Squiz Today / 13 August 2019

Squiz Today – Tuesday, 13 August

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“Bears are extremely smart, which means we all have to be too."

Colorado Police are urging residents to be smarter than the average bear. Black bears can be gentle when letting themselves into homes and cars in their hunt for food, but as one officer discovered, their exits can be problematic


SNOW EMERGENCY IN THREDBO

THE SQUIZ
The sigh of relief last night from the NSW ski resort of Thredbo could have blown the fresh snow off the mountain after a frantic search for a man and his 10yo daughter ended with the pair being found before darkness set in. The emergency’s happy resolution was welcomed after what has otherwise been a horrid few days for tragic accidents.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THREDBO?
The man and his daughter were part of a larger group that had gone up the mountain to Karels, the highest point of the resort. The plan was to snowboard cross-country (ie off the groomed and monitored track) to Dead Horse Gap. Somewhere along the way, they became separated from their companions, and from their boards, and became lost in deep snow. Reports say the man, who was able to raise the alarm by calling emergency services at 2.55pm from a phone that didn’t have a lot of battery life left, was unable to be contacted after the initial call. They were found by friends and attended by emergency services.

AND THE OTHER TRAGEDIES YOU MENTION?
• Melbourne Uni health researcher, 36yo Associate Professor Allison Milner died in a freak accident yesterday morning after a 100yo tree fell on her while she was walking in Princes Park in Melbourne. The tragedy followed the death of Melbourne mother Angie Suryadi on Friday after a tree fell on her car. Her family remain in hospital.

• Two Adelaide men - Michael Hillan 62yo and Simon Bou 44yo - are believed to have died after falling off a cliff while rock climbing in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia on Sunday. Their bodies were recovered from the remote Moonarie climbing area yesterday.

• A 68yo skier died at Thredbo on Saturday after hitting a low-hanging branch. With the weekend’s wild weather, visibility at the time of the accident was described as being on "the extreme end of things".


SQUIZ THE REST


HONG KONG AIRPORT CHAOS

About 5,000 protestors at the Hong Kong’s international airport yesterday forced the cancellation of about 160 departing flights. Many demonstrators wore eye patches in solidarity with a woman whom reports say was shot in the eye by police with a 'beanbag' round as she protested on Sunday. One of the busiest in the world, Hong Kong airport services 1,100 passenger and cargo flights daily, and it is expected to reopen this morning. China said the 10th consecutive weekend of protests showed Hong Kong was "beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism", while Britain has called for calm.


SERIOUS LAPSES IN MONITORING EPSTEIN UNCOVERED

Billionaire hedge fund manager/accused child abuser and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was not closely monitored before his apparent suicide in his Manhattan Federal Correctional Centre cell on Saturday, according to officials. Under prison protocol, Epstein, who may have attempted suicide three weeks earlier, should have had a cellmate, and guards were supposed to check on him every 30 minutes. Neither of those things happened. The suicide will be the focus of an investigation by the FBI and the Federal Justice Department. And while Epstein’s accusers won’t get the chance to face him in court, Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who has been accused of facilitating Epstein’s access to girls and young women, may become the prosecutors’ next target.


FOLAU IN A SOCIAL MEDIA SPIN

After a stunning Wallabies performance in Perth on Saturday night and on the eve of the commencement of his legal fight against rugby Australia, Israel Folau yesterday kicked his Instagram and Twitter accounts into touch and then reactivated them again. The removal of the accounts was done without the knowledge of his legal supporters, reports say. Folau is seeking up to $10 million in damages from his former employers Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs after his multimillion-dollar contract was terminated when he would not remove social media posts denouncing a range of 'sinners'. Folau has claimed his social media accounts are “not for any purpose connected to his employment” as a rugby player.


NINE IN THE HUNT FOR MACQUARIE RADIO

Nine Entertainment has made a move to take full control of Macquarie Radio, home of Alan Jones, Neil Mitchell and Ray Hadley. After acquiring a majority stake in the company when it took over Fairfax Media last year, it hopes to pay $113.9 million for the remaining 45.5% stake. Nine, which is Australia’s biggest media company, offered less than the radio broadcaster was trading for on the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday morning - and by the end of the day, its share price had fallen 17.8% to meet Nine's proposed price.

And while we have you… JB Hi-Fi yesterday posted a surprisingly strong profit for the last financial year. The retailer's profit rose 7.1% to almost $250 million thanks to EOFYs tax-claim hunters. Even vinyl records helped… Its share price rose nearly 10% on the result making it yesterday's best performer of our top 200 listed companies.


BABY CHEESES…

Feta, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gorgonzola. All friends of ours. And don’t get us started on our affection for Prosciutto di Parma… They’re some of the 236 terms that could be out of bounds for Aussie producers if the European Union has their way. Australia is currently in trade negotiations with the EU, and it says the 'geographic indicators' should be preserved for use by producers from the areas where the products originate from. It's a similar process that saw Aussie-made 'Champagne' become 'sparkling wine'. One concession reported to be on the cards is we may be able to use terms like 'Australian-Feta'. We'll soon know with negotiations continuing…


BTS ON A BREAK

No, that’s not some division of an unwieldy corporate giant. It's the South Korean K-pop boy band, and they’ve announced they’re going on a two-month hiatus. Why is that a thing? They are the world's biggest boy band right now, and they've been smashing records since the release of their debut album in 2013. And they've 'crossed-over' to find a Western audience without singing in English - their biggest hits are mostly in Korean or Japanese. So their 'Army' of fans are mega-devastated they’re having some time off, right? Nope. Thousands took to social media to send messages of support. In the meantime, dance it out to one of their most popular hits.

SQUIZ THE DAY

Former Wallaby Israel Folau's unfair dismissal case kicks off in the Federal Court - Melbourne

Canadian authorities expected to make a statement on its investigation into the deaths of fugitive teens Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky

National Australia Bank Business Confidence Survey for July

ABS Data Release - Livestock Products, June

International Left Handers Day

Anniversary of Berlin being divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees (1961)

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