China said on Thursday that its relationship with Pakistan stood the test of the changing international landscape and remained "firm as a rock" as the all-weather allies celebrated the 69th year of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
Pakistan recognised China in 1951, a year after India established diplomatic ties with Beijing. India became the first non-Communist country in Asia in 1950 to establish diplomatic relations with China.
Though a late entrant, Pakistan, an Islamic republic, has emerged as Communist China's closest ally and the two countries in recent years firmed up their all-weather alliance with USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the biggest overseas investment by Beijing.
"Today marks the 69th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and Pakistan. I offer congratulations, Foreign Ministry spokesman told a media briefing here on Thursday.
"We are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. In the past 69 years, this relationship 

China says its ties with Pakistan remains 'firm as a rock'

PTI Automatic

The Trump administration notified international partners on Thursday that it is pulling out of a treaty that permits 30-plus nations to conduct unarmed, observation flights over each other's territory  overflights set up decades ago to promote trust and avert conflict.
The administration says it wants out of the Open Skies Treaty because Russia is violating the pact, and imagery collected during the flights can be obtained quickly at less cost from US or commercial satellites. Exiting the treaty, however, is expected to strain relations with Moscow and upset European allies and some members of Congress.
President Dwight Eisenhower first proposed that the United States and the former Soviet Union allow aerial reconnaissance flights over each other's territory in July 1955. At first, Moscow rejected the idea, but President George H.W. Bush revived it in May 1989, and the treaty entered into force in January 2002. Currently, 34 nations have signed it; Kyrgyzstan has signed but not ...

Trump announces plans to exit Open Skies Treaty

China's ceremonial parliament will consider legislation that could limit opposition activity in Hong Kong, a spokesperson said Thursday, appearing to confirm speculation that China will sidestep the territory's own legislative body in enacting legislation to crack down on activity Beijing considers subversive.
Zhang Yesui said the National People's Congress will deliberate a bill on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.
Such a move has long been under consideration but was hastened by months of anti-government protests last year in the former British colony that was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997.
Zhang's comments at a news conference came on the eve of the opening of the congress's annual session.

China proposes law limiting Hong Kong opposition activity

A security team neutralized an active shooter early Thursday at a Texas naval air station, the US Navy said.
The security team responded at the Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi at about 6:15 am.
One security force member was injured, the Navy said. It did not immediately release any additional details.
All gates remained closed and the facility remained on lockdown Thursday morning.
The station had a similar lockdown last December.
In another incident at the base last year, a man pleaded guilty to destruction of US government property and possession of a stolen firearm for ramming his truck into a barricade at the Corpus Christi station.

Shooter 'neutralized,' 1 hurt at Texas naval station

William J Keating, who spent three decades as an Ohio newspaper executive after leaving Congress in the mid-1970s, has died, his family confirmed. He was 93.
The Cincinnati native led The Cincinnati Enquirer as president and later as publisher.
He served on the board of The Associated Press for 25 years, chairing the global news organization from 1987 to 1992.
He also held executive positions in the Gannett Co., where he served as general counsel, a regional newspaper president, and helped put together the joint operating agreement that combined the business operations of Detroit's two competing daily newspapers.
Genial and modest, but driven and fiercely competitive, Keating was a champion swimmer who is in the University of Cincinnati athletic hall of fame. He helped build a Cincinnati law firm from scratch and had a flourishing political career until he gave up his U.S. House seat in 1974 to become The Enquirer's president.
He brought a skilled politician's touch with him to the ...

