north america uk australia - amazon web services€¦ · 2019-10-16 · the pile-on reinforced her...

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OCTOBER 16 (GMT) – OCTOBER 17 (AEST), 2019

AUSTRALIAUKNORTH AMERICA

Health fears over refinery blaze

A fire raging at a fuel storage facility in the San Francisco Bay Area has prompted a hazardous materials emergency that led authorities to order about 12,000 people in two communities to stay inside with all windows and doors closed. Emergency sirens blared and thick plumes of black smoke and flames filled the skyline around the NuStar Energy LP facility in Crockett, California, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of downtown San Francisco.

Democrat rivals assail Warren

Elizabeth Warren repeatedly came under attack during a Democratic presidential debate as rivals accused the Massachusetts senator of ducking questions about the cost of Medicare for All and her signature “wealth tax” plan in an attempt to derail her rising campaign. The pile-on reinforced her new status as a front-runner in the contest to take on President Donald Trump next year.

Laws to fast-track water projects

Critical water infrastructure including dam projects will be fast-tracked under a NSW government push to help drought-stricken communities. The NSW government will introduce temporary legislation for water infrastructure projects where there is a critical town water supply need. The Water Supply Critical Needs Bill is designed to secure a town’s short-term water supply, and will also fast-track three dam projects.

Brexit negotiations resume

Brexit negotiations are continuing on a final day of efforts to get a deal ready for a crucial EU summit, after previous talks ran into the small hours of the morning. Boris Johnson is running out of time to get an agreement in place so it can be approved by European leaders at the Brussels summit starting this week. A Number 10 source said progress was still being made in the talks, which ran early into the morning in the Belgian capital.

‘Significant risks’ at border

There are still “significant” risks attached to the smooth operation of the UK border as the clock ticks down to a potential no-deal Brexit, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned. With just two weeks until the UK’s scheduled withdrawal from the European Union on October 31, the National Audit Office (NAO)

Batteries set trucks ablaze

Three recycling trucks fires in less than a month has the Auckland Council urging people to be more careful when they are throwing out flammable or hazardous items. The fires have meant that potentially up to 19 tonnes of valuable recyclable materials have been sent to landfill instead of being recycled, the council said. A fire broke out in a recycling truck in a residential street in Warkworth.

NEW ZEALANDUKNORTH AMERICA

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 3

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AUSTRALIAREST OF THE WORLDREST OF THE WORLD

Kim vows to fight US sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to surmount US-led sanctions on his country in state media reports alongside evocative propaganda images of him riding a white horse seen as foretelling significant decisions as his own deadline for US movement on nuclear talks is nearing. The images in his country’s official media showed Kim riding a white horse to climb a snow-covered Mount Paektu.

Protesters thwart Lam’s speech

In chaotic scenes, furious pro-democracy lawmakers twice forced Hong Kong’s leader to stop delivering a speech laying out her policy objectives and clamoured for her to resign after she walked out of the legislature and then delivered the annual address 75 minutes late via television. Carrie Lam’s inability to deliver her policy address inside the Legislative Council marked a slap in the face for the embattled chief executive grappling with anti-government protests.

PM sticks to surplus pledge

Australia’s growth forecasts have been slashed and experts say $20 billion worth of income tax cuts aren’t doing enough to help - but Scott Morrison is still promising a budget surplus. The prime minister insists his government’s “cool and clear heads” will deliver the first budget surplus in 12 years, even as the economy continues to stagnate.

Turkey shrugs off Syria criticism

Turkey’s president has said he will not halt its military offensive in northeast Syria, despite growing pressure and sanctions from Nato allies. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments came as Washington, which has announced limited sanctions on Turkey, said US Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Ankara to try and reach a ceasefire deal.

Huawei posts sales increase

Chinese tech giant Huawei reported a double-digit gain in sales despite US sanctions that threaten to disrupt its smartphone and network equipment businesses. Huawei Technologies Ltd. said its sales rose 24.4 per cent in the first nine months of 2019 to 610.8 billion yuan ($US86 billion). That was faster than the 23.2 per cent gain reported for the first half. The announcement followed US-Chinese trade talk

Jetstar confirms it will axe flights

Jetstar has confirmed it will cease flying five regional domestic routes at the end of next month. In September the airline set out a proposal to end its regional turboprop services and today said that would go ahead. The affected services are Auckland to Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth and Palmerston North, and flights between Nelson and Wellington.

