11 July 2026 - Saturday Squiz

Yesterday was World Capybara Day, so we hope you’re going into the weekend as cool, calm and collected as these giant rodents and their random mates… This weekend, if you’re heading to a winery, cheering for Norway at the World Cup or have anything else you’d like to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

🎧 Listen to the News Club with Eliza Harvey and, for the first time in a while, Andrew Williams

This week’s top 5 news stories

The week’s most mentioned news stories in Australia across TV, radio and print, according to media analytics firm Streem.

1. The Blues get a year of bragging rights - It was anyone’s game going into State of Origin on Wednesday night, but in the end the Blues made it theirs. NSW halfback Nathan Cleary picked up the Wally Lewis Medal for Player of the Series. Here’s 19 minutes of highlights if you missed the action - Maroons fans do be advised the result won’t change…

2. A very happening few days in the Pacific - Australia has been getting extra cosy with our Pacific neighbours, having freshly signed a formal defence alliance with Fiji on Monday. The party didn’t last long, though - just hours later, China test-launched a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. Regional leaders weren’t impressed, but China has said it’s all above board. We break this all down on News Club this week…

3. We fight, we break up - US President Donald Trump has declared that the ceasefire with Iran is “over” after launching strikes on Iranian targets in response to Iran’s attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. This was all set to the backdrop of the burial of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit - which brings us to…

4. He’s not angry, just disappointed - Those were (more or less) Donald Trump’s words to NATO members during the summit this week, where he told France, Italy and Germany he wasn’t happy about their response to the conflict in Iran. NATO members have agreed to increase their defence spending, which did wonders for Trump’s attitude about the whole thing…

5. And India’s PM secures the goods - Indian PM Narendra Modi had an action-packed visit to Australia this week that included very friendly exchanges with PM Anthony Albanese. The 2 signed a major deal for Australia to export uranium to India, which stipulates that the uranium can only be used for peaceful purposes (i.e. energy and not nukes).

It’s you against the news…

Reckon you know which show picked up the most Emmy nominations this week? Test your news knowledge from the last week with the Squiz Quiz.

Pic of the week

The Opals swept China’s women’s basketball team this week - winning both games in Melbourne. You wouldn’t guess it from this pic, but Alicia Froling, who plays in the number 9 jersey for the Opals, is 191 cm tall - but she may look short here because China’s teenage basketball star Zhang Ziyu is 220 cm tall (that’s 7’3” just to be clear)…

A tenner for a whole roast chook

Supermarket roast chickens might set you back $13 these days, but Red Rooster's dropping its whole chooks to $10 every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 18 August. Each bird is hand-seasoned, dry brined for 12 hours and slow-roasted in-store for at least 55 minutes. Stocks are limited and not every restaurant is taking part - check if yours is here.

In the Kitchen

We talk about easy meals fairly frequently (because we’re all busy people) but this simple and hearty leek, chorizo and potato stew is barely even a recipe. It’s simple, flavourful and a perfect excuse to eat half a baguette with dinner. Sounds like a lovely winter evening to us…

What we Shortcut for you this week

Australia’s theatre crisis - They say the show must go on, but in recent weeks, there have been a series of high-profile closures in Australia’s theatre industry... It’s raising alarm about how the arts industry is faring, so in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll have a look at what shows have closed, why they’ve found themselves in trouble and what can possibly be done about it… Read that here or listen up.

What’s going on with property prices? - If you listened to News Club last week, you’d know that Australia’s property market has been in the news after a slowdown in auction clearance rates and falling home prices across major capital cities. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at what’s going on, where the government sits and what the experts are saying…. Read it here or listen to the pod.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - The Wimbledon women's singles final is on at 11pm, and for the first time ever it’ll feature 2 Czech players, Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová. You can watch that on 9Now.

Sunday - Get a good spot on the couch or at the pub, at 7am the men's FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final is on between England and Norway. And at 11am Argentina will play Switzerland - you can watch those on SBS. The Wimbledon men’s singles final is on later at 11pm, you can watch it on 9Now.

Monday - At 11am there’ll be a state funeral for former Australian of the Year and renowned melanoma researcher Professor Richard Scolyer at the Sydney Opera House. We can also expect the return of the Coroner's Inquest into the Sea World helicopter collision deaths in January 2023. The inquest was delayed from February following new findings of illicit substance abuse from one of the pilots.

Tuesday - It’s Bastille Day in France - you can check out what’s on to celebrate in Sydney here…

Wednesday - At 5am the men's FIFA World Cup Semi Final is on - that’ll be between France and either Spain or Belgium, and you can watch it on SBS. And at 12.30pm, Inspector-General of Aged Care Natalie Siegel-Brown will address the National Press Club.

Thursday - Another early start for football fans, at 5am there’s another World Cup Semi Final is on - teams are TBC and you know where to find it at this point… And Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is released in Australian cinemas.

Friday - Gracie Abrams' Daughter From Hell album will be released. And it’s World Emoji Day - here are some of our favourite emojis to celebrate 😋🤓💃…

*Times in AEST