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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday rejected calls from former Canadian parliamentarians and diplomats, as well as the Chinese government, to release executive Meng Wanzhou of China’s telecom giant Huawei and unilaterally end her extradition process.This week, a group of 19 high-profile Canadians, including former foreign affairs ministers Lloyd Axworthy and Lawrence Cannon, signed a letter to Trudeau saying Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti should intervene to free Meng.Speaking in Ottawa at his regular COVID-19 update briefing, Trudeau said he respected the signees of the letter, but, “I deeply disagree with them.” He said giving in to China’s demands would put other Canadians at risk by showing other nations the country can be intimidated.In 2018, Canadian authorities took Meng into custody regarding U.S. allegations of violating sanctions on Iran. Her extradition case is now before a court in British Columbia.Soon after Meng was arrested, Beijing detained two Canadians, entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig, on allegations of undermining China’s national security. Canada considered those detentions as retaliation.Trudeau Thursday described Spavor and Kovrig’s detentions as “arbitrary” and “political,” and said he will continue to work to get them released.
 
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the United States and the European Union to cultivate a shared understanding of China in order to create an effective resistance strategy to Beijing’s increasing economic power.  The remarks, made Thursday at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund, came as Pompeo announced his intent to join EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Europe this month for discussions concerning China.
Via video link, Pompeo emphasized the bilateral nature of the actions, stating that “this isn’t the United States confronting China, this is the world confronting China.”  The EU has previously expressed concern over China’s alleged predatory trade practices and alleged intellectual property theft but has stopped shy of joining Washington in a trade war.  
Instead, the bloc has attempted to forge a middle path, mitigating trade relations while hesitating to escalate tension.FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference after an EU summit, in video conference format, at the European Council in Brussels, June 19, 2020.The EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc, held talks with the Chinese leadership on Monday, reportedly putting pressure on China to revamp its negotiation efforts for a trade deal and increased investment in the EU.  Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that while the talks were important symbolically, more needed to be done to ensure the continued partnership between China and the EU.  “We have the intentions, the words put on paper, but we need the deeds,’’ she said.  In his speech at the Brussels forum, Pompeo said that the EU-China dialogue was necessary not only to protect U.S. interests, but to protect the bloc’s economy from encroachment by China.  He also said that he hoped his upcoming conversations with EU leaders on the issue would provide a “catalyst for action.”  
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Police around the southern English coastal town of Bournemouth urged people to stay away Thursday as thousands defied coronavirus social distancing rules and flocked to local beaches on what is the U.K.’s hottest day of the year so far.
A “major incident” has been declared for the largely rural area that can only be navigated in most places by car on narrow lanes. This gives additional powers to local authorities and emergency services to tackle the issue.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council said services were “completely overstretched” as people sought the sanctuary of the seaside on a day meteorologists confirmed as the hottest of 2020. The mercury hit 33.3 C (around 92 F) at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Extra police patrols have been brought in and security is in place to protect waste collectors who the council said faced “widespread abuse and intimidation” as they emptied overflowing bins. Roads, which were gridlocked into the early hours, now have signs telling people the area is full, according to the council.
Council leader Vikki Slade said she was “absolutely appalled” at the scenes witnessed on the beaches — particularly at Bournemouth and Sandbanks over the past day or two.
“The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe,” she said. “We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave notice that a number of the lockdown restrictions will be eased from July 4, including allowing pubs and restaurants to open their doors. He also effectively announced that the two-meter (6.5-foot) social distancing rule will be reduced to a meter (around three feet) from that date, a move that is largely aimed at bolstering businesses.
The relaxation has met with a lot of criticism, not least because the U.K. is still recording relatively high new coronavirus infections and deaths. On Thursday, the government said another 149 people who tested positive for the virus had died, taking the total to 43,230, by far the highest in Europe.
“Clearly we are still in a public health crisis and such a significant volume of people heading to one area places a further strain on emergency services resources,” said Dorset Police’s Sam de Reya.
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The Eiffel Tower, one of France’s most iconic landmarks, reopened for the first time on Thursday after it was forced to close its doors for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.France was hit badly by the virus, recording 29,731 deaths and 161,348 confirmed cases as President Macron faced heavy criticism regarding his government’s management of the outbreak. Reinstating access to the famed site is yet another sign of Europe’s slow recovery as the continent struggles to balance restarting the economy with public safety concerns.Many countries have expressed cautious optimism about the summer tourist season, hoping that social distancing measures and coronavirus tracing apps will encourage people to travel responsibly.A visitor looks at the view from the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, June 25, 2020.The Eiffel Tower is one of the few Parisian sites permitting visitors. Other tourist attractions, such as the Louvre museum, will remain closed until July 6. To protect visitors, elevators to the tower’s three observation decks scaling 324-meters are closed, and only two of the three decks are open. The remaining deck, as well as the elevators, are expected to open in later summer months.Visitors are free to climb 674 steps to the 2nd floor, according to the Eiffel Tower’s website, which usually takes between 30 to 45 minutes. The tower lost $30 million in revenue from the lockdown that started in March, according to its director general, Patrick Branco Ruivo, and has not been closed for this long since World War II. 
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The prime minister of Kosovo on Thursday canceled his plans to attend a White House meeting with leaders of Serbia following the indictment of Kosovo’s president on war crimes charges stemming from the 1990s armed conflict between the two Balkan countries.  
Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti said he informed U.S presidential envoy Richard Grenell of his decision, which is likely to torpedo the talks. Grenell expected Hoti to fill in for Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and co-lead the talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Thaci called off his trip to Washington after learning Wednesday of the indictment charging him and nine other former Kosovo rebel fights with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder.
The White House meeting on Saturday was to be the first talks between Serbia and Kosovo in 19 months. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move Serbia has not recognized. The United States and the European Union have been working to help normalize ties between the two countries.
The EU has been leading negotiations for nine years, and the Washington meeting wasn’t coordinated with Europe. EU spokesman Peter Stano did not comment on the White House talks Thursday, He repeated that the EU was committed to facilitating the dialogue and said it would resume in Brussels next month.  
“There is no alternative to the EU-facilitated dialogue to address the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” Stando said.  
There has been no reaction from Grenell so far, who immediately after the announcement of Thaci’s indictment had tweeted that Hoti would co-lead the White House meeting with Serbia’s president.  
Hoti met Thursday in Brussels with European Council President Charles Michel to talk about visa rules, the coronavirus impact and other issues.
On Wednesday, the prosecutor for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said Thaci and the nine others “are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders” of Serbs and Roma, as well as Kosovo Albanian political opponents. Other charges include enforced disappearance, persecution and torture, he said.
A pretrial judge at The Hague-based court is studying the indictment and could still reject it if there is not enough evidence to back it up.  
The Washington meeting will not now happen, said independent analyst Agron Bajrami, adding that the future of the entire Kosovo-Serbia dialogue is in doubt.
“It will be very difficult for him (Thaci) to continue acting acting as a president, if not for anything else but for the fact that he cannot be part of the dialogue now that this has occurred,” said Bajrami.
Isa Mustafa, leader of the ruling Democratic League of Kosovo, said that the country’s political parties should first convene and talk before meeting with Serbia. He also called for all institutions to continue to operate normally, or “it would be an illusion we could continue toward an agreement.”
Parliament postponed Thursday’s normal weekly session.
Thaci was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation army, or KLA, that fought for independence from Serbia. The fighting left more than 10,000 dead — most of them ethnic Albanians — and 1,641 are still unaccounted-for. It ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign that forced Serbian troops to stop their brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Those indicted include Kadri Veseli, former parliament speaker and leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, who said he considered the indictment politically motivated.
The indictment was the first made by the prosecutor of the special tribunal for Kosovo based in The Hague. The court has been operating since 2015 and has questioned hundreds of witnesses. Another Kosovo prime minister resigned last year before he was questioned.  
Hysni Gucati, head of the war veterans organization, accused the Special Court of being “a racist court because it is unilateral.” He mentioned some 460 massacres, more than 16,000 dead, including 1,200 children and 200,000 houses burned during the 1998-1999 war.  
He also said the court was politically motivated and the indictments were likely an act of revenge by Europe, which was left out when Thaci turned toward the U.S. to take the leading role in the dialogue.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high. European Union-facilitated negotiations to normalize their relations started in March 2011 and have produced some 30 agreements, but most of them have not been observed. 
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Colombian President Ivan Duque said he is receptive to prosecutors seeking a life sentence if several soldiers accused of raping a 12-year-old girl Monday are charged and convicted.Gito Dokabu Indigenous Governor Juan De Dios Queragama said a human rights official told him seven uniformed soldiers raped the girl. He said the girl was unable to walk when friends assisting her mother found at her at her school.No circumstances of the alleged attack were immediately made public. The case comes a week after Colombia’s Senate approved a life in prison sentence for cases involving the rape or murder of minors.Colombia’s attorney general is investigating whether the soldiers were involved and will determine if they will face charges. 
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A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much of Cuba on Wednesday and began to affect air quality in Florida, sparking warnings to people with respiratory illnesses to stay home.The dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa over the past week, covering the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico since Sunday and hitting south Florida in the United States on Wednesday, authorities there said.Conditions over the Cuban capital, Havana, are expected to worsen on Thursday, specialists on the Communist-run island reported.Francisco Duran, head of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, said the cloud is likely to “increase respiratory and allergic conditions.”Air quality in Miami is currently “moderate,” the city’s health department said, asking people with respiratory problems to stay home.Powered by strong winds, dust from the Sahara travels across the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa during the boreal spring.But the density of the current dust cloud over Cuba “is well above normal levels,” said Cuban meteorologist Jose Rubiera.”The highest concentration over the capital will occur (Thursday),” he said.In Havana, scientist Eugenio Mojena said the phenomenon “causes an appreciable deterioration in air quality.”Mojena said the dust clouds are loaded with material that is “highly harmful to human health.”Mojena listed “minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorous, silicon and mercury” in the dust, and said the clouds also carried “viruses, bacteria, fungi, pathogenic mites, staphylococci and organic pollutants.”According to the Institute of Meteorolgy, temperatures in Cuba’s eastern province of Guantanamo reached a record for the time of year of 37.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.Duran ruled out any link with the coronavirus pandemic.The government said its epidemic is under control and last week began to relax quarantine measures, with Havana the only area where restrictions remain because it continues to register infections.The island reported a single new case on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 2,318, with 85 fatalities from COVID-19. 
