POMPEO: CHINA MEASURE A ''DEATH KNELL'' FOR HONG KONG AUTONOMY

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday condemned China''s effort to take

over national security legislation in Hong Kong, calling it “a death knell

for the high degree of autonomy" that Beijing had promised the territory.

The measure, submitted Friday on the opening day of China''s national

legislative session, is strongly opposed by pro-democracy lawmakers in

semi-autonomous Hong Kong.

Pompeo weighed in as well, calling the proposal by China an effort to

“unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security legislation on Hong

Kong.”

“Hong Kong has flourished as a bastion of liberty. The United States

strongly urges Beijing to reconsider its disastrous proposal, abide by its

international obligations, and respect Hong Kong''s high degree of autonomy,

democratic institutions, and civil liberties, which are key to preserving

its special status under US law," Pompeo said in a statement.

He said the decision to ignore the will of the people of Hong Kong would be

a "death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong

Kong” under a decades-old agreement known as the Sino-British Joint

Declaration.

82 BODIES RECOVERED, MORE FEARED DEAD IN PAKISTAN PLANE CRASH WITH 99 ON

BOARD

At least 82 people were killed when a Pakistan International Airlines plane

with 99 people on board crashed into a densely populated residential area

near the Jinnah International Airport here on Friday, officials said, nearly

a week after the Covid-19-induced air travel restrictions were lifted by the

government.

Flight PK-8303 from Lahore crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model

Colony in Malir minutes before its landing in Karachi, they said.

The PIA Airbus A320 carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members has

crash-landed into the Jinnah Housing Society located near the airport, a

spokesperson of the national carrier said.

Thick black smoke rose from the accident scene in the Model Colony area.

Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho told the media late Friday night that 82

bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash so far.

It is, however, unclear if the deceased were all on board the flight or

include residents of the area where the crash took place.She said there are

two survivors including President of the Bank of Punjab Zafar Masood. He

called up his mother to inform her of his well-being.

Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Welfare Trust said that around 25 to 30 residents

whose houses were damaged by the plane have also been taken to the hospital,

mostly with burn wounds.

The cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed.

KHASHOGGI SONS' PARDON IS 'PARODY OF JUSTICE,' UN EXPERT SAYS

The decision of Jamal KhashoggiÂ’s family to forgive Saudis accused of his

murder was described as both shocking and anticipated by a United Nations

investigator who has said the former columnist was the victim of a “state

killing.”

“All of us who, over the last 20 months, have reported on the gruesome

execution of Jamal Khashoggi, and absence of accountability for his killing,

expected this,” Agnes Callamard, an expert on extrajudicial executions at

the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement

Friday. “The Saudi authorities are playing out what they hope will be the

final act in their well-rehearsed parody of justice in front of an

international community far too ready to be deceived.”

KhashoggiÂ’s family announced on Friday that they forgave the killers, a

decision likely to result in a legal reprieve to the five men sentenced to

death for the operation. “We, the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi,

announce that we forgive those who killed our father as we hope and seek

reward from God Almighty,” Salah Khashoggi, one of the writer’s sons, wrote

on Twitter.

A report by Callamard last year found that Saudi agents were recorded

discussing how to dismember KhashoggiÂ’s body several minutes before he had

entered the consulate in Istanbul, referring to him as a “sacrificial lamb.”

Callamard recommended further investigation into Prince Mohammed and his

adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, over the murder.

“A follow-up investigation must now be undertaken – an investigation focused

on the chain of command and associated individual liabilities, including at

the highest levels of the state,” she said on Friday. “Justice for Jamal

means that we as an international community must do all we can to prevent

and stop executions of journalists.”

CHINA SCRAPS GDP TARGET, HIKES DEFENCE SPENDING

China has for the first time in 30 years scrapped announcing an annual GDP

target, underlining the severe economic challenge facing the worldÂ’s second

largest economy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have not set a specific target for economic growth for the year, mainly

because the global epidemic situation, and economic and trade situation, are

very uncertain, and ChinaÂ’s development is facing some unpredictable

factors,” Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday at the start of the annual

session of the National PeopleÂ’s Congress (NPC), or Parliament.

The holding of the NPC has been seen in China as reflecting a return to some

normalcy after more than three months of lockdown following the outbreak in

Wuhan.

Mr. Li said rather than a target for growth, the focus would be on “ensuring

stability on the six fronts and security in the six areas”. The “six fronts”

were employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment,

domestic investment, and expectations, while the “six areas” referred to job

security, basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy

security, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of

primary-level governments.

The policy priority this year will be on job creation, with reports of

widespread job losses during the first quarter. Mr. Li announced a target

for 9 million new jobs in 2020.

