21 February 2026 - Saturday Squiz

May you frolic into the weekend like this dog on the Winter Olympics ski track… This weekend, if you’ve got a long-distance best friend you’re missing, feel like some beach time on a cloudy day, or have anything else you’d like to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 8 minutes

🎧 Listen to the Weekly Wrap with Claire Kimball and Kate Watson

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. A Taylor-made frontbench - Angus Taylor has announced his shadow cabinet - some names to look out for are Tim Wilson as Treasury spokesman, James Paterson takes Defence, and Andrew Hastie is looking after the Industry and Sovereign Capability. Taylor also reinstated the suspended Nationals to the frontbench and promoted Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

2. The long road home - There’s a group of 34 people - women and children - who are connected to former Islamic State fighters in Syria who attempted to journey home to Australia this week. PM Anthony Albanese said “I have nothing but contempt for these people,” adding his team is “providing no support for the repatriation of these people or any support whatsoever.” TBC…

3. The final week in Milano-Cortina - The 2026 Winter Olympics wrap up Monday morning our time, and it’s been an outstanding outing for summery Australia. We’ve got 6 medals under our belt, with Danielle Scott winning silver in aerial skiing this week. Aussie Aussie Aussie…

4. An 85yo’s kidnapping - Chris Baghsarian was abducted from his northern Sydney home last Friday morning in what police say is a case of mistaken identity - reports say a figure with links to a crime family was the intended target. Hope is fading that he’ll be found alive…

5. A further fall from grace - Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested yesterday at the royal family’s Sandringham Estate on suspicion of misconduct in public office. This is related to the latest release from the Epstein files, which included claims Andrew shared confidential reports with Epstein while he was a UK trade envoy in 2010. He’s since been released from custody and hasn’t been charged, but he remains under investigation.

It’s you against the news…

Reckon you know who made an appearance in Role Model's Perth show? Test your news knowledge from the last week with the Squiz Quiz.

Pic of the week

Some are calling it the pic of the year to describe the haunted face of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as he was driven away after his arrest yesterday. You can expect to see it in the ‘news of 2026’ galleries for sure…

A fix for an overstuffed suitcase

If you’re anything like us, packing for the holidays means a bulging suitcase... To help with that, Brisbane brand Simplify Living has created vacuum travel bags that compress with a small handheld pump - squeeze the air out and watch your stack halve in size. Genius... Find out more here.

In the Kitchen

If you’ve been buying a slice of banana bread for $8 at your local cafe, might we suggest making this best-ever Australian banana bread recipe instead? Do yourself a favour and add half a cup of walnuts if that’s your jam. Just in time for Banana Bread Day on Monday…

What we Shortcut for you this week

Who is Angus Taylor? - He’s hit the ground running as the Liberal Party’s new leader, but he’s got a big job ahead of him to resurrect its popularity with voters. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at Taylor’s background and what his plans are to get the Libs (and the Coalition) back on track. Read that here or listen up.

What's up with Wuthering Heights? - Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no judgement…), you’ll know there’s a new rendering of Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights that’s out in theatres... The love story between Cathy and Heathcliff has captivated and divided audiences since it was first published in 1847, so in this Squiz Shortcut, we explain the ongoing fascination with the novel and why this latest version has attracted so much controversy… Read here or listen here.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - The Mighty Hoopla music festival is on at Bondi Beach with singer Kesha headlining, and the third Women’s T20 game between Australia and India is on at Adelaide Oval at 7.15pm. You can watch that on 7plus.

Sunday - The Cole Classic Ocean Swim is on in Manly this morning - it’s the world’s biggest ocean swim, don’t you know... And Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival, is on at Centennial Park.

Monday - The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics is on at 6.30am, you can watch that on 9now. And there’s the second public hearing of the federal parliamentary inquiry into the quality and safety of the childcare system - that happens in Brisbane.

Tuesday - The Royal Commission on Antisemitism will hold its first public hearing at 10.30am. Milan Fashion Week starts (so why not check out our recent Shortcut on Fashion Weeks…). And it’s 4 years today since Russia went to war with Ukraine.

Wednesday - There’s a National Press Club address by AI Professor Toby Walsh on ‘AI, boom or doom’ at 11.30am. And Woolworths, Fortescue and Tabcorp release their half-year financial results today.

Thursday - At 11.00am, it’s the public hearing in the Inquiry into Triple Zero outages. Hillary Clinton is testifying on Jeffrey Epstein before the US Congress, which is currently set to be a closed-door hearing. And Part 2 of Bridgerton season 4 drops on Netflix.

Friday - Former US President Bill Clinton is set to testify to a US Congressional hearing into Jeffrey Epstein (his wife Hillary will testify the following day…). And it’s International Polar Bear Day 🐻‍❄️

*Times in AEDT