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A videoconference summit this week between leaders from China and the European Union had a wide-ranging agenda including trade, climate change, cybersecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic, but it ended without agreements, or even a joint statement.  Instead, European officials released a statement that analysts say is the clearest sign yet that the relationship between the two massive economies is entering a new phase.   “Engaging and cooperating with China is both an opportunity and a necessity,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council. “But at the same time, we have to recognize that we do not share the same values, political systems or approach to multilateralism.”  FILE – European Council President Charles Michel, right screen, waves to Chinese President Xi Jinping, left screen top, during an EU-China summit, in videoconference format, at the European Council in Brussels, June 22, 2020.Erik Brattberg, director of the Europe Program and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that in the past the EU has prioritized economic and trade issues over human rights and other issues that are sensitive for Beijing.    “I think the summit confirms this approach is probably coming to an end,” Brattberg said. “My impression is that Europe is really in a transition period in designing and shaping of China strategy that is realistic, that is looking toward efficiency,” said Alice Ekman, the senior analyst in charge of the Asia portfolio at the European Union Institute for Security Studies. During the videoconference Monday with Chinese leaders, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, brought up human rights issues in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as Beijing’s spreading of false information about the coronavirus. She also blamed China for hacking computer systems and hospital networks in European countries, saying such actions would not be tolerated.   Von der Leyen said she and Michel made it clear that implementing national security laws in Hong Kong not only violated Hong Kong’s Basic Law but also violated China’s international commitments.   “I have never seen such strong statements from the EU side on human rights issues, for instance, and on Hong Kong,” Ekman said.    Hal Brands, a professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told VOA that while the EU has been critical of China’s practices it has not yet taken any practical action.  He cited Hong Kong as one example. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gives a news conference about dealings with China and Iran, and on the fight against the coronavirus disease pandemic, in Washington, June 24, 2020.The EU has “essentially declined to impose meaningful sanctions as a result of the Hong Kong push. The EU basically voiced concerns but didn’t take any concrete actions,” Brands said. “So the Chinese may calculate that while there may be diplomatic criticism, and the U.S. may impose some penalties, the overall damage will be bearable.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the EU to make the choice between freedom and China’s tyranny June 19 at the Copenhagen democracy summit.  “I don’t believe that there’s a uniquely ‘European’ or ‘American’ way to face this choice,” Pompeo said. “There’s also no way to straddle these alternatives without abandoning who we are. Democracies that are dependent on authoritarians are not worthy of their name.” Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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The United States is working with the European Union (EU) and countries across the world on how to “safely reopen international travel” after months of COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine measures.   Draft recommendations and media reports that have emerged from the EU about reopening borders suggest Americans may be prevented from traveling to Europe because of the high number of coronavirus cases in the United States. US Citizens Likely to be Left Out as Europe Reopens Borders Brussels also says Europe’s borders should not be open to any country with a ban on European travelers”We have to make sure that we have all of the elements in place to reopen travel between the EU and the United States,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday in a press briefing.   “We’re working on finding the right way to do that, the right timing to do it, the right tactics to have in place,” Pompeo said. The top U.S. diplomat added he’s “very confident” that in the coming weeks they will work out “plans and methods” to “get global travel back in place.” European nations appear to be on track to reopen their borders, beginning in July. Draft internal EU recommendations suggest allowing entry by non-EU nationals from countries with stable or decreasing coronavirus infections. Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 34,000 new coronavirus cases, which brought the total to more than 2.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country.According to data published by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. has the most confirmed coronavirus cases, followed by Brazil and Russia. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced travel restrictions on 26 European countries in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.  U.S. citizens are permitted to return from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Schengen area that covers 26 European countries.
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A Hague-based special prosecutor indicted Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and nine others Wednesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Kosovo’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.In a press release Wednesday, the Special Prosecutor’s Office alleged that the 10 people charged were “criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders” during the war, which involved “hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents.” Other crimes include forced disappearances, persecution and torture. “[The indictment] is the result of a lengthy investigation and reflects the SPO’s determination that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the release said. The Office filed the indictments on April 24. A Kosovo Specialist Chamber pre-trial judge will decide whether to confirm the charges after reviewing the indictment. The Kosovo Specialist Chamber and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were formally established in 2016 as a Kosovo court based in the Netherlands. It operates under Kosovo law but is funded by the European Union and staffed by international judges and prosecutors. The announcement Wednesday came three days before Thaci and Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti were scheduled to visit the White House for a summit with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Serbia and Kosovo, tweeted Wednesday that Thaci canceled his Washington trip.Hoti and Vucic will still attend, he wrote.We look forward to Saturday’s discussions which will be led by President Vucic and Prime Minister Hoti. https://t.co/j7KhhfbQX1
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) FILE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 12, 2020.Speaking about the upcoming White House talks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called it an opportunity to restart dialogue between all parties by “making a real effort to find a political solution for the situation in Kosovo.”  “And of course we would strongly welcome the resumption of talks between Belgrade and Pristina to try to find a solution. It is not for NATO or any other countries to dictate the outcome. But the fact that they meet is at least an encouraging first step to the resumption of talks,” Stoltenberg said in response to questions from VOA’s Serbian Service. He stressed that NATO has good relations with both sides. The Western Alliance also has a long history in the Balkans, helping to end wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo, noted Stoltenberg.  VOA’s Serbian Service contributed to this report. 
 
