mp expects ‘different’ deal ardern meets with abe · 2019. 9. 19. · farage a “very...

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SEPTEMBER 19 (GMT) – SEPTEMBER 20 (AEST), 2019

AUSTRALIAUKNORTH AMERICA

US backs Saudi self defence

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says America backs Saudi Arabia’s “right to defend itself” after a weekend attack targeted the heart of its oil industry, comments coming after he described the assault as an “act of war”. The attacks have reignited fears over a wider conflagration in the region, as tensions remain high over Iran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

Photo rocks Trudeau campaign

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaigning for national elections has been hit by the publication of a yearbook photo showing him in brownface make-up at a costume party in 2001. Time magazine, which posted the photo, said it was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school where Trudeau worked as a teacher. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark make-up on his hands, face and neck.

Tamil family granted repreive

A Tamil family will remain in legal limbo on Christmas Island for the foreseeable future, with their deportation case now hinging on an upcoming court battle. Shortly before an order preventing their forcible removal to Sri Lanka expired, Federal Court judge Mordy Bromberg said the family had a legal case that needed to be decided at trial.

Brexit pressure mounts on Boris

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused by European Union officials of failing to negotiate seriously, as his plan to leave the EU in just over six weeks faced hurdles on both sides of the Channel. In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament said it would be the fault of Britain, not the bloc, if the UK crashed out of the EU without a divorce deal on the scheduled October 31 departure day.

MP expects ‘different’ deal

Boris Johnson is on course to deliver a “fundamentally different” Brexit deal to ensure the UK leaves on October 31, a Cabinet minister has claimed after Finland said a new deal must be presented in 12 days. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed his confidence in the Prime Minister achieving such an outcome while stressing the need for the DUP to be consulted.

Ardern meets with Abe

Trade, women’s economic empowerment, the Pacific and space were among the broad range of topics discussed between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart. Jacinda Ardern is in Japan for a week-long scheduled trip, before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

NEW ZEALANDUKNORTH AMERICA

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

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AUSTRALIAEUROPEREST OF THE WORLD

Suicide blast kills at least 20

A powerful early morning suicide truck bomb has devastated a hospital in southern Afghanistan, killing as many as 20 people and wounding more than 90 others, an official said. The Taliban, who claimed responsibility for the bombing, have carried out nearly daily attacks since peace talks with the United States collapsed earlier this month.

Bermuda hit by hurricane winds

Hurricane Humberto has rushed past Bermuda, lashing the British Atlantic territory with powerful winds for hours before beginning to move away, as new Hurricane Lorena swirled in the Pacific posing a threat to resorts on Mexico’s southwestern coast. The fast-moving Category 3 Humberto began bashing Bermuda with hurricane-strength winds and passed to within about 75 miles (130km) of the island before heading out into the Atlantic.

MP defends NDIS underspend

Participants in the national disability insurance scheme will keep receiving enough support despite its $4.6 billion underspend, the minister responsible insists. The Morrison government revealed the budget was almost out of deficit, thanks to less money going to the NDIS. NDIS Minister Stuart Robert has defended the underspend, saying no participant had received less money as a result.

EU urged to be ‘flexible’ on Brexit

The UK has told Brussels to be flexible and willing to compromise in Brexit talks as Boris Johnson came under further pressure to produce his plan for a deal. Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, following talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, said Britain should outline its Brexit plans to the EU by the end of September.

Pilot rescued after jet crash

A Belgian F-16 fighter jet has crashed in western France, damaging a house and setting a field ablaze. The crash left a pilot suspended for two hours from a high-voltage electricity line after his parachute got caught. Emergency workers extracted the pilot safely after cutting off power in the area, and he was been taken to a nearby hospital for medical checks, officials said.

Kereu missing in bird mystery

The reigning New Zealand bird of the year has gone missing. It’s September in Wellington and the much-loved kereru, a native and endemic pigeon with contrasting green and white plumage, has yet to be spotted. That’s no overstatement. There are literally no kererus to be seen. “This time of year we should see heaps of them everywhere,” Barrett Pistoll, a senior environmental monitoring officer at Greater Wellington Regional Council, said.

