Tuesday, 12 November - What a wicked game you play

November 12, 2024

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 12 November. In your Squiz Today…

  • Trump gets started on foreign policy

  • Another tragic schoolyard crash

  • And a Wicked typo… 🧙

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Dead rat, dead possum [and] rotten cheese and fermenting cabbage.”

Is how horticulturalist Matt Coulter describes the smell of the corpse plant - a once-in-a-decade, 48-hour-long bloom that’s unfurling at Geelong’s Botanic Gardens as we speak. It’s being live-streamed if you can’t make it, but it’s a shame to miss the putrid smell…

Trump gets started on foreign policy

The Squiz

It’s been less than a week since his election victory, but US President-elect Donald Trump has already waded into the Russia-Ukraine war with calls to the nations’ leaders - and yesterday, the details of his alleged conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin came to light… Reports say Trump warned him not to escalate the war, but the Kremlin has denied the conversation happened, dismissing it as “pure fiction.” Regardless, US and Ukrainian intelligence officials have warned that 50,000 North Korean and Russian troops are preparing for a counteroffensive in western Russia that could kick off any day…

What’s that about?

There’s a bit to this soz… Although it’s hard to get accurate numbers of Russian troops who have died in the war against Ukraine, estimates are that it’s at least 70,000 - but likely much higher. Some analysts also think Russia is set to lose more than 1,000 troops a day heading into the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, so Putin’s called on North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to send in reinforcements… They’ve been training with Russian forces since touching down in October, and they’re said to be ready to join the frontline in Russia’s Kursk region. Their primary goal is to take back the Russian territory Ukrainian forces claimed during a surprise offensive earlier this year.

So does Trump’s election win change anything there? 

It’s a good question given Trump established a close relationship with Putin when he was last in the White House and also openly praised Putin’s invasion of Ukraine… During his campaign, Trump promised to bring an end to the war - and although he never discussed a strategy for that, he’s floated the idea of Ukraine surrendering some territory. There’s also been a bit made of Trump not committing to more military support for Ukraine - which the UK and France have vowed to continue… Outgoing President Joe Biden has overseen tens of billions of funding/military aid going towards Ukraine’s defence efforts, and reports say he’ll encourage Trump to continue that when they meet at the White House on Wednesday. They’ll also touch on the war in the Middle East - so stay tuned for what comes out of that…

A workplace that champions you

Providing equal opportunities for men and women is a priority for BHP as it heads towards its target of having a gender-balanced workplace by 2025. With that in mind, there are heaps of jobs on offer across the country and across the business with flexible work arrangements to help you achieve your long-term career goals. There’s never been a better time to make your next career move - head to bhp.com/careers for more information.

Squiz the Rest

Another tragic schoolyard crash… 

A teacher’s aide who died after a water tanker crashed into the playground of a Victorian preschool has been called a hero after witnesses say she pushed several children out of the way of the oncoming truck. Eleanor Bryant was a speech pathologist working with children at the preschool in Riddells Creek when the crash happened yesterday afternoon. A 3yo boy was taken to hospital with serious arm injuries, but no other children were hurt. Reports say police are investigating claims the truck driver suffered a medical episode before the crash… It comes 2 weeks after a car crashed through the fence of a primary school in Melbourne’s east, killing 11yo Jack Davey and injuring 4 others aged 10-11yo. Jack’s funeral was held on Sunday - his father said his son will remain “very much alive in our hearts”.

An Aussie in an African mine standoff

Terry Holohan - the boss of the WA-based Resolute Mining - and 2 other execs have been detained in the African nation of Mali as the country’s military rulers attempt to extract more money from foreign firms. The gold mining execs were meeting with government officials in the capital Bamako when they were told they couldn’t leave. Resolute has told investors the group is safe, and they’re in negotiations for their release. Last year, the military junta (which is a fancy way of labelling a group that rules a country after taking power by force…) introduced laws forcing foreign miners to “renegotiate” the taxes they paid - as well as sharing ownership… Four employees of a Canadian mining company were arrested back in September before their company agreed to pay more than $100 million.

