TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO BLOCK CHINESE AIRLINES FROM US

The Trump administration moved Wednesday to block Chinese airlines from

flying to the U.S. in an escalation of trade and travel tensions between the

two countries.

The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of

four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June 16.

The decision was a response to China's failure to let United Airlines and

Delta Air Lines resume flights this week to China, which were suspended

earlier this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic that started in

China's Wuhan province.

The Transportation Department said that China was violating an agreement

between the two countries covering flights by each other's airlines.

"The Department will continue to engage our Chinese counterparts so both

U.S. and Chinese carriers can fully exercise their bilateral rights,'' the

agency said in a statement. "In the meantime, we will allow Chinese carriers

to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese

government allows ours.''

The department said President Donald Trump could put the order into effect

before June 16.

GEORGE FLOYD DEATH | FOUR MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICERS FACE CHARGES

New charges have been announced against all of the sacked police officers

present at the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The charge against Derek Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder,

court documents show.

The other three officers, previously uncharged, face counts of aiding and

abetting murder.

Floyd's death has sparked huge protests across the US against racism and the

police killings of black Americans.

The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been

peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed in a

number of cities.

Announcing the new charges, Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison said

that they were in the interests of justice.

Derek Chauvin had initially faced charges of third-degree murder and

second-degree manslaughter. These will stay on his charge sheet.

The other three sacked officers are Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou

Thao. They all face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and

aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said on Twitter that the latest charges were

"another important step for justice".

BRITISH PM BORIS JOHNSON OFFERS VISAS FOR MILLIONS IN HONG KONG

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would offer millions

of Hong Kong residents visas and a possible route to U.K. citizenship if

China persists with its national security law.

"Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life - which China pledged to

uphold - is under threat," he wrote in an article for The Times newspaper

and the South China Morning Post.

"If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good

conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away; instead we will honour our

obligations and provide an alternative."

About 3,50,000 people in Hong Kong currently hold British National

(Overseas) passports, which allow visa-free access to Britain for up to six

months, Mr. Johnson wrote.

Another 2.5 million people would be eligible to apply for one.

"If China imposes its national security law, the British government will

change our immigration rules and allow any holder of these passports from

Hong Kong to come to the U.K. for a renewable period of 12 months and be

given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could

place them on a route to citizenship," he wrote.

Mr. Johnson said the Hong Kong law would "curtail its freedoms and

dramatically erode its autonomy". If implemented, "Britain would then have

no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the

people of Hong Kong", he wrote.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has further angered Beijing by

suggesting that it had time to "reconsider" the plan.

HONG KONG BELONGS TO CHINA: NEPAL

Nepal on Wednesday came out strongly in favour of the 'one China policy',

and said it considers Hong Kong to be an "integral" part of China.

"Nepal reiterates its 'one China policy' and considers Hong Kong as an

integral part of the People's Republic of China. Maintenance of peace, law

and order is a primary responsibility of a nation. Nepal believes in

non-interference in the internal affairs of any country and supports China's

efforts to maintain law and order in Hong Kong," said the official

spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu.

The official made the comment when asked about Kathmandu's position on the

controversial Chinese national security law, which critics say will end Hong

Kong's autonomy.

Beijing had urged countries, including India, to support the new law.

Pakistan has extended wholehearted support to Beijing's 'one China' policy

in the similar context.

The government of Nepal entered into an agreement to target "criminals" and

anti-China activists during President Xi Jinping's Kathmandu visit in

October 2019. The move was seen as a step towards signing of extradition

treaty with Beijing that would allow Beijing to arrest Tibetan activists and

critics of China visiting Nepal. Wednesday's support is also timely as it

strengthens China's position in an ongoing diplomatic row with the U.K. over

Hong Kong's future.

CORONAVIRUS: ITALY'S CONTE OFFERS HOPE AS TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS END

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte offered a hopeful message as the

country moved to its final stage in easing lockdown restrictions.

"We deserve to smile, to be cheerful, after weeks of great sacrifice," he

said on Wednesday.

He added that now was the time for the country to enact economic reforms.

With more than 33,600 fatalities and almost 234,000 cases since the

coronavirus outbreak began, Italy has been one of the hardest-hit countries.

