NoRTh AMERICA REST of ThE WoRLD AUSTRALIA ......land than on Arctic sea ice. Alaska’s energy desk...

1

Wednesday september 5, 2018

AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDREST of ThE WoRLDNoRTh AMERICA

hearings start for court pick

With Republicans hoping to move the Supreme Court to the right for years to come, a Senate committee is beginning hearings for President Donald Trump’s second nominee to the court. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, 53, has served for the past 12 years on the appeals court in Washington, DC, which is considered the second-most important court in the country after the Supreme Court. He has a solidly conservative record.

Body found after boat collision

The body of a California woman who was among four people missing after two boats collided on the Colorado River has been found, authorities say. Christine Lewis, 51, of Visalia, was discovered in a section of the river along the California-Arizona border, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said. Lewis was among more than a dozen people ejected from the boats in the crash.

Liberals ‘can’t ignore claims’

Australia’s first female prime minister says the Liberal party can’t ignore the women in its ranks who say they have been bullied and intimidated. “There is lively discussion happening about allegations of bullying and intimidation in the Liberal Party,” said Gillard, who was in power from 2010 to 2013. “The fact such matters are being raised at all and taken seriously when they are is progress.”

Xi looms over North Korea event

As North Korea celebrates a major anniversary, the presence – or absence – of Chinese President Xi Jinping could highlight just how much vitality has been restored to ties between Pyongyang and its most powerful backer after a prolonged chill. A visit by Xi to North Korea for the 70th anniversary of the North’s founding this weekend is expected but neither side has said whether Xi will attend.

haqqani network founder ‘dead’

The Taliban say the Afghan Haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former US ally turned fierce enemy, has died after years of ill health. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said Haqqani died in Afghanistan.The elderly founder of Afghanistan’s outlawed Haqqani network had been paralyzed for the past 10 years. The Haqqani network was declared a terrorist organization by the US in 2012.

NZ refugee offer still on table

A New Zealand offer to Australia to take in offshore asylum-seekers will still be on the table as Pacific leaders meet in Nauru, New Zealand’s prime minister says. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne is set to meet for the first time with Kiwi counterpart Winston Peters on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru. New Zealand since 2013 has had a standing offer to take in 150 detainees from Manus Island and Nauru.

YOUr dAIlY TOP 12 STOrIeS FrOM fRANK NEWS

2


AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDREST of ThE WoRLDNoRTh AMERICA

Village riding bear tourism boom

A tiny Alaska Native village has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years as polar bears spend more time on land than on Arctic sea ice.Alaska’s energy desk reports more than 2000 people visited the northern Alaska village of Kaktovik on the Beaufort Sea last year to see polar bears in the wild.Jennifer Reed of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge said the village had less than 50 visitors annually before 2011.

Wildfire forces campers to flee

Authorities said homes and campgrounds were being evacuated because of a rapidly-growing wildfire in Northern California. The Placer County Sheriff’s department said the wildfire is spreading quickly in the Tahoe National Forest near emigrant Gap, which is about 70 miles (113km) north of Sacramento. Cal Fire officials said that they had dispatched air tankers, a helicopter and strike crews to assist fire crews.

Westpac to pay record $35m fine

Westpac will pay a record $35 million fine after admitting it failed to properly assess whether borrowers could repay home loans. The bank admitted breaching its responsible lending obligations when providing home loans and agreed to the civil penalty to settle court action taken by the corporate regulator. If approved by the Federal Court, the civil penalty will be the largest awarded under the National Credit Act.

Iran wants ‘terrorist purge’

Iran’s foreign minister has said at the start of a visit to Damascus that “terrorists must be purged” from Syria’s Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control. Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments in damascus were reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency and came as Syrian forces and their allies were preparing for an assault on Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country.

Robot boat crosses the Atlantic

All summer, the small boat drifted steadily eastward across the churning North Atlantic until it neared the Irish coast, where it made history by becoming the first unmanned sailboat to cross the Atlantic. The SB Met, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, reached the finish line of the Microtransat Challenge for robotic boats, two-and-a-half months after setting off from Newfoundland, according to data.

