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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

AUSTRALIAUKNORTH AMERICA

‘Time is running out’ on virus aid

Unemployment assistance, eviction protections and other relief for millions of Americans are at stake as White House officials launch negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a new coronavirus aid package that’s teetering in Congress ahead of looming deadlines. While Senate Republicans struggled to roll out their own $1 trillion proposal, Pelosi implored the White House and GOP lawmakers to stop the infighting and come to the negotiating table.

Masks thwarting face technology

Having a tough time recognising your neighbours behind their pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too. A preliminary study published by a US agency found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50 per cent when trying to identify masked faces. The mask problem is why Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID.

Aussies to head to S China Sea

Australia is set to join the United States in military exercises through the South China Sea after branding Beijing’s maritime claims to the disputed waters unlawful. Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds will meet with their US counterparts in Washington this week. It is expected Australia will be asked to join increased US naval missions to push back against China’s militarisation of disputed territories in the South China Sea.

PM urges cycling courtesy

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged motorists to “be courteous” towards cyclists as he unveiled “the most ambitious package ever” to boost active travel. Johnson said drivers must understand they will be “sharing the roads” as measures costing £2 billion are taken to promote cycling and walking. Bikes will be made available on the NHS and £50 vouchers towards repair costs will be launched this week.

Commission to defend farmers

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is formally launching the Trade and Agriculture Commission, created amid calls to protect food standards. Farmers have led the call for an independent trade, food and farming commission which reviews trade policy and makes sure that all food imports are held to the same standards expected of British farmers, amid widespread concerns standards could be undermined in trade deals.

NZ ‘violating international law’

China’s Embassy in Wellington is accusing New Zealand of interfering in international relations with its decision to suspend extradition with Hong Kong. Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today New Zealand was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong after the passing of a controversial law.

NEW ZEALANDUKNORTH AMERICA

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 3

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

AUSTRALIAWORLDASIA

China pulls HK extradition deals

China has suspended Hong Kong’s extradition treaty with Australia, UK and Canada in a tit-for-tat response to similar moves by those countries. Australia had suspended its extradition agreement with Hong Kong earlier in July as a response to China’s imposition of new security laws on the territory. The UK suspended its treaty “immediately and indefinitely” on July 20 due to concerns the controversial legislation imposed could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China.

S Korea strikes rocket fuel deal

South Korea says it has won US consent to use solid fuel for space launch vehicles, a move that experts say would enable Seoul to launch its first surveillance satellites and accumulate technology to build more powerful missiles. Solid fuel offers greater mobility for missiles and rockets, and reduces launch preparation time.

Messy emus banned from pub

He can’t fly but I’m telling you, an outback pub has banned Kevin the emu. The bird-brained emu and his mate Carol have been barred from the Yaraka Hotel in outback Queensland for bad bar-room behaviour. After learning how to climb the stairs, Kevin’s exploits of rummaging through bins, stealing food and car keys – not to mention his poor toileting manners – have become too much for the hotel which has posted about their emu ‘war’ on social media.

Academic moved to harsh jail

A British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran has been moved to a desert prison notorious for its poor conditions, a group of activists said. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated academic who was most recently a lecturer in Islamic Studies at Melbourne University, had previously been held in Tehran’s Evin prison, having reportedly been given a 10-year sentence.

Iran fires missile at mock carrier

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has fired a missile from a helicopter targeting a replica aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television reports, an exercise aimed at threatening the US amid tensions between Tehran and Washington. The drill, in a waterway through which 20 per cent of all traded oil passes, underlines the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the US.

Industry’s billion-dollar potential

New Zealand’s little-known photonics industry is worth more than a billion dollars, and can grow exponentially. Photonics uses light for sensing, manufacturing, and transmitting information, much in the same way electronics rely on electrical signals. Products relying on photonics include smartphones, computers and fibre optics. If ever there was a year to demonstrate the importance of the photonics industry, 2020 is it.