Longtime news executive William J. Keating dead at 93

In a major development, Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith on Thursday expressed his support for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to take over the ICC chairmanship after Shashank Manohar's term ends this month.
Smith's comments were backed up by his CEO Jacques Faul, who said that they won't mind an Indian as head of the ICC, although they need to get a mandate from their top bosses.
Due to the current situation, there may be a case of Manohar's extension for two months, but Smith's open backing of Ganguly comes as a new twist in the story with England and Wales Cricket Board's former chairman Colin Graves being favourite till now.
"From our perspective, it would be great to see a cricket man like Sourav Ganguly maybe getting into the President's role of the ICC," Smith told reporters on Thursday.
"I think that will be good for the game; I think it will be good for the modern game as well. He understands it; he has played it at the highest level; he is respected; 

CSA wants Sourav Ganguly as ICC chairman: Graeme Smith

Doubts were growing on Thursday over whether ambitious plans by European governments to use contact-tracing apps to fight the spread of the coronavirus will be able to be implemented with any real effectiveness soon.
In contrast, there appeared to be some movement forward in the sprint to find a vaccine against COVID-19, bolstered by a USD 1 billion investment from the U.S. vaccine agency.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged Wednesday to have a test, track and trace program for COVID-19 in place by June 1 as part of a strategy to persuade the country that it's safe to move on to the next stage of easing the lockdown and restarting the economy.
But the government also appeared to backtrack on an earlier pledge to make a smart phone app a pillar of that program.
Security minister James Brokenshire told the BBC on Thursday that he remains confident that the tracing system will be in place by June 1, but acknowledged that an app intended to help track the virus was not ready. He .

European plans to use apps in virus tracking face setbacks

T S Tirumurti, India's new Permanent Representative to the UN, presented his credentials virtually as he assumed charge as the Ambassador amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Privileged to take over...as Permanent Representative of India to the UN in New York. During these COVID-19 times, I was the second Ambassador/ Permanent Representative to the UN to present virtual credentials! Tirumurti tweeted Wednesday.
Tirumurti arrived in New York on May 19 to assume charge as India's new Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
A 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Tirumurti succeeds Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, who retired on April 30 and returned to Hyderabad.
Tirumurti previously served as Secretary, Economic Relations at the Ministry of External Affairs headquarters in New Delhi.
Before leaving for New York, Tirumurti called on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
The UN General Assembly will hold elections next month for the five non-permanent seats of ...

India's new Permanent Representative to UN presents credentials virtually

Bangladesh's pharmaceutical giant Beximco Pharma on Thursday introduced what it said was the world's first generic version of the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which has grabbed attention as one of the most promising treatments for the COVID-19.
Remdesivir has recently been authorised by the US for emergency use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the multinational Gilead Science Inc emergency use authorisation clearing the way for the broader use of the drug.
We are pleased to be the first generic company in the world to introduce this very important drug for treating the hospitalised COVID-19 patients, Beximco Pharma's managing director Nazmul Hassan Papon announced.
The company has branded the medicine as Bemsivir.
Papon, also a Member of Parliament,  handed over the first batch of medicine to Health Minister Zahed Maleque to mark the drug's introduction, saying the firm will provide Bemsivir free of cost to all the ...

Bangladesh pharma giant introduces first generic version of  remdesivir for COVID-19

The number of Americans thrown out of work since the coronavirus crisis struck two months ago has climbed to nearly 39 million, the government said Thursday.
More than 2.4 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the outbreak that has triggered nationwide business shutdowns and brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department reported. That brings the
running total to a staggering 38.6 million.
An additional 2.2 million sought aid under a new federal program for self-employed, contractor and gig workers, who are now eligible for unemployment benefits for the first time. Those figures aren't adjusted for seasonal variations, so they are not included in the overall number of applications.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the unemployment rate could peak in May or June at 20% to 25%  a level unseen since the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
As of April, unemployment stood at 14.7%, a figure also unmatched ..

