In Tehran, specter of war met with more defiance than fear - CNN

The US has dispatched new weapons and troops to the region after Iran suspended parts of the nuclear deal that briefly brought an end to its economic and diplomatic isolation.

Many Iranians -- desperate for relief from financial dire straits partly caused by US sanctions -- are reacting with defiance rather than antagonism as the countries hurtle towards confrontation.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tried to assure the country earlier this week that the US "does not want war," but not everyone is persuaded.

Many people here believe that Iran's enemies -- namely the US and its Gulf allies, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- have long been on a warpath. Though US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the US does not want war, some believe the US administration's diplomatic and economic campaign against the country is taking things to a fever pitch.

A year ago, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark nuclear deal and imposed on Iran some of the most stringent sanctions in the country's history.

Foreign companies exited the country in droves, the Iranian riyal nose-dived and prices soared.

"I am not afraid of war as I have already seen war," said motor courier Majid Haqiqi, 57, referring to the country's eight-year conflict with neighbor Iraq in the 1980. "I believe that America is not eager to attack Iran and only tries to terrify us."

Haqiqi instead suggests a solution that many in Tehran would consider controversial. "The only way out of this situation is having dialogue. What is wrong with having the US here?" said Haqiqi. "(The US) can start businesses in Iran and use our workforce. If they take a step towards us, we also can take one step."

Last week, Trump made several overtures to Tehran, asking the government to call him. He even contacted the Swiss last week to leave a phone number for Tehran to reach him, according to a diplomatic source.

The move seemed out of sync with the hawkish stances of National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has talked tough, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who has been trying to rally diplomatic support for the US campaign against Iran's regime.

Dialogue between the two countries is anathema to Iran's hardliners, including Khamenei. "Negotiations are like a poison as long as the US remains the same way it is. And with the current US government is additionally poisonous," the Ayatollah said in a speech on Tuesday.

'We have nothing to lose'

Many Iranians are concerned about everyday issues, however. "I don't think of war when I must think of basic needs," said Janati, a 70-year-old retired army officer. "Ordinary people in Iran do not think of the enemy or of Zionists. They just need a better life."

"We have nothing to lose," said 37-year-old Alireza Sahraiee. Sahraiee said he was an international businessman last year and a luxury car-owner. A year after the start of Trump's sanctions, he is a cashier at a shop.

"I believe we must revise our external affairs policy," added Sahraiee. "We must let foreign investment come to us."

Saba, a 19-year-old secondary school student, who declined to reveal her full name, said that, in the case of war, "I won't leave Iran but will go to a remote area with my family and come back only when peace returns."

Iran's hardline politicians remain defiant, continuing to rail against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his reformer camp for forging the 2015 nuclear agreement. "We told you so," is the prevailing message among Tehran's conservatives.

They also believe that the US and its allies have too much to lose from a potential conflict. "We have a lot of capabilities," said Hossein Kanani Moghadam, a former Commander of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Oil transit lines are very vulnerable in the Persian Gulf area ... so we wouldn't need to use advanced weapons."

Iran may disrupt vital waterways for some of the world's biggest oil supplies, such as the Strait of Hormuz, if a direct confrontation came to pass, the former commander said.

"I believe Trump is a poker player, playing with open cards. But our Supreme Leader is a chess player who is playing under the table," said Moghadam. "It seems this is the battle of two wills. And it seems Trump's will is more to scare the other side whereas we are not scared of Trump at all."

But beyond the rhetoric and muscle flexing, Iran also has much at stake. "I think at this stage Iran really doesn't want direct confrontation, neither with the US nor any other countries in the region," said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, senior research fellow at RUSI. "There has been a response but not a provocation so far from Iran and there has been a commitment to clarify that, if needed, Iran would respond with all its tools at its disposal."

Proxy forces

Those tools consist of Iran-backed armed groups throughout the region.

In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels operate near the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb strait, a vital route for oil supplies.

In Iraq, the formidable Popular Mobilization Units, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, could potentially be ordered to attack US positions in the country.

In Lebanon, the reach of Hezbollah's seasoned fighters now spans two parts of Israel's frontier, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria, in addition to Lebanon's border with Israel.