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Russia has held its long awaited celebrations to mark the end of World War Two, with the Kremlin dismissing concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to hold a grand military parade on Red Square. As Charles Maynes reports from Moscow, it’s not the only sign of Moscow opening up.
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Coronavirus hospitalizations and caseloads hit new highs in over a half-dozen states as signs of the virus’ resurgence mounted, with newly confirmed infections nationwide back near their peak level of two months ago.  
After trending downward for six weeks, the U.S. caseload has been growing again for over a week, particularly in the South and West. Some 34,700 new cases were reported nationwide Tuesday, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number was higher than any other day except April 9 and the record-setting date of April 24, when 36,400 cases were logged.
 
While new cases have been declining steadily in early U.S. hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, several other states set single-day case records Tuesday, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas. Some of them also broke hospitalization records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.  
“The question of how we’re doing as a nation is: We’re not doing so well. How are we doing as a state? Not doing so well,” said Dr. Jeffrey Smith, the county executive in Santa Clara County, California, home to Silicon Valley. Nearly 5,600 people have died of the virus in California, the most populous state.VOA Graphic COVID-19 Cases June 2020Cases are also surging in some other parts of the world. India reported a record daily increase of nearly 16,000 new cases. Mexico, where testing rates have been low, also set a record with more than 6,200 new cases.
But China appears to have tamed a new outbreak in Beijing, once again demonstrating its ability to quickly mobilize its vast resources by testing nearly 2.5 million people in 11 days.
In the U.S., the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress that the next few weeks are critical to tamping down the surge and that people should avoid crowds or at least wear masks in them.  
Hours later, President Donald Trump rallied hundreds of young conservatives in a megachurch in Arizona as the state reported a record 3,600 new infections.
Ahead of the event, the Democratic mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego, made clear that she did not believe the speech could be safely held in her city, and she urged the president to wear a face mask. He did not. Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, turning it into a conservative-vs.-liberal issue.
In China, an outbreak that has infected more than 200 people in the capital this month appeared to be waning. China on Wednesday reported 12 cases, down from 22 the day before. Beijing reported seven new cases, down from 13.
Officials in Beijing said they tested more than 2.4 million people between June 12 and June 22. That’s more than 10% of the capital’s population of about 20 million.  
Authorities began testing people in and around food markets, then expanded the initiative to restaurant staff and the city’s 100,000 delivery workers. China also said it used data to find people who had been near markets for testing. It did not elaborate.
South Korea, which tamed its first wave of infections, is seeing another rise — this time in the Seoul region, where most South Koreans live. Authorities reported 51 cases Wednesday. The country has reported 40 to 50 new cases a day over the past two weeks.  
In India, with a population of more than 1.3 billion, the capital city of New Delhi is a rising concern, with the government criticizing its poor contact tracing and a lack of hospital beds. India has reported more than 450,000 cases of the virus, including more than 14,000 deaths.
Mexico reported nearly 800 new deaths on Wednesday. The country has recorded more than 190,000 cases and over 23,000 deaths, though officials acknowledge both are undercounts because of extremely low testing rates. Mexico has performed about half a million tests, or one for every 250 inhabitants.
In Europe, countries are both easing and increasing restrictions as the outbreaks evolve. Slovenia reintroduced mandatory use of face masks in public transportation and other enclosed public spaces after cases spiked in recent days, while Belgium said theaters and swimming pools could reopen next month. Infections there have nosedived over the past two months.  
In Africa, African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief John Nkengasong said the outbreak is “picking up speed very quickly,” with a steep increase in cases and deaths as more countries loosen lockdowns. Africa has seen nearly 325,000 cases and over 8,600 deaths.
Worldwide, more than 9.2 million people have been confirmed infected, and close to a half-million have died, by Johns Hopkins’ count.
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The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who had delivered oil to Venezuela, and the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Washington’s backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.   FILE – Secretary of State Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the State Department, June 24, 2020 in Washington.Speaking at a press conference at the State Department, Pompeo said the ships delivered around 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components, and warned any mariners against doing business with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose ouster Washington wants.   “As a result of today’s sanctions, these captains’ assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation,” Pompeo said in a statement later. “Mariners who are considering work with Iran and Venezuela should understand that aiding these oppressive regimes is simply not worth the risk,” he said.   The Trump administration, which is seeking both to block Iran’s energy trade and bring down Maduro, has threatened reprisals and warned ports, shipping companies and insurers against facilitating the tankers.   The OPEC member’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and the economy has collapsed, but Maduro has held on — to the frustration of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.   Iran has since April sent five tankers totalling about 1.5 million barrels to the leftist government of fuel-starved Venezuela, though the shipments have done little to alleviate hours-long lines at gas stations. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparred with opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer in Parliament Wednesday about Johnson’s strategies for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in Britain.Considering Johnson’s announcement Tuesday that much of Britain would reopen, effective July 4, Starmer said local leaders across the country do not have the proper guidance or powers to implement lockdowns, should there be a spike in coronavirus cases. He asked Johnson to define what a local lockdown might look like and what guidance those leaders might expect to receive.Johnson dismissed Starmer’s criticism, saying the government had a “very effective cluster-busting operation” in place, and local governments understand how it works. Speaking about the National Health Service’s “track-and-trace” app, Starmer said 33,000 people are estimated to have COVID-19 in England, but only 10,000 people with the virus were reached by contact tracers. The opposition leader noted, “This is a big gap,” and warned that if the app isn’t running, “we can’t open the economy.”Johnson said the Labor leader was giving a “false impression” of what the NHS app is doing and said that it is a “formidable achievement.” He said “no country currently has a functioning track-and-trace app.”Starmer noted Germany’s app, which reports say has been downloaded 10 million times. Italy, Singapore and South Korea also have tracing apps in use.
