Tuesday, 7 July - Our lips are sealed

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 7 July. In your Squiz Today…

• China conducts a missile test as Oz and Fiji sign a security deal

• The World Cup is getting real

• And here’s the spiel on Neil the seal…

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 6 minutes to read

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said pundit Wayne Rooney after England captain Harry Kane lost his voice following a thrilling win over Mexico - and sounded a bit Kermit the Frog in his post-match chat. Given the game wrapped up around 4am England time, he might not be the only one…

Posturing in the Pacific

The Squiz

Hours after Australia signed a major defence pact with Fiji, China carried out a long-range ballistic missile test in international waters in the South Pacific Ocean. Chinese media said the submarine-launched test carrying a dummy warhead was part of an annual military exercise and that it was done in accordance with international law - and that regional governments, including Oz, were briefed beforehand. That didn’t placate Defence Minister Richard Marles, who warned that “we are very concerned about any actions that undermine the stability, peace and security of the Pacific”. But he also said he didn’t think the test was in response to our alliance with Fiji. Still, it’s a rare event…

So it’s happened before?

Yep… The last time China fired a ballistic missile into our Pacific backyard was in September 2024 - a period of “stabilisation” in our relationship which took place against regional tensions over Taiwan and some push and pull over Pacific security agreements - which sounds kinda familiar... It was considered a flex by Beijing of their growing military power, and was strongly criticised by Oz and other regional leaders. Before then, we’re going back to 1980… Yesterday’s test was launched at 12.01pm Beijing time by the Chinese Navy, which said it struck its bullseye but it was “not directed at any specific country or target”. As we mentioned, it happened not long after PM Anthony Albanese inked a new defence treaty with Fiji, which raises our alliance to the highest level.

What’s in the pact?

The wording states that both countries “would act to meet the common danger” if another country were to attack - and analysts say the new agreement will be open to other Pacific nations with militaries to join, too. It’s widely seen as a win for the Albanese Government, which has muscled out China in several key deals with Pacific partners over recent months. We’ve signed treaties with Tuvalu, Nauru, PNG, and just last week, Vanuatu. There’s another in the works for Tonga, and the PM is in the Solomon Islands today for some whistle-stop negotiations there before racing back to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - and, capping off a busy week, there could be more trade deals in store there too…

It’s that time of year again…

School’s out for the winter break, and that means finding ways to distract, inform and entertain the little people in your life. Never fear... Squiz Kids has got your back. Tune in Monday to Thursday for a ‘Brain Teaser’. A riddle in the pod in the morning and the answer drops later that afternoon. Every Friday of the hols, it’s ‘Road Trip Quizzes’ - 10 questions for kids, 10 questions for adults… to see who’s smarter. On Saturdays, our ‘Squiz Kids Science Short’ will unravel great mysteries of the natural world. And then on Sundays, delve into the Squiz Kids archives ‘From The Vault’. Squiz Kids - available wherever you get your podcasts.

Squiz the Rest

Meta fronts the Royal Commission

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp’s owner was the first of the social media giants to face the national inquiry into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion yesterday. The company has been criticised for allowing more hate speech on its platforms, particularly after it announced a change from proactive to reactive enforcement early last year. Yesterday, the Royal Commission heard that led to a 79% drop in the removal of hateful content. Meta’s Global Head of Content Policy Benjamin Good defended the company’s approach, saying it tries to strike a balance between weeding out hate speech and overpolicing it. He also denied that Jewish advocacy groups had raised complaints that more antisemitic content was being shared on Meta’s platforms. The hearings continue today…  

It’s crunch time for Marine Le Pen

She’s the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party in the National Assembly. Today she’ll find out if she can run for the French Presidency in next year’s elections, which will decide Emmanuel Macron’s successor. Le Pen was barred from holding public office for 5 years in March 2025, after being found guilty of embezzling millions in European Parliament funds to pay her own party employees, instead of parliamentary assistants. She was also given a 4-year jail term, 2 suspended and 2 to be served at home with an electronic tag. Analysts say her anti-immigration party is doing well in the polls, and reckon today’s result could have huge implications for France’s future. We’re expecting a decision from the Paris appeals court around 9.30pm AEST.