NEW ZEALANDWORLDASIA

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

NORTH AMERICA

- AAP

Masks thwarting facial recognition technologyHaving a tough time recognising your neighbours behind their pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too.

A preliminary study published by a US agency found that even the best commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50 per cent when trying to identify masked faces.

The mask problem is why Apple earlier this year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID. It could also be thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology said it is launching an investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered faces. Its preliminary study examined only those algorithms created before the pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are wearing masks.

Some companies, including those that work with law enforcement, have tried to tailor their face-scanning algorithms to focus on people’s eyes and eyebrows.

NIST, which is a part of the Commerce Department, is working with the US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security’s science office to study the problem.

It tested the software by drawing digital masks onto the faces in a trove of border crossing photographs, and then compared those photos against another database of unmasked people seeking visas and other immigration benefits. The agency said it scanned 6.2 million images of about one million people using 89 algorithms supplied by tech firms and academic labs.

Under ideal conditions, NIST said the failure rate for the best facial recognition systems is only about 0.3 per cent. Add masks and the failure rate rises to five per cent or worse. ■

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. - AP

NORTH AMERICA

Pelosi: ‘Time is running out’ on virus aid dealUnemployment assistance, eviction protections and other relief for millions of Americans are at stake as White House officials launch negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a new coronavirus aid package that’s teetering in Congress ahead of looming deadlines.

While Senate Republicans struggled to roll out their own $1 trillion proposal, Pelosi implored the White House and GOP lawmakers to stop the infighting and come to the negotiating table with Democrats. Aid runs out soon for a $600 weekly jobless benefit that Democrats call a lifeline for out-of-work Americans. Republican want to slash it to $200 a week, saying that the federal bump is too generous on top of state benefits and is discouraging employees from returning to work.

“Time is running out,” Pelosi said.With the virus death toll climbing and 4.2 million infections

nationwide, both parties are eager for a deal. There is widespread agreement that more money is needed for virus testing, to help schools prepare to open in the fall and to shore up small businesses. Voters are assessing their handling of the virus crisis before the November election, and President Donald Trump’s standing is at one of the lowest points of his term, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows worked through the weekend on the GOP proposal and agreed to meet with Pelosi and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer at the speaker’s office for talks.

The Republicans come to the negotiating table hobbled by infighting and delays. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wanted to hit “pause” on new spending after Congress approved a sweeping $2.2 trillion relief package in March. But Pelosi, D-Calif., took the opposite approach, passing a $3 trillion effort with robust Democratic support. In the intervening months, the crisis deepened.

The Republican proposal would also provide another round of $1200 direct payments based on the same formula from the earlier aid bill. ■

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

UK

- PA

New commission to defend farmersInternational Trade Secretary Liz Truss is formally launching the Trade and Agriculture Commission, created amid calls to protect food standards.

Farmers have led the call for an independent trade, food and farming commission which reviews trade policy and makes sure that all food imports are held to the same standards expected of British farmers, amid widespread concerns standards could be undermined in trade deals.

Debate has focused around products such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef which are not produced to the same food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards that British farmers have to meet.

The Government has repeatedly said it will not compromise high UK standards in trade deals with countries such as the US, and that hormone-fed beef and chlorinated chicken are illegal here.

It confirmed in June it would be setting up a commission to advise on trade policies the Government should adopt so UK farmers do not face unfair competition, and high animal welfare and production standards are not undermined.

The commission, which met for the first time this week, will produce an advisory report in six months’ time.

It is chaired by former Food Standards Agency head Tim Smith, and members include National Farmers’ Union representatives, trade experts, and those from the food and hospitality sectors.

At a launch event for the commission, Truss is also meeting with organisations including the RSPCA, National Sheep Association, British Veterinary Association, Initiative for Free Trade, Tesco and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Truss said the Government was stepping up its engagement with all the groups who have an interest in Britain’s agricultural trade policy. ■

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. - PA

UK

PM urges courtesy as cyclcing plan kicks offPrime Minister Boris Johnson has urged motorists to “be courteous” towards cyclists as he unveiled “the most ambitious package ever” to boost active travel.

