'A GREAT DAY FOR GEORGE FLOYD,' SAYS TRUMP AS HE HAILS STRONG JOBS REPORT

FOR US            

President Donald Trump on Friday declared it was "a great day" for George

Floyd as he discussed a strong jobs report for the country and efforts to

bring about racial equality. Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential

nominee, said Trump's comments about Floyd were "despicable."

Trump's comments about Floyd came as he shifted from discussing a drop in

the unemployment rate to say everyone deserved "equal treatment in every

encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race, color, gender or creed."

"We all saw what happened last week. We can't let that happen," Trump said.

"Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing

that's happening for our country." He added: "This is a great day for him.

It's a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a

great, great day in terms of equality."

Trump spoke shortly after the government said the unemployment rate had

dropped to 13.3%, better than expected but still on par with Great

Depression-era levels of joblessness. He offered the data as evidence that

the nation had overcome the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and had begun

an economic comeback.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said some news outlets

had "purposely misreported" the president's comments to insinuate that Floyd

would be pleased about the positive jobs numbers. He said Trump was

referencing the "national conversation" that followed Floyd's death and

"Americans coming together on the belief that everyone should be treated

equally under the law."

"The sentences that preceded and followed the president's sentiments about

Mr. Floyd made the context crystal clear," Murtaugh said. "Media claims that

the president said that Mr. Floyd would be praising the economic news are

wrong, purposefully misrepresented, and maliciously crafted."

FACEBOOK WILL START LABELING PAGES AND POSTS FROM STATE-CONTROLLED MEDIA

Facebook will start labeling the pages, posts and advertisements of

state-controlled media outlets, the company announced Thursday.

The labels will immediately start appearing on pages belonging to outlets

such as state-run Russia Today and China's Xinhua. Starting next week, users

in the United States will start to see the label appear on these outlets'

individual posts - labels that will eventually be introduced in other

countries.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, told CNN Business in

an interview on Thursday that the company is taking such an approach so

users know more about where their information is coming from.

"The concern for us is state media combines the agenda setting power of a

media entity with the strategic backing of a state," Gleicher said. "If

you're reading coverage of a protest, it's really important you know who is

writing that coverage and what motivation they have. The goal of this is to

ensure the public will see and understand who is behind it."

Facebook first announced plans for the labels in December, but the rollout

comes as state-controlled media outlets, particularly from countries such as

China and Russia, have been muddying the waters around the coronavirus

pandemic and unrest over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police.

State media outlets, especially in China, have seized upon the recent

protests in the past week, questioning why some American officials praise

Hong Kong protesters while criticizing US protesters.

Later this summer, Facebook will also block state-controlled media outlets

from running advertisements in the United States, "out of an abundance of

caution" ahead of the US election in November, Gleicher said.

EU WANTS BORDERS FREE OF VIRUS RESTRICTIONS BY END OF JUNE

Europe could have its free travel zone up and running again by the end of

this month, but travellers from further afield will not be allowed in before

July, a European Union commissioner said Friday after talks among the bloc's

interior ministers.

Panicked by Italy's coronavirus outbreak in February, countries in the

26-nation Schengen travel zone - where people and goods move freely without

border checks - imposed border restrictions without consulting their

neighbours to try to keep the disease out. The moves caused massive border

traffic jams and blocked medical equipment.

Free movement is a jewel in Europe's crown that helps its businesses

flourish and many European officials feared that the very future of the

Schengen area was under threat from coronavirus travel restrictions. These

added to border pressures already caused by the arrival in Europe of well

over 1 million migrants in 2015.

"I personally believe that we will return to a full functioning of the

Schengen area and freedom of movement of citizens no later than the end of

the month of June," European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson

said Friday after the video-conference meeting.

All but essential travel into Europe from the outside is restricted until

June 15, but many ministers suggested Friday that they want this deadline

extended until early July.

CORONAVIRUS: WHO ADVISES TO WEAR MASKS IN PUBLIC AREAS

The World Health Organization (WHO) has changed its advice on face masks,

saying they should be worn in public to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

The global body said new information showed they could provide "a barrier

for potentially infectious droplets".

Some countries around the world already recommend or mandate the wearing of

face coverings in public.

The WHO had previously argued there was not enough evidence to say that

healthy people should wear masks.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead expert on Covid-19, told

Reuters news agency the recommendation was for people to wear a "fabric mask

- that is, a non-medical mask".

The organisation said its new guidance had been prompted by studies over

recent weeks. "We are advising governments to encourage that the general

public wear a mask," Dr Van Kerkhove said.

