Tuesday, 6 October - I'm getting older, I think I'm aging well

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 6 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Pre-COP climate events kick off in the Pacific

• Ex Prince Andrew is taking police to court over his arrest in February

• And happy birthday to Australia’s oldest man…🎈

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said actor Gillian Anderson to fans who were putting her off by constantly coming to her production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and sitting in a prominent spot. The fans apologised, though they might need to write their own play - Who’s Afraid of Gillian Anderson…

Pre-copping some criticism

The Squiz

PM Anthony Albanese and Climate Minister Chris Bowen are in the Pacific this week for something called pre-COP. It’s a warm-up to November’s Conference of the Parties (COP31), which is the big UN climate summit in Türkiye. About 4,000 people are expected to rock up to this event over the coming days, although questions have been raised over how much it’s going to cost, what it might achieve, and why so many leaders are giving it a miss.

Why is it in the Pacific if the main event’s in Türkiye?

Good question... Every COP has a pre-COP, but they’re usually in the same spot in the host country. In this case, Oz and Türkiye were in a years-long tug-of-war over who would get to host the summit. Eventually, the 2 countries reached a compromise - Türkiye could do the hosting if we could lead the negotiations. (It’s a bit like letting someone else host book club as long as you get to pick the book). Part of that deal was a pre-COP event focusing on the Pacific, with Australia picking up the tab - which is estimated to be about $20 million. That’s been a sore point with Coalition energy spokesman Dan Tehan, who said it wasn’t worth the taxpayer money. But the government says it’s worth it to keep building diplomatic ties in the Pacific, although the timing is a touch awkward…

Why’s that?

In the week leading up to pre-COP (so, pre-pre-COP…), news broke that the NSW Independent Planning Commission had approved a major coal mine expansion in the state’s Hunter Valley. That isn’t likely to land well with some Pacific nations, who want countries around the world to limit fossil fuel projects, and have already criticised Oz for not doing enough on the issue. The guest list has also raised some eyebrows, with only 2 non-Pacific leaders turning up to this gathering. Critics say that means the whole shebang isn’t worth the effort, but Bowen says leaders don’t normally show up to pre-COP anyway. It all wraps up on Thursday, so we’ll see if it ends up being productive, punchy, or both.

We’re curious to know…

We're partnering with Uber and Australian Red Cross again this year for their clothing drive. On Saturday 17 October, you can book an Uber and they'll swing by, collect your donation, and take it to the Red Cross for you. Too easy!

Squiz the Rest

Shedding more light on an attempted hijacking

Israeli officials say they believe the co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack a commercial flight heading to Israel from the United Arab Emirates planned to fly the plane into Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion, or one of the country’s tallest towers. Reports say Omani national Hamam al-Hammami has told investigators that he used an axe stored in the cockpit to attack the flight’s pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, and then planned to fly the plane into the tower block, which is near an Israeli military base. As the investigations into the attempted hijacking continue, a joint counter-terrorism team is examining al-Hammami’s links to Oz - he reportedly spent years here studying in Melbourne. The team is looking into whether he was potentially radicalised while he was here, so that’ll be an ongoing story this week.

Andrew heads to court

That’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - the former Duke of York, who is taking legal action against the police that arrested him 8 months ago. The arrest resulted in this famous photo - but his lawyers are questioning whether the search warrants used during a raid on his properties, including his former home at Royal Lodge, were lawful. If not, it could be another blow to the ongoing investigation against him, which is said to be in strife because the US is refusing to share unredacted files on his alleged links with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It’s a historic move, to say the least - the last time a member of the British royal family did something like this was reportedly King Charles I in 1649…

Nobels and whistles

Nobel Prize week began last night, with 3 scientists receiving the Medicine Prize for their research into brain activity. The winners are announced throughout the next week or so, but one that tends to get the most headlines is the Nobel Peace Prize. Last year, US President Donald Trump was lobbying hard for it (unsuccessfully), though he’s been quieter on that front this year, as the war on Iran heads past the 7-month mark, and he isn’t considered a leading contender. Instead, emergency response volunteers in Sudan and the International Space Station are among the frontrunners - but we’ll find out for real on Friday. In the meantime, Physics is tonight, followed by Chemistry, Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences. 

The Roosters rule the roost

Sunday was a big day for the Sydney Roosters rugby league club, as it took out both the NRL and NRLW Grand Finals. The women’s side kicked things off with a dominant win against the Brisbane Broncos, with Tarryn Aiken winning the Karyn Murphy Medal for best on ground. They were a little tighter for the men’s side, who eked out a 1-point victory over the Newcastle Knights - James Tedesco won the Clive Churchill Medal for the best player in that one. It was an especially emotional day for the Knights, who had to redirect their send-off procession after a P-plater allegedly lost control of their car and drove it into the crowd that had gathered to farewell them on Saturday. Police have since arrested and charged the driver, with 4 people still in hospital as of this morning.

Days, Weeks, months and years

Australia’s oldest man, Ken Weeks, has just celebrated his 113th birthday. Weeks is the world’s second-oldest man according to official records - and weirdly enough, he has the same birthday as the world’s oldest man. Both Weeks and 114yo João Marinho Neto were born on 5 October, and this year they sent each other a birthday message to say congrats for their shared longevity. Weeks lives in Whiddon Residential Care in NSW - and although he has trouble speaking these days, he keeps busy exercising and following the news (Ken, if you’re reading this, happy birthday…). Also, in the process of reading about this story, we discovered the website LongeviQuest - which tracks the oldest living people in the world. There really is a website for everything…

Apropos of Nothing

A group of 6 Aussie runners have completed an ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra marathon - they’ve run a relay all the way from Cottesloe Beach in Western Oz to Bondi Beach in NSW to raise awareness about domestic violence. That’s a cross-country run, alright…

The cockatoo has beaten the kangaroo, koala and bin chicken to become the emblem of the 2032 Brissy Olympics and Paralympics, which have been in the news a bit after the design got leaked on Friday night. It was officially launched yesterday, and if you want to check it out, along with all that came before it, you can have a stickybeak here.

The new Tom Cruise film Digger is on track to become one of the biggest box office bombs ever - it reportedly cost over $200 million to make, and in its opening weekend it made about $12 million in the US. Making a profit from there seems like mission impossible…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEDT) - Next public hearing for the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer Jason Kwon is scheduled to appear - Sydney 

9.00am (AEST) - The trophy for the Women’s Softball World Cup is set to be revealed. The tournament will be held in Queensland in April next year - Brisbane

10.00am (AEDT) - Fifth and final complainant due to give evidence in Alan Jones's trial on indecent assault and sexual touching - Sydney 

9.00am (AWST) - The Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition begins, Australia’s largest land-based defence industry exhibition (until 8 October) - Perth 

5.00pm (AEDT) - First leaders’ debate for the upcoming New Zealand election, between current PM Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins 

8.45pm (AEDT) - Nobel Prize in Physics announced - Stockholm, watch the livestream on YouTube

School goes back in Queensland for Term 4

World Cerebral Palsy Day

Anniversary of:

• the opening of the Moulin Rouge in Paris (1889)

• inventor Thomas Edison showing his first motion picture (1889)

• the High Court of Australia sitting for the first time (1903)

• the launch of Instagram (2010)

Housekeeping

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