NORTH AMERICA UK AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND · 20/02/2019 · deep with frigid waters, rather than taking a trail. “I kept telling myself: ‘He would do it for me,’” McNeill

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February 20 (GMT) – February 21 (aeST), 2019

AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDUKNORTH AMERICA

Trump-California clash escalates

Disputes over President Donald Trump’s border wall and California’s bullet train are intensifying the feud between the White House and the nation’s most populous state. The Trump administration has said it plans to cancel $3.5 billion in federal dollars allocated to California’s rail project, a move Gov. Gavin Newsom called “political retribution” for the state’s lawsuit against Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.

Hiker rescued from quicksand

A man who was stranded for hours in frigid weather with his leg sunk up to the knee in quicksand at a creek in Utah’s Zion National Park said that he feared he would lose his leg and might die because the quicksand’s water was so cold. Ryan Osmun, 34, of Mesa, Arizona, said he hallucinated at one point while waiting several hours alone after his girlfriend Jessika McNeill left him to get help.

ISIS defeat ‘within days or weeks’

Australia’s military chiefs expect Islamic State to be defeated in Syria within days or weeks. The extremist group has collapsed down to the south-eastern part of Syria and its fighters only hold about 700 square metres of land. Acting Chief of the Defence Force David Johnston believes a defeat of the group’s self-declared caliphate is imminent.

Hunt urges backstop solution

As Theresa May headed to Brussels to seek the legal assurances on the Brexit backstop she believes will be enough to secure Parliamentary approval for her deal, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the key to getting a deal approved by MPs was securing changes which would allow Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to alter his legal advice that the UK could potentially be trapped in the backstop indefinitely.

Tories quit, join breakaway MPs

The shake-up of British politics is continuing, with MPs Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston resigning from the Conservative Party and joining the Independent Group. Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “saddened” by the resignations but insisted “we are doing the right thing for our country” by delivering Brexit. The widely-expected defection followed Joan Ryan becoming the eighth ex-Labour MP to defect.

Spies reports rise in cyber attacks

New Zealand’s spy agency has reported a 10 per cent increase in cyber attacks from foreign governments, but won’t name those responsible. Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) Director-General Andrew Hampton appeared before Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. The committee is chaired by the prime minister; other members include National Party leader Simon Bridges and other party leaders.

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AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALANDREST OF THE WORLDNORTH AMERICA

Probe opens into Saudi nuke plan

Senior White House officials pushed a project to share nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia despite the objections of ethics and national security officials, according to a congressional report citing whistleblowers within the Trump administration. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that Saudi Arabia could develop nuclear weapons if the technology were transferred without proper safeguards.

Work begins on border project

Construction has begun on the fifth border wall project of Donald Trump’s presidency, replacing up to 14 miles of barrier in San Diego, authorities said. The first panels are in place to replace a steel-mesh fence with 30-foot-high steel bollards, according to US Customs and Border Protection. SLSCO Ltd. was awarded a $101 million contract in December, with options for an additional $30 million.

Disasters add to economic risks

Australia’s economy is facing more threats to growth than it was just two months ago when the federal government handed down its mid-year budget update, according to the Treasury boss. Treasury secretary Philip Gaetjens says growth forecasts remain solid but flooding in north Queensland is among risks that weren’t accounted for in December’s update. “Treasury will continue to monitor the flood situation,” Gaetjens said.

Migrants moved as shelter shuts

Officials in the northern Mexico border state of Coahuila said they have closed a shelter in the border city of Piedras Negras where about 1600 Central American migrants had been confined during the past two weeks. Many of the migrants have been bused to neighboring states, leading to complaints that Coahuila was dumping migrants on other cities to clear out the camp at an empty factory building.

Push to reform EU industrial policy

Germany and France launched a drive to overhaul the european Union’s competition rules to facilitate the creation of world-leading companies. They pushed forward a project to create a car battery consortium aimed at catching up with Asian rivals. A German-French “manifesto for a European industrial policy fit for the 21st century” agreed on by the countries’ economy ministers reflects worries that the continent risks falling behind.

Investigators ‘out of their depth’

Documents released by the Pike River families show the handling of exhibits from the mine was mismanaged, with the inquiry head at the time describing the chain of evidence as “diabolical”. The revelation casts doubt on whether a piece of evidence to the cause of the explosion will ever be found. The documents are in the form of a debrief, looking at what worked and what didn’t in the police investigation into the explosion.

