Squiz Today – Friday, 24 March

WRAP UP ON WESTMINSTER ATTACK

THE SQUIZ
The key points are:
* Four people died – Aysha Frade, who worked at a school nearby; Kurt Cochran, a US tourist whose wife was injured; police officer Keith Palmer; and the attacker, Kahlid Masood.
* Masood was British born and a married father of three children. While he had been looked at for past extremist behaviour, he wasn’t part of any current intelligence investigation. Islamic State claim they are behind the attack.
* Seven people are in hospital in a critical condition, 40 people were injured in total. Australian permanent resident Trish Neis-Beer had her foot run over and is recovering.
* Police conducted raids at six addresses in Birmingham. Eight arrests have been made.
* The phenomenon of ‘low-tech’ terror (ie the use of cars and knives) have left many to wonder how cities and citizens can be protected.
* There are reports this morning a man is being held in Antwerp, Belgium, after driving at pedestrians, he had French licence plates and a number of weapons in the car. There were no injuries.

HOW DID BRITAIN AND THE WORLD REACT?
UK PM Theresa May’s reaction was in the tradition of leaders before her – attacking London, she said, and indeed their parliament, will not deter the British from the values of liberty, democracy and free speech: they are made of sterner stuff. World leaders came out in support of the UK. France said it understood the UK’s pain after the attack in Nice last year where a man in a truck killed 84 people.

COULD IT HAPPEN HERE?
Security was stepped up yesterday around Parliament House in Canberra, where they were already geared up with the Chinese Premier visiting. Our leaders have made no secret of the fact that Parliament House could be a terror target. Since the 9/11 attacks, security has been significantly increased with many millions of dollars spent fortifying the building. More broadly, PM Malcolm Turnbull spoke yesterday to reassure Australians that our agencies are working hard to keep terrorism at bay.

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SQUIZ THE REST

HARVEY NORMAN’S LEAST FAVOURITE QUESTION THIS WEEK: PLEASE EXPLAIN?
Here’s something that will make you sound super smart if you’re talking to any finance-y friends this weekend. Tell them you saw that Harvey Norman ‘copped speeding tickets’ from the ASX and ASIC – and watch how impressed they are. What does it mean? Harvey Norman have had a rough week on a number of fronts, including a share price drop of 9%. The ASX asked them to ‘please explain’ (aka 'got a speeding ticket') a media report saying ASIC (the corporate regulator) was looking at franchisee loans and losses. Harvey Norman responded with: “nothing to see here, the media got it wrong”. ASIC said “ahem” (another ‘speeding ticket’), prompting Harvey Norman to last night clarify that indeed ASIC is looking them over, but just in a routine sort of a way. Probably no long Friday lunches for their execs tomorrow.

BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN CHINA
What? Again? Surely they got rid of bird flu last time? Seems not. More than 140 people have died in China since January in the latest bird flu outbreak, and millions of poultry culled. Across Asia, the latest strain has said to have infected more than 1,300 and killed almost 500 people since 2013. However, some hope was flagged his week with researchers in Hong Kong finding the key to bird-to-human transmission which could help the development of an effective treatment. There have also been other outbreaks in South Korea, Japan and the US where millions birds have been culled to prevent the virus’ spread, but there’s no human cases to date.

AUSSIE GOLF STAR JASON DAY SUSPENDS PLAY TO HELP MUM
If you don’t know who Jason Day is, you should.  At only 29, Day has been on the professional circuit for eight years, netting more than $35 million in winnings with some big tournament wins. He’s currently ranked third in the world, and was ranked #1 just 18-months ago. Day started golf with his father, however, he died from stomach cancer when Day was 12yo.  He says he then became an alcoholic and got into trouble a lot, so much so that his mother, Dening, took out a second mortgage to send him to boarding school. There he read a book on Tiger Woods and the rest, as they say, is sporting history. He is very close to his mother, which explains his tearful press conference yesterday to announce he was pulling out of a big tournament in Texas to help his mum prepare for lung cancer surgery next week. "Family's first and it's just a hard time," he said. Sounds like his good guy reputation is well founded. 

MISSING RICHARD SIMMONS – INVESTIGATION OR VOYEURISM?
Entertainment journalism, or actually a disturbing incident that warrants investigation? If you loved blockbuster podcast Serial you're probably all over the latest thing, Missing Richard Simmons. It’s premise: the popular 80s fitness guru (you remember? Big hair, big voice, shorty shorts and leg warmers...) has not been seen since 2014. Is he being held captive by his housemaid, or has he simply decided to bow out of public life?  Speculation is maybe he's overweight or transitioning gender. The possibilities are endless, and all denied by Simmons' spokespeople - they say he's just fine. Since making a splash with its first few episodes, there has been criticism with some claiming it’s little more than gratuitous voyeurism and an invasion of Simmons’ privacy. One thing’s for sure: we’re hooked. Mind you, no one has put out a podcast about how we’ve been captive at home since The Squiz launched. For the record, we’re alive and kicking. The food delivery guy can vouch for us.

SQUIZ THE DAY

Friday

World Tuberculosis Day

Saturday 

12.55pm (Qld time) - Woman's AFL Grand Final, Brisbane Lions v Adelaide Crows (Gold Coast)

3pm (EDST) - Fourth Test Match, Australia v India (Dharamsala, India)

Sunday

Hong Kong Chief Executive Election

4pm - Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne