Pompeo tells US senators ‘tide is turning’ against China

WASHINGTON, July 30: Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo on Thursday said US efforts to lead an “international awakening” against the Chinese government is working and the “tide is turning” as a result. He went on to cite Indian ban on Chinese apps as a manifestation of it along with the closer interactions of the Quad, and separate actions by other countries.

Testifying at a US senate hearing on the 2021 budget for the state department, Pompeo also said he is not yet certain about the shape or form of the “new grouping of like-minded nations — an alliance of democracies” that he recently mooted to confront the global threat from China in a major policy speech from a California library named after President Richard Nixon, whose 1972 visit let to the thaw in US-China relations. Pompeo had then called for a global compact, arguing US policy of “bling engagement” with China had failed.

The top US diplomat was pressed repeatedly by both Republican and Democratic senators on China, more than on any other foreign issues, reflecting the urgency felt among American policy makers on the issue.

Calling the Chinese Communist Party — US officials insist on treating the Chinese government as an entity separate from the people — “the central threat of our times” as he has before, Pompeo told senators, the “incursion” against India and the “real-estate claim” against Bhutan and other conflicts around the world were indicative of Chinese intentions to expand their reach and to bring “socialism with Chinese characteristics” to the world.

“Our vigorous diplomacy has helped lead an international awakening to the threat of the CCP,” he said, adding, “Senators, the tide is turning.”

The secretary of state listed some of the global developments, he said, were the result of the American lead on international awakening against China: the growing ostracism of Chinese firms from the rollout of 5G networks, increasing rejection of Chinese claims in the disputed South China Sea, and the condemnation of the new laws in Hong Kong.

“We’re proud to have stepped up maritime maneuvers in that body of water (the South China Sea) alongside friends like Australia, India, Japan, and the UK,” Pompeo said in his full and prepared remarks, which were different from the brief summary he read out as his opening statement.

He added: “India has banned 106 Chinese apps, including TikTok, that threatened its citizens’ privacy and security.”

The secretary of state had earlier indicated the United States had played an “assist” role in the first round of bans of 59 apps, without providing details. The US has since said it was considering a ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps and devices and companies threaten the security of the country.

Pompeo said the US, Australia, India, and Japan have “reinvigorated” the “Quad” as part of an effort to confront China through multilateral bodies. He went on to say this “grouping is stronger than it has ever been and maybe we were gifted by General Secretary Xi (Jinping).”

“He took actions that caused each of the leaders of those countries to recognize the value of this group,” he added. The secretary was answering a question about India’s invitation to Australia to join the upcoming military exercises with the United States and Japan.

The top US diplomat went on to specify the many actions the Trump administration has taken against China in recent months: sanctions against Chinese officials for the mistreatment of Uighur muslims in Xinjiang; imposition of export controls on companies supporting it; termination of trade benefits for Hong Kong and the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, which, he said, had become a “den of spies”.

As further indication of the Trump administration’s intentions for the region, Pompeo said the state department was seeking $1.49 billion for foreign assistance to the Indo-Pacific region, a 20% increase from the FY 2020 request. “We want that part of the world to be free, open, and prosperous,” he said.

Joe Biden to pick vice-president next week

WASHINGTON, July 29: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said Tuesday he will announce his vice-president next week. He did not say who it will be, but notes he held during the speech to unveil his economic plan for racial equality, had one name in it: Kamala Harris, the senator from California.

Harris’s name was followed by five attributes, as captured by an AP photographer. “Do not hold grudges,” was at the top. It was a reference to an exchange at one of the primary debates when Harris had questioned Biden’s position on busing, a practice used in the 70s to racially desegregate schools.

The four other attributed were: “Campaigned with me & Jill”, “Talented”, “Great help to campaign”, and “Great respect for her.”.

“I’m going to have a choice in the first week in August and I promise I’ll let you know when I do,” Biden said when asked about his running mate pick.

Harris is on a long list of 13 names Biden is understood to have considered seriously in a guessing game he triggered in march when he first announced he will pick a woman.

Harris will not be the first woman to run for vice-president if does indeed get the nod — there have been at least two before Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin. But she will be both the first African American (father is from Jamaica) and the first Indian American (mother, who is no more came, from India).

Others on the list include Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth, Congressional Black Caucus chair Karen Bass, Representative Val Demings, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottom, and Georgia politician Stacey Abrams.

Biden spoke about his VP pick in response to questions from reporters after unveiling his racial economic equality plan, the fourth plank of his “Build Back Better” economic plan. It was a repackaged mix of plans and schemes from the whole spread of his presidential platform.

Key elements included a Small Business Opportunity Fund of $30 billion from his $300 billion domestic innovation funding; one-time debt reduction for students; $15 hourly wage; scheme to encourage housing for low-income communities and a legislation to make the Federal Reserve trace and report trends on racial inequality gaps.

Singaporean in US pleads guilty to acting as Chinese intelligence agent

WASHINGTON, July 25: A Singaporean man who set up a fake consulting site to solicit information from US government and military workers has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent of Chinese intelligence, the Justice Department said on Friday.

Sentencing for Jun Wei Yeo, also known as Dickson Yeo, will be in October, according to the department.

The United States is cracking down on Chinese spying, with the FBI having interviewed dozens of visa holders about their possible ties to Chinese intelligence.

On Friday a Chinese researcher who took refuge in the San Francisco consulate was expected to appear in court on allegations she lied about her Chinese military service, while the US counterintelligence agency chief warned China and other nations could interfere with November elections.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China slams ‘forced entry’ of US federal agents into its Houston consulate

HOUSTON, July 25: US-China diplomatic tensions continued to simmer on Saturday as Beijing slammed the “forced entry” to its Houston consulate by U.S. personnel hours earlier and vowed to respond “as necessary.”