"We have seen in the past that Iran's reliance on its proxies is probably the main tool at its disposal to deter a direct attack or avoid a direct confrontation," said Tabrizi. "We are likely to see this as a main possibility and the main risk of confrontation -- direct confrontation -- between the US and Iran."

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2019-05-17 06:06:00Z
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Taiwan passes same-sex marriage bill, becoming first in Asia to do so - CNN

The vote came almost two years after the island's Constitutional Court ruled that the existing law -- which said marriage was between a man and a woman -- was unconstitutional. The panel of judges gave the island's parliament two years to amend or enact new laws.

On Friday -- only a week off the two-year deadline -- lawmakers in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed a bill making same-sex marriage a reality. It will go into effect on May 24.

Tens of thousands of people braved pouring rain Friday to demonstrate in favor of same-sex marriage outside the parliament, where lawmakers were voting on three draft bills, one tabled by the country's Cabinet -- which would ultimately prove successful -- and two watered-down rival bills tabled by conservative groups.

The successful Cabinet bill was backed by LGBTQ groups, despite the fact it creates a law different to straight marriage. For instance, under Cabinet's bill, a Taiwanese person could not marry foreigners from countries where same-sex marriage is not legal.

Thousands turned of gay rights activists, many bearing umbrellas, rainbow flags and rainbow placards, gathered in heavy rain in the capital Taipei in support of marriage equality.

Ahead of the vote, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted: "Today we have a chance to make history and show the world that progressive values can take root in an East Asian society."

Although the island has a large gay community and its annual gay pride parade is the biggest in Asia, the issue of marriage equality has divided Taiwanese society. In a controversial referendum in November last year, 67% voted to reject same-sex marriage.

In recent months conservative groups have campaigned against same-sex marriage reform, pushing for a law that would see gay marriage legislation redefined as same-sex unions.

LGBTQ rights in Asia

Taiwan's vote sets it apart from other parts of Asia where LGBTQ rights have regressed.

In mainland China, where homosexuality is legal but prejudices and discrimination against LGBT people persist under Communist Party rule, an author of same-sex erotic fiction was sent to jail for 10 years in November.

In April, the ruler of the tiny, oil-rich kingdom of Brunei announced he would introduce death by stoning for those convicted of gay sex. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has since said the death penalty will not be imposed, although he did not repeal the law.

In Indonesia, declining secularism has led to deepening discrimination against the country's gay, lesbian and transgender communities. Last year, two men accused of being gay received 87 lashes for gay sex in the country's conservative Aceh province.

More than two dozen countries around the world allow gay marriage, according to Pew Research.

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2019-05-17 06:10:00Z
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Bob Hawke: The rambunctious rogue who led Australia - BBC News

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In an era of Australian leadership turmoil, the death of Bob Hawke, a beloved former prime minister, feels especially poignant ahead of a national election on Saturday, writes the BBC's Hywel Griffith in Sydney.

Australia loves a larrikin - a rambunctious rogue who does not care about convention. In Bob Hawke, who died on Thursday at 89, the country found a natural leader, happy to play the role.

Though he swore off alcohol while in office, well into his late 80s, he would still perform his famous party-trick of downing a glass of beer at cricket matches, always to rapturous applause.

But Hawke's antics belied a sharp political mind that understood the need to build consensus and keep the voters on his side.

"These acts of drinking, these acts of womanising, as much as they got out into the public eye were a calculated risk on his part," says associate Prof Anika Gauja from the University of Sydney.

"It was cultivated on his part to perpetuate his image of an easy-going guy. I'm not sure whether in today's style of politics, whether he'd be seen as too much of a liability in the social media age."

• Bob Hawke dies at 89
• Obituary: Australia's charismatic former PM

Hawke's eight years as Australian prime minister - still a record for a Labor leader - stands in conspicuous contrast to the most recent decade of turmoil in Australian politics.

No prime minister has served a full three-year term since another long-serving leader, conservative John Howard, left office in 2007.

For many Australians, both men - though ideological opposites - recall a kind of carefree stability that is lacking in today's politics.

And Hawke still holds the highest approval rating of any serving Australian prime minister.