NEW ZEALANDREST OF THE WORLDREST OF THE WORLD

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

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NORTH AMERICA

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a Democratic presidential

primary debate in Westerville, Ohio. - AP

Democrat rivals assail Warren during debateElizabeth Warren repeatedly came under attack during a Democratic presidential debate as rivals accused the Massachusetts senator of ducking questions about the cost of Medicare for All and her signature “wealth tax” plan in an attempt to derail her rising campaign.

The pile-on reinforced her new status as a front-runner in the contest to take on President Donald Trump next year. With first state primaries rapidly approaching, her many challengers have dwindling opportunities to emerge as powerful alternatives to the progressive agenda she’s championing.

The night’s confrontations were mostly fought on familiar terrain for the Democrats, who have spent months sparring over the future of health care with former Vice President Joe Biden and other moderates pressing for a measured approach while Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders call for a dramatic, government-funded overhaul of the insurance market. Still, unlike Sanders, Warren refused to say whether she would raise taxes on the middle class to pay for a Medicare for All universal health insurance plan – a stance that’s increasingly difficult to maintain given her more prominent status.

Her rivals seized on the opportunity to pounce.“I appreciate Elizabeth’s work but, again, the difference

between a plan and a pipe dream is something you can actually get done,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, added: “We heard it tonight. A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question that didn’t get a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.”

Warren insisted that she has “made clear what my principles are here,” arguing that lower premiums would mean that overall costs would go down for most Americans.

California Sen. Kamala Harris tried to get in on the action on another subject, scolding Warren for not echoing her calls for Twitter to suspend Trump’s account. Warren responded, “I don’t just want to push Trump off of Twitter. I want to push him out of the White House.” ■

A tank burns as fire breaks out at a refinery in Crockett, California. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

Health fears over oil refinery blazeA fire raging at a fuel storage facility in the San Francisco Bay Area has prompted a hazardous materials emergency that led authorities to order about 12,000 people in two communities to stay inside with all windows and doors closed.

Emergency sirens blared and thick plumes of black smoke and flames filled the skyline around the NuStar Energy LP facility in Crockett, California, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of downtown San Francisco.

Video footage of the fire showed flames leading up to an explosion so strong it blew the lid of one of the tanks high into the air.

“This is a very dynamic, rapidly evolving situation,” Capt. George Laing of the Contra Costa Fire Department said. “We’ve got two tanks that are releasing chemicals that are still burning.”

The primary concern to the public was unhealthy air quality caused by hazardous particulates spewing from the fire.

The tanks were part of a cluster of fuel storage facilities along an industrial span next to the Carquinez Strait, a major shipping thoroughfare and a key oil hub.

The NuStar facility is also close to Interstate 80, one of the busiest highways in the San Francisco Bay Area, which officials shut down, causing massive backups at the height of evening rush hour. The California Highway Patrol said the closure was expected to last at least until midnight.

Contra Costa Fire Department spokesman Steve Hill said the two burning tanks contained about 250,000 gallons of ethanol and firefighters were trying to keep the blaze from spreading to other tanks storing jet fuel. At an evening news conference Hill corrected an earlier report in which he had said three tanks caught fire.

Ethanol typically produces a blue flame, leading firefighters to assume the fuel in the tanks may be mixed with another fuel. ■

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UK

- PA

‘Significant risks’ amid border preperationsThere are still “significant” risks attached to the smooth operation of the UK border as the clock ticks down to a potential no-deal Brexit, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.

With just two weeks until the UK’s scheduled withdrawal from the European Union on October 31, the National Audit Office (NAO) said that mitigating these risks is now, to some extent, out of the Government’s control.

The most significant risks to the operation of the border remain business readiness, EU member states imposing controls, and arrangements for the Northern Ireland and Ireland land border.

