Wednesday, 27 August - Baby just say yes

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 27 August. In your Squiz Today…

• Iran’s Ambassador has been punted as his nation is accused of orchestrating antisemetic attacks in Oz

• A manhunt in Victoria’s Alpine region after 2 police officers were killed yesterday

• And [squeal] Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting hitched… 💍

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Squiz Sayings

Said Victorian Nationals MP Jade Benham on the location of her vanilla slice tattoo . It's lucky it wasn't a croquembouche that she loves - you’d need a whole leg for that…

Not happy, Iran

The Squiz

The Albanese Government is kicking out the Iranian Ambassador and other diplomatic officials after the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation said the country’s government was behind at least 2 recent antisemitic attacks on Australian soil. ASIO chief Mike Burgess said the firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last year were both directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It’s the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.

Step it back a bit…

The attacks happened in October and December last year, and they destroyed the kitchen (which was established by Israeli immigrants) and the Jewish place of worship. Police have since charged several people in connection with both of those attacks, but ASIO yesterday said it was the IRGC that directed those people to carry them out. Burgess described a "painstaking operation" where the IRGC used a complex web of proxies - which he called "cut-outs" - for the attacks. ASIO's had Iran on its radar for a while… In its latest annual Threat Assessment, Burgess said it was a “hostile nation state” to watch. Note: ASIO said the Iranian diplomats had no involvement in those antisemitic attacks, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong said there was no option but to send them home.

What’s the response been?

Early this morning, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “accusing Iran of attacking such sites in Australia while we do our utmost to protect them in our own country makes zero sense”. But PM Anthony Albanese backed ASIO yesterday - he said Iran had launched attacks on social cohesion in Australia, and Coalition leader Sussan Ley said she was “disgusted”. Wong also called on any Australians currently in Iran to leave the country ASAP. On that front, the travel advice from DFAT has been updated: “Foreigners in Iran, including Australians and dual Australian-Iranian nationals, are at a high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest. Our ability to provide consular assistance in Iran is extremely limited.” So maybe rethink that trip if it was in your immediate future…

Sweet dreams are made of this

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Squiz the Rest

A manhunt is underway in Victoria

Two police officers have been killed, and the alleged gunman is still on the run this morning after an ambush in the north-eastern Alpine region of Victoria yesterday. Police went to the property at Porepunkah with a warrant for historical sex abuse charges when 2 officers were shot dead and a third was wounded. Local police rushed to the scene but had to wait for Special Operations officers to arrive because the gunman allegedly took the weapons of the fatally injured officers. The suspect is Dezi Freeman, who is believed to be a "sovereign citizen” - that’s a radical group that believes the government is illegitimate and was linked to the Wieambilla police killings in Queensland 3 years ago. It's a tough (and very beautiful) country around there, which is making it difficult for the police to find Freeman.

Taking a pass on parcels

You might have to keep your powder dry if you were planning on sending something big to the US anytime soon - Australia Post says it won’t be sending packages there for a while due to a new rule connected to US President Donald Trump's 'big/beautiful' tariffs. All exports to the US/Puerto Rico from Australia are subject to a 10% tax - but parcels under US$800 were previously exempt. Last month, the Trump administration changed that rule - Trump said it was a "loophole" that allowed people to avoid tariffs - and that tax will apply from Friday. Australia Post says that's not yet workable for its customers, so as of yesterday, it's pausing US-bound deliveries - unless it's a gift/letter worth less than $150 (or US$100) - until it can find a workaround. As you can imagine, Oz businesses with US customers say that’s a bummer…

Things are looking Up Up

Our second-largest supermarket chain Coles has beaten market expectations to top $40 billion in sales for the last financial year. While year-on-year sales are up 4.3% - even bigger gains came with its own fancy home brand Coles Finest, which grew 13.3% over the past 12 months. CEO Leah Weckert reckons she’s seeing “some green shoots of recovery” in consumer confidence - but savvy shoppers are still looking hard for the best deals. And if we needed more proof Aussies are reining in their drinking, sales of alcohol for the retail giant have been pretty flat - even after a big rebrand for nearly 1,000 stores. Dan Murphy's owner Endeavour Drinks reported something similar in recent days… Next up: Woolworths delivers its results today.  