Australian election 2019

Despite poor health, he had been active in public consciousness in recent days - releasing spirited statements to promote Labor's cause. Inevitably, his death will loom large in the remaining hours of Australia's election campaign.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison saluted him for having "a unique ability to speak to all Australians" and said he would be "greatly missed".

Labor leader Bill Shorten - who, like Hawke, forged his career in trade unions - paid tribute to a man he called "Australia's favourite son".

Charisma and ambition

Hawke was born in 1929 to a family with strong connections to the Labor movement. By the age of 15 he had told friends he would one day be prime minister.

After studying in Perth, Oxford and Canberra, he entered a career in the trade unions, where he honed his famous negotiating skills.

In 1974, they were called upon to help convince Frank Sinatra to retract sexist comments he had made on tour in Australia, after the singer called female journalists "buck-and-a-half" prostitutes.

Sinatra had initially refused to apologise, prompting fury and reports that airport workers would refuse to refuel his plane. It ended in a bizarre standoff at a Sydney hotel.

Over cognac and cigars there, Hawke persuaded Sinatra to issue a statement of regret, ending a nationwide boycott of Sinatra's shows.

Hawke had become a public figure long before he entered parliament at the age of 50, and within three years he rose to become Labor leader and prime minster.

His first, landslide election victory in 1983 gave him a mandate to push through contentious changes, with an agenda of privatisation and deregulation at odds with his party's traditions.

But some of his reforms were clearly too ambitious.

As he set his sights on a third election victory in 1987 he pledged that "by 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty".

He would come to regret that defining moment, especially as the written version of his speech said only no child "need live in poverty."

It was a rare slip of the tongue for a politician who seemed so comfortable and relaxed on the big stage.

Internationally, he helped renew Australia's floundering friendship with the United States by committing troops to the Gulf War.

But Bob Hawke was also aware of the need to seek allies closer to home.

"His image could be quite perplexing to foreigners, but I think Bob Hawke will be remembered as the Australian prime minister who really started engaging with Asia," says Associate Professor Anika Gauja.

"His move to internationalise Australia's economy will be remembered very positively."

Inevitably his popularity dimmed at home when Australia's economic fortunes worsened, and after eight years in office, in 1991, he was replaced by his long-time Labor colleague and rival Paul Keating.

There was little love lost between the two men, although Bob Hawke did later claim he was grateful to Keating for ousting him from office, as it meant he had the opportunity to re-marry.

In 1995 he divorced his first wife Hazel in order to marry his biographer Blanche d'Alpuget, with whom he had had a long-running extra-marital affair.

Despite losing power, Hawke regularly appeared in public alongside Blanche, his reputation restored and his place in history assured.

Among legacies still felt today, Hawke's government launched Medicare - Australia's universal healthcare system - and outlawed sexual discrimination in the workplace.

It also restricted uranium mining on indigenous lands, and prevented the damming of Tasmania's world heritage-listed Franklin River. Hawke also led international efforts to protect Antarctica from mining, after refusing to ratify a proposal put to Antarctic Treaty nations.

"I just couldn't believe it. Here was the last pristine continent," Hawke recalled to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016. "We were going to be called upon to ratify it and I thought: 'no bloody way'."

His death is perhaps felt even more acutely at a time when Australians are preparing to head to the ballot box on Saturday.

As one former Hawke staffer and now ABC presenter, Barrie Cassidy, noted soon after his former boss's death: "What a sense of timing."

For most Australians, he will always be remembered as the prime minister who loved a drink and joke, and made the serious work of politics look like fun.

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2019-05-17 05:58:43Z
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Bob Hawke has died: Former Australian prime minister who held drinking record dies at age 89; cause of death not released - CBS News

Bob Hawke, Australia's longest-serving Labor Party prime minister, whose charisma and powers of persuasion earned him near-folk hero status among many Australians, died on Thursday, his wife said. He was 89.

The former union leader dedicated much of his political career to trade union issues, and he was widely regarded as a man of his people. He had a down-to-earth attitude, a passion for sports and legendary status among beer lovers — for once drinking himself into the record books.

He won four terms as prime minister, serving from 1983 to 1991 before being ousted by his own center-left party when the economy soured. Only two other prime ministers served Australia longer, and both were members of the conservative Liberal Party.

