SOUTH KOREA TO CHARGE DEFECTOR GROUPS OVER ANTI-NORTH PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS

South Korea's government said Wednesday that it will press charges against

two activist groups that have been floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets and

bottles filled with rice to North Korea.

Any action against the groups is likely to trigger a debate over freedom of

expression in South Korea, and whether President Moon Jae-in's liberal

government is sacrificing democratic principles to keep alive his ambitions

for inter-Korean engagement.

The announcement by Seoul's Unification Ministry came a day after North

Korea said it was cutting off all communication channels with South Korea

over its inability to prevent North Korean defectors and other activists

from flying the leaflets across the border.

One of the targeted defector-activists condemned what he described as a

"treacherous" move by Seoul and vowed to launch even more leaflets across

the border in coming weeks, using not only balloons but also drones.

Yoh Sang-key, the ministry's spokesman, told reporters the two organizations

facing charges had "created tensions between the South and North and brought

danger to the lives and safety of (South Korean) residents in border areas."

The ministry said last week that the government would push new laws to ban

activists from flying the leaflets across the border, after the North

threatened to end an inter-Korean military agreement reached in 2018 to

reduce tensions if Seoul failed to prevent the protests.

CORONAVIRUS: PREPARE FOR NEXT PANDEMIC, EUROPE WARNED

Europe's main leaders have admitted they fell short against the coronavirus

outbreak and have urged countries to prepare for a potential second wave.

Germany, France and four other countries said Europe's chaotic response to

the COVID-19 outbreak, in which 184,256 people have died, has "raised

questions about the EU's preparedness for pandemics".

A letter by the leaders addressed to European Commission chief Ursula von

der Leyen is the clearest attempt yet by the EU's most powerful leaders to

spur the bloc's executive to fix the disunity displayed in the crisis,

especially in its earliest days.

"We hope that the paper can serve as an inspiration for fruitful, further

discussions at European level on how to ensure the EU's preparedness for

future pandemics," the leaders say.

As the global outbreak first took hold, member states looked inward,

shutting borders, hoarding medical supplies and waving through major

spending plans regardless of EU rules.

The letter to Ms von der Leyen was signed by French President Emmanuel

Macron, Germany's Angela Merkel, Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Spanish Prime

Minister Pedro Sanchez, Belgium's Sophie Wilmes and Mette Frederiksen of

Denmark.

The letter put a special emphasis on the shortages of desperately needed

medical supplies that were felt unevenly as the virus made its way across

the continent.

"Understanding the shortcomings is essential," the policy paper insisted.

"These include a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment, medical

devices, critical medicines, and vaccines."

The leaders also pressed Brussels to streamline data across the bloc so that

rates of infection and other key figures matched from one country to the

other.

The 27 leaders of the EU will hold virtual talks next Friday to discuss the

fallout of the crisis.

POST CORONAVIRUS, US IS ON ITS WAY TO A VERY BIG COMEBACK: TRUMP

Now that people are getting their jobs back and the stock market is booming

after the crisis triggered by coronavirus, the United States is on its way

to a "very big comeback", President Donald Trump has said.

"We are on our way to a very big comeback," Trump told reporters at the

White House on Wednesday.

The US, he said, is doing well in "so many ways".

"You see what's going on with NASDAQ. We just broke another record

yesterday. Some good news came out of the Federal Reserve today, I think

some very good news," the President said.

"We're really doing a financial comeback. The jobs numbers were fantastic.

Now we'll have some other job numbers come up over the next few weeks, and

we'll see how that goes, but I think it's really good," Trump said.

Trump asserted the next year will be "maybe the best ever economy" that the

US has seen.

"You can already see it with the stock market how it's been going up because

you have a lot of smart people that are betting on exactly what I'm saying

because the stock market is almost as high as it was prior to the plague

floating in from China," he said.

"It was a plague that floated in from China. Now they're learning that it

may have been much earlier, which bears out exactly what I've been saying.

You saw that word yesterday that it may have come in a lot sooner than we

were told," he added.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES SWEEPING ASYLUM RESTRICTIONS

The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed sweeping - though somewhat

vague - restrictions on asylum, seeking to align a legal framework with the

president's efforts to limit immigration to the United States.

The moves are only the latest in a series of measures that Trump has taken

to limit asylum - this time aimed at changing complicated procedures

governing immigration courts.

The Justice and Homeland Security departments said asylum-seekers who clear

initial screenings will have claims heard by an immigration judge in

"streamlined proceedings," replacing longstanding rules in immigration law.

They did not elaborate in a brief press release.

TRUMP REJECTS CALLS TO DROP CONFEDERATE BASE NAMES

US President Donald Trump says he will "not even consider" renaming military

bases named for Confederate generals.

