JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 3

USA WORLD AUSTRALIA

Virus relief package a step closer NKorea puts city in lockdown Victoria records 10 virus deaths

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has Victoria is continuing to break says Republicans are set to roll out the placed the city of Kaesong near the coronavirus records as 10 more people next COVID-19 aid package after he and border with South Korea under total lost their lives while the state clocked President Donald Trump’s top aide met lockdown over coronavirus concerns and 459 new cases. The state hit its deadliest to fine-tune the $1 trillion proposal that declared a state of emergency to contain single day toll as Premier Daniel Andrews had floundered just days before. a potential outbreak. y confirmed the deaths, including a man aged in his 40s, one of the youngest people to die from COVID-19 in Australia to date.

UK UK NEW ZEALAND

PM to launch health campaign New accent of space defence Drought upsets kiwi season

Government-backed 12-week health Britain will take steps to protect itself Hungry kiwi in Hawke’s Bay have put plans are set to be rolled out as part of against military threats in space from their own survival ahead of producing the Prime Minister’s obesity strategy, Russia and China in a sweeping review of more eggs, as the region was gripped by with GPs able to hand out “cycling the country’s defences, according to Ben a prolonged drought. And that resulted prescriptions”. Wallace. in a less than stellar breeding season - the Maungataniwha Kiwi Programme delivered 46 viable eggs to the national hatchery in Rotorua, down from 62 the previous year.

1 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

EUROPE WORLD AUSTRALIA

German cruise ship sets sail Israelis protest as cases soar Virus ‘demands’ court’s rally ban

A German cruise ship is gingerly Thousands of Israelis have held several A Sydney Black Lives Matters rally is now testing the water amid the coronavirus demonstrations across the country a prohibited public assembly, opening pandemic, setting sail for the first time against their prime minister, with the up demonstrators to arrest and fines for since the industry was shut down months main protest taking place in Jerusalem breaching coronavirus restrictions on ago and using strict precautions to keep outside the official residence of Benjamin mass gatherings. passengers and crew as safe as possible. Netanyahu.

USA EUROPE NEW ZEALAND

Police declare riot at protests Spain aims at clubs, beaches Ross launches Advance NZ

Seattle police have declared a riot amid Nightclubs, bars and beaches – some of Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross has demonstrations in the city’s Capitol Hill Spain’s most beloved summer venues merged his Advance New Zealand party neighborhood and deployed flash bangs – are facing new lockdown restrictions with the Public Party, in the hope its and pepper spray to try to clear an area after turning into coronavirus hot spots. leader will win the seat of Te Tai Tokerau. near where weeks earlier people had set The northeast region of Catalonia now The Botany MP will co-lead the new party up an “occupied protest zone”. hosts two of the most worrying virus with Billy Te Kahika, who will stand in Te hotspots in Spain, prompting authorities Tai Tokerau. in Barcelona and an interior agricultural area around Lleida to tighten restrictions that were relaxed only a month ago when Spain had its devastating outbreak in check.

2 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks with reporters about the coronavirus relief Prime Minister Boris Johnson wears a face mask as he boards an ambulance during a visit package, at the White House. – AP to the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service. – AP

