Category: World

The Shandong’s commissioning last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the country’s rise as a regional naval power at a time of tensions with the U.S. and others over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

AP

China’s Defense Ministry said the navy’s only entirely home-built aircraft is carrying out sea trials to test weapons and equipment and enhance training of the crew.

Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said Friday the exercises were being conducted as planned, apparently unaffected by the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

The Shandong’s commissioning last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the country’s rise as a regional naval power at a time of tensions with the U.S. and others over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

It is the second Chinese aircraft carrier to enter service after the Liaoning, which was originally purchased as a hulk from Ukraine and entirely refurbished.

Both are based on a Soviet design with a “ski jump” style flight deck for takeoffs rather than the flat decks used by much larger U.S. aircraft carriers. It is powered by a conventional oil-fueled steam turbine power plant, compared to the nuclear fuel American carriers and submarines use.

China is seen as striving to overtake the U.S. as the dominant naval power in Asia and already boasts the world’s largest navy in numbers of vessels.

Beijing says aircraft carriers are needed to protect its coastline and trade routes, but they are also seen as backing up its claims to self-governing Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The highly secretive Chinese military was credited with aiding in the response to the epidemic in the epicenter of Wuhan earlier this year, but no information has been released about cases among military personnel or any change in the armed forces’ readiness status.

The U.S. Navy, in contrast, saw a public controversy over the spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the firing of the aircraft carrier’s skipper in April.

The Roosevelt was operating in the Western Pacific when the first crew members fell sick in late March. About 1,100 crew members eventually tested positive for the cornonavirus and one died. The ship was sidelined on Guam for nearly two months.

States and communities across the U.S. continued phased reopenings.

AFP

The United States recorded 1,225 coronavirus deaths on Friday, bringing its total to 1,02,798 since the global pandemic began, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The country has officially logged 17,45,606 overall cases of the virus, far more than any other nation, the Baltimore-based university’s tracker showed at 0030 GMT on Saturday.

The latest numbers came as President Donald Trump said he was severing U.S. ties with the World Health Organisation, accusing it of not doing enough to curb the initial spread of the novel coronavirus and being too lenient with China, where the outbreak began last year.

Mr. Trump suspended funding to the WHO last month. Until now, the United State was by far the biggest contributor to the UN agency, having given $400 million last year.

Meanwhile, states and communities across the U.S. continued phased reopenings.

New York, the U.S. city worst-hit by the coronavirus, is “on track” to start reopening the week of June 8, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

Administration to look into ways of holding social media platforms liable for the content they carry.

A day after U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Twitter for fact-checking two of his tweets on mail-in ballots, he signed an executive order (EO) asking his administration to look into ways of holding platforms liable for more of the content they carry.

Specifically, the EO asks the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to re-examine how protections granted under a particular statute — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (1996) — ought to apply.

Section 230, on the back of which several American tech companies like Facebook and Twitter have grown, allows social media sites to carry third party content without being liable for all of it. There are some exceptions around federal criminal law, sex trafficking and intellectual property. It, therefore, draws a distinction between platforms on the one hand and publishers or speakers on the other.

Significantly, the statute says a platform shall not be liable for actions taken in “good faith” to restrict material that is, “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected”.

Thursday’s order also directs federal government agencies to review the amount of advertising dollars spent on online platforms. It asks the FCC to lake action on “deceptive acts” affecting commerce, such as when sites “restrict speech in ways that do not align with those entities’ public representations about those practices”.

Twitter called Mr. Trump’s approach “politicised”.

‘Reactionary order’
“This EO is a reactionary and politicised approach to a landmark law. #Section230 protects American innovation and freedom of expression, and it’s underpinned by democratic values. Attempts to unilaterally erode it threaten the future of online speech and Internet freedoms,” a statement from Twitter said.

Mr. Trump and other Republicans have said U.S. tech companies have a liberal bias and social media sites tend to censor conservative views. There is support on the other side of the aisle for scaling back or revoking current protections, but for different reasons — such as unmoderated content encouraging misinformation and promoting violence. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told the New York Times earlier this year Section 230 should be revoked because internet companies, such as Facebook, were not merely tech companies, but propagating falsehoods. Asked by a reporter if he would consider deleting his Twitter account, Mr. Trump said on Thursday that he used social media to refute fake news”. “ I would do that [ delete his Twitter account] in a heartbeat if I had fair — if we had a fair press in this country, I would do that in a heartbeat.”

With inputs from The Hindu

The U.S. President says WHO has essentially become a puppet organisation of China.

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he is terminating the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus, saying the WHO had essentially become a puppet organization of China.

Appearing in the White House Rose Garden, Mr. Trump went ahead with repeated threats to eliminate American funding for the group, which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Mr. Trump said the WHO had failed to make reforms to the organization that the president had demanded earlier this month. He said Chinese officials “ignored their reporting obligations” about the virus to the WHO and pressured the WHO to “mislead the world” when the virus was first discovered by Chinese authorities.

