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september 2 (Gmt) – september 3 (Aest), 2019

AUSTRALIAUKWORLD

Japan decommissions nukes

Japan’s nuclear policy-setting body has adopted a report saying the country is entering an era of massive nuclear plant decommissioning, urging plant operators to plan ahead to lower safety risks and costs requiring decades and billions of dollars. Twenty-four commercial reactors – or 40 per cent of Japan’s total – are designated for or are being decommissioned.

Iran warns on atomic deal

Iran will “take a strong step” away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if Europe cannot offer the country new terms by a deadline at the end of this week, a government spokesman said as top Iranian diplomats traveled to France and Russia for last-minute talks. The comments from Ali Rabiei reinforced the deadline Iran had set for Friday for Europe to offer it a way to sell its crude oil on the global market.

PM won’t intervene for family

Scott Morrison will not save a Tamil family from deportation because he believes doing so would expose Australia to a new wave of boat people. His government also revealed boats have been coming from Sri Lanka for months, only to be turned around by Australia’s border patrols. He said granting an exception for a family whose asylum claims had been denied would kick-start the people smuggling trade.

Blair ‘would vote for Corbyn’

Tony Blair said he would vote for Jeremy Corbyn in a general election to prevent a no-deal Brexit, but that he would face a “dilemma” in doing so. The former Labour prime minister delivered a speech on Brexit at the Institute for Government in London and said Labour should not “fall into the elephant trap” of backing a Westminster poll if MPs cannot agree on Brexit.

Hammond slams vote move

Conservative MPs who vote against the Government this week will be banned from standing for the party at the next election, despite the Prime Minister defying the whip on Brexit earlier this year. Boris Johnson is expected to face rebellion from Tory MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit this week, with opponents expected to try to seize control of the parliamentary agenda on Tuesday.

Measles outbreak rocking NZ

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has blamed inequality in access to health services, particularly among the country’s Pacific Island community, for the soaring measles outbreak. The number of Kiwis infected by the highly contagious disease has swollen again to sit on the brink of 1000, with babies and teenagers the most affected.

NEW ZEALANDUKWORLD

YouR dAILY ToP 12 SToRIeS FRoM FRANK NEWS

FuLL SToRIeS START oN PAGe 3

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AUSTRALIAEUROPENORTH AMERICA

US envoy meets Afghan president

A uS envoy has met with the Afghan president in the capital, Kabul, to brief him on the latest round of talks with the Taliban as a deal nears on ending America’s longest war, an official said.President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, confirmed the meeting at the presidential palace shortly after envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived from Qatar, where the ninth round of talks ended without a final agreement.

Man killed in NY shootout

New York City police say a man was killed in a shootout with officers in Brooklyn.NYPd Chief of department Terence Monahan said that three officers in a patrol car saw a masked man, who fled when they tried to speak to him.

Woman ‘killed by rooster’

An elderly woman bled to death after she was attacked by a rooster while collecting eggs on her rural South Australian property, a forensics expert says. An autopsy on the 76-year-old found the bird pecked at her lower left leg, causing her to haemorrhage, collapse and eventually die.

US, Poland sign 5G deal

The uS and Poland have signed an agreement to co-operate on new 5G technology amid growing concerns about Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki signed the deal in Warsaw, where Pence is filling in for President donald Trump, who scrapped his trip at the last minute because of Hurricane dorian.

Berlin zoo celebrates panda cubs

A zoo in Berlin is celebrating the arrival of two panda cubs, the first time one of the rare mammals has given birth in Germany. Zoo Berlin said that mother Meng Meng gave birth to a hand-sized pink cub on Saturday.

Station assessed for earthquakes

Wellington’s railway station has been labelled as being at risk of causing harm in an earthquake. Notices alerting the public that the building is earthquake-prone went up at the station today and will remain up while another assessment of the building is done. That’s expected to take eight months.

NEW ZEALANDEUROPENORTH AMERICA

YouR dAILY ToP 12 SToRIeS FRoM FRANK NEWS

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WORLD

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. - AP

Iran warns of ‘strong step’ from atomic dealIran will “take a strong step” away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if Europe cannot offer the country new terms by a deadline at the end of this week, a government spokesman said as top Iranian diplomats traveled to France and Russia for last-minute talks.

The comments from Ali Rabiei reinforced the deadline Iran had set for Friday for Europe to offer it a way to sell its crude oil on the global market. Crushing uS sanctions imposed after President donald Trump withdrew America from the deal over a year ago have halted those sales.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Moscow, while his deputy was to travel to France with a team of economists in a renewed diplomatic push.

The developments come after French President emmanuel Macron surprised the Group of Seven summit in France by inviting Zarif last week.