Federal agents and local law enforcement authorities broke into the consulate building late Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle and CNN, after issuing an order on July 21 that it must close within 72 hours.

The newspaper reported that among the personnel on site were some wearing shirts carrying the words “U.S. Department of State.” Agents tried three different entrances at the compound before prying open a back door, the Chronicle reported.

Beijing said that U.S. had broken diplomatic conventions by entering “China’s national property.”

“According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Sino-U.S. Consular Treaty, the United States must not infringe on the premises of the Chinese Consulate in Houston in any way,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in an a Q&A posted on the ministry’s website late on Saturday.

Beijing has already expressed “firm opposition” to the move and will respond as “proper and necessary,” Wang said.

On Friday, China ordered the U.S. to close its consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu, retaliating for the Trump administration’s decision to shutter the Chinese mission in Houston.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that the consulate’s closure was a “legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the U.S.”

The widely anticipated retaliation came hours ahead of the U.S.’s deadline for Chinese diplomats to vacate the Houston facility, which the State Department said had served as a hub for spying and influence operations.

Beijing’s decision will not only oust American diplomats from the capital of Sichuan province -- a region with a population rivaling Germany -- it will close a key listening post for developments in neighboring Tibet. The move will probably have a bigger impact than shutting the U.S. consulate in Wuhan, but less than closing U.S. missions in the key financial centers of Hong Kong or Shanghai.

Wang,the foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular news briefing in Beijing that some consulate staff had “engaged in activities inconsistent with their capacity, interfered in China’s internal affairs and harmed China’s national security interests.”

US eases export rules on drone sales to allies

WASHINGTON, July 25: The US on Friday relaxed norms to allow American defence companies to sell more drones to allies by changing the decades-old Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an agreement involving 35 countries to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The White House said in a statement that while the 1987 missile control pact is critical in slowing proliferation and promoting peace and security, it is in dire need of modernisation as it applies to unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

“This action, which is consistent with the MTCR guidelines will increase the US’s national security by improving capabilities of its partners and increase economic security by opening the expanding drones market to the US industry,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.

McEnany said the MTCR standards are more than three decades old in a sector which has rapidly evolving technology and these outdated standards give an unfair advantage to countries outside MTCR and hurt the United States industry.

They also hinder the deterrence capability abroad by handicapping the US’ partners and allies with subpar technology, she said. More than two years of discussion with MTCR partners were unable to produce consensus on this overdue reform, she added.

“Therefore, the President has decided to invoke our national discretion to treat a carefully selected subset of MTCR Category I UAS, which cannot travel faster than 800 kilometers per hour, as Category II,” McEnany said.

“As such, the United States has determined that it will overcome the MTCR’s strong presumption of denial for this UAS subset,” she added.

McEnany said the action, which is consistent with MTCR guidelines and the objectives of the UAS export policy of April 2018, will increase the US’ national security by improving the capabilities of its partners and increase the country’s economic security by opening the expanding UAS market to United States industry.

“It also sets a strong example for other MTCR partners to adopt the same standard,” she added.

Clarke Cooper, the assistant secretary of state for political military affairs, said the policy change modernises the US’ approach to implementing MTCR commitments and makes it more reflective of the technological realities.

“It helps our allies, it helps our partners — it helps them all meet their urgent national security and commercial requirements, and it also advances the US’ national security and economic interests,” Cooper said during a conference call.

Cooper, however, said higher-speed systems such as cruise missiles, hypersonic aerial vehicles, and advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles are not affected by this revision.

The United States remains a committed member of the MTCR and holds it as an important non-proliferation tool to curb the spread of high-end missile technologies to countries such as North Korea and Iran.

He said preventing the use and spread of the weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery remains a Trump administration priority.

As of now only the United Kingdom, France and Australia are allowed to buy larger, armed drones from US manufacturers.

Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said for too long, the restraint of the international community with regard to exports of large unmanned aircraft has created an opportunity for the Chinese military to advance its defence technology and industrial base, and build new defence relationships around the world, including with traditional US partners.

“I commend the administration for its robust, years-long diplomatic effort to modernise the MTCR to account for China’s actions. It has become clear, however, that one MTCR member state will inevitably block any consensus within the regime on necessary changes. Therefore, the United States has no choice but to make the policy changes that the administration has outlined today,” he said.

However, Senator Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has once again weakened international export controls by this action.

“It is important to appreciate that the Missile Technology Control Regime originally adopted stringent controls on exports of advanced drones at the urging of the United States. To disregard this policy now is likely to undermine the credibility and influence of the MTCR generally, which also coordinates international controls on the sale and spread of dangerous ballistic missiles and technology around the world,” he said.

Congressman Eliot Engel, the chairperson of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Trump is unilaterally abrogating a long-standing arms control agreement because it is inconvenient for his ‘anything goes’ policy to sell dangerous weapons seemingly anywhere to anyone.

“In this case, it is the MTCR, set up by President Reagan, to restrict exports of unmanned aerial vehicles that can carry nuclear weapons. Trump wants to be free to sell UAVs that can carry heavy warheads, bombs, and other explosive devices more than 300 km,” Engel said.

India can power post-Covid-19 global recovery: Modi

WASHINGTON, July 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made a forceful pitch for foreign investment telling some of America’s top business and political leaders India has “what is needed to power the global economic recovery” from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic and there was a never better time to invest there.

It was time, the prime minister said to them, for India and the United States to work in partnership to play “important role in helping the world bounce back faster after the pandemic”.

“We have what is needed to power the global economic recovery,” Modi said, addressing the annual summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC, a trade body)) virtually, pitching India as “a nation that you can trust”. In contrast, he did not say, with China. India’s rise means, he added, “a rise in global integration with increasing openness, a rise in your competitiveness with access to a market which offers scale”.