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NORTH AMERICA

A rescued hiker is treated after being stuck in quicksand in Zion National Park, Utah. – AP

Stranded hiker rescued from quicksandA man who was stranded for hours in frigid weather with his leg sunk up to the knee in quicksand at a creek in Utah’s Zion National Park said that he feared he would lose his leg and might die because the quicksand’s water was so cold.

Ryan Osmun, 34, of Mesa, Arizona, said he hallucinated at one point while waiting several hours alone after his girlfriend Jessika McNeill left him to get help.

“I thought for sure I would lose my leg,” Osmun said. “And then toward the end I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”

Quicksand can form in saturated loose sand and standing water – the combination found on the river bed trail Osmun and McNeill were hiking, said Aly Baltrus, Zion National Park spokeswoman. Osmun had stepped into a small hole filled with it, Baltrus said.

“When water cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that cannot support weight and creates suction,” Baltrus said.

The trouble for Osmun and McNeill began about four hours into the couple’s hike on a popular route called “The Subway” in the southern Utah park. McNeill said she sank in the quicksand. After Osmun freed McNeill, he got stuck.

She tried to pry his leg out with a stick, but realized that effort would not work.

She left him with warm clothes and decided the fastest way to get help would be to swim down the river, which was waist-deep with frigid waters, rather than taking a trail.

“I kept telling myself: ‘He would do it for me,’” McNeill said.McNeill said she felt like she was going to faint when she

finally spoke with dispatchers. Rescue workers found her suffering from hypothermia, park officials said in a statement.

After rescue workers found Osmun, it took them two hours to get his leg free from the quicksand. He was suffering from hypothermia and rescue workers needed to airlift him out on a helicopter but it was snowing so they all had to spend the night.

Osmun stayed in a sleeping bag on top of a mat next to a fire until the helicopter made it to the site. ■

President Donald Trump with Governor Gavin Newsom, left, and former California

Governor Jerry Brown. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

Trump-California clash escalatesDisputes over President Donald Trump’s border wall and California’s bullet train are intensifying the feud between the White House and the nation’s most populous state.

The Trump administration has said it plans to cancel or claw back $3.5 billion in federal dollars allocated to California’s high-speed rail project, a move Gov. Gavin Newsom called “political retribution” for the state’s lawsuit against Trump’s declaration of a national emergency. California led a 16-state coalition in filing the suit, challenging Trump’s power to declare an emergency to earn more money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

“It’s no coincidence that the Administration’s threat comes 24 hours after California led 16 states in challenging the President’s farcical ‘national emergency,’” Newsom said in a statement. “This is clear political retribution by President Trump, and we won’t sit idly by.”

It’s the latest spat between Trump and California, which has styled itself as the Democratic-led “resistance” to the administration. Newsom, less than two months into his tenure, has appeared more eager to hit back at Trump than former California Gov. Jerry Brown. The lawsuit is California’s 46th against the Trump administration.

Using a broad interpretation of his executive powers, Trump declared an emergency last week to obtain wall funding beyond the $1.4 billion Congress approved for border security. The move allows the president to bypass Congress to use money from the Pentagon and other budgets.

Trump’s use of the emergency declaration has drawn bipartisan criticism and faces a number of legal challenges.

Still the president has told reporters he expects to prevail.“I think in the end we’re going to be very successful with the

lawsuit,” Trump said, calling it an “open and closed” case.Trump had earlier singled out California for its lead role in

the suit, seeking to link the state’s high-speed rail project to his plan for the wall. ■

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UK

Tory MPs Sarah Wollaston and Anna Soubry with breakaway Labour MP Chuka Umunna

outside the Cabinet office following talks with Prime Minister Theresa May. – EPA

Tories quit, join breakaway Labour MPsThe shake-up of British politics is continuing, with MPs Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston resigning from the Conservative Party and joining the Independent Group.

Prime Minster Theresa May said she was “saddened” by the resignations but insisted “we are doing the right thing for our country” by delivering Brexit.

The widely-expected defection of Tories followed Joan Ryan becoming the eighth ex-Labour MP to join The Independent Group (TIG).

She fired a furious broadside at Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of repeatedly failing to deal with anti-Semitism in the Labour party.

Pro-eU Tories Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen had been the focus of rumours at Westminster about potential defectors to TIG.

Veteran former Cabinet minister Ken Clarke, a leading europhile on the Tory benches, earlier acknowledged discontent within the Conservative ranks.

He said some of his colleagues were “getting very fed up”.“There are some, I think – not including me – who probably

are contemplating leaving if the party moves too far to the right and no longer represents what they regard as the mainstream Conservative views they have held for all the previous years.”