Rabiei described Iran’s strategy to journalists at the press conference in Tehran as “commitment for commitment”.

“Iran’s oil should be bought and its money should be accessible to return to Iran,” Rabiei said. “This is the agenda of our talks.”

It’s unclear what the terms of negotiation are. In theory, anyone caught buying Iranian crude oil would be subject to uS sanctions and potentially locked out of the American financial market.

Already, Iran has gone over the stockpile and enrichment limitations placed on it by the 2015 deal. However, Tehran says those steps are quickly reversible. ■

Workers dismantle the unit 2 reactor at Chubu electric Power Co’s Hamaoka nuclear

power plant in omaezaki, Shizuoka prefecture. - AP

WORLD

Japan body starts to decommission nukesJapan’s nuclear policy-setting body has adopted a report saying the country is entering an era of massive nuclear plant decommissioning, urging plant operators to plan ahead to lower safety risks and costs requiring decades and billions of dollars.

Twenty-four commercial reactors – or 40 per cent of Japan’s total – are designated for or are being decommissioned. Among them are four reactors at the Fukushima dai-ichi plant that were severely damaged by the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan.

The annual nuclear white paper, adopted by the Japan Atomic energy Commission, urges utilities to learn from uS and european examples, especially those of Germany, France and Britain. Japan hasn’t yet completed the decommissioning of any reactors and doesn’t have concrete plans for the final disposal of radioactive waste.

“Taking into consideration further increase of nuclear facilities that will be decommissioned, new technology and systems need to be developed in order to carry out the tasks efficiently and smoothly,” the report said. “It’s a whole new stage that we have to proceed to and tackle.”

Japanese utilities have opted to scrap aged reactors instead of investing in safety requirements under post-Fukushima standards. The decommissioning of a typical reactor costs nearly 60 billion yen ($560 million) and takes several decades.

Citing the government-run Japan Atomic energy Agency’s plan to scrap about half of its 79 research facilities, the report raised concerns about the weakening of basic research on nuclear energy. ■

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uk

Former chancellor Philip Hammond. - PA

Hammond slams ‘hypocritical’ moveConservative MPs who vote against the Government this week will be banned from standing for the party at the next election, despite the Prime Minister defying the whip on Brexit earlier this year.

Boris Johnson is expected to face rebellion from Tory MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit this week, with opponents expected to try to seize control of the parliamentary agenda.

Johnson ignored the whip and twice voted against the Withdrawal Agreement earlier this year.

A senior source from the Tory whips office said that any MP who defies the Government this week “will have the whip withdrawn and will not stand as (a) Conservative candidate in an election”.

Former chancellor Philip Hammond tweeted about the “staggeringly hypocritical” move, and pointed out that eight current Cabinet members have defied the whip this year.

The former rebels are:Boris Johnson: The Prime Minister voted against Theresa

May at the first two readings of the Withdrawal Agreement in January and March. He voted in favour of it at the third reading.

dominic Raab: The Foreign Secretary voted against the Withdrawal Agreement on its first and second readings.

Priti Patel: The Home Secretary voted against the Withdrawal Agreement at all three opportunities.

Grant Shapps: The Transport Secretary voted against May’s Brexit deal on the first two occasions.

Theresa Villiers: The environment Secretary voted to reject May’s Brexit deal on all three readings.

esther McVey: The Housing Minister resigned as May’s work and pensions secretary in November 2018. Since then, she has voted against the Withdrawal Agreement on two occasions.

Amber Rudd: The Work and Pensions Secretary abstained on a Government motion ruling out a no-deal Brexit in all circumstances on March 13.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Leader of the House of Commons, and opposed May’s Withdrawal Agreement twice. ■

Tony Blair. - AP

uk

Blair admits he ‘would vote for Corbyn’Tony Blair said he would vote for Jeremy Corbyn in a general election to prevent a no-deal Brexit, but that he would face a “dilemma” in doing so.

The former Labour prime minister delivered a speech on Brexit at the Institute for Government in London and said Labour should not “fall into the elephant trap” of backing a Westminster poll if MPs cannot agree on Brexit.

He called for the party to throw its weight behind supporting legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit, not a vote of no confidence in the Government.

Asked if he would vote for Labour at the next general election, he said: “That’s a really difficult question. Because of the struggle I have with other aspects of Labour policy.

“There are some huge problems with the Labour Party. I personally believe so strongly on Brexit that I would do virtually anything to stop it.”

Pushed if that “included voting for Jeremy Corbyn”, he said: “Yeah, including that.”

He added: “The dilemma I have expressed to you very honestly is the dilemma of a lot of people are faced with.

“They care passionately about Brexit, they’re going to be asked at the election what’s the best way of stopping that.