In its report, the NAO said the Government has made progress with putting in place the systems, infrastructure and resources required to manage the border if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on October 31, but said “there is still some work to do to finalise arrangements in the short time that remains and bringing all these elements together for the first time in a live environment carries inherent risk”.

The report adds: “It is impossible to know exactly what would happen at the border in the event of no-deal on October 31 2019. Departments face new challenges in monitoring and responding to any disruption that may ensue.

“This includes supporting businesses and individuals in meeting their new obligations, mitigating risks of the border becoming vulnerable to fraud, smuggling or other criminal activity, and activating civil contingency plans if necessary.”

The report said there are 150,000 to 250,000 traders, estimated by HM Revenue & Customs, who would need to make a declaration for the first time in the event of no-deal.

The watchdog found that despite efforts across Government, a “large proportion” of traders and businesses would not be ready for new customs and regulatory controls if the UK leaves without a deal and might not be able to access the support they require. ■

- AP

UK

Brexit talks resume ahead of deadlineBrexit negotiations are continuing on a final day of efforts to get a deal ready for a crucial EU summit, after previous talks ran into the small hours of the morning.

Boris Johnson is running out of time to get an agreement in place so it can be approved by European leaders at the Brussels summit starting this week.

A Number 10 source said progress was still being made in the talks, which ran to about 1.30am local time in the Belgian capital.

Reports had suggested a deal was close ahead of a midnight deadline imposed by the EU, with the Prime Minister said to be making major concessions on the Irish border.

But sources on both sides of the Channel downplayed the suggestions, and the PM’s official spokesman said: “Talks remain constructive but there is more work still to do.”

The PM is expected to update his Cabinet on progress in the negotiations.

A Downing Street source said: “Constructive talks, worked into the night, continue to make progress, continue in the morning.”

If the PM succeeded in bringing a deal home to the UK, he would then face a battle to do what Theresa May failed to do three times and get it approved by Parliament.

Hardline Brexiteers from the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory backbenchers and the DUP were both courted in Downing Street.

ERG chairman and self-styled “Brexit hardman” Steve Baker later said he was “optimistic” that Johnson’s team would finalise a “tolerable deal that I will be able to vote for”.

But a split among the hardliners became visible over reports that Johnson may agree to a border down the Irish Sea.

Former environment secretary Owen Paterson said it was “unacceptable” that custom checks could be carried out on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. ■

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NEW ZEALAND

- 123RF

Batteries, consoles set recycling trucks ablazeThree recycling trucks fires in less than a month has the Auckland Council urging people to be more careful when they are throwing out flammable or hazardous items.

The fires have meant that potentially up to 19 tonnes of valuable recyclable materials have been sent to landfill instead of being recycled, the council said.

A fire broke out in a recycling truck in a residential street in Warkworth.

Investigations are underway to work out the cause, but the load had to be dumped.

Fire and Emergency had to call in a loader and hose down the paper and cardboard to prevent the blaze from reigniting.

A lithium-ion battery that someone had put in their recycling was identified as the cause of another recycling truck fire in Green Bay a week ago.

In September, hot barbecue ash being tipped into the bin was believed to have caused another recycling truck fire.

“Our kerbside recycling collection service is designed to only recycle plastic, glass, steel, and aluminium containers from our kitchens, bathrooms, and laundries, as well as paper and cardboard.

“Flammable and hazardous items pose a significant risk in our recycling trucks, especially when the compaction equipment is used,” council spokesperson Parul Sood said.

“We had a similar spate of fires around this time last year. It is a major concern. Everything from gas bottles to batteries to an Xbox console have been the underlying causes.”

Aucklanders are being reminded that they can’t put batteries in their recycling bins.

They can be put in the rubbish bin but it said it was better to take them to a dedicated battery recycler. ■

The Warragamba Dam in New South Wales. - AAP

AUSTRALIA

Laws to fast-track water projects amid droughtCritical water infrastructure including dam projects will be fast-tracked under a NSW government push to help drought-stricken communities.

The NSW government will introduce temporary legislation for water infrastructure projects where there is a critical town water supply need.

The Water Supply Critical Needs Bill is designed to secure a town’s short-term water supply, and will also fast-track three dam projects.

