TRUMP NOW SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO POSTPONE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN

NOVEMBER

President Donald Trump has walked back his controversial suggestion to delay

the November 3 elections in the face of fierce opposition from even

Republicans.

Seeking a second consecutive term, Trump is facing a formidable challenge

from Democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden, who, according

to major national opinion polls, has double digit lead over the Republican

president.

“Do I want to see a date change? No,” Trump said to reporters at the daily

White House briefing on the Covid-19 epidemic. “But I don’t want to see a

crooked election.”

The US president mooted election delay in a tweet Thursday as an alternative

to the use of mail-in voting in the November 3 elections, arguing it will

lead to fraud and abuse. It is being considered by many states in view of

the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and some of them tried it in the primaries.

Trump brought copies of news articles to the briefing about specific cases

of problems facing mail-in voting in Democratic primaries in New York and

New Jersey. “Mail-in ballots will lead to the greatest fraud,” he said.

Subsequently, the election-delay tweet that was pinned at the top post on

his Twitter feed for more than 84 million followers to see, had been taken

down by the end of the day.

The presidential election date in the US statutorily is set as "the Tuesday

next after the first Monday in the month of November" equalling "the first

Tuesday after November 1".

SUPREME LEADER SAYS IRAN WON'T NEGOTIATE WITH US

IranÂ’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that his country

will not negotiate with the United States because America would only use

talks for propaganda purposes.

The Trump administration has said it is willing to talk with Iran “with no

preconditions,” but that the U.S. will continue its campaign of pressure

against the Islamic Republic.

In a televised speech marking the Eid al-Adha holiday, Mr. Khamenei said

President Donald Trump would benefit from talks, saying Mr. Trump wants to

“use negotiations with us for propaganda like negotiations with North

Korea.” Mr. Khamenei was referring to talks between Mr. Trump and North

Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

Mr. Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear accord between Iran

and Western powers in May 2018. Iran later responded by slowly abandoning

nearly every aspect of the agreement, though it still allows U.N. inspectors

access to its nuclear sites.

Mr. Trump has maintained that the deal needs to be renegotiated because it

didnÂ’t address IranÂ’s ballistic missile program or its involvement in

regional conflicts. The other signatories to the nuclear deal - Germany,

France, Britain, China and Russia - have been struggling to keep it alive.

Mr. Khamenei said the U.S. wants Iran to give up its nuclear program,

defense facilities and regional authority at the negotiating table.

TEENAGER AMONG 3 CHARGED FOR HACKING PROMINENT TWITTER ACCOUNTS, BITCOIN

SCAM

Two teenagers and a 22-year-old were charged with hacking the Twitter Inc

accounts of famous people including former President Barack Obama,

billionaire Bill Gates and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, the Department

of Justice said on Friday.

Mason Sheppard, a 19-year-old British man who went by the alias Chaewon, was

charged with carrying out the hack, as well as related wire fraud and money

laundering crimes, according to a Justice Department statement.

Orlando-based Nima Fazeli, 22, nicknamed Rolex, was charged with aiding and

abetting those crimes. The Justice Department did not name the third

defendant, but the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office in Tampa said

it had arrested 17-year-old Graham Clark. In a statement, Twitter said it

appreciated the “swift actions of law enforcement.”

The FBI said that two of the accused had been taken into custody, without

identifying them.

U.S. URGES PAKISTAN TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST KILLER OF AMERICAN CITIZEN SHOT

DEAD IN COURTROOM

Expressing shock and outrage at the killing of American citizen Tahir Naseem

inside a courtroom in Pakistan, the U.S. has urged Islamabad to immediately

reform its “often-abused” blasphemy laws and bring the culprit to justice.

Naseem, 57, accused of blasphemy, was shot multiple times at close range

inside PeshawarÂ’s Judicial Complex on Wednesday as he awaited to be shifted

to prison. He died on the spot.

The attacker was arrested on the spot and the pistol used in the killing was

seized.

“We are shocked, saddened, and outraged that American citizen Tahir Naseem

was killed yesterday inside a Pakistani courtroom. Mr Naseem had been lured

to Pakistan from his home in Illinois by individuals who then used

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to entrap him,” said Cale Brown, Principal Deputy

Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department.

TRUMP SAYS HE’LL SIGN ORDER CUTTING DRUG PRICES ‘VERY SOON’

President Donald Trump said he plans to sign a “very inclusive” health-care

plan “very soon” -- perhaps as soon as Sunday -- that will result in

Americans paying significantly less for pharmaceutical drugs.

“I want what’s right for the people,” he said at a press briefing in Florida

on Friday. “We’re going to bring our drug prices down to levels that nobody

ever thought possible.”

Trump described on Friday a “favored nations” plan under which his

administration would take the country that has the lowest drug prices as the

yardstick for what Americans should be charged.

