Wednesday, 14 May - I can buy myself flowers

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 14 May. In your Squiz Today…

• The UN finds Russia responsible for the downing of flight MH17

• The Liberals get a new Ley-der

• And keeping it under wraps at Cannes…

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Squiz Sayings

Said actor and longtime Jackman frenemy Ryan Reynolds when announcing that Wrexham FC, the Welsh football club he co-owns with actor Rob McElhenney will be coming our way for games against 3 A-League clubs in July. A Men at Work joke would have been overkill…

Holding Russia responsible

The Squiz

It’s been over a decade since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all of the 298 people, including 38 Australians, who were on board. The flight was hit by a Russian-made missile, yet Russia has always denied that it had anything to do with it. But this week, the United Nations’ aviation agency officially said otherwise - it found that Russia’s responsibility for the tragedy was “well founded in fact and law”.  

Remind me what happened… 

On 17 July 2014, the Boeing 777 was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 196 people from the Netherlands aboard, as well as passengers from Australia, the UK, Belgium and Malaysia. It was flying over eastern Ukraine during fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia rebels when it was shot down. Russia placed the blame on the Ukrainian forces, but the Oz and Dutch governments have never accepted that - you may remember then-PM Tony Abbott saying he was going to “shirtfront” Russian President Vladimir Putin over it at the time - and in 2022, the 2 governments brought the case to the UN’s Council for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for investigation - that led to this week’s decision.

What comes after the decision?

The Australian and Dutch governments want Russia to apologise and pay compensation. It’s now up to the ICAO to work out what that compensation will be, or at least to order Russia to start negotiations on damages with the Australian and Dutch governments. It will make that call in the coming weeks, and Aussie Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged the ICAO to move quickly on that and called on Russia to “finally face up to responsibility for this horrific act”. Meryn O’Brien, the mother of 25yo victim Jack O’Brien, yesterday said “it was not a surprise” to learn about the ruling, but that “it is still meaningful, because it’s another avenue for the international community to put out there again that Russia is responsible for this ... So it means a lot for us”.

Squiz the Rest

The Liberals get a new Ley-der 

Sussan Ley has been elected as the first female leader in the Liberal Party’s 80-year history, winning a tight leadership contest with Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor 29-25 yesterday morning. Ley is a former pilot who also worked at the Australian Tax Office before heading into politics - she’s held the rural NSW seat of Farrer since 2001 and, as Peter Dutton’s deputy, had been the acting leader since he lost his seat on election night. Speaking after the contest with new deputy Ted O’Brien, she stressed the need for a “fresh approach” after the party’s defeat. She said she wants to grow its appeal to women, and rejected claims she’d inherited a “glass cliff”. Fun fact: Ley once dressed up as Tina Turner in parliament for charity - we'll see if she was simply the best choice for leader… 

Making moves in the Middle East

US President Donald Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia yesterday - the first stop on a 3-day Middle East tour. Aside from discussing the war in Gaza with the region’s leaders, reports say it’s part of his plan to improve US relations with wealthy, oil-rich Gulf nations. He’s after deals in energy, defence, artificial intelligence and aviation - and he kicked things off by securing a $900 billion commitment by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to invest in the US, which includes a hefty defence deal. Next up, Trump will fly to Qatar, where all eyes will be on whether he accepts a gift of a US$400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar's royal family for use as Air Force One - aka the Presidential plane. There are strict rules around this, and Democrats aren’t happy, calling it a conflict of interest and a threat to national security.

Diddy’s trial gets underway

Hip-hop mogul Sean Combs - aka Diddy - has gone on trial in New York this week, facing several felony charges of racketeering, human trafficking and abuse. For context: The 55yo entertainment industry heavyweight has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple people dating back decades. Three women will testify against him, including his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who began her evidence overnight. You might remember this all began in 2023 when Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of sexual and physical abuse during their decade together - and from there, the allegations started piling up. For his part, Combs has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing - and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The trial’s expected to last for 8 weeks, so buckle up…

A Test to find out the best

In about a month, the Aussie men’s cricket team will be taking on South Africa for the World Test Championship (if you need a steer, Tests are the ones where they all wear white and it can go for 5 days). Yesterday, the Aussies announced their 15-person squad for the game starting 11 June, and one name to note is WA all-rounder Cam Green, who has been injured since September last year, is back in the fold - as are 19yo opener Sam Konstas and captain Pat Cummins. And while we’re on all things willow, you might have seen that Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket this week after an incredible career - this tribute from former Aussie captain Greg Chappell is a good’un - he describes Kohli as “the most Australian non-Australian cricketer we’ve ever seen.” 

What you Cannes and can’t wear...

The respected French film festival started early this morning and the red carpet is always a highlight, but there’s a new rule this year: you can’t wear nothing. The festival has changed its fashion dos and don'ts to specify that "nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival", so bad luck to anyone planning a film screening sans attire... That also means it's no dice for any celebs who were planning to copy Bianca Censori, Kanye West's Aussie wife, who tested the limits of the word ‘sheer’ at this year’s Grammys. And it’s not just nudity that’s on the outs - dresses so big they get in the way of the other guests are banned as well. If you’re not into red carpets, here are some film-related things to look out for… 

Apropos of Nothing

Speaking of fashion trends, the latest accessory for kids/celebrities is a furry doll with pointy ears, a creepy grin and sharp teeth. Labubu dolls have been a hit in Asia for years, but they’ve recently been seen on the handbags of stars like Rihanna and Blackpink’s Lisa, and now Aussies are lining up at 3am to nab one…

You’d be forgiven if you’re unfamiliar with a Japanese prayer scroll called the Hyakumantō Darani, but as one of the world’s oldest examples of printed text - it’s worth clocking. At more than 1,250 years old, it’s currently on display alongside other rare books at the State Library of Victoria. Time to scroll on down…

And we've covered finger fighting in Germany, but the sport of arm wrestling is also going - ahem - strong, particularly in Africa, where the World Armwrestling Federation (yep, it's a thing…) has 9 nations signed up as members. After debuting at last year's African Games, arm wrestlers are now trying to muscle their way into the Olympics. They reckon they’ll never fold…

Squiz the Day

5.00am (AEST) - Eurovision 2025 kicks off with the first semi-final - Basel, Switzerland, stream it on SBS On Demand

9.15am (ACST) - Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis is due to be sentenced for committing an act likely to cause harm in relation to the death of his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins, who died after being hit by the ute Dennis was driving following an argument - Adelaide 

10.30am (AEST) - Interim Matildas head coach Tom Sermanni will announce the team’s squad for the two-match international series against Argentina in Melbourne and Canberra - Melbourne

11.30am (AEST) - Co-Founder of Cheek Media Hannah Ferguson will speak at the National Press Club about how new media will shape the future of Australian politics - Canberra

7.30pm (AEST) - Boxing: Sam Goodman v Cesar Vacar, and Harry Garside v Charlie Bell - Sydney, and watch on Kayo

PM Anthony Albanese will head to Indonesia to meet with the country’s President Prabowo Subianto

🐶 Sports brand ASICS are set to launch their research into the positive impact of dogs on mental health

Birthdays for filmmakers George Lucas (1944) and Sofia Coppola (1971), actor Cate Blanchett (1969), and Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg (1984)

Anniversary of:

• British doctor Edward Jenner administering the first inoculation against smallpox, using cowpox pus (1796) #SquizShortcut

• the publication of Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) with its feminist first line: “Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself”.

• Queen Mary & King Frederik's wedding anniversary (2004)

• the deaths of actress Rita Hayworth (1987), musicians Frank Sinatra (1998) BB King (2015) and Grumpy Cat (2019)