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june 3 (GMT) – june 4 (AeST), 2019

AUSTRALIAUSUk

Trump visits Palace, slams media

Donald Trump has gone on the offensive against the London Mayor, so-called “fake news” and China before meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The US president wasted little time in taking aim at some familiar targets as he began his three-day state visit to the UK.As he touched down he branded London Mayor Sadiq Khan a “stone cold loser” in a Twitter tirade.

Boris launches bid for May’s job

Tory leadership contender Boris Johnson said he would both cut taxes and increase spending on schools as he launched his campaign to become prime minister. The former foreign secretary has pledged to “significantly” increase the amount spent on every secondary school pupil to at least £5000 if he wins the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.

Albo kicks off ‘listening tour’

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has declared his love for Tasmania as he begins a three-year Labor mission to win back the state’s swinging north. The opposition leader was rugged up in Launceston for day one of his “national listening tour”, aimed at figuring out what went wrong at the May 18 poll.

White House loses top economist

President Donald Trump says the White House’s top economist is leaving soon.Trump tweeted that the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett, would be departing “shortly” and praised him as having “done such a great job for me and the administration”.

US, Mexico talk tariffs, border

Top officials from the US and Mexico will begin talks in a scramble to fend off President Donald Trump’s threat of devastating tariffs on imports from the southern ally and meet his demand for fewer migrants at the border. Trump is heading to London for a long-planned overseas trip, leaving others to stem a potential trade crisis. It’s unclear what more Mexico can do – and what will be enough – to satisfy the president.

Horror weekend on the roads

One person died in motorbike crash near Port Waikato south of Auckland bringing the official road toll for Queen’s Birthday weekend to five. But two other fatal crashes are not included in the official figures. In the Port Waikato crash, the passenger on the motorbike died, and the rider was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a moderate condition.

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AUSTRALIAEUROPEWORLD

Bodies spotted during search

five bodies have been sighted in the search for eight mountaineers, including an Australian woman, lost in the Indian Himalayas following an avalanche. Sydney mountaineer ruth McCance went missing while attempting to summit a previously unclimbed peak on nanda Devi East along with British team leader Martin Moran, three other UK climbers, two men from the United States and an Indian liaison officer.

Tech group eases up on Huawei

The world’s largest association of technology professionals backed away from barring from some of its activities employees of Chinese tech giant Huawei, the company at the center of a roiling trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. Data releases, meanwhile, showed a widening fallout from the clash between the two biggest economies over China’s huge trade surpluses and its efforts to leap ahead in advanced technology.

Hospitals to receive fund boost

Two public hospitals on the outskirts of Brisbane will be redeveloped to the tune of almost a billion dollars to meet the demands of a booming population. Caboolture Hospital to the city’s north will be allocated $350 million in next week’s state budget, while $460 million will be earmarked for Logan Hospital to the south, Health Minister Steven Miles said.

Merkel’s coalition under shadow

german Chancellor Angela Merkel says she won’t run for a fifth term, but the departure of a top ally in her coalition has raised new doubts about whether her government will even survive until the end of her current term in 2021.

Austrian chancellor vows stability

Austria has sworn in its first female chancellor at the head of an interim government that will serve until after an election expected in September. The 69-year-old Brigitte Bierlein, previously the head of Austria’s top court, will lead a Cabinet of non-partisan experts. “I am particularly glad … that for the first time in history we will have a female chancellor at the head of the government,” she said.

Mental health advocate honoured

Doctor Sue Bagshaw has been made a dame companion of the new Zealand Order of Merit for her services to youth health. Dame Sue has worked in the youth health sector for three decades and is currently a senior lecturer in paediatrics at the University of Otago in Christchurch.

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uk

Boris Johnson. - PA

Boris launches bid for May’s jobTory leadership contender Boris Johnson said he would both cut taxes and increase spending on schools as he launched his campaign to become prime minister.

The former foreign secretary has pledged to “significantly” increase the amount spent on every secondary school pupil to at least £5000 if he wins the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.

His leadership launch came as Cabinet minister James Brokenshire called for outsiders in Conservative leadership contest to stand aside, warning that the party did not have “the luxury of weeks of navel-gazing” as the current 13-strong field is whittled down to a final two.

Johnson’s campaign launch was clearly aimed at showing Tory MPs that he is the candidate most likely to secure them a general election victory, with carefully chosen footage of the former mayor of London on voters’ doorsteps.

On Brexit, he said: “If I get in, we’ll come out, deal or no deal, on October 31.”

As well as extra funding for schools, Johnson said “we need more police out there”.

He suggested he could “cut some taxes and you get more money in” to pay for his campaign pledges.

“If there is one message in that referendum of 2016, it is that too many people feel left behind, that they are not able to take part fully in the opportunities and success of our country,” Johnson said.