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He had been actively supporting Labor's campaign for elections on Saturday after six years in opposition. He also said he doubted he would survive to see the Labor victory predicted in opinion polling.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Hawke had transformed Australian society and protected the environment, a reference to his government preventing the damming of a wild river in Tasmania state to generate electricity in a major environmental conflict in 1983. "We have lost a favorite son. Bob Hawke loved Australia and Australia loved Bob Hawke," Shorten said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Hawke had "defined the politics of his generation and beyond."

"Bob Hawke was a great Australian who led and served our country with passion, courage, and an intellectual horsepower that made our country stronger," Morrison said. Robert James Lee Hawke was born in the agricultural community of Bordertown, South Australia, to a Congregationalist minister father.

Bob Hawke toasts Hawke's Lager at the launch of Hawke's Lager at The Clock Hotel on April 6, 2017, in Sydney, Australia. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

By the time he entered politics, Hawke had abandoned his religious upbringing and declared himself agnostic. His lifelong involvement with the labor movement began in 1958, when he joined the Australian Council of Trade Unions, first as a researcher and later as a union advocate.

After scoring several high-profile wins before the Arbitration Commission, Hawke rose through the ranks of the ACTU and was elected its president in 1969. Over the next decade, Hawke developed strong ties with both union representatives and their traditional rivals — employers and government agencies — winning him a reputation as an easy operator.

Negotiations over labor disputes were as likely to take place at the bar over copious beers as before the courts. His reputation as a tippler was cemented during his years as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University in England, where he earned a Guinness world record by downing 2 1/2 pints of beer in 11 seconds.

"This feat was to endear me to some of my fellow Australians more than anything else I ever achieved," Hawke wrote of the 1955 stunt in his autobiography. In 1980, Hawke publicly swore off alcohol and was elected to Parliament, immediately taking up a high-profile role as the opposition's spokesman for industrial relations, employment and youth.

Still, he never shook his booze-loving reputation, and in his later years, did little to discourage it. A January 2012 video of a then-82-year-old Hawke chugging a beer at a cricket match as cheering and laughing fans shouted, "One for the country, Robert!" exceeds a million hits on YouTube.

Bob Hawke skulls a beer at the SCG Australia vs India Jan 4 2012- 1 for the country by Glenn Brandon on YouTube

Not everyone loved him, of course. Some viewed him as arrogant, sexist, even obnoxious.

Hawke was notorious for his short temper and womanizing ways; he admitted to repeatedly cheating on his first wife, Hazel Masterson, during their 39-year marriage and married his biographer and mistress, Blanche d'Alpuget, shortly after their divorce. "Today we lost Bob Hawke, a great Australian - many would say the greatest Australian of the post-war era," d'Alpuget said in a statement.

Prime Minister Hawke and his treasurer, then successor, Paul Keating "modernized the Australian economy, paving the way for an unprecedented period of recession-free economic growth and job creation," she said. Australians embraced Hawke as a larrikin, an Aussie term for someone considered endearingly mischievous.

On the strength of his personality and growing popularity with voters, Hawke was elected prime minister on March 5, 1983, after less than three years in Parliament and only one month as leader of the Labor Party. He came to power preaching consensus and, through his intimate knowledge of both the trade union and business communities, was able to forge a wage accord that helped to minimize industrial disputes.

On the back of his success, Hawke called an early election and was again swept to power in 1984. Hawke broke a 1984 campaign promise and called early elections again in 1987, after the Senate twice rejected a government proposal to introduce a national identity card, which Labor said was necessary to crack down on tax evaders and welfare cheats.

Notable deaths in 2019 62 photos

He was narrowly elected to a fourth term in 1990. But as Australia plunged into recession, Hawke's enormous popularity began to wane and his rule as prime minister finally ended on Dec. 20, 1991, when he was ousted by his own party.

He retired from Parliament the following year. Despite his background in the union movement, Hawke's approach to the economy was largely conservative.

In 1983, he oversaw the floating of Australia's currency and later set in motion the sale of several state-run industries — including airlines, banks and telecommunications companies — and curbed government subsidies to underperforming sectors. Like many Australians, Hawke was an avid sports fan, always ready to roll up his sleeves and place a bet.