“But on the other hand, it’s no great secret that many people like myself have got real anxiety about parts of the programme.”

Blair praised Corbyn for his stance on working with other political parties.

He said: “In backing away from the idea of himself as a ‘caretaker prime minister’, Jeremy Corbyn has behaved responsibly, and if he continues to put the country first, he will benefit the country and himself.

“He can now play a decisive role in how Brexit develops. But he should see an election for the elephant trap it is. If the Government tries to force an election, Labour should vote against it.” ■

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NEW ZEALAND

Measles outbreak still rocking NZNew Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has blamed inequality in access to health services, particularly among the country’s Pacific Island community, for the soaring measles outbreak.

The number of Kiwis infected by the highly contagious disease has swollen again to sit on the brink of 1000, with babies and teenagers the most affected.

Local media reports say a small number of infants have been hospitalised in a critical condition.

While public health officials say the outbreak is not an epidemic, as it’s largely contained to south Auckland, they also expect numbers to grow for at least another fortnight.

The prospect of a worsening crisis, and deaths, prompted Ardern to take the issue front and centre in her weekly briefing in Wellington.

She believes systemic inequality, rather than the sometimes prominent voice of anti-vaxxer groups in the social media age, is fuelling the outbreak.

“We have an inequality and equity issue for people accessing the health services that they not only deserve, but that remain available to them and for free,” Ardern said.

“We have identified that there is an equity issue, particularly our Pacific Island community haven’t been accessing those immunisations at the rate we need to.”

South Auckland – the region most affected by the outbreak – is home to some of New Zealand’s poorest communities.

Additional nurses have been deployed in schools, churches and shopping centres there to help bolster immunisation rates and contain the outbreak. ■

AuSTRALIA

PM won’t intervene for Tamil familyScott Morrison will not save a Tamil family from deportation because he believes doing so would expose Australia to a new wave of boat people.

His government also revealed boats have been coming from Sri Lanka for months, only to be turned around by Australia’s border patrols.

The man with a trophy in his office celebrating how he stopped the boats said granting an exception for a family whose asylum claims had been denied would kick-start the people smuggling trade.

The prime minister said the government could not change its position on the basis of “a public reaction” to the family’s plight.

“I know what happens when people think it’s OK to make an exception here or there. I remember what happened. I remember the deaths,” Morrison said. “I remember those terrible images and I will not ever allow that to happen again if it’s within my power and where it’s within my power.”

He said people smugglers remain active in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and would act on any sign the government was weakening its position.

“I know what happens when you send those messages back into those communities, whether it’s in Sri Lanka or the more than 10,000 people sitting in Indonesia right now who would get on a boat tomorrow if they thought this government was changing its position,” he said.

There were protests in capital cities across Australia at the weekend in support of Priya, her husband Nadesalingam and their Australian-born children Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2.

The family’s deportation was halted last week after a judge issued a last-minute injunction that saw their flight from Melbourne to Sri Lanka land in darwin.

The family has since been transferred to Christmas Island, pending a court hearing to decide their fate.

An action in the Federal Circuit Court was shifted to combine with a later Federal Court hearing, which will examine the youngest child’s case for Australia’s protection. ■

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NORTH AMERICA

Masked man killed in New York shootoutNew York City police say a man was killed in a shootout with officers in Brooklyn.

NYPd Chief of department Terence Monahan said that three officers in a patrol car saw a masked man, who fled when they tried to speak to him.

The masked man fired “numerous rounds” at the pursuing police car and then exchanged gunfire with one officer who had exited the car beforehand. The man fled, but police received a report 30 minutes later about a man trying to break into a nearby backyard.

In the backyard, six more officers exchanged gunfire with the man, who was taken into custody and pronounced dead at a hospital. The man’s identity hasn’t been released.

Monahan says the officers were “OK”. ■

NORTH AMERICA

US envoy meets with Afghanistan presidentA US envoy has met with the Afghan president in the capital, Kabul, to brief him on the latest round of talks with the Taliban as a deal nears on ending America’s longest war, an official said.

President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, confirmed the meeting at the presidential palace shortly after envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived from Qatar, where the ninth round of talks ended without a final agreement.

Khalilzad said the uS and the insurgent group are “at the threshold of an agreement” – even as the Taliban attacked the capitaks of Kunduz and Baghlan provinces in the north.

“We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peaceful solution for Afghanistan,” said the Taliban spokesman in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen.

unrest continued outside the Baghlan capital of Puli Khumri as the Taliban blocked the main road leading south to Kabul with fuel tanker trucks, opening fire on any security forces that tried to approach, provincial council member Mabobullah Ghafari said.

The Taliban also blocked the two main highways heading north from Puli Khumri as gun battles continued, he said. The situation inside the city was calm but residents remained fearful of attack, he added.