A $650 million upgrade of Wyangala Dam in the NSW Central West, a $480 million new Dungowan Dam near Tamworth and the Border Rivers project on the Mole River will be completed in faster time frames under the new legislation.

“We don’t have months ahead of us for some of these towns, the approval process for emergency infrastructure needs to be made in a timely manner so we do not run out of water,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro said.

Under the legislation, the three dam projects will be treated as critical state infrastructure projects, giving them a timeline.

“Projects like WestConnex saw its approval process delivered under six months. We believe that the same process should apply to these three dams so we can get on with getting bulldozers in the ground next year,” Barilaro said.

“The lesson from this drought has to be one about building storage for the future.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian committed $1 billion to NSW dams and water infrastructure projects.

Berejiklian denied the government is circumventing environmental protection processes by fast-tracking the project.

Water Minister Melinda Pavey said the dams would still go through “very thorough and critical environmental impact statements”. ■

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REST OF THE WORLD

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. - AP

Protesters thwart Hong Kong leader’s speechIn chaotic scenes, furious pro-democracy lawmakers twice forced Hong Kong’s leader to stop delivering a speech laying out her policy objectives and clamoured for her to resign after she walked out of the legislature and then delivered the annual address 75 minutes late via television.

Carrie Lam’s inability to deliver her policy address inside the Legislative Council marked a slap in the face for the embattled chief executive grappling with anti-government protests now in their fifth month.

When Lam started delivering the speech, she was shouted down by chanting pro-democracy lawmakers.

She left the chamber and then came back a few minutes later to try again, only to be interrupted one more time. Again, she left. One lawmaker wearing a paper mask showing the face of Chinese President Xi Jinping tossed a placard as Lam was leaving.

Finally, 75 minutes after the previously scheduled start of the lengthy address, Lam delivered it via video link, with China’s yellow-starred red flag to her right and Hong Kong’s flag on her left.

Describing the semi-autonomous Chinese territory as going through “major crisis,” Lam said: “People are asking: Will Hong Kong return to normal?”

She appealed for its 7.5 million citizens to “cherish the city,” warning that “continued violence and spread of hatred will erode the core values of Hong Kong.”

Standing ramrod-straight, she then launched into a dry and detailed explanation of plans to tackle Hong Kong’s shortage of affordable housing, a long-standing source of discontent, and other welfare issues. With its focus on such minutiae as building new tunnels and freeing up land for development, the 50-minute speech seemed likely to fuel protesters’ criticism that Lam is deaf to their concerns about the future of the territory’s freedoms, unique in China. ■

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a white horse to climb Mount Paektu, North Korea.

- AP

REST OF THE WORLD

Kim vows to fight US sanctions on N KoreaNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to surmount US-led sanctions on his country in state media reports alongside evocative propaganda images of him riding a white horse seen as foretelling significant decisions as his own deadline for US movement on nuclear talks is nearing.

The images in his country’s official media showed Kim riding a white horse to climb a snow-covered Mount Paektu.

The location and the animal are both symbols associated with the Kim family’s dynastic rule.

The highest point on the Korean Peninsula is sacred to North Koreans and Kim has visited it before making previous major decisions such as his 2018 entrance into diplomacy with Seoul and Washington.

The images and Kim’s comments were released days after his country’s first nuclear negotiations with the US in more than seven months fell apart.

South Korean media quickly speculated Kim may be considering a new strategy in his dealings with the US because he has previously demanded Washington come up with new proposals to salvage the stalemated diplomacy by the end of December.

North Korean documents say Kim’s grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung had an anti-Japan guerilla base on Paektu’s slopes during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The official biography of Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, said the second-generation leader was born on Paektu when a double rainbow filled the skies.

The white horse is also a propaganda symbol for the Kim family, going back to Kim Il-sung, who according to the official narrative rode a white horse while fighting Japanese colonial rulers. ■

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REST OF THE WORLD

- AP

Huawei sales rise despite US sanctionsChinese tech giant Huawei reported a double-digit gain in sales despite US sanctions that threaten to disrupt its smartphone and network equipment businesses.

