1

May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

AUSTRALIAUKUSA

Protesters torch police station

Cheering protesters have torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the US over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck. Video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set.

NSA sounds alarm over hack

The US National Security Agency says the same Russian military hacking group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election and unleashed a devastating malware attack the following year has been exploiting a major email server program since last August or earlier. The timing of the agency’s advisory was unusual considering that the critical vulnerability in the Exim Mail Transfer Agent was identified 11 months ago, when a patch was issued.

Zookeeper attacked by lions

A female zookeeper has been critically injured in a mauling by two lions inside an enclosure on the NSW South Coast. Emergency services were called to Shoalhaven Zoo in Nowra, with Jennifer Brown suffering serious head and neck injuries in what was described as an “extremely vicious” attack. Ms Brown was cleaning the enclosure at the time, with the zoo closed to the public because of Covid-19.

Lockdown restrictions to ease

Groups of up to six people will be allowed to meet outside provided they stay two metres apart as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “cautious” easing of lockdown rules amid a continuing row over Dominic Cummings. Johnson confirmed that all five tests required for the next phase of restrictions to begin have been met, meaning more pupils can return to school and outdoor retail and car showrooms can open from Monday in England.

Following in Sir Tom’s footsteps

A 101-year-old retired nurse has raised thousands of pounds for the NHS as she aims to walk 102 laps of her local park before she turns 102. Following in Captain Sir Thomas Moore’s footsteps, the former auxiliary nurse and World War II veteran aims to raise as much money as possible for the service she worked in for much of her life. Joan Rich has already completed 34 laps of Allenby Park in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

COAG out, national cabinet in

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dumped the lumbering Council of Australian Governments in favour of the more limber national cabinet. He’ll now hold monthly meetings with premiers and chief ministers, hoping to capture the goodwill and free flow of ideas they previously had most over dinner the night before formal gatherings. “Having the groups operate like a fair-dinkum cabinet has been really important,” Morrison said.

AUSTRALIAUKUSA

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

New ZeALANDeUROPeReST OF The wORLD

hK’s business status at risk

A national security law proposed by China could imperil Hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s best places to do business. The law, approved in Beijing, led Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to say Washington would no longer treat Hong Kong, already reeling from anti-government protests and the pandemic, as autonomous from Beijing. The Chinese government has not given details of the law, which is aimed at suppressing secessionist and subversive activity.

Charges over sanctions busting

The US Justice Department has accused a network of North Korean and Chinese citizens of secretly advancing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program by channeling at least $2.5 billion in illicit payments through hundreds of front companies. The indictment is believed to be the largest criminal enforcement action ever brought against North Korea. The 33 defendants include executives of North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank.

Full week of no new virus cases

The Ministry of Health says there are no new cases of Covid-19 in the country today, with New Zealand marking a week since the last confirmed case in this country. The ministry said the total number of confirmed cases remained at 1154. The combined total of confirmed and probable cases was 1504. Scientists were also expecting a new blood test to reveal some cases of Covid-19 that were missed because of initial rules around testing, and potential community transmission.

Freedom ‘the rule’ in France

The French way of life is set to largely resume next week, with most virus-related restrictions easing as the country prepares for the summer holiday season amid the pandemic. in a speech, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe promised that “freedom will, at last, again become the rule.” France is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus and was under strict lockdown for two months before starting to ease restrictions on May 11.

eU weighs China policy

European Union foreign ministers are debating ways to manage tense relations with China as it asserts more control over Hong Kong and amid concern about Beijing’s influence over EU officials. The ministers, holding talks via videoconference, were weighing the need for firm policy against the damage that it might do to business ties between the Asian economic giant and the world’s biggest trading bloc.

National pitch JobStart scheme

National says if elected, it will give small businesses a $10,000 bonus each time they hire more staff. Party leader Todd Muller announced a JobStart scheme policy after a tour of furniture fittings company Blum in Auckland. Muller said the scheme would offer cash payments to businesses for each new hire from November and run for five months. He predicted it would provide an incentive for up to 50,000 new jobs.