As countries and businesses around the world seek to reduce their dependence on Chinese supply chains, hit first by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and then by the Covid-19 epidemic, India is positioning itself as the alternative destination, seeking to fight off stiff competition from Vietnam, whose saturation points are much lower in every aspect than India.

The prime minister said the recent crisis — the pandemic, — had showed the world it needed to pay more attention to “resilience against external shocks” and not just focus on scaling up efficiency and optimization, bywords for the shift of supply chains to China. And with that he segued into “aatma nirbhar Bharrat”, his government’s new motto, stressing increased domestic capability for manufacturing, restoring the health of the financial system and diversification of international trade.

“There is global optimism towards India. This is because India offers a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options. Let me elaborate. India celebrates openness in people and in governance,” the prime minister said, setting up a quick run-through of investment opportunities in India.

Modi spoke of opportunities in the “frontier technologies” of 5G, Big data analytics, Quantum computing, Block-chain and Internet of things; in the agriculture sector; healthcare, which he said was growing at 22% a year; in energy, as India evolved into a gas-based economy; in infrastructure; in civil aviation; defense and space; finance and insurance.

Investments are flowing in already. “Every year, we are reaching record highs in FDI. Each year is significantly higher than the earlier one. FDI inflows in India in 2019-20 were 74 billion dollars,” he said, adding, “This is an increase of 20 percent from the year before that.”

"Even during the ongoing pandemic,” Modi said, to illustrate his point. “In the middle of Covid, India has attracted foreign investment of more than $20 billion between April and July 2020.”

While pitching India as a global powerhouse, the prime minister called for global economic growth to be “human-centric”, stressing a continuing theme for India. Last week, he had pressed UN member states to move towards a “new type of human-centric globalization”.

“I firmly believe that our approach to the future must primarily be a more a more human centric. Our growth agenda must raise the poor and the vulnerable at the core,” the prime minister said, adding, “ease of living is as as important s ease of business.”

India, US need to focus on something ‘bigger’ as they talk trade: Jaishankar

WASHINGTON, July 22: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday stressed the need for India and the United States to strive for something “bigger” even as they seek to resolve their trade differences.

While resolving these “pending problems”, the minister said, referring to trade issues, is important and central to the relationship, “but beyond trade there is a much bigger connect between our two countries … a sort of knowledge innovation.

Working together in their sphere, he added, “is what will set our relationship apart”.

The minister was participating virtually in the annual summit of the US-India business Council.

Jaishankar’s session partner on Wednesday was Mark Warner, the Democratic senator who is co-chair of the Senate India caucus, who forcefully proposed India joins the United States to form the core of the “Alliance of the Willing”, a loose coalition of nations to confront China’s predatory use of technology to dominate the world.

India’s External Affairs Minister said that 4 million Indian Americans in the US has given new “quality” in the relationship and has created a “bonding” between the two societies.

He further opined that the US really has to learn to work with a more multipolar world with more plurilateral arrangements and go beyond alliances with which it has grown up in the last two generations.

We now have the ability to work together to shape the world. We are working on maritime security, counter-terrorism, connectivity, how to respond in the case of COVID-19 pandemic, added the EAM.

Indian ambassador to the US TS Sandhu said that President Donald Trump's visit in February this year elevated relationship to a comprehensive global strategic partnership.

"World has changed a lot since then. There has been expanded collaboration between our countries in health and vaccine development, he added.

"This year marks the 45th anniversary of the formation of the Council. The theme for this year's India Ideas Summit is 'Building a Better Future'," a statement from the PMO said.

US invites Modi for G7 summit

NEW DELHI, July 22: The US has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the next G7 meeting, said Mike Pompeo at India Ideas Summit. This is a new age of relationship between US and India, said the US Secretary of State adding that the US has never been more supportive of India’s security.

He further said that the US is working with India to enhance the Blue Dot Network and said that India needs to be open to trade.

We believe this is a new age of relationship between US & India, he further said adding that it is important for the two countries to cultivate strong ties amid threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Urging India to reduce its reliance on Chinese firms, Pompeo said that India has a chance to attract global supply chains away from China.

On India-China stand-off which led to the martyrdom of 20 Indian Army soldiers, Pompeo said the US is deeply saddened and called India an important partner in the Indo-Pacific and said that it is "important that democracies like ours work together at a time when we see true scope of the challenge posed by Chinese Communist Party."

Recent clashes initiated by PLA are examples of CCP's unacceptable behaviour, he added.

We both are great democracies, world powers and good friends, said Pompeo and lauded India for banning 59 Chinese apps including TikTok and called the CCP a threat to both India and USA.

"India is an important partner and a key pillar of President Donald Trump's foreign policy," he said.

US asks China to close Houston consulate

HOUSTON, July 22: The US government abruptly ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in an “unprecedented escalation,” the Foreign Ministry said, in the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the world’s biggest economies.

China said the move was unilaterally initiated by the U.S. and Beijing would “react with firm countermeasures” if the Trump administration doesn’t “revoke this erroneous decision.”

It accused the U.S. of harassing diplomatic staff and intimidating Chinese students, confiscating personal electrical devices and detaining them without cause. Chinese diplomatic missions and personnel also recently received bomb and death threats, it added.

It wasn’t immediately clear what spurred the move by the U.S., which has clashed with China over everything from trade and 5G networks to territorial disputes and responsibility for the pandemic.

The Justice Department on Tuesday accused two Chinese hackers of working for Beijing to steal or try to steal terabytes of data, including coronavirus research, from Western companies in 11 nations.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the statement, China said “infliltration and interference is never in the genes and tradition of China’s foreign policy,” without referring to anything specific.

