full stories start on page 3 · 2/22/2019 · are destabilising the country’s fragile security,...

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FEBRUARY 22 (GMT) – FEBRUARY 23 (AEST), 2019

AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDUKNORTH AMERICA

Trump pledges opportunity

President Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month. Speaking to hundreds at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its “lowest ever.”

Small force to remain in Syria

The Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said that it will keep 200 US troops in the country for now. “A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a one-sentence statement.

Deportations of Kiwis ‘corrosive’

While she and Scott Morrison preached a family bond, economic ties and unity in the Pacific, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said deporting Kiwis from Australia is “corrosive” to the trans-Tasman relationship. Standing next to Morrison in Auckland during his first visit as PM, Ardern described friendly and productive talks before launching into the contentious issue.

Ninth MP quits Labour Party

Ian Austin has become the ninth Labour MP in a week to quit Jeremy Corbyn’s party, claiming there was a “culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance”. The Dudley North MP said he was quitting the “broken” party and was “ashamed” of what it had become under Corbyn. But the former minister said he had no plans to join his eight former colleagues in the Independent Group they established this week.

More talks as showdown looms

Fresh Brexit talks have been scheduled as Theresa May heads towards another Commons showdown on her EU withdrawal stance. The move comes amid reports the Prime Minister is facing a major challenge from Tory MPs opposed to a no-deal exit from the EU. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox announced they will hold talks again with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

PM downplays coal import ban

The prime minister insists a reported ban on Australian coal exports entering China is just an issue of local rules and not a wider problem between the two countries. There are fears the reported action by Chinese customs officials at the northern port of Dalian could be part of retaliation by the Asian giant over the coalition’s stance on telecoms group Huawei.

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 3

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AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDUKREST OF THE WORLD

Israel’s moon rocket blasts off

An Israeli spacecraft has rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel’s privately-funded lunar lander – a first not just for Israel but commercial space – generated the buzz.

IS fighters ‘slip into Iraq’

US and Iraqi officials say Islamic State fighters facing defeat in Syria are slipping across the border into Iraq, where they are destabilising the country’s fragile security, Iraq says. Hundreds of militants — likely more than 1000 – have crossed the open, desert border in the past six months, defying a massive operation by US, Kurdish, and allied forces to stamp out the remnants of the jihadi group in eastern Syria.

Refugee deal open but unlikely

New Zealand is still willing to take asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore detention centres but Scott Morrison says it’s even less likely to happen than it was before. The offer has been standing since 2013, but successive Australian Labor and Liberal prime ministers have rejected it.

Supermarkets slump in rankings

The so-called Big Four supermarkets have slumped to the bottom of an annual ranking after disappointing customers with the quality of their food and ability to keep up with online rivals. Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco fell to the bottom five places along with Iceland for their in-store offer in the Which? survey after achieving low scores for their produce and own-label lines.

Puffin numbers ‘stable’

Puffin numbers on the remote Farne Islands are “stable”, despite early results of a survey which prompted fears they could be struggling. The National Trust said rangers conducting the survey last May had thought initial low numbers on the outlying islands of the 28-island archipelago were due to the harsh winter and a decline in readily available food.

Second fruit fly caught

A second fruit fly has been found in the south Auckland suburb of Ōtara. Biosecurity New Zealand said another male Tongan facialis fruit fly was discovered in a trap yesterday – just 70 metres from where the first fly was found earlier this week. This particular type of fruit fly is native to Tonga and officials believe it would be highly unlikely a breeding population would establish itself here.

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

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NORTH AMERICA

Senator Lindsey Graham. - AP

Small force of US troops to remain in SyriaThe Trump administration, which abruptly announced in December that it was pulling out of Syria, said that it will keep 200 US troops in the country for now.

“A small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for period of time,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a one-sentence statement.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had harshly criticized Trump’s decision to pull US forces out of Syria, applauded the president’s decision to leave a few hundred as part of an “international stabilizing force.”

Graham said it will ensure that Turkey will not get into a conflict with Syrian Democratic Forces, which helped the United States fight Islamic State militants. Turkey views Kurdish members of the SDF as terrorists.