“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying which is approximately $450 million a year. We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly but they have refused to act,” Mr. Trump said.

“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” he said.

Mr. Trump has long questioned the value of the United Nations and scorned the importance of multilateralism as he focuses on an “America First” agenda. Since taking office, Mr. Trump has quit the U.N. Human Rights Council, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, a global accord to tackle climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.

The World Health Organization is a U.N. specialized agency – an independent international body that works with the United Nations. The WHO and a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr. Trump’s decision.

US President Donald Trump has said the Chinese government’s moves to introduce a controversial security law in Hong Kong are a “tragedy”.

In a major statement on China, the president announced he would start to end preferential US treatment for the city in trade and travel.

He also said he was “terminating” the US relationship with the World Health Organization over Covid-19.

China has told the West to “stop interfering” in Hong Kong.

The territory, a former British colony, enjoys unique freedoms not seen in mainland China. But many people there see the looming security law as bringing an end to Hong Kong’s special status, agreed under a 1997 agreement between China and the UK.

What did President Trump outline?

“China has replaced One Country, Two Systems with One Country, One System”, Mr Trump told reporters in the White House’s Rose Garden, in a prepared statement that attacked China on several fronts. “This is a tragedy for Hong Kong.”

Among the measures, Mr Trump said the US would suspend the entry of foreign nationals from China identified by the US as potential security risks. There are fears that this could affect thousands of graduate students.

With inputs from BBC World News

It was responding to reports that its chief had refused Oli’s direct orders Indian Army chief’s comments on border issue.

The Nepal Army on Friday said it was not its job to make “unnecessary political statements” or respond to the loaded queries from the media. It was responding to reports that its chief had refused the direct orders of Prime Minister KPS Oli on Indian Army chief Gen. Manoj Naravane’s recent comments on border issue.

“Nepal Army does function well within the parameters of the constitution, and maintains its glorious tradition of discipline, restrain and accountability and respect towards the highest executive office in the country,”it said in a statement.

The clarification came after it was reported that when he was asked by Mr. Oli to respond to Gen. Naravane’s comments, Gen. PC Thapa had said, ‘No thanks’.

Two weeks back, speaking on Nepal’s objections to the new road through the Lipulekh pass upto the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to shorten travel time for Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage, Gen. Naravane said there was no “contradiction at all” and Nepal may have raised the issue “at the behest of someone else.”

Last week, Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwor Pokhrel said the Indian Army chief’s comments on the Kalapani dispute were “condemnable” and had hurt the sentiments of the Nepali Gurkhas who have a long tradition of sacrifice for India. He also said the Nepal army would fight if necessary.

With inputs from The Hindu

Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound will reopen after remaining closed for two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, all doors of the mosque compound will be reopened for worshippers on Sunday at dawn, the mosque’s Director Omar al-Kiswani informed.

The Waqf, the body that looks after the mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, said that they will reopen the site for public after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which continued from May 24 to 26.

All details regarding how to open the mosque, whether the compound will be accessible by worshippers, or if visitors will be allowed into the courtyard has not been decided yet.

The site referred to as the Islam’s third holiest site closed its doors to the public for the first time in late March in more than half a century, to contain the spread of Coronavirus, which has infected more than 5.5 million people around the world.

With the number of Coronavirus positive cases declining in the recent days, Palestine and Israel have started to ease certain restrictions, and reportedly, some religious sites in Jerusalem have started to reopen. However, all this while, the Al-Aqsa Mosque remained shut, even during the Eid al-Fitr festival. Now, the authorities are gearing up to reopen it this Sunday.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque has long been a major reason for conflict between Israel and Palestine. Recently, the Israeli police and Palestinians got into a scuffle on the first day of Eid as worshippers tried to break in and enter the compound.

With inputs from TOI

Clashes broke out between police and protesters over the death of a black man in custody

AFP

Demonstrators clashed with police, looted stores and set fires as a man was fatally shot during a second night of protests in the US city of Minneapolis Wednesday over the killing of a black man by a police officer.

Police fired tear gas and formed a human barricade to keep protesters from climbing a fence surrounding the Third Precinct, where the officers accused of killing George Floyd worked before they were fired on Tuesday.

They pushed protesters back as the crowd grew, a day after firing rubber bullets and more tear gas on thousands of demonstrators angered by the latest death of an African-American at the hands of US law enforcement.

Minnesota state Governor Tim Walz urged people to leave the area around the precinct where several fires were burning, warning of the “extremely dangerous situation” in a tweet late Wednesday.

Country-wide outrage
Outrage has grown across the country at Floyd’s death on Monday, fuelled in part by bystander cellphone video which shows him, handcuffed and in the custody of four white police officers, on the ground while one presses his knee into the victim’s neck.

