Wednesday, 8 October - Everybody needs good neighbours

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 8 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Israel marks a solemn anniversary as peace talks over Gaza continue

• The federal government introduces new triple-0 laws

• And a chance for Neighbours fans to own a piece of TV history…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Is how the Nobel Prize committee described Fred Ramsdell, who was awarded this year’s prestigious prize for medicine alongside 2 others. He might not know it yet, though - the committee’s unable to reach him because he’s been hiking off-grid. What a time for a digital detox…

Tricky talks on peace in Gaza

The Squiz

As Israelis gathered to mark the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas terror attacks, talks on ending the war in Gaza that’s been raging ever since continue in neighbouring Egypt. While both sides have broadly endorsed the plan as presented by US President Donald Trump, reports say the officials assembled are wrestling with a couple of tricky key points - the demands that Israel withdraw and that Hamas disarm. And in the last day, more than a couple of experts have pointed out that those issues have derailed previous attempts to end the war and could see these talks fail too.

So there’s not a lot of optimism for a breakthrough? 

Well, let’s just say there’s hope because both sides are at the table, and that’s a good start… The peace plan has wide backing, but it’s not clear how long the talks will last. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says they would be “confined to a few days maximum,” and Trump has urged Hamas to move quickly, “or else all bets will be off.” Reports say the White House wants the deal to be done this week, with key US figures Jared Kushner (aka Trump’s son-in-law) and Steve Witkoff not planning to leave Egypt without a solution (and how many pairs of undies they’ve packed has not been confirmed…). If something is agreed, things could move quickly, including a stop to fighting and the return of the remaining hostages taken from Israel 2 years ago.

Anything else you want to tell me? 

Yep. The words ‘Glory to Hamas’ were spray-painted on a billboard in Fitzroy in Melbourne - an episode PM Anthony Albanese described yesterday as “abhorrent”. Federal and Victoria Police are investigating, and Premier Jacinta Allan said “this hateful behaviour is wrong, it’s disgraceful - but particularly today”, given the anniversary. Also worth clocking are efforts to stop a pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday, with NSW Police taking it to the state's top court, where arguments will continue today. The Palestinian Action Group, which wants to mark "2 years of genocide" in Gaza, says it’s unconstitutional to ban demonstrations, while Jewish leaders say moves to mark the anniversary of the murders of 1,200 people in Israel are “terrifying” and “absurd”.

The skincare ingredient that sounds weird but works wonders

Spring does a number on the skin, and for many of us, regular moisturisers just don't cut it. Enter Bescher Beauty's Sea Cucumber Collagen Glow Toner: it's packed with marine collagen, native botanicals, and hyaluronic acid that work together to deliver results. The proof? It sold out in 6 days after building a 35,000-person waitlist. Now it's back in stock, and if winter skin is the bane of your existence, it might be worth trying something that thousands of people couldn't wait to get their hands on. You can check it out here. 

Squiz the Rest

Oh non, pas encore

The role of French PM isn’t one with great job security at the moment, with the country having gone through 5 since 2022… The latest to be bounced out is Sébastien Lecornu, who spent a record-low 27 days in the job before handing his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron yesterday. Lecornu blamed party infighting over his cabinet selections the day before. As for what’s caused the political chaos more broadly, it goes back to France’s election last year which left the country with no clear majority, making governance difficult. Macron’s given Lecornu 48 hours to pull things back together - but his first and longest-serving PM Edouard Philippe has suggested it’s Macron who should resign. He says the President should pull the pin ahead of the next election in 2027 to "emerge in an orderly and dignified manner from a political crisis that is harming the country”.

Dialling up a better emergency lifeline

Communications Minister Anika Wells yesterday introduced legislation to give a new ‘Triple Zero Custodian’ the powers to protect our national emergency call system. We probably don’t need to say it, but it’s in response to last month’s Optus triple-0 snafu that was linked to several deaths. Wells says the custodian will work with the Australian Communications and Media Authority to ensure the system is more robust. Note: if you’ve heard this idea before, it’s likely because you read the March 2024 review of a previous Optus outage, you funster you… The Albanese Government has been under fire for not acting on it sooner, and yesterday, Coalition Leader Sussan Ley criticised Wells for not being in touch with families of those who died last month. The minister says that’s a job for the company. 