“That’s why now is the time to unite our society and unite our country.To build the infrastructure, to invest in education, to improve our environment and support our fantastic nHS.

“To lift everyone in our country – and of course, also, to make sure that we support our wealth creators and the businesses that make that investment possible.

“now is the time for us to believe in ourselves and what we can do.” ■

President Donald Trump and the The Prince of Wales, behind, inspects the guard of

Honour at Buckingham Palace, London. - PA

uk

Trump visits Palace, slams mediaDonald Trump has gone on the offensive against the London Mayor, so-called “fake news” and China before meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The US president wasted little time in taking aim at some familiar targets as he began his three-day state visit to the UK.

As he touched down he branded London Mayor Sadiq Khan a “stone cold loser” in a Twitter tirade.

He also appeared to use some downtime before meeting the Queen to watch TV and berate both “fake news” Cnn and China.

After arriving at Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in the capital, Trump took aim at first China and then Cnn, tweeting: “Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @Cnn is the primary source of news available from the US After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much fake news, very bad for US Big ratings drop. Why doesn’t owner @ATT do something?”

Trump and the first Lady were greeted by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall as they stepped from the Marine One helicopter in the grounds of the palace.

The pair were then taken to meet the Queen – their second introduction following Trump’s working visit to Britain last summer.

following his criticism of Khan, the mayor’s office fired back, saying Trump was offering “childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States”.

The spat came at the beginning of a visit that will see Trump take part in a number of engagements, as well as meeting Theresa May in her final days as Prime Minister.

A large crowd gathered outside Buckingham Palace in the sunshine as they awaited the arrival of the Trumps.

A huge security operation is in place for the visit, and police officers could be seen standing at three different points on the roof at the front of the palace. ■

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us

Migrants wait for access to request asylum in the US, at the El Chaparral port of Entry in

Tijuana, Mexico. - AP

US, Mexico top officials talk tariffs, borderTop officials from the US and Mexico will begin talks in a scramble to fend off President Donald Trump’s threat of devastating tariffs on imports from the southern ally and meet his demand for fewer migrants at the border.

Trump is heading to London for a long-planned overseas trip, leaving others to stem a potential trade crisis. It’s unclear what more Mexico can do – and what will be enough – to satisfy the president. Trump’s republican allies warn that tariffs on Mexican imports will hit US consumers and harm the economy.

The president all but taunted negotiators for a quick resolution. “Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border,” the president tweeted. “Problem is, they’ve been ‘talking’ for 25 years. We want action, not talk.”

Mexican Economy Minister graciela Marquez plans talks with Commerce Secretary Wilbur ross. Two days later, delegations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and foreign relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will also meet in Washington.

Trump has been here before, issuing high-stakes threats, only to back off come crunch time. But a top White House official warned that the president was “deadly serious”. Trump is threatening 5 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports starting June 3.

Trump claims Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades but that the abuse will end when he slaps tariffs on Mexican imports. His frustration with the flow of migrants is nothing new, but it’s a subject he often returns to, as he did last week after special counsel robert Mueller’s rare public statement on the Trump-russia report.

The president said last week that he will impose the tariffs to pressure the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to block Central American migrants from crossing the border into the US Trump said the import tax will increase by 5 per cent every month through October, topping out at 25 per cent. It swiftly refocused attention on the border issues.

Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said that the president is “deadly serious”. ■

Council of Economic Advisers chairman Kevin Hassett and senior White House adviser

Jared Kushner. - AP

us

White House loses top economistPresident Donald Trump says the White House’s top economist is leaving soon.

Trump tweeted that the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett, would be departing “shortly” and praised him as having “done such a great job for me and the administration”.

Trump said he would name what he called a “very talented replacement” as soon as he returned to the US from his trip to Europe.

“I want to thank Kevin for all he has done – he is a true friend,” the president added.

Hassett began serving in the Senate-confirmed post in September 2017. ■

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NEW ZEALAND

- rnZ / Alex Perrotett

Holiday weekend horror on the roadsOne person died in motorbike crash near Port Waikato south of Auckland bringing the official road toll for Queen’s Birthday weekend to five.

But two other fatal crashes are not included in the official figures.

In the Port Waikato crash, the passenger on the motorbike died, and the rider was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a moderate condition.

Earlier, one person died when a car crashed into a building in Papatoetoe, in South Auckland.

On friday, one person died after fleeing police, the police said they abandoned the chase and the car was later found crashed into a tree.

While the official road toll for the long weekend sits at five – there was a death shortly before the period started, and a motorcyclist was killed in a farm accident. ■

Labor leader Anthony Albanese. - AAP

AusTRALIA

Albanese kicks off ‘listening tour’Labor leader Anthony Albanese has declared his love for Tasmania as he begins a three-year Labor mission to win back the state’s swinging north.

