Wednesday, 2 October - Baby got back

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 2 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Iran strikes back against Israel

• Vance and Walz square off in the battle of the Veeps

• And a fierce start to Fat Bear Week… 🐻

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Holly Hennessy, one of the 650 passengers excited to finally set sail on a 3.5 year 'perpetual' cruise onboard the Villa Vie Odyssey after a 4-month delay. With cabins costing up to $635,000, you’d want to really get along with the other 649 ‘residents’...

Iran strikes back

The Squiz

The crisis in the Middle East has stepped up a notch with Iran firing 200 missiles at Israeli cities overnight in what it says is retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah, Hamas and its Revolutionary Guard leaders. It’s Iran’s largest-scale attack ever against Israel, but no casualties have been reported with Israel’s Iron Dome defence system holding up. The strikes on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa came after Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon yesterday in what they called a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation. Israeli citizens were warned to move to shelter as sirens rang out during the hour-long raid. Reports say the US was warned about the attack - a White House spokesman says that a “direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran”.

How did we get here?

There have been decades of tensions, but let’s start this chapter a day after the 7 October attacks… Hezbollah began firing on Israel’s north from Lebanon in support of Hamas, prompting Israel to evacuate 60,000 of its citizens from the region. Last month, Israel made it clear they want those people to return to their homes, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said only “military action” could make that possible. So the IDF says Operation Northern Arrows will focus on Hezbollah targets that pose "an immediate threat" to communities in northern Israel, and troops will be supported by ongoing "precise” airstrikes. As for Iran, it backs the terror groups and has also been involved in a years-long shadow war with Israel. And this isn’t the first time Iran has been directly involved - a large drone attack on Israel was launched in April, with most being intercepted. 

So is this the start of an all-out war?

Well, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that "Iran is not a war-monger but will firmly stand against any threat". He says the attack is based on Iran's "legitimate rights" with the purpose of "peace and security for Iran and the region" and a "decisive" response "in defence of Iranian interests and citizens". That means there are questions about whether that’s it or if there’s more to come. As for Israel’s ground troops in Lebanon, that’s a wait-and-see too. There’s a theory that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s real objective is to get more negotiating power when the time for a ceasefire comes, but others say this could be the start of something bigger with Israel taking advantage of Hezbollah’s significantly weakened position after last week’s attacks on its leaders and members. To be continued… 

Squiz the Rest

The number 2s take the main stage

No, not those sort of number 2s - eww…. This morning’s one and only vice presidential debate of the US election could be the last time we see any live action pitting any of the candidates against each other before election day on 5 November. And Democrat Tim Walz, the 60yo Minnesota Governor, and Republican JD Vance, the 40yo Senator from Ohio, have some work to do… The second stringers are not usually a factor in swaying votes, but these are unusual times so there’s significant interest in this one. Held in a Manhattan studio with no audience, it will be hosted by CBS News with Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan playing referee - and the fact-checking will be left to the candidates themselves. The staging of another debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is increasingly unlikely, so debate fiends will need to make do with this to get their 2024 campaign fix… 

The ABC of sorry

The national broadcaster has completed its good hard look at itself with a review led by Indigenous lawyer Terri Janke revealing some uncomfortable truths about racism. Sparked by several high-profile departures (including Stan Grant) and involving 120 participants, the Listen Loudly, Act Strongly report says all but one said they’d experienced racism at work including offensive comments, exclusion from events, and staff being overlooked for opportunities. Outgoing boss David Anderson apologised to current and former staff and accepted the review's recommendations in principle, covering better responses to external attacks on staff and a pay audit of all Indigenous and culturally/linguistically diverse staff. It’s not the only media organisation going through some form of self-examination - Nine will receive a report on their internal troubles at the end of the month. 

Going down down

Could Australia's soaring home prices be taking a breather? Looking at what happened in September, prices have dipped in 4 capital cities and rents are rising at their slowest pace in 4 years. Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, and Darwin are the capitals that are seeing prices fall, while Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Sydney are still on the up. Sydney remains the priciest city, with median home prices up a whopping 29.2% since Covid hit in March 2020. But the overall growth in prices has slowed down a lot over the last year, with some sellers now pretty keen to offload their properties thanks to lingering high interest rates. So, while there are some signs the crisis might be easing, it's all a bit watch this space...

Making a fossil of an old fuel

The UK's last coal power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, has shut up shop, marking the end of the nation’s 142-year relationship with the fossil fuel that powered the industrial revolution, changing the world. "It's a really remarkable day," said Lord Deben, the UK’s longest-serving Environment Secretary. But while the UK is waving goodbye to coal, other parts of the world are still very much in the coal game, including here in Australia. Our power supply is reliant on coal-fired generation, which is the biggest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions. "We haven’t been building renewable energy fast enough,” said Dylan McConnell, an energy expert at NSW Uni. But before you gallop off thinking the UK has switched to 100% renewable energy - it has not… About 40% of their electricity is generated by gas, and 15% is from nuclear power plants. 

A fierce start to a favourite competition… 

By the time we get up tomorrow morning, we’ll be able to vote in the most glorious of all the tournaments, Fat Bear Week. But in a rather grizzly turn of events, a fatal brawl leading to a delay in the big reveal of how the week’s voting will be run has shaken things up. Regular Fat Bear Week competitor 402 was killed by a boy named Patches on the Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve on Monday. It was caught on a livestreaming camera and viewed by the public, requiring rangers to explain that while it’s cool they are celebrated for their “full stomachs and ample body fat”, the “ferocity of bears is real”. It’s the second blow to the event after longtime favourite Otis didn’t show up this year - the old boy who was thought to be in his late 20s has also likely perished. The show must go on…

Apropos of Nothing - Welcome arrivals edition

Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting a second baby - a sibling for their daughter 3yo Sienna and Wolfie, Mozzi’s 8yo son from a previous relationship. The newest Royal will be 11th in line for the throne but won’t have any titles - apart from cutie.

Astronauts Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov got an intergalactically warm welcome when their SpaceX Dragon capsule docked on the International Space Station yesterday. That could be because they’re there to rescue their stranded counterparts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams…

And a four-legged runner named Joshua has nabbed the limelight at a half marathon in Canada’s Newfoundland. The 68kg goat broke free from his pumpkin patch, and while he may not have logged a fast time or travelled the full distance, a medal was awarded for his arrival nonetheless because in this day and age every kid gets a prize…

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) - Australia’s chef de mission for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be announced - Melbourne

11.00am (AEST) - US Vice-Presidential face-off between JD Vance and Tim Walz - New York and broadcast live on CBS

12.30pm (AEST) - National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollands will address the National Press Club on Australian child justice, safety and wellbeing - Canberra

6.30pm (AEST) - NRL’s night of nights, the Dally M Awards for the best players of the year, are on - Sydney

Start of the 2024 Aboriginal Enterprises in Mining, Energy and Exploration (AMEE) annual conference - Fremantle, WA 

🐻 Start of Fat Bear Week (until 8 October)

Start of the National Pickleball Championships (until 7 October) - Sydney

Start of Jewish New Year begins in the evening

International Day of Non-Violence 

Audiophile Day 

Birthdays for Don McLean (1945), Annie Leibovitz (1949), and Sting (1951) 

Anniversary of:

• Rome becoming Italy's capital after the country's unification (1870)

• the publication of Beatrix Potter's children's classic The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

• the first comic strip featuring Charlie Brown which would later become Peanuts (1950)

• the Warsaw Uprising by Polish resistance fighters which saw some 250,000 people killed (1944)

• the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi (2018)