Squiz Today – Friday, 23 June

THE SQUIZ
The frantic search for the Titan submersible and its 5 passengers that went missing on Sunday off America’s east coast has found parts from the vessel near the Titanic shipwreck. That’s led OceanGate, the operator of the deep sea tourism venture, to say that it believes the 5 passengers onboard have “sadly been lost”. They are Brit Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19yo son Suleman, French Titanic expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet and OceanGate’s boss Stockton Rush. “These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these 5 souls and every member of their families during this tragic time,” the company said in a statement.

WHAT’S THE OFFICIAL WORD?
Rear Admiral John Mauger from the US Coast Guard has confirmed that debris was likely caused by a “catastrophic event”. Five significant parts of the Titan have been found about 500m from the Titanic by an ROV (a remotely operated vehicle) from the Horizon Arctic, a Canadian commercial vessel which arrived yesterday. The parts found include the Titan’s landing frame and a rear cover from the tail cone. Guillermo Söhnlein, the co-founder of operator OceanGate, said a failure of the vessel while it was deep in the water would have resulted in “an instantaneous implosion” because of the pressure. “If that’s what happened, that’s what would have happened 4 days ago,” he said. Authorities thanked those involved in the expanded search effort covering a 22,530 square km search area in the belief that the vessel was intact and its emergency oxygen supply was running down.

SO THERE ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT SAFETY?
Totally. This week, court filings showing concerns were raised about Rush’s OceanGate operations in 2018 were discovered. And yesterday, UK-based marine biologist and oceanographer David Mearns said the deep-sea tourism industry needs to “reflect on bringing passengers to such remote locations and such great depths because if things go wrong, there are very, very few options to make a recovery”. But for now, the focus remains on retrieving what they can and collecting information from the site, but experts say it’s unlikely the remains of the passengers would be recovered due to the “unforgiving environment”. As for the families of those onboard, Admiral Mauger said “I can only imagine what this has been like for them, and I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time.”

Dingo danger on K’gari

Reports emerged yesterday that a 10yo boy has had a seriously lucky escape after being attacked by a dingo on K’gari (Fraser Island) last week. Dingoes have long had a bad rep on the Island, but rangers say the number of “high-risk” animals has increased from 5 to 12 in the last year. In this latest case, the dingo launched at the boy while he was walking alone along the beach and dragged him underwater. The attack was only stopped when the boy’s 12yo sister came to the rescue. With school holidays just around the corner, rangers are pleading with parents/carers to take the warnings seriously and literally keep their kids at arm’s length. Indigenous ranger Darren Blake said: “When I see a child on their own, hair stands up on the back of my neck.”

America says howdy to Modi

Fresh from his rock star welcome in Australia, India’s PM Narendra Modi is getting the full red carpet treatment in the US. Modi’s official state visit is the first for an Indian leader since 2009, and Washington is pulling out all the stops… He’s had a private dinner with President Joe Biden; there’s an address to a joint sitting of Congress; and the grand finale is a White House state dinner. Why all the fuss? Like Australia, the US wants to forge closer ties with India to help keep China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region in check. And remember Biden pulled out of a meeting of The Quad (India, Japan, Australia, US) in Sydney last month, so some extra one-on-one time with Modi is overdue. Note: if you care about culinary diplomacy, the state dinner menu is all vego to cater for Modi, and it includes an entree of marinated millet (it’s a grain), grilled corn kernel salad, and compressed watermelon with a tangy avocado sauce. Tasty tasty…

Oz issues a ‘please explain’ to Twitter

Aussie authorities have used their landmark online safety powers to demand that Twitter explain how it is combating hate speech on its platform. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said almost a third of the complaints she has received over the last 12 months are about Twitter – up from less than 10% before billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover last October. Grant says the company has “dropped the ball”, and the legal notice issued yesterday compels the company to share how it is implementing online safety measures within 28 days. If it doesn’t comply, it could face fines of $687,000 a day – not exactly pocket change – except for maybe the world’s richest man… Meanwhile, Musk and fellow tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg have agreed to a cage fight. You heard that right… 

The bank of mum and dad prefers boys

About 2 in 5 young Aussies rely on their parents for a financial leg-up to get into the property market, but according to new research from the Australian Housing Monitor, sons are more likely than daughters to get a handout. The report – which surveyed more than 4,200 people – found that 47% of male first-time home buyers got some cash from their parents or their partner’s parents over the past decade, compared to 30% of women. And over the past 20 years, daughters have received about two-thirds of what their brothers are getting from their folks. Housing researcher Matt Lloyd-Cape reckons that stacks up with the evidence that sons often get more in inheritance from the parentals as well. Emma Dawson from think tank Per Capita says the “gender gift gap” further disadvantages women in a housing deck that’s already stacked against them.

Lusting after ‘cinnamon roll’ heroes…

Once upon a time, muscle-bound macho hunks like Fabio graced the covers of romance novels – but now readers are calling for a different type of leading man… According to publishing insiders, a growing number of romance fans are requesting fictional love interests that are being described as “squishy-centred men”, “cinnamon roll heroes”, and “golden retrievers”. In romance lingo, these are gentlemen with “a warm, floppy energy and positive attitude”. Publishers say the change is driven by a new generation of readers and a shift in what women want their dream man to be. But not everyone’s on board – Fabio himself, who appeared on the covers of more than 1,300 romance novels in the 90s – called the trend “hogwash”. Who said nice guys finish last?

We’re prepping for the soon-to-start Tour De France – but not with a bike ride… We’re watching Tour De France: Unchained on Netflix. If you liked Drive to Survive about the ups and downs in F1 car racing, this would be right down your alley.

We know you’re newsletter people – it’s up there with the things we like best about you. But if you’re looking for a podcast, we’re enjoying Scamanda. A true crime story, it’s about blogger Amanda Riley and how she faked cancer and conned her Californian community for 7 years. We’re hooked…

There’s one thing we know for sure about Saturday night – there will be a massaman curry. Whether it’s this easy lamb shank one or this more involved beef one, we’re not sure…

Last day of Term 2 for public schools in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory

World Whistleblowing Day

International Widows’ Day

Public Service Day

Take Your Dog to Work Day

Birthdays for Frances McDormand (1957) and Joel Edgerton (1974)

Anniversary of:
• the formal establishment of the International Olympic Committee (1894)
• the first contraceptive pill is made available for purchase in the US (1960)
• the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire that killed 15 tourists visiting the Queensland town (2000)
• the UK’s Brexit referendum (2016)
• Ash Barty winning the Birmingham title, becoming women’s world #1 (2019)