Wednesday, 15 October - Make a dragon wanna retire

October 15, 2025

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 15 October. In your Squiz Today…

  • Questions over what comes next for the Gaza ceasefire

  • The PM’s and Coalition leader’s mobile numbers (and loads of others) have been leaked online

  • And West Oz sizzles… 🫠

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"The experts are draining a coupla litres of lung fluid into a goon bag for me. Then it's party time again.” 

Said Dave Hughes, who is back in hospital this week still dealing with the aftereffects of a battering he received during a charity Aussie Rules match in August. Hughesy says he’s fine, but you can’t say he hasn’t sacrificed a lot for charity…

Turning a page in Gaza

The Squiz

As the dust settles on Monday’s hostage/prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, attention is turning to what will happen during the next phases of the ceasefire in Gaza. Along with that exchange, the first phase has seen the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and more critically-needed humanitarian aid flowing into the strip. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump and Arab leaders signed what’s been called a “historic” agreement supporting the ceasefire and the need for a permanent end to the war. But details of what they signed on to are yet to be made public - and the truce is already on shaky ground…

So what do we know?

There are still some big questions to be answered around the future of Hamas in Gaza, and who will govern the Palestinian territory. Analysts say they're big sticking points, that could derail the ceasefire… And overnight, things got wobbly, with Israel halving the number of aid trucks coming into southern Gaza until Hamas releases the bodies of more hostages, while reports say Hamas is baulking at the condition in Trump's peace plan that it disarm… It’s worth noting that Trump invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to the summit in Egypt. Netanyahu declined due to the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, but Abbas went and met with Trump. That’s significant because it was only last month that the US denied him a visa, preventing him from being at the UN when a number of Western nations - including Oz - backed Palestinian statehood for the first time.

What does that mean?

It’s too early to say, but Netanyahu is firmly against recognising a Palestinian state and says there’s no future role for the Palestinian Authority, which already partially governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Trump - who Netanyahu described this week as Israel’s “greatest friend” - has so far followed that lead in not endorsing Palestinian statehood, but his peace plan does include it as a possibility… Asked about that yesterday, the President said his priority right now is “rebuilding Gaza” - and with the UN estimating that 92% of residential buildings have been destroyed, that'll be a huge effort. And complicating things,  Hamas is starting to deploy fighters across Gaza in what reports say could be an attempt at reasserting its authority - a move that won’t go down well with the US or Israel…

Keeping little ones cool this summer

Those with little ones (or shopping for them) know the drill - summer heat plus kids equals constant outfit changes and cranky wake ups. Love to Dream's new bamboo range tackles both. The fabric is clever - it stretches with every move, making the what-time-is-it nappy changes less of a wrestling match, and the bamboo in it helps with sweaty backs for a better sleep all round. The range covers everything from bodysuits to PJs, and they've built them to survive your washing machine's heavy rotation. Worth bookmarking for baby shower gifts too... Check the collection out here.

Squiz the Rest

An island in chaos

It’s been a dramatic week in the African nation of Madagascar, as the country’s military announced overnight that it has temporarily taken control of the government. The takeover follows weeks of protests led by students angry over constant power and water cuts, government corruption and high poverty rates. After an elite military unit joined those protests, Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina escaped the country to an unknown location - he says he had to leave to protect his own life. Despite the protestors calling for Rajoelina to resign - and a vote to impeach him in the nation's parliament - he's still refusing to step down. But the military is moving ahead regardless. A spokesman says plans are underway to appoint a new civilian government in the coming days, likely bringing an end to Rajoelina's time in charge. 

New number, who dis?

… Is what PM Anthony Albanese and Coalition Leader Sussan Ley might be uttering over the coming weeks after their personal mobile numbers were published online. They're not the only ones… A US-based website, which reportedly uses artificial intelligence to scrape the internet for personal information has shared millions of high-profile individuals' numbers/email addresses, including those of President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. The story was broken here in Oz by Ette Media, after its co-founder, Antoinette Lattouf, also had her number published. Albanese hasn’t commented on it, but Deputy PM Richard Marles says the government’s aware of the site, and authorities are investigating. A spokesperson for Ley called it “concerning” and said they’ve asked for her number to be removed.

A childcare change

Two execs at major childcare operator Affinity Education resigned from their roles yesterday, after months of pressure over its standards. The company runs around 250 childcare centres in Australia and is one of the former workplaces of Joshua Dale Brown, who was arrested back in July and charged with over 70 offences. None of those offences is alleged to have occurred at Affinity centres, but there have been subsequent reports of poor record-keeping (meaning Brown’s work history wasn't released in a timely manner) and other reports of poor workplace culture and conditions. The company's Chief Executive Tim Hickey and Chief Operating Officer Nishad Alani have both left, but no specific reason for their exit has been given. The new CEO is Glen Hurley, who was previously its senior quality and compliance adviser, and has a big reputational recovery job on his hands…  

It’s really hot in West Oz…

…with temperatures getting up to 43.5 degrees in the Pilbara station of Mardie on Monday, which meant it took the trophy for the hottest place on Earth. Fitzroy Crossing and Onslow weren’t far behind, both cracking 43 degrees as well - in fact, the top 5 hottest places in the world on Monday were all in the west. Those numbers come from the website El Dorado Weather, which tracks this sort of thing, but while it sounds like heatwave territory, it's not quite there yet. Meteorologists say to qualify as a heatwave the temperature needs to be in the top 5% of all temps recorded year-round - day and night - for 3 days on the trot. That may well happen as summer approaches - back in 2022, Onslow broke the Oz temperature record with a sweltering 50.7 degrees, so it’s been here before… 

Keep calm and carry on fewer bags…

…if you’re flying Virgin Australia in the future, that is. It’s already added pets to certain flights (that trial starts tomorrow, btw…) and now the airline has changed its rules around carry-on luggage, so customers will be able to bring more weight on board - but not as many bags. As it stands, standard economy passengers can bring 2 items with a total weight of 7kg, and another personal item (like a laptop). But Virgin is changing things up. You can now only bring one bag, but with an 8kg limit, so use that extra kilo wisely… Virgin says its customers called for this change, and the airline says it'll fix the problem of having to put your carry-on luggage in the overhead locker several miles away if you can't find room at your own seat. So keep that in mind if you've got a Virgin flight booked after 2 February 2026, when the change takes effect.

Apropos of Nothing

A men’s FIFA World Cup qualifier between Wales and Belgium had to take a brief pause after a rat came on as an unexpected (and unwanted) substitute. Belgium ended up winning 4-2, with the rat failing to score… 

Here’s a good summary from The Conversation on 2 separate books that have just been published about the Erin Patterson trial, The Mushroom Murders and Recipe for Murder. In case you’re picking between them - or planning on buying both… 

Some South Oz bird experts have made an unexpected find - recording the call of the rarely-heard Powerful owl, which is Australia’s largest owl. They’ve included it in a relaxing sound bath of the local birdlife, which you can listen to here…

Squiz the Day

8.30am (AEDT) - The Australian Information Security Association will host CyberCon, the largest cyber security conference in the southern hemisphere (until Friday) - Melbourne

9.00am (AEDT) - The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters will hold its first hearing as part of the review into the 2025 federal election - Canberra 

9.30am (AEDT) - The High Court will deliver a ruling on far-right American speaker Candace Owens’ appeal to overturn her visa ban by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke - Canberra  

9.30am (AEST) - Commonwealth Bank will hold its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Brisbane Cricket Ground (which you might know better as the Gabba) - Brisbane

10.00am (AEDT) - It’s the last day of the AFL trade period, with clubs finalising deals to secure players for the competition’s 2026 season 

10.00am (AEDT) - Origin Energy’s AGM gets underway at The Shangri-La - Sydney

10.30am (AEDT) - Cricket: Round 2 of the Sheffield Shield begins with Victoria v NSW, Tasmania v Western Australia, and South Oz v Queensland - watch them all on Kayo

11.00am (AEDT) - Four of the 7 Australians who were arrested by Israeli forces aboard the Sumud Flotilla whilst seeking to break the humanitarian aid blockade in Gaza will speak at NSW Parliament - Sydney

11.30am (AEDT) - Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Industry & Defence Network, Mike Johnson, will address the National Press Club on ‘Building Australia’s Self-Reliant Industrial and Defence Base by 2035’ - Canberra

12.00pm (AEDT) - Soccer: Australia v USA in a men's international friendly at Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Denver, US, watch on Paramount+

Japan’s parliament will vote for its next PM, with the new leader of ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, expected to be the first female PM - Tokyo, Japan… If you’d like to know more about Sanae Takaichi, check out our Squiz Who series on Instagram

ABS data releases: Births, 2024, Building Activity, June 2025; Microdata: Labour Force Status of Families, 2005-2025

Adelaide Film Festival begins (until 26 October)

Anniversary of:

  • the performance of the first major ballet, Ballet Comique de la Reine, in Paris (1581)

  • the birthdays of philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche (1844) and Michel Foucault (1926), and writer PG Wodehouse (1881)

  • the execution of Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari for spying for Germany during World War I (1917)

  • the premiere of the American sitcom I Love Lucy (1951)

  • the publication of EB White's children’s book, Charlotte's Web (1952)

  • the ‘Balloon Boy’ fake news story (2009)