Squiz Today / 05 November 2021
Squiz Today – Friday, 5 November
Squiz Sayings
“I never said myself that ABBA was never going to happen again, but I can tell you now: this is it.”
Said ABBA star Benny Andersson of the supergroup’s new album that’s being released today. Their first album in 4 decades will see rusted on fans be like gimme gimme gimme, but he says they just have to face it, this time they’re through. Geez they’ve been super troupers…
Man charged over Cleo’s abduction
Squiz the Rest
A COVID first for the Top End
It yesterday recorded its first case of community transmission since the start of the pandemic. An unvaccinated man (who’s a contract worker at RAAF Base Tindal) has tested positive for COVID after spending time in the community in Katherine and the Greater Darwin area. In response, the NT Government has put Katherine residents into a lockdown, and residents of Greater Darwin will be in a ‘lockout’ for the next 72 hours. That means fully vaccinated people need to wear a mask when outdoors, otherwise it’s as you were. Unvaccinated residents don’t get the same deal – they go into lockdown. That was announced by Chief Minister Michael Gunner at 10pm local time last night, and he says they need to track down where the man picked up the virus because he hasn’t travelled outside the area for some time. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been concerns about an outbreak in the Top End because of its high Indigenous population. Almost 65% of its eligible population is fully vaccinated compared to the national rate of 79%.
Australian News
A thumbs down for coal
More than 70 countries and 100 organisations have agreed to phase out coal-fired power in the latest development from the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Making up about 40% of the world’s power generation, coal is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. The UN says phasing it out is key to keeping global warming below 1.5-2C. Major coal users are on board including Canada, Poland, Vietnam and Chile – they say they won’t support the building of new coal-fired power generation plants. Not making the pledge: Oz, India, China and the US. It comes as new data from the Global Carbon Project shows greenhouse gas emissions are rebounding to 2019 levels after a temporary plunge during the pandemic. As nations look to fire up their economies, experts say 2022 will be a big year for emissions.
Environment & Science
Arbery murder trial gets underway
Opening statements will be delivered today in a big murder case in the US state of Georgia. Three men are on trial for the 2020 murder of 25yo Ahmaud Arbery – a black man who was shot and killed on a residential street by 3 white men. The men say they suspected Arbery was involved in a series of recent burglaries in the area, and authorities were criticised for not charging them until a video of the killing emerged months later. Things are off to a racially charged start with a nearly all-white jury selected this week. The case is further complicated by ye olde citizens’ arrest laws in Georgia that law reform advocates say have been used against black people since the 1800s. It’s set to be a prominent and divisive case, and this episode of the New York Times ‘Daily’ podcast will sort you out.
World News
Third time lucky
After being widely tipped to win, South African author Damon Galgut is this year’s Booker Prize winner for his novel The Promise*. His 9th novel follows a white South African family from the apartheid era to the present day, and it centres on a broken promise to the family’s black maid. It’s the first time Galgut has claimed the prestigious $90,000 prize after 2 of his previous novels just missed out. Beating the likes of Richard Powers’ Bewilderment* and Patricia Lockwood’s debut No One is Talking About This*, Galgut’s“tour de force” is “dense with historical and metaphorical significance”, the judges said. Galgut used his acceptance speech to back African authors. “I would like to accept this on behalf of all the stories told and untold, the writers heard and unheard from the remarkable continent I’m part of. Please keep listening to us. There’s a lot more to come!“ he said.
World News
A whale-sized appetite…
…is something many of us enjoyed in this COVID era. But check these guys out: after tagging hundreds of whales around the world, scientists found they consume up to a third of their body weight every day in krill and small fish – about 3 times more than previously thought. And all that eating means a lot of whale poo. Thankfully, that’s not a problem with their waste playing a more important role in maintaining the ocean ecosystem than previously thought. It acts like fertiliser for the ocean, leaving nutrients eaten by phytoplankton – an important food source for sea creatures including krill. If only our COVID kilos were as beneficial to the environment…
Environment & Science
Friday Lites – Three things we liked this week
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