Ryan’s decision to quit Labour followed the launch of TIG on Monday by seven of her colleagues.

The Enfield North MP, who chaired Labour Friends of Israel, said the Labour leader had ignored calls to tackle the problem and was not fit to be prime minister.

Ryan, who has represented Enfield North since 1997, with a break from 2010-15, and served as a minister in Tony Blair’s government, also attacked Corbyn’s position on the eU.

“The other huge problem is that I think Jeremy Corbyn is aiding and abetting a hard Brexit,” she said. ■

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. - AP

UK

Hunt urges Brexit backstop solutionAs Theresa May headed to Brussels to seek the legal assurances on the Brexit backstop, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the key to getting a deal approved by MPs was securing changes which would allow Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to alter his legal advice that the UK could potentially be trapped in the backstop indefinitely.

Speaking in Berlin as part of the Government’s intense diplomatic offensive, Hunt said: “I am confident, Theresa May is confident, the British Government is confident, on the basis of huge numbers of discussions with UK Parliamentarians, that if we solve the issue of the backstop then we can pass this deal through Parliament.”

The Government’s approach now appears to be set on securing legal guarantees about the temporary nature of the backstop measures which are aimed at preventing a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

Hunt warned european leaders that the continent would be deeply damaged if a deal was not reached.

“In the future, we do not want historians to puzzle over our actions and ask themselves how it was that europe failed to achieve an amicable change in its relationship with Britain – a friend and ally in every possible sense – and thereby inflicted grave and avoidable damage to our continent at exactly the moment when the world order was under threat from other directions,” he said.

Setting out what was required, the Foreign Secretary said: “The critical thing is that the British Attorney General Geoffrey Cox needs to be able to change his advice to Parliament that currently says it is possible, if not likely, that Britain could be – under the current backstop arrangements – trapped in the customs union forever against its will.”

Hunt also played down the prospect of delaying Brexit by seeking an extension to Article 50.

“The last thing that people in the UK and indeed the rest of the eU want is Brexit paralysis, with this issue hanging over europe like a shadow,” he said. ■

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AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND

Government Communications Security Bureau Director-General Andrew Hampton.

– RNZ / Jane Patterson

Spy agency reports rise in cyber attacksNew Zealand’s electronic spy agency has reported a 10 per cent increase in cyber attacks from foreign governments, but won’t name those responsible.

Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) Director-General Andrew Hampton appeared before Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

The committee is chaired by the prime minister; other members include the National Party leader Simon Bridges and other party leaders.

Hampton said in the last 18 months New Zealand had worked with other “like-minded” countries to “attribute a number of cyber campaigns with clear links to state-sponsored actors”.

“These cyber security incidents were designed to either generate revenue, disrupt businesses, undermine democracy or for the theft of intellectual property,” he told the committee.

The GCSB has attributed large scale cyber attacks to both China and Russia alongside other Five eyes partners.

Hampton was asked whether China was responsible for any of the attacks cited by him at the committee hearing.

“In terms of cyber security New Zealand is subject to attacks from a range of state actors, we go through a very careful and deliberate process when we attributed – we won’t be doing any random attributions today,” Hampton said.

The GCSB recorded 347 cyber security incidents in the last financial year.

It said 134 of those “contained indicators that have been linked to known state-sponsored cyber actors”, up nearly 10 per cent on the year before. ■

Acting Chief of the Defence Force David Johnston. – AAP


ISIS defeat ‘within days or weeks’Australia’s military chiefs expect Islamic State to be defeated in Syria within days or weeks.

The extremist group has collapsed down to the south-eastern part of Syria and its fighters only hold about 700 square metres of land.

Acting Chief of the Defence Force David Johnston believes a defeat of the group’s self-declared caliphate is imminent.

“The judgment that we are seeing is that within days or weeks that remaining small pocket of quite hardcore fighters in that area are likely to be defeated by the SDF forces on the ground,” he said.

“So the land-based caliphate element of Daesh is likely to be defeated within the next few weeks.”

Donald Trump has announced the United States will withdraw its troops from Syria by April.

Australian military chiefs, who have been in discussion with counterparts in the US, expect the withdrawal to be completed within six months.

The potential knock-on impacts for Australian and other allied troops in neighbouring Iraq have been communicated to Pentagon chiefs.

Vice Admiral David Johnston was asked for his view on whether the imminent ISIS defeat meant a US presence in Syria was no longer needed.

