adelaide, watch on Kayo

ABS data releases: Monthly household spending indicator, July 2025; international trade in goods, July 2025

🥋 International Taekwondo Day

Birthdays for Aussie swimmer Dawn Fraser (1937), music producer Mark Ronson (1975), Aussie TV presenter Samantha Armytage (1976) and musician Beyoncé (1981)

Anniversary of:

• English astronomer Edmond Halley first observing the comet named after him (1682)

• the founding of the city of Los Angeles (1781)

• George Eastman patenting the first roll-film camera and registering under the name "Kodak" (1888)

• English author Beatrix Potter first writing The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1893)

• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdrawing a controversial extradition bill after 3 months of massive protests (2019)

• the deaths of Steve Irwin (2006) and Joan Rivers (2014)