Junior Digest

Pope Francis landed in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for the first ever visit by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula — the birthplace of Islam.

The pope touched down in Abu Dhabi for the 48-hour trip during which he will meet leading Muslim clerics and hold an open-air mass for some 135,000 Catholics.

He was greeted by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and was warmly embraced by Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s prestigious seat of learning.

The pontiff will take part in an interreligious conference on Monday with Sheikh Ahmed.

Hours before he flies back to Rome on Tuesday, he will lead mass in a stadium in Abu Dhabi — set to be the largest gathering ever in the UAE, according to local media.

His visit comes with the UAE engaged in a long-running military campaign in Yemen and embroiled in a diplomatic spat with nearby Qatar.

Before heading to the Gulf, the pontiff urged warring parties in Yemen, where the UAE backs the government against Huthi rebels, to respect a truce agreement.

A US negotiator called Thursday on North Korea to provide a detailed account of its weapons to seal a peace deal, saying President Donald Trump was ready to offer a future that includes diplomatic relations and economic aid.

Trump is set to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in around a month and said Thursday that he would announce the exact date and venue early next week.

As skeptics voice worry that Trump is overly eager to make a legacy-building deal and enjoy the spotlight of meeting the reclusive leader again, the US special representative on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, said the administration is “clear-eyed” and prepared for contingencies if talks fail.

Almost half of Americans have heart disease, a significant increase over prior years largely because of a newly expanded definition of high blood pressure, the American Heart Association said Thursday.

The report in the journal Circulation found that 121.5 million adults in the United States in 2016 “have some type of cardiovascular disease.”

Almost half of Americans have heart disease, a significant increase over prior years largely because of a newly expanded definition of high blood pressure, the American Heart Association said Thursday.

The report in the journal Circulation found that 121.5 million adults in the United States in 2016 “have some type of cardiovascular disease.”

America’s third city Chicago — where the morning temperature was -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius), which felt like -50 degrees (-46 Celsius) with wind chill — was colder than Alaska’s state capital and even colder than parts of Antarctica.

More than 1,500 flights were canceled in the city’s two major airports while rail operator Amtrak scrapped train services from its Chicago hub.

The US Postal Service — known for its commitment to bringing the mail whatever the weather — suspended deliveries in parts of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, the Dakotas and Nebraska.

The cause of the sub-zero chill was a swirl of arctic air that broke away from the polar vortex that usually encircles the North Pole.

“A record arctic air mass will remain over the central and eastern US over the next several days,” the National Weather Service said.

“Wind chill values of 30 to 60 degrees below zero will be common across the northern Plains, Great Lakes, and upper Midwest.”

Residents in Grand Forks, North Dakota awoke to a bone-chilling -35 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was -27 degrees in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Authorities warned that the extreme temperatures were life-threatening, as Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin implemented emergency procedures.

Warming centers were opened for vulnerable residents such as the elderly and shelter capacities increased for the homeless.

“We need everyone to do your part and make sure you and your families are prepared,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

US media attributed at least four deaths to the extreme cold and the major snowstorm that preceded it.

The Central African Republic government and 14 armed groups struck a deal Saturday to end years of fighting that has killed thousands, the parties and a mediator said.

The deal, the seventh since 2012, was announced on Twitter by the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera just a day after the African Union and UN-sponsored talks in Khartoum were suspended amid disagreements over amnesty.

“A peace agreement has been reached,” said the tweet.

“This agreement should be initialled tomorrow (Sunday) and its signing will take place in Bangui in a few days,” the Tweet added.

Also on Twitter, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui confirmed the breakthrough, adding some details of the pact still had to be ironed out.

“I am humbled to announce that with the exemplary cooperation I received from both the Government of the CAR and the 14 armed groups, we have secured a peace agreement today in the interest of the people of CAR.”

Aboubakar Sidik, spokesman for one of the main armed factions, the Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central African Republic (FPRC) said: “We are happy a consensus has been reached on sticking points which were an amnesty (for militia fighters) and an inclusive government.”

The talks, which started on January 24, were suspended repeatedly over several issues including rebel demands for an amnesty.

