Thursday, 7 August - Stuck in a moment

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 7 August. In your Squiz Today…

• Reflecting on the bombing of Hiroshima, 80 years on

• The Outback Wrangler goes on trial

• And celebrating our world-class libraries - quietly…

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 5 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said owner Emily Scrivener about her Angus bull Buster, who at 1,356 kilograms, took out the title of Heaviest Bull at the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) this week. Though his weight might be imposing, Scrivener says he’s just a really, really, really, really, really, big puppy dog…

Learning from the past

The Squiz

The mayor of Hiroshima is calling for international leaders to abolish nuclear weapons, as yesterday the world marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. While giving the peace declaration at a memorial ceremony at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, Kazumi Matsui used the occasion to stress that ongoing international conflicts like those in Ukraine and the Middle East were leading to a growing acceptance of the nuclear option. He said that if leaders don’t learn from “the tragedies of history”, it could lead to further disaster. 

Tell me more about this ceremony…

It’s held every year, and both the families of those who died in the bombings and survivors take part in the ceremony. Survivors of the bombings are known as hibakusha - and the Japanese health ministry estimates there are fewer than 100,000 of them left, with an average age of 86. Every year, the hibakusha who have died in the past 12 months have their names added to a registry inside the memorial - the number of names in that registry is now almost 350,000. One survivor, 94yo Minoru Suzuto, said yesterday that he wanted to share his story far and wide because “there will be nobody left to pass on this sad and painful experience in 10 years or 20 years”.

So what’s next?

Though the number of survivors of the bombings might be dwindling, some young people in Japan are taking it upon themselves to keep the history alive, like 12yo Hiroshima resident Shun Sasaki. He’s been acting as a tour guide in his home city for 3 years, telling people about the events of that day, and he says the tourists “all tell me we must never do this ever again”. There will be more reflection to come - Saturday will mark 80 years since the bombing of Nagasaki, with more ceremonies in Japan and around the world to mark that occasion as well. Those bombings led to Imperial Japan’s surrender, which is commemorated as Victory in the Pacific Day on 15 August in Australia - that surrender was made formal at a ceremony on 2 September 1945.

Partnerships with hope at their heart

Throughout Woolworths' new podcast series, one theme emerges consistently: hope. From OzHarvest’s Ronni Kahn explicitly naming it as "the most powerful four-letter word" to Rural Aid’s John Waters describing how they support transforms farmers' outlook. Clontarf’s Troy Gordon's simple formula gives Aboriginal boys a clear path forward, and The Salvation Army offers hope when people have "lost everything". For 100 years, Woolworths has woven this thread of hope in partnership with Australian communities, and to mark their 100th year, this series is designed to give those organisations a place to celebrate their achievements. You can find the Woolworths’ From Grassroots podcast here.

Squiz the Rest

From past to present conflicts…

Tomorrow is the deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make moves towards a ceasefire with Ukraine. Ahead of that, US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin overnight, and he had a pretty clear directive from Trump: “get a deal where people stop getting killed”. Moscow called that meeting “useful and constructive” and Trump agreed - he said “great progress had been made”. The US says talks will continue, but Trump is still moving ahead with plans to sanction countries that do economic deals with Russia and help fund its war in Ukraine. To that end, he’s just doubled the tariff rate on India to 50% (to begin in 3 weeks), because India has refused to stop buying Russian oil - a major source of funds for its military operations. 

What goes around comes around

If you’ve been keeping an eye on Tassie’s politics, you’d be forgiven for wondering if it’s Groundhog Day in the Apple Isle… For those out of the loop, Tasmanian Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff was reappointed as Premier yesterday after the state election last month (the second in 16 months…), which was called after a no-confidence motion was passed against him. The result was that neither major party won enough seats to form a majority government, but the Liberals held onto the 14 seats they had previously, compared to Labor’s 10. Off the back of that, Rockliff requested Governor Barbara Baker reinstall his government, and she did yesterday. But Labor leader Dean Winter isn’t happy, and says he’ll move another no-confidence motion against Rockliff when parliament returns on 19 August. Buckle up…

A high-profile trial begins in the NT

This is the one involving Australian TV star Matt Wright - known for shows like Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory - who’s facing 3 charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice after a helicopter crash killed his co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson. He’s pleaded not guilty, and yesterday his trial began in Darwin with Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci’s opening statements. He accused Wright of the “systemic under-recording” of flight hours for the chopper involved - but emphasised to the jury that the charges against Wright do not accuse him of being responsible for the crash, which happened on a mission to collect crocodile eggs. Gullaci will continue his opening statement today, before it’s over to Wright’s defence lawyer, David Edwardson. All up, the trial’s expected to run for 5 weeks.