While he provided few other details, on July 24, Trump announced plans for

executive orders to lower prescription drug prices under Medicare by linking

them to rates paid in other countries and allowing Americans to buy

medication imported from Canada.

HeÂ’s been seeking to repair his standing on health-care issues, particularly

with senior voters. Polls have shown sentiment is souring over his handling

of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act

without having a ready replacement.

UK OFFERS GRACE PERIOD FOR VISA EXTENSIONS UNTIL END AUGUST

The UK government on Thursday issued fresh guidance offering a one-month

grace period for all expiring or expired visas of foreign nationals,

including Indians, unable to return to their home countries due to the

coronavirus pandemic, until August 31.

The extension, initially announced until May 31 and then extended to July

31, has been extended by another month and will apply to anyone whose leave

to remain in the UK expired after January 24 and they are still unable to

leave the country because of travel restrictions or self-isolation.

“As global travel restrictions have started to lift, it is right this

generous, but temporary concession, be brought to a close with a month grace

period until 31 August to make the necessary arrangements to return home,” a

UK Home Office spokesperson said.

“Right across the immigration system, this government has introduced

measures to help those who have been impacted by global travel and health

restrictions throughout this pandemic. This has included providing over

40,000 visa extensions for those whose visas had expired between January 24,

2020, and July 31, 2020, and relaxing the rules on switching in the UK,” the

spokesperson said.

The Home Office said that it would also keep in place the relaxation of the

visa switching rules to enable those who wished to stay in the UK to submit

an application to enable them to do so during the grace period.

DONALD TRUMP SAYS US ‘MAY BE BANNING’ CHINA-OWNED VIDEO APP TIKTOK

President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is weighing

action against TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned video app that has been a

source of national-security and censorship concerns.

Mr. TrumpÂ’s comments came after published reports that the administration is

planning to order ChinaÂ’s ByteDance to sell TikTok. There were also reports

Friday that software giant Microsoft is in talks to buy the app.

“We are looking at TikTok,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “We

may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things. There a couple of

options, but a lot of things are happening. So we’ll see what happens.”

Reports by Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous

sources said the administration could soon announce a decision ordering

ByteDance to divest its ownership in TikTok.

There have been reports of U.S. tech giants and financial firms being

interested in buying or investing in TikTok as the Trump administration sets

its sights on the app. The New York Times and Fox Business, citing an

unidentified source, reported Friday that Microsoft is in talks to buy

TikTok. Microsoft declined to comment.

TikTok issued a statement Friday saying that, “While we do not comment on

rumours or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of

TikTok.”

HONG KONG DELAYS POLLS CITING COVID PANDEMIC

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday postponed a September 6 election to

the Chinese-ruled city's legislature by a year because of a rise in

coronavirus cases, dealing a blow to the pro-democracy opposition which had

hoped to make huge gains.

The US quickly condemned the move, saying it was the latest example of

Beijing undermining democracy.

The decision to delay the vote came after 12 pro-democracy candidates were

disqualified from running for perceived subversive intentions and opposition

to a sweeping new security law imposed by Beijing, prompting questions among

many about whether the pandemic was the real reason for the delay. Avery Ng,

secretary-general of the League of Social Democrats, said: “Obviously the

Chinese Communist Party is using Covid-19 as a cover to stop Hong Kongers

from voting against the government and democrats’ potential majority win”.

Lam said she had to invoke an emergency law to make the postponement and no

political considerations were involved. China's parliament would decide how

to fill the legislative vacuum, she added. She told reporters the decision

was aimed at safeguarding peopleÂ’s health.

EAT OUT TO HELP OUT: UK GOVT TO PAY 50% OF FOOD BILLS FROM TODAY

Over 53,000 restaurants, cafes and other outlets have signed up to the

unique ‘Eat out to help out’ scheme introduced by chancellor Rishi Sunak to

help the restaurant industry almost crippled by the coronavirus pandemic as

well as encourage moves towards a Covid-secure semblance of normalcy.

Under the scheme, diners who eat-in (not applicable to takeaways) will

benefit from a 50% discount, up to a maximum of £10 per person, on food and

non-alcoholic drinks, any Monday to Wednesday throughout August. There is no

limit to the number of times it can be availed on those days.\

‘Eat Out to Help Out’ stickers and posters have been displayed in windows of

participating restaurants, cafes, bars and other establishments across the

UK as part of the scheme that begins on August 1. They will claim the 50%

discount given to customers from the government on a weekly basis.

Sunak said: “Our restaurants, cafes and bars play a vital role in our

economy, employing more than a million people. They have been hit hard by

coronavirus, so it’s vital we do everything we can to help them recover”.

“Our ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme is designed to get more customers through

the door – protecting jobs by giving businesses the confidence to retain and

hire staff.