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

USA

– AP

NSA sounds alarm over email hackThe US National Security Agency says the same Russian military hacking group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election and unleashed a devastating malware attack the following year has been exploiting a major email server program since last August or earlier.

The timing of the agency’s advisory was unusual considering that the critical vulnerability in the Exim Mail Transfer Agent – which mostly runs on Unix-type operating systems – was identified 11 months ago, when a patch was issued.

Exim is so widely used – though far less known than such commercial alternatives as Microsoft’s proprietary Exchange – that some companies and government agencies that run it may still not have patched the vulnerability, said Jake Williams, president of Rendition infosec and a former US government hacker.

it took Williams about a minute of online probing to find a potentially vulnerable government server in the UK

He speculated that the NSA might have issued the advisory to publicize the iP addresses and a domain name used by the Russian military group, known as Sandworm, in its hacking campaign – in hopes of thwarting their use for other means.

The Exim exploit allows an attacker to gain access using specially crafted email and install programs, modify data and create new accounts – gaining a foothold on a compromised network.

The NSA did not say who the Russian military hackers had targeted. But senior US intelligence officials have warned in recent months that Kremlin agents are engaged in activities that could threaten the integrity of the November presidential election.

An NSA official would only say that the agency was publicizing the vulnerability because, despite an October warning by British officials, it “has continued to be exploited and needs to be patched.” The hope, in now publicizing Sandworm’s role, is to further motivate patching, said the official. ■

A protester carries a US flag upside down – a sign of distress – next to a burning building

in Minneapolis. – AP

USA

Minneapolis protesters torch police stationCheering protesters have torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the US over the death of George Floyd.

A police spokesman confirmed that staff had evacuated the 3rd precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, “in the interest of the safety of our personnel” shortly after 10pm, local time. Video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set.

Protesters could be seen setting fire to a Minneapolis Police Department jacket and cheering.

President Donald Trump blasted the “total lack of leadership” in Minneapolis. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” he said on Twitter.

Trump, who called protesters in Minneapolis “thugs,” drew another warning from Twitter for his rhetoric, saying it violated the platform’s rules about “glorifying violence”.

A visibly tired and frustrated Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made his first public appearance of the night at City Hall near 2am and took responsibility for evacuating the precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers there.

He defended the city’s lack of engagement with looters – only a handful of arrests across the first two nights of violence – and said, “We are doing absolutely everything that we can to keep the peace.”

Protests have also spread to other US cities. in New York City, protesters defied a prohibition on public gatherings, clashing with police, while demonstrators blocked traffic in downtown Denver and downtown Columbus. A day earlier, demonstrators took to the streets in lA and Memphis. in louisville, Kentucky, police confirmed at least seven people had been shot as protesters demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was fatally shot by police in her home in March. ■

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

UK

Diane Rich and her mother Joan Rich, 101, who is raising money for the NHS. – PA

Ex-nurse, 101, follows in Captain Tom’s footstepsA 101-year-old retired nurse has raised thousands of pounds for the NhS as she aims to walk 102 laps of her local park before she turns 102.

Following in Captain Sir Thomas Moore’s footsteps, the former auxiliary nurse and World War ii veteran aims to raise as much money as possible for the service she worked in for much of her life.

Joan Rich has already completed 34 laps of Allenby Park in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

The active centenarian aims to complete the circuit 102 times before she turns 102 on September 11.

Using her frame, or pushing her wheelchair, she walks around the park, completing a 560m walk from door to door.

By September she’ll have walked more than 35 miles.Mrs Rich said she was inspired to complete the challenge

after seeing “NHS” mowed into the lawn of the park.“Even behind a mask, NHS staff always make you smile,” she

said.Her daughter Diane Rich, who accompanies her on the

walks, set up a JustGiving page to raise funds for NHS charities.“When the park opened up we came here and saw that ‘NHS’

had been mowed into the grass, it was almost like it was a thank you to Joan as well,” Diane said.

“We meet new people in the park, all sorts, we have made new friends with people with dogs, families and even teenagers have been really polite and respectful.

“An eight-year-old said to Joan ‘You are teaching us that we can do anything, that we don’t give up’.”