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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House Wednesday, as Duda finds himself locked in a surprisingly tight race for reelection back home.Polish voters will decide in four days whether the right-wing president will serve a second term in office.Duda, a close ally of Trump, reportedly hopes that Trump will announce more U.S. military assistance for Poland, which has expressed a need for more military support since Russia’s 2014 annexation of nearby Crimea.The hastily arranged meeting comes after Trump’s sudden announcement earlier this month to cut U.S. troops in Germany from 34,500 to 25,000, triggering speculation that Trump could decide to reassign some of them to Poland.Polish media reports say the U.S. could also provide fighter jets and military cargo planes.A senior U.S. official said it would be premature to discuss troop deployment in Europe.Michal Baranowski, the director of the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based non-partisan public policy think tank, said Duda hopes his meeting with Trump will increase his prospects of reelection.“President Duda will have an opportunity to look very presidential and that’s, I think a big part of this,” he said.Baranowski added that the meeting, Trump’s first with a foreign leader since the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March, could also bolster support for Trump in Polish American communities in swing states before the U.S. presidential election in November.While Duda is currently the frontrunner in the Polish election, Rafal Trzaskowski, a centrist opposition candidate, has been catching up in the polls.Commentator Boguslaw Chrabota wrote in the Rzeczpospolita daily newspaper that Duda was “desperately looking for a triumphant ending” to his campaign.But Chrabota also said the meeting with Trump carried “considerable risk” if he promises to use large amounts of taxpayers’ money to pay for U.S. military hardware.Poland has agreed in recent years to buy fighter jets, rocket launchers and missiles from the U.S. and has closely aligned itself with Trump. 
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With the death toll surpassing 100,000 deaths, Latin America has emerged as the world’s newest epicenter for the novel coronavirus pandemic. Brazil leads the region with 1,145,906 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 52,645 deaths, making it the world’s second-highest number of cases in both categories after the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. The nation recorded 39,436 new confirmed cases over the last 24-hour period on Tuesday, including more than 1,300 deaths.   The pandemic has reached such a crisis that a federal judge ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public or pay a fine of nearly $400 a day.  A man, wearing a protective face mask walks past a mural depicting a tug-of-war between health workers and President Bolsonaro, with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Which side are you on?”, Sao Paulo, June 19, 2020.The judge said Bolsonaro is violating local law in Brasilia aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Bolsonaro has so far refused to cover his mouth at large political rallies where he comes in close contact with voters and children.  Bolsonaro has shrugged off the pandemic as just a “flu” and said anyone worried about the virus is just being neurotic.  Analysts attribute the rise in confirmed cases and deaths in the Latin American region to a combination of widespread poverty, widespread distrust of the government, and leaders, such as Bolsonaro and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who have either downplayed or dismissed the true risk of the virus and failed to impose stringent lockdowns.   With the rising death toll in Latin America, the total number of deaths around the world now stands at more than 477,000, part of a combined 9.2 million cases.  Wearing face coverings, John Williams, right, and Jeff Lee play chess, June 23, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif.US has most cases, deaths
The United States continues to lead the world in both categories with 2.3 million confirmed cases and 121,228 deaths.  According to The Washington Post, seven states — Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — have reported their highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.   Its top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told a congressional panel Tuesday there will be more testing, not less, even after President Donald Trump asked health officials to slow down testing.   The White House has said the president wasn’t serious when he said more testing is the reason there are so many cases in the U.S. But Trump said Tuesday that he wasn’t joking.  From left to right, Dr. Robert Redfield, Dr. Anthony Fauci, ADM Brett P. Giroir and Dr. Stephen M. Hahn testify before a House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, June 23, 2020.Fauci also said he is cautiously optimistic a coronavirus vaccine will be available as early as the end of 2020. But he has previously said even if a vaccine is ready, there is no guarantee it will work or give any long-term protection.  Ban on American travelers The New York Times reports that European Union nations plan to stop U.S. citizens from crossing its borders because of what officials call the U.S. failure to control the virus.  The newspaper is basing its story on what it says are draft lists of who will be allowed to travel to the EU starting July 1. It says it confirmed the lists with two EU officials in Brussels, but the Times says none of the 27 EU members are obligated to adopt it.  The World Health Organization says the coronavirus pandemic is still growing even as countries start to ease lockdowns and other restrictions.    “The epidemic is now peaking or moving towards a peak in a number of large countries,” WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said.  People wait in a queue for the COVID-19 rapid antigen test in New Delhi, India, June 24, 2020.Several nations, including Germany, South Africa and India — which reports about 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day — are looking at reimposing lockdowns and preparing to treat an influx of new cases.   WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it took three months for the world to confirm its first 1 million cases, but just eight days for the most recent 1 million to be identified.  “The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. It’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership,” Tedros said without naming any specific country or leader he believes has failed.   Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball during an exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, June 21, 2020.Tennis star, wife test positive