He tweeted that the facilities were part of "a Great American heritage".

Mr Trump's remarks follow reports that top military officials were open to

changes amid nationwide soul-searching after the death of George Floyd.

For many, symbols of the Confederacy - the slaveholding southern states that

seceded, prompting the 1861-65 American Civil War - evoke a racist past.

Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday that bases named for Confederate generals

"have become part of a Great American heritage, a history of Winning,

Victory and Freedom".

He added: "The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on

these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration

will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military

Installations.

NO COLD WAR WITH CHINA: EU

The EU's chief diplomat said on Wednesday he had assured China's Foreign

Minister the bloc does not want a "cold war", as it accused Beijing of

waging a coronavirus disinformation campaign.

Brussels said China and Russia have sought to undermine European democracy

and burnish their own reputations during the pandemic with "targeted

influence operations and disinformation campaigns".

The unusually blunt accusation came in an official EU strategy paper for

tackling what officials say is a "flood" of false healthcare claims,

conspiracy theories, fraud and hate speech surrounding the pandemic.

The report was published on Wednesday, a day after EU foreign policy chief

Josep Borrell held video talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Mr. Borrell on Wednesday insisted the EU was "not starting anything" with

China, and said he had reassured Wang during their talks. "I told him:

'Don't worry, Europe is not going to embark on any kind of Cold War with

China'," Mr. Borrell said.

The report accuses Moscow and Beijing of "seeking to undermine democratic

debate and exacerbate social polarisation, and improve their own image in

the COVID-19 context".

Tensions rise ahead of a video summit later this month between EU and

Chinese leaders. EU-Chinese relations have hit a rocky patch as Brussels

struggles to calibrate its response to Beijing's growing assertiveness under

President Xi Jinping.

COVID-19: PAKISTAN RULES OUT ADOPTING WHO RECOMMENDATION

Pakistan's top health official on Wednesday asserted that the government is

following a "holistic" strategy to deal with the COVID-19 threat as he ruled

out adopting the WHO's recommendation of implementing a two-week strict

lockdown, intermittently, to stem the exponential spike in the coronavirus

cases.

Pakistan on Tuesday registered its highest single-day spike of coronavirus

cases with 5,387 new infections, taking the total tally to 113,702. The

deadly virus has so far claimed 2,255 lives.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said the

government is pursuing a "holistic strategy to combat the coronavirus".

The government, he said, is "conscious" of the disease spread and mortality

and has put in place "a very robust" national coordinating and

decision-making mechanism at the highest level.

"We have made best sovereign decisions in the best interest of our people.

We have to make tough policy choices to strike a balance between lives and

livelihoods," Mirza said.

He said Pakistan has consciously but gradually eased generalised lockdowns

but at the same time has focused on enforcement of standard operating

procedures (SOPs) in shops, industry, mosques and public transport.

In a letter to the Punjab health minister last week, the World Health

Organisation said the virus has spread all over the country, and a large

number of cases had been recorded in big cities. The cases had increased

sharply after the easing of lockdown. It ranks Pakistan among the top-10

most affected countries.

DOZENS KILLED AS SOUTH CHINA HIT BY FLOODS AND RAINSTORMS

Floods and mudslides in south China have uprooted hundreds of thousands of

people and left dozens dead or missing, state media reported Thursday.

The bad weather has wreaked havoc on popular tourist areas that had already

been battered by months of travel restrictions during the coronavirus

outbreak.

Torrential downpours unleashed floods and mudslides that caused nearly

230,000 people to be relocated and destroyed more than 1,300 houses,

official state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the Ministry of Emergency

Management.

Streets were waterlogged in popular tourist destination Yangshuo, forcing

residents and visitors to evacuate on bamboo rafts.

The local government said more than 1,000 hotels had been flooded and more

than 30 tourist sites damaged.

The extreme weather has dealt a hefty blow to the region's tourism sector,

which is still reeling from the COVID-19 epidemic.

The heavy downpours began at the beginning of June and have led to

"dangerously high water levels" in 110 rivers, Xinhua reported.

Further rainstorms are expected in the next few days across the south.

SRI LANKA TO HOLD GENERAL ELECTIONS ON AUGUST 5

Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections, which was postponed twice in the wake

of the coronavirus pandemic, will be held on August 5, Election Commission

Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said on Wednesday.

The general polls, in which about 16 million people are eligible to vote,

will be conducted as per health officials' guidelines, according to election

officials.

In the August 5 election, to be held across the island, a total of 196

legislators will be directly to the 225-member House, from the 25 districts.

As many as 29 will be appointed from the National List, nominated by the

parties based on their share of the national vote.