SYDNEY: Australia's conservative opposition picked Sussan Ley as its first woman leader on Tuesday, charting a fresh course after a humiliating election loss partly blamed on hardline Trump-esque policies.
The 63-year-old replaces former police officer Peter Dutton as leader of the conservative Liberal Party, which was trounced by left-leaning Labor in May 3 national elections.
Dutton's failure to win votes in Australia's cities -- and his deep unpopularity with women -- have been blamed as major factors in the heavy election loss.
Ley, a former stock-mustering pilot who has spent more than 20 years in national politics, is seen as a more moderate voice within the right-leaning Liberal Party.
She is the first woman to lead the Liberal Party at a national level in its 80-year history.
"I am humbled, I am honoured and I am up for the job," she said in her first press conference as leader.
Ley refused to be drawn on whether she would keep a highly contentious policy to embrace nuclear energy in place of renewables.
"I committed to my colleagues that there would be no captain's calls from anywhere," she said.
"Unsurprisingly in our party there are many different views, and we will listen and we will take the positions that we need to at the appropriate time."
Ley was born "Susan" but changed to "Sussan" in her youth because it gave a better numerology reading -- an astrology-like belief that charts fate through letters and numbers.
Dutton cultivated a "hard man" image with tough talk on crime and immigration and a pledge to slash the public service.
Some critics dismissed his policies as "Trump-lite".
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Australia's conservative opposition picks Ley as first woman leader
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Australia's conservative opposition picks Ley as first woman leader
Cargo plane carrying money crashes near Bolivia’s capital, killing at least 15 people, official says
Cargo plane carrying money crashes near Bolivia’s capital, killing at least 15 people, official says
LA PAZ: A cargo plane carrying money crashed Friday near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said.
Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the nearby highway.
Salinas did not specify how many people had been killed in the crash and said the cause was being investigated.
Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said two of the plane’s six crew members had not been found as of late Friday, adding that the aircraft was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz.
Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.
The plane, belonging to the Bolivian air force, was transporting money to La Paz and images on social media showed people rushing to collect the bills scattered at the crash site, while police in riot gear tried to disperse them.
Tovar said the hundreds of people trying to collect the spilled bills were hindering rescue efforts.
More than 500 soldiers and 100 police officers took control of the area to disperse the mob, according to official reports. Police and military personnel burned the cash boxes in the presence of Central Bank President David Espinoza, who said the bills “have no legal value because they never entered circulation,” without clarifying what that meant.
Espinoza did not specify the amount of money being transported but he said the banknotes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad.
Authorities temporarily suspended all flights to and from the terminal.
Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the nearby highway.
Salinas did not specify how many people had been killed in the crash and said the cause was being investigated.
Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said two of the plane’s six crew members had not been found as of late Friday, adding that the aircraft was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz.
Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.
The plane, belonging to the Bolivian air force, was transporting money to La Paz and images on social media showed people rushing to collect the bills scattered at the crash site, while police in riot gear tried to disperse them.
Tovar said the hundreds of people trying to collect the spilled bills were hindering rescue efforts.
More than 500 soldiers and 100 police officers took control of the area to disperse the mob, according to official reports. Police and military personnel burned the cash boxes in the presence of Central Bank President David Espinoza, who said the bills “have no legal value because they never entered circulation,” without clarifying what that meant.
Espinoza did not specify the amount of money being transported but he said the banknotes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad.
Authorities temporarily suspended all flights to and from the terminal.
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