PRESIDENT BIDEN SAYS US, CHINA TIES SHOULD SEE A ‘THAW VERY SHORTLY’

Hiroshima: US President Joe Biden said Sunday that ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw "very shortly", after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon this year.

Biden said relations had deteriorated in the months following his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali in November.

Washington's decision in February to shoot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that overflew the United States sparked a diplomatic spat between the world's two largest economies.

A visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that had been billed as a chance to improve relations was cancelled over the incident.

On Sunday, at a press conference following the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden was asked why a planned hotline between the United States and China was not in operation.

"You're right, we should have an open hotline. At the Bali conference, that's what President Xi and I agreed we were going to do and meet on," he said.

"And then, this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars worth of spying equipment was flying over the United States," Biden added.

"It got shot down and everything changed in terms of talking to one another. I think you're going to see that begin to thaw very shortly."

Biden's administration has also infuriated China by targeting trade in advanced microchips, citing risks of military use.

The president defended those actions on Sunday, a day after the Group of Seven leading economies warned China over its "militarisation activities" in the region.

"It is building its military, and that's why I've made it clear that I am not prepared to trade certain items with China," he said.

"We've now got commitment from all of our allies that they're not going to do that either, provide that kind of material.

"But that's not a hostile act, that's an act that says, 'we're going to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain the status quo.'"

DEBT-LIMIT TALKS RESUME TODAY WITH BIDEN AND HOUSE REP. SPEAKER MCCARTHY MEETING

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet in person today as the govt races against a looming deadline to raise America’s debt limit before federal funds potentially run dry early next month.

The leaders spoke by phone Sunday as the president returned home on Air Force One after the G7 summit in Japan. McCarthy, Republican, told reporters at the Capitol that the call was “productive” and that the on-again, off-again negotiations would resume after it paused on Friday over “serious differences”. Both sides have said progress was being made but that they remain far apart.

McCarthy said after his call with Biden that “I think we can solve some of these problems if he understands what we’re looking at. ” The speaker added, “But I’ve been very clear to him from the very beginning. We have to spend less money than we spent last year. ”

Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said June 1 remains a ‘hard deadline’ for raising the US debt ceiling and warned that the US govt would be unable to pay its bills through the middle of next month if its standoff with Republicans is not resolved.

12 KILLED, 90 HURT IN STAMPEDE AT EL SALVADOR SOCCER STADIUM

Twelve people died and 90 others were injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium in El Salvador on Saturday, authorities said, turning ahighly anticipated match into a chaotic scene as fans rushed to save people suffocating under a mass of bodies.

Videos circulating on Twitter and published by local news media sites showed dozens of people clad in white appearing to rush toward an exit at the stadium, with some lying on the ground as more pile on top. It was not immediately clear what prompted the rush at Cuscatlan Stadium in San Salvador, where the firstleague soccer teams, Alianza Futbol Club and Club Deportivo FAS, were playing the second leg of a quarterfinal.

At a news conference Saturday night, the director of the national police in El Salvador said authorities were investigating a possible cause: The large number of people attending the game may have caused the stadium’s Wi-Fi to malfunction, which could have led to a problem with scanning QR codes on tickets. That problem, he said, may have led to hundreds of people being stuck at the southern gate ofthe stadium, trying to get in.

Police director Mauricio Arriaza Chicas said some fans had forced their way into the stadium. He said they would probe tickets sales for the game. Local news outlets have questioned whether too many tickets had been sold for the match. Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said “everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, ticket office, league, federation, etc. Whoever the culprits are, they won’t go unpunished”.

The tumult appears to have started 20 minutes into the game. On a livestream of thematch on YouTube, commentators said they could see commotion in the stands and that some people have lost consciousness. Fans stepped onto the field, and the game was suspended. Health minister Francisco Alabi shared photos on Twitter of the scene outside the stadium, with ambulances lined up in rows as fans stand beside the vehicles. Nine of the victims died at the stadium, and three died in hospitals, authorities said.

The soccer federation said it would “request a report,” and that all games would be cancelled on Sunday.