“In the next few weeks it should not require it because the land-based caliphate should be defeated,” he said. ■

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NORTH AMERICA

Construction on a new, taller version of the border structure in Calexico, California. – AP

Work begins on border wall projectConstruction has begun on the fifth border wall project of Donald Trump’s presidency, replacing up to 14 miles (22 kilometers) of barrier in San Diego, authorities said.

The first panels are in place to replace a steel-mesh fence with 30-foot-high steel bollards, according to US Customs and Border Protection. SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, was awarded a $101 million contract in December, with options for an additional $30 million.

The bollards replace a second layer of barrier that worked like a fortress when it was built about a decade ago but is now often breached with powerful battery-operated saws sold in home improvement stores.

Work on replacing a first layer of San Diego barrier is nearly complete, also 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) long and made of steel bollards up to 30-feet (nine-meters) high. The old fence, built in the early 1990s, was made of corrugated steel matting used by the military as temporary runways.

The state of California and major environmental groups sued, unsuccessfully, over wall projects in the state, saying the administration overreached when it waived environmental reviews to speed construction. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a judge’s decision siding with the president.

The latest groundbreaking came three days after Trump declared a national emergency to build his proposed border wall with Mexico. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the fourth legal challenge to the emergency declaration.

Trump inherited barriers covering about one-third of the border. His administration has awarded $1 billion in contracts to cover 97 miles (155 kilometers), the vast majority of it to replace existing barriers. Work on his first extension is scheduled to begin later this month – 14 miles in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. ■

Michael Flynn. – AP

NORTH AMERICA

Probe opens into Saudi nuclear planSenior White House officials pushed a project to share nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia despite the objections of ethics and national security officials, according to a new congressional report citing whistleblowers within the Trump administration.

Lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns that Saudi Arabia could develop nuclear weapons if the US technology were transferred without proper safeguards.

The Democratic-led House oversight committee opened an investigation into the claims by several unnamed whistleblowers who said they witnessed “abnormal acts” in the White House regarding the proposal to build dozens of nuclear reactors across the Middle eastern kingdom.

The report raises concerns about whether some in the White House sought to circumvent national security procedures to push a Saudi deal that could financially benefit close supporters of the president.

The report comes at a time when lawmakers are increasingly uneasy with the close relationship between the Trump administration and Saudi Arabia, which has raised alarms even among members of the president’s party in Congress. Trump has made the kingdom a centerpiece of his foreign policy in the Middle east as he tries to further isolate Iran.

According to the report, the nuclear effort was pushed by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired in early 2017. Derek Harvey, a National Security Council official brought in by Flynn, continued work on the proposal, which has remained under consideration by the Trump administration.

Relying on the whistleblower accounts, email communications and other documents, the committee’s report details how NSC and ethics officials repeatedly warned that the actions of Flynn and a senior aide could run afoul of federal conflicts of interest law and statutes governing the transfer of nuclear technology to foreign powers. ■

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REST Of THE WORLD

France’s economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, left, and German economy Minister Peter

Altmaier. – AP

Push to reform EU industrial policyGermany and France launched a drive to overhaul the European Union’s competition rules to facilitate the creation of world-leading companies. They pushed forward a project to create a car battery consortium aimed at catching up with Asian rivals.

A German-French “manifesto for a european industrial policy fit for the 21st century” agreed on by the countries’ economy ministers reflects worries that the continent risks falling far behind in the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and electric mobility.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the eU’s stance on competition “leaves me in doubt about whether we can really produce global players this way.”

The German-French manifesto states that “the choice is simple when it comes to industrial policy: unite our forces or allow our industrial base and capacity to gradually disappear.”

After the eU blocked the merger of the rail businesses of Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom, Germany and France are suggesting that eU guidelines be updated to take greater account of global competition. They also advocate discussing whether the european Council should be given a right to appeal against decisions on mergers.

German economy Minister Peter Altmaier and French counterpart Bruno Le Maire said it would be led by their two countries but open to other eU countries that want to join. They said it would benefit both Germany and France, but it’s too early to say where factories might be built.

Altmaier said there are no plans at present for either state to take a direct stake, and both ministers said companies are interested – but wouldn’t name them, citing ongoing talks.

“China and South Korea have taken a big lead on electric batteries,” Le Maire said. “The question that arises is whether we want to be sovereign or not.”

He added that, if europe abandons two “critical technologies” – batteries and self-driving cars – “you abandon your auto industry.” ■

Migrants inside a shelter in Bachilleres gymnasium in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. – AP

REST Of THE WORLD

Migrants moved on as shelter shutsOfficials in the northern Mexico border state of Coahuila said they have closed a shelter in the border city of Piedras Negras where about 1600 Central American migrants had been confined during the past two weeks.