In 1983, when Australia broke the United States' 132-year winning streak in the America's Cup yacht race, Hawke proclaimed the day a national holiday, famously saying, "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum." D'Alpuge said she will hold a private funeral with his children Sue, Stephen, Rosslyn and stepson, Louis, and his grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in Sydney in the coming weeks.

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2019-05-16 13:37:00Z
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Huawei: China threatens to retaliate over US sanctions - BBC News

China has threatened to retaliate against US sanctions seen as an attempt to restrict international trade by the Chinese technology giant Huawei.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing opposed countries imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and would take action.

The Trump administration on Wednesday effectively blocked Huawei products from being used in US networks.

The order does not name any company, but is believed to target Huawei.

Huawei denies its products pose a security threat and says it is ready to engage with the US.

• Huawei role in UK 'an unnecessary risk'
• The story of a controversial company

Beijing accused President Trump of engaging in industrial sabotage by using state security as "as a pretext for suppressing foreign business".

"We urge the US to stop this practice and instead create better conditions for business co-operation," Mr Lu said.

He did not give any details over how China planned to retaliate against the US sanctions.

What did the US sanctions order say?

According to a White House statement, Mr Trump's order aims to "protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services".

It gives the secretary of commerce the power to "prohibit transactions posing an unacceptable risk to the national security", the statement adds.

The move was instantly welcomed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who called it "a significant step toward securing America's networks".

The US had already restricted federal agencies from using Huawei products and has encouraged allies to shun them, while Australia and New Zealand have both blocked the use of Huawei gear in 5G networks.

• The US cannot crush us, says Huawei boss

In April 2018 another Chinese tech company, ZTE, was barred from buying US parts after it was placed on the same "entity list". It resumed business after reaching a deal with the US in July.

How did Huawei respond?

Huawei has said its work does not pose any threats and that it is independent from the Chinese government.

"Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger," the company said in a statement.

"Instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment, and eventually harming the interests of US companies and consumers."

The company also said "unreasonable restrictions" on Huawei raised "other serious legal issues".

During a meeting in London on Tuesday, Huawei said it was "willing to sign no-spy agreements with governments" as concerns over the security of its products used in mobile networks continued to grow.

How have other countries responded?

UK Prime Minister Theresa May last month provisionally approved Huawei technology for use in the nation's future 5G telecoms networks, but a leaked account of the meeting said five cabinet ministers raised concerns about the move.

France, Germany and Belgium have not banned Huawei technology, but Japan has from public contracts.

The US has pressured allies to shun Huawei in their next generation 5G mobile networks.

The confrontation over Huawei comes amid a broader trade war between the US and China.

The US has raised tariffs to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports and is threatening to tax an additional $300 billion worth.

Stock markets have been hit by the row but have steadied in recent days amid hopes the two countries might hold talks.

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2019-05-16 14:00:19Z
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North Korea suffering 'extreme drought,' worst in nearly 40 years amid fears of food shortages - Fox News

The Hermit Kingdom is also apparently the barren kingdom.

North Korea disclosed on Wednesday it is suffering its worst drought in nearly four decades, amid growing concerns the country is dangerously short on food.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency said that only 2.1 inches of rain fell throughout the country in the first five months of this year, the lowest amount since the same period in 1982 when 2 inches of rain on average fell.

The current conditions, described by KCNA as "extreme drought", are expected to continue at least until the end of May.

NORTH KOREA CALLS COAL SHIP SEIZURE A 'ROBBERY,' SAYS IT BETRAYS SPIRIT OF US SUMMIT AGREEMENT

North Korean media outlets called on citizens on Thursday to find new sources of water, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea said it is suffering its worst drought in nearly four decades after only 2.1 inches of rain fell throughout the country in the first five months of this year. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The country's Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that workers are attempting to find new water sources and mobilize pumps and irrigation equipment to minimize the damage to agriculture.

Rodong Sinmun said the efforts are part of the "struggle to prevent damage from drought is a fierce battle against the nature to protect socialism."

The ongoing drought is expected to add to an already perilous situation facing the North.

Earlier this month, United Nations food agencies said in a joint assessment about 10 million people in North Korea, about 40 percent of the population, were facing "severe food shortages" after the country had one of the worst harvests in a decade.