NEW ZEALANDEUROPEREST OF THE WORLD

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

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NORTH AMERICA

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. - AP

Controversial photo rocks Trudeau campaignCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaigning for national elections has been hit by the publication of a yearbook photo showing him in brownface make-up at a costume party in 2001.

Time magazine, which posted the photo, said it was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in British Columbia where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics. The photo depicts Trudeau wearing a turban and robe, with dark make-up on his hands, face and neck.

Trudeau, who launched his re-election campaign a week ago, said he should have known better.

“I’m disappointed in myself,” he said.Trudeau said the photo of him was taken at the school’s

annual dinner, which had an “Arabian Nights” theme that year.The prime minister said it was not the first time he has worn

make-up, saying he also did so while performing during a talent show.

“I should have known better then but I didn’t, and I am deeply sorry for it,” Trudeau said. “I’m going to ask Canadians to forgive what I did. I shouldn’t have done that. I take responsibility for it. It was a dumb thing to do.”

Trudeau added he had always been more enthusiastic about costumes than is “sometimes appropriate”.

“These are the situations I regret deeply,” he said.Polls say Trudeau, who has been admired by liberals around

the world for his progressive policies, is facing a serious challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer. ■

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, meets with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

US backs Saudi Arabia’s ‘right to defend itself’US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says America backs Saudi Arabia’s “right to defend itself” after a weekend attack targeted the heart of its oil industry, comments coming after he described the assault as an “act of war”.

The attacks have reignited fears over a wider conflagration in the region, as tensions remain high over Iran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

Pompeo’s comments came as he was in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s defense minister. The Saudis displayed missile and drone wreckage at a press conference, and cited other evidence they alleged shows the raid was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran”.

Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack, warned the US it will retaliate immediately if it is targeted.

Pompeo’s comments came after his meeting with Prince Mohammed over the drone and cruise missile attack on a crucial oil processing facility and oil field. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the US alleges Iran carried out the assault.

Pompeo called the attacks “unprecedented”.“The US stands with Saudi Arabia and supports its right to

defend itself,” Pompeo said. “The Iranian regime’s threatening behavior will not be tolerated.”

Pompeo did not elaborate. President Donald Trump has been noncommittal on whether he would order US military retaliation. He separately said he is moving to increase financial sanctions on Tehran over the attack, without elaborating. Iran already is subject to a crushing American sanctions program targeting its crucial oil industry.

Pompeo was to next visit the United Arab Emirates to meet with Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE is a close ally of Saudi Arabia and joined the kingdom in its war in Yemen against the Houthis. ■

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UK

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg. - AP

Rees-Mogg expects ‘different’ Brexit dealBoris Johnson is on course to deliver a “fundamentally different” Brexit deal to ensure the UK leaves on October 31, a Cabinet minister has claimed after Finland said a new deal must be presented in 12 days.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed his confidence in the Prime Minister achieving such an outcome while stressing the need for the DUP to be consulted.

His remarks came after Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, following talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, said Britain should outline its Brexit plans to the EU by the end of September.

The rotating presidency of the Council of the EU is currently held by Finland.

Rees-Mogg also maintained the Queen was “in no way misled” over the decision to suspend Parliament, recalling travelling with Her Majesty’s hairdresser from the airport in Aberdeen to Balmoral before seeking approval to prorogue Parliament for five weeks until October 14.

Rees-Mogg said of Johnson’s Brexit efforts: “I’m very, very confident the Prime Minister will deliver a deal that is fundamentally different if he can deliver before October 31.”

Rees-Mogg also said the Government has to “listen very carefully to what the DUP say”.

Earlier, Rees-Mogg labelled Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage a “very distinguished political figure and an important contributor” to what has happened in the UK.

He added Farage is a “significant British statesman” but would not be drawn on whether he should receive a knighthood or a peerage.

In an appeal to Brexit Party backers to support the Conservatives at the next general election, Rees-Mogg said: “If you vote for the Brexit Party at the next general election, it’s a vote effectively for Jeremy Corbyn.

“Think very hard, is that what you want?" ■

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. - AP

UK

Brexit pressure mounts on BorisPrime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused by European Union officials of failing to negotiate seriously, as his plan to leave the EU in just over six weeks faced hurdles on both sides of the Channel.