ZELENSKY PROMISED UKRAINE WON’T USE F-16S TO GO INTO RUSSIA: BIDEN

US President Biden announced on Sunday new military aid worth $375 million for Ukraine, saying the US would provide ammunition and armoured vehicles. That pledge came after the US agreed to allow training on American-made F-16 fighter jets, laying the groundwork for their eventual transfer to Ukraine.

At a news conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations are concluded a threeday summit, Biden said that he had received a “flat assurance” from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would not use Westernprovided F-16 fighter jets to go into Russian territory. Biden said that F-16 warplanes could be used “wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine and the area”. He also added that itwas “highly unlikely” the planes would be used in any Ukrainian offensive in the coming weeks, but that Ukrainian troops could need such weapons to defend themselves against Russian forces beyond their current reach. Biden vowed that the major powers would remain united behind Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, saying that Russia’s president, Vladimir . Putin, “will not break our resolve as he thought he would. ” “We have Ukraine’s back and we’re not going anywhere,” Biden said.

KYIV DISPUTES MOSCOW’S CLAIM OVER BAKHMUT

A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted Bakhmut "is not occupied" by Russia after a Moscow-backed mercenary group had claimed control.

Ukraine's president was speaking during a scene-stealing visit to Hiroshima, Japan, for the G7 summit.

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin had earlier claimed victory in Bakhmut.

But Ukrainian military sources told the BBC they still had control of a handful of buildings on the outskirts of the city.

At a press conference on the final day of the summit, Mr Zelensky refused to provide precise details. But he said the city, where the war's longest and bloodiest battle has raged since August, was "not occupied" by Russia "as of today".

"There are no two or three interpretations of those words," he added, after earlier confusion about his remarks on the status of the city.

It was in a video posted on Saturday that Wagner's Mr Prigozhin claimed his fighters - who have led the Russian assault on Bakhmut - were in full control of the city.

Mr Zelensky compared Bakhmut to Hiroshima, which was hit by an atomic bomb in World War Two, promising a similar "reconstruction" of his country.

He drew several parallels between Hiroshima and Ukraine, saying that pictures of the Japanese city in ruins after bombing reminded him of present-day Bakhmut. He vowed there would be a similar "reconstruction and recovery" of Ukraine.

"Now Hiroshima has rebuilt their city, and we dream of rebuilding our cities," he said.

MILITARY TRIAL PROCESS INITIATED AGAINST IMRAN’S RIOTING SUPPORTERS

Islamabad : Brushing aside the concerns of human rights groups, Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir has said that authorities have initiated a“legal process of trial” under stringent military laws against those involved in recent attacks on military installations following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Gen Munir made the disclosure on Saturday during his visit to the Punjab province capital Lahore, the worst hit city by the violent protests. He said the “legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 tragedy has commenced under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the constitution”.

GERMAN POLICE PROBING POISONING OF RUSSIAN EXILES

The German police are investigating the possible poisoning of exiled Russians after a journalist and an activist reported health problems following a Berlin meeting of dissidents, a spokesman for the force said on Sunday.

“An investigation has been opened,” he said.

Russian investigative media outlet Agentstvo this week published a report saying two participants who attended an April 29-30 meeting of Russian dissidents in Berlin experienced health problems.

The Berlin meeting was organised by exiled former oligarch-turned-Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. One participant, a journalist who had recently left Russia, experienced unspecified symptoms during the event. They said the symptoms may have started earlier.

GREEKS VOTE; NO OUTRIGHT POLL WINNER EMERGES

Athens : Greeks were voting on Sunday for a new government in a poll likely to be inconclusive, setting the stage for either a coalition administration or new elections in about a month’s time.

While opinion polls have placed the ruling conservative New Democracy party ahead, a change to the country’s electoral system means it is likely to fall short of an absolute majority. New Democracy, headed by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is polling between 31-38%, followed by opposition leftist Syriza, trailing by 4-7 points. They are competing for 300 seats in parliament. Pollsters say a party would need more than 45% to win outright, a feat not seen since the landslide wins of the late Socialist Andreas Papandreou in the 1980s and early1990S. Voting ends at 1600 GMT.

Acost of living crisis has taken centre stage in the campaign, with parties trying to woo voters with pledges to increase the minimum wage and create jobs. Should no party win outright, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will give the top three parties a threeday mandate each to form an administration.