Squiz Today – Friday, 24 June

THE SQUIZ
We’re not sure what the collective noun is for several summits, but there’s a flurry of ‘em in the coming days involving heavy-hitting global leaders. Maybe a colloquy of summits? Anyway… First up is CHOGM in Kigali, Rwanda, followed by the G7 in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, and then it’s onto NATO in Madrid, Spain.

WHAT’S A CHOGM?
It’s the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – but PM Anthony Albanese isn’t attending the get-together tomorrow. He’s one of 19 out of 54 leaders giving it a miss – and that’s raised some eyebrows because it’s Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. Mind you, she isn’t going either – Prince Charles is head (aka the patron) of the Commonwealth. Australia’s rep is Deputy PM Richard Marles – he said he’s looking forward to talking about “promoting democratic values and human rights, action on climate change, and sustainable and resilient health systems”. This meeting has been pitched as an opportunity to focus on Africa – something UK Boris Johnson could find uncomfortable… On top of his leadership issues, he’s fending off criticism for a new policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda –  reports say Prince Charles reckons the plan is “appalling”. Oh to be a fly on the wall when the pair meet in Rwanda today…

RIGHT. AND WHAT ABOUT THE G7 AND NATO?
So the G7 leader’s summit is a 3-day extravaganza starting on Sunday that will be dominated by one issue – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After that, China’s “coercive economic practices” are on the minds of the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. They will then head to Madrid for Wednesday/Thursday’s NATO summit that brings together the leaders of Western European and North American countries who are members of Russian Vladimir Putin’s least favourite security alliance. A plan to expand NATO’s forces in eastern Europe is expected to be approved. PM Albanese’s going to that one (and then he’s going to France to reset the relationship…) – he and his counterparts from Japan, South Korea and New Zealand get a guernsey for the first time to show that concern about Russia’s actions extends beyond the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will virtually address both summits. And there’s no need to worry about China and Russia feeling left out – they did their own thing overnight…

Ukraine gets a European welcome

Speaking of Ukraine… Today is 4 months since Russia’s invasion – and to mark the occasion, Ukraine has been accepted as a candidate to join the European Union. That’s just the start of a long process, but experts say it signifies a significant shift in European politics – and it’s set to irritate President Putin as he tries to stop Ukraine from aligning with the West. For President Zelensky’s part, he’s trying to prevent Russia from taking control of the Donbas. He’s urged Western leaders to speed up the delivery of heavy artillery, saying Russia has launched “massive air and artillery strikes” in their quest to “destroy” his nation’s eastern region. Reports say the bombing is particularly intense in the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk – the last 2 holdouts in Luhansk. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelensky, says the fight there is like “2 boxers grappling with each other in the 18th round of a bout and barely able to move things forward. This operation started on 14 April and has been going on for nearly 80 days,” he said.

Higgins trial pushed back to October

ACT’s Supreme Court has told journo Lisa Wilkinson and her employer Network 10 to refrain from making further public comments about the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins or face contempt of court charges. The trial of Higgins’ alleged attacker Bruce Lehrmann was set to go ahead on Monday, but Chief Justice Lucy McCallum has pushed the start date to 4 October, saying the line between the untested allegations and assumed guilt had been “obliterated” following Wilkinson’s Logies acceptance speech for her coverage of the claims. Lehrmann’s lawyers pushed for the trial to be delayed to next year, saying the “bushfire” of controversy around the case “is still burning”. But yesterday, McCallum said a 3-month delay is a “significant period”. Last night, Network 10 said everyone now needs to back off “to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner.”

A bad week for Rupert Murdoch

…and Jerry Hall. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his 4th wife, former actress/model Jerry Hall, are divorcing after 6 years of marriage, according to reports. The pair – who are 26 years apart in age – met in Australia in 2015 when she was touring in the stage adaption of The Graduate, playing Mrs Robinson. They got married a year later. Friends say they were surprised by the sudden split, and questions linger about how much of Murdoch’s estimated US$17 billion fortune Hall will get in a settlement. That won’t be the only thing on the tycoon’s mind, with a Delaware judge ruling a US$1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the parent company of US cable network Fox News can go ahead. Electronic voting company Dominion Voting Systems alleges that the Fox Corporation – which is chaired by Murdoch and run by his son Lachlan – intentionally spread lies about the integrity of their election equipment after former US President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Oz tumbles down the world liveability rankings