Coronavirus-triggered layoffs in US hit nearly 39 million

In a major development, Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of Cricket Graeme Smith expressed his support for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly taking over the ICC chairmanship after Shashank Manohar's term ends this month.
Smith's comments were supported by his CEO Jacques Faul, who said that they won't mind an Indian as head of ICC although they need to get a mandate from their top bosses.
Due to current situation, there may be a case of Manohar's extension for two months but CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith's open backing of Ganguly is the new twist in the story with England and Wales Cricket Board's former chairman Colin Graves being favourite till now.
"From our perspective, it would be great to see a cricket man like Sourav Ganguly maybe getting into the President's role of the ICC," Smith told reporters on Thursday.
"I think that will be good for the game; I think it will be good for the modern game as well. He understands it; he has played it at the highest level; he is ...

CS wants Sourav Ganguly as ICC Chairman: Graeme Smith

A day after threatening to withhold funds over Michigan's mail-in ballot effort, President Donald Trump was set to visit the electoral battleground Thursday to learn how the medical breathing machines governors begged for during the height of the coronavirus pandemic are made.
But hovering over his visit to a repurposed Ford Motor Co. factory in Ypsilanti, outside of Detroit, is whether he will wear a face covering.
Trump has refused to wear a face mask in public, a practice that federal health authorities say all Americans should adopt to help slow the spread of the virus.
Ford says everyone in its factories must wear personal protective equipment, including masks, and that its policy has been communicated to the White House. Trump wouldn't commit to wearing a mask at the plant when he was asked about the matter earlier this week.  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that mask-wearing isn't
just Ford's policy but it's also the law in a state that's among those hardest hit by ..

Trump to tour Ford's ventilator assembly plant near Detroit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not face a criminal investigation into whether he offered special favors to an American businesswoman during his time as mayor of London.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct ruled Thursday against a criminal investigation into Johnson's ties to tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri.
The office, which oversees police complaints in England, was asked to consider if there were grounds to investigate him for misconduct in public office. Johnson has vociferously denied wrongdoing.
It said that while its review established that there may have been an intimate relationship between Johnson and Arcuri, we found no evidence to indicate that Mr Johnson influenced the payment of any sponsorship monies to Ms. Arcuri, or that he influenced or played an active part in securing her participation in trade missions.
The office added that it would have been wise for Johnson to declare the relationship as a conflict of interest.
A spokesman for Johnson welcomed 

UK watchdog clears Johnson of criminal wrongdoing

Cape Town has become the center of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa and one of Africa's hot spots.
The popular tourist destination at the southern tip of Africa had more than 12,000 confirmed cases as of Thursday, representing 63% of South Africa's 19,000 cases and about 10% of Africa's 95,000 cases.
Gauteng province containing Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, and the capital, Pretoria, had been expected to be the country's epicenter with its population density and poverty levels, but Cape Town defied predictions with high levels of community transmission.
No model upfront predicted what we see in Western Cape (province), Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize told journalists Thursday.
The explosion of cases in Western Cape is out of the expected range and it may be that we need to have additional interventions to try and contain those numbers. Cape Town's mountains and beaches may have contributed to its high number of COVID-19 cases. With direct flights to several European ..

Cape Town is virus hot spot for South Africa and continent

Drug maker AstraZeneca said Thursday it had secured its first agreements for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it is testing, bolstered by an investment from the US vaccine agency.
The Anglo-Swedish company reported it had received more than $1 billion from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting this fall.
The investment will accelerate the development and production of the vaccine, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said. It had already joined forces with the British government and is in discussions with the Serum Institute of India and other potential partners to increase production and distribution.
We will do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available, Soriot said.
Pharmaceutical companies including also Moderna and Sanofi are racing to develop and produce a vaccine against the new coronavirus as experts say it will be crucial to allowing ...

AstraZeneca secures orders for virus vaccine under testing

A naval air station in Texas went on lockdown Thursday morning after an active shooter was reported near one of the facility's gates.
Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi said the shooter was neutralized and all gates remained closed. There were no immediate reports of what happened to the shooter or other injuries.
The station had a similar lockdown last December.
In another incident at the base last year, a man pleaded guilty to destruction of US government property and possession of a stolen firearm for ramming his truck into a barricade at the Corpus Christi station.

