Tuesday, 29 July - The only way is up

July 29, 2025

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 29 July. In your Squiz Today…

  • Our politicians are divided over Gaza

  • Trump shortens Russia’s deadline to make peace with Ukraine

  • And it’s a good week for skywatchers…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"This is not the end, this is only going up for you."

Said Aussie tennis ace Alex de Minaur to opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after winning the men’s singles final at the DC Open in Washington DC yesterday. The Demon comforted a visibly upset Fokina following the match - you might say he was an angel… 

Pushing for a permanent solution

The Squiz

As a UN Summit on a 2-state solution between Israel and Palestine gets underway in New York, our politicians are at odds over Australia’s stance on the war in Gaza. Of particular concern is whether/when we’ll follow in France’s footsteps to recognise a Palestinian state… Yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese said that the government is “in discussions with other countries” about that, saying it might come before the “finalisation of the peace process” in Gaza. But he also copped flak from members of the Coalition, with Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan criticising his comments about Israel breaching international law by stopping food deliveries into Gaza. 

What’s the latest on the ground?

On Sunday, Israel announced “tactical pauses” of military activity in 3 areas - Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi - and also opened aid corridors for UN convoys. It said it was doing that to “refute the false claim of intentional starvation” that it’s been accused of. The pauses are happening daily, from 10am to 8pm local time, but Israel hasn’t said how long they’ll last. Overnight, US President Donald Trump said America would set up food centres in the strip, saying "those children look very hungry … that's real starvation stuff". Reports say Palestinians in Gaza are wary… Father of 7, Eyad al-Banna, is one who doesn't think they’ll do much if they only last for a week or 2, “because the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza have exceeded all expectations”. 

So what’s the solution?

That’s the big question… UN Aid Chief Tom Fletcher called about 100 trucks that have made their way into Gaza since Sunday “progress”, but says much, much more is needed “to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis”. And with the World Health Organisation saying malnutrition in the Palestinian territory has reached “alarming levels”, Gazans say the only way forward is a full ceasefire - but the most recent round of talks fell apart last week. Israel and the US blamed Hamas for backing out of negotiations to return the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza, and Trump says Israel’s “going to have to make a decision” about its next move. Next up: the UN summit on a 2-state solution is continuing, so expect more headlines to come out of that…

Turning water into shine

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Squiz the Rest

Trump turns up the pressure

The US President has shortened the deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine from 50 days to "10 or 12 days" before he whacks sanctions on its trading partners. He made the announcement after a meeting with UK PM Keir Starmer in Scotland and said there was "no reason" to wait longer as no further progress towards peace had been made. The details will be finalised in the next day or so, and Trump said they could include the US imposing extra taxes on any country that trades with Russia (cough…China). It comes a day after he weighed into Thailand and Cambodia’s long-running border dispute, telling their leaders he’d stop trade deal talks with them if the conflict continued. They announced an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire after meeting in Malaysia yesterday. But Russian President Vladimir Putin's proving harder to wrangle…

Climate change is a hot topic

In September, Australia will lodge its official emissions target for 2035 with the United Nations, and the body’s climate head is hoping we’ll “go big”. Simon Stiell, the UN's Executive Secretary of Climate Change, is in town at the moment and talking up what he called "colossal" economic rewards if we set ambitious goals - the most likely number at this point is a 65-75% reduction. It’ll be less if former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has his way - he introduced a bill to parliament yesterday to try and get Australia to repeal its target of net zero emissions by 2050, which he says is costing Australians money. Coalition leader Sussan Ley is waiting on a ‘working group’ on the topic to finish up before she decides what the party’s official policy will be, so that’s TBD for the moment… 

A TV star pleads not guilty

Matt Wright is who we’re talking about - you might know him as the star of National Geographic’s Outback Wrangler or Netflix’s Wild Croc Territory… Yesterday, the 45yo appeared in the Northern Territory Supreme Court and pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice after a fatal chopper crash in 2022. His Outback Wrangler co-star Chris Wilson died in the crash in the NT’s West Arnhem Land, and pilot Sebastian Robinson suffered permanent injuries. The charges against Wright are allegedly linked to what happened after the crash, but we won’t hear the details until the trial gets underway… It’s due to begin tomorrow and is expected to run for 4 weeks.

Vale Tom Lehrer

The musical satirist and academic died at 97yo at his home in Massachusetts over the weekend. If you don’t know him by name, you might know him from helping plenty of schoolchildren learn the periodic table via his song The Elements, which sets their names to a famous Gilbert & Sullivan tune - even Daniel Radcliffe had a go… Beyond that, he wrote a stack of comic songs like Poisoning Pigeons in the Park and The Masochism Tango that earned him legions of fans - including Princess Margaret - and he toured Australia in 1960, where the South Australian government banned him from performing 5 of his songs. He inspired many musical comedians, including Weird Al Yankovic and our own Sammy J, and in 2020 he put all of his songs in the public domain so anyone could use them. So long, Tom… 

A meteor treat

It’s a good week for amateur astronomers, with 2 major meteor showers happening at the same time… First up, the Southern Delta Aquariids, which sounds like a water polo team but is in fact the third-strongest meteor shower we'll see all year. It kicked off last night and will run until Wednesday night, and it's happening at the same time as another one known as the Alpha Capricornids. As far as how to tell the difference, astrophysicists say the Aquariids are fast, faint and more numerous, whereas the Capricornids move more slowly. They also reckon we'll get a particularly good look here in the Southern hemisphere, and the best time to look is between midnight and 4am - while the best place is as far from the lights and pollution of the big cities as you can get. Happy stargazing… 

Apropos of Nothing

Music superstar Beyonce has just wrapped up her Cowboy Carter tour in Vegas and she did so in fine style, bringing her old Destiny’s Child bandmates out for a medley of the group's hits. We're not sure the crowd was ready for that jelly… 

The British show Strictly Come Dancing has added another Aussie-born dancer to its ranks, with Sydney-born Jullian Caillon joining the cast. If he can follow in the (impeccably placed) footsteps of Bunbury-born Dianne Buswell, who won last year, he’ll be doing very well..  

And there were barrel rolls and belly rubs in the UK this weekend at the country’s Dog Surfing Championship, where canines hang ten with their owners for surfing supremacy. But never mind the explanation, you’re here for the photos…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Australian Clean Energy Summit begins (until 30 July) - Sydney

2.00pm (AEST) - The Tech Council of Australia’s annual Parliamentary Innovation Showcase will take place at Parliament House - Canberra

7.00pm (AEST) - Soccer: The Matildas will learn their first opponents for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup in the Final Draw - watch on Paramount+ or stream live on YouTube

11.00pm (AEST) - The IMF will launch a World Economic Outlook update - Washington DC, US

ABS data release - potential workers, Feb 2025; underemployed workers, Feb 2025; Job mobility, Feb 2025; Participation, Job search and mobility, Feb 2025; 

🌧️ Rain Day

Anniversary of:

  • the Irish Famine Rebellion (1848)

  • the death of Vincent Van Gogh (1890)

  • Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s wedding (1981)

  • Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road breaking the record for longest run at the top of US singles chart at 17 weeks (2019)