REQUIRE US TO MEET US HALFWAY: CHINA ON TRUMP`S THREAT TO CUT OFF TIES

China on Friday reacted guardedly to US President Donald Trump's threat to

"cut off" the bilateral relationship between the world's top two economies

and asked America to meet it halfway in the fight against the coronavirus.

Relations between the two countries nosedived after the coronavirus

outbreak, which originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and

spread to other parts of the world.

The pandemic has claimed over 85,000 lives in the US, the highest in the

world.

Trump, who has been pressing China to agree for an inquiry into the origin

of the virus, including the allegation that it emerged from a bio-lab in

Wuhan, further hardened his rhetoric on Thursday by threatening to cut off

US ties with Beijing.

Reacting to Trump's threat, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian

reacted guardedly, saying that the relationship is in the fundamental

interest of the two countries.

"To maintain the steady development of China-US relations is in the

fundamental interests of the people in both countries, and is conducive to

world peace and stability," Zhao said.

"At present, China and the US should continue to strengthen cooperation

against the epidemic, defeat the epidemic as soon as possible, treat

patients, and restore economy and production. But it requires the US to meet

halfway with China," Zhao said.

BOLSONARO'S LOVE FOR HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE COSTS BRAZIL ANOTHER HEALTH MINISTER

Brazil's health minister resigned on Friday after less than a month on the

job in a sign of continuing upheaval in the nation's battle with the

COVID-19 pandemic and President Jair Bolsonaro's pressure for the nation to

prioritize the economy over health-driven lockdowns.

Nelson Teich's resignation was confirmed by the Health Ministry.

The oncologist, a former health care consultant, took the job on April 17

under pressure to align the ministry's actions with the president's view

that the economy must not be destroyed by restrictions to control spread of

the virus.

Officials say that more than 13,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil,

though some experts say the figure is significantly higher due to

insufficient testing, and analysts say the peak of the crisis has yet to hit

Latin America's largest nation.

Mr. Teich's number two, General Eduardo Pazuello, who had no health

experience until joining the ministry in April, will be the interim minister

until Mr. Bolsonaro chooses a permanent replacement Mr. Teich's resignation

comes one day after Mr. Bolsonaro told business leaders in a video

conference he would ease rules for use of an antimalaria drug to treat

people infected with the coronavirus.

The outgoing health minister has frequently called the use of chloroquine an

uncertainty in the fight against the virus, and this week warned of its side

effects.

CORONAVIRUS: TRUMP SAYS US REOPENING 'VACCINE OR NO VACCINE'

President Donald Trump has promised the US will reopen "vaccine or no

vaccine", as he announced an objective to deliver a coronavirus jab by year

end.

He likened the vaccine project, dubbed "Operation Warp Speed", to the World

War Two effort to produce the world's first nuclear weapons.

But Mr Trump made clear that even without a vaccine, Americans must begin to

return to their lives as normal.

Many experts doubt that a coronavirus jab can be developed within a year.

President Donald Trump has promised the US will reopen "vaccine or no

vaccine", as he announced an objective to deliver a coronavirus jab by year

end.

He likened the vaccine project, dubbed "Operation Warp Speed", to the World

War Two effort to produce the world's first nuclear weapons.

But Mr Trump made clear that even without a vaccine, Americans must begin to

return to their lives as normal.

Many experts doubt that a coronavirus jab can be developed within a year.

U.S. ADDS NEW SANCTION ON CHINESE TECH GIANT HUAWEI

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to cut ties with China

over its role in the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), as the global

death toll from the disease topped 3,00,000.

The Trump administration also said on Friday that it would restrict the

ability of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which it considers a national

security risk, to develop semiconductors abroad with U.S. technology. "This

announcement cuts off Huawei's efforts to undermine U.S. export controls,"

the Commerce Department said in a statement. The department said it would

"narrowly and strategically target Huawei's acquisition of semiconductors

that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology".

Huawei has been under relentless pressure from the Washington, which has

lobbied allies worldwide to avoid the company's telecom gear over security

concerns. Washington last year said it would blacklist Huawei from the U.S.

market and from buying crucial American components, though it has extended a

series of reprieves to allow U.S. businesses that work with Huawei time to

adjust. On Friday it extended this reprieve by another 90 days.

TRUMP UNVEILS SPACE FORCE FLAG, SAYS US BUILDING 'SUPER-DUPER MISSILE'

President Donald Trump unveiled the official flag for his Space Force at the

White House on Friday, touting American military might including the

development of what he called "the super-duper missile."

Trump said the U.S. is "building right now incredible military equipment,"

including a missile that would travel faster than any other in the world "by

a factor of almost three."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed his country has already

developed and fielded a hypersonic nuclear missile ahead of the U.S. The

Pentagon has been working on the technology.

