Wednesday, 25 March - The search is over

March 25, 2026

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 25 March. In your Squiz Today…

  • Pakistan puts its hand up to host peace talks between Iran and the US

  • Vale Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling

  • And the case of the not-so-missing trophy…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat.”

Said Sarah Lépine, the daughter of Air Canada flight attendant Solange Tremblay, who remarkably survived the runway crash at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Monday. A reminder, if one were needed, to always do up your seatbelt…

A possible negotiation location

The Squiz

After US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that peace talks were underway to end the Iran war, we now may have a location for an in-person meeting… Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif says his country is ready to “facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks” to end the conflict. Reports say Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, is the likely spot, with US Vice-President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff likely to lead the American side, and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf tipped to represent the Iranian delegation.

Why Pakistan?

A few reasons - it shares its western border and cultural ties with Iran, but also has strong diplomatic ties with the current US administration (Trump has called Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir his “favourite field marshal”). Plus, like a lot of countries, it’s been smashed by the resulting oil crisis so it has an incentive to bring the war to an end. But whether Iran turns up to any negotiation is another question entirely -  firstly, Ghalibaf himself denied on Monday that talks were happening - he said Trump was just trying to calm the markets and lower oil prices. Secondly, the fighting isn’t slowing down - an Iranian missile hit the Israeli city of Tel Aviv yesterday, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to keep striking both Iran and Lebanon in response.

What’s happening in Lebanon?

Over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel in solidarity with the Iranian regime. Overnight, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israeli troops are planning to take control of part of southern Lebanon by setting up a “security zone”. He said the zone would protect northern Israel from Hezbollah strikes - and claimed Lebanon’s government has “done nothing” to disarm the group - but Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun says the action is a “policy of collective punishment against civilians.” Katz says those displaced by the fighting in the region will not be allowed to come back until northern Israel is secure - that’s over one million people at last count, in a situation the UN says is becoming a major humanitarian crisis.

AI accountability gap

AI is already part of everyday life - new research shows 58% of Australians are using it, but many think it’s advancing too quickly. Digital platforms don’t operate under the same clear obligations as other major industries - like banks and telcos - making it harder to address harm when it occurs. But closing that gap isn’t about slowing innovation; it’s about ensuring the rules keep pace so people are protected. Minderoo Foundation is exploring practical ways to strengthen accountability and ensure safeguards evolve alongside the technology. You can learn more here.

Squiz the Rest

Finally shaking hands on a trade deal

This is a free trade agreement between Oz and the European Union which has been 8 years in the making. You can read more about it here, but broadly, it’ll eliminate tariffs on exports on things like wine and seafood, while making European cars, clothes and food cheaper for Oz consumers. And while it will allow our wine producers to keep using the term prosecco domestically - a key sticking point in the deal getting done - they’ll have to phase out the term in international markets over the next 10 years. The deal is worth $10 billion per year to Oz, but not everyone’s happy with it - farming groups have called it our “worst ever free trade agreement”, claiming for them, it’s no different to a deal that was rejected in 2023. Their particular beef is around, well, beef…

Reporting a pay fail

There are some major industrial relations blow-ups going on in the public sector at the moment… We’ll start with 30,000 teachers in Victoria, who downed their markers yesterday for 24 hours, causing 500 schools to run on skeleton staff. They’re asking for a 35% pay increase over 4 years, claiming they’re being paid well below their peers in other states. Speaking of which, teachers in Tasmania are also striking this week over pay… And the ABC’s flagship shows like 7.30 and AM will be replaced by the BBC World Service when staff walk off the job from 11am for the first time in 20 years today… Pay negotiations broke down on Sunday, and boss Hugh Marks has called on the Fair Work Commission to intervene, so we’re likely to hear more about that…

Also not making the grade…

…are popular AI companion chatbots when it comes to protecting Aussie kids, according to a new report from the eSafety Commissioner. If you haven’t heard of these, they act like virtual pals, giving emotional support, friendship, or even romantic affection through natural-sounding exchanges. The report looked at 4 services: Character.AI, Nomi, Chai and Chub AI and found they’re falling short in areas like age checks and protecting kids from sexually explicit or child abuse content. New laws in Oz require stronger safeguards, and some apps have taken steps to catch up, but eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says while these chatbots are increasingly popular with kids, they're “dodgy by design” and not meant for them.
*Online safety for kids is a big part of our Squiz Kids Newshounds program. Find out more about that here… 

Vale Mel Schilling

The relationship expert and psychologist who became well-known for her roles on the Oz and UK versions of Married at First Sight has died at 54yo. Schilling joined the show in its second season, acting as a relationship/dating coach before stepping down last month due to health challenges. In December 2023, she was diagnosed with colon cancer - and last night her husband Gareth Brisbane announced that she “passed away peacefully, surrounded by love.” Her longtime colleague on the MAFS couch, John Aiken, has paid tribute to her this morning, remembering how the duo used to “sing, dance, face time her daughter and eat lollies” before going on set. She’s survived by Brisbane and her daughter Maddie.

Let’s not worry Sherlock Holmes with this one

A long-running mystery involving a missing German sports trophy has come to a slightly embarrassing ending - after the team found it in their own basement. For 4 months, the German men’s handball team Fuechse Berlin (handball as in the Olympic sport, not the Kevin Rudd playground one) has been putting out the call for some help finding one of its trophies - a big silver dish worth thousands of dollars. Turns out, it was right beneath its feet - but the club says it’s not a stuff-up, and is claiming that thieves did steal the trophy initially and hid it in the basement, before deciding not to retrieve it once the media cottoned on to the story. Unfortunately, the team still won’t get to put it in its trophy cabinet - the cops have taken it for evidence. When it rains, it pours…

Apropos of Nothing

Samba the capybara has led authorities on a merry dance this week after escaping a UK zoo and being spotted by a dog-walker along a river. It found its way out of Winchester's Marwell Zoo just one day after arriving, so it clearly wasn’t a fan… 

The live-action Moana trailer was released yesterday morning, featuring young Aussie star Catherine Laga'aia. She’s playing the titular Moana, with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson returning as Maui, and he’s donning a very elaborate wig…

And today is the first day of the Melbourne Comedy Festival - so to celebrate, why not check out 2 of the performers, Tilly Oddy-Black and Will Gibb, on our recent episode of the Squiz Quiz. It’s a lot of fun… 

Squiz the Day

9.00am (ACST) - Day one of the Refugee Communities Association of Australia National Conference (until 26 March) - Adelaide

11.00am (AEDT) - ABC staff are set to strike for 24 hours

12.30pm (AEDT) - Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Tim Ayres will address the National Press Club on ‘Smarter, Stronger, Safer: A Future Made in Australia backed by R&D’ - Canberra

ABS data release: Australian National Accounts: input-output tables, 2023-2024 financial year; engineering construction activity, December 2025; consumer price index, February 2026; crime victimisation, 2024-2025 financial year

Melbourne International Comedy Festival begins (until 19 April) - Melbourne 

🌸 Melbourne Flower Show begins (until 29 March) 

Independence Day - Greece

Freedom Day - Belarus

World Maths Day

Birthdays for journalist Gloria Steinem (1934), singer Elton John (1947), and actor Sarah Jessica Parker (1965)

Anniversary of:

  • the first Easter, according to calendar maker Dionysius Exiguus (31)

  • the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire (1807)

  • the birthday of singer Aretha Franklin (1942)

  • the debut of The Bachelor in the US (2002)

  • Labor winning the NSW State election, putting an end to 12 years of Coalition rule (2023)