Slowdown call to cut deaths

Auckland Transport is looking at dropping the speed limits on dozens of roads in a bid to cut traffic deaths and injuries in the region. Sixty-four people died and 749 were seriously injured on Auckland’s roads last year. Auckland Transport said the city’s road deaths and injuries increased by about triple the rate of the rest of New Zealand. AT is now investigating lowering speed limits at accident black spots.

3


NORTH AMERICA

A dive team searches for missing people in the Colorado River. - AP

Woman’s body found after boat collisionThe body of a California woman who was among four people missing after two boats collided on the Colorado River has been found, authorities say.

Christine Lewis, 51, of Visalia, was discovered in a section of the river along the California-Arizona border, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said.

Lewis was among more than a dozen people ejected from the boats in the crash.

The search continued for two other women and a man.A recreational boat carrying 10 people and another vessel

with six people on board collided head-on along the well-traveled stretch of the river, the office said.

Both boats sank, and passing boaters pulled crash victims from the water. Nine people were injured, with two in critical condition, authorities said.

The cause of the crash was being investigated.None of the boaters were wearing life jackets, which aren’t

required but are recommended by authorities, Mohave County Sheriff doug Shuster said.

The crash happened between two popular marinas and near Moabi regional Park.

Helicopters were deployed as part of the search, and authorities have scoured the shoreline. Divers have been sent into the river, which can run as deep as 30ft (9m).

“These efforts will continue until all of those who are missing and unaccounted for have been located,” Shuster said.

Authorities also closed off a stretch of the river where the search was taking place. ■

Judge Brett Kavanaugh and President Donald Trump. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

Hearings start for Trump Supreme Court pickWith Republicans hoping to move the Supreme Court to the right for years to come, a Senate committee is beginning hearings for President Donald Trump’s second nominee to the court.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, 53, has served for the past 12 years on the appeals court in Washington, DC, which is considered the second-most important court in the country after the Supreme Court. He has a solidly conservative record.

Kavanaugh worked in key White House positions when George W. Bush was president and was a member of independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s legal team that investigated President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s, leading to Clinton’s impeachment.

As a young lawyer, Kavanaugh worked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, the man he would replace on the high court. Kennedy retired at the end of July. Trump’s first nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, also was a Kennedy law clerk.

The first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings will feature opening statements from senators and Kavanaugh. His remarks were not likely to be released in advance, but nominees often sing the praises of judicial independence. When he was sworn in as an appellate judge in 2006, Kavanaugh called an independent judiciary “the crown jewel of our constitutional democracy”.

Questioning will begin a day later, and votes in committee and on the Senate floor could occur later in September. If all goes as Republicans plan, Kavanaugh could be on the bench when the court begins its new term on October 1.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa republican who is the committee chairman, has called Kavanaugh “one of the most qualified nominees ever picked for the court”.

rebuffed in their request to delay the hearing, democrats are planning to shine a light on some of Kavanaugh’s views, executive power and whether Trump could be forced to testify as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. ■

4


REsT Of THE wORld

Afghan Haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani. - AP

Haqqani network founder ‘dead’The Taliban say the Afghan haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former US ally turned fierce enemy, has died after years of ill health.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said Haqqani died in Afghanistan.

The elderly founder of Afghanistan’s outlawed Haqqani network had been paralyzed for the past 10 years.

The Haqqani network was declared a terrorist organization by the United States in 2012.

Haqqani had not been heard from in several years, and reports of his death had been widespread in 2015.

In announcing Haqqani’s death, Mujahed called him an exemplary warrior. ■

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. - ePA

REsT Of THE wORld

China’s Xi looms over North Korea eventAs North Korea celebrates a major anniversary, the presence – or absence – of Chinese President Xi Jinping could highlight just how much vitality has been restored to ties between Pyongyang and its most powerful backer after a prolonged chill.

