US ENVOY SAYS CHINA HAS 'OBLIGATION' TO JOIN RUSSIA-US NUCLEAR ARMS TALKS

While the US is pushing for China to join its arms talks with Russia for a

'three-way' negotiation, the American negotiator Marshall Billingslea has

said Beijing has an "obligation" to join the talks. After Russian and

American diplomats concluded roundtable talks of nuclear arms control aiming

for a new agreement in Vienna, he reportedly said that China should

negotiate with them in "good faith". Moreover, according to US envoy, China

not only just "stood up" US and Russia but also the entire world. This came

after US President Donald Trump stressed that it is essential to involve

China in discussions to extend New START, the treaty aimed at limiting the

nuclear activity of US and Russia because according to him, China has had a

'free pass' to develop its weapon systems.

The treaty which both US and Russia are hoping to extend is due to end on

February 2021 and it limits both nations to deploy 1,550 nuclear warheads.

After the talks in Vienna, Billingslea told the reporters that they were

"very positive". However, according to reports, Chian has not shown any

willingness to be a participant of the negotiation between Russia and the

US. Meanwhile, both nations concluded the "marathon discussions" on June 22

and the second round of these talks have been scheduled for early July or

early August. US negotiator also said that 'three-way' is the best chance

for the nations to ensure stability.

Russia calls it 'unrealistic'

Moscow has said that it is 'unrealistic' to include Beijing in these

negotiations. A Russian media agency quoted country's Deputy Foreign

Minister Sergei Ryabkov on June 23 saying that the United States has "not

moved" from its position on involving China in disarmament talks which

according to Russia is "unrealistic". He also reportedly added that Moscow

would not 'use' the influence on Beijing the way Washington pleases.

CHINA WARNS RISK OF NAVAL INCIDENT WITH US ON THE RISE

The U.S. military is deploying "unprecedented" numbers to the Asia-Pacific

region, raising the risk of an incident with China's Navy, a senior Chinese

official said on Tuesday.

Tensions between the two superpowers have soared on multiple fronts since

President Donald Trump took office in 2017, with both countries flexing

their diplomatic and military muscle.

The United States' regular "freedom of navigation" operations in the South

China Sea - where China and neighbouring countries have competing claims -

angers Beijing, and China's Navy usually warns off the U.S. ships.

For its part, Beijing has infuriated other nations by building artificial

islands with military installations in parts of the sea.

"The U.S. military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region is unprecedented,"

said Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute of South China Sea

Studies, a government think tank.

"The possibility of a military incident or an accidental shot fired is

rising," Mr. Wu said.

"If a crisis were to erupt, the repercussions on bilateral relations would

be catastrophic."

Mr. Wu spoke at the presentation of a report by his institute on the U.S.

military presence in the region.

The report said the U.S. has deployed 3,75,000 soldiers and 60% of its

warships in the Indo-Pacific region. Three US aircraft carriers have been

sent to the region.

CORONAVIRUS SURGE DUE TO PEAK IN BIG COUNTRIES: W.H.O

The record levels of new daily COVID-19 cases are due to the fact that the

pandemic is peaking in a number of big countries at the same time and

reflect a change in the virus' global activity, the World Health

Organization (WHO) said.

At a media briefing on June 22, WHO's emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan said

that "the numbers are increasing because the epidemic is developing in a

number of populous countries at the same time."

Some countries have attributed their increased caseload to more testing,

including India and the US. But Ryan dismissed that explanation.

"We do not believe this is a testing phenomenon," he said, noting that

numerous countries have also noted marked increases in hospital admissions

and deaths - neither of which cannot be explained by increased testing.

"There definitely is a shift in that the virus is now very well

established," Ryan said. "The epidemic is now peaking or moving towards a

peak in a number of large countries."

He added the situation was "definitely accelerating" in a number of

countries, including the US and others in South Asia, the Middle East and

Africa.

TOP US HEALTH OFFICIAL FAUCI WARNS OF 'DISTURBING' NEW US SURGE

America's top infectious disease expert has told lawmakers that the US is

seeing a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections in some states.

A panel of health officials, including Dr Anthony Fauci, said the next few

days will be crucial to stem the new outbreaks.

Cases are climbing rapidly across a number of US states.

The four top experts also testified they were never told by President Donald

Trump to "slow down" testing.

Their comments come after Mr Trump told a weekend rally in Oklahoma that he

had asked his team to do less testing to help keep official case counts

down.

"To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing,"

Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

Diseases, testified to a congressional committee investigating the US

response to the pandemic.

