Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 25 May.
Top stories
Donald Trump has cancelled his planned summit with Kim Jong-un, blaming the decision on a threatening statement from the Pyongyang regime, and warning that the US military is “ready if necessary”. The abrupt decision came after an exchange of menacing statements from US and North Korean officials. In a formal letter to Kim released by the White House Trump wrote: “Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.”
He declared it would not take place “for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world”. Asked if cancellation increased the risk of war, he replied: “We’ll see what happens.” Meanwhile, the president said his campaign of “maximum pressure” would continue, involving the “strongest sanctions ever imposed”. Julian Borger tracks the course of a debacle that “began and ended with a gut decision” by Trump.
The Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein is expected to surrender to authorities on charges of sexual misconduct, according to multiple reports. More than 70 women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault, including rape. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. And in the latest case cascading from the original Weinstein revelations, Morgan Freeman has been accused of sexual and verbal harassment by eight women. According to CNN, the women allege the actor subjected them to inappropriate remarks about their bodies. Freeman said: “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy.”
On the eve of Sorry Day, Lorena Allam investigates a child protection system in crisis. Ten years ago tomorrow Kevin Rudd apologised to the stolen generations for the trauma of Australia’s decades-long policy of forced child removals. It is perhaps a strange time for the NSW government to announce controversial changes to child protection – including a push towards open adoptions – when Aboriginal children are so heavily overrepresented in the out-of-home care system. So what is life like for Aboriginal families and children who experience the child protection system? Meet Leticia, Isaiah , Helen and Barbara, and read their experiences of the complexity of child protection and foster care.
The Australian Red Cross owes current and former staff millions of dollars in back pay as the charity grapples with a financial crisis brought on by the loss of a multimillion-dollar government contract and hundreds of job losses. Confidential papers obtained by Guardian Australia reveal that the organisation had set aside $10m to deal with “remuneration compliance” for hundreds of past and present staff dating back several years. But that figure escalated to $20m during an audit. The chief executive, Judy Slatyer, said: “I am very sorry mistakes have been made in paying staff and we are taking urgent steps to fix this and pay everyone their entitlements.”
The Australian Electoral Commission’s rationale for delaying five lower house byelections is “concerning”, the deputy chair of the committee that recommended improved safeguards for candidate eligibility has said. The Labor MP Andrew Giles told Guardian Australia the recommendation to hold the elections on 28 July was “difficult to understand” on the available material, rejecting the idea that a “guidance note” to help candidates comply with the constitution explained the 79-day wait.
Sport
A horror show by England has left Pakistan brimming with hope after the first day of the first Test at Lord’s, with the visitors reaching 50-1 after dismissing England for 184. The home side’s last five wickets fell for 19 runs – not what Joe Root had expected when winning the toss.
Simon Yates has had his Giro d’Italia lead halved by a late burst from Tom Dumoulin. The Dutch cyclist reduced the Briton’s advantage to only 28 seconds, while Maximilian Schachmann claimed a breakaway victory on stage 18.
Thinking time
Australia has a curious relationship with its wild horses, writes Calla Wahlquist. In the NT and WA, where most of the estimated 300,000 feral horses in Australia can be found, they are routinely shot from helicopters as part of culling that also targets other introduced species such as pigs, buffalo and donkeys. But in the high country straddling the border between NSW and Victoria, the wild horses are revered, embedded in folklore and Australian literary history. Why?
In an edited extract from his book One Last Spin, Drew Rooke explores one of the world’s most intense, accessible and ruinous forms of gambling: Australia’s poker machines. He looks at the story behind Blow Up the Pokies, the song released by the Whitlams in 1999. “Set at the now-defunct Sandringham hotel – a live-music venue in Newtown – the song tells the story of a failing father locked in a ‘secret battle’ with poker machines.”
Irish citizens are sharing emotional stories as they travel home from all over the world to cast their ballot in Friday’s historic referendum on abortion. The hashtag #HomeToVote has been used across social media by supporters of repealing the 8th amendment. “This is the most important referendum we may ever face,” said one voter, returning home for less than 24 hours to have her voice heard. “Of course I was coming home.”
What’s he done now?
Donald Trump has sat down with his favourite TV shows – Fox & Friends – for a not altogether hard-hitting interview. CNN has compiled the highlights; and run a factcheck on the best bits, including Trump’s statement that: “You need thousands of judges based on this crazy system. Who ever heard of a system where you put people though trials?”
Media roundup
The Courier-Mail reports on a Brisbane judge’s ruling that a teenage lodger was not responsible for the death of the toddler Mason Lee, and his comment that it would set a “dangerous precedent” for other teenagers living in abusive homes if he were to be found guilty. Qantas’s chief executive, Alan Joyce, has compared Canberra airport to a crew of Somali pirates, accusing it of “appalling behaviour”, the Canberra Times reports. At the Conversation Michelle Grattan says Labor is in no position to play the blame game on the super Saturday byelections as the party has been “the architect of its own troubles”.
Coming up
The Australian Medical Association’s national conference begins with speeches from Greg Hunt, Catherine King and Richard Di Natale.
The banking royal commission’s small business public hearing will look at a case involving Westpac’s Bank of Melbourne and hear about a family affected by debts to Suncorp after the father’s death.
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