Spinning around

The week didn’t get off to the best start for PM Anthony Albanese, who has apologised for agreeing that he’d hypothetically ‘shag’ Kylie Minogue while playing a game on a podcast. He appeared on Nikki Osborne’s Bush Deep show and was initially reluctant to play “shag, marry, date”, saying “I just got married,” before picking Kylie for all 3 options. The chat didn’t land well - the Coalition’s Sarah Henderson said “Australians deserve better”, while Community Strong MP Zali Steggall said he should have called it out as sexist and “lead by example.” As we mentioned earlier, Albanese is overseas, but his office released a statement apologising “unequivocally.”

A FIFA beef

It was a dramatic day in the World Cup yesterday, with 2 thrilling games and arguably the comp’s most controversial story so far… After US player Folarin Balogun received a red card in his team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was automatically banned from the next game in the tournament. But in a highly unusual decision, FIFA (the sport’s governing body) overturned the ban, allowing Balogun to play. And then it emerged that US President Donald Trump called FIFA asking for them to review the suspension - cue an uproar over political interference. The decision has been criticised by the European football association, many pundits, and the USA’s upcoming opponents, Belgium, who play them (Balogun included) at 10am AEST today, which could get spicy…

Signed sealed delivered

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Neil the 1,000kg elephant seal had returned to his Tassie birthplace and was up to his old antics of lolling around on the road/footpath/fences to the delight of his many fans. But conservationists reckon Neil’s celebrity is putting him and others at risk. Almost 30,000 people have signed a petition to restrict access around Neil’s habitats so tourists can’t get too close. The issue is that Neil’s still growing, and once he reaches adulthood, he could weigh up to 4,000kg - and he’s likely to get more territorial, so selfies are definitely out... There are fears he could pay the ultimate price if he hurts someone, but Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff says there are clear guidelines in place for Neil, and “we don’t need to legislate for common sense”.

Apropos of Nothing

It was more disappointment for Aussie tennis player Alex De Minaur at Wimbledon last night - the Demon was eliminated from the tournament by Italian Flavio Cobolli in straight sets. It means his search for his first Grand Slam semi-final continues…

We’re slowly getting more details of the T&T (AKA Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce) wedding, with the latest being that Paul McCartney performed I Want to Hold Your Hand for the first time in 60 years. It makes us feel happy inside… 

And Sicily’s Mount Etna has erupted again, sending a huge plume of volcanic ash into the sky over Italy’s south, and throwing the travel plans of thousands into chaos. It sure makes for some dramatic footage though… 

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) Football - FIFA World Cup Round of 16, USA v Belgium - watch on SBS or SBS On Demand

10.00am (AEST) National Indigenous Australians Agency co-chair Steven Satour will present an overview of NAIDOC Week

5.40pm (AEST) - Basketball: Women's international Australian Opals v China, Game One of a 2-game series - Melbourne, watch on 9Now 

NATO Summit (until 8 July) - Türkiye 

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett will address the UN Chiefs of Police Summit in New York

Solomon Islands National Day

World Kiswahili Language Day

🍫 World Chocolate Day

A birthday for Beatles drummer Ringo Starr (1940) and Basketball legend Lisa Leslie (1972)

Anniversary of:

• Missouri becoming the first place sliced bread is sold (1928)

• the death of Sherlock author Arthur Conan Doyle (1930)

• the beginning of construction of the Hoover Dam (1930)

• Sandra Day O’Connor being nominated as the first female US Supreme Court justice (1981)

• the first Three Tenors concert featuring Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti in Rome (1990)

• the US women’s national soccer team winning the World Cup for a record fourth time (2019)