USA UK Virus relief package a PM to launch new health step closer campaign

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Republicans are Government-backed 12-week health plans are set set to roll out the next COVID-19 aid package after he to be rolled out as part of the Prime Minister’s and President Donald Trump’s top aide met to fine-tune obesity strategy, with GPs able to hand out “cycling the $1 trillion proposal that had floundered just days prescriptions”. before. The move comes after Boris Johnson revealed his own brush Mnuchin told reporters at the Capitol that extending an with Covid-19, which saw him require intensive care in April, expiring unemployment benefit — but reducing it substantially convinced him of the need to tackle Britain’s bulging waistlines. — was a top priority for Trump. The secretary called the $600 He is preparing to announce a “Better Health” campaign on weekly aid “ridiculous” and a disincentive for people to go back Monday, which will aim to reach 35 million people in a bid to to work. He also promised a fresh round of $1,200 stimulus help them lose weight and live healthier lives. checks would be coming in August. As part of the programme, the NHS weight loss services is “We’re prepared to move quickly,” Mnuchin said after he to be expanded, while GPs will be encouraged to prescribe and Mark Meadows, the president’s acting chief of staff, cycling – with patients in pilot areas given access to bikes – and spent several hours with GOP staff at the Capitol. He said the ministers promising more segregated lanes and better cycle president would “absolutely” support the emerging Republican infrastructure would be put in place. package. The Prime Minister is also expected to ban junk food adverts Mnuchin’s optimistic assessment came before Democrats on television before the 9pm watershed and to outlaw them weighed in publicly on the updated proposal, which remained entirely online. only a starting point in negotiations with House and Senate Meanwhile, promotions on snacks will be curbed, and leaders in the other party. He said he recently called House restaurant and takeaway chains will have to publish the Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck number of calories in the meals they serve – while shops will Schumer ahead of shuttle negotiations next week on the have to do the same with any alcohol they sell. broader deal. The highly-interventionist approach marks a U-turn for The White House and Senate Republicans were racing to Johnson, who until recently has been a vocal opponent of “sin regroup after plans to introduce a $1 trillion virus rescue bill taxes” and perceived “nannying” by the state. collapsed amid GOP infighting over its size, scope and details. It A Government spokeswoman said: “Covid-19 has given us all was expected to bring $105 billion to help schools reopen, new a wake-up call of the immediate and long-term risks of being money for virus testing and benefits for businesses, including a overweight, and the Prime Minister is clear we must use this fresh round of loans, tax breaks and a sweeping liability shield moment to get healthier, more active and eat better. from COVID-related lawsuits. “We will be urging the public to use this moment to take As Republicans struggled, the White House team stock of how they live their lives, and to take simple steps to downplayed the differences with the GOP senators as lose weight, live healthier lives, and reduce pressure on the overblown and said Trump was focused on providing relief. ■ NHS.” ■

3 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. – AP British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. - AP

WORLD UK North Korea puts city in UK flags new accent of lockdown space defence

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has placed the city of Britain will take steps to protect itself against military Kaesong near the border with South Korea under total threats in space from Russia and China in a sweeping lockdown over coronavirus concerns and declared a review of the country’s defences, according to Ben state of emergency to contain a potential outbreak. Wallace.

The step was taken after a person was found with suspected The Defence Secretary said the review will lead to his ministry COVID-19 symptoms in the city, the Korean Central News “pivoting away” from a focus on conventional warfare to Agency said. It said the person is a runaway who had fled to “operate much more in the newest domains of space, cyber South Korea years ago before illegally crossing the border into and sub-sea”. the North early last week. His comments come after the UK and US accused Russia of If that person is officially declared a virus patient, he or she testing an anti-satellite weapon in space earlier this month. would be the North’s first confirmed coronavirus case. North Wallace said China is also “developing offensive Korea has steadfastly said it has no single virus case on its space weapons”, a move which has prompted the most territory, a claim questioned by outside experts. comprehensive review of Britain’s defence capabilities since During an emergency Politburo meeting, Kim also declared a the Cold War. state of emergency in the Kaesong area, KCNA said. It quoted Wallace said the world is “moving at an unprecedented pace Kim as saying that there was “a critical situation in which the and our defence must move with it”. vicious virus could be said to have entered the country,.” “Our adversaries go further, deeper and higher. The binary Kim said he took “the preemptive measure of totally blocking distinction between peace and war has vanished,” he said. Kaesong City and isolating each district and region from the MPs have warned that the type of anti-satellite weapon other within July 24 afternoon just after receiving the report on Russia is accused of firing could cripple the UK’s systems. it,” according to KCNA. Russia has dismissed the accusation as “propaganda”. Describing its anti-virus efforts as a “matter of national Wallace said that as traditional conflicts change – with space, existence,” North Korea earlier this year shut down nearly all cyber and data the new battlegrounds – Britain needs to cross-border traffic, banned foreign tourists and mobilized take action to “outmanoeuvre our adversaries with a sharper health workers to quarantine anyone with symptoms. But the technological edge and relentless focus on innovation”. Kaesong lockdown is the first such known measure taken in a Russia’s alleged anti-satellite weapons test has caused North Korean city to stem the pandemic. ■ widespread alarm, with UKspace – the trade association of the British space industry – warning that such missiles could mean “the end of space” as humans know and use it. “If you actually fired at other satellites, space would quickly become a field of massive shrapnel and, as you can imagine, that would be the end of space,” Will Whitehorn, UKspace president, said. ■