A visit by Xi to North Korea for the 70th anniversary of the North’s founding this weekend is expected but neither side has said whether Xi will attend.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made three trips to China since March and has invited Xi to reciprocate.

China could be keen to demonstrate the strong ties it has with Pyongyang to ensure it remains a key player in efforts to dismantle the North’s nuclear program.

But the celebrations come as US President Donald Trump has blamed Beijing for the slow progress of denuclearisation.

No Chinese head of state has visited North Korea since President Hu Jintao met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong-Il, in Pyongyang in 2005, a time when Beijing was urging Pyongyang to reform its economy and take part in six-nation denuclearisation talks.

When the younger Kim took power in 2011, exchanges slowed as Kim sought to assert his independence and China grew impatient with his nuclear and missile tests. Ties frayed last year when China supported tougher United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang and suspended coal and iron ore imports.

That made Kim’s three visits to China this year all the more striking, as a sign the relationship was back on track.

A visit on such a symbolic occasion would underscore the unique historical ties between the two countries’ ruling parties.

If Xi were absent from the celebration, it could be a sign China was displeased with North Korea’s lack of progress with denuclearisation, analysts said.

But China could send a member of the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee such as Premier li Keqiang to show ties were still on track. ■

5


NEw ZEAlANd

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. - AAP

NZ refugee offer still on table in Nauru – ArdernA New Zealand offer to Australia to take in offshore asylum-seekers will still be on the table as Pacific leaders meet in Nauru, New Zealand’s prime minister says.

Newly minted Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne is set to meet for the first time with Kiwi counterpart Winston Peters on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru.

New Zealand since 2013 has had a standing offer to take in 150 detainees from Manus Island and Nauru, but it has been repeatedly rejected by the Australian government in favour of a deal with the United States over fears it could be used as marketing by people-smugglers.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the offer had not changed with Australia’s foreign minister.

“[It] remains on the table. Nothing has changed in that regard,” she said. “It’s certainly something I’ll be reiterating.”

Concerns about conditions in the detention centres on Nauru have cast a shadow over the forum in recent weeks and made it a lightning rod.

A report from two prominent Australian refugee organisations highlighted concerns over the mental health of children being held and added to a slew of calls for the Australian government to take action to get more than 100 child asylum-seekers off the island, including by taking up the New Zealand offer.

Ardern has said she was hopeful to meet some of the people living on the island, despite her trip being shortened to a single day.

Nauru’s government has denied mistreatment of those being held as well as reports that a much-criticised tent encampment had been dismantled to polish up its image ahead of the forum. ■

Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard. - AAP

AUsTRAlIA

Liberals ‘can’t ignore women’s claims’Australia’s first female prime minister says the Liberal party can’t ignore the women in its ranks who say they have been bullied and intimidated.

South Australian Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi has vowed to name in parliament next week colleagues who bullied her during the recent bitter leadership battle.

Victorian Liberal MP and experienced corporate lawyer Julia Banks is quitting at the next election over the treatment she received.

And Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said both male and female MPs have told her they were intimidated during the leadership spill.

“There is lively discussion happening about allegations of bullying and intimidation in the Liberal Party,” Gillard said in a speech in Adelaide. “The fact such matters are being raised at all and taken seriously when they are is progress.”

There were claims that MPs were told their pre-selections could be under threat unless they voted a certain way in the leadership contest.

Gillard said when she was in power from 2010 to 2013 the media overwhelmingly dismissed suggestions anything that happened to her was due to gender.

“Now conversations about gender and leadership, including political leadership, are mainstream,” she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed suggestions his party had poorly handled the bullying and intimidation claims.

“We will continue to deal with these issues inside our team,” Morrison told reporters in Cairns.

“Minister O’dwyer has been taking a proactive role in this area, as has the party whip, Nola Marino.