The armed groups also wanted the dissolution of the present government in favour of an interim regime led by someone from their side, according to a document obtained by AFP.

Under Western pressure, Bangui has always refused pardons for warlords, several of whom are under UN sanctions or cited for human rights violations in UN reports.

A Special Criminal Court (CPS) has been set up in Bangui to judge people accused of crimes in the country since 2003, but has so far done little.

And despite the peace initiative, the violence has continued.

Since the talks started, the mainly Muslim Union for Peace (UPC) has notably carried out several attacks on the central prefecture of Ouaka.

None of the six earlier accords struck between the parties have managed to restore stability.

The former French colony has more than 12,000 UN peacekeepers (MINUSCA) in the country.

But rights group Amnesty International has criticised their failure to stop a rebel attack that killed scores of civilians at a displacement camp in the central town of Alindao last November.

Central African Republic is rich in mineral resources but remains one of the world’s poorest nations.

It has struggled to recover from a 2013 civil war that erupted when President Francois Bozize, a Christian, was overthrown by mainly Muslim Seleka rebels.

In response, Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the population, organised vigilante units dubbed “anti-Balaka” in reference to the balaka machetes used by Seleka rebels.

Thousands of people have died in the violence, 700,000 have been internally displaced, and another 570,000 have fled abroad.

They are more than 2,000 years old but remain in “good condition”: Egypt on Saturday unveiled over 40 mummies dating back to the Ptolemaic era at a burial site in the centre of the country.

Journalists clambered down a ladder and through an underground chamber beneath the sandy soil of Tunah Al-Gabal, 260 kilometres (160 miles) south of Cairo, to glimpse the recent finds.

Archaeologist Rami Rasmi told AFP that 12 children and six animals were among the more than 40 mummies, while the rest were adult men and women.

The remains were found laid on the floor or in open clay coffins in the crumbling chamber in Minya governorate.

While mummification is mostly associated with ancient Egypt, the practice continued under the kingdom founded by Ptolemy, a successor to Alexander the Great, which lasted from 323 BC to 30 BC.

The Minya graves, discovered during an excavation that started in February last year, are in a communal tomb “probably belonging to a petty bourgeois family”, the antiquities ministry said.

Archaeologist Mohamed Ragab said two tombs were discovered nine metres underground and contained more than six rooms.

The presence of mummified pets — mostly dogs — showed how important they were for the dead.

“These animals were so dear to their owners that they buried them… in their tomb,” Ragab said.

Shards of pottery and pieces of papyrus found at the site helped researchers to determine its date, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said.

Ancient Greek rulers reached the height of their power between the conquests of Alexander the Great and the rise of the Roman empire.

No operator wants to be left behind, and neither do governments who see 5G technology as a future key driver of economic growth.

China’s Huawei has quietly become a leading supplier of the backbone equipment for mobile networks, particularly in developing markets thanks to cheaper prices.

Spearheading cutting-edge 5G equipment has also seen it make inroads into developed markets.

However, a growing number of Western states are turning their backs on Huawei, fearful that its equipment could be a Trojan horse for Beijing’s intrusive security apparatus as Chinese laws require its firms to cooperate with intelligence services.

Huawei strenuously denies its equipment could be used for espionage.

While most European governments are trying to make up their minds, mobile operators must make their own choice, and it’s a tough one.

Several operators have already begun tests with Huawei equipment, such as Bouygues Telecom and SFR have in several French cities.

“Huawei is today more expensive than its rivals but it is also much better, they have really moved ahead in terms of quality of network equipment over their European competitors,” said an executive of one European mobile operator recently on condition of anonymity.

Experts say Huawei is between six months and one year ahead of Sweden’s Ericsson in terms of the quality of its 5G equipment.

The number two mobile network equipment manufacturer, Finland’s Nokia, is said to be even further behind.

The police’s special action force, FAES, had visited his home to interview his wife Fabiana Rosales, Guaido told his audience during a speech at Caracas university.

“The FAES is at my house, asking for Fabiana. At this moment the dictatorship believes that it will intimidate us,” a confident Guaido said, his wife at his side.