An inland oasis springs up

Outback South Oz might not pop into your mind when it comes to birds and aquatic life, but Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is where it’s happening… The massive salt lake covering 9,700km2 has been filling up with floodwaters since May after those destructive floods in Queensland, and it’s now chockas - something that's only happened 3 other times in the last 160 years. Local tourist pilot Phil van Wegen says his passengers have been "blown away" watching the usually bone-dry desert transform into "massive green areas and things like that, which you don't expect to see in the desert". That temporary oasis has attracted pelicans, brine shrimp, and even migratory birds from as far as China and Japan. And it's already starting to evaporate, so the advice is get there toot sweet if it’s on your bucket list.

Indigenous Aussies are in fashion, darling… 

Two young Australians have made history at Paris Fashion Week, strutting the runway for Chanel, no less... Tatyana Perry from Palmerston in the Northern Territory and Latahlia Hickling from Casino in NSW are the first Indigenous women to walk together for a European fashion house as they modelled designer Matthieu Blazy's debut Chanel collection at the Grand Palais yesterday. And just a couple of nobodies were on hand to see it - Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and Pedro Pascal... It comes 2 months after Perry and Hickling appeared together on the cover of Vogue Australia, celebrating First Nations modelling talent. Perry - who plays AFL for the Palmerston Magpies - was scouted on TikTok 4 years ago, while Hickling said she dreamed of going overseas - mission accomplished.

A piece of Ramsay Street to keep

Fans of the Aussie soap Neighbours who’ve been deprived of episodes since it wrapped in February now have another chance to get their fix... Clothing, backpacks from Erinsborough High, and even fake drivers’ licences and Medicare cards in the names of characters are up for grabs at op shops around Melbourne - and they’re drawing crowds. Truckloads of items from the set of the show - which launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie over its 4-decade run - were given away when it wrapped for the final time. As for who’s out to nab a slice of TV history, some fans want to “rescue” the items, saying they belong in a museum rather than on sale. But others like Michael Drake reckon it’s a chance for people “to own a little piece of the show”.

Apropos of Nothing

Is Taylor Swift up for heading a Super Bowl halftime show? No… In her latest media appearance, she says she's too busy stress-watching her fiancé Travis Kelce and is completely locked in on what he's doing every week - not planning dance moves for a global audience. Just in case you were wondering… 

Thailand just held its most important beauty contest of the year, and the competitors had hooves... Once humble farm animals replaced by tractors, water buffaloes have become Thailand's hottest show animals, with one albino specimen selling for $672,000 after winning multiple pageants. Pretty… 

It’s officially a humpback comeback… The Eastern Australian variety has said "hold my krill", going from 150 individuals in the 60s to a whopping 50,000+ today. Experts say that’s exceeded their pre-whaling population numbers. Go you great big good thing…

Squiz the Day

8.00am (AEDT) - PM Anthony Albanese will meet with Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong for the Australia-Singapore Annual Leaders’ Meeting - Canberra

8.20am (AEDT) - The Rural Australia Institute’s national summit will take place at Parliament House - Canberra 

9.00am (AEDT) - Senate estimates hearings get underway to examine the federal government’s spending across the portfolios of Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport, Environment and Communications, Finance and Public Administration Committee, Legal and Constitutional Affairs - Canberra 

9.30am (AEDT) - The High Court will deliver a judgment on whether information that the AFP gathered through its use of an encrypted messaging app ANOM was legally obtained - Canberra 

11.30am (AEDT) - Managing Director and CEO of BlueScope, Mark Vassella, will address the National Press Club of Australia on gas prices in Australia - Canberra

1.00pm (AEDT) - Executive Chairman of News Corp Australia, Michael Miller, will speak at the Melbourne Press Club on the impact of big tech on journalism - Melbourne 

7.30pm (AEDT) - Netball: Australia’s Diamonds v South Africa’s Proteas in the second Test of a 3-match series - Wollongong, watch on Kayo

7.45pm (AEDT) - The Nobel Prize for Chemistry will be announced at The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - Stockholm, Sweden

8.30pm (AEDT) - Cricket: Australia v Pakistan in the Women's ODI Cricket World Cup - Colombo, Sri Lanka, watch free on Prime Video

ABS data release: Building Approvals, Australia, August 2025

🐙 World Octopus Day

Birthdays for actors Paul Hogan (1939) and Matt Damon (1970), and musician Bruno Mars (1980)

Anniversary of:

• the beginning of the Second Opium War, which pitted the British and French Empires against the Qing dynasty of China (1856)

• America's deadliest wildfire that claimed more than 1,200 lives in Peshtigo, Wisconsin (1871)

• the patenting of the microwave oven (1945)