Only the US and the UK have recorded higher death tolls.

Mr Conte's comments came the same day as the country entered its final phase

in easing lockdown restrictions, allowing domestic travel between regions

and opening its international borders.

"This crisis must be an opportunity to overcome structural problems and

redesign the country," Mr Conte said. "We have to deal with the economic and

social emergency."

The prime minister said the government was working to speed up social

payments and pledged "a serious tax reform".

ASIAN COUNTRIES TIGHTENING CENSORSHIP: UN

The UN rights chief warned on Wednesday that China and other Asian countries

were using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to clamp down on free

expression and tighten censorship.

Michelle Bachelet expressed alarm over how censorship had been tightened in

several countries, along with arbitrary arrests of people who criticise

their governments. "Arrests for expressing discontent or allegedly spreading

false information through the press and social media, have been reported in

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the

Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam," she said.

Stalled vaccine programmes 'put children's lives at risk'

Millions of children could die from preventable disease because of severe

disruptions to vaccination programmes caused by coronavirus, experts warn.

At least 68 countries have been affected - with some stopping vaccination

campaigns completely.

The World Health Organization advised many countries to suspend vaccinations

to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

But now it is one of several groups expressing concern about the long-term

impact.

United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the Sabin Vaccine Institute and

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are also worried thousands of children every day

could die needlessly.

PUTIN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER SIBERIAN FUEL SPILL

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a state of emergency

and criticised a subsidiary of metals giant Norilsk Nickel after a massive

diesel spill into a Siberian river.

The spill of over 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel took place on Friday. A fuel

reservoir collapsed at a power plant near the city of Norilsk, located above

the Arctic Circle, and leaked into a nearby river.

During a video conference, Putin lambasted the head of the Norilsk Nickel

subsidiary that owns the power plant, NTEK, after officials said the company

failed to report the incident.

Putin said he agreed that a national state of emergency was needed to call

in more resources for the cleanup effort.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which deals with major crimes, announced

that it launched three criminal probes into the accident and detained an

employee of the power plant.

BIDEN CLOSES IN ON RACE WITH WINS IN 7 MORE STATES

Joe Biden is on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential

nomination after winning hundreds more delegates in primary contests on

Tuesday that tested the nation's ability to run elections while balancing a

pandemic and sweeping social unrest.

Mr. Biden could lock down the nomination within the next week as West

Virginia and Georgia hold primaries.

Mr. Biden and President Donald Trump easily swept their respective primary

contests.

Those voting included the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Montana,

New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Dakota. Two other States

holding primary elections on Tuesday, Idaho and Iowa, chose their nominee

early in the year.

Pennsylvania, which offered Tuesday's largest trove of delegates, also

represented a significant test case for Republicans and Democrats working to

strengthen their positions.

'EXTREME RACISTS THRONG EVEN TO WHITE HOUSE': NORTH KOREA ON PROTESTS IN US

North Korea on Thursday said the United States is in no position to

criticise China over Hong Kong or human rights when Washington threatens to

"unleash dogs" to suppress anti-racism protests at home.

In an article carried by one of North Korea's main state-run newspapers, an

unnamed spokesman for the international affairs department of the ruling

Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) criticised recent comments by U.S. Secretary

of State Mike Pompeo.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Pompeo said recent actions by the Chinese

Communist Party suggest it is "intent upon the destruction of Western ideas,

Western democracies, Western values" and "puts Americans at risk."

Pompeo's remarks on Hong Kong, Taiwan, human rights and trade disputes were

"nonsense" that slandered the leadership of the Communist Party of China

(CPC), the WPK spokesman said.

"Pompeo, who has been deeply engrossed in espionage and plot-breeding

against other countries, has become too ignorant to discern where the sun

rises and where it sets," the spokesman said.

Such statements by American leaders are a sign of their concerns about a

declining United States, he said, citing the ongoing protests against police

brutality.

"Demonstrators enraged by the extreme racists throng even to the White

House," the spokesman said. "This is the reality in the US today. American

liberalism and democracy put the cap of leftist on the demonstrators and

threaten to unleash even dogs for suppression."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said it was the first time the WPK

international affairs department had issued a statement of its own since

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in 2011.