"In fact, we will be doing more testing," he added.

CHINESE FIRM GETS APPROVAL TO BEGIN HUMAN TESTING FOR POTENTIAL CORONAVIRUS

VACCINE

China has approved a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by Chongqing

Zhifei Biological Products' unit to begin human testing, the company said in

a filing on Tuesday.

The potential vaccine, co-developed by Anhui Zhifei Longcom

Biopharmaceutical and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy

of Sciences, has received a certificate from the National Medical Products

Administration to launch clinical trials.

Chinese researchers and companies are testing six experimental shots in

humans, and more than a dozen vaccines are in different stages of clinical

trials globally against the virus that has killed over 470,000 people.

However, none of the them have passed large-scale, late-stage phase 3

clinical trials, a necessary step before entering the consumer market.

UK PM TO SET JULY 4 DATE TO END COVID-19 LOCKDOWN WITH BARS REOPENING

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday pubs, restaurants and hotels

could reopen in England early next month, easing the coronavirus lockdown

that has all but shut the economy.

In other signs of a gradual return to normal life, hairdressers will open

again along with tourist attractions like theme parks, but nightclubs,

indoor gyms and swimming pools will stay closed.

Johnson has been under pressure from businesses, especially in the

hospitality sector, and from members of his governing Conservative Party to

relax the lockdown, but until now he had resisted for fear of prompting a

second wave.

On Tuesday, he said with infection rates falling and little current threat

of a second wave of COVID-19 cases, he could reopen swathes of the economy.

By relaxing the rule on social distancing from two metres to one metre-plus,

with the 'plus' meaning measures like wearing masks and using protective

screens, Johnson said many businesses could reopen from July 4.

"Today we can say that our long, national hibernation is beginning to come

to an end," he told parliament. "All hospitality indoors will be limited to

table service and our guidance will encourage minimal staff and customer

contact."

All schools will reopen in September, he said, adding that laws specifying

social contact would be replaced with the new guidance.

MAJOR QUAKE OF 7.4 MAGNITUDE HITS MEXICO

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck southern Mexico's Pacific

coast on Tuesday, killing at least four people and cutting off isolated

villages, and causing tremors hundreds of miles away in Mexico City.

The fatalities were near the quake's epicenter in Oaxaca, a mountainous

state known for its coffee, mescal and Spanish colonial architecture.

Rockfalls blocked the winding mountain roads between the state capital of

Oaxaca city and the coast. A clinic and other buildings in hill villages

near the epicenter were severely damaged, images on social media showed.

Buildings hundreds of miles away in Mexico City shook strongly and people

ran out into the streets when an early warning seismic alarm sounded. Two

people were injured and more than 30 buildings in the capital suffered

damage, officials said.

Videos on social media showed water that apparently came from rooftop pools

cascading down residential buildings.

Several old churches in Oaxaca were damaged, including one with a dome at

risk of collapse, the protection agency said.

PIA PLANE CRASHED DUE TO HUMAN ERROR, SAYS PRELIMINARY PROBE REPORT

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash last month was caused

by the negligence of the cockpit crew and the air control tower and not due

to any technical fault, according to a preliminary investigation report on

the tragedy that killed 97 people onboard.

The domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area

near the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 22.

Two passengers miraculously survived the crash.

A probe was commissioned by the government with the commitment that the

initial report would be shared with Parliament on June 22.

But Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan handed the report to Prime Minister

Imran Khan instead of Parliament.

The report showed that the pilot and air traffic control officials were

primarily responsible, according to officials.

The Express Tribune reported that the initial probe showed that the CAA

officials, the cockpit crew, the control tower and the air traffic control

repeatedly made mistakes. It reported the aircraft's black box has so far

not indicated the possibility of any technical fault.

SAUDI ARABIA SAYS IT INTERCEPTS YEMEN REBEL DRONES, MISSILES

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it intercepted ballistic missiles and

bomb-laden drones launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels in an attack that began

the previous night.

The kingdom has fought a yearslong war against the Iranian-backed Houthis,

who seized Yemen's capital in September 2014.

The rebels did not immediately acknowledge the attack, though their

Al-Masirah satellite news channel said their forces would make an

announcement later in the day about a broad operation in Saudi Arabia.

The attack began late Monday, with a brief statement on the state-run Saudi

Press Agency suggesting other drones may have slipped passed Saudi air

defenses, without elaborating.

On Tuesday, the SPA news agency quoted the kingdom's military spokesman,

Col. Turki al-Malki, as saying that Saudi air defenses intercepted a

ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh." The report did not elaborate.