Squiz Today – Tuesday, 3 July

SQUIZ SAYINGS

"You are very strong."

Said one of the specialist divers to the group of 12 soccer players and their coach after finding them in a Thai cave late yesterday. After 10 days missing, reports say they are all safe. However, it’s now a tricky operation to get them out. Their families? Ecstatic.

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NORTH KOREA SELLS TRUMP A PUP?

THE SQUIZ
Satellite images and leaked US intelligence reports have cast doubt on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s commitment to abandon his nuclear weapons program. Pictures show the finishing touches being put on a facility that will make missile parts. And reports say US intelligence officials believe North Korea does not intend to surrender its nuclear stockpile. Worse, they believe it is considering ways to conceal its weapons and production facilities.

I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL…
Pundits have long said that denuclearisation means different things to the US and North Korea. And while US President Donald Trump tweeted in triumph after the Singapore summit that “there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea,” reports say intelligence agencies have collected more information and do not hold that view. What is Kim playing at? “They (US Intelligence) see a regime positioning itself to extract every concession it can from the Trump administration - while clinging to nuclear weapons it believes are essential to survival.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The first big meeting between the US and North Korea since the summit took place yesterday. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to meet with senior North Korean officials soon. He says it could take years to implement an agreement that would see the elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons. Strap yourself in...

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SQUIZ THE REST

BOOMERS EMBROILED IN HORRID SCENES 
Australia was playing the Philippines in a World Cup qualifier that saw thirteen players ejected from the game. There were wild scenes with players, officials and fans involved in a punch-up that took 30 minutes to settle. The match ended with all the Philippines players fouled off. We won the game 89-53. Yay?

HOME PRICES END FINANCIAL YEAR DOWN
If you're in Sydney, you've likely seen the most significant fall in your home price since the GFC in 2009. Our biggest capital registered a 4.5% annual fall. Melbourne was up 1% for the year but saw its second monthly fall in home values. Also up for the year were Brisbane and Adelaide (1.1%), Canberra (2.3%) and Hobart (12.7%). Property experts have put falling prices down to tight lending conditions and slow investor activity.

HOUSEKEEPING!
Keeping you updated on some recent stories:

POLICE ALLEGE LARISSA BEILBY WAS TORTURED – And they’ve charged Zlatko Sikorsky with an additional 18 offences. Court documents reveal police think she died sometime between June 22 and June 28, and that she was allegedly detained in a car against her will before she was killed.

OBRADOR WINS MEXICAN ELECTION – Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has declared victory in Mexico's historic election. Preliminary results showed the man they call AMLO win twice the votes of his nearest competitor. He becomes the first candidate from outside the two major parties to become president. President Trump says he looks forward to working with him. Which means he probably hasn’t read his book, ¡Oye, Trump!

WEINSTEIN FACES NEW CHARGES – A third woman alleges he assaulted her in 2006.

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has engaged lawyers to explore defamation proceedings against Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm. Last Thursday in the Senate Chamber, Leyonhjelm told Hanson-Young to “stop shagging men”. He then doubled down on a Sky News program on the weekend. Sky apologised, and a producer was suspended for rerunning the comments in the strap (the text at the bottom of the screen). The Australian reports this morning that Leyonhjelm will apologise if Hanson-Young meets a list of his conditions. The Greens, former PM Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop all called on Leyonhjelm to apologise. Rare is an issue that can get that joint ticket together…

ABC BLOCKED FROM NAURU
The Pacific Islands Forum – an important regional meeting - is coming up in September. And due to the limit on Nauru’s accommodation, it’s asked media outlets to limit the numbers sent to cover the event. The Australian media nominated three people, including one from the ABC. Problem is Nauru's President Baron Waqa dislikes our national broadcaster quite a bit and will not grant their representative a visa to enter the country. Parliament's Press Gallery president David Crowe said the block was an "outrageous restriction on press freedom". Expect to hear more on this…

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING
There are so many things we have to remember about keeping healthy these days. Drink at least two litres of water a day. Keep the grog intake down. And you can’t have potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Huff... Here’s a new one - the experts have agreed on what it means to take a brisk walk. It’s 100 steps a minute. Vigorous walking is 130 steps per minute and jogging starts at 140 steps per minute. Sadly there's no guidance though on our speciality, the Cliff Young shuffle...

SQUIZ THE DAY

2.30pm - Reserve Bank's Board decision on interest rates

ABS Data Release - Building Approvals, May

Tom Cruise's (1962) and Julian Assange's (1971) birthdays