Moreover, Graham said leaving a small force in Syria will serve as a check on Iranian ambitions and help ensure that IS fighters do not try to return.

“A safe zone in Syria made up of international forces is the best way to achieve our national security objectives of continuing to contain Iran, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, protecting our Turkish allies, and securing the Turkish border with Syria,” Graham said.

Trump’s decision to pull 2,000 US troops from Syria, which he initially said would be rapid but later slowed down, shocked US allies and angered the Kurds in Syria, who are vulnerable to attack by Turkey. It also prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and drew criticism in Congress. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, called the decision a “betrayal of our Kurdish partners.”

The SDF is currently involved in a standoff over the final sliver of land held by IS in eastern Syria, close to the Iraq border.

Many believe the IS threat won’t end with the pocket’s recapture and an insurgency is underway. In a foreboding sign Thursday, the IS claimed responsibility for back-to-back suicide attacks that hit a village miles away, leaving more than a dozen people dead in a rare targeting of civilians. ■

President Donald Trump. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

Trump pledges opportunity for allPresident Donald Trump is pledging to expand opportunity for Americans of every race, religion and creed as he commemorates Black History Month.

Speaking to hundreds at a White House reception, Trump boasted about the economy and said the unemployment rate for African-Americans is at its “lowest ever.”

Black unemployment did reach a low, 5.9 per cent, in May 2018. But that figure changes monthly and had increased to 6.8 per cent by January.

Trump also touted passage of a criminal justice reform bill in December. He says the nation’s sentencing laws disproportionally “harm African-American communities far, far greater than anybody else.”

Catherine Toney, one of the first inmates released through the bill’s passage, thanked Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts as the crowd applauded in approval. ■

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UK

British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude

Juncker. - AP

More talks as Brexit showdown loomsFresh Brexit talks have been scheduled as Theresa May heads towards another Commons showdown on her EU withdrawal stance.

The move comes amid reports the Prime Minister is facing a major challenge from Tory MPs opposed to a no-deal exit from the EU.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox announced they will hold talks again with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier in the coming days on the Northern Ireland backstop.

Ahead of crunch Commons votes expected next Wednesday, May will travel to an EU-Arab summit in Egypt.

While Government sources have been keen to dampen talk of a “deal in the desert”, the PM is expected to have meetings with EU leaders on the sidelines of the gathering.

As the clock ticks down to the UK’s scheduled exit from the EU on March 29, the PM faces a rebellion by up to 100 Tory MPs who want her to delay Brexit if she cannot cut a deal, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reports that the Brexit Delivery Group, which represents both Remain and Leave MPs, is calling for a free vote in the Commons next week on a backbench move to take no deal off the table.

A letter sent on behalf of the group to chief whip Julian Smith states that many MPs are “deeply troubled” at the prospect of a no deal, the Daily Telegraph says.

The newspaper quotes the letter as stating that “numerous” members of the group intend to back amendments taking the no-deal option off the table and delaying Brexit if a rejection of the Government’s deal looks likely.

Up to 25 members of the Government are prepared to rebel and vote for a Brexit delay unless May rules out a no-deal scenario, according to the Guardian.

After talks in Brussels, Barclay said both sides had agreed discussions should continue “urgently at a technical level”. ■

Dudley North MP Ian Austin. - PA

UK

Ninth MP quits Labour PartyIan Austin has become the ninth Labour MP in a week to quit Jeremy Corbyn’s party, claiming there was a “culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance”.

The Dudley North MP said he was quitting the “broken” party and was “ashamed” of what it had become under Corbyn.

But the former minister said he had no plans to join his eight former colleagues in the Independent Group they established this week.

He said: “The Labour Party has been my life, so this has been the hardest decision I have ever had to take, but I have to be honest and the truth is that I have become ashamed of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.”

He added that “I could never ask local people to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister”, and said he was “appalled at the offence and distress” the party had caused to Jewish people.