On Tuesday night in Houston, police and firefighters descended on the consulate following witness reports that papers were being burned outside in open containers, the Houston Chronicle and two local TV stations reported, citing local police.

In videos posted online by local media outlets in Houston, fires could be seen in multiple containers, with smoke rising into the sky. TV stations KPRC and KHOU said firefighters were not allowed inside the complex, and KHOU said the fires were later extinguished. The Chronicle said no injuries were reported.

The Chronicle and both stations separately reported the consulate would be evicted on Friday at 4 p.m. local time, each citing unnamed sources.

Pompeo urges ‘entire world’ to stand up to China

LONDON, July 21: US secretary of state Mike Pompeo urged “the entire world” Tuesday to stand up to China but denied forcing Britain’s hand in its decision to ban the communist superpower’s private telecoms giant Huawei.

Pompeo met prime minister Boris Johnson in the heat of an emerging crisis in relations between London and Beijing over everything from China’s treatment of Hong Kong to its persecution of more than one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities.

The top US diplomat used a press conference with his UK opposite number Dominic Raab to air a host of grievances President Donald Trump’s administration had built up against Beijing.

He accused China of engaging in “a cover-up and co-opting” the World Health Organization by allegedly suppressing early details of the “preventable” coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 610,000 people globally.

The Chinese Community Party’s “exploitation of this disaster to further its own interest has been disgraceful”, he said.

Pompeo also castigated China for claiming disputed areas of the South China Sea “you have no lawful claim to” and trying to “threaten and bully” its neighbours.

“We think that the entire world needs to work together to ensure that every country, including China, behaves in the international system in ways that are appropriate and consistent with the international order,” he said.

Pompeo’s last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored Washington’s warnings and allowed Huawei to take a leading role in building Britain’s next-generation mobile data network.

This trip was announced just a day after Johnson last week decided to risk drawing the wrath of China and phasing out Huawei from the speedy new system.

The Chinese foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming “America’s dupe”.

But Pompeo and Raab both tried to dispel suggestions the White House was dictating British affairs.

“I think that decision was made not because the United States said it was a good decision but because the leadership here in the United Kingdom concluded (that it was) the right thing to do,” Pompeo said.

Johnson is keen to avoid being too closely associated with Trump -- whose approval in Britain is languishing at around 20 percent -- despite the “special relationship” between the two historical allies.

The UK government stresses it only ditched Huawei after new US sanctions imposed in May endangered the safety of future 5G equipment produced in China.

“The reality is it is a result of US sanctions,” Raab said.

Washington argues that the Chinese Community Party can force Huawei to either intercept UK data or shut down the British network in times of war.

Huawei has always denied this and Britain had previously concluded that it could mitigate any security flaws.

But the range of steps taken by Johnson in the past month threaten to bring an early end to a “golden decade” in cooperation that former British finance minister George Osborne promised on a visit to Beijing in 2015.

London has also outraged Beijing by offering nearly three million residents of Hong Kong a pathway to UK citizenship in response to a highly controversial security law that China imposed on the former British colony last month.

Britain followed that up on Monday by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending an arms embargo of “potentially lethal weapons” that had previously applied only to mainland China.

Pompeo’s visit includes a sideline meeting with exiled Hong Kong protest leader Nathan Law aimed at further stressing the seemingly new understanding about Beijing.

The UK parliament’s release of a delayed report that took the government to task for failing to properly look into any Russian meddling in the 2016 Brexit referendum also hung over Pompeo’s visit.

The report was commissioned in response to concerns that Moscow attempted to help Trump win the presidency in 2016.

Trump and Pompeo reject suggestions that Russia played any meaningful role in the vote.

Raab said Britain viewed Russia as “a top national security priority” but Pompeo did not address the issue in his public remarks.

US House of Representatives slams Chinese aggression against India

WASHINGTON, July 21: The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), slamming China’s aggression against India in the Galwan Valley and its growing territorial assertiveness in and around disputed areas like the South China Sea.

The NDAA amendment, moved by Congressman Steve Chabot along with Indian-American lawmaker Ami Bera and passed on Monday, said that India and China should work towards de-escalating the situation along the Line of Actual Control.

The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

Passed unanimously by the House of Representatives along with scores of other amendments, it said that the expansion and aggression of the People’s Republic of China in and around disputed territories, such as the Line of Actual Control, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, is of significant concern.

The bipartisan amendment states Congress’ opposition to Chinese aggression against India in the Galwan Valley on the India-China border, and expresses its concern toward the growing territorial assertiveness of China. China has used the distraction of the coronavirus to attempt to seize territory belonging to India, as well as to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea, it said.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

China has impeded commercial activity like fishing or mineral exploration by countries like Vietnam and the Philippines.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. “India is a critical, democratic partner in the Indo-Pacific,” Chabot said in a statement after the House passed the NDAA amendment.

“I am a strong supporter of our bilateral relationship, and I stand with India, and all our partners in the region, as they confront China’s hostile acts of aggression,” he said.

“I am proud to be joined by Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, to bring this important amendment to the floor in a bipartisan manner,” he added.

The Chabot amendment said that in the months leading up to June 15, along the Line of Actual Control, China reportedly amassed 5,000 soldiers; and is believed to have crossed into previously disputed territory considered to be settled as part of India under the 1962 truce.

China and India have reached an agreement to de-escalate and disengage along the Line of Actual Control, the Chabot amendment said, adding that on June 15, at least 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers were killed in skirmishes following a weeks-long standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which is the defacto border between the two countries.

Following the deadly violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India stated, ‘‘whenever there have been differences of opinion, we have always tried to ensure that those differences never turned into a dispute,” the amendment said.