China on Friday also announced it would hike defence spending by 6.6%, down

from 7.5% last year. This would bring the proposed military budget to around

$179 billion.

This yearÂ’s budget will lift ChinaÂ’s spending to around four times IndiaÂ’s

budget of $44 billion,.

CORONAVIRUS: QUARANTINE PLANS FOR UK ARRIVALS UNVEILED

People arriving in the UK must self-isolate for 14 days from 8 June to help

slow the spread of coronavirus, the government has said.

Travellers will need to tell the government where they will quarantine, with

enforcement through random spot checks and £1,000 fines in England.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the measure would "reduce the risk of cases

crossing our border".

Lorry drivers, seasonal farm workers, and coronavirus medics will be exempt.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said discussions would take place

with Police Scotland to work out how the policy will be implemented.

UK PM JOHNSON ORDERS FOR PLANS TO END RELIANCE ON CHINESE IMPORTS

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has instructed civil servants to make

plans to end UK's reliance on China for vital medical supplies and other

strategic imports in light of the coronavirus outbreak, The Times newspaper

reported on Friday.

The plans, which have been code named 'Project Defend', include identifying

Britain's main economic vulnerabilities to potentially hostile foreign

governments as part of a broader new approach to national security, the

newspaper reported, adding that the efforts are being led by Foreign

Secretary Dominic Raab.

Two working groups have been set up as part of the project, according to the

report, with one source telling The Times that the aim was to diversify

supply lines to no longer depend on individual countries for non-food

essentials.

Johnson told lawmakers he would take steps to protect Britain's

technological base, with the government review also expected to include

personal protective equipment and drugs, the report added.

CHINA'S WUHAN SAYS CONDUCTED 1,000,729 COVID-19 TESTS ON MAY 21

The city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in

China, conducted 1,000,729 nucleic acid tests on May 21, the local health

authority said on Friday, compared with 887,321 tests a day earlier.

Wuhan kicked off a campaign on May 14 to look for asymptomatic carriers -

infected people who show no outward sign of illness - after confirming on

May 9-10 its first cluster of Covid-19 infections since its release from a

virtual lockdown on April 8.

H-1B LEGISLATIONS INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS TO GIVE PRIORITY TO U.S.-EDUCATED

FOREIGN YOUTHS

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a legislation in both the

chambers of the U.S. Congress proposing major reforms in skilled

non-immigrant visa programmes by giving priority to U.S.-educated foreign

technology professionals in issuing H-1B work visas.

The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act, as introduced in House of Representatives

and Senate, will require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to

prioritise for the first time the annual allocation of H-1B visas.

The new system would ensure that the best and brightest students being

educated in the United States receive preference for an H-1B visa, including

advanced degree holders, those being paid a high wage, and those with

valuable skills, proponents of this major legislative reforms said Friday.

The legislation reinstates CongressÂ’s original intent in the H-1B and L-1

visa programmes by increasing enforcement, modifying wage requirements and

securing protections for both American workers and visa holders, the

lawmakers said.

Specifically, the bill would prohibit companies with more than 50 employees,

of which at least half are H-1B or L-1 holders, from hiring additional H-1B

employees.

FIGHT TO LIBERATE PALESTINE IS ISLAMIC DUTY: IRANÂ’S KHAMENEI

Iran’s supreme leader said it was an “Islamic duty” to fight for the

“liberation of Palestine” in a landmark speech on Friday amid rising

tensions with regional arch-enemy Israel.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at Western governments and their Arab

“puppets” for supporting the Jewish state, in his first ever address marking

Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

The 80-year-old leader also appeared to confirm for the first time that Iran

has helped to provide Palestinians with arms.

The remarks came at the end of a week that saw Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu launch a Twitter tirade against Mr. Khamenei and reports

that the two sides carried out cyberattacks on each other.

“The aim of this struggle is the liberation of the entire Palestinian land”

and “the return of all Palestinians to their country,” Mr. Khamenei said on

state television.

SAUDI ARABIA, UAE MOSQUES TO STAY CLOSED FOR EID PRAYERS

Mosques will remain closed for prayers on the Eid Al-Fitr festival, Saudi

and United Arab Emirates officials said on Friday, calling on the population

to adhere to safety guidelines to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Eid, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, may fall

on Saturday or Sunday in the Gulf region.

Saudi Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullatif al-Sheikh gave instructions not to

have Eid prayers in mosques, Saudi state TV quoted him as saying.

“Muslims will hold the Eid prayer at home because of the pandemic,” the

Saudi Press Agency cited Sheikh Abdul Bari al-Thubaiti, the imam, or the

prayer leader, of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, as saying in the Friday

sermon.