At least 47 wounded people had been taken to hospitals since the attack began, said Jawed Basharat, spokesman for the provincial police chief. He said around 50 Taliban had been killed by security forces. He confirmed there were casualties among security forces but could not say how many as sporadic fighting continued.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks in recent months to strengthen their negotiating position while the united Nations and others say civilians have suffered, often caught in the cross-fire as government forces, backed by the US, have pursued the militants with airstrikes and raids. Afghanistan was the world’s deadliest conflict in 2018. ■

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EuROPE

The newborn panda twins. - AP

Berlin zoo celebrates birth of panda cubsA zoo in Berlin is celebrating the arrival of two panda cubs, the first time one of the rare mammals has given birth in Germany.

Zoo Berlin said that mother Meng Meng gave birth to a hand-sized pink cub on Saturday.

According to the zoo, mothering came naturally to the six-year-old panda: “She placed the tiny creature gently on her belly and began to warm it lovingly with her big paws, warm breath, and the soft fur of her cheeks.”

An hour later, its twin was born.Keepers only confirmed last week that Meng Meng was

pregnant. She had mated with nine-year-old partner Jiao Qing in April, and was also artificially inseminated to increase the likelihood of pregnancy.

Meng Meng and Jiao Qing arrived from China in June 2017. ■

uS Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with Polish President Andrzej duda. - AP

EuROPE

US, Poland sign new 5G technology dealThe US and Poland have signed an agreement to co-operate on new 5G technology amid growing concerns about Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki signed the deal in Warsaw, where Pence is filling in for President donald Trump, who scrapped his trip at the last minute because of Hurricane dorian.

The signing comes amid a global battle between the uS and China’s Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of network infrastructure equipment, over network security.

The agreement endorses the principles developed by cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries at a summit in Prague earlier this year to counter threats and ensure the safety of the next generation mobile network.

Pence said the agreement would “set a vital example for the rest of europe”.

The uS has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China’s government could force the company to give it access to data for cyber espionage. Huawei has denied the allegation.

The uS has called for an outright ban on Huawei, but european allies have balked.

A senior Trump administration official said during a briefing ahead of the trip that the agreement would help ensure secure supply chains and networks and protect against unauthorised access or interference by telecommunications suppliers, some of which are controlled by “adversarial governments”. ■

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Station assessed for earthquake harmWellington’s railway station has been labelled as being at risk of causing harm in an earthquake.

Notices alerting the public that the building is earthquake-prone went up at the station today and will remain up while another assessment of the building is done.

That’s expected to take eight months.Kiwirail’s david Gordon said the change in status was not

because something new had been found wrong with the building.

He said the building code’s wording changed, from whether a building would cause harm in an earthquake, to whether it could.

“We’ve got a steel frame building with brick cladding around the outside which is all tied back, but there is no way given the size and range of quakes that could possibly happen that we could ever have a blanket assurance that there would never be any masonry falling and could cause harm to someone walking underneath,” Gordon said.

Kiwirail had been debating with the city council about whether it needed to call the building earthquake-prone, Gordon said, adding Kiwirail had to put the notices up because the council had used authority granted to it under legislation.

“Simple as that, they have the right to do what they did,” he said, adding the council had made its decision based on an engineering report done in 2014 and Kiwirail had disputed the fact it was earthquake-prone and said the council’s assessment from 2014 did not take into account work done since.

“Significant work was undertaken to strengthen the station building in the early-mid 2000s, with further work in 2015 after the 2013 Seddon earthquake,” he said. “This included work strengthening the atrium roof trusses, and removal unreinforced masonry from the building to bring these elements up to the standard of the rest of the building.

“Additional work was also undertaken post the November 2016 earthquake to address other earthquake risk elements.” ■

NEW ZEALAND

Wellington Railway Station. - RNZ / Michael Cropp

Woman ‘killed by backyard rooster’An elderly woman bled to death after she was attacked by a rooster while collecting eggs on her rural South Australian property, a forensics expert says.

An autopsy on the 76-year-old found the bird pecked at her lower left leg, causing her to haemorrhage, collapse and eventually die.

Adelaide university forensics expert Professor Roger Byard’s study of the case is published in the August edition of international journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology.

Byard, who co-authored his article with Judith Fronczek, said just two small lacerations were found, but the woman had a history of medical issues including hypertension, diabetes and varicose veins.

He said her death should serve as a warning of the potential dangers of animals for people with vascular issues.

“This case demonstrates that even relatively small domestic animals may be able to inflict lethal injuries in individuals if there are specific vascular vulnerabilities,” the article read. ■

AuSTRALIA

world uk australia - amazon web services...september 2 (gmt) – september 3 (aest), 2019 world uk...

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