Tuesday, 8 October - I go ahead and smile

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 8 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Marking the 7 October terror attacks

• Melania releases her memoir

• And what makes dolphins smile…🐬

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said cyclist Lachlan Morton after completing a 14,200km lap of Australia in record time - 30 days, 9 hours and 59 minutes - on Saturday. He can ease the muscle stiffness by reminding himself it was for a good cause…

Marking a grim milestone

The Squiz

People across the world have stopped to remember the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel and to protest the nation’s response in Gaza and Lebanon. In Israel, hundreds of people gathered at the site of the Nova festival where nearly 400 young people were killed, and at a Kibbutz Nir Oz, where one in 4 residents was killed or abducted by Hamas. Pro-Palestinian protesters were also out in numbers around the world… Those events have not slowed down the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah - that continues to escalate with some of the heaviest bombardments seen so far. Adding to the tensions, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says that “everything is on the table” as they weigh up a response to last week’s Iranian missile strike.

So things didn’t ease up for the anniversary? 

Nope, but there has been a lot said about what’s gone down in the year since Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry estimates that Israel’s retaliation via airstrikes and sending troops into Gaza have killed nearly 42,000, including nearly 17,000 children. And on Israel’s northern border, 2,000 Lebanese people have been killed in Israeli clashes with another Iran-backed group Hezbollah. In addition to those killed in Israel on 7 October last year, about 350 Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting. Now, Iran is involved, and the conflict is growing into what the US and its other Western allies have been hoping to avoid: a broader Middle East war.

And what’s happening here in Australia?

About 12,000 showed their support for our Jewish communities in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra yesterday with candlelit vigils, while pro-Palestinian supporters held silent rallies after thousands of protesters marched in major cities on Sunday. PM Anthony Albanese said the anniversary “carries terrible pain” for Jews and is a time to “reflect on the horrific terrorist atrocity that reverberated around the globe”. And when it comes to getting Aussie citizens who want to leave Lebanon out safely, the promised assistance flights for those who have made it from Lebanon to Cyprus have started up. The first Qantas 787 Dreamliner carrying about 350 people touched down in Sydney last night with those on board thanking the government for the help. "I never knew the importance of having this passport until today," said one passenger Dana Hamieh. Another flight is due back in Sydney tonight.

Working towards gender equality

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Squiz the Rest

Back to the grind

Parliament is back today for a quick 3-day-sprint, and the Albanese Government is putting its Help to Buy scheme back on the agenda. Housing Minister Clare O’Neil says it’ll make the “great Australian dream” of homeownership possible for lower-paid workers. But quicker than you can say ‘potential double dissolution trigger’, the Greens say heaps of childcare workers, nurses and paramedics earn more than the eligibility threshold, so they “would not qualify”. Also keep an eye out for former Labor Senator Fatima Payman - she is set to launch her own political party because she says voters are "tired of the 2 major parties politicking”. And there’s speculation in Victoria that Liberal leader John Pesutto will be out by Christmas as his former colleague Moira Deeming’s defamation trial against him takes its toll. Never a dull moment…

Raising her voice

The world hasn’t seen a lot of Melania Trump in recent times, but that’s changed with the former First Lady’s memoir Melania due out today. She’s given a rare interview saying she’s always believed in women’s bodily autonomy and “I don’t want government in my personal business”. That’s notable because it reveals she has a very different view on abortion to her husband Donald… The 54yo also says “bullying” caused their 18yo son Barron “irreparable damage” after comedian Rosie O’Donnell claimed he was autistic. Analysts aren’t sure if/how the book will affect the election, but reports say the Trump campaign is worried about Thursday’s cinema release of The Apprentice - a biopic about the former President’s rise in New York real estate. Also on a media blitz is Veep Kamala Harris, who has popped up on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast. Only 27 days to go…

No money, mo problems

If the simple act of buying groceries is causing you stress, there could be a good reason... Compare the Market’s Household Budget Barometer 2024 surveyed 3,000 Aussies and found everyday expenses are sending us “spiralling”. Mortgage repayments, energy bills and rent are also a big burden, but there’s been a 33% rise in our food spending in just 6 months, partly down to more cooking at home/less eating out. And with reports showing Aussies paying more for staples like Vegemite and TimTams than shoppers in the UK, it could explain why 47% of us feel financial stress at least once a week and about 20% of us are eating into our savings. Compare the Market’s economic director David Koch (yes, that one…) says most Aussies “aren’t overstretching or living beyond their means, they are just trying to get by, but it’s the rising cost of essential items that is killing them.”