Another bipartisan amendment moved by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with eight others urging Beijing to de-escalate the situation at the border through existing diplomatic mechanisms and not by force is slated to come up for vote before the House on Tuesday.

The two resolutions comes days after the House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in a letter to India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said that over the last few months, the Chinese authorities have been acting with impunity and have attempted to transgress on the LAC, which resulted in diplomatic discussions to implement a process for de-escalation along the LAC on July 6.

It was led by Congressmen Holding and Brad Sherman and signed by seven other lawmakers.

“It is my hope that they scale back on their excessive weaponry and infrastructure at the Line of Actual Control and uphold both their longstanding and new founded agreements with India,” said the lawmakers who offered their condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers.

India's Minister Piyush Goyal proposes ‘preferential trade agreement’ with the US

WASHINGTON, July 21: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday proposed a “preferential trade agreement” with the US covering a limited number of goods and services as the next step after the signing of a “quick” trade deal that was just a few phone “calls” away and before the conclusion of a more ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that could take years.

India and the United States have been working on a limited trade deal to expressly address the more urgent issues of concern to both sides and have said they planned to start negotiations on a broader Free Trade Agreement (FTA) later in the year, either before or after US elections in November.

“Another couple of calls and we should be able to sort that out,” the minister said of the deal currently under negotiations. He was participating virtually an annual summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC, a trade body), which was to take place in New Delhi but was being held virtually in view of the Covid-19 epidemic.

But as the two countries worked towards a “much more sustainable, much more robust and much more enduring” partnership in the form of an FTA, which may take years to conclude, the two sides “should also look at early harvest in the form of a preferential trade agreement”, Goyal said.

It could include “may be 50, may be 100 products and services” where the two sides could engage with “mutual trust and open spirit” to “kickstart” the trade partnership, the minister added.

No other details were available of this interim trade pact. But people familiar with trade talks between the two sides, which have been on a long time but with renewed urgency for the last one year, said the idea is to keep the “ball moving” by continuing to address trade issues in small and manageable and not wait for the FTA, which will be a long and tedious process.

The “quick” deal, as the minister described it, has been ready and waiting to be signed, but is being held over a “frustrating” desire from the US side to “squeeze” out as much as it can.

According to the same people familiar with the talks, the United States has pushed for greater market access in agriculture, dairy and medical devices sectors in the limited trade agreement being finalised.

India has sought restoration of preferential trade benefits under the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which were terminated by the Trump administration in summer of 2019 to force India’s hand.

President Donald Trump’s insistence on trade deficit reduction and reciprocity precipitated a trade crisis between the countries, bringing long simmering issues to a head. He first slapped higher tariff on steel and aluminium imports from India and then evicted India from the GSP programme, which accounted for $6.3 billion worth of Indian exports to the United States in 2018, roughly 12% of total Indian goods exports to the United States.

The two sides had tried to stitch together a Phase 1 of the deal in time for announcement during Trump’s February visit to India, but failed; Indians had complained about the constant sifting of the goalpost. The two sides announcement then a plan to wrap a limited deal shortly and a larger deal later in the year.

Pompeo says will use all tools to support countries over South China Sea

WASHINGTON, July 15: The United States will use all available tools to support countries that believe China has violated their sovereignty in the South China Sea, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.

Pompeo’s statement amps up the pitch against China’s effort to push the envelope and its territory in the South China Sea region.

Pompeo said the US will support these countries but stressed this would be done in multilateral and legal forums.

“We will then go use the tools that we have available and we will support countries all across the world who recognize that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claims as well,” Pompeo told reporters.

“We will go provide them the assistance we can, whether that’s in multilateral bodies, whether that’s in ASEAN, whether that’s through legal responses, we will use all the tools we can,” he said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Pompeo, who had last week spoken about building a coalition against China, indicated the plan was on track. He announced a “quick trip” to the United Kingdom and Denmark on Monday next. I’m sure that the Chinese Communist Party and its threat to free peoples around the world will be high on top of that agenda,” Pompeo told a news conference.

Pompeo also welcomed London’s ban on Chinese telecom giant Huawei and announced that the US would impose visa restrictions on some workers for Huawei Technologies Corp, continuing the Trump administration’s efforts to bar Huawei’s technology on the grounds that the Chinese technology company could be used by the government in Beijing as a back door for spying. Huawei has said it operates independently.

The Trump administration has already delivered a harsh warning to Beijing, insisting that Washington could respond with sanctions against Chinese officials and enterprises involved in coercion in the South China Sea.

“Nothing is off the table ... there is room for that. This is a language the Chinese understand - demonstrative and tangible action,” David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia, had said earlier in the day.

Stilwell’s comment came a day after the United States rejected China’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful”.

The US has opposed China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea in the past and sent warships through the strategic waterway, through which about $3 trillion of trade passes each year, to demonstrate freedom of navigation.

China claims 90% of the potentially energy-rich sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of it. Beijing has built bases on atolls in the region.

China has described the US focus on the South China Sea and its threat of sanctions as an attempt to stir up trouble and destabilise the region.

“The US arbitrarily talks about sanctions ... this is very pathetic,” she told reporters during a daily briefing in Beijing. “We are not afraid of sanctions.”

China’s claims to South China Sea completely unlawful: Pompeo

WASHINGTON, July 13: The Trump administration rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, reversing a previous policy of not taking sides in territorial disputes in the region and escalating tensions with Beijing on yet another front.

“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement Monday.

In the past, the US has called for protecting “freedom of navigation” in the contested waterway while stopping short of taking a position on specific territorial claims.

Intensification of the long-simmering maritime dispute adds to conflicts over issues from trade and technology to cybersecurity and President Donald Trump’s efforts to blame China for the coronavirus pandemic that began there.

