US, CHINA TRADE OFFICIALS PRESS AHEAD WITH 'PHASE 1' DEAL AFTER OVERNIGHT

CALL

Top US and Chinese trade representatives played down deep differences over

the economic wreckage of the coronavirus pandemic and said they would press

ahead with implementing their "Phase 1" trade deal after an overnight phone

call.

US President Donald Trump, critical of China's early handling of the

coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, told Fox News

Channel on Friday that he was "very torn" about whether to end the trade

deal.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer discussed the deal with Chinese

Vice Premier Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the phone

call. The US officials said in a joint statement that both sides agreed the

obligations would be met.

China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to improve the

atmosphere for implementation of the trade deal, which calls for Beijing to

boost its purchases of American farm and manufactured goods, energy and

services by $200 billion over two years compared to a 2017 baseline.

While China has made some purchases, some observers say these are running

far behind the pace needed to meet the first-year goal of a $77 billion

increase as China's economy is just now beginning to recover from shutdowns

imposed during the pandemic.

On the call, the two sides "agreed that in spite of the current global

health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations

under the agreement in a timely manner," Lighthizer and Mnuchin said in

their statement.

BRITAIN FACING NO 'DRAMATIC OVERNIGHT CHANGE' IN LOCKDOWN RULES

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not announce any dramatic changes to

Britain's coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, adopting a cautious approach to

try to ensure there is no second deadly peak of infections, his environment

minister said.

Mr. Johnson is due to announce the next steps in Britain's battle to tackle

the novel coronavirus following a review by ministers of the current

measures that have all but shut the economy and kept millions at home for

over six weeks.

"You have to be realistic there isn't going to be dramatic overnight change,

we will be very, very cautious as we loosen the restrictions," George

Eustice said at a daily Downing Street briefing.

"As the data that were outlining on a daily basis shows, we are not out of

the woods, there are still major challenges with this virus."

Britain overtook Italy this week to report the highest official death toll

from coronavirus in Europe.

The United Kingdom's four nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland have collaborated closely on policies and strategies during the

pandemic with all the countries moving together on their lockdown plans.

RESUMING TRAVEL, POMPEO TO RALLY BEHIND ISRAEL COALITION GOVERNMENT

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel in a show of support

for the new coalition government, resuming travel after a coronavirus

suspension, the State Department announced Friday.

The top U.S. diplomat and staunch supporter of Israel will meet Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his centrist rival turned partner Benny

Gantz in Jerusalem on May 13, the day the government is expected to be sworn

in.

The trip comes as President Donald Trump's administration gives its blessing

to Netanyahu's plans to annex much of the occupied West Bank, despite

warnings from the Palestinians that the move will kill the prospects of a

long-term peace agreement.

Mr. Pompeo will "discuss US and Israeli efforts to fight the COVID-19

pandemic, as well as regional security issues related to Iran's malign

influence," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

"The US commitment to Israel has never been stronger than under President

Trump's leadership," she said.

Mr. Pompeo becomes one of the first major officials around the world to

resume travel amid a gradual reopening following the coronavirus lockdown.

LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN U.S. CONGRESS TO GIVE GREEN CARDS TO FOREIGN

NURSES AND DOCTORS

U.S. lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to give unused

green cards or permanent legal residency status to thousands of foreign

nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare

sector in the country.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green

cards that were approved by Congress but unused in past years, allowing

thousands of additional medical professionals to serve permanently in the

United States.

The legislation would send green cards to 25,000 nurses and 15,000 doctors

during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that places like Iowa have the

professionals they need to serve patients for years to come, a media release

said.

The move is likely to benefit a large number of Indian nurses and doctors,

who are either on H-1B or J2 visas.

"Physicians fighting COVID-19 are eager to hear these words: reinforcements

are on the way. Recapturing 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians

through the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would ease the burden on

frontline physicians, who are risking their lives in understaffed

hospitals," said Patrice A Harris, president of the American Medical

Association.

U.S. PULLS OUT PATRIOT MISSILE BATTERIES FROM SAUDI ARABIA

The U.S. is pulling out four of its powerful Patriot missile systems from

Saudi Arabia, after determining that the threat from Iran that sparked an

arms buildup in the region last year had waned, a Defense Department

official said on Thursday.

Two of the anti-missile batteries deployed following the September attacks

on Saudi oil installations "are now leaving," the official said on condition

of anonymity.