Many of the migrants have been bused to neighboring states, leading to complaints that Coahuila was dumping migrants on other cities to clear out the camp at an empty factory building.

Armando Cabada, the mayor of Ciudad Juarez, to the west, said that he might file a complaint against Coahuila officials. “They are offering them free transportation to bring them here. That kind of thing is not fair,” Cabada said.

Jose Borrego, a Coahuila state spokesman, confirmed that the shelter in Piedras Negras, across the border from eagle Pass, Texas, was closed a day earlier than scheduled.

The shelter’s population had been steadily falling as migrants who had obtained visas were given bus rides to other cities where they would have a better chance of finding work.

The migrants arrived at the border hoping to request asylum in the United States, but Mexican authorities corralled them in the shelter and only about a dozen were allowed to request asylum at the eagle Pass crossing each day.

Buses have been taking migrants from Piedras Negras to Ciudad Juarez and to Hermosillo, Sonora, the latter a stepping stone toward the border city of Tijuana, which was inundated with migrants from a previous caravan last year. Other buses have gone to the nearby city of Monterrey and to the border town of Reynosa, across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas.

The arrival of hundreds of migrants angered authorities in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas. Officials there set up an improvised shelter at a gymnasium, but complained that Coahuila officials had lured the migrants by telling them it would be easier to cross into the US at el Paso.

“They are promoting this by saying that 150 to 200 people are entering here per day, which is a complete lie,” said Cabada, the mayor. “They are doing this to shove their problem off on us, and that is not fair.” ■

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Mine investigators ‘out of their depth’Documents released by the Pike River families show the handling of exhibits from the mine was mismanaged, with the inquiry head at the time describing the chain of evidence as “diabolical”.

The revelation casts doubt on whether a potentially crucial piece of evidence to the cause of the explosion, a switchboard door, will ever be found.

The documents are in the form of a debrief conducted by the police in April 2012, looking at what worked and what didn’t in the police investigation into the explosion.

It was written by the inquiry head at the time, Detective Superintendent Peter Read, who continues to be involved in the investigation to this day.

It referred to the police body recovery operation and the investigation into what caused the explosion and said the recovery was “disorganised” when it came to keeping proper records, despite being told early on to take notes.

Read said exhibits, including photos and video, arrived at the investigation base with no documentation so they had no idea when or where they had been taken.

He talked about the chain of custody for evidence, where every movement of exhibits was documented to prevent claims of evidence tampering.

In this case the chain of evidence, which Read said was “basic police work”, was described as “diabolical”.

While the police were on the look out for any criminal behaviour, the Department of Labour, now known as WorkSafe, were investigating any workplace safety breaches.

Police would often defer to these inspectors who were supposed to know more about mining than them.

However Read talked about them as being “out of their depth”.

He noted they were investigating themselves over their own role in the disaster, and asked whether the police should have gone to somebody more independent for advice, such as state-owned coal company Solid energy. ■


Documents have revealed how the evidence from the Pike River mine disaster was

mismanaged. – AAP

Drought, floods add to economic risksAustralia’s economy is facing more threats to growth than it was just two months ago when the federal government handed down its mid-year budget update, according to the Treasury boss.

Treasury secretary Philip Gaetjens says growth forecasts remain solid but flooding in north Queensland is among risks that weren’t accounted for in December’s update.

“Treasury will continue to monitor the flood situation,” Gaetjens said.

The drought affecting eastern Australia is another key area of economic uncertainty on the domestic front.

Downward trends in agricultural production and building approvals are also posing risks locally.

That comes as growth has slowed in europe, Brexit looms as a source of uncertainty, and trade tensions continue to simmer globally.

The United States and China are in the midst of trade negotiations, which Gaetjens noted could either hamper or help the Australian economy depending on their outcome.

“The central forecast I think still remain solid, but I think there is an accumulation of risks both globally and domestically,” Gaetjens said.

“It will be interesting to see how those risks materialise, or if they do.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the risks to the economy show now would be the wrong time to increase Australia’s tax burden – a government attack line against Labor as the federal election looms.

“Given all of the other risks we are facing, that would make the Australian economy weaker,” he said.

But Gaetjens also identified some positive recent developments, with commodity prices running higher than they were assumed at the mid-year budget update.

employment conditions also remain strong, with jobs growth expected to continue. ■

Drought in NSW and flooding in Queensland added unexpected risks to Australia’s

economy. – AAP