Mrs Rich, who was born in Meriden in the West Midlands during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, said the sense of community spirit during the coronavirus pandemic reminded her of that during war time.

“once you’ve been an NHS worker your heart is always with it,” said Diane. “Anyone Joan’s age, or perhaps a bit younger, it’s always good to have purpose and a sense of belonging and Joan is very active.” ■

– PA

UK

Lockdown restrictions to easeGroups of up to six people will be allowed to meet outside provided they stay two metres apart as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “cautious” easing of lockdown rules amid a continuing row over Dominic Cummings.

Johnson confirmed that all five tests required for the next phase of restrictions to begin had been met, meaning more pupils could return to school and outdoor retail and car showrooms could open from Monday in England.

Johnson outlined that people would be able to see “both parents at once, or both grandparents at once” in what he said would be a “long-awaited and joyful moment” for many.

The PM set out the details just hours after Durham Constabulary said they would have taken action if police officers had stopped Cummings on his 50-mile round trip to Barnard Castle.

He said he regarded the issue as “closed” after the police said they did not intend to take “retrospective action”, though the force found that the aide may have committed “a minor breach” of lockdown rules in driving to the town.

Johnson told the daily press conference that people should “try to avoid seeing too many households in quick succession so we can avoid the risk of quick transmission from lots of different families and continue to control the virus”.

“It remains the case that people should not be inside the homes of their friends and families, unless it is to access the garden.

“At this stage, i am afraid that those who have been asked to shield themselves should continue to do so.”

Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance stressed that the number of new infections was around one in a thousand a week – meaning that “54,000 new cases are occurring every week, so somewhere around eight or so thousand per day”.

“That is not a low number, so it’s worth remembering that we still have a significant burden of infection.” ■

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

AUSTRALIA

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. – AAP

COAG ditched in favour of national cabinetPrime Minister Scott Morrison has dumped the lumbering Council of Australian Governments in favour of the more limber national cabinet.

He’ll now hold monthly meetings with premiers and chief ministers, hoping to capture the goodwill and free flow of ideas they previously had most over dinner the night before formal gatherings.

“Having the groups operate like a fair-dinkum cabinet has been really important,” Morrison said.

National cabinet was established in March to bring political leaders together to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The CoAG process has been criticised as too cumbersome and its meetings had become infrequent and irregular in recent years.

“CoAG is no more,” Morrison said. The national cabinet will continue to meet fortnightly during

the pandemic before moving to a monthly schedule in the post-virus period.

Most will be held via videoconference while face-to-face meetings will occur twice yearly.

Morrison said the agenda would focus on jobs.A key reform will be giving the treasurers responsibility over

national partnership agreements which cover billions of dollars in funding for services.

There will also be a series of ministerial groups to focus on specific issues. Many other ministerial councils that exist now will be re-examined and Morrison expects many will no longer be required.

“it’s important that ministers at state and federal level talk to each other but they don’t have to do it in such a bureaucratic form with a whole bunch of paperwork attached to it,” he said. “We want to streamline all of those endless meetings that go on.”

Asked whether it would reduce the transparency of government decisions by putting more discussions behind closed doors, Morrison said policymaking should not be a “spectator sport”. ■

A NSW ambulance officer is seen leaving the Shoalhaven Zoo in Nowra, NSW. - AAP

AUSTRALIA

Zookeeper attacked by lionsA female zookeeper has been critically injured in a mauling by two lions inside an enclosure on the NSw South Coast.

Emergency services were called to Shoalhaven Zoo in Nowra, with Jennifer Brown suffering serious head and neck injuries in what was described as an “extremely vicious” attack.

Ms Brown was cleaning the enclosure at the time, with the zoo closed to the public because of Covid-19.

The experienced zookeeper was airlifted to St George Hospital and remained in a critical condition.

NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Faye Stockmen described the attack as “absolutely harrowing”, adding it was frightening to be the first to walk into the lion’s den to treat the woman.

“This is one of the worst jobs I have ever experienced,” Ms Stockmen said. “The attack was extremely vicious and paramedics found the woman with severe injuries.”

Police Detective Superintendent Greg Moore said the two male lions were secured shortly after the attack and there was no further risk to people.