In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament said it would be the fault of Britain, not the bloc, if the UK crashed out of the EU without a divorce deal on the scheduled October 31 departure day.

In London, Johnson’s government battled to convince the UK’s top court that the prime minister’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks with Brexit looming was neither illegal nor improper.

The developments were the latest in a rocky week for Johnson, who pulled out of a news conference with the prime minister of Luxembourg this week because of noisy protesters. He was later berated by the father of a sick child over funding cuts to Britain’s health service as he visited a London hospital.

Johnson took power in July with a vow that Britain would leave the EU on October 31 “come what may”. He promised to break a stalemate that saw the Brexit agreement struck between the EU and Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May rejected three times by Britain’s Parliament, prompting May to resign.

Scotland’s highest civil court last week ruled the Parliament shutdown illegal. The High Court in London, however, said it was not a matter for the courts.

The Supreme Court is being asked to decide who is right in a three-day hearing. If it overturns the suspension, lawmakers could be called back to Parliament as early as next week.

Johnson has insisted he is working hard to get an agreement with the EU that will ensure a smooth departure.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the risk of a no-deal Brexit remained “very real” because Britain still had not produced workable new proposals. ■

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NEW ZEALAND

Jacinda Ardern shakes hands with Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan. - AP

Ardern meets with Abe for economic talksTrade, women’s economic empowerment, the Pacific and space were among the broad range of topics discussed between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart.

Jacinda Ardern is in Japan for a week-long scheduled trip, before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Ardern said in the face of global economic head winds, our economic relationship with Japan is becoming even more important for our economy.

“Japan is our fourth largest trading partner and an important source of high quality investment. Japan has total investments in New Zealand of $5.5 billion, up from less than $1 billion in 2001.

“It’s our sixth largest tourism market with 115,000 Japanese visitors welcomed to our shores every year,” she said.

Ardern said she and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe discussed the important role trade can play in women’s economic empowerment.

“Studies show that greater inclusion of women in the economy could significantly boost global growth.

“Prime Minister Abe and I agreed to work together with other countries to explore the scope to progress trade and gender issues,” she said.

She said they look forward to working towards an arrangement on bilateral space cooperation with Japan, which will benefit New Zealand’s burgeoning space industry.

They have also agreed to develop a Joint Declaration on Pacific Cooperation.

“My hope is that this will be issued by our Foreign Ministers later this year,” she said. ■

Demonstrators hold posters in support of the Biloela Tamil family outside the Federal

Court in Melbourne. - AAP

AUSTRALIA

Tamil family to stay in Australia until trialA Tamil family will remain in legal limbo on Christmas Island for the foreseeable future, with their deportation case now hinging on an upcoming court battle.

Shortly before an order preventing their forcible removal to Sri Lanka expired, Federal Court judge Mordy Bromberg said the family had a legal case that needed to be decided at trial.

The family, whose case rests on their two-year-old daughter and her right to apply for a protection visa, cannot be deported by the Australian government until the matter is decided through the court system.

A date has not yet been set for their case to be heard.Priya and Nades Murugappan and daughters Tharunicaa,

two, and Kopika, four, had previously settled in the Queensland township of Biloela.

They were being deported in August, under instruction by the federal government, when their flight was ordered to land due to a late-night court injunction.

The family has since been detained in “jail-like” conditions on Christmas Island.

Tharunicaa, despite being Australian-born, would normally also be refused refugee status due to legislation blocking children of asylum seekers who arrive by boat from accessing the nation’s protection.

But the Federal Court was told earlier this week that Tharunicaa was legally entitled to apply for a protection visa during a short period in 2017 when her mother’s visa application was not yet finalised, following a determination by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

An application was made for Tharunicaa last week, but barrister Stephen Lloyd, acting for the federal government, argued the window of opportunity had closed.

