AFTER HK, US & CHINA SPAR OVER PLA DRILLS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

China on Friday rejected criticism by the US defence department of its plan

to hold military exercises in the South China Sea, and suggested that

Washington was to blame for increased tensions in the region. The Pentagon

said in a statement on Thursday that conducting military exercises over

disputed territory in the South China Sea was "counter-productive to efforts

at easing tensions and maintaining stability".

China announced last week it had scheduled five days of People's Liberation

Army's drills starting July 1 near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by

both Vietnam and China. "The military exercises are the latest in a long

string of PRC actions to assert unlawful maritime claims and disadvantage

its Southeast Asian neighbours in the South China Sea," the Pentagon

statement said, referring to the People's Republic of China. Vietnam and the

Philippines have also criticised the planned Chinese drills, warning it

could create tension in the region and impact Beijing's relationship with

its neighbours.

Philippine foreign affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin warned China "it will be

met with the severest response, diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate"

should the exercises spill over to Philippine territory.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, asked about the Pentagon's

comments during a daily briefing in Beijing, said the military exercises are

within the scope of China's sovereignty and said that certain "non-regional

countries" conducting military exercises in the South China Sea are

affecting the region's stability. China claims 90% of the potentially

energy-rich South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan

and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of it, through which about $3 trillion

of trade passes each year.

IRAN DECLINES TO DISCLOSE CAUSE OF MYSTERIOUS NUKE SITE FIRE

A top Iranian security spokesman says the cause of a fire at the Natanz

nuclear site is known, but will not be made public at this time due to

"security reasons." The semiofficial Tasnim news agency quoted the spokesman

of Iran's Supreme National Security Council as announcing this on Friday. He

did not elaborate, but his comments show the concern felt at the highest

levels in Iran over the incident early, which happened on Thursday.

U.S.-based analysts have told the AP that the fire and apparent explosion at

the site struck a new centrifuge assembly plant. Iranian officials had

sought to downplay the blast, saying it struck an under-construction "shed."

MOUNT RUSHMORE: TRUMP TO HOST 4 JULY EVENT DESPITE VIRUS CONCERNS

US President Donald Trump will visit Mount Rushmore on Friday night to mark

4 July celebrations in the US, despite concerns over a sharp rise in

coronavirus cases.

A fireworks display will be held at the South Dakota landmark, which

features the carved faces of four US presidents.

Some 7,500 people are expected to attend the pre-Independence Day event.

Mr Trump, who has promised "a tremendous 3 July" is set to give a speech.

Masks will be available but not required, and social distancing will not be

strictly enforced.

Mr Trump's visit has raised fears over the potential spread of Covid-19,

wildfire worries linked to the fireworks, and protests from Native American

groups.

Speaking to Fox News this week, South Dakota's Republican Governor Kristi

Noem said free face masks would be available at the outdoor event for people

who chose to wear them, but "we won't be social distancing".

"We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home," she said.

MACRON PICKS NEW PRIME MINISTER

President Macron named Jean Castex, a top civil servant and local mayor who

orchestrated France's virus lockdown exit strategy, as his new PM on Friday

as he acted to reinvent his administration following the damage caused by

the pandemic. A member of conservative party Les Republicains, Castex

replaces Edouard Philippe, who resigned earlier in the day. Largely unknown

to the French public, Castex, 55, is a career public servant who has worked

with multiple governments but never as a minister. France's gradual

reopening since May 11, a task the new PM oversaw, has been seen as

generally successful so far. "The health crisis is unfortunately not over

... and the economic and social crisis is already there," Castex said.

Meanwhile, a French court will open an inquiry into Philippe and two of his

health ministers over their handling of the coronavirus crisis. The inquiry

will consider whether the three neglected their duties in the face of a

disaster.

CANADA SUSPENDS EXTRADITION TREATY WITH HONG KONG OVER NEW SECURITY LAW

Canada suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong on Friday after China

imposed a new security law on the territory.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is a firm believer in the one

country, two systems framework for Hong Kong and will stand up for its

people.

Trudeau said Canada is also looking at other measures, including

immigration. Other countries are considering offering asylum.

About 300,000 Canadians live in Hong Kong.

China bypassed Hong Kong's Legislative Council to pass the sweeping

legislation without public consultation.

The security law, which took effect Tuesday night, targets secessionist,

subversive or terrorist acts, as well as collusion with foreign forces

intervening in the city's affairs.

Under Beijing's direction, local authorities have moved swiftly to implement

the law's sweeping conditions, with police arresting about 370 people

Wednesday, including 10 on suspicion of directly violating the law, as

thousands took to the streets in protest.

