Squiz Today – Thursday, 20 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“I will not work overtime, period!”

No, that wasn't overheard in a workplace near you. It's the title of a new TV drama that's all the rage in Japan... about leaving the office by 6pm sharp. In a country that has some of the longest working hours in the world, it's struck a chord.

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RICH COUNTRIES TURNING AWAY FROM VACCINATION

THE SQUIZ
A major new study into attitudes on immunisation has highlighted a burgeoning public health crisis. The Wellcome Trust analysis, which looks at how 140,000 people across 140 countries feel about science and major health challenges, is the largest of its type in the world. And the finding that people in richer countries are considerably less likely to trust vaccines than people in developing nations has experts worried.

GIVE ME THE FACTS...
• When asked if vaccination was safe: 79% of respondents agreed, 7% disagreed, and 14% neither agreed or disagreed.

• Despite some concern about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, 92% of parents worldwide said that their children had been vaccinated.

• In France, one in three people disagreed that vaccines are safe - the highest percentage for any country.

• Western Europe more broadly had low confidence in the safety of vaccines (59%), and in Eastern Europe, it was even lower (50%). The highest rates of confidence came from some of the poorest areas - South Asia and Eastern Africa.

• And in Australia, 1003 people were surveyed: 83% agreed vaccination is safe - so we’re more trusting compared to the global score. But we have some problems...

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Australia has the goal of getting 95% of kids immunised each year. That’s because ‘herd immunity’ depends on that level of coverage - anything less can lead to outbreaks of preventable but deadly and debilitating infections. And a decision not to vaccinate, on whatever grounds, can put the individual and others at risk. The latest global outbreak of measles is a devastating case in point. Are we there yet? Not quite… Note: The World Health Organisation lists' vaccine hesitancy' as a top 10 threat to global health.

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SQUIZ THE REST

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SUSPECTS NAMED IN MH17 DOWNING

It’s been almost five years since the downing of MH17 - the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot from the sky killing 298 people, including 38 Australians. En route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, the plane was brought down over Eastern Ukraine. Investigators have blamed Russian-backed separatists, although Russia has continued to deny any connection to the tragedy. Last night, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team named three Russians and a Ukranian who will be charged with murder. While authorities have vowed to bring those responsible to justice, it's unlikely Russia will hand them over. That means they will probably be tried in absentia at The Hague in March next year.

And while we’re talking murder investigations… A United Nations human rights expert looking into the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi has recommended a proper look into Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement. Eleven people are on trial in Saudi Arabia for the killing.

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TRUMP OFF AND RUNNING, BUT FIRST THERE’S A TRADE DEAL TO DO…

Soz if you've gone and got yourself a ‘Make America Great Again' tattoo - there's a US campaign slogan update. As America heads into the 2020 presidential election cycle, incumbent Donald Trump wants to ‘Keep America Great’. But he has some work to do before he focuses all his efforts on campaigning - like sorting out a trade deal with China. And Trump has lined up a chat with China’s President Xi Jinping at next week’s G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan. Markets, including the Australian Stock Exchange which hit an 11 year high, were excited by the prospect that US-China trade tensions could be easing.

And while we’re talking about leadership contests… The UK Conservatives are down to four candidates with Boris Johnson still leading the pack. The winner will become party leader and PM.

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ELECTION RESULT SETTLED

One month and one day after the surprising 2019 Federal Election and the final result is in. As we already knew, the Coalition won a majority in the House of Reps. And yesterday, it was confirmed Team Morrison would have an easier time in the Senate too. The Coalition will have 35 senators of the chamber's 76 seats and will need four crossbenchers to support it to get its agenda up - down from the eight it needed pre-election. To round it out, Labor has 26 senators, and there'll be nine Greens, two from One Nation and Centre Alliance, Australian Conservative Cory Bernardi and Tassie independent Jacqui Lambie.

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TOP OF THE UNI CLASS

The report card on Australian universities are in, and the verdict is: solid performance, but could do better. Five of our higher education institutionshave made the top 50 of the QS World University Rankings with Australian National University (29th in the world), University of Melbourne (38) and Sydney University (42) our top three performers. So where do we lag behind our international competitors? In the staff-to-student ratio: ours is noticeably higher. Rounding out our top-rated tertiary institutions is the University of NSW (43), the University of Queensland (47), Monash Uni (58) and the University of Western Australia (86).

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MATILDAS ADVANCE

We're through the knockout rounds. Phew… The Matildas won their match against Jamaica yesterday morning four goals to one. And it was a special one for captain Sam Kerr who scored all four goals - and she became the first Aussie (male or female) to score a hat trick in a World Cup match. Yeehaw! Australia now faces Norway in the round of 16 on Sunday morning at 5am (AEST). We say have a big Saturday night out and push through.*

* We're absolutely not doing that…

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KARL FOREVER

Given his line of work and penchant for bold statements, it’s perhaps no surprise the memorial for fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld which will unfurl today in Paris is going to be suitably OTT. But all in the best possible taste. The city’s iconic Grand Palais - a favourite venue for so many of the Chanel collections for which Karl was responsible - will be filled to its iron rafters with all the big names from the worlds of fashion, entertainment and business as they remember the designer who sashayed off this mortal coil in February. Mostly though, the place will be filled with Karl: via the 56 towering portraits of the man, along with multiple massive LED screens playing highlights from his life. Oh, and there’s a 90-minute stage spectacle celebrating the ponytailed creative’s legacy.

SQUIZ THE DAY

12.30pm (AEST) - Philip Lowe, Reserve Bank Governor to address the Committee of Economic Development - Adelaide

7.30pm - World Cup Cricket - Australia v Bangladesh

ABS Data Releases - Methodological News, June (woohoo!); Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2018; Migration, 2017-18; Labour Force (Detailed)

World Refugee Day