Tuesday, 28 October - I'll send an SOS to the world

October 28, 2025

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 28 October. In your Squiz Today…

  • China and the US patch up their trade differences

  • Our consumer watchdog takes on Microsoft

  • And a long-lost message is found…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Righto.”

Says owner Beck Smith to get her dog Duke, Australia’s new top working dog, springing into action. Duke took out the 2025 Cobber Challenge yesterday after covering a solid 556km working livestock over 3 weeks - he's a very talented boy…

Make way for a mega deal…

The Squiz

It’s only Tuesday, but PM Anthony Albanese has already had more meetings than you can poke a stick at during this week’s ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. Along with meeting Japan’s new PM Sanae Takaichi, he’s had “positive” talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, China’s 2IC. They took the chance to shore up relations after a couple of tense moments last week over a military incident in the South China Sea and, separately, our new critical minerals/rare earths deal with the US. Albanese also weighed in on China and the US finalising a draft trade deal, saying "we welcome the fact that the leaders of the 2 largest economies in the world are having that direct engagement".

That’s a big deal…

In more ways than one. It’s currently just a “framework” negotiated between Chinese and US officials, so we don't have all the details yet… What we do know is that the US has walked back a threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods from 1 November, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In exchange, China is considering delaying the implementation of export restrictions on its rare earth minerals for 12 months, and will also resume buying US-grown soybeans. Li Chenggang, China’s top trade negotiator, was slightly more cautious, saying “the US position has been tough, whereas China has been firm in defending its own interests and rights”. But they’ve reached a “preliminary consensus” and will now go through their own approvals processes… 

So the trade war’s over?

Nothing’s been signed, and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are yet to hold their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on Thursday - so there’s time for things to go either way… But for now, Trump’s optimistic about the trade relationship stabilising, saying “I think we’re going to make a deal … it’s going to be great for China, great for us”. Markets in the US and Asia responded positively to that, but there are questions about what it means for Aussie rare earth producers. They were poised to benefit if China and the US couldn’t patch things up - but with that now looking more likely, ASX-listed rare earth producers’ share prices fell yesterday.

* If you want to learn more about the Oz-US critical minerals/rare earths deal, our Squiz Shortcut will get you across it…

Bulk gift cards without the admin headache

If wrangling gift cards for team birthdays or customer thank-yous falls to you, GroupTogether just launched bulk eGift cards. Upload a spreadsheet with the names and amounts, and send up to 1,000 digital gift cards in one go. Recipients get an AnyCard with access to 100+ big-name retailers. Check out GroupTogether's bulk eGift cards solution because, let’s be honest, it’s probably easier than your current process...

Squiz the Rest

Israel points the finger…

…at the person it says is responsible for last year’s arson attacks on 2 Oz Jewish venues - the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney. The Mossad spy agency said yesterday that Sardar Ammar, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, was the man behind those antisemitic attacks. You might remember them as a key reason the Albanese Government decided to expel the Iranian Ambassador from the country back in August and made plans to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. At the time, PM Albanese said the attacks were "attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community". The Mossad assisted with ASIO's investigation that led to that expulsion - and it says Ammar is behind other similar plans in Greece and Germany as well. 

Hurricane Melissa is closing in…

…on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, with the storm being upgraded overnight to a Category 5 - the highest on the scale. Early this morning, the US National Hurricane Centre reported Melissa was around 230km southwest of the capital of Kingston, moving west at around 5km/hr. It’s predicted to be the strongest hurricane to make landfall on the island since 1851, and communities are preparing for catastrophic flooding, strong winds, and an ocean surge of up to 4 metres when it hits today. Already, reports say 6 people have died in its path in surrounding nations, and Jamaica’s PM Andrew Holness has issued evacuation orders for people living in low-lying areas… Back at home, we’ve been copping some severe weather too. Parts of southeast Queensland are still without power following big storms on Sunday, while Melbourne recorded its wettest day in 18 months…  

Calling Microsoft to the principal's Office

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking Microsoft to court because it allegedly didn’t tell customers about a cheaper option for one of its most well-known products. The big tech company hiked the price of its Office suite (aka Word, Excel and PowerPoint) by 45% - highlighting new AI features called CoPilot as part of the reason for the increase. Customers were given the option of paying up or cancelling, but our consumer regulator claims that Microsoft didn't disclose a third option - leave out the AI stuff altogether and pay the same price. The ACCC says that's not on and it’ll see Microsoft in the Federal Court, with possible maximum penalties in the tens of millions. Microsoft says it’s reviewing the claim and that “consumer trust and transparency” are its top priorities. 