Barrister Angel Aleksov, acting for the family, argued Tharunicaa’s visa application was “still in train”, meaning the government did not have the power to forcibly remove the child and her family until her case was decided. ■

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REST OF THE WORLD

People in Bermuda board up a store in preparation for Hurricane Humberto. - AP

Bermuda lashed by hurricane windsHurricane Humberto has rushed past Bermuda, lashing the British Atlantic territory with powerful winds for hours before beginning to move away, as new Hurricane Lorena swirled in the Pacific posing a threat to resorts on Mexico’s southwestern coast.

The fast-moving Category 3 Humberto began bashing Bermuda with hurricane-strength winds and passed to within about 75 miles (130km) of the island before heading out into the Atlantic.

Bermuda Governor John Rankin had 120 soldiers of the Royal Bermuda Regiment on alert for possible recovery efforts, and officials had warned the 70,000 residents to stay sheltered until the winds subsided. Schools, clinics and government offices closed down as the storm approached.

The US National Hurricane Center said maximum sustained winds hit 120mph (190km/h).

National Security Minister Wayne Caines had earlier said non-emergency medical services would be closed. Flights from the US and Great Britain were canceled.

“We’d like to ask all of Bermuda to prepare for the storm, to know that the government and everyone is rooting for us, and we can get through this,” Caines said. “We’ve been through this before.” ■

Damaged cars are seen at the site of a suicide attack in Zabul, Afghanistan. - AP

REST OF THE WORLD

Afghan suicide blast leaves at least 20 deadA powerful early morning suicide truck bomb has devastated a hospital in southern Afghanistan, killing as many as 20 people and wounding more than 90 others, an official said.

The Taliban, who claimed responsibility for the bombing, have carried out nearly daily attacks since peace talks with the United States collapsed earlier this month.

The massive explosion destroyed part of the hospital in Qalat, the capital of southern Zabul province, and left a fleet of ambulances broken and battered.

Residents, many of whom had come to see their sick family members, used shawls and blankets to carry the wounded inside the destroyed building, while authorities scrambled to take the worst of the wounded to hospitals in nearby Kandahar.

In the hours immediately after the explosion, there were contradictory figures of the dead and wounded. The provincial governor’s spokesman Gul Islam Seyal put the death toll at 12 but said authorities were on the scene sifting through the debris. Atta Jan Haqbayan, head of the provincial council, put the death toll at 20.

Morning prayers had just finished when worshippers were stunned by the ear-splitting blast that destroyed parts of a mosque adjacent to the hospital and the hospital building, said Mahboob Hakimi, a resident of Qalat.

Windows in his home nearly two kilometres (over one mile) away were shattered by the blast, he said.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed, said the target was a nearby intelligence office, which he claimed was destroyed and “tens of intelligence operatives killed/wounded.”

Haqbayan said the wall of the National Security Department (NDS) building was damaged. He couldn’t say whether any personnel were among the casualties. ■

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EUROPE

A file photo of a Belgian F16 fighter jet. - AP

Pilot rescued after fighter jet crashA Belgian F-16 fighter jet has crashed in western France, damaging a house and setting a field ablaze.

The crash left a pilot suspended for two hours from a high-voltage electricity line after his parachute got caught.

Emergency workers extracted the pilot safely after cutting off power in the area, and he was been taken to a nearby hospital for medical checks, officials said.

No injuries have been reported. Surrounding homes were evacuated as the pilot was being taken down and firefighters battled the blaze from the crash.

One of the plane’s wings sliced the roof and facade of a house in the town of Pluvigner, in Brittany, before plunging into a neighbouring farm field, said Ludovic Kauffer, who lives in the house.

Kauffer was at work at the time of the accident, but his parents were home and described to him the “booms” of the crash.

“My mother is in shock, my father is too,” he said. “The most important thing is that everyone is OK.”

The plane was travelling from Belgium to a naval air base in France when it came down between the towns of Pluvigner and Landaul.

Two pilots were aboard, and both ejected before the crash. One was safely rescued but the other got stuck on the power line.

The plane itself was not armed, officials said. ■

- AP

EUROPE

UK urges EU to be ‘flexible’ on BrexitThe UK has told Brussels to be flexible and willing to compromise in Brexit talks as Boris Johnson came under further pressure to produce his plan for a deal.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, following talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, said Britain should outline its Brexit plans to the EU by the end of September.

But Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay warned the European Union against a “rigid” approach and suggested the final details of an alternative to the Irish backstop may not need to be resolved until the end of 2020.

The Government has so far refused to hand over written proposals for its alternative to the backstop – the controversial contingency measure which would keep the UK closely aligned to Brussels’ rules in order to prevent a hard border with Ireland.

Rinne said he and Macron “agreed that it is now time for Boris Johnson to produce his own proposals in writing – if they exist”.

“If no proposals are received by the end of September, then it’s over.”

Barclay, speaking during a visit to Spain, said: “A rigid approach now at this point is no way to progress a deal and the responsibility sits with both sides to find a solution.”

He said the Prime Minister had shown he was willing to be “creative and flexible” by considering an all-Ireland approach to plant and animal checks and suggested that it was now for the European Commission to shift its stance.

He added: “We are committed to carving out a landing zone and we stand ready to share relevant texts. But it must be in the spirit of negotiation with flexibility and with a negotiating partner that itself is willing to compromise.”

Barclay also suggested that the EU’s call for a legally operational alternative to the backstop to be ready on Brexit day was setting the bar too high. ■

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Kereru goes missing in bird mysteryThe reigning New Zealand bird of the year has gone missing.

It’s September in Wellington and the much-loved kereru, a native and endemic pigeon with contrasting green and white plumage, has yet to be spotted.

That’s no overstatement.There are literally no kererus to be seen.“This time of year we should see heaps of them everywhere,”

Barrett Pistoll, a senior environmental monitoring officer at Greater Wellington Regional Council, said.

“We’ve had lots of members of the public ringing up, saying ‘where are these birds?’”

Driven by nearby sanctuary Zealandia, Wellington has defied global trends and enjoyed a return of endemic birds to populated areas in significant numbers over the last decade.

But this year, the kereru are late.A council tally over the last month in nearby Kaitoke Regional

Park, which has averaged 150 daily sightings over the last five years, produced no sightings.

Adding to the mystery, the kereru’s favourite food – the bright yellow flowers of the Kowhai trees – have blossomed around the Kiwi capital.

So where are they?“The theory is that they’re still feeding in the forest,” Pistoll

said.“In the summer we experienced a mast, an episodic fruiting

event of large proportions.“That fills the forest with food for birds. So our working

theory is there’s so much food left in the forest the birds are hanging out in there and haven’t bothered coming down.”

Locals are so full of affection for the kereru it won the title of 2018 Bird of the Year in a national popular vote.

Its absence from populated areas could affect another Kiwi tradition, the Great Kereru Count. ■

NEW ZEALAND

A kereru, an endemic wood pigeon. - AAP

Minister defends NDIS underspendParticipants in the national disability insurance scheme will keep receiving enough support despite its $4.6 billion underspend, the minister responsible insists.

The Morrison government revealed the budget was almost out of deficit, thanks to less money going to the NDIS.

NDIS Minister Stuart Robert has defended the underspend, saying no participant had received less money as a result.

He said 100,000 participants “couldn’t be found” or were counted twice, suggesting less money was now needed for the scheme.

Labor’s NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten has spent the past 10 weeks travelling around the country holding forums seeking feedback from participants.

He’s been horrified by experiences he’s heard, including a nine-year-old boy whose family had to use a wheelbarrow because he was awaiting an NDIS-supported wheelchair.

Shorten said the authority implementing the NDIS is “constipated” and offered to work with Robert to make the scheme better.

“The decisions just aren’t getting through, that’s why the money isn’t being spent,” he said.

“We’ve got to do better. I know Labor didn’t win the election, I’m very aware of that fact.

“I’m reminded every time I walk into question time, I get it.“But on this area of disability we don’t need an election to

make it better. We can make it better now.”Shorten made the comments during debate on legislation

to set up a national system to hold information about NDIS worker security checks.

The proposal passed federal parliament and it will be created after the bill is officially rubber-stamped.

The government said it will keep people using the NDIS safer, as they won’t be at risk from people who work closely with them. ■

- AP

AUSTRALIA

mp expects ‘different’ deal ardern meets with abe · 2019. 9. 19. · farage a “very...

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