Most recently, the US had raised concerns over China’s decision to conduct military exercises in the contested waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The Defense Department last week called the actions “unlawful.”

In 2016, a United Nations tribunal sided with the Philippines in its argument that China’s claims of historic rights to the South China Sea -- as part of its so-called Nine Dash Line -- don’t comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China’s assertions are based on a 1947 map showing vague dashes that cover about 80% of the waterway. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime area.

Stretching from China in the north to Indonesia in the south, the South China Sea encompasses 1.4 million square miles (3.6 million square kilometers).

Beijing has rejected claims that it’s doing anything out of the ordinary in the South China Sea and has indirectly accused the U.S. of trying to sow discord between China and Southeast Asian nations.

US slaps sanctions on four Chinese individuals, including Xinjiang Communist Party head

WASHINGTON, July 9: The United States on Thursday imposed human rights sanctions on four Chinese individuals, including the Xinjiang region’s Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, as well as on the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, according to the US Treasury Department’s website.

The Treasury did not specify why the sanctions were imposed, though the United States is seeking to ratchet up pressure on China at a time of heightened tensions over that country’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang and Beijing’s new national security law for Hong Kong.

US Supreme Court orders Trump financial records released to NY prosecutors

WASHINGTON, July 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a prosecutor’s demand for President Donald Trump’s tax returns as part of a criminal investigation that includes hush-money payments to women who claim they had affairs with Trump.

The court ruled 7-2 in a case in which it heard arguments by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The records are held by Trump’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, which has said it would comply with a court order.

It probably will be at least several weeks before the court issues a formal judgment that would trigger the turnover of the records.

China's incredibly aggressive action in Ladakh: Mike Pompeo

WASHINGTON, July 8: China’s “incredibly aggressive action” along the border with India should not be seen in isolation but in a larger context where Xi Jinping’s Chinese communist party is engaging in an increasing revisionist effort with its neighbours, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.

Pompeo added he was confident that the world will come to understand the threat that is presented by Xi Jinping’s party and will come together to respond in a way that is “powerful and important”.

“I have spoken with (foreign) minister S Jaishankar a number of times about this. The Chinese took incredibly aggressive action and the Indians have done their best to respond to that,” Pompeo said in response to the question on the Chinese efforts to expand its territory that led to the two-month-long stand-off between soldiers of India and China.

China’s People’s Liberation Army has started scaling down its presence along the Line of Actual Control as part of a de-escalation process agreed between the two countries but insisted that it was India that had crossed the line.

“There aren’t many neighbours that can satisfactorily say that they know where their sovereignty ends and the Chinese community party will respect that sovereignty. That is certainly true now for the people of Bhutan as well”

“I put this in the context of general secretary Xi Jinping and his behaviour throughout the region and indeed, throughout the world. I don’t think it is possible to look at that particular instance, Chinese Communist Party’s aggression in isolation. I think you need to put it in the larger context,” Pompeo said.

The US secretary of state referred to the large number of boundary and maritime disputes that China had opened with its neighbours. “I think it is unequaled any place in the world,” he said.

China stunned Thimphu last month when it objected to a grant request for the 650-sq km Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in eastern Bhutan’s Trashigang district at a meeting of the Washington-based Global Environment Facility. Beijing reasoned that the sanctuary, which Bhutan always considered as its easternmost part, was Chinese territory.

Beijing has said the China-Bhutan boundary had never been delimited and there were disputes “over the eastern, central and western sections for a long time”.

US military to stand with India in conflict with China: White House

WASHINGTON, July 7: The US military “will continue to stand strong” in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else, a top White House official has said, after the Navy deployed two aircraft carriers to the strategic South China Sea to boost its presence in the region.

“The message is clear. We’re not going to stand by and let China or anyone else take the reins in terms of being the most powerful, dominant force, whether it’s in that region or over here,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on Monday.

“And the message is clear. Our military might stands strong and will continue to stand strong, whether it’s in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else,” Meadows said in response to a question.

He was told that India banned Chinese apps because Indian soldiers were killed by Chinese troops last month and asked what’s mission of the two aircraft carriers - the Ronald Reagan and the Nimitz - and what’s America’s mission.

The troops of India and China are locked in an eight-week standoff in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Gogra Hot Spring. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the LAC.

The Chinese military on Monday began withdrawing troops from the Galwan Valley and Gogra Hot Spring after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held lengthy talks on Sunday. Doval and Wang are also the special representatives on the India-China boundary talks. The United States has sent two of its aircraft carriers to the South China Sea. “Our mission is to make sure that the world knows that we still have the preeminent fighting force on the face of the globe,” Meadows said.

President Donald Trump has invested more in the US military, more in not only the hardware, but the men and women who serve so sacrificially each and every day, he said. “He (Trump) continues to do so,” he added.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are vital to global trade.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.

Meadows also hinted that President Trump might sign an executive order that relates to China, among other issues.

“I’ll give you a couple of hints, all right. So, a sneak preview here. We’re going to be looking at how we make sure that China is addressed, how we bring manufacturing back from overseas to make sure the American worker is supported,” he said.

“We’re also going to look at a number of issues as it relates to immigration. We’re going to look at a number of issues as it relates to prescription drug prices and we’re going to get them done when Congress couldn’t get them done,” Meadows said.

Appearing on the same Fox News on Monday talk show with host Brian Kilmeade, influential Republican Senator Tom Cotton said that the US aircraft carriers are headed to the South China Sea to thwart off any Chinese misadventure against Taiwan or other countries in the region.

“That’s one of the reasons why we have those aircraft carrier groups in the South China Sea. I mean, look what China did in the southwest. It’s essentially invaded India over the last few weeks and killed Indian soldiers,” Cotton said.