Tehran and Houthi-backed rebels in Yemen were blamed for the combination

rocket and drone attack which left two of state oil giant Aramco's

processing facilities - one in Khurais and another in Abqaiq - heavily

damaged, roughly halving Saudi Arabia's oil production.

Two other batteries had been kept in the region in March following an attack

by pro-Iran factions on the Iraqi base of Taji, north of Baghdad. Two

Americans and one British soldier were killed in the attack.

"I think everyone knew it was going to be a temporary plus-up at the time,

unless things got bad, " the official said. "Things did not get bad, so they

had to go."

EU AGREES FIRST PART OF CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESCUE, BUT JOB NOT DONE YET

Euro zone governments gave their final approval on Friday to the first part

of a 540 billion-euro rescue plan for states hit hard by the coronavirus

pandemic, although other elements of the rescue package have yet to be

agreed on.

Finance ministers of the 19-nation region signed off on the details of

cheap, long-term credit lines that will be made available by the European

Stability Mechanism (ESM), the bloc's rescue fund, to countries that need

cash to cover extraordinary health costs caused by the outbreak.

However, it was unclear whether the money will be used by Italy, the country

that most needs the loans, because of its high debt-servicing costs and the

severity of the outbreak there, which has killed more people than in any

other European state but Britain.

The loans will be made available in the coming weeks, pending procedural

approvals, and until the end of 2022.

Countries still need to finalise the other two legs of the rescue package

worth another 300 billion euros combined: a temporary employment-support

scheme and a guarantee fund that would provide liquidity to companies hit by

the crisis. Final deals on these tools are expected by the end of the month.

Much more difficult appears to be the establishment of a recovery fund which

could be worth 1 trillion euros and could provide grants and loans to help

states revive their economies after the crisis.

"We are really at a crossroads. Either we are able to have a strong common

response, but we are not there yet, or the entire project is at stake," EU

economics commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday, calling for the

establishment in autumn of a separate recovery fund.

Countries remain divided over the way this fund would work and on whether it

should also issue grants in addition to loans, with the Netherlands leading

a group opposed to the idea of grants.

BRAZIL'S AMAZON: SURGE IN DEFORESTATION AS MILITARY PREPARES TO DEPLOY

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose sharply last month as the

country prepared to send troops to try to curb illegal logging and mining.

Brazil's space research agency said the area destroyed in April was 64%

bigger than in the same period last year.

In the first four months of 2020, destruction of the forest by illegal

loggers and ranchers rose 55%, it said.

Environmentalists say President Jair Bolsonaro's policies and rhetoric

encourage illegal activity.

Mr Bolsonaro denies this. Earlier this week he authorised the deployment of

armed forces to the region.

The Amazon rainforest is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of

global warming.

Between January and April, a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said.

Conservation groups said that, since the coronavirus outbreak began, fewer

government enforcement agents had been deployed.

US JOB LOSSES SHOOT UP TO RECORD 14.7% IN APRIL

Unemployment in the United States climbed to a record 14.7% in April, the

month the Covid-19 pandemic peaked forcing state and local governments

around the country to shut down all but essential services. An unprecedented

20.5 million people were left jobless that month, according to new data

released Friday.

It's been the worst since World War II, a grim milestone as the world

celebrated VE Day to commemorate the surrender of Nazi forces in Europe on

May 8, 1945. The previous record of job losses 10.4%, was all the way back

in 1948, more than half a century ago; and it's the steepest monthly drop

since 1939.

An estimated 33.5 million people have filed for unemployments benefits in

the past six weeks since the lockdowns went into effect mid-March, according

to weekly data released Thursday; the peak was 6.9 million in late March.

"Today's report reflects the massive impact that measures to contain the

coronavirus have had on the American workforce," Eugene Scalia, the US

labour secretary said in a statement. "This employment situation is

exceptionally fluid. We know that today's data reflect neither the

additional layoffs that occurred in late April and early May, nor the

employees beginning to return to work in some States. We also know that, by

re-opening safely, we have the capacity to avoid permanent job losses for

the overwhelming percent of Americans who, the report shows, currently view

their job loss as temporary."

President Donald Trump tried to strike a positive note, saying the economy

will bounce back. "Those jobs will all be back and they'll be back very

soon," he said in an interview to Fox News, slipping on his cheerleader hat,

as he has often said he does. He added the next year will be "a phenomenal

year".