The opposition leader was rugged up in Launceston for day one of his “national listening tour”, aimed at figuring out what went wrong at the May 18 poll.

“This is my fourth visit here just this year. I’m a regular visitor, I love this state. I love engaging with Tasmanians,” Albanese said.

Labor is set to lose Bass – which includes Launceston – and Braddon in the northwest to two rookie Liberals.

Albanese, who met with the local mayor and council representatives, admitted franking credits policy hurt his party.

He was quick to point to Labor pledges to boost business in the region, something the Liberals campaigned on heavily.

“A hydrogen proposal for Bell Bay – that would have created jobs and economic activity,” Albanese said.

“Biofuels in the Meander Valley … we had a range of ideas that we put forward for northern Tasmania – I say to the government, take them up.”

Labor’s ross Hart has conceded Bass to farmer Bridget Archer, who is ahead by about 600 votes in a seat yet to be officially declared by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Hart indicated a desire to run again. “The margin here is just in the hundreds of votes, it doesn’t

take much to turn that around,” Albanese said.“If ross wants to have a crack again I would certainly

welcome that.“I want to ensure that on election night in 2022 it’s a

celebration here in Lonnie rather than a circumstance we’ll have to regret.”

Votes in Bass and Braddon have been fickle the past few federal polls, with the two electorates swinging between the major parties. ■

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WoRLD

Tech group eases up on HuaweiThe world’s largest association of technology professionals backed away from barring from some of its activities employees of Chinese tech giant Huawei, the company at the center of a roiling trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

Data releases, meanwhile, showed a widening fallout from the clash between the two biggest economies over China’s huge trade surpluses and its efforts to leap ahead in advanced technology.

Surveys of manufacturers across the region for May showed business confidence has been shaken by US and Chinese jousting over President Donald Trump’s demands that Beijing change its industrial planning strategy and find other ways to redress the trade imbalance.

A private survey, the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, for China held steady at 50.2 in May, just above the 50 level that distinguishes between expansion and contraction. But business confidence slipped to its lowest level since the series began in April 2012.

China showed no signs of budging, issuing a report saying it would not back down on “major issues of principle.” It said Beijing had kept its word through 11 rounds of trade negotiations and accused Washington of backtracking by introducing new tariffs and other conditions beyond what was agreed on.

Huawei Technologies, the world’s biggest maker of telecom gear and no. 2 smartphone manufacturer, said that it had no comment on an announcement by the IEEE, pronounced “Eye-triple-E,” about allowing employees of Huawei and its affiliates to participate in its publication process as peer reviewers and editors. The IEEE, which stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, made the announcement after the US Department of Commerce clarified its stance on the issue, which arose after the US put Huawei on an “Entity List,” effectively barring US firms from selling it technology. ■

WoRLD

Bodies spotted during aerial mountain searchFive bodies have been sighted in the search for eight mountaineers, including an Australian woman, lost in the Indian Himalayas following an avalanche.

Sydney mountaineer ruth McCance went missing while attempting to summit a previously unclimbed peak on nanda Devi East along with British team leader Martin Moran, three other UK climbers, two men from the United States and an Indian liaison officer.

High-resolution photographs taken during an aerial mission conducted identified the bodies, as well as a number of other personal effects of the climbers such as rucksacks, Indian Mountaineering foundation spokesman Amit Chowdhury said.

“now it’s pretty much certain that the climbers were struck down by this avalanche,” Chowdhury said.

The bodies are on the ground along with avalanche debris, at the site where footprints were seen leading into the path of an avalanche.

“There is no movement, therefore, it’s probably practical to presume that the possibilities of anyone being alive in this kind of massive avalanche is very, very weak,” Chowdhury.

“We were hopeful of being able to find some kind of life but now things don’t look good at all,” he said.

The focus will now shift to a ground search, which will come from a different path than the climbers took as the area is dangerous, Chowdhury said.

Plans are being made to figure out how the bodies will be retrieved, he said. McCance’s husband, Trent goldsack, said earlier “a lot of people are saying a lot of prayers for her at the moment”. “There’s always hope,” goldsack said.

A rescue team of up to 20 people – including members of the Indian-Tibetan border police and the state disaster management force – left Munsiyari on foot on Saturday morning local time, Indian Mountaineering foundation spokesman Amit Chowdhury has said.

It is expected to take them at least three days to reach the avalanche site. ■

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EuRoPE

Brigitte Bierlein. - PA

Austrian chancellor vows stabilityAustria has sworn in its first female chancellor at the head of an interim government that will serve until after an election expected in September.

The 69-year-old Brigitte Bierlein, previously the head of Austria’s top court, will lead a Cabinet of non-partisan experts.

“I am particularly glad … that for the first time in history we will have a female chancellor at the head of the government, and secondly that women and men are equally represented in this government,” President Alexander Van der Bellen said as he swore in the new team. “In the future, no one will be able to say ‘unfortunately that’s not possible’.”