Huawei Technologies Ltd. said its sales rose 24.4 per cent in the first nine months of 2019 to 610.8 billion yuan ($US86 billion). That was faster than the 23.2 per cent gain reported for the first half.

The announcement followed US-Chinese trade talks in Washington that ended with no word of progress on resolving Huawei’s status.

The Trump administration, which accuses Huawei of being a security risk, imposed curbs in May on its access to US technology and components including Google’s music, maps and other smartphone services.

Washington has delayed enforcement and suggested it might allow sales of some US technology. But Huawei’s chairman, Liang Hua, warned in July it would “face difficulties” in the second half.

Huawei said it is removing US components from its smartphones and network gear and has announced its own phone operating system to replace Google’s Android if necessary.

But no non-US supplier can fully replace Google music, maps and other services. Industry analysts say that might threaten Huawei’s status as the No. 2 global smartphone brand behind Samsung by sales volume.

Huawei said smartphone shipments rose 26 per cent in the first nine months of 2019 over a year earlier, to 185 million units.

US security warnings focus on Huawei’s status as the biggest supplier of network gear that forms the heart of telecom networks. Huawei denies accusations it facilitates Chinese spying or might install “backdoors” in its equipment for eavesdropping. ■

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. - AP

REST OF THE WORLD

Turkey shrugs off criticism over SyriaTurkey’s president has said he will not halt its military offensive in northeast Syria, despite growing pressure and sanctions from Nato allies.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments came as Washington, which has announced limited sanctions on Turkey, said US Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Ankara to try and reach a ceasefire deal.

Erdogan said he told President Donald Trump: “We could never declare a ceasefire”, adding that Turkey wouldn’t negotiate with “terrorists”.

Erdogan said he was “not concerned” by sanctions imposed on Turkey.

Turkey launched its offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists after Trump announced he was withdrawing US troops.

Russia has signalled its role as de facto power broker in the conflict, deploying forces near the border following the US’s pullout. ■

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Jetstar confirms plan to axe regional flightsJetstar has confirmed it will cease flying five regional domestic routes at the end of next month.

In September the airline set out a proposal to end its regional turboprop services and today said that would go ahead.

The affected services are Auckland to Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth and Palmerston North, and flights between Nelson and Wellington.

Chief executive Gareth Evans said almost all of affected staff had been offered alternative employment and nearly all say they want to remain with the group.

Customers booked on regional flights after November 30 are being offered options including a full refund or transfers to other services.

Evans said regional travellers would be disappointed to hear the final decision but regional operations were loss making. ■

NEW ZEALAND

- AAP

PM sticks to surplus pledge as growth dipsAustralia’s growth forecasts have been slashed and experts say $20 billion worth of income tax cuts aren’t doing enough to help - but Scott Morrison is still promising a budget surplus.

The prime minister insists his government’s “cool and clear heads” will deliver the first budget surplus in 12 years, even as the economy continues to stagnate.

The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook predicts Australia to grow at 1.7 per cent in 2019, down from a predicted 2.1 per cent, and also slashed the 2020 forecast.

That 0.4 per cent reduction is four times the average of other advanced economies, which mainly dropped about 0.1 per cent.

“Now is the time for our economic and financial management, one that is about cool and clear heads – it is not a time for Labor’s policies of panic and crisis,” Morrison said.

“Our government had inherited deficits, (but we) will deliver the first surplus in 12 years, because we understand the importance of disciplined financial management.”

Morrison has steadfastly refused to inject extra money into the economy, despite calls from economists, business groups and politicians across the spectrum.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates three times since the May election, down to a record low of 0.75 per cent, in a bid to drive unemployment down and wages up.

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello said there were diminishing returns in cutting interest rates much further.

“I just don’t think there’s much stimulation left in monetary policy,” he said.

The IMF warned against relying on interest rate cuts to boost economies, and argued for governments to spend some money.

“Monetary policy cannot be the only game in town and should be coupled with fiscal support where fiscal space is available,” the report said. ■

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. - AAP

AUSTRALIA

north america uk australia - amazon web services€¦ · 2019-10-16 · the pile-on reinforced her...

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