Austrian capital Vienna has been deemed the world’s most liveable city, followed by Denmark’s Copenhagen, Switzerland’s Zurich, and the Canadian cities of Calgary and Vancouver. Melbourne was the highest-ranking Aussie city on the ​​Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual index – it was demoted from 8th to equal 10th place with Japan’s Osaka. The Victorian capital was crowned the world’s most liveable city for 7 consecutive years on the merits of its stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment, and infrastructure. That was until 2017 – and since then, our closed international borders (ahem COVID…) saw Aussie cities fall down the list. Sydney dropped from 11th place to 13th, Adelaide – which was ranked 2nd in last year’s list – dropped to 30th place, Perth fell 26 spots to 32nd, and Brisbane dropped 17 spots to 27th. As for a list that few strive to end up on, the finalists for Australia’s worst big thing have been announced…

The best doggo of them all

A glum-faced bloodhound called Trumpet has won the top prize at this year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The prestigious competition judges the dog that most represents the ideal traits of its breed, and Trumpet beat out more than 3,000 other purebred pooches to become the first of his kind to take home the coveted prize. His slave Heather Helmer was “shocked” by the win, saying she felt the breed is “a bit of an underdog”. Winston the French bulldog – who is co-owned by NFL star Morgan Fox – claimed the runner-up spot. Other very good boys and girls who made the finals included ​​Striker the Samoyed, River the German shepherd, MM the Lakeland terrier, Belle the English setter, and a Maltese aptly called Hollywood. And yes, we know what you’re here for… Behold the photo gallery – it’s a whole thing…

Friday
7.15am (AEST) – Tennis – US Open – Ajla Tomljanović v Petra Martić. Aussie Tomljanović is hoping to make it to the 3rd round in the tournament for the first time

11.00am (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics – Class 9-10 Women’s Table Tennis Team Final – Australia v Poland.  Aussies Li Na Lei and Qian Yang both won individual gold at these games and are hoping to claim another one

12.30pm (AEST) – Deputy PM/Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce addresses the National Press Club – Canberra

1.20pm (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics – Badminton. Australia’s Grant Manzoney is playing, and then Aussie Caitlan Dransfield is on at 7.40pm. Badminton has been around for ages at the Olympics but it’s making its Paralympic debut in Tokyo

7.30pm (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics –  Class 10 Men’s Table Tennis Team Final – Australia v China. Australia’s men’s team of Lin Ma and Joel Coughlan are going for gold. Lin Ma won the silver in the class 9 singles and is looking to go one better in the team event

9.00pm (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics –  Swimming – Men’s 34 Points 4x100m Medley Relay Final. The heats are at midday, but we’re feeling good about a finals berth…

A birthday for Charlie Sheen (1965)

Anniversary of:
• the British Empire adopting the Gregorian Calendar, losing 11 days, causing riots when people thought the government stole 11 days of their lives (1752)
• Britain declaring war on Germany after its invasion of Poland (1939)
• Chris the Sheep breaking the world record for biggest shorn fleece 40kg near Canberra (2015)

Saturday
11.00am (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics – Men’s Quad Wheelchair Tennis Singles Final – Dylan Alcott v Sam Schroder

Start of Spinal Injury Awareness Week (on until 10 September)

World Beard Day

Beyonce turns 40yo (1981). And there are birthdays for Dawn Fraser (1937), Mark Ronson (1975) and Samantha Armytage (1976)

Anniversary of:
• English astronomer Edmond Halley first observing the comet named after him (1682)
• the founding of the city of Los Angeles (1781)
• Britain ending its policy of penal transportation to NSW (1884)
• George Eastman patenting the first roll-film camera and registering under the name “Kodak” (1888)
• English author Beatrix Potter first writing the story of Peter Rabbit for a 5yo boy (1893)
• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdrawing controversial extradition bill to China after three months of massive protests (2019)
• the deaths of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin (2006) and Joan Rivers (2014)

Sunday
7.30am (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics – Men’s Marathon T46 Final. Aussie Michael Roeger is the best chance for a medal

4.00pm (AEST) – Rugby – Bledisloe Cup – Wallabies v All Blacks – Perth9.00pm (AEST) – Tokyo Paralympics – closing ceremony

Father’s Day

International Day of Charity

Birthdays for Michael Keaton (1951), India Hicks (1967) and Rose McGowan (1973)

Anniversary of:
• the First Opium War beginning in China (1839)
• Christine Hardt patenting the first modern brassiere (1889)
• the premieres of The Huckleberry Hound Show featuring Yogi Bear (1958) and The Muppet Show (1976)
• Freddie Mercury’s birthday (1946)
• the death of Mother Teresa (1997)
• Hurricane Irma becoming the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin region with winds of 280km/hour (2017)