Several opposition leaders have been jailed in recent years as Maduro cracked down on growing dissent in the Latin American country.

Earlier, European lawmakers recognized Guaido as the acting head of state — another step forward in his bid to force out the socialist leader who has presided over the oil-rich country’s economic collapse.

While marshaling international support, Guaido is seeking to maintain street pressure against Maduro at home, where he has called more mass protests for Saturday — keeping him firmly in the government’s crosshairs.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court — dominated by regime loyalists — have frozen his assets and ordered him not to leave the country.

Kabul : Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday that the “keys to war are in Islamabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi” – all cities in Pakistan – suggesting the neighbouring country was a safe haven for cross-border militant activities.

Afghanistan has previously accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders on its soil and even of supporting the militant group it is fighting, which Islamabad denies.

Ghani said the “key to peace was in Afghanistan”, as talks between Taliban and U.S. officials on ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan appear to be gaining momentum.

The leader of the war-torn nation made the remarks as U.S. peace negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad visited Kabul for consultations on his progress in talks with the Taliban.

A month ago, Pakistan assured Khalilzad that it would back a negotiated settlement with the Taliban to end the long war in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump has personally asked for Islamabad’s help in advancing the Afghan peace process.

The court is stacked with Maduro loyalists.

The move came after the State Department revealed that Guaido — the National Assembly head and self-proclaimed interim president — has been handed control of Venezuela’s US bank accounts.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on the order last week, which was then followed on Monday by US sanctions targeting Venezuela’s state oil giant PDVSA, the cash-strapped government’s main source of hard currency.

“This certification will help Venezuela’s legitimate government safeguard those assets for the benefit of the Venezuelan people,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

Guaido shrugged off Maduro’s efforts to choke his progress as “nothing new.”

“I’m not dismissing the threats, the persecution at this time, but we’re here, we’re continuing to do our jobs,” he told reporters as he arrived at the National Assembly.

Guaido, who has been recognized as interim president by US President Donald Trump, sent a message to the country’s top court on Twitter warning that “the regime is in its final stage.”

“You shouldn’t sacrifice yourselves for the usurper and his gang,” he added.

In Washington, Trump’s national security advisor warned of “serious consequences” if any harm comes to the Venezuelan opposition leader.

The opposition-controlled legislature, meanwhile, named “diplomatic representatives” to a dozen countries that, like the US, have recognized Guaido as the interim president.

At the White House, US Vice President Mike Pence met with Guaido’s appointed charge d’affaires in the United States, Carlos Vecchio, to discuss the crisis.

The 35-year-old engineer stormed onto the political stage as a virtual unknown on January 3, when he was sworn in as the president of the National Assembly, a body that had been largely neutralized by the Supreme Court.

On January 23, he declared himself the country’s acting president and vowed to lead a transitional government that would hold democratic elections.

To keep up the pressure, he has called two more mass demonstrations against the government this week, and has appealed to the powerful military to change sides, offering amnesty to those who do.

At least 40 people have been killed in clashes with security forces nationwide and at least 850 arrested since January 21 when a brief military rebellion was put down in Caracas, according to the UN human rights office in Geneva.

 