4 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

-Soldiers and police officers patrol Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. – AAP Barry Crene hands some eggs from birds monitored as part of the Maungataniwha Kiwi Programme to Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust chairman Simon Hall (right). – RNZ

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND Victoria records 10 new Drought upsets kiwi virus deaths breeding season

Victoria is continuing to break coronavirus records as 10 Hungry kiwi in Hawke's Bay have put their own survival more people lost their lives while the state clocked 459 ahead of producing more eggs, as the region was gripped new cases. by a prolonged drought.

The state hit its deadliest single day toll as Premier Daniel And that resulted in a less than stellar breeding season - the Andrews y confirmed the deaths, including a man aged in Maungataniwha Kiwi Programme delivered 46 viable eggs to his 40s, one of the youngest people to die from COVID-19 in the national hatchery in Rotorua, down from 62 the previous Australia to date. year. The deaths take the state toll to 71 and the national figure The Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust monitored 43 male to 155, while 228 Victorians remain in hospital with the virus, kiwi in the Maungataniwha native forest. including 42 in intensive care. The native birds produced a similar number of first clutch Seven of the deaths registered overnight were linked to aged nests compared with the previous season. care centres, where there are currently 560 active cases. But when it came to second clutch nests, the numbers were Andrews expressed his concern about the spread of the down from 18 to seven. virus among care facilities as well as healthcare workers, where Some males abandoned their second clutch nests in the there are 381 active cases. early stages of incubation, or were not detected to nest at all. He announced Victoria’s “last line of defence” would be Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust staffer Barry Crene said further supported by calling up students, retired doctors and the kiwi were pretty smart. the army to help. "[They] mostly knew well before we did that we were going Around 20 Australian Defence Force members will begin a to get a drought, so they would have had a little discussion training program with paramedics, including driver training and and said, oh well, no more nookies, we're going to look proper PPE protocol. after ourselves, because we're going to have a long, hot, dry “I hope that is seen as a particularly innovative way of putting summer." the best skills to the best use,” he said. When he was out changing transmitters, Crene said he Andrews also said it was too early to make a decision on a found more kiwi than normal living nearer the streams or in lockdown extension, claiming the numbers are still far too high muddy conditions in the forest. and they needed to stabilise. "They can go down into gullies and live right down low where He encouraged Victorians to keep getting tested as the state the food is. had almost 43,000 tests conducted on Saturday and sent stern "When the ground dries up, the bugs just go down deeper, advice to anti-maskers. they keep following the moisture. The birds here can adapt “Ten families are going to be burying someone in the next from being up in the high country and come down into the few days. Wear a mask, it’s not too much to ask,” he told creeks." reporters. The results in Hawke's Bay were echoed by other kiwi “And what’s more, the nurse who will be treating you or a conservation projects across the North Island. loved one, they’ll be wearing a mask.” ■ The National Kiwi Hatchery incubated 125 eggs during the season - only 21 of them were second clutch eggs. ■

5 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

The Tui cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2”. - AP Construction buildings burn in Seattle, shortly after a group of protesters left the area. – AP

EUROPE USA German cruise ship sets Police declare riot at sail protests

A German cruise ship is gingerly testing the water amid Seattle police have declared a riot amid demonstrations the coronavirus pandemic, setting sail for the first time in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and deployed since the industry was shut down months ago and using flash bangs and pepper spray to try to clear an area near strict precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as where weeks earlier people had set up an “occupied possible. protest zone”.