At the same time, the WHO stressed that face masks were just one of a range

of tools that could be used to reduce the risk of transmission - and that

they should not give people a false sense of protection.

"Masks on their own will not protect you from Covid-19," said WHO

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

G20 PLEDGES MORE THAN $21 BILLION TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS

The Group of 20 rich and emerging economies has pledged more than $21

billion to fight the coronavirus, the group said early on Saturday.

"The G20, with invited countries, has coordinated the global efforts to

support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, G20 members and

invited countries have pledged over US$21 billion to support funding in

global health," the group said in a statement.

The pledges will be directed towards diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics,

and research and development, the statement added.

In April the group called on all countries, non-governmental organisations,

philanthropies and the private sector to help close a financing gap

estimated at over $8 billion to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair has pledged $500 million to support

global efforts to combat the pandemic. It said then it would allocate $150

million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150

million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, and $200

million to other health organisations and programmes.

At least 391,108 people have died globally from COVID-19 and more than 6.68

million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus.

GLOBAL VACCINE INITIATIVE GETS $8.8 BILLION BOOST

Governments around the world on Thursday pledged $8.8 billion for global

vaccines alliance Gavi to help immunisation programmes disrupted by

coronavirus, prompting calls for global cooperation to ensure a potential

Covid-19 vaccine is available to all.

The online meeting beat a target to raise $7.4 billion to provide vaccines

at a much reduced cost to 300 million children worldwide over the next five

years.

More than 50 countries took part as well as individuals such as billionaire

philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation pledged $1.6 billion.

Gavi also launched a new initiative to purchase potential Covid-19 vaccines,

scale-up production and support delivery to developing nations, which raised

$567 million in seed money.

"Together, we rise to fulfil the greatest shared endeavour of our

lifetimes-the triumph of humanity over disease," said British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson, who hosted the summit.

"Today we make the choice to unite, to forge a path of global cooperation."

TWITTER DISABLES TRUMP CAMPAIGN'S GEORGE FLOYD VIDEO TRIBUTE

Twitter has blocked a Trump campaign video tribute to George Floyd over a

copyright claim, in a move that adds to tensions between the social media

platform and the U.S. president, one of its most widely followed users.

The company put a label on a video posted by the @TeamTrump account that

said, "This media has been disabled in response to a claim by the copyright

owner." The video was still up on President Donald Trump's YouTube channel

and includes pictures of Floyd, whose death sparked widespread protests, at

the start.

"Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to

us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives," Twitter said

in a statement. It did not say who made the complaint.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, took the video down later on Friday. "We

received a copyright complaint from the creator under the Digital Millennium

Copyright Act and have removed the post," Facebook said in a statement.

YouTube did not respond to a request for comment.

The three minute and 45 second clip is a montage of photos and videos of

peaceful marches and police officers hugging protesters interspersed with

some scenes of burning buildings and vandalism, set to gentle piano music

and Trump speaking.

EU, UK STILL AT LOGGERHEADS IN POST-BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS

With the deadline for a possible extension of the Brexit transition period

looming, a fourth round of talks on a future trade deal between the European

Union and the UK ended Friday without result.

Following four days of video discussions between officials from the two

teams of negotiators, the sides remained at loggerheads on many topics,

including on regulations for businesses. Their positions on fisheries remain

distant, with the UK opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British

waters.

"There was no significant progress this week," the EU chief negotiator

Michel Barnier said during a press conference.

The UK left the political institutions of the EU on January 31 but remains

inside the EU's tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of

the year. That so-called transition period can be extended by two years to

allow more time for a satisfying compromise, yet a request to do so has to

be made by July 1. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he won't

be asking for a delay.

The best hope for a quick breakthrough now rests on a high-level political

meeting between Johnson and the EU's top official, Ursula Von der Leyen,

scheduled for later this month.

FREEZE SALARIES TO CUT PUBLIC DEBT: IMF TO PAK

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked cash-strapped Pakistan to

freeze salaries of government employees and adhere to the fiscal

consolidation path by showing a nominal primary deficit in the new budget

due to the unsustainable public debt that is set to hit 90 per cent of the

total value of the national economy.

Pakistan is finding it hard to concede to the two demands but the IMF is

insisting that the country should continue to follow the fiscal

consolidation path due to the high public debt, the Express Tribune reported

on Friday.