“It is terrible that a culture of extremism, anti-Semitism and intolerance is driving out good MPs and decent people who have committed their life to mainstream politics,” he said.

“The hard truth is that the party is tougher on the people complaining about anti-Semitism than it is on the anti-Semites.”

Austin added that “the hard left is now in charge of the party” and “I just can’t see how it can return to the mainstream party that won elections and changed the country for the better”.

His resignation follows those of eight other MPs who quit Labour and formed the Independent Group.

But Austin said he had not spoken to the group, which also contains three ex-Tories.

“I think the Labour Party is broken and clearly things have to change but that’s not what today is about, and I’ve not talked to them about that,” he said. ■

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AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. - AAP

Morrison downplays China coal import banThe prime minister insists a reported ban on Australian coal exports entering China is just an issue of local rules and not a wider problem between the two countries.

There are fears the reported action by Chinese customs officials at the northern port of Dalian could be part of retaliation by the Asian giant over the coalition’s stance on telecoms group Huawei.

But Scott Morrison says he has not seen any evidence to suggest it relates to that or other tensions between the countries.

“I think people should be careful about leaping to conclusions about this,” he said.

“This is not the first time that on occasion, local ports make decisions about these matters.

“We will, of course, continue to engage with those local ports and those authorities and work through the same regulatory issues that we have worked through in the past.”

The northern port of Dalian has enacted the ban and will also cap overall coal imports from all sources for 2019 at 12 million tonnes, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed official at Dalian Port Group.

BHP said delays for coal importers unloading across China had more than doubled to about 40 days, but that all suppliers were facing the same issue.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham asked Australia’s ambassador in Beijing, Jan Adams, to seek clarification from the Chinese government.

“I’m aware of unconfirmed and unsourced media reports and have asked our ambassador in Beijing to urgently clarify their veracity,” he said.

“We continue to engage closely with industry on matters of market access … China is a valued partner of Australia and we trust that our free trade agreement commitments to each other will continue to be honoured.”

He warned against rushing to blame the apparent impasse on diplomatic tensions with China. ■

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Australian counterpart Scott

Morrison. - AAP


Deportations of Kiwis ‘corrosive’, Ardern saysWhile she and Scott Morrison preached a family bond, economic ties and unity in the Pacific, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said deporting Kiwis from Australia is “corrosive” to the trans-Tasman relationship.

Standing next to Morrison in Auckland during his first visit as PM, Ardern described friendly and productive talks before launching into the contentious issue.

“In my view this issue has become corrosive in our relationship,” Ardern said.

“Australia is family in every sense of the word … in any family it’s inevitable we will see things differently.”

Kiwis understood the need to deport criminals, Ardern continued, but not those who had lived their lives in Australia.

“I’m sure it is a matter we will continue to discuss,” she said.Morrison defended the policy as a hallmark of his

government, and as one not targeted at Kiwis specifically.“Our government has taken a very strong line when it comes

to those who are in Australia who are on visas,” he said.“Visas are not citizenship. Visas are provided on the basis

of people being compliant with those visas, and that doesn’t include committing crimes.”

He said his government will always listen and work through individual cases sensitively.

While Ardern’s comments echoed what Kiwi diplomats have been arguing for months, it was the most direct public exchange between leaders so far.

Minutes later, Morrison was laughing as Ardern handed him a Warriors rugby league jumper – one the diehard Cronulla fan is unlikely to wear.

He in return gifted her eight-month-old daughter Neve boots and a koala toy.

And along with 30 points of agreement listed in their lengthy joint statement, they seemed to agree on regional matters, progress on trans-Tasman economic integration and joint efforts in times of natural disasters. ■

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REST OF THE WORLD

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the desert outside Baghouz, Syria. - AP

IS ‘slip into Iraq’ to fight another dayUS and Iraqi officials say Islamic State fighters facing defeat in Syria are slipping across the border into Iraq, where they are destabilising the country’s fragile security, Iraq says.

Hundreds of militants — likely more than 1000 – have crossed the open, desert border in the past six months, defying a massive operation by US, Kurdish, and allied forces to stamp out the remnants of the jihadi group in eastern Syria.