The TUI cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2” — literally “My Ship 2” — set Police said they had made at least 16 arrests for assault on sail for a weekend cruise in the North Sea. officers, obstruction and failure to disperse. They also said they Occupancy was limited to 60 per cent so passengers could were “investigating a possible explosive damage” to the walls of keep their distance from one another, but even that level the city’s East Precinct police station. was not reached. The ship sailed off with 1200 passengers Authorities said rocks, bottles, fireworks and mortars on board compared to its normal 2900 capacity. It was not were thrown at officers as they attempted to clear the area. reported how many crew were also on board. One officer was hospitalized with a leg injury caused by an The ship sailed from the northern port of Hamburg toward explosive. Norway, and passengers will spend the weekend at sea with no Earlier, protesters in Seattle broke through a fence where land stops before returning to Germany. a youth detention facility was being built, with some people On board, passengers and crew are required to stay 1.5 setting a fire and damaging a portable trailer, authorities said. meters away from one another or wear protective masks and Thousands of protesters had initially gathered peacefully they will not be able to serve themselves at the ship’s buffet. All near downtown in a show of solidarity with fellow passengers also had to fill out a health questionnaire before demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, where tensions with boarding and have their temperatures taken. federal law enforcement have boiled over during protests After being shut down for months, German cruise ship stemming from the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. companies are hoping that shorter, strictly controlled trips Initially there was no sign of law enforcement near the will help restart the business that has been devastated by the Seattle march. Later, Seattle Police said via Twitter that about pandemic, which brought global travel to a standstill, forced a dozen people breached the construction site for the King cruise ship companies to suspend operations and stranded County youth detention facility. Also, police said protesters thousands of passengers and crew worldwide. broke out windows at a King County court facility. Starting Aug 5, the AIDA cruise operator will sail from Earlier this week King County Executive Dow Constantine, in Hamburg with its first trip since the pandemic shut operations response to long-standing demands by community activists, down months ago, with a second to leave on Aug 12 from said he would work to eliminate youth detention centers in the Rostock and a third departing on Aug 16 from Kiel. county by 2025. Germany has been widely lauded for its efforts to contain its After the fire at the construction site authorities said they coronavirus outbreak. It has reported over 206,000 infections had ordered people to leave a different area, in a section of but kept deaths to 9124 — only one-fifth of Britain’s death toll. Capitol Hill, near downtown, where the East Precinct is. ■ Germany is now in the process of reopening its economy, with strict guidelines on social distancing, mask use and personal hygiene measures. ■

6 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

Thousands of demonstrators chant slogans and hold signs during a protest outside Prime A DJ performs in a nightclub in Madrid, Spain. - AP Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem. – AP

WORLD EUROPE Israelis protest as virus Spain takes aim at clubs, cases soar beaches