Asked if the lions would be put down, he said police will look into what happened and it was too early to pre-empt an outcome of that investigation.

“Fortunately, lion attacks are rare in this part of the world,” he said.

“We will be working with authorities to make sure if there’s anything we can do to make these types of establishments safer, we will be doing our best to support that.”

it’s not the first animal attack at Shoalhaven Zoo. In 2014, a crocodile dragged a male handler into the water

during a school holiday feeding show. The man suffered a minor hand injury.

Shoalhaven Zoo has been contacted for comment and SafeWork NSW has been notified of the incident. ■

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

ReST of The woRLd

North Korean leader Kim Jon Un. – AP

N Koreans charged over sanction-busting schemeThe US Justice Department has accused a network of North Korean and Chinese citizens of secretly advancing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program by channeling at least $2.5 billion in illicit payments through hundreds of front companies.

The indictment is believed to be the largest c riminal enforcement action ever brought against North Korea.

The 33 defendants include executives of North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank, which in 2013 was added to a Treasury Department list of sanctioned institutions for transactions that facilitated the nuclear proliferation network, and cut off from the US financial system.

According to the indictment, the bank officials – one of whom had served in North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau – set up branches in countries around the world, including Thailand, Russia and Kuwait, and used more than 250 front companies to process US-dollar payments to further the country’s nuclear proliferation program.

The defendants used a variety of tactics to cover their tracks, including coded conversations; listing false destinations and customers on contracts and invoices; and creating new front companies after the banks caught onto the association with North Korea, the indictment said. Banks were routinely tricked into processing transactions they wouldn’t have ordinarily done, according to prosecutors.

Five of the defendants are Chinese citizens who operated covert branches in either China or libya. others who were charged include individuals who served at times as the bank’s president or vice president.

“Through this indictment, the United States has signified its commitment to hampering North Korea’s ability to illegally access the US financial system and (to limiting) its ability to use proceeds from illicit actions to enhance its illegal WMD and ballistic missile programs,” acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin for the District of Columbia said. ■

Riot Police stand guard at Central in Hong Kong. – AP

ReST of The woRLd

Hong Kong’s business status at risk A national security law proposed by China could imperil hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s best places to do business.

The law, approved in Beijing, led Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to say Washington would no longer treat Hong Kong, already reeling from anti-government protests and the pandemic, as autonomous from Beijing.

The Chinese government has not given details of the law, which is aimed at suppressing secessionist and subversive activity in the former British colony.

After 11 months of protests, Chinese leaders said was needed to combat unspecified threats in the semi-autonomous region of seven million people. But business groups, lawyers and financial analysts say potential repercussions range from loss of business for Hong Kong’s financial markets and law firms to a loss of professional talent in the city.

Hong Kong is highly regarded for its skilled workforce, business-friendly legal system, Western-style free speech and ease of movement. But global companies already were shifting some operations out of Hong Kong due to rising costs and uncertainty after prolonged, sometimes violent clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters.

Scott Salandy-Defour, founder of clean-tech startup liquidstar, has been considering moving out of Hong Kong, and the security bill is the “last straw,” he said. “i don’t see how it gets any better from here.”

“When we say we’re a Hong Kong-based company when talking to investors, it’s just not as attractive as it was as a year ago,” said Salandy-Defour.

“We’re potentially cutting ourselves off from a lot of different funding avenues, like grants from the US government,” he said.

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie lam has tried to reassure companies and the public that its civil liberties won’t be affected. But the law shows Chinese President Xi Jinping is determined to tighten control. ■

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May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

eURoPe

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. – AP

European Union weighs China policy changeseuropean Union foreign ministers are debating ways to manage tense relations with China as it asserts more control over hong Kong and amid concern about Beijing’s influence over EU officials.

The ministers, holding talks via videoconference, were weighing the need for firm policy against the damage that it might do to business ties between the Asian economic giant and the world’s biggest trading bloc.

The 27 EU nations are often divided in their approach to China, but Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong – a Chinese territory that is supposed to have a high degree of autonomy under a “one-country, two systems” framework – seems to have united them.

“Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy cannot be undermined. We expect the freedoms and rights for the citizens to be protected through their basic law and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition sees the move as an assault on the territory’s autonomy, and the United States has called on China to back off on the security law. But no talk of any EU action, never mind sanctions, is likely.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is chairing the meeting, has said that the bloc needs a “more robust strategy” toward China amid signs that Asia is replacing the United States as the centre of global power.

Borrell said relations between Brussels and Beijing weren’t always based on trust, transparency and reciprocity, and that “we only have a chance if we deal with China with collective discipline”. He noted that an EU-China summit this fall could be an opportunity to do so.

in recent weeks, Borrell has been forced twice to deny that the External Action Service – the EU’s equivalent of a foreign office – has bowed to Chinese pressure to water down a report on fake news linked to the coronavirus and a newspaper op-ed referencing the disease’s origins in Wuhan. ■

– AP

eURoPe

Freedom to ‘become the rule’ in FranceThe French way of life is set to largely resume next week, with most virus-related restrictions easing as the country prepares for the summer holiday season amid the pandemic.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe promised that “freedom will, at last, again become the rule”.

France is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus and was under strict lockdown for two months before starting to ease restrictions on May 11. Authorities have reported at least 28,596 Covid-19-related deaths.

From June 2 restaurants and cafes will reopen, together with monuments and museums, concert halls and theaters, beaches, campsites, gyms and public swimming pools.

There’s a notable exception for the Paris region, the country’s worst-affected by the virus, where many facilities will have to wait until June 22 to reopen.

Philippe said the French were yearning for restaurants and cafes to reopen, noting that these “are part of our art of living”.

Diners will be no more than 10 to a table, with at least one meter (three feet) separating each group. Clients will have to wear masks when they move around the restaurant and staff will have to wear them all the time.

in the Paris region, only outdoor seating will be allowed.Cinemas won’t reopen before June 22.And as the summer holiday season looms, the French will be

allowed again to travel freely across the country – instead of being limited to 100km (60 miles) from home now.

“You can move around, you can go on your annual holidays but it’s probably more reasonable to delay a long trip if that is possible,” Philippe said.

France aims at reopening its borders with other European countries on June 15, he said.

Public gatherings larger than 10 people are still banned, contact sports are not allowed and night clubs and stadiums will remain closed.

Work-from-home is still recommended when possible. ■

8

May 29 (GMT) – May 30 (aEST), 2020

National announce JobStart schemeNational says if elected, it will give small businesses a $10,000 bonus each time they hire more staff.

Party leader Todd Muller announced a JobStart scheme policy after a tour of furniture fittings company Blum in Auckland.

Muller said the scheme would offer cash payments to businesses for each new hire from November and run for five months.

He predicted it would provide an incentive for up to 50,000 new jobs.

“We are committed to supporting New Zealand businesses, in particular small businesses, to invest and grow,” Muller said.

“JobStart will give small business owners greater confidence to hire new people.

“Small business owners who create jobs will be the heroes of this economic crisis, in the way that our nurses, doctors and all five million of us who stayed home were the heroes of the health crisis.”

The scheme would be capped at 10 new employees, or $100,000 per business. ■

New ZeALANd

National Party leader Todd Muller. - RNZ / Matt Hunt

Full week of no new virus casesThe Ministry of health says there are no new cases of Covid-19 in the country today, with New Zealand marking a week since the last confirmed case in this country.

The ministry said the total number of confirmed cases remains at 1154. The combined total of confirmed and probable cases is 1504.

There was just just one active case remaining. There were eight cases a day earlier, the first time since March 16 New Zealand was in single digits. A total of 1481 people have now recovered.

Nobody was in hospital with the coronavirus, and there were no further deaths.

Yesterday, there were no new cases of Covid-19 reported, for the sixth day in a row. But a woman in her 90s, who died last weekend after recovering from coronavirus, was added to the Covid-19 death toll, which stood at 22.

Scientists are also expecting a new blood test to reveal some cases of Covid-19 that were missed because of initial rules around swab testing, and potential community transmission.

The 10-person gathering restriction has now expanded to 100. ■

– AAP

New ZeALANd