Later Friday, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman, tweeted that "the

Department of Defense is working on developing a range of hypersonic

missiles to counter our adversaries."

Trump's enthusiasm for Space Force has drawn sporadic criticism and provided

fodder for comedians. A satirical Netflix series, "Space Force," debuts

later this month, starring Steve Carell and John Malkovich.

The Pentagon's budget allocated funding for the force, including

"space-related weapons systems and operations." The Space Force's

procurement budget is projected to reach $4.7 billion by fiscal year 2025.

CHINA CALLS ON U.S. TO PAY ITS DEBTS TO THE UNITED NATIONS

China on Friday issued a statement calling on all U.N. member states to

"actively fulfill their financial obligations to the United Nations,"

stressing that Washington owes the organization more than $2 billion.

"As of May 14, the total unpaid assessments under the U.N. regular budget

and peacekeeping budget amount to 1.63 billion and 2.14 billion U.S. dollars

respectively," the Chinese statement said, citing a report from U.N.

Secretary-General's office and a meeting held on Thursday.

Including arrears that stretch back several years, "the United States is the

largest debtor, owing 1.165 billion and 1.332 billion U.S. dollars

respectively," China added.

The US mission to the UN dismissed the call, saying China is "eager to

distract attention from its cover-up and mismanagement of the COVID-19

crisis, and this is yet another example."

It continued: "The United States recently made a payment of $726 million

toward its peacekeeping assessment, and per practice will pay the bulk of

its assessment at the end of the calendar year."

It said the total peacekeeping arrears was $888 million, adding: "Roughly

two-thirds of this amount is the result of payment at the rate of 25 percent

from 2017 through the present."

On Thursday, around 50 of the 193 member states, including China, paid their

contributions in full, which Beijing -- the second largest contributor, far

behind the United States -- noted in its statement.

SLOVENIA CALLS AN END TO ITS CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC, RELAXES SOME BORDER

CONTROLS

The Slovenian government late on May 14 called an official end to its

coronavirus epidemic, becoming the first European country to do so, after

authorities confirmed less than seven new coronavirus cases each day for the

past two weeks.

People now arriving in Slovenia from other European Union states will no

longer be obliged to go into a quarantine for at least seven days as was the

case from early April, the government said in a statement.

The country of 2 million people, which borders Italy, Austria, Hungary and

Croatia, has so far reported 1,464 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths. It

declared an epidemic on March 12.

"Slovenia has tamed the epidemic over the past two months... Today Slovenia

has the best epidemiologic picture in Europe," Prime Minister Janez Jansa

told parliament earlier on May 14.

The end of epidemic means some measures, including financial aid to citizens

and firms hit by the coronavirus, will expire at the end of May.

NEPAL TO PUBLISH NEW POLITICAL MAP

In a tit for tat move, Nepal will publish a new political map asserting its

claim over the Kalapani region that has been at the centre of a simmering

territorial dispute with India. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari announced the

decision before the Nepali Parliament on Friday as part of proceedings of

the Budget session.

"Nepali government is fully committed to the protect the territory of the

country. Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh belong to Nepal and appropriate

diplomatic measures will be adopted to resolve existing issues with India.

We will publish the map which will also include the relevant territory,"

said President Bhandari in her speech delivered in Nepali.

The announcement of a new map is being viewed as a response to India's

publication of a new political map in 2019, which depicted the newly formed

Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The same map had

triggered the border row with Nepal as it showed the tri-junction territory

of Kalapani as part of the state of Uttarakhand.

Nepal on Thursday set up an armed border outpost in the westernmost part of

the country, saying the outpost will be used for observation of Indian

activities and will be strengthened over time.

PAKISTAN'S ANTI-GRAFT BODY APPROVES FILING OF 2 MORE CORRUPTION REFERENCES

AGAINST NAWAZ SHARIF

Pakistan's anti-graft agency has approved the filing of two additional

corruption references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the

accountability court.

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) regional board, under the

chairmanship of its Director General Shahzad Saleem, convened here on

Friday.

The board discussed the additional corruption references against 69-year-old

Nawaz, his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz and 13

others in money laundering and possession of assets beyond known sources of

income investigations.

Similarly, the board has also approved filing another reference against

Nawaz Sharif, Geo Media Group founder Mir Shakilur Rahman and two others in

a 54-kanal land case.

NAB-Lahore has forwarded both references to its chairman justice (R) Javed

Iqbal for his final approval before filing it in the accountability court.

The references against the Sharif family members in the two cases will be

filed in the accountability court, Lahore, next week after the approval of

the NAB chairman, an official told PTI.