Johnson said drivers must understand they will be “sharing the roads” as measures costing £2 billion are taken to promote cycling and walking.

Bikes will be made available on the NHS and £50 vouchers towards repair costs will be launched this week.

GPs in areas of England with poor health will be encouraged to prescribe cycling, and patients will be able to access bikes through their local surgery.

Some 50,000 Fix Your Bike vouchers will be available.They can be used towards making a bike safe, such as having

a standard service and replacing components.But they will not cover upgrading roadworthy parts or

purchasing removable accessories.The vouchers were initially due to be available in June, but

the Department for Transport (DfT) said last month they would only be launched once maintenance shops could handle the expected spike in demand.

Thousands of miles of new protected cycle lanes, cycle training, making electric bikes more accessible and creating the UK’s first zero-emission transport city are also part of the plans to promote cycling and walking.

Other measures include strengthening the Highway Code, improving legal protections, increasing lorry safety standards and working with the police and retailers to tackle bike thefts.

On a visit to Nottingham, Johnson said: “You always could spend more and this is the most ambitious package ever – it’s £2 billion.

“What we will do is create thousands of miles of protected cycle lanes – I really believe that protected cycle lanes are essential to give people the confidence people need, many people aren’t very brave or confident cyclists.” ■

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

NEW ZEALAND

A riot police officer uses baton to hit a journalist’s microphone during a protest at a

shopping mall in Hong Kong. - AP

China: NZ ‘violating international law’China’s Embassy in Wellington is accusing New Zealand of interfering in international relations with its decision to suspend extradition with Hong Kong.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today New Zealand was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong after the passing of a controversial law.

China passed a national security law at the end of June which criminalises forms of political protest in Hong Kong with penalties including life imprisonment.

Peters said the legislation had “eroded rule-of-law principles” and undermined the ‘one country, two systems’ rule.

A spokesperson for China’s embassy said the suspension was a “gross interference in China’s internal affairs”.

“The New Zealand government’s decision is a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. It is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side has lodged its grave concern and strong opposition,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Hong Kong affairs are entirely China’s internal affairs, and allow no foreign interference.

“The Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) is an important step to ensure the steady and sustained implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle. Its implementation will strengthen Hong Kong’s legal framework, ensure social order, improve business environment and contribute to Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.” ■

Australian warship HMAS Adelaide. - AAP

AUSTRALIA

Australia to join US in South China SeaAustralia is set to join the United States in military exercises through the South China Sea after branding Beijing’s maritime claims to the disputed waters unlawful.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds will meet with their US counterparts in Washington this week.

It is expected Australia will be asked to join increased US naval missions to push back against China’s militarisation of disputed territories in the South China Sea.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was in both countries’ interests to promote stability in the Indo-Pacific, despite risking a flare-up with China.

“I don’t believe it poses a risk when we’re acting to secure the peace and stability of the region,” he said.

“The peace and stability of the region is in the interests of everybody in our region, and that would include China.”

Before the meeting, Payne played down the risk of a miscalculation or mistake by either side during the joint military exercises, which could spark a heated conflict.

“We expect all participants and all present in the South China Sea waters – and anywhere else, frankly – to behave and to act in a way that is responsible and sensible and contributes to safety and security,” she said.

“Avoiding miscalculation and avoiding those sorts of issues is a very important part of the way that a responsible military force behaves.”

Labor deputy leader and defence spokesman Richard Marles said as 60 per cent of Australian shipping trade passes through the South China Sea, freedom of navigation was critical.

However, he said it was not in Australia’s interests to engage in territorial claims in the contested waters.

“We’ve got core national interests at issue in terms of navigating the South China Sea,” Marles said.