Meanwhile, tennis star Novak Djokovic said Tuesday he and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19 after he hosted a series of exhibition events he organized in his native Serbia and Croatia.  Three other players who participated in the matches also tested positive for the virus, which could threaten professional tennis’s hopes of resuming play this year. 
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U.S. and Russian negotiators signaled progress Tuesday in talks on a possible replacement to a nuclear arms reduction treaty due to expire next February. But there are significant hurdles ahead — including China’s opposition to being included in the talks.At issue is the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, restricting the number of deployed nuclear warheads held by the U.S. and Russia, the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.  U.S. negotiator Marshall Billingslea says working group discussions may take place in late July or early August, paving the way for a possible second round of talks in Vienna.  “We did indeed hold productive talks with Russia. Indeed, the talks were so productive that we found enough common ground to warrant the establishment of several technical working groups to dive further into the details of what a future trilateral arms control agreement should look like,” Billingslea said.But there are major sticking points moving forward. Washington wants any new deal to subject China to restrictions — and include all nuclear weapons, not just strategic weapons.  Beijing, with an estimated fraction of the U.S. and Russian arsenal, has repeatedly refused to join the talks. The differences between Washington and Beijing were highlighted this week in clashing Twitter postings and official comments by the two sides.  For its part, Russia says other nuclear powers, including France and Britain, should join future talks, but on a voluntary basis.  Heading the Russian delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also noted progress in Vienna, according to Russia’s TASS news agency, but also that “substantial differences” remained.  The discussions in the Austrian capital are the first between Moscow and Washington on their nuclear arsenals after more than a year’s break.  President Donald Trump has withdrawn from several U.S. treaties with Russia, including those on overflights and intermediate-range nuclear forces.  The New START treaty can be extended another five years, if both sides agree. Experts say that could pave the way for a wider-ranging and more stringent deal. Without the treaty, Washington and Moscow could be left without any significant limits on their nuclear weapons for the first time in decades.  
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A powerful earthquake centered near the southern Mexico resort of Huatulco on Tuesday killed at least five people, swayed buildings in Mexico City and sent thousands fleeing into the streets.  Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said one person was killed in a building collapse in Huatulco, Oaxaca. Otherwise he said reports were of minor damage from the magnitude 7.4 quake, including broken windows and collapsed walls. Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat said a second person was killed in an apparent house collapse in the mountain village of San Juan Ozolotepec and a third died in circumstances he did not explain. Federal civil defense authorities reported two more deaths: A worker at the state-run oil company, Pemex, fell to his death from a refinery structure, and a man died in the Oaxaca village of San Agustin Amatengo when a wall fell on him. Mexico earthquake locator mapPemex also said the quake caused a fire at its refinery in the Pacific coast city of Salina Cruz, relatively near the epicenter. It said one worker was injured and the flames were quickly extinguished. Churches, bridges and highways also suffered damage during the quake. López Obrador said there had been more than 140 aftershocks, most of them small. Seismic alarms sounded midmorning with enough warning for residents to exit buildings. Power was knocked out to some areas. Helicopters flew over downtown Mexico City and police patrols sounded their sirens. People brace themselves against a wall during an earthquake, in Mexico City, June 23, 2020.Groups of people still milled around in close proximity on streets and sidewalks in some neighborhoods of the capital about an hour after the quake. Many were not wearing masks despite past appeals from municipal officials for them to do so as a way to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Inside a Mexico City military barracks converted to COVID-19 hospital, medical staff suited in protective equipment tried to calm anxious patients. Unable to evacuate isolation areas, patients huddled under a large beam in the women’s ward while a nurse tried to calm one having a panic attack. Teresa Juárez could only wish for it to pass quickly from her hospital bed where she lay connected to oxygen. Diabetic and with high blood pressure, Juárez said she thought about her five children. “It’s horrible, you’re here and you don’t know what to do,” she said. The U.S. Geologic Survey said the quake hit at 10:29 a.m. (11:29 a.m. Eastern) along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast at a depth of 16 miles (26 km). The epicenter was 7 miles (12 km) south-southwest of Santa Maria Zapotitlan in Oaxaca state.It was felt in Guatemala and throughout south and central Mexico. A damaged building is seen after an earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico, June 23, 2020.In Huatulco, a laid-back beach destination known for surfing and small protected coves, the earthquake knocked goods off shelves and some rubble from buildings. Mari González of the Princess Mayev hotel in Huatulco said staff and guests were able to evacuate the building before the quake, but that 45 minutes after the initial quake they were still outside as strong aftershocks continued.  “It was strong, very strong,” she said. González said there was some visible broken glass and mirrors, but no major damage. The staff was waiting for the aftershocks to dissipate before fully evaluating the property. Local news media reported damage to some buildings in the state capital, Oaxaca city. State officials said they were looking for damage. The USGS estimated that some 2 million people felt strong or moderate shaking and another 49 million felt weak or light shaking.  The earthquake hit a quake-prone region where four underground tectonic plates come together. In the past 35 years, there have been at least seven magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes, killing around 10,000 people — most of them in a 1985 8.0 quake. “This has the potential to be a deadly earthquake and cause significant damage,” U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle said. “This area is capable of and has had larger earthquakes in the past.” “There will be aftershocks,” Earle said. “It is not unexpected to see a magnitude 6 at this point and a number of smaller ones.” This quake happened when the Cocos plate, which is to the southwest of the area, slipped under the North American plate, Earle said. “You’ve got all sorts of plates and they’re moving quickly,” Earle said. “The important thing is how fast the plates are moving relative to each other.” 
  
