Squiz Today – Monday, 20 January

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“This should not have happened and we are taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Said Facebook after a posts by Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to her country translated his name in a way that could cause offence. It wasn’t great. Oh, ok then… ‘Mr Xi’ was translated as ‘Mr Sh*thole’...

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A SUSSEX BY ANY OTHER NAME...

THE SQUIZ
...would still smell as sweet, according to the Queen. Reiterating that Harry, Meghan and Archie “will always be much loved members of my family,” the Queen yesterday said “a constructive and supportive way forward” has been found that “allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.” But the arrangements don't enable the ‘step back’ the Sussexes originally announced on 8 January. Instead, it’s a complete step away.

AND WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
As outlined in a statement from Buckingham Palace:

• They will not perform royal duties, and will no longer receive public funds. Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years, will quit his royal military roles. The Sussexes will, however, be allowed to retain their 20 patronages.

• And while they no longer formally represent the Queen, Harry and Meghan “have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.” They retain their HRH titles, but won’t use them given they are no longer senior royals.

• They will repay the taxpayer-funded $4.5 million spent on renovations to Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor. It will remain their UK home, and they will now pay rent for it.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
The Sussexes’ transition will be completed “in the spring of 2020”, so between March and May. They are yet to respond publicly to the statement made by the Queen and Buckingham Palace other than to say the information on their website will be updated in due course. A couple of issues that commentators say are unresolved is how they will earn their income, and how their security costs will be covered, particularly in Canada. And then there's the big one: whether they can have the “happy and peaceful” lives the Queen wishes for them.

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SQUIZ THE REST

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COUNTING THE BUSHFIRE COST

Another death from the NSW fires has taken the state’s toll to 21. An 84-year-old man died in hospital on Saturday after suffering burns from the fire that badly damaged the South Coast town of Cobargo on New Year’s Eve. As for the economic cost of this season’s bushfires, a number has been put on what will likely be lost in tourism dollars this year. Operators are expecting $4.5 billion of cancelled trips from overseas visitors, according to the Australian Tourism Export Council. The Coalition Government yesterday announced a $76 million tourism recovery package aimed at helping them to stem the losses. And when it comes to our wildlife, about 70 threatened species have lost more than half their habitat to the fires, experts say. On a positive note, the fundraising effort is set to be the biggest ever in response to an Australian disaster. More than $450 million has been donated to aid recovery efforts.

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TRUMP FIRES UP FOR IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

With US President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial set to start in the US Senate tomorrow, both sides have laid out their arguments. The Democrats say Trump must be removed from office to protect America’s national security and system of government, so bad were his actions to have Ukraine investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Team Trump says it's all just an attempt to remove him from office by a bunch of people who never wanted to see him in the White House. Eyebrows were raised on Friday as big-name and controversial additions to Trump’s legal team were announced. That’s former independent counsel Ken Starr, who led the investigation into President Bill Clinton, and Harvard legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, who has represented OJ Simpson and Jeffrey Epstein. Hold on to your hats...

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CHINESE MYSTERY VIRUS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN FIRST THOUGHT

The response to a respiratory illness that first appeared in Wuhan, China in December has been stepped up as experts warned it could be more widespread than initially thought. A new type of coronavirus has been detected, which can cause infections ranging from the common cold to deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It’s the connection to SARS - which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-03 - that has people worried. So far 62 people in Wuhan and three people in Thailand and Japan have been infected. Two people have died. But researchers say it's likely to be closer to 1,700 people who are infected in China. Singapore and Hong Kong are screening air passengers from Wuhan, and US authorities started screening at airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York from last Friday.

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EUROPE CHARGES UP ON CORD CLUTTER

If you’re anything like us, you have a box full of chargers for devices past. We still have one from a Nokia phone circa 2007… That could be a thing of the past, for Europeans at least, as members of the European Parliament push for a single universal device charger. USB-C and micro-USB chargers are used across Android devices, and Apple has recently preferred its Lightning system. If Apple was forced to stop going its own way, reports say it would have to adopt its third charging system in 13 years. Not that any of this is moving quickly. Hands up if you can’t wait for universal wireless charging…

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AUSSIE OPEN OPENS

If you’re a tennis fan and you’re not coming into the premier event of our summer of tennis well rested and ready for some late nights, bad luck. Our world #1 Ash Barty kicks off with a win at the Adelaide International behind her. Her first match is tonight against unseeded Ukranian Lesia Tsurenko. She’ll need to look out for Serena Williams who is keen to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam wins. On the men’s side of the draw, it’s all about the big three - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. A Djokovic victory would give him a record eighth title in Melbourne. If Federer wins, he will become a record 21-time grand slam champion. And Nadal would become the only men’s player to win every Grand Slam at least twice if he claims the trophy.

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APROPOS OF NOTHING - NEW LOOK EDITION

A NEW NAME ON THE FILM BLOCK - Disney bought 20th Century Fox last year, and it has announced it's dropping 'Fox' from the 85yo company's name to make it 20th Century Studios. The iconic musical cue stays.

BEYONCÉ'S LATEST RETAIL OFFER - Is a bit too supermarket-inspired for some.

CAMO IN SPACE? - From military wear to street fashion, and soon to go intergalactic. Camouflage print is in style everywhere…

SQUIZ THE DAY

Tasmania's Parliamentary Liberal Party to elect a new leader and premier

Start of Australian Open - Melbourne (on until February 2)

The extradition hearing of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou begins in Toronto

Donald Trump marks three years as US President

Penguin Awareness Day

Anniversary of China ceding Hong Kong to the British during the 1st Opium War (1841)