Prince Harry’s been cleared…

… By the UK Charity Commission over allegations of racism and bullying against the head of Sentebale, an African charity he founded in honour of Princess Diana. You might remember this blew up back in March, when Sentebale’s chief Sophie Chandauka accused the Duke of Sussex of “harassment and bullying at scale”. It played out messily… Prince Harry and his co-founder stepped down, and several members of the board of trustees resigned after clashing with Chandauka. The Charity Commission’s been investigating ever since, saying it’s found “no evidence” of “systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir”. In fact, it criticised “all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly”, telling them to “address governance weaknesses”...

It’s time to celebrate… quietly

A couple of Aussie libraries might have a few more visitors headed their way after taking out top 10 spots in a list of the most beautiful libraries in the world. The website 1000 Libraries has ranked stunning book nooks, and the South Oz State Library picked up the silver medal, falling just short of the Library of Trinity College in Dublin. We've gone and found some pictures of the winner and some pictures of the Aussie runner-up if you want to check if we were robbed... Other countries with beautiful libraries include Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Brazil - but with State Library Victoria in the 7th spot, Australia was the only country with 2 libraries in the top 10. Rankings aside, they all look like great spots to settle in with a good book…

Apropos of Nothing

The National Indigenous Fashion Awards have been given out for 2025, with Tiwi woman Clair Helen Parker picking up designer of the year. Parker said she was inspired watching the Fashion Channel growing up, and she’s turned that into a sparkling career… 

While shooting a promo vid in Alaska, the mascot for the Seattle Kraken ice hockey team had a face-to-mask encounter with a grizzly bear. The bear bounded towards the mascot before thankfully stopping, as running away in those mascot outfits ain’t easy… 

You might have heard of The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen - well, there’s also a Big Mermaid, and it’s not quite as beloved in Denmark. It’s about to be removed from its spot after locals complained it was ugly and vulgar - you can judge for yourself…

Squiz the Day

9.30am (AEST) - Hearing for convicted sex offender NSW MP for Kiama Gareth Ward as he challenges the NSW Government’s attempts to expel him from parliament - Sydney

9.45am (AEST) - The Sport Australia Hall of Fame will announce this year’s inductees - Melbourne

10.30am (AEST) - Melbourne Economic Forum on productivity, tax and free trade - Melbourne

11.00am (AEST) - Penfolds winery will release its 2021 Grange - Magill, South Australia

12.30pm (AEST) - Rio Tinto CTO Mark Davies will address a Melbourne Mining Club lunch - Melbourne

6.00pm (AEST) - Melbourne International Film Festival opening night (until 24 August) - Melbourne

6.30pm (AEST) - Lowy Institute Debate - How to defend Australia - Sydney

7.30pm (AEST) - Soccer: Australia will play Myanmar in the AFF Women’s Champs - Vietnam, watch on Paramount+

ABS data release: Recorded Crime - Victims, 2024; Building Approvals, Australia, June 2025; International Trade in Goods, June 2025

AMP FY2025 earnings

Freakier Friday, the sequel to the original 2000s film, is out in cinemas across Australia

Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (until 10 August) - Darwin, NT

Darwin Festival begins (until 24 August) - Darwin, NT

Birthdays for Aussies Greg Chappell (1948), Trevor Hendy (1968), Sophie Lee (1968) and Megan Gale (1975) and Abbie Cornish (1982)

Anniversary of:

• the discovery of the bodies of Canadian teens Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, who were at the centre of a huge manhunt and suspected of killing three people in British Columbia (2019)

Friday
3.00am (AEST) - Surfing: The WSL Tahiti Pro begins in Teahupo’o, French Polynesia (until 16 August) - watch live on WSL