Texas base put on lockdown after reports of shooter

China said on Thursday that it will continue to accord priority to Pakistan in its neighbourhood diplomacy and reinforce iron-clad' ties as the all-weather allies celebrated the 69th year of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
Pakistan recognised China in 1951, a year after India established diplomatic ties with Beijing. India became the first non-Communist country in Asia in 1950 to establish diplomatic relations with China.
Though a late entrant, Pakistan, an Islamic republic, has emerged as Communist China's closest ally and the two countries in recent years firmed up their all-weather alliance with USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the biggest overseas investment by Beijing.
"Today marks the 69th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between China and Pakistan. I offer congratulations, Foreign Ministry spokesman told a media briefing here on Thursday.
Zhao, who worked earlier as China's Deputy Ambassador to Islamabad, had a personal note of praise .

Pakistan continues to be a priority in neighbourhood diplomacy: China

A 41-year-old Nepalese man died on Thursday, becoming the third person to succumb to the coronavirus in the country on a day when 26 new COVID-19 cases were reported, the health ministry said.
The surge in the coronavirus cases along with the new death has prompted the Nepal government to seal the Kathmandu Valley, imposing complete restriction on people entering the capital city.
The new death was reported from Rupandehi district and the patient had tested positive for coronavirus a few days back, a senior health authority from the ministry said.
He was on ventilator support. Nepal reported the first two COVID-19 linked deaths last week.
On Thursday, Nepal reported 26 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of infections to 453.
One male aged 27 from Rupandehi district and eight males aged between 17 and 54 from Jhapa district have been confirmed as corona positive. Apart from this 17 other cases were also reported, the official said.
At present 14 cases have been ...

Nepal reports 3rd coronavirus death; cases increase to 453: Health Ministry

Alongside discussions of her own national political ambitions, former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams is wading into elections outside her home state, endorsing the campaigns of seven Democrats vying for US Senate seats.
On Thursday, Abrams announced that she was backing Democratic candidates in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.
In statements provided ahead of her official endorsement, Abrams called Jaime Harrison, the associate chair of the Democratic National Committee who is seeking to block Sen Lindsey Graham from a fourth term, a strong leader for the people of South Carolina who will work hard to address inequalities" such as in rural health care and infrastructure.
For Arizona, Abrams said former astronaut Mark Kelly has a proven record of service to our country.
John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate, is the one to help us cross the finish line for a Democratic Senate majority, 

Stacey Abrams endorses candidates in 7 US Senate contests

The Queen's Birthday Honours List, issued annually in early June to mark the monarch's official birthday, will be delayed to later in the year in order to consider the inclusion of people on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the publication of the list, sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the government, will be moved to the autumn, to be issued between September and November.
"The honours system recognises exceptional contributions made across every part of the UK and will play a key role in demonstrating the nation's gratitude to all those involved in the response," Johnson said in a written statement to Parliament.
"In this context, the Queen has graciously agreed that the Birthday Honours list, due to be published in June, should be postponed until the autumn. This step will allow us to ensure that the list, agreed before this public health emergency developed, reflects 

Queen's Birthday Honours List delayed to pay tribute to COVID-19 heroes

The first UK frontline National Health Service (NHS) worker will be enrolled as a participant into COPCOV, the largest multinational interventional clinical study into the prevention of COVID-19 using the investigational medicine hydroxychloroquine.
Enrolment begins on Thursday at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, the first of 20 UK hospitals to participate in this trial involving the anti-malaria drug.
Under the multinational plan, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or a placebo will be given to more than 40,000 healthcare workers from the UK and Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. It will test whether the drugs can prevent healthcare workers exposed to the virus from contracting it.
Accord Healthcare, a UK-based medicines manufacturer, said it has donated over 2 million tablets to enable the "landmark trial" to go ahead.
"Based on the known pharmacology of hydroxychloroquine, coupled with the emerging knowledge surrounding ...

Page 33 - PTI Stories National