HARDLINER TO HEAD NEW HONG KONG BODY

China appointed a hardliner to head a new national security agency in Hong

Kong on Friday as police brought the first charges under a sweeping new

anti-subversion law that has shaken the semi-autonomous finance hub.

Zheng Yanxiong - a party official best known for tackling protests on the

mainland - will lead the office set up by the legislation that empowers

mainland security agents to operate in Hong Kong openly for the first time,

unbound by the city's laws.

The appointment came as a man accused of deliberately driving his motorbike

into a group of police officers became the first person in Hong Kong to be

charged under the new national security law.

Mr. Zheng rose through the ranks of the local government in southern

Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong, to serve as secretary general of

the provincial Communist Party committee.

The 56-year-old is known as a hardliner who stamped out often-violent

anti-corruption protests that erupted in Wukan, a village in the province,

in 2011 after a local activist died in police custody.

China's leaders say the suite of powers will restore stability after a year

of protests and will not stifle freedoms. But police have already begun

arresting people for possessing flags and banners while the local government

has made clear certain political views, especially calls for independence,

are now outlawed.

On Thursday evening, Nathan Law, one of the city's most prominent young

activists, announced he had fled overseas to an undisclosed location,

fearing arrest days after the pro-democracy party he helped found said it

was disbanding.

JAPAN SEEKS EXTRADITION OF AMERICANS ACCUSED IN CARLOS GHOSN ESCAPE

Tokyo prosecutors said on Friday they have filed a request for the

extradition of two Americans arrested in the U.S. for allegedly helping

Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, flee Japan while he was out on

bail.

We express our deepest gratitude for the cooperation the U.S. authorities

have shown to our request, the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office said in a

statement.

We plan to cooperate in all ways possible so the extradition procedures for

the two can be carried out quickly, it said.

The completion of the extradition request does not immediately mean Michael

Taylor, a 59-year-old former Green Beret and private security specialist,

and his son Peter Taylor, 27, will be handed over.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Takahiro Saito sounded upbeat about the prospects

while stressing the decision was up to the United States. The request had to

be filed within 45 days of the arrests.

Mr. Saito said Peter Taylor came to Japan last year and met with Mr. Ghosn

at the office of his Japanese lawyer six times, including the day before Mr.

Ghosn's escape.

We believe that plotting the escape can be the only reason for his visit to

Japan, he said.

If they are extradited, the Taylors will be arrested after reaching Japanese

territory and then will be investigated, Mr. Saito said.

SAUDI SUSPECTS TRIED IN ABSENTIA FOR KHASHOGGI DEATH

A Turkish court on Friday opened the trial in absentia of two former aides

of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 18 other Saudi nationals over

the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkish prosecutors have indicted the 20 Saudi nationals over Khashoggi's

grisly killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul that cast a cloud of

suspicion over Prince Mohammed. They are seeking life prison terms for the

defendants, who have all left Turkey.

Saudi Arabia rejected Turkish demands for the suspects' extradition and put

some of them on trial in Riyadh. The proceedings were widely criticised as a

whitewash and Khashoggi's family later announced that they had forgiven his

killers.

The trial in Turkey will be closely watched for possible new information or

evidence into the killing, including the whereabouts of Khashoggi's remains.

The Turkish prosecutors have charged the prince's former advisers, Saud

al-Qahtani and Ahmed al-Asiri, with instigating a premeditated murder with

the intent of (causing) torment through fiendish instinct.

Prosecutors are also seeking life prison sentences for 18 other Saudi

nationals charged with carrying out a premeditated murder with the intent of

(causing) torment through fiendish instincts.

29 KILLED AS TRAIN HITS BUS CARRYING SIKH PILGRIMS IN PAKISTAN

At least 29 people, mostly Pakistani Sikh pilgrims, were killed when a

mini-bus carrying them rammed into a train at an unmanned crossing in

Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday.

The mini-bus carrying Sikh pilgrims, who were returning from Nankana Sahib

in Punjab, hit the Shah Hussain Express which was coming from Karachi to

Lahore at Farooqababd, some 60 kms from here, at 1.30 pm, officials said.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi told PTI that

at least 29 people, most of them Pakistani Sikhs, were killed in the

collision.

"The coaster was carrying mostly Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in

Farooqabad. They had come to Nankana Sahib from Peshawar. After staying in

Nanakana Sahib, they were leaving for Peshawar. The ETPB security had

escorted them till the limits of Nankana Sahib," Hashmi said.

The rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to the district

headquarters hospital, a statement by the Railways Ministry said.

The railways said a divisional engineer has been suspended from service and

an inquiry has been launched.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief over the accident and

directed authorities to provide the best medical aid to the injured.

PM Narendra Modi tweeted that he was pained by the tragic demise of Sikh

pilgrims in the accident in Pakistan.