The Oscar race heats up

That sound you can hear is the grinding teeth of nervous Aussie Formula 1 fans after local driver Oscar Piastri lost his 189-day championship lead yesterday. Piastri has been in front since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April, but his McLaren teammate Lando Norris has taken it over following a victory at the Mexican GP, with former world champ and Red Bull ace Max Verstappen also lurking in the rear-view mirror. Piastri says he’s had to drive differently recently, for reasons even he’s not clear on, but with 4 weekends of racing left in the season and given he’s only one point behind, he’s got plenty of time to hit the accelerator. And if that grinding sound is particularly loud today, it might also be the teeth of Oz cricket fans after captain Pat Cummins was officially ruled out yesterday from the first Ashes Test, which begins November 21 in Perth. 

Someone call The Police

A Western Oz family out collecting rubbish got quite the shock when they discovered a message in a bottle on Wharton Beach, near Esperance. While historians haven't verified the contents yet, the bottle contains 2 letters written by Australian WWI soldiers about their experiences. One of those soldiers survived the war, and Debra Brown - whose daughter Felicity found the bottle - says after a bit of research on the Australian War Memorial website, she's been in touch with his relatives to let them know about the find and send both the letters home. As it happens, Western Oz is a bit of a message in a bottle hotspot - the oldest one ever found washed up on a beach near Wedge Island in 2018. That gigantic coastline probably helps…

Apropos of Nothing

Speaking of long swims, a single Murray cod has been tracked swimming an enormous 900km through the Murray River. Appropriately, this cod is named after Olympic champ Ariarne Titmus - maybe it was a retirement tribute…

Some brave souls over at The Guardian have been taste-testing US model/presenter Tyra Banks’ latest creation - hot ice cream. Banks was in Oz this month at SXSW Sydney talking up the concoction, but you can have a read and make up your own mind… 

And if you’ve been wondering what Anna Wintour’s been busy with lately, it’s Vogue World: Hollywood - an A-list-heavy fashion show that took over the Paramount studios lot yesterday. And thanks to Nicole Kidman in the revengiest of revenge dresses, it also took over millions of social media feeds…

Squiz the Day

Good luck, kids - Year 12 VCE written exams start in Victoria today ✏️

8.00am (AEDT) - Representatives from TikTok, Meta and Snapchat will appear at an inquiry into the social media ban for children under 16yo at Parliament House - Canberra

9.00am (AEDT) - The annual 2025 Women in Leadership Summit kicks off and runs until Friday - Sydney

9.00am (AEDT) - NSW Climate Change and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe will speak at the Sustainable Cities Summit held by Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue - Sydney

10.00am (AEDT) - Australian biotech company CSL will hold its Annual General Meeting at the RACV City Club - Melbourne

10.00am (AWST) - WA Governor Chris Dawson will attend the annual memorial gathering at the site of the Pinjarra Massacre and issue an apology for the actions of his predecessor in 1834 - Pinjarra, WA

10.30am (AEDT) - A plea hearing continues in the Supreme Court of Victoria for Lachlan Young, who pleaded guilty to murdering 23yo Hannah McGuire near Ballarat in April last year - Ballarat

6.00pm (AEDT) - The 2025 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Gala Dinner will be held at Parliament House - Canberra

6.00pm (AEDT) - Former Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser will deliver the inaugural Bernie Fraser Oration, hosted by the Australia Institute - Sydney

The World Justice Project is releasing the 2025 WJP Rule of Law Index, measuring how the rule of law is experienced and perceived across 143 countries and jurisdictions

The 2025 Screen Music Awards take place at Fortitude Music Hall - Brisbane

Birthdays for media personality and retired Olympic decathlete Caitlyn Jenner (1949), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (1955), actors Julia Roberts (1967), Joaquin Phoenix (1974), and Matt Smith (1982), and musician Frank Ocean (1987)

Anniversary of:

  • the publication of the classic novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)

  • Italian fascists conducting the March on Rome, leading to the assumption of power by Benito Mussolini (1922)

  • Elvis Presley being vaccinated against polio on national TV in the US, leading to youth vaccination rates increasing to 80% within 6 months (1956)

  • the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry (2023)