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A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook southern Mexico Tuesday, killing at least two people and damaging several buildings.  The quake was centered near the Pacific coast resort of Huatulco and was felt nearly 700 kilometers away in Mexico City, causing buildings to sway and sending thousands of residents into the streets.Much of the damage is minor, with broken windows and collapsed walls. But authorities say one person was killed when a building in Huatulco collapsed, and a second died after a house in the mountain village of San Juan Ozolotepec fell.  Mexico earthquake locator mapThe state-run oil company Pemex said the quake caused a fire at its Salina Cruz refinery which was quickly put out.  At least 140 aftershocks have been felt.  Geologists say southern Mexico, where four tectonic plates merge, is particularly vulnerable to strong earthquakes. An 8.0 magnitude quake hit the area in 1985.   
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A powerful earthquake centered near the resort of Huatulco in southern Mexico swayed buildings Tuesday in Mexico City and sent thousands into the streets.  The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of at least 7.4 and hit at 10:29 a.m. local time along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast at a depth of 26 kilometers.Seismic alarms sounded as the quake struck with enough warning for residents to exit buildings. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in a message posted to social media said he was not aware of any serious damage done by the quake, but urged people to go outside where they would be safe, should any weakened buildings collapsePower was knocked out to some areas, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.The epicenter was 12 kilometers south-southwest of Santa Maria Zapotitlan in Oaxaca state. It was felt in Guatemala and throughout south and central Mexico.Earthquakes of this magnitude can be extremely dangerous. In 2017, a magnitude 7.1 quake killed hundreds of people in and around Mexico City. 
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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday it is seeking to investigate record high temperatures reported from inside the Arctic Circle June 20.
 