New Delhi, Feb 2: In a bid to address agrarian distress, the government has hiked the allocation for the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ministry to a whopping Rs 129585.21 crore for 2019-20 from Rs 46,700 crore in 2018-19, marking an all-time increase of nearly 64 per cent over last year.
This includes annual provision of Rs 75,000 crore for the newly announced fully centrally funded Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) announced by Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in his interim budget proposals for 2019-20 presented in Parliament here on Friday.
While Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the budget reflects the government’s commitment to double farmers’ income by 2022, Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj India said “the amount is too meager to make a difference to farmers’ plight’’.
The PMKSN is meant to provide structured income support to poor land-holder farmer families for procuring inputs at the time of sowing.
It entails providing Rs 6,000 in a year directly to farmers who have a land holding of up to two hectares. Around 12.5 crore small and marginal small farmers will benefit from the support.
The Revised Estimate shows an increase of Rs 21,100 crore primarily to provide for the first installment of Rs 2000 which will be credited directly to farmers’ bank account with immediate effect.
A list of qualifying farmers will be availed from state government for the purpose.
Rs 2,000 will be provided every quarter to help farmers with inputs such as quality seeds, fertilisers, neem coated urea and so on, the Minister said.
“The programme would be made effective from December 1, 2018 and the first installment for the period up to March 31, 2019 would be paid during this year itself,’’ he said.
He said that declining international prices of farm commodities and fall in food inflation since 2017-18 had reduced returns from farming, with small and fragmented land holdings causing further decline in farm incomes.
The Minister observed that ‘hard working farmers’ were not getting the full value for their produce and with the aim to double their income, the government had fixed the minimum support price of all 22 crops at 50 per cent more than the production cost.
Mr Goyal said that the government had spent Rs 1.7 lakh crore to supply foodgrains at cheaper price to poor in 2018-19, as against Rs 92,000 crore in 2013-14.
He said the allocation to MNREGA had been hiked to Rs 60,000 crore for 2019-20.
At the same time, the crop loan to farmers had increased to Rs 11.68 lakh crore in year 2018-19.

While raising allocation to Rs 750 crore for Rashtriya Gokul Mission, the Minister announced setting up of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog to upscale sustainable genetic up-gradation of cow resources and to enhance production and productivity of cows. The Aayog will also look after effective implementation of laws and welfare schemes for cows.

To provide sustained and focused attention towards development of fisheries that provides livelihood to about 1.45 crore people, the government decided to create a separate Department of Fisheries.
In the last Budget, the government announced the facility of extension of Kisan Credit Card scheme (KCC) to Animal Husbandry and Fisheries farmers.

In this budget, the Finance Minister provided the benefit of 2 per cent interest subvention to animal husbandry and fisheries farmers, who avail loan through Kisan Credit Card.
For timely repayment of loan, they will also get an additional 3 per cent interest subvention.
To ensure provision of easy and concessional credit and to bring all farmers under KCC fold, the government has decided to initiate a comprehensive drive with a simplified application form.
For repayment of crop loans rescheduled for calamity affected farmers where assistance is provided from National Disaster Relief Fund, the interest subvention for prompt payment has been raised to five per cent.
Reacting to the budget provisions for farmers, Alliance for Agri Innovation said it was a “pro-farmer, pro-agriculture budget’’ but research and development and public-private partnerships should be encouraged.

Effective Saturday, “the United States will suspend its obligations under the INF Treaty and begin the process of withdrawing from the INF Treaty, which will be completed in six months unless Russia comes back into compliance by destroying all of its violating missiles, launchers and associated equipment,” President Donald Trump said in a statement.

“The United States has fully adhered to the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not remain constrained by its terms while Russia misrepresents its actions,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the decision at a news conference, said that Washington still wanted to engage in arms control negotiations with Russia and hoped Moscow would come into compliance.

“The United States is hopeful that we can put our relationship with Russia back on better footing, but the onus is on Russia to change course from a pattern of destabilizing activity, not just on this issue but on many others as well,” Pompeo said.

He received a boost before it began when an air force general became the highest ranking officer to abandon Maduro and recognize the Guaido as the country’s true leader.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton responded to that in a tweet calling on “all military members to follow General (Francisco) Yanez’s lead.”

The United States recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president on January 23 while four major European nations — Britain, France, Germany and Spain — have said they will do likewise unless Maduro calls presidential elections by midnight on Sunday.

Gbagbo, the first former head of state ever to stand trial at the ICC, and his aide Charles Ble Goude were cleared on January 15 over a wave of violence after disputed elections in the west African nation in 2010.

More than 3,000 people died on both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to his internationally backed-rival — and now-president — Alassane Ouattara.

ICC appeals judge Chile Eboe-Osuji said the court would release Gbagbo “to a state willing to accept them on its territory and willing to enforce the conditions set” by the court.

The court later said that Gbagbo and Ble Goude had been released from the ICC’s detention centre in The Hague for an “interim” location while his final destination was confirmed, without giving further details.