“I look to them for their advice in managing these issues.”Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the Liberal Party has a

“women’s problem”.“You have three different liberal women politicians ... saying

in the recent division and civil war that women were subjected to bullying,” Shorten told reporters in rockhampton. ■

6


NORTH AMERICA

- AP

Californian wildfire forces campers to fleeAuthorities said homes and campgrounds were being evacuated because of a rapidly-growing wildfire in Northern California.

The Placer County Sheriff’s department said the wildfire is spreading quickly in the Tahoe National Forest near emigrant Gap, which is about 70 miles (113 kilometres) north of Sacramento.

Cal Fire officials said that they had dispatched air tankers, a helicopter and strike crews to assist the U.S. Forest Service’s fire management team.

The helicopter is searching for a person believed to have been left behind near the origin of the so-called North Fire.

The wildfire is less than 1 square mile but was spreading quickly.

Winds have played a role in whipping up wildfires, but the National Weather Service expects winds to remain light in the region. ■

- AP

NORTH AMERICA

Alaskan village riding bear tourism boomA tiny Alaska Native village has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years as polar bears spend more time on land than on Arctic sea ice.

Alaska’s energy desk reports more than 2000 people visited the northern Alaska village of Kaktovik on the Beaufort Sea last year to see polar bears in the wild.

Jennifer Reed of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge said the village had less than 50 visitors annually before 2011.

She said US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists began hearing reports of increasing numbers of polar bears in the area in the early 2000s. As more attention was given to the plight of polar bears about a decade ago, more tourists stated flocking to Kaktovik. ■

7


REsT Of THE wORld

An autonomous Sailbuoy operated by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing. - AP

Robot boat sails into history crossing AtlanticAll summer, the small boat drifted steadily eastward across the churning North Atlantic until it neared the Irish coast, where it made history by becoming the first unmanned sailboat to cross the Atlantic.

The SB Met, built by Norwegian company Offshore Sensing AS, reached the finish line of the Microtransat Challenge for robotic boats, two-and-a-half months after setting off from Newfoundland, according to preliminary data.

It’s a milestone that shows the technology for unmanned boats is robust enough to carry out extended missions that can dramatically cut costs for ocean research, border security, and surveillance in rough or remote waters. They’re part of wider efforts to develop autonomous marine vessels such as robotic ferries and cargo and container ships that could be operating by the end of the decade, outpacing attempts to commercialize self-driving cars.

“We’ve proved that it’s possible to do,” said David Peddie, CeO of Offshore Sensing, which created the oceangoing drones, known as Sailbuoys. “The North Atlantic is one of the toughest areas to cross” and completing the challenge “really proves that it’s a long endurance vehicle for pretty much any condition the sea can throw at you,” he said.

Under the Microtransat’s rules, boats up to 2.4 meters (2.6 yards) long can sail between europe and the Caribbean or North America and Ireland. They must regularly transmit location data. The Sailbuoy competed in the “unmanned” class, which allows operators to change its course along the way. There’s a separate “autonomous” class that prohibits any such communication.

While self-driving cars have to contend with pedestrians and other traffic, autonomous boats face storms that bring fierce gales and high waves as well as numerous seaborne hazards.

More than 20 previous attempts by various teams to complete the Microtransat since it began in 2010 have ended in failure, with robot boats caught in fishing nets, retrieved by ships, or lost, according to the race website. ■

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Syrian President Bashar Assad. - AP

REsT Of THE wORld

Iran minister wants ‘terrorist purge’Iran’s foreign minister has said at the start of a visit to Damascus that “terrorists must be purged” from Syria’s Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control.

Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments in damascus were reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency and came as Syrian forces and their allies were preparing for an assault on Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country.

“Syria’s territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes,” Zarif said.

He met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, just back from a visit to Moscow. The visit comes days before the leaders of Iran, Turkey and russia are expected to meet in Iran to discuss the situation in Idlib.

