Australian police raids on national broadcaster, News Corp prompt outcry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Police raided the offices of Australia’s national broadcaster on Wednesday over allegations it had published classified material, the second raid on a media outlet in two days, prompting complaints that the “outrageous” raids hindered media freedom. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said its officers carried out a search warrant at the head office of the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) in Sydney on Wednesday. That came a day after police raided the home of a News Corp editor, although the AFP said the raids were unrelated.

“It is highly unusual for the national broadcaster to be raided in this way,” ABC Managing Director David Anderson said in a statement. “This is a serious development and raises legitimate concerns over freedom of the press and proper public scrutiny of national security and defense matters,” he said. The AFP said the ABC raid was in relation to allegations it had published classified material and followed a referral from the chief of the Australian Defence Force and a former acting defense secretary in 2017. The ABC raid was authorized by a court and based on evidence that provided “sufficient suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed”, the AFP said in a statement.

Marcus Strom, president of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance trade union, said on his Twitter account the two raids were “just outrageous”. “Police raiding journalists is becoming normalized. It has to stop,” he said. The ABC raid was in relation to a series of broadcasts in 2017 about alleged misconduct by Australian troops in Afghanistan, the broadcaster said.

The raid on the News Corp editor related to a 2018 newspaper report that said Australian intelligence agencies wanted to carry out surveillance by accessing people’s emails, bank accounts and text messages, domestic media reported. News Corp called the raid on its employee “outrageous and heavy handed”, and “a dangerous act of intimidation”. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled company said it had “the most serious concerns about the willingness of governments to undermine the Australian public’s right to know about important decisions governments are making”.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was reported as saying he believed in media freedom but that there were also clear rules about the use of classified information. “​It never troubles me that our laws are being upheld,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Morrison as saying.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-security-media/australian-police-raids-on-national-broadcaster-news-corp-prompt-outcry-idUSKCN1T60C6?il=0

Mexican officials to meet Pence in last-ditch talks to avert tariffs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican officials will seek to persuade the White House in talks hosted by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday that their government has done enough to stem immigration and avoid looming tariffs. U.S. authorities at the southern border with Mexico have become overwhelmed in recent years by an increase in mostly Central American families and unaccompanied minors seeking asylum to escape violence back home. Frustrated by the lack of progress on a signature issue from his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump unexpectedly announced last week that he would impose 5% tariffs on all imports from Mexico, rising to as much as 25% later in the year, unless Mexico took a harder line. Trump, who is in Britain to commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day landings on Wednesday, said in London on Tuesday that it was “likely” that the first wave of tariffs, set for next week, would go ahead.

He has faced significant pushback from his own Republican party, however, with many lawmakers concerned about the effect that such tariffs would have on cross-border trade and U.S. businesses and consumers. They warned the White House not to count on the same level of backing it got earlier this year, when Trump declared a national emergency to divert funds to build barriers at the border. “We’re not real fond of tariffs, so don’t assume you can have the exact same level of support. That was my basic message,” Senator Ron Johnson told reporters after a meeting between lawmakers and White House officials on Tuesday.

The tariff threat has also raised questions over the future of a three-way deal with Canada to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, concluded after a year of negotiations. Pence is the Trump administration’s point person for getting Congress to approve the new deal, known as USMCA, which he has pledged will happen this year.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will attend the talks, set to take place in Washington on Wednesday afternoon. Ebrard has said the threatened tariffs would be devastating to Mexico’s economy and would not stop the waves of migrants from crossing the southern U.S. border. The Mexican delegation is expected to try to show the White House that authorities are taking steps to stem the flow of migrants, with Mexico detaining double the number per day than it was a year ago. But leftist Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has repeatedly said he wants to persuade Washington to help by tackling the causes of migration by investing in Central America to create jobs and speed up economic development.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-mexico-pence/mexican-officials-to-meet-pence-in-last-ditch-talks-to-avert-tariffs-idUSKCN1T60D6?il=0

Mnuchin to meet with Chinese central banker at G20 gathering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang this weekend at a gathering of G20 finance leaders in Japan, marking the first face-to-face discussion between key U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators in nearly a month. A Treasury spokesman confirmed the meeting along with nine other bilaterals for Mnuchin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 gathering in Fukuoka. Talks aimed at ending a festering trade war between the world’s two largest economies broke down in early May, and no face-to-face meetings have been held since May 10, the day that U.S. President Donald Trump sharply increased tariffs on a $200 billion list of Chinese goods to 25%.

Since then, acrimonious rhetoric and trade threats between Beijing and Washington have steadily increased, especially after the United States imposed severe sanctions against Huawei Technologies Co, China’s premier telecommunications equipment firm. The Treasury did not offer any other details about the meeting with Yi, who has been a fixture on the Chinese negotiating team led by Vice Premier Liu He. Mnuchin has previously met with Yi on the sidelines of G20 finance meetings to discuss global finance and economic issues.

Mnuchin also will hold bilateral meetings with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Italian Finance Minister Giovanni Tria, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-Ki, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary General Angel Gurria, the Treasury said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-japan-usa-china/mnuchin-to-meet-with-chinese-central-banker-at-g20-gathering-idUSKCN1T600L

>>6675279

More inclined to think Acosta on this.

>>6675294

>>6675308

Now that is something Quite Amazing!

Hillary's indictment for told! Awesome!

>>6675246

I'm thinking who ever took the pic, is not in the water at all, Boat?