Washington D.C. , Feb 2 : Ahead of the State of the Union (SOTU) address, United States President Donald Trump on Friday once again threatened to declare a state of emergency to secure funding for his proposed US-Mexico wall.
The Hill quoted Trump as saying, “I think there’s a good chance we’ll have to do that (declare emergency).”
While talking to reporters in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Trump hinted that he may divulge more details about his plan to build the wall in Tuesday’s SOTU address.
He said that people should “listen closely” to his speech.
Lambasting a bipartisan conference committee debating wall funding, Trump said that it is a “waste of time”, predicting that the Democrats would pay a price for opposing the wall.
“I don’t think it’s good politically. I think [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] should be ashamed of herself because she’s hurting a lot of people,” Trump said.
The US President had previously threatened to impose an emergency to get the wall – which is one of his long-standing electoral promises – built.

Dodoma [Tanzania], Jan 29 : Ten children who were kidnapped in December were found dead with mutilated body parts on Monday.
Tanzania’s deputy health minister Faustine Nduguille stated that all 10 children had been missing since December in southwest Tanzania’s Njombe district, CNN reported.
The bodies of the children were found last week after police mounted a search operation in the area.
“So far, we have found 10 bodies, and most of their private parts and teeth had been removed,” Nduguille said.
“These murders are linked to witchcraft practices because that is the trend for such crimes, where herbalists ask people to get these human parts for money rituals,” he further stated.
The children, some of who are as young as seven years old, had been kidnapped from their homes in December, last year.
Many parents had filed missing reports since then, Nduguille said, adding that the health ministry was investigating the killings.
“We want to identify the perpetrators, but our focus is to educate the traditional practitioners in the area quickly and those in surrounding communities on the need to stop these acts,” he said.
He also dismissed the prospects of the killings linked with albino ritual murders which are prevalent in Tanzania and other East African countries.
“These murders are not linked to albino killings. But it is very sad because they are children and they don’t deserve to be used like this,” Nduguille said.
Tanzania is among the countries with the highest rates of albinism (one in 1,500 people).
A lack of education and tolerance prevails and Albinos are regularly killed for their bones and organs, which are sold to witch doctors for “charms and magical potions”, CNN cited Amnesty International as saying.

Montevideo [Uruguay], Jan 31 : Uruguay and Mexico will convene an international conference over the Venezuelan political crisis, a statement from Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry confirmed.
The conference will be held in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on February 7, Sputnik reported.
“The governments of Uruguay and Mexico have decided to organize an international conference with the participation of countries and international organizations that share their position (on the Venezuelan crisis),” the statement read.
So far, ten countries have confirmed participation in the conference.
“The goal of the conference is to lay the groundwork for the creation of a new dialogue mechanism, with the inclusion of all Venezuelan (political) forces that would contribute to the return of stability and peace in the country,” the statement added.
Earlier today, US special envoy for Venezuela Elliot Abrams issued a warning for Venezuela against any action against the country’s self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido. His comments came after National Security Adviser John Bolton had recently warned that any “violence and intimidation” against Guaido and US diplomats will be met with a “significant response”.
The Venezuelan Supreme Court on Tuesday announced its intent on conducting an investigation into Guaido’s activities and imposed a travel ban on the latter. Venezuelan prosecutor General Tarek Saab had earlier appealed to the court for the same.
The situation in Venezuela, which has been struggling to overcome a political crisis amid the opposition’s refusal to recognize last year’s re-election of Maduro, significantly escalated on January 22 when the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared the president a usurper. The very next day, National Assembly Speaker Guaido proclaimed himself Venezuela’s interim president.
While dozens of countries, including the US and some of its allies, have recognized Guaido as the acting Venezuelan president, Russia has reaffirmed its support for Maduro as the legitimately elected head of state.
Mass anti-government protests broke out in Venezuela on January 21, following which Guaido declared himself interim President on January 23.
The UN human rights office stated that security forces in Venezuela apprehended over 700 people in a single day of the protests last week, which was the highest tally in the country for the past 20 years.
Over 40 people were reportedly killed during the violence during those protests.

