Squiz Today – Monday, 26 September

THE SQUIZ
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly session in New York yesterday morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western nations of holding a “grotesque” fear of Russia and said they are out to “destroy” his country. After days of rebukes from leaders and senior officials attending the annual UN meeting, Lavrov said his nation had “no choice” but to take military action against Ukraine and claimed that the “United States and allies want to stop the march of history.” No nation has come out in full support of Russia, including allies China and India, whose representatives renewed calls for a negotiated peace. Lavrov’s defence of his nation came as voting got underway in parts of Ukraine on whether to join Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation plans rankled many citizens.

THERE’S A VOTE IN UKRAINE TO JOIN RUSSIA?
Yep, in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – they’re regions in the east and south that Russia fully or partially occupies. Ukraine and its Western allies say the referendums are an illegitimate attempt to seize Ukrainian territory – and unlike our free and fair (and fun…) elections, they look “more like an opinion survey under the gun barrels”, according to one regional leader. That’s because voting includes armed soldiers going door-to-door asking for answers on whether citizens want to become part of Russia. Voting will take place until the middle of this week, and it’s expected that Russia will then claim – illegally – the 4 regions as its own. Russia has form with 2014’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. This time, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking locals to undermine the votes and share information about the people conducting “this farce.”

AND THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH PUTIN’S MOBILISATION?
Well, demonstrations continue across Russia, with hundreds arrested over the weekend as many more try to flee the country… On Russia’s border with Georgia, reports say queues of cars are more than 30km long. Finland is taking a different approach with moves to stop Russian tourists from entering the country as other nearby nations refuse to offer asylum to Russians seeking to avoid the war. For his part, Zelensky has reassured Russian soldiers who surrender will be treated in a “civilised manner” as Putin takes a different path… Yesterday, he approved new punishments of up to 10 years imprisonment for any Russian soldier caught surrendering, attempting to desert the military or refusing to fight. He also signed orders granting Russian citizenship to any foreign national who serves a year in Russia’s military. Critics say the move highlights how severe the nation’s troop shortage problem is.

China in a mood to mend fences

That’s according to China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi, who was in New York for the UN General Assembly. He met with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong in an exchange she described as “constructive”. “I think it is a long road in which many steps will have to be taken by both parties to a more stable relationship,” she said. As for Wang, he said that “China is willing to work with the Australian side to … properly resolve differences and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.” It’s the 2nd time the nations’ representatives have met face-to-face within 3 months. The Morrison Government could not secure a returned phone call for more than 2 years after the relationship went belly up over China’s aggressive push into our region and calls for an investigation into the origins of the COVID pandemic.

Violent clashes in Iran

Ten days after 22yo Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by morality police for “improper” dress, violent clashes between authorities and protestors who are angry about her death and issues like Iran’s flailing economy, political repression and corruption have left at least 41 people dead. The unrest has spread across 80 cities where demonstrators are chanting “women, life and freedom” and “death to the dictator”. That refers to Iran’s hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who helped found the Islamic Republic in 1979 when the nation’s strict laws were introduced. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has pledged to “deal decisively” with the protests while insisting that Amini was not beaten by police. Meanwhile, Aussies gathered in Melbourne, Canberra and Perth to support the protestors.

Storms aplenty all over the world

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians on the country’s east are without power after ex-hurricane Fiona battered the Atlantic coast with torrential rain and strong winds. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has called off today’s trip to Japan for former PM Shinzo Abe’s state funeral to oversee the response. Fiona has been a real pain in the neck after trashing Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic last week. In Florida, a state of emergency has been declared as tropical storm Ian gathers strength and is set to make landfall this week. Meanwhile, super typhoon Noru has hit the Philippines, forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Gusts of up to 240km/hr are expected, and there are concerns about landslides, flash flooding and storm surges. And at home, officials in NSW are warning families travelling for school holidays to keep up with emergency updates and road closures as a cold front and more flooding is predicted from today.

Celebrating cats, clashes and crying…

After smashing the Sydney Swans by a whopping 81 points in the AFL grand final on Saturday in front of 100,024 people, the Geelong Cats claimed all the glory with its 10th premiership flag. One to call out was Cats’ skipper Joel Selwood, who melted hearts and had a cracking game to boot. Better luck next time, Sydney… Speaking of the Harbour City, it hosts next Sunday’s NRL grand final when the Penrith Panthers take on the Parramatta Eels. And in the NRLW, the Newcastle Knights have become grand finalists in their 2nd season – they also take on the Eels on Sunday. And there wasn’t a dry eye when tennis legend Roger Federer finished his last professional match on Saturday. He and his equally weepy doubles partner Rafael Nadal didn’t win their rubber for Europe in the Laver Cup, but it was packed with all the feels. “It’s been a perfect journey. I would do it all over again,” Federer said.

Vale Dame Hilary Mantel

One of Britain’s most successful and beloved authors Dame Hilary Mantel died “suddenly yet peacefully” at 70yo on Friday. Considered one of the greatest English-language novelists of this century, Mantel was celebrated for her highly acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, charting a fictional account of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in the court of Henry VIII, which was made into a popular 2015 TV mini-series featuring Mark Rylance. Tributes continue to flow, including columnist/author Caitlin Moran who tweeted that it’s “devastating that we’ve collectively lost something so astonishing.” Mantel’s agent Bill Hamilton said her “wit, stylistic daring, creative ambition and phenomenal historical insight mark her out as one of the greatest novelists of our time.” The cause of Mantel’s death has not been revealed.

Congratulations go to Tonga as the nation gave birth to a new island… In September, an underwater volcano erupted, creating the 6-acre island in the Central Tonga Islands. Experts say we shouldn’t get too attached – it might be here for a while, but not forever…

A picture of Queen Elizabeth’s final resting place in Windsor Castle’s George VI Memorial Chapel has been released. We’re wondering why Princess Margaret doesn’t get a shoutout…

Gucci has sent 68 pairs of twins down the runway in Milan to showcase its latest designs. The mother of creative director Alessandro Michele is a twin, and he says the idea came from the cidea that no 2 people/personal looks are perfectly identical. Or something like that… 

8.30pm (AEST) – Women’s Basketball – FIBA World Cup – Australia v Canada – Sydney

King’s Birthday public holiday in Western Oz

World Contraception Day

Mesothelioma Awareness Day

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

European Day of Languages

A birthday for tennis champion Serena Williams (1981)

Anniversary of:
• Olivia Newton-John’s birthday (1948)
• the first publication of comic book Tintin (1946)
• the premiere of TV series Gilligan’s Island (1964)
• the release of The Beatles’ Abbey Road (1969)
• Republican Richard Nixon squaring off against Democrat John Kennedy in America’s first televised presidential debate (1960)
• Saudi Arabia announcing the overturning of its ban on women driving – the last country in the world to do so (2017)