Squiz Today – Wednesday, 14 August

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“We’re really not the couple on the cover anymore. We’re Grammy and Papa now.”

Said Bobbi Ercoline of where her groovy life with husband Nick has taken them after they became the iconic couple of 1969’s Woodstock music festival. Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the love-in that saw 400,000 hippies with a taste for whacky-tobaccy descend on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York. With all the 'free love' that went on, it's nice to know some love endures…

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SYDNEY SHOCKED BY CITY STABBINGS

THE SQUIZ
One woman is dead and another is in hospital after a violent knife attack in Sydney’s CBD yesterday afternoon. Carrying a large knife, lunging at people and shouting near Wynyard Station just after 2pm, alleged attacker Mert Ney (21yo) was chased and held down by bystanders and members of the fire department until police took him into custody.

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT HIM?
Police confirmed Ney had a history of mental health problems that they were aware of. Reports in News Corp papers this morning (paywall) say authorities were on the lookout for him over a recent domestic violence incident. Also, the dismissal of a recent weapons charge on the basis that he sought mental health treatment will lead to questions about his suitability to be in the community, the report says. Video footage* shows the Western Sydney man yelling 'Allahu Akbar' - Arabic for 'God is great' - while confronting bystanders on the street. Superintendent Gavin Wood said; “Information was found on him that would suggest he had some ideologies in relation to terrorism, but he has no links to terrorism.”

AND WHAT OF THE VICTIMS AND BYSTANDERS?
The woman who was killed in an apartment before Ney took to the street was a 21yo sex worker known to Ney. However, it’s believed the stabbing victim, a 41yo woman, was targeted at random. Last night she was in a stable condition in hospital. PM Scott Morrison praised the “brave actions” of those who restrained Ney. And Superintendent Wood said; “With clear evidence of a stabbing previously, these people are heroes.”

*This content is confronting

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SQUIZ THE REST

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MORRISON PIFS OFF

Have some decorum, please… No, that’s not something rude, PM Morrison is in Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting. And with Australia so into schmoozing our Pacific Island neighbours right now, you wouldn’t be surprised if ScoMo turned up with a case of West Coast Coolers and manned the barbie just to be super friendly. Even if he did, the reception wouldn't be universally warm. Some of our island neighbour states would like Oz to do more on climate change - an existential threat to many Pacific nations. Our government yesterday said $500 million of earmarked aid will fund renewable energy and disaster resilience projects. Also on the agenda - Operation 'Please Like Us More Than China’…

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POLICE UPDATE ON CANADIAN TEENS

The two Canadian teenage murder suspects whose bodies were found last week probably died by suicide*, police said yesterday. An autopsy confirmed it was Kam McLeod (19yo) and Bryer Schmegelsky (18yo) discovered in the remote wilderness of Manitoba after the country's biggest-ever manhunt. They are suspected of murdering Australian man Lucas Fowler, his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, and Canadian university lecturer Leonard Dyck. The deaths of McLeod and Schmegelsky leave many questions unanswered, but a forensic examination of the guns found with them will assist those investigations.

*Need help?

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TEMPERATURE RISES IN HONG KONG

US President Donald Trump tweeted early this morning that the “Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!” A call for calm was also in chief executive Carrie Lam’s talking points - yesterday she pleaded with protesters not to push the city into an “abyss”. That didn’t stop protestors disrupting services at Hong Kong’s airport with departing flights cancelled for a second night. With demonstrations now into a 10th week and showing no signs of abating, pundits say the path towards a compromise is becoming increasingly difficult. Hong Kong police, who yesterday admitted to deploying officers disguised as protestors during demonstrations last weekend, has been criticised for using excessive force.

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OPERA GREAT CAUGHT IN THE #METOO SPOTLIGHT

One of opera’s biggest stars Plácido Domingo (aka one of The Three Tenors…) has been accused by nine women of sexual misconduct. Currently the director of the Los Angeles Opera, the 78yo Spaniard is the most prolific opera performer in history. But decades-long rumblings in the industry bubbled to the surface yesterday when America’s Associated Press reported accusations that Domingo pressured women into relationships and professionally punished those who refused his advances. Domingo said the allegations are “deeply troubling” and “inaccurate”.

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APROPOS OF NOTHING...

BEHOLD THE SALMON CANNON - All it does is shoot unsuspecting fish up to 35km/hour over hydroelectric dams that block their migration paths. Nothing to see here, move along…

MODI GOING WILD - And this is just Indian PM Narendra Modi and extreme outdoorsman Bear Grylls in nature together. Perfectly normal…

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING - Karaoke lovers beware… Reaching for those high notes can have serious consequences (aside from ensuring you lose the respect of your fellow party-goers…).

SQUIZ THE DAY

Public holiday in Brisbane for Royal Queensland Show Day

From 7.00am (AEST) - Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting - Tuvalu

12.30pm (AEST) - Health Minister Greg Hunt to address the National Press Club on 'Health 2030 - Australia’s Long-Term National Health Plan and the Vision for a Mentally Healthier Community' - Canberra

8.00pm (AEST) - Ashes Series Cricket - Australia v England - Lord's

ABS Data Release - Wage Price Index, June

Westpac Consumer Confidence Index for August

Company Earnings Results - CSL; Tabcorp

Birthdays for Kieren Perkins (1973) and Kate Richie (1978)

Anniversary of Japan’s unconditional surrender, which ended World War II (1945)