“As a matter of principle that (freedom of navigation exercises) does need to be on the table.” ■

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

ASIA

- AP

South Korea, US reach solid rocket fuel dealSouth Korea says it has won US consent to use solid fuel for space launch vehicles, a move that experts say would enable Seoul to launch its first surveillance satellites and accumulate technology to build more powerful missiles.

Solid fuel offers greater mobility for missiles and rockets, and reduces launch preparation time. But Washington had imposed strict restrictions on Seoul’s use of solid propellant for space launch rockets out of concern that it could be used to produce bigger missiles and cause a regional arms race.

The South Korean government said that Seoul and Washington have agreed to revise related bilateral missile guidelines to lift such restrictions.

Kim Hyun-chong, deputy presidential national security adviser, said all South Korean research institutes, companies and individuals are now free to develop, produce and possess space launch rockets using solid fuel.

Kim said the revised agreement still bars South Korea from having a missile with a range of more than 800km (500 miles). But he said Seoul can discuss altering that restriction with Washington if that’s needed for South Korean national security.

Kim said solid fuel is much cheaper than liquid fuel and is more useful in times of lifting low-earth orbit satellites. He said South Korea could use solid fuel-based rockets to launch military reconnaissance satellites. South Korea currently has no spy satellites.

Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, said South Korea could use two or three low-earth orbit satellites fired by solid propellant-based rockets to better monitor North Korea.

Lee said the latest deals with the US would also allow South Korea to expand its space development infrastructure and accumulate know-how to manufacture missiles that can fly longer. with bigger payloads. Experts say ballistic missiles and rockets in satellite launches share similar bodies, engines and other technology. ■

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin gestures during a daily

briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. - AP

ASIA

China suspends Hong Kong extradition dealsChina has suspended Hong Kong’s extradition treaty with Australia, UK and Canada in a tit-for-tat response to similar moves by those countries.

Australia had suspended its extradition agreement with Hong Kong earlier in July as a response to China’s imposition of new security laws on the territory.

The UK suspended its treaty “immediately and indefinitely” on July 20 due to concerns the controversial legislation imposed could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China.

Beijing has retaliated in similar terms.Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the actions

by Australia, the UK, and Canada in relation to the Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) constituted “gross interference in China’s internal affairs and severe violation of international law and basic norms of international relations”.

Attacking the “wrong move” by the three countries, he added: “China has decided that the Hong Kong SAR will suspend its agreements on surrendering fugitive offenders and on mutual assistance in criminal matters with Canada, Australia and the UK.”

Beijing’s response came as New Zealand joined its allies in suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong.

Foreign minister Winston Peters said: “New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong’s criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China.” ■

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

WORLD

A satellite image shows a mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran seen at Bandar Abbas, Iran.

- AP

Iran fires missile at mock aircraft carrierIran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has fired a missile from a helicopter targeting a replica aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television reports, an exercise aimed at threatening the US amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The drill, in a waterway through which 20 per cent of all traded oil passes, underlines the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the US after last summer saw a series of incidents targeting oil tankers in the region. In January, a US drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad and Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles targeting American forces in Iraq.

While the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed both Iran and the US for months, there have been increasing signs of a confrontation as America argues to extend a yearslong UN weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October. A recent incident over Syria involving an American jet fighter approaching an Iranian passenger plane also has renewed tensions.

Iranian commandos fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the replica in the footage aired from the exercise called “Great Prophet 14.” Other footage showed fast boats encircling the mock-up, kicking up white waves in their wake.

Iranian troops also fired anti-aircraft batteries at a drone target in the exercise from a location that state television described as being near the port city of Bandar Abbas. Troops also fired missiles launched from trucks on land and fast boats at sea, as well as shoulder-fired missiles.