Thousands of Israelis have held several demonstrations Nightclubs, bars and beaches – some of Spain’s most across the country against their prime minister, with beloved summer venues – are facing new lockdown the main protest taking place in Jerusalem outside the restrictions after turning into coronavirus hot spots. official residence of Benjamin Netanyahu. The northeast region of Catalonia now hosts two of the most The protests have been going on for the past few weeks, worrying virus hotspots in Spain, prompting authorities in sparked by what critics see as a government failure to handle Barcelona and an interior agricultural area around Lleida to the coronavirus crisis after initially keeping the threat of the tighten restrictions that were relaxed only a month ago when virus at bay. Spain had its devastating outbreak in check. “Bibi, go home,” read one sign held by a protester. Another France, meanwhile, is recommending that travellers ditch placard read “Everyone can see that the emperor has lost his plans to spend their summer vacations in Barcelona and its clothes.” nearby beaches, which have seen crowds too massive to allow Hundreds of protesters also gathered outside Netanyahu’s for social distancing. Police had to step in and take measures beach house in the upscale town of Caesarea. to reduce the number of beach-goers. Last week, police used water cannons to disperse crowds in Catalonia ordered all nightlife venues to close for 15 Jerusalem. days and applied a midnight curfew on bars in and around After what has been called a hasty and erratic reopening Barcelona and Lleida late Friday, hours after French Prime of the economy in May, infections shot up with the average Minister Jean Castex urged French citizens not to visit Catalonia number of new cases daily at 2,000. The country’s economy due to the upticks in new infections. has been battered by virus restrictions and the unemployment France is also struggling to stop a spike in new cases but it rate has skyrocketed to nearly 20%. apparently sees a risk in importing new infections from Spain Protesters say the government’s offers of financial assistance as well. have been nowhere near enough. ■ “We know these measures are tough,” said Catalonia public health chief Josep Maria Argimon. “But we have to ask for the maximum collaboration of our citizens so they don’t last any longer than they have to. If we see that the growth of contagion is exponential, then the only way to stop it is to limit free movement.” Local mayors said the shutdown should have been ordered days earlier. “The measures have arrived late, but they have now been taken and myself and my fellow mayors feel that they are the correct measures to take,” Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau said before asking for Catalan regional police to help her municipal police enforce the curfew and closures. ■

7 JULY 26 (GMT) – JULY 27 (AEST), 2020

Black Lives Matters organisers will appeal a court banning their Sydney rally next week. - Jami-Lee Ross. – RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King AAP

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND Virus ‘demands’ court’s Ross launches Advance rally ban NZ party

A Sydney Black Lives Matters rally is now a prohibited Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross has merged his public assembly, opening up demonstrators to arrest Advance New Zealand party with the Public Party, in the and fines for breaching coronavirus restrictions on mass hope its leader will win the seat of Te Tai Tokerau. gatherings. The Botany MP will co-lead the new party with Billy Te Kahika, The NSW Supreme Court sided with police that the risk of who will stand in Te Tai Tokerau. community transmission in Sydney made Tuesday's planned If he wins it, Ross would make it back into Parliament as a list event for about 1000 too risky. MP under the coat-tail rule, even if he lost Botany. Justice Mark Ierace acknowledged there was no evidence a Ross said Advance New Zealand would repeal the Covid-19 far-larger rally on June 6 – attended by at least 10,000 – had Public Health Response Act and develop a Bill of Rights resulted in any transmission of the virus. Parliament couldn't override, as well as removing foreign But the expert health evidence had since been elevated interference in the politics system and realigning the country to "medium" due to multiple clusters in Sydney and the towards its traditonal trading powers. resurgence of the virus in Victoria, he said. During a rally announcing the party's launch, Ross said no "That current assessment of the level of risk, in spite New Zealand leader would stand up to China due to a fear of of relatively low numbers of community transmission, is backlash. consistent with NSW presently being on the knife-edge of a "The number one problem with the establishment parties is further escalation in community transmission," Justice Ierace that no one wants to stand up to the biggest threat - China," said. he said, adding that political parties were "addicted to Chinese He found the protest's lunchtime CBD location "particularly money". concerning" as large numbers of pedestrians not associated Ross said Advance New Zealand would suspend the free with the protest would move through the area and would not trade agreement between New Zealand and China within its be leaving contact details. first three months and would support Hong Kong and Taiwan "They may not have taken the same precautionary steps as in seeking independence. ■ the protesters, such as wearing masks," he said. Organisers have nevertheless promised to risk arrest and rally as planned on Tuesday before delivering to parliament a petition signed by 90,000 people calling for justice for Indigenous man David Dungay Jr. Dungay, a diabetic, died after prison officers stormed his Sydney jail cell in 2015 to stop him eating biscuits. Seconds after the judge announced his orders, a lawyer for rally organiser Paddy Gibson asked they be temporarily suspended to allow for an appeal to be lodged with the Court of Appeal. The court was told on Friday Gibson had threatened to take the matter all the way to the High Court. ■

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