Bierlein was named as interim leader after Sebastian Kurz lost a confidence vote a week ago, following the collapse of a governing coalition of his right-wing People’s Party and the far-right freedom Party.

That followed the publication of a video showing freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache appearing to offer lucrative government contracts to a purported russian investor.

Bierlein pledged stability and assured Austrians that they were in good hands. She said a government needed to have transparent rules, be open to dialogue and constructive disagreement, and to entertain a diversity of opinion.

“That was my core belief as a judge, and it remains my belief as chancellor,” she said.

As he swore in the new Cabinet, Van der Bellen called on Austrians not to “turn away” from politics. Bierlein appealed specifically to the country’s youth, particularly young women, to help make a “strong, livable and tolerant Austria”.

“Our land, our democracy needs all of you, your creative strength and your belief in Austria,” she said. “Your engagement is irreplaceable for the health of our republic and all of Europe.” ■

german Chancellor Angela Merkel. - AP

EuRoPE

Merkel’s coalition under a shadowGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel says she won’t run for a fifth term, but the departure of a top ally in her coalition has raised new doubts about whether her government will even survive until the end of her current term in 2021.

Here’s a look at the political turmoil in germany right now:

WHAT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTE WROUGHTMerkel, germany’s leader since 2005, has run the country for most of her tenure in a “grand coalition” of her center-right Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats. On May 26, the center-left Social Democrats had a disastrous result in the European Parliament election, dropping down to third behind Merkel’s conservative bloc and the environmentalist greens for their worst post-World War II performance in a nationwide vote.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?Merkel’s fourth-term government took office in March 2018, nearly six months after a national election. The Social Democrats initially vowed to go into opposition after a poor election result, but reluctantly reconsidered. The coalition has since become notorious for infighting. first, a spat within Merkel’s own bloc over migration. More recently the two sides have tussled over Social Democratic demands for more generous pensions for low earners.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?If the Social Democrats decide that they want to leave the coalition, that would likely lead to an early election, which would end Merkel’s nearly 14-year reign. Merkel’s bloc alone is far from having a parliamentary majority. Merkel, 64, said last year she won’t seek a fifth term as chancellor. Her successor as leader of her Christian Democratic Union, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has had a bumpy start and polls suggest Merkel remains more popular. ■

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Youth mental health advocate honouredDoctor Sue Bagshaw has been made a dame companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to youth health.

Dame Sue has worked in the youth health sector for three decades and is currently a senior lecturer in paediatrics at the University of Otago in Christchurch.

In 1995 she established the 198 Youth Health Centre, a one stop shop, where she worked as a primary care youth health specialist until its closure in 2010.

following the Christchurch earthquakes, Dame Sue worked to establish the city’s first youth hub and, most recently, she has set about bringing together a collaboration of health, social services and transitional housing for the city’s youth.

Dame Sue said her work is its own reward.“I just love it when I meet up with young people who’ve been

to our service who come up to me and say ‘It was so good, I’m doing so well now.’

“You know, that’s the best bit. They’ve actually grown through all their difficulties, and they’ve become their own person and contributing in their own right. That’s fantastic; that makes it all worth it.” ■

NEW ZEALAND

Sue Bagshaw. - rnZ

Hospitals to receive funding boostTwo public hospitals on the outskirts of Brisbane will be redeveloped to the tune of almost a billion dollars to meet the demands of a booming population.

Caboolture Hospital to the city’s north will be allocated $350 million in next week’s state budget, while $460 million will be earmarked for Logan Hospital to the south, Health Minister Steven Miles said.

The funds will pay for new operating theatres, a new intensive care unit, a new ward, cafe and morgue at Caboolture, while Logan will get also get new operating theatres, and new chemotherapy and endoscopy facilities.

Miles said the state government will also borrow the funds needed to build a new 500-space car park at Caboolture Hospital, which it will repay over time via parking fees.

Earlier this year the southeast corner’s public health system went into crisis when it ran out of beds across a number of emergency departments at the same time.

The state government has begun releasing details from the budget Treasurer Jackie Trad will deliver next week.

A majority of spending will be done in the bush, where communities have been crying out for infrastructure projects.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her ministers have travelled to some of those most far-flung parts of the state in the weeks since Labor’s battering at the federal poll.

Trad has already flagged budgetary problems on the back of a write-down in the national gST, and will need to find a way to pay the massive flood recovery cost along with reversing prison privatisation.

The state government is also planning to shell out $5.66 billion in concessions like the electricity rebate and subsidies to cover both water bills and council charges for pensioners.

It will fund training for some apprentices, a free dental care scheme and a subsidy for patients who need to travel to access medical services. ■

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles. - AAP

AusTRALIA

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