That’s according to three Iraqi intelligence officials and a US military official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on intelligence matters.

But indications of the extremist group’s widening reach in Iraq are clear – from kidnappings, assassinations and roadside ambushes aimed at intimidating the local population and financing the group’s extortion rackets. ■

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with Israel’s Lunar Lander at space launch complex 40 in

Cape Canaveral, Florida. - AP

REST OF THE WORLD

Israel’s rocket blasts off for the moonAn Israeli spacecraft has rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch by SpaceX.

A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight.

But Israel’s privately-funded lunar lander – a first not just for Israel but commercial space – generated the buzz.

Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the US and China.

The spacecraft – called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or ‘In The Beginning’ – will take nearly two months to reach the moon.

“We thought it’s about time for a change, and we want to get little Israel all the way to the moon,” said Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of Israel’s SpaceIL, a nonprofit organisation behind the effort.

Within an hour after liftoff, Beresheet was already sending back data and had successfully deployed its landing legs, according to SpaceIL.

The four-legged Beresheet, barely the size of a washing machine, will circle earth in ever bigger loops until it’s captured by lunar gravity and goes into orbit around the moon.

Touchdown will be April 11 at the Sea of Serenity.NASA’s Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s took about

three days to get astronauts to the moon, but they used monstrous Saturn V rockets.

The $US100 million Beresheet mission couldn’t afford its own rocket – even a little one – so the organisers opted for a ride share. That makes for a much longer trip – the moon right now is nearly 370,000 kilometres away.

The Soviet Union was the first to put a spacecraft on the moon, Luna 2, in 1959. NASA followed with the Ranger 4 spacecraft in 1962.

Last month, China became the first country to land on the far side of the moon. ■

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UK

- PA

Puffin numbers ‘stable’ despite concernsPuffin numbers on the remote Farne Islands are “stable”, despite early results of a survey which prompted fears they could be struggling.

The National Trust said rangers conducting the survey last May had thought initial low numbers on the outlying islands of the 28-island archipelago were due to the harsh winter and a decline in readily available food.

There were fears the initial results in the five-yearly study would be replicated across the islands, which are situated off the coast of Northumberland, spelling bad news for the threatened seabird.

But it now seems the lower numbers on the outer islands are the result of the thriving grey seal population, causing puffin burrows to be inadvertently crushed and leading more birds to nest on the inner isles, the Trust said.

Final results from the 2018 survey, which involved checking a proportion of burrows on eight of the islands, reveal there are around 44,000 pairs, up nine per cent on the last count conducted in 2013.

Numbers of the seabird, which is listed as globally vulnerable to extinction amid declining populations, have risen on the islands in the past 25 years, the National Trust said.

Some 37,710 pairs were recorded in 1993 and the population peaked at 55,674 pairs in 2003, but that was followed by a sudden crash in 2008 when numbers fell by a third before slowly recovering.

National Trust ranger, Thomas Hendry said: “When we started the count in the outer group of islands we were very anxious that numbers were down, especially as we know puffins are struggling for survival across the globe.

“After further investigations on the inner group of islands, numbers seemed to be much more positive.

“This could be due to the islands being more sheltered, providing an ideal habitat for the puffins to successfully breed and raise their young. ■

- PA

UK

‘Big four’ supermarkets slump in rankingsThe so-called Big Four supermarkets have slumped to the bottom of an annual ranking after disappointing customers with the quality of their food and ability to keep up with online rivals.

Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco fell to the bottom five places along with Iceland for their in-store offer in the Which? survey after achieving low scores for their produce and own-label lines.

Discounters Aldi and Lidl outperformed the Big Four with scores of 68 per cent and 66 per cent respectively and both received five stars for value for money.

Asda achieved the lowest score of 56 per cent for in-store shopping and 65 per cent for online shopping after managing just one star for the quality of own-brand items and two stars for fresh produce.

Which? said Asda’s online customers reported that it was unusual for them to receive a delivery without a substitution.