Stop chucking it out

Hey we're not here to guilt anyone, but eyes up if you're a Millennial and Gen Z because apparently you're the worst at wasting food… Research by OzHarvest has shown that under-35s are throwing out $1,500 worth of food each year - 70% more than older generations. The charity's founder/force of nature Ronni Kahn reckons "we've really lost the value of food" with younger people not interested in meal planning - then throwing a stack of leftovers and takeaways in the bin. They're also dumping a lot of veggies and herbs - adding a hefty 113kg to their annual garbage. And if you want a couple of tips to break your bad habits… Kahn says make a 'use it up' shelf in the fridge, and please take those leftovers for tomorrow's lunch…

It’s a love story

After 2 years of dating, singer Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Instagram this morning , captioning the post: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married” (no prizes for guessing which one is which). The pair first became involved a couple of years back after Kelce expressed interest in Swift on his podcast - and they’ve been an extremely high-profile couple ever since, with Kelce a regular fixture at Swift’s concerts and Swift likewise at his games with NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs. A couple of weeks ago, Swift announced her 12th album  on the Kelce brothers' podcast New Heights - The Life of a Showgirl comes out on 3 October. Now they need to find someone brave enough to sing at that wedding…

Apropos of Nothing

A Canadian man has earned some serious brownie points after sorting through a huge pile of organic waste to find his wife's wedding ring, which had accidentally ended up in the trash. If it was Swift's ring , that hunk of diamond would have been easy to find...

And speaking of great finds, a 7.1m fossil of an ichthyosaur - which was sort of a really mean-looking prehistoric dolphin - has been donated to a museum after it was spotted in western Queensland by some local fossil hunters. They rock…  

Not to be outdone, we've found this story of an international Corgi race in Lithuania. More than 120 teams of Corgis headed to the capital of Vinius to take part - some of them there to win, some of them just to have fun dressed as Batman - here are the pics …

Squiz the Day

5.30am (AEST) - Surfing: The WSL Finals kick off at Cloudbreak (until 4 September) - Tavarua, Fiji watch on 7+ or Kayo

9.15am (AEST) - NSW Premier Chris Minns will speak at the Daily Telegraph Bush Summit to discuss issues facing the regions - Wagga

9.15am (AEST) - A verdict will be delivered at the Supreme Court of Western Australia in former Senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against her former staffer Brittany Higgins - Perth

9.30am (AEST) - The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering will host a press conference at Parliament House in partnership with Fortescue on decarbonising Australia’s diesel-fuelled sectors - Canberra

11.30am (AEST) - Professor Carolyn Evans, Chair of Universities Australia and Vice-Chancellor of Griffith University, will address the National Press Club - Canberra

5.30pm (AEST) - The NBL Blitz gets underway (until 31 August), watch on Kayo - Canberra 

7.00pm (AEST) - PM Anthony Albanese, Coalition leader Sussan Ley, senior politicians and heads of corporate Australia will attend the Federal Parliament’s Mid Winter Ball at Parliament House. The ball committee has raised $5,515,500 for charity to date - Canberra

ABS data release: Monthly Consumer Price Index indicator, July 2025

The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year is announced - Adelaide - check out the shortlist here

Earnings results for Woolworths, Nine Entertainment, Domino's Pizza and Flight Centre

🍅 The Spanish tomato festival, La Tomatina gets saucy - Buñol, Spain

Independence Day in Moldova

International Boxing Day (as in the sport)

World Rock Paper Scissors Day

Birthdays for designer Tom Ford (1961) and racing driver Mark Webber (1976)

Anniversary of:

• the largest eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, west of Java in Indonesia, which killed 40,000 people (1883)

• the first publication of the Guinness Book of World Records (1955)

• the premiere of Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964)

• Lord Mountbatten, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was killed by the IRA (1979)

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