At a news conference in Geneva, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told reporters the U.N. weather agency is seeking to verify the reported 38 degrees Celsius temperature in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, amid a prolonged Siberian heat wave and increased wildfire activity.
 
The WMO says it will confer with Russia’s weather agency, Roshydromet. If the temperature is confirmed, a team of investigators will then search the WMO’s archives to ensure it is indeed a record.
 
Nullis said the Russian weather agency reports that the region of Eastern Siberia where the record was reported “has very, very cold extremes in winter but is also known for its extremes in summer.”  
 
Even so, she said, Siberia has had a very warm spring, with temperatures running about 10 degrees Celsius above normal.  
 
Nullis said that heat helped drive May temperatures up globally, making it one of the highest temperatures ever.
 
The WMO reports the Arctic is among the fastest warming regions in the world and is heating at twice the global average. Annual surface air temperatures from 2016 to 2019 in the Arctic have been the highest on record.  
 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday announced plans to further relax COVID-19 restrictions, including the opening of pubs, restaurants and hair salons beginning July 4.
 
Speaking before Parliament, Johnson said social distancing of two meters apart will be advised, but where they cannot, at least one meter is now acceptable, provided there are other “mitigations” such as masks.  He said hair salons will also reopen with appropriate precautions, including the use of visors.
 
Johnson said he would like to open other “close contact” services such as nail salons as soon as they show they can operate in a “COVID-secure way.”
 
The prime minister said beginning July 4, they will allow most “leisure facilities” and tourist attractions to reopen “if they can do so safely,” including outdoor gyms and playgrounds, movie theaters, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades, libraries, social clubs and community centers.
 
Johnson said the National Health Service (NHS) will be conducting test-and-trace activities, and he encouraged businesses and citizens to cooperate with the effort and respond to any local outbreaks by collecting contact details from customers.  
 
Britain has had one of the highest death rates in the world during the pandemic, but the number of cases in the country has fallen steadily in recent weeks, allowing for the easing of restrictions.  
 
Johnson said the government will not hesitate to “apply the brakes” and reintroduce restrictions, even at a national level, should COVID-19 cases rise again.
 
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A powerful earthquake centered near the resort of Huatulco shook southern and central Mexico on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of the extend of damage or injury.The U.S. Geologic Survey said the quake that hit at 10:29 a.m. (11:29 a.m. Eastern) had a magnitude of 7.4 and was centered along the Pacific coast of Oaxaca state. 
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Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia. The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia. His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena’s, while the results of our children are negative,” Djokovic said in a statement. Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive. Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country. “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said. “Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel, was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar. He left Croatia after the final was canceled and was tested in Belgrade. The statement said Djokovic was showing no symptoms. Despite the positive test, Djokovic defended the exhibition series. “It was all borne with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this,” Djokovic said. “We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. “Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.” Djokovic said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologized to anyone who became infected as a result of the series.  
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