The Panthers are on the prowl

A celebratory one, that is… Penrith was still making merry yesterday after winning Sunday’s NRL Grand Final 14-6 against the Melbourne Storm - and fair enough, after snagging a historic 4 flags in a row… Also sweet was a moment from Penrith skipper Nathan Cleary’s girlfriend, Matildas star Mary Fowler. Based in the UK where she plays for Manchester City, she watched Cleary’s game from afar but paid tribute to him online afterwards. Co-captain Isaah Yeo has also had a good couple of days - he’s been named to lead the Kangaroos side in the Pacific Championships this month. As for the NRLW Grand Final, the Sydney Roosters beat the Cronulla Sharks 32-28 on Sunday. The Roosters pulled off a huge second-half comeback - so they really have something to crow about…

Waves of laughter

The sea is a happy place for many - and now new research suggests that dolphins smile at each other when they’re playing under the waves. Experts from Italy and France made the discovery after studying 11 dolphins playing with their peers, human trainers and alone. They found they gave big toothy grins to their underwater mates 92% of the time - but rarely made the open-mouthed expression when they were with humans or solo. The researchers reckon big grins help avoid miscommunications and fights, but not everyone is convinced… Professor Heather Hill reckons it could just be the dolphins saying “hey, we’re on the same page” rather than any expression of joy. We’re no marine biologists, but we much prefer the smiling explanation…

Apropos of Nothing

Things are moving at a snail’s pace on the building of a new footpath in the rural Queensland town of Theodore after the discovery of the extremely rare boggomoss snail. The project is now at a standstill while local authorities try to work it out… 

And speaking of being patient, botanists in Jerusalem have resurrected a long-lost tree species using a 1,000yo seed found in a cave in the Judean Desert in the 80s. Researchers reckon the previously extinct plant could be a ‘tsori’, which was mentioned in the Bible and other ancient texts…

Even Hollywood A-listers can't get out of a parking ticket in the UK town of Chester, where traffic wardens slapped several fines on prop vehicles after producers on Daniel Day Lewis’s new film Anemone couldn’t get a road closed for the shoot. And to think he came out of retirement for this…

Squiz the Day

10.30am (AEDT) - Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Nicole Higgins will speak about the findings of the 2024 Health of the Nation report - Canberra

10.30am (AEDT) - Men’s Cricket: The Sheffield Shield begins with NSW v SA - Sydney, and watch on Kayo

12.00pm (AWST) - The World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit kicks off (until 10 October) - Perth

12.30pm (AEDT) - General Tom Middendorp, former Netherlands Chief of Defence, will Address the National Press Club on "Climate change: a matter of national security" - Canberra

6.00pm (AEDT) - East Timor President José Ramos-Horta will peak at the Sydney Opera House about the importance and fragility of independence and what Australia can learn from East Timor's ongoing fight for autonomy - Sydney

8.45pm (AEDT) - The 2024 Physics Nobel Prize will be announced - Stockholm, Sweden

Both houses sitting (until 10 October)

Senate reports into foreign university student caps, the economic value of vaccines, and the child support system are to be released

Melania Trump's memoir Melania is set to be published

Independence day in Croatia

Ada Lovelace Day, aimed at increasing the profile of women in STEM

International Lesbian Day

🐙 World Octopus Day

Face Your Fears Day 

Birthdays for Paul Hogan (1939), Matt Damon (1970) and Bruno Mars (1980)

Anniversary of:

• America's deadliest wildfire that claimed more than 1,200 lives in Peshtigo, Wisconsin (1871)

• the Second Opium War beginning that pitted the British and French Empires against the Qing dynasty of China (1856)

• the patenting of the microwave oven (1945)

• the release of John Lennon's mega-hit Imagine (1971)

Wednesday
1.00am (AEST) - ICC Women’s T20 World Cup: Australia v New Zealand - UAE, and watch on Prime