Squiz Today – Monday, 30 November

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Women belong in the game!”

Tweeted tennis great Billie Jean King of a bit of sporting history that was made in the US on Saturday. Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in the top tier of college football when the Vanderbilt Commodores called her up after the team was impacted by the coronavirus. And sure, her team lost 41-0, but onwards and upwards…

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SWEATING IT OUT

THE SQUIZ
A heatwave that extended diagonally across the country from the north of Western Australia to Victoria created some uncomfortable weather for millions of Aussies over the weekend. Heatwaves at this time of the year aren't unusual, but "the temperatures and duration of what we're going to see is exceptional," said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How.

HOW EXCEPTIONAL?
Going around the grounds:

• Sydney had its hottest November night on record with 25.3C early Sunday morning. It was the sweaty meat in the sandwich that was the hottest consecutive November days in the city on record. Across NSW, it was just the far South Coast that avoided hot temperatures as Broken Hill and Albury broke records. Across the state, 62 fires are expected to be helped by milder conditions today.

• Along the Murray River in Victoria's north was where it was at for the state. Mildura (45.7C) and Walpeup (45.2C) broke their high-temperature records on Saturday. It was better in Melbourne and the state's south - those areas kept their classic cool composure.

• Adelaide sweltered through Friday, and then the hot conditions stayed in the north of the state where temperatures soared to 47.5C at Marree on Saturday.

• Queensland’s Birdsville broke its hottest November night with a 33.2C Saturday evening stinker. But Brissie and the coast has avoided the brunt of the heatwave - for now…

• Perth was mild while Darwin was windswept. And Tassie - well, you had some lovely rain in the north, you cheeky devils…

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Queensland and northern NSW - hold onto your hats and keep a cool glass of water nearby… The heatwave is shifting with temperature records expected to be broken today and tomorrow in the southeast and Darling Downs of the Sunshine State. With that comes severe fire danger warnings due to the very hot and windy conditions. All that can be done is to hang in there until things ease from Wednesday. And check in on the old and young people in your orbit…

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SQUIZ THE REST

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QUARANTINE BREAK PUTS SOUTH OZ ON EDGE

Again… Described as a “concerning turn of events”, an infected man left quarantine in Adelaide last Sunday to scratch his itch for discount department store shopping. People who were at BIG W Brickworks, Kmart at Kurralta Park, and Foodland at Norwood (amongst other locations) on 22 November should urgently get a COVID-19 test, said Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier. The man in his 30s is believed to have caught the virus at Flinders University Sturt Campus, and anyone who was there between 13-28 November should also get a test, Spurrier said. There are currently 17 active cases in the state. The latest scare in South Australia will likely give Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan more ammo to push back on opening his border after he came under pressure on Friday.

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CHINA SAYS ‘GĀNBĒI’ TO AN ESCALATING TRADE FEUD

That’s ‘cheers’ in Mandarin BTW… The price of Australian wine sold in China has doubled or tripled under a new tariff regime that kicked off on Saturday. The “temporary” measure is aimed at stopping the ‘dumping’ of Australian wine in China with its officials claiming that subsidised plonk is sent at prices that are cheaper than it’s sold for here. Our government and producers reject the claim. China is the biggest export destination for Australian wine, and the decision will badly hurt some big producers. And Trade Minister Simon Birmingham yesterday said it’s looking likely that we will take China to the World Trade Organisation over tariffs put on our barley exports over dumping claims. It’s thought that China has concocted the trade claims in light of a ’14 things I hate about you’ list that was given to Nine. Labor’s Jason Clare yesterday said they supported taking the complaints to the WTO, but “it really shouldn’t have come to this,” he said.

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ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS CONTROL OF THE NORTH

Mekelle, the capital of the northern region of Tigray, now has government forces "fully in control", Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed tweeted yesterday. After vowing to take control of the city of 500,000 last week as discord between the national government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) grew, Abiy said he was "pleased to share that we have completed and ceased the military operations in the Tigray region." It’s unknown how many casualties have been sustained, but the Red Cross says the local hospital is running low on supplies to treat the injured and body bags for the dead. Nailing down what has transpired there is difficult after communications were cut at the start of the month. The United Nations last week warned of possible war crimes if government forces attacked Mekelle.

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IRAN POINTS FINGER OVER SCIENTIST’S ASSASSINATION

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, was killed in an ambush by gunmen on Friday. Iran initially downplayed his importance saying he was a researcher involved in the search for "homegrown test kits for COVID-19", but experts say he was one of those at the top of the country’s nuclear program. Still, some pundits believe his killing is political and designed to kick up a stink to make it difficult for incoming President Joe Biden to rejoin the nuclear agreement with Iran that President Donald Trump abandoned. Yesterday, Iran blamed Israel with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for the "punishing" of the perpetrators. Israel, which was never a fan of the nuclear deal, has denied any involvement in Fakhrizadeh’s killing.

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SHAZAM...

And just like that, the song that made Aussie act Tones and I internationally successful has broken another record. This time, Dance Monkey has become the most popular song on Shazam, according to Guinness World Records. Toni Watson’s tune has been identified 36.6 million times on the music identification app overtaking Avicii’s Wake Me Up. Her debut album is due to be released in the coming weeks.

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CHECKING IN ON SANTA IN THIS UNUSUAL YEAR…

On the good news front, Santa has “innate immunity" from the coronavirus, according to America’s leading infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci. "Santa is not going to be spreading any infections to anybody," he said. That doesn’t exempt him from following the health guidelines, Queensland Health says. "Just like we're asking all Queenslanders, we're asking Santa and his workers to adhere to the health directions in place on Christmas Eve," a spokeswoman said. Because we mustn't play favourites… Not that Santa has fared so well in some of America’s shopping malls…

SQUIZ THE DAY

10.00am (AEDT) - The final report of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants will be presented to the Governor of Victoria

Start of the last fortnight of federal parliamentary sittings for 2020 - Canberra

Energy Minister Angus Taylor to release latest carbon emissions report

Victorian office workers start their transition from WFH

ABS Data Release - Business Indicators, September

Independence Day in Yemen and Barbados

St Andrew’s Day

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare

A birthday for model/TV presenter/social media phenomenon Chrissy Teigen (1985)

Anniversary of:
• the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982)
• the premiere of Schindler's List (1993)
• the death of former US President George HW Bush (2018)