The government is resisting the demand due to high inflation that has eroded

people's real income. Nonetheless, it is inclined to abolish over 67,000

posts that have remained vacant for over one year and is also ready to

further squeeze current expenditures.

AL-QAEDA CHIEF IN NORTH AFRICA ABDELMALEK DROUKDEL KILLED - FRANCE

France says it has killed the leader of al-Qaeda in north Africa, Abdelmalek

Droukdel, in an operation in Mali.

Defence Minister Florence Parly said Droukdel along with members of his

inner circle had been killed in the north of the country on Wednesday.

French forces had also captured a senior Islamic State group commander in

Mali in an operation in May, she said.

The "daring operations" had dealt "severe blows to the terrorist groups",

she said.

"Our forces, in co-operation with their partners in the Sahel, will continue

to hunt them relentlessly," she said.

As head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Droukdel was in charge of

all affiliates in north Africa and also commanded al-Qaeda's Sahel

affiliate, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

The captured Islamic State group commander, Mohamed Mrabat, was a veteran

jihadist and had a senior role in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara

(ISGS) group, Ms Parly said. He was caught on 19 May, she added.

'STAND UP TO TRUMP!' CANADA PROTESTERS SHOUT TO TRUDEAU WHO KNEELS AT

ANTI-RACISM RALLY

Canadian protesters chanted "Stand up to Trump!" to Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau as he joined thousands at an anti-racism rally on Friday and took a

knee alongside protesters.

Trudeau, wearing a black mask and surrounded by bodyguards, made a surprise

appearance at the "No justice = No peace" rally in front of Parliament. His

appearance came a day after police shot and killed an indigenous woman

during a wellness check in eastern Canada.

Demonstrations were held in other Canadian cities on Friday, including

Toronto, where hundreds walked downtown in protests sparked by the death of

George Floyd, an unarmed black man, while in police custody in Minnesota.

Trudeau three times took a knee alongside other protesters, a gesture used

to protest against police brutality and the treatment of African-Americans

by police. Afterward, several people thanked Trudeau for kneeling.

Trudeau did not speak at the rally Friday and left as the protesters began a

march to the US Embassy, near the Parliament building.

U.S. SEEKS 'FULL ACCOUNTING' OF TIANANMEN MASSACRE

The White House said on Thursday that China's "slaughter" of protesters in

Tiananmen Square in 1989 has not been forgotten, urging Beijing to give its

first accurate accounting of the bloodshed.

"The Chinese Communist Party's slaughter of unarmed Chinese civilians was a

tragedy that will not be forgotten," President Donald Trump's Press

Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. "The United States calls on

China to honour the memory of those who lost their lives and to provide a

full accounting of those who were killed, detained, or remain missing in

connection with the events surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre on June

4, 1989." Beijing's city government claimed weeks after the crackdown that

around 200 people had died, the vast majority soldiers, with only 36

university students killed. China's Central government has never released a

full official toll, but estimates have put the figure between several

hundred to over 1,000.

Open discussion of the brutal suppression is forbidden in mainland China. In

Hong Kong, where Beijing is tightening its central rule, a mass vigil to

mark the anniversary was banned, though tens of thousands of people defied

the decision.

China on Friday accused the U.S. of hypocrisy. "The U.S. has always bragged

about so-called democracy and human rights, but the facts repeatedly show

that the U.S. record in this area is full of stains," Foreign Ministry

spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing. He said Washington should

"put its own house in order" and defended China's political system.

ARCTIC CIRCLE OIL SPILL: RUSSIAN PROSECUTORS ORDER CHECKS AT PERMAFROST

SITES

Russian prosecutors have ordered checks at "particularly dangerous

installations" built on permafrost after a huge oil spill in the Arctic.

An emergency was declared after 20,000 tonnes of diesel leaked into a river

when a tank at a power plant near the city of Norilsk collapsed last Friday.

Initial Russian inquiries suggest ground subsidence as the cause.

The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, which is the world's

leading nickel and palladium producer.

Delays over reporting the collapse prompted criticism from President

Vladimir Putin and the power plant's director, Vyacheslav Starostin, has

been taken into custody.

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case over

pollution and alleged negligence.

Arctic permafrost has been melting in exceptionally warm weather for this

time of year.

Russia's chief prosecutor, Igor Krasnov, gave orders for regional and

environmental prosecutors to conduct a "thorough check" of "particularly

dangerous installations" located on "territories exposed to permafrost

melting".

The aim is to prevent a repeat of the incident at the plant near Norilsk.

The effectiveness of state monitoring would also be assessed, he said.