“No country on China’s periphery, right now, is safe from Chinese aggression. All those countries want a close relationship with the United States. We ought to have one,” Cotton said.

China must be held accountable for Covid-19: Trump

WASHINGTON, July 5: As the United States celebrated its 244th birthday in an unusually somber manner reflecting the mood of a country in the throes of deadly coronavirus disease outbreak, President Donald Trump once again blamed China for it and held out hopes of a vaccine by the end of the year.

“China must be held fully accountable”, the president said, blaming China once again for misreporting the disease outbreak, and misleading the world about its dangers early enough.

The president, who held the July 4 celebrations against the advice of public health officials and experts warning that the virus is also spreading through these large gatherings, did not mention the fatalities in his speech. Currently the worst-hit country, death toll in US neared 130,000 Sunday, or the 2.8 million cases, with more than 45,000 new infections over the past 24 hours.

Without citing evidence, Trump said that 99 per cent of coronavirus cases in the United States were “totally harmless”, contrary to the mounting cases running into millions show. This month, many states have marked a record number of new Covid-19 cases. In Texas alone, 7,890 patients were hospitalized after 238 new admissions over the past 24 hours.

Health experts have blamed large gatherings such as the one that Trump addressed Friday in front of the Mt Rushmore monument in South Dakota on Friday the Independence Day celebrations — called “Salute to America” on Saturday partly for the surge in infections being reported from souther states currently. Memorial Day celebrations on May 31, for instance, has been blamed by officials of many of these 16 states for their spikes — called the Memorial Day “bump” by some of them.

“China must be held fully accountable”, the president said, blaming China once again for misreporting the disease outbreak, and misleading the world about its dangers early enough.

Trump’s frequent blaming of China has been seen by critics as an attempt to shift blame from his own shoddy handling of the crisis.

As before he also pushed a misleading narrative that the the high number of cases in the United States was due to more testing. While more testing will lead to the detection of more cases, which is the way to tackle the virus, public health officials of his own task force have repeatedly said rising proportion of positive results point to a genuine spoke in infections.

“Now we have tested, almost 40 million people,” he said.

The president also plugged hopes of a breakthrough in the hunt of a vaccine, saying, “We’ll likely have a therapeutic and/or a vaccine solution long before the end of the year.”

US aircraft carriers in S China Sea not intimidated by Chinese missile threat

WASHINGTON, July 5: After the US Navy deployed its two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers – USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan – to conduct exercises in the South China Sea, Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times went into overdrive threatening the US carriers with DF-21D and DF-26 'aircraft carrier killer' missiles.

In an op-ed, a Chinese analyst said that China has a wide selection of anti-aircraft carrier weapons like DF-21D and DF-26 ‘aircraft carrier killer’ missiles adding that South China Sea is fully within grasp of the PLA; and that US aircraft carrier movement in the region is at the pleasure of PLA.

Responding to this futile threat, the US Navy’s Chief of Information (CHINFO) shared a post taking a dig at the mouthpiece saying, “And yet, there they are” adding that the two US Navy aircraft carriers – USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan – operating in the international waters of the South China Sea are not intimidated.

The recent decision by the United States to deploy its two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers comes after China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted military drills in the disputed waters provoking a sharp reaction from Vietnam, Philippines and the US.

The US navy in a statement had said that its operations in the South China Sea are on to "support free and open Indo-Pacific".

China claims 90 per cent of the South China Sea and the region is important for the global trade as about USD 3 trillion worth of trade passes through this route.

Beijing has been ramping up the infrastructure on the disputed territory by building man-made islands and setting up military installations including airfields in several key areas.

Apart from China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim over different parts of the South China Sea with 21 disputes in total.

The repositioning of these aircraft carriers is also due to the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asia. Recently, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the United States is reducing its troop presence in Europe due to Beijing’s growing aggression in Asia.

US sends supercarriers to South China Sea

WASHINGTON, July 4: The US Navy is deploying its two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan - to conduct exercises in the South China Sea, piling pressure on an ambitious Beijing that has opened multiple fronts including one with India along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

The US supercarriers are reported to be crossing Luzon Strait, the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines that connects Philippine Sea to the South China Sea

The US deployment comes after Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army Navy conducted military drills in the contested waters, provoking a sharp reaction from neighbouring states and Washington. The US navy has said its operations in the South China Sea were designed to “support free and open Indo-Pacific”.

“The purpose is to show an unambiguous signal to our partners and allies that we are committed to regional security and stability,” Rear Admiral George M Wikoff commander of the strike group led by USS Ronald Reagan told Wall Street Journal, which first reported the exercises.

China claims 90% of the South China Sea through which about $3 trillion of trade passes each year. Over the last decade, Beijing has gone ahead to build man-made islands and set up military installations including military-grade airfields in several areas.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, setting up many of the 21 disputes that an aggressive Beijing is embroiled in.

For now, the most serious crisis is on the India-China border where armies of the two countries are locked in standoffs at multiple points in Ladakh. India has deployed its soldiers along with 1,597 km-long LAC along the entire stretch of the border in East Ladakh, prepared for any eventuality.

But the LAC isn’t the only part of China’s border where it has been attempting to bulldoze its way through to expand its territory.

China’s military drills in the disputed waters have been sharply criticised by its neighbours. Philippines and Vietnam had last week spoken of growing insecurity in southeast Asia at an ASEAN event last Friday amid concerns that China is using the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to step up its presence in the disputed waters.

China’s PLA Navy had started the five-day military drills on July 1, prompting Vietnam to file its formal protest to the Chinese foreign ministry. China’s drills are being held near the Paracel Islands claimed by Vietnam and Philippines.

In its strongest statement yet, the Philippines has said the exercises are being held in waters claimed by Vietnam.