"The situation could further deteriorate during the lean season from May to September, if no proper and urgent humanitarian actions are taken," the report said.

NORTH KOREAN CARGO SHIP SEIZED BY US ARRIVES IN AMERICAN SAMOA

North Korean officials have blamed the food shortage on bad weather and international economic sanctions that were toughened after the country conducted a series of high-profile nuclear and missile tests in recent years.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday, May 15, that an average of 2.1 inches of rain fell throughout the country in the first five months of this year, the lowest level since 1982. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

In February, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, issued a rare appeal for urgent food assistance, saying the sanctions were "barbaric and inhuman," according to Sky News.

"There is a dreadful restriction by sanctions on imports of all sorts of metal farming facilities, such as tractors, harvesters... as well as chemical fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide," he wrote.

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In February, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Vietnam for their second summit, but negotiations fizzled. The North requested sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization measures. The U.S. balked at the request, insisting sanctions would not be relaxed until complete denuclearization.

United Nations food agencies have warned about 10 million people in North Korea, about 40 percent of the population, are facing "severe food shortages" after the country had one of the worst harvests in a decade. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

North Korea suffered a devastating famine in the mid-1990s that is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-05-16 13:16:55Z
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Bob Hawke, former Australian prime minister, dead at 89 - CNN

Known affectionately as "Hawkie," Hawke was Australia's Prime Minister from 1983 to 1991, winning four elections and becoming the country's third longest-serving leader.

His wife, Blanche D'Alpuget, released a statement on Thursday describing her husband as "the greatest Australian of the post-war era."

"Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and their governments modernised the Australian economy, paving the way for an unprecedented period of recession-free economic growth and job creation," her statement said.

A Rhodes scholar who graduated from Oxford University in 1956, Hawke quickly rose through the ranks of Australia's trade union movement to become the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1970, according to the Museum of Australian Democracy.

In 1983, after serving in parliament for just three years, he became Australia's Prime Minister in a landslide election victory.

That success revived Hawke's Labor Party, ushering in a sustained period of rule that lasted until 1996.

Hawke served as Prime Minister for almost nine of those 13 years, winning three more polls in the process and cementing his legacy as the party's longest-serving and most electorally successful leader.

In a political landscape that sees regular elections and frequent leadership contests, Hawke's longevity can be matched only by Liberal Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and John Howard.

But Hawke was as famous for his colorful character as his political achievements, his bouffant hair and cheeky sense of humor ensuring that he has endured in the country's affections long after his career came to a close.

He reportedly held the world record for skulling a yard of beer in the quickest time when he was a student at Oxford.

And when an Australian yacht won the America's Cup in September 1983, Hawke famously declared, "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum" -- a comment that has forever been affectionately associated with the leader.

"Bob Hawke was a great Australian who led and served our country with passion, courage, and an intellectual horsepower that made our country stronger," the country's current Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

"He was true to his beliefs in the Labor tradition and defined the politics of his generation and beyond," Morrison added. "He had a unique ability to speak to all Australians and will be greatly missed."

Hawke was a major economic reformer who, alongside his then-treasurer Paul Keating, liberalized the Australian economy and made the landmark decision to float the Australian dollar.

He also brought in universal healthcare for all Australian citizens, establishing the Medicare system in 1984.

Hawke placed an emphasis on Aboriginal affairs during his years in office, and briefly re-entered the political fray in 2008 to witness a long-awaited apology to the Aboriginal community, made by then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, for years of mistreatment.

Keating, Hawke's right-hand man through nine years of economic reform, ultimately took his job as leader of the Labor Party in a 1991 coup.

But Hawke remained one of Australia's most popular Prime Ministers. He was regularly invited to quickly drink beers at major sporting events by attendees, invariably to huge cheers and applause.

In a statement, current opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten -- gearing up to contest an election on Saturday -- said that "the Australian people loved Bob Hawke because they knew Bob loved them."

"In Australian history, in Australian politics, there will always be B.H. and A.H: Before Hawke and After Hawke. After Hawke, we were a different country. A kinder, better, bigger and bolder country," he said.

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2019-05-16 11:51:00Z
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