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) , Jan 29 : The Tibetan government-in-exile has demanded the unconditional release of Tibetan activist Tashi Wangchuk, who is reportedly in a jail in China for the last three years.
Speaking to ANI, Karma Yeshi, finance minister of Tibetan government-in-exile, said Wangchuk fought for the voice of Tibetan language and hence is jailed by the Chinese government.
Wangchuk is a Tibetan activist and advocates for greater Tibetan language education in schools in Tibet where Mandarin has become the sole language of instruction. He was detained by Chinese authorities on January 27, 2016, and formally arrested in March 2016 on suspicion of “inciting separatism”.
According to the Tibetan government-in-exile, the activist has been sentenced to a total of five years in prison and is at the risk of being tortured there.

European leaders moved Wednesday to head off British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal, warning they will not budge.

Having thrown out the exit deal May negotiated with the EU, divided British lawmakers voted Tuesday to send her back to get an Irish border “backstop” clause removed.

May seized on this as a chance to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union on March 29 without an agreement, vowing to return to Brussels to demand changes to the text.

But even she admits she faces a formidable challenge convincing Brussels to re-open an accord that took 18 excruciating months to conclude, and European leaders are so far united in dismissing any such manoeuvre.

“My message to PM @theresa_may: The EU position is clear and consistent. The Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation,” EU Council President Donald Tusk tweeted.

“Yesterday, we found out what the UK doesn’t want. But we still don’t know what the UK does want,” he added.

Other frustrated EU officials including Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier insisted the remaining 27 EU members were united and determined not to abandon the backstop clause they believe is key to maintaining peace on the border.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker addressed the European Parliament to push home the message that the withdrawal agreement would not be re-negotiated.

And he warned that the British vote had only “increased the risk of a disorderly withdrawal” and of Northern Ireland “slipping back into darker times past”.

Echoing earlier warnings from French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, German leader Angela Merkel’s spokesman said reopening the deal was “not on the agenda”.

And Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar insisted “renegotiation is not on the table”.

Brussels/Warsaw : The European Union is considering proposals that would effectively amount to a de-facto ban on Huawei Technologies Co. equipment for next-generation mobile networks, four senior EU officials said, adding to mounting international pressure on the world’s largest maker of telecom gear.

While efforts by the EU’s executive are still at the very early stages, and could prove complicated to implement, the move marks a shift in the EU’s stance amid growing security concerns in the West about China.

A move to exclude Chinese firms such as Huawei would likely be welcomed by the United States, which has been trying to prevent American companies from buying Huawei infrastructure equipment and has been pressing allies to do the same. U.S. security experts are concerned the gear could be used by China’s government for espionage – a concern Huawei calls unfounded.

The Murray-Darling Basin is a river network sprawling for one million square kilometres (400,000 square miles), about twice the size of Spain.

It affects the livelihood of millions of people, but it had been over-exploited for years and seriously depleted by drought.

A South Australian inquest said the authority acted unlawfully in setting water levels while it “completely ignored” climate change projections.

“Politics rather than science ultimately drove the setting” of limits on the amount of water that could be taken out of the river, the report said.

The commission charged that the authority failed to be guided by “environmental priorities”, as required by law. “It is an unlawful approach. It is maladministration.”

An investigation by the national broadcaster the ABC in 2017 found billions of litres slated for environmental flows was being used to irrigate farmland in New South Wales.

A review of water management compliance in 2017 found inconsistent and poor enforcement in some states.

The report comes as debate rages over a series of mass fish kills over the past few weeks in rivers connected to the Murray-Darling.

Up to a million were killed last month — with scientists pointing to low water and oxygen levels as well as possibly toxic algae — in drought battered eastern Australia.

The royal commission recommended a complete overhaul of the water river management plan, with revised levels based on “the best available scientific knowledge”.

The pound quickly fell on fears of a no-deal scenario as MPs voted through an amendment saying they would only support a divorce deal if its controversial “backstop” clause to keep the Irish border open was removed.

A spokesman for EU leader Donald Tusk said the deal was “not open for renegotiation” while French President Emmanuel Macron said it was the “best agreement possible”.

MPs also voted in favour of a non-binding measure that “rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement”.