The Guard will use “long-range ballistic missiles with the ability to hit far-reaching aggressor floating targets” during the drill, said Abbas Nilforoushan, the Guard’s deputy commander for operations, according to Guard website sepahnews.com. That suggests the drill could see a repeat of what happened in 2015, when the Guard mock-sunk a replica. ■

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert. - PR Handout

WORLD

British-Australian moved to ‘notorious’ Iran jailA British-Australian academic who has been detained in Iran has been moved to a desert prison notorious for its poor conditions, a group of activists said.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated academic who was most recently a lecturer in Islamic Studies at Melbourne University, had previously been held in Tehran’s Evin prison, having reportedly been given a 10-year sentence.

She has previously published work on the 2011 Arab uprisings and on authoritarian governments.

The Centre for Supporters of Human Rights said Moore-Gilbert has been moved to Qarchak prison, citing information from Reza Khandan whose wife human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is imprisoned in Evin.

In a Facebook post, Khandan said Dr Moore-Gilbert was moved for “punishment”.

Letters smuggled out of prison and published in January revealed the lecturer’s fears for her mental health.

She said: “I’m taking psychiatric medications, but these 10 months that I have spent here have gravely damaged my mental health.

“I am still denied phone calls and visitations, and I am afraid that my mental and emotional state may further deteriorate if I remain in this extremely restrictive detention ward.”

She also appeared to suggest she had been offered the chance to become a spy.

“I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country,” she wrote. ■

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JULY 28 (GMT) – JULY 29 (AEST), 2020

Industry has billion-dollar potentialNew Zealand’s little-known photonics industry is worth more than a billion dollars, and can grow exponentially.

Photonics uses light for sensing, manufacturing, and transmitting information, much in the same way electronics rely on electrical signals.

Products relying on photonics include smartphones, computers and fibre optics.

If ever there was a year to demonstrate the importance of the photonics industry, 2020 is it.

From Netflix to Zoom, New Zealanders adapted and coped with the COVID-19 level four lockdown thanks to photonics.

David Hutchinson, director of the Dodd-Walls Centre at Otago University says not long ago those solutions to the shutdown would not have been possible.

“Fibre optics would be a key example. We’ve just gone through lockdown where many of us ended up having Zoom meetings and none of that would have been possible if we weren’t still communicating over copper wire,” Hutchinson said.

A report released has valued New Zealand’s photonics industry at $1.2 billion, that’s about the equivalent of the value of infant formula exports or about two-thirds of the value of wine exports.

The industry now involves 121 companies employing more than 2500 people and, while that is all impressive, Hutchinson says the industry can grow exponentially in the future.

“New Zealand is great at finding niche areas and doing things really, really well and this is something that we’ve got a lot of expertise on in this country and I think that we can really excel at,” Hutchinson said.

“What we need is ingenuity and let’s try to find as many problems that we can solve as possible using optical technologies.” ■

NEW ZEALAND

- RNZ

Messy emus given the boot from outback pubHe can’t fly but I’m telling you, an outback pub has banned Kevin the emu.

The bird-brained emu and his mate Carol have been barred from the Yaraka Hotel in outback Queensland for bad bar-room behaviour.

After learning how to climb the stairs, Kevin’s exploits of rummaging through bins, stealing food and car keys – not to mention his poor toileting manners – have become too much for the hotel which has posted about their emu ‘war’ on social media.

The pub has had to ramp up security – courtesy of a rope across the entrance – to keep Kevin and Carol at bay.

The tiny town southwest of Longreach is home to about 20 locals who are still welcome to pull up a stool, as long as they remember to put the emu barricade back.

“Emus have been banned from this establishment for bad behaviour,” the sign at the front door states.

“Please let yourself in through the emu barrier then reconnect please!”

Queensland MP David Littleproud had a close run-in with Kevin and his mates this week.

“I thought the Yaraka locals were having me on with this sign but “Kevin” apparently has attitude when he gets to the bar,” Littleproud said.

Pub owner Gerry Gimblett said Kevin and Carol are the last two emus from a flock of nine.

“They are beautiful, very friendly – a bit too friendly if anything! They make a bit of a mess,” Gimblett said. ■

- AAP

AUSTRALIA