President Donald Trump in a tweet called Floyd’s death “sad and tragic”, and all four officers have been fired, as prosecutors said they had called in the FBI to help investigate the case.

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo cautioned protestors Wednesday to remain peaceful.

An auto parts store across from the precinct had been set alight and a nearby Target was being looted, according to U.S. media.

Police continued to hold the crowds back from scaling a fence into the precinct’s parking lot, where their cruisers contain guns.

As the violence escalated, with more businesses looted, a man was shot near the protests and later died, police said. A person has been arrested.

Protesters remained peaceful at two other locations in the city.

At the place where Floyd was first taken into custody, people chanted and carried placards and sent out bouquets were set out as tributes to Floyd.

Calls for justice came from around the country.

“I would like those officers to be charged with murder, because that’s exactly what they did,” Bridgett Floyd, the victim’s sister, said on NBC television. “They murdered my brother… They should be in jail for murder.”

Protesters marched on downtown Los Angeles and briefly blocked the 101 Freeway.

Some demonstrators smashed the windows of two police highway patrol cruisers, clambering on the hood of one of the vehicles. One of the protesters was injured when they fell off the vehicle as it sped away.

“Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

Under PM’s plan, ISI is using geo-fencing, listening in on calls.

AFP

Pakistan’s intelligence services are deploying secretive surveillance technology normally used to locate militants to instead track coronavirus (COVID-19) patients and the people they come into contact with.

In a programme publicly touted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government has turned to the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) for help in tackling the virus, which still is spreading at an accelerating rate across Pakistan.

Details about the project have not been released, but two officials told AFP that intelligence services are using geo-fencing and phone-monitoring systems that ordinarily are employed to hunt high-value targets including homegrown and foreign militants.

A lack of awareness, stigma and fear have contributed to some people with symptoms not seeking treatment or even fleeing hospitals, while others who’ve had contact with virus patients have flouted self-isolation rules.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior security official said that agencies are “quite effectively” using the technology to track patients.

Geo-fencing, a discreet tracking system that alerts authorities when someone leaves a specific geographic area, has helped officials monitor neighbourhoods on lockdown.

Authorities are also listening in to the calls of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients to monitor whether their contacts are talking about having symptoms.

Twitter for the first time added fact-check labels on Mr. Trump tweets after he made unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting.

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to regulate or shut down social media companies for stifling conservative voices, a day after Twitter attached a warning to some of his tweets prompting readers to fact check the President’s claims.

Without offering evidence, Mr. Trump again accused such platforms of bias, tweeting: “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.”

The President, a heavy user of Twitter with more than 80 million followers, added: “Clean up your act, NOW!!!!”

Mr. Trump’s threat to shut down platforms like Twitter Inc and Facebook was his strongest yet within a broader conservative backlash against Big Tech. Shares of both companies fell.

Twitter for the first time added fact-check labels on Mr. Trump tweets after he made unsubstantiated claims on Tuesday about mail-in voting, attaching a blue exclamation mark alert to warn his claims were false, having been debunked by factcheckers.

In a pair of early morning posts on Wednesday, the Republican President again blasted mail-in ballots. In a third tweet he threatened “big action” against Twitter.

Twitter and Facebook declined comment on Mr. Trump’s tweets.

In recent years Twitter has tightened its policies amid criticism that its hands-off approach had allowed abuse, fake accounts and misinformation to thrive.

Tech companies have been accused of anti-competitive practices and violating user privacy. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon face antitrust probes by the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general and a U.S. congressional panel.

The Internet Association’s interim President and Chief Executive Jon Berroya said in a statement that online platforms do not have a political bias and they offer “more people a chance to be heard than at any point in history.” The trade group counts Twitter, Facebook and Google among its members.

Authority or not?

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Trump has the authority to shut down the companies. The American Civil Liberties Union said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution limits any action Mr. Trump could take to regulate social media platforms.

Separately, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a suit brought by conservative group Freedom Watch and right-wing YouTube personality Laura Loomer against Google, Facebook, Twitter and Apple alleging they conspired to suppress conservative political views.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers, along with the Justice Department, have been considering proposed changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that largely exempts online platforms from legal liability for the material their users post.

Such changes could expose tech companies to more lawsuits or significantly increase their costs.

The White House is considering establishing a panel to review complaints of anti-conservative bias on social media, according to recent news reports.

Twitter’s dramatic shift on Tuesday prompted Mr. Trump to accuse it of interfering in November’s presidential election, while its rival Facebook left Mr. Trump’s post on mail-in ballots untouched on its platform on Tuesday.

In his tweets Mr. Trump falsely claimed that mail-in ballots will lead to vote fraud, forgeries and ineligible voters getting ballots.