NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 China chided: Beyond its hardhitting rhetoric against China over its handling of the coronavirus, the White House has issued a broadscale attack on Beijing’s predatory economic policies, military buildup, disinformation campaigns and human rights violations. The 20page report does not signal a shift in U.S. policy, according to a senior administration official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, but it expands on President Trump’s gettough rhetoric that he hopes will resonate with voters angry about China’s handling of the disease outbreak, which has left tens of millions of Americans out of work.
2 Hong Kong: China’s ceremonial parliament will consider a bill that could limit opposition activity in Hong Kong, a spokesperson said Thursday, appearing to confirm speculation that China will sidestep the territory’s own lawmaking body in enacting legislation to crack down on activity Beijing considers subversive. Zhang Yesui said the National People’s Congress will deliberate a bill on “establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.” Such a move has long been under consideration but was hastened by months of antigovernment protests last year in the former British colony that was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997.
3 Child abuse: The Philippines has emerged as a global hot spot for online child sexual exploitation, and coronavirus lockdowns that restrict millions to their homes may be worsening the abuses. A new study released by the Washingtonbased International Justice Mission on Thursday said Philippine cases of online child sexual exploitation have increased sharply in recent years with parents agreeing to have their own children victimized for the money. The private group has helped identify and prosecute offenders in the Philippines. The webcam scheme involves pedophiles in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia who pay facilitators to sexually abuse children, even babies, in the privacy of Philippine homes.
4 Peace deal: The first visit to Kabul by Washington’s peace envoy since Afghanistan’s squabbling political leadership reached a powersharing agreement comes amid increased violence blamed mostly on an Islamic State affiliate that has been targeted in steppedup U.S. bombing. Zalmay Khalilzad, in a flurry of tweets Thursday, told of his meetings in Doha with Taliban representatives, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and fellow leader Abdullah Abdullah. All were aimed at resuscitating a U.S.Taliban peace deal signed in February. Khalilzad called for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan’s protracted conflict that has kept U.S. militarily engaged for 19 years. He also said too much time has been wasted getting to critical talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s political leadership. 5 Syria conflict: Iran is slowly pulling out of Syria in response to Israeli strikes, as well as growing domestic discontent linked to the economy and its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the Israeli military said Thursday. Israel and Iran have for years been engaged in a shadow war that has recently been playing out in Syria, where Israel says Iran has been boosting its military presence along the frontier. Amid the chaos of the Syrian civil war, Israel has carried out repeated strikes aimed at pushing back Iranian forces and preventing the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah, the Iranbacked Lebanese militant group that is also fighting in Syria. The military shared its findings in a briefing with reporters and said they were based on classified intelligence, without elaborating.