Anthony Pratt’s shipping off to the States

The Aussie packaging/recycling billionaire told his LinkedIn followers he’s been granted his Green Card for permanent residency, but the Visy/Pratt Industries owner will still regularly return to Oz. Pratt is #4 on the Financial Review’s Rich List, along with his family, with $23.30 billion to their names. But he’s had an up-and-down relationship with the newly elected President (he’s a member of Mar-a-Lago). Donald Trump called him a “red-haired weirdo from Australia” last year after it came out they’d had talked about top-secret submarines during chats. One other thing - along with his sisters and Visy’s co-owners, Pratt is in the middle of a legal challenge from the daughter of their father/Visy founder Richard Pratt for a portion of the family trust. So it’s all happening for Anthony… 

A Vietnam veteran’s VC

An Australian soldier who ran into enemy fire to help 2 wounded mates has been awarded our highest military honour more than 50 years after he died. Private Richard Norden received the Victoria Cross for his role in the 1968 Battle of Fire Support Base Coral when he was just 19yo. There has been a lengthy campaign by fellow veterans to get him a VC and he’s finally been recognised in a Remembrance Day service led by the Governor-General Sam Mostyn and PM Anthony Albanese. After the Vietnam War, Nordon joined the ACT police force, but he died in a motorbike accident in 1972. Albanese says Norden’s deeds were “more than worthy of the highest military honour our nation can bestow”.

Defying depravity

If you’ve ever made a typo at work, spare a thought for the person behind this one… Toymaker Mattel has hurried to fix an issue with the packaging of dolls for the new Wicked movie after a risque misprint. The flick’s website is wickedmovie.com but they left out the word ‘movie’, which directed people to a very, very different site... To be safe, Mattel has asked parents to bin the packaging. As for the movie, it’s coming out in the US in 2 weeks on the same weekend as Gladiator II, so cinemas are hoping for a repeat of last year’s ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon. In Oz, we’re getting Gladiator II on Thursday and Wicked the week after - so you’ll have to wait a bit to get what Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has called ‘Glick-ed’…

Apropos of Nothing

Chicago scientists have looked under an Egyptian mummy’s bandages - without disturbing them. They’ve used a CT scanner to take hundreds of X-rays and then stacked them together to reveal what’s in the fancy/ancient caskets. No word on whether Brendan Fraser was involved… 

The creator of Tetris says he’s spent decades trying to replicate the success of the best-selling video game of all time. Alexey Pajitnov didn’t rest on his laurels after the block-stacker came out - he’s still making games to this day. Talk about a difficult second album… 

Some morbidly-minded tourists have been making a pilgrimage to the home of the Menendez brothers after a recent Netflix series revived interest in the case where the duo admitted to murdering their parents. Bet the neighbours are thrilled about that…

Squiz the Day

9.30pm (AEDT) - Coles AGM - Melbourne

9.30am (AEDT) - A coronial inquest into the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attacks will begin with a directions hearing. The inquest is set down for 4 weeks - Sydney

11.00am (AEDT) - The Lawrence Hargrave Eric Waite Memorial Flyover, marking the 130th anniversary of Sir Lawrence Hargrave’s box-kite experiment - Stanwell Park Beach, NSW 

12.15pm (AEDT) - Lowy Institute: A panel will discuss geopolitical risks and trends, and their impacts on financial markets and investments - Sydney

12.30pm (AEST) - Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt will address the Queensland Media Club lunch to outline the aim of the Albanese government's workplace reforms in the sunshine state - Brisbane

5.00pm (AWST) - The Western Australians of the Year will be announced, and broadcast live here 

ABS data release - Overseas Arrivals and Departures; September 

Birthdays for Neil Young (1945), Naomi Wolf (1962), Anne Hathaway (1982), Ryan Gosling (1980), and Tonya Harding (1970)

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of artist Auguste Rodin (1840), founder of modern China Sun Yat-sen (1866) and actress Grace Kelly (1929)

  • Leon Trotsky being expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, paving the way for Joseph Stalin to consolidate power (1927)

  • the first known photo of the Loch Ness Monster being taken by Hugh Gray (1933)

  • Cyclone Bhola becoming the deadliest cyclone ever recorded after killing up to 500,000 in modern-day Bangladesh (1970)