Some 55 per cent of Asda customers had received a substitution with their last order, including parsley replacing basil, potato gratin instead of macaroni cheese, and red wine vinegar replaced by a bottle of red wine.

Tesco scored just above Iceland and Asda at 59 per cent for its in-store offer, achieving just two stars for value for money with some survey respondents reporting concerns that it was becoming more expensive, but performed better for online shopping with a score of 71 per cent.

Sainsbury’s achieved 63 per cent for its in-store offer and 69 per cent for online shopping, but customers awarded it only two stars for value for money in both categories.

Morrisons won the highest scores of the Big Four at 64 per cent for in-store shopping and 70 per cent for online but was let down by the two-star rating of its own-label products.

Iceland came second to bottom in the ranking with a score of 57 per cent for in-store shopping. However the popularity of its online offer took it to second place only to Ocado with a score of 79 per cent. ■

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Second fruit fly caught in south AucklandA second fruit fly has been found in the south Auckland suburb of Ōtara.

Biosecurity New Zealand said another male Tongan facialis fruit fly was discovered in a trap yesterday – just 70 metres from where the first fly was found earlier this week.

This particular type of fruit fly is native to Tonga and officials believe it would be highly unlikely a breeding population would establish itself here.

“We remain of the view that it is highly unlikely that a breeding population of Facialis fruit fly would establish in New Zealand because of our climate,” Biosecurity New Zealand spokesperson Dr Catherine Duthie said.

“Facialis has never established anywhere in the world outside of Tonga.

“However, our enhanced surveillance programme in the area will continue as a precautionary measure.”

Restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables are in place in Ōtara.

The fruit fly is not the same breed as the two Queensland fruit flies found recently on the North Shore – at Devonport on February 14 and Northcote on February 20 respectively.

In Ōtara, two separate single male Facialis fruit flies were found in surveillance traps on 18 and 20 February, both within the current control Zone A.

So far, 104 fruit fly traps have been deployed in Zone A and 125 in Zone B.

Parts of Ōtara are under a Controlled Area Notice (CAN).The movement of certain fruits and vegetables out of the

Controlled Area is restricted to help prevent the spread of any fruit flies if there are more than one. The CAN is a legal notice.

Those living in Zone A, are not allowed to take out whole fruit or vegetables (except leafy and root vegetables like taro, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, rhubarb, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, kumara, celery, onions, spring onions). ■


Biosecurity team set up fruit fly traps in in the South Auckland suburb of Ōtara after one

was found. - RNZ / Liu Chen

Refugee deal still open but unlikelyNew Zealand is still willing to take asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore detention centres but Scott Morrison says it’s even less likely to happen than it was before.

The offer has been standing since 2013, but successive Australian Labor and Liberal prime ministers have rejected it.

Reports said New Zealand officials had privately told former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull they weren’t open to resettling single men from Manus Island and Nauru.

But NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to “correct the record” to let Australia know the offer still stands, dependent on security advice.

“We have been utterly consistent. UNHCR themselves, in the way that they work through with refugees, does place some priority on women and children,” she said.

“It was never, however, the case that our offer across Manus and Nauru was solely around women and children, but of course we acknowledge the special need that existed there.”

Ardern said if Australia was to take up the offer, New Zealand would do its own security checks on the asylum seekers.

Morrison confirmed there are only single males left on Manus Island, with a number failing character tests.

“If you would apply the normal character test that applies to all other persons who would seek to come to Australia, whether they are a student, a visitor or anything else, you wouldn’t allow them in,” he said.

“That is why we are concerned about what passed the parliament last week, because it compromises our ability to prevent the transfer.”

Almost 60 asylum seekers on the islands have failed character assessments since the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade began screenings in response to new medical transfer laws, according to The Australian.

The Morrison government has attacked the new medevac regime, arguing there’s a loophole that prevents people being sent back to Manus Island and Nauru once they have been transferred to Australia for treatment. ■

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

- AAP


full stories start on page 3 · 2/22/2019 · are destabilising the country’s fragile security,...

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