US President Donald Trump sent a tweet warning Assad and his allies against a “reckless attack” on Idlib province. “The russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. don’t let that happen,” Trump said.

during their meeting, Assad and Zarif discussed the agenda of the summit in Iran. A statement from Assad’s office said Iran and Syria “had similar views on the different issues” to be discussed. It provided no further details.

Zarif said it was necessary to consult “with our Syrian friends” ahead of the September 7 summit, according to Fars.

Iran has lent crucial military and economic support to Assad throughout the seven-year civil war and the discussions were expected to focus on the decisive battle for Idlib.

Assad has vowed to defeat the opposition in its last refuge in the northwestern province if the rebels do not surrender to government rule. ■

8


‘Roading crisis’ may prompt slowdownAuckland Transport is looking at dropping the speed limits on dozens of roads in a bid to cut traffic deaths and injuries in the region.

Sixty-four people died and 749 were seriously injured on Auckland’s roads last year.

Auckland Transport said the city’s road deaths and injuries increased by about triple the rate of the rest of New Zealand.

AT is now investigating lowering speed limits at accident black spots to stem what its chairman lester levy called a “roading crisis”.

“If a person walking is hit by a vehicle at 30km/h there is a 10 per cent risk of death compared with 80 per cent risk at 50km/h,” levy said.

“It has to be said that lowering speeds is the most critical issue around reducing deaths and serious injuries.”

The list of roads being investigated for lower speed limits includes Tamaki drive, Great South rd, Onehunga Mall, Sandringham Rd, the Coatesville-Riverhead Highway and many more.

Speeds on rural roads may go down to 80km/h from 100km/h, and limits in the central city and suburban centres may be lowered from 50km/h to 30km/h.

levy appeared before combative Auckland councillors at a Planning Committee meeting and came under fire with questions about what was being done to reduce the grim statistics.

Mayor Phil Goff said the figures were “appalling” and called for a better explanation than what was provided by AT.

“Why has Auckland done so badly? Because if we don’t understand the why, we don’t know what needs to be done to resolve it,” Goff said.

levy said AT was very unhappy with the figures and that a change in the road safety narrative was required. He said there was lots of work to do. AT will begin its investigating lowering speed limits next year. ■

NEw ZEAlANd

- rNZ

Westpac to pay record $35m home loan fineWestpac will pay a record $35 million fine after admitting it failed to properly assess whether borrowers could repay home loans.

The bank admitted breaching its responsible lending obligations when providing home loans and agreed to the civil penalty to settle court action taken by the corporate regulator.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said if approved by the Federal Court, the civil penalty will be the largest awarded under the National Credit Act.

The case centred on Westpac’s home loan assessment process between December 2011 and March 2015, during which time about 260,000 home loans were approved by the bank’s automated decision system.

Westpac said it accepted about 10,500 loans should not have been approved through the automated process and should have been referred to a credit officer for manual assessment.

The bank changed its credit assessment systems in 2015.ASIC said for about 50,000 home loans, Westpac

received but did not use consumers’ actual expense information that was higher than the benchmark household expenditure measure.

It said for another 50,000 home loans, Westpac used the incorrect method when assessing a consumer’s capacity to repay a home loan at the end of an interest-only period.

ASIC said among those 100,000 mortgages, Westpac should not have automatically approved about 10,500 loans.

ASIC chair James Shipton said all lenders must obtain information from individual borrowers about their financial situation to ensure they can properly assess the customer’s ability to repay the loan.

He said lenders must then verify the information to ensure that it is true and assess whether the loan is unsuitable for the borrower. “Taken together, these responsible lending obligations are a cornerstone protection for both borrowers and lenders,” Shipton said. ■

- AAP

AUsTRAlIA

NoRTh AMERICA REST of ThE WoRLD AUSTRALIA ......land than on Arctic sea ice. Alaska’s energy desk...

Documents

Transcript of NoRTh AMERICA REST of ThE WoRLD AUSTRALIA ......land than on Arctic sea ice. Alaska’s energy desk...