“Should the exercises spill over to Philippine territory, then China is forewarned that it will be met with the severest response, diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate,” Philippines foregn ministry said in a statement. The Philippines has a defence cooperation pact with the US.

The US naval exercises come a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed solidarity with China’s neighbours. “The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) military exercise in disputed waters of the South China Sea is highly provocative. We oppose Beijing’s unlawful claims. Period,” Pompeo tweeted on Friday.

Pompeo has been outspoken in his criticism of China’s expansionist approach, describing Beijing as a “rogue actor” for escalating tensions with India and other countries. Last month, he had underlined the degree to which the US is deploying its considerable military might with an almost single-minded determination to contain China.

Shinzo Abe’s Japan, which had been looking at improving ties with China till some months back, is set to cancel a state visit by Xi Jinping that had been deferred from April this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Japan, which has raised its deployment around its Senkaku Islands that China eyes, has been upset with Beijing over its practice of sending its ships to the Senkaku Islands. Since April this year, Japan has spotted 67 Chinese Coast Guard ships near the islands in the East China Sea.

The 8 uninhabited islands and rocks in the East China Sea controlled by Japan have a total area of about 7 sq km and lie north-east of Taiwan and east of the Chinese mainland but are important because they are close to important shipping lanes and lie near potential oil and gas reserves.

Joe Biden vows to accord ‘high priority’ to ties with India if elected

WASHINGTON, July 2: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has said the United States and India were “natural partners” and if elected the relationship will be a “high priority” for his administration.

The former vice-president also said he will end the temporary suspension of H-1B visas ordered by President Donald Trump last week ostensibly to ensure American had the first crack at jobs becoming available as the US reopens from Covid-19 lockdown. But the visa programme, of which Indians are the largest beneficiaries, has been in the crosshairs of immigration hawks in his administration.

India and the US are “natural partners”, Biden said at a virtual fundraiser Wednesday, using a phrase for describing the relationship that has evolved from “natural allies”, as first used by late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Former US president George W Bush switched in “partners” for “allies”.

“That partnership, a strategic partnership, is necessary and important in our security,” Biden said and proceeded to give a more expansive account of his role in promoting the relationship, such as securing the civil nuclear deal that ended India’s isolation from the community of nuclear states.

“I was proud to play a role more than a decade ago in securing congressional approval for the US India Civil Nuclear Agreement,” he said, adding, “which is a big deal.” It was indeed, and has remained so, setting a high bar for everything that has followed in the relationship.

“Helping open the door to great progress in our relationship and strengthening our strategic partnership with India was a high priority in the Obama-Biden administration and will be a high priority if I’m elected president,” the former vice-president said, and added, “India needs to be a partner in the region for our safety(’s) sake and quite frankly for theirs.”

Biden visited India as vice-president in July 2013, with his wife Jill Biden.

At a virtual town-hall with Asian American and Pacific Islanders, the former vice-president came out clearly agains Trump’s suspension of H-1Bs. “He (Trump) just ended H-1B visas the rest of this year. That will not be in my administration,” he said in response to a questions.

People on this visa “have built this country”, Biden said.

This will come as a huge relief for the Indians hoping to work in the United States and US and Indian companies that hire them on H-1B. The United States issues 85,000 of these temporary non-immigrant visas for high-skill jobs every year, and more than 70% go to Indians.

Critics of the programme have argued H-1B visas are being used to bring cheaper labor from abroad and displace Americans. The Trump administration stepped up scrutiny of the programme soon after Trump came into offie in January 2017 and issued an executive order titled “Buy American, Hire American”.

A larger reform of the programme was announced along with the suspension last week. It would include doing away with the electronic lottery system to pick successful H-1B petitions from among the hundred and thousands that are filed. Selection will be based on those getting the highest salary. Other changes are also in the offing, but there is no timeline for it yet.

The vice-president went on to speak of other immigration issues as the plight of undocumented immigrants brought as children, called Dreamers. Many of them are of Indian origin.

“On day one (of his presidency), I’m going to send a legislative immigration reform bill to congress to provide a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants who contribute so much to this country,” he said.

47,000 Covid-19 cases in US in a day

WASHINGTON, July 1: The US saw a new single-day record of more than 47,000 Covid-19 cases, as President Donald Trump said he was growing “more and more angry at China”, where the pandemic started.

California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as the new US hot spots. Cases in California rose by 8,441 on Tuesday, the highest one-day rise in the state.

“As I watch the pandemic spread its ugly face all across the world, including the tremendous damage it has done to the USA, I become more and more angry at China,” Trump tweeted.

His administration is facing criticism for “hoarding” nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat Covid-19. The department of health and human services said Trump has secured 500,000 treatments of the drug through September, representing 100% of Gilead’s July production capacity and 90% of its capacity in August and September.

Red Cross decried on Wednesday the politicisation of the pandemic in many countries, warning that the “divisive” response by leaders in places like Brazil and the US was taking a heavy toll. In Brazil, a judge dismissed an earlier order asking President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public or face a fine.

Alphabet Inc’s Google said late on Tuesday it was delaying the reopening of its US offices. All of Google’s US offices will now remain closed at least until September 7, it said.

Canada will keep its borders sealed till at least the end of July as the government extended its ban on travellers.

In Switzerland, wearing a facemask on public transport will become compulsory.

In Australia, residents in suburbs north of Melbourne went into a month-long lockdown on Wednesday night after new cases emerged in the second largest city.

Thailand, meanwhile, began a fifth phase of relaxations, allowing the reopening of schools and high-risk entertainment venues such as pubs and massage parlours. Hit by the twin shocks of Covid-19 and low oil prices, Saudi Arabia implemented the tripling of value added tax from Wednesday.