Mannila (Xinhua) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday held talks in the Philippines. The two met on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, capital of the Philippines, which is the current chair of the 11-member bloc. During the meeting, the two sides are likely to discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected trip to the US this September. The meeting comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of interfering in US elections, a claim dismissed by Beijing and also disputed by many U.S. election security experts.

PARIS (AP) – The French Parliament has passed a bill on protecting minors from the risks associated with the use of social media. The bill is intended to prohibit children under the age of 15 from accessing social media and protect them from anxiety-inducing or harmful content, and the relevant provisions will take effect on Sept 1 this year. The social media services covered by the legislation include Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, as well as services that allow users to interact, publicly disseminate content or participate in user communities. Online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, and educational or scientific repositories, are excluded.

 

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BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary’s former nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was ousted after 16 years in power in an election in April, has urged his supporters to restore democracy in the country which he said had ‌been crushed by the new government. In his first strong political statement since his landslide election defeat, Orban late on Tuesday issued a “Statement of Resistance” on Facebook shortly after his Fidesz party said prosecutors had raided offices housing its internet servers. Prosecutors told Reuters in an emailed response that the action was linked to an investigation into “misappropriation and other criminal offences” at the National Culture Fund under Orban’s government.

 

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BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from stripping tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status of their ability to work in the United States. U.S. ‌District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston sided with a coalition of immigrant rights groups and labor unions that sued to block U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from moving forward with a series of policies designed to implement new immigration-related restrictions enacted by Congress last year. Gorton’s order will be in place until he decides whether to issue a longer-term pause of the Trump administration’s policy. The judge said he would rule on that by August 5. USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- The death toll in ongoing floods in India’s northeastern state of Assam has risen to 31, the official broadcaster -- All India Radio (AIR) said Wednesday. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over half a million people remain affected in 16 flood-hit districts. As per the authority, 872 villages are inundated, and over 24,210 hectares of crop area have been damaged across the affected districts.

 

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ROTTERDAM (AFP) - Two trams collided on a key bridge in Rotterdam on Wednesday leaving at least 15 hurt, one seriously, officials said. The Erasmus Bridge is a major landmark in the Dutch port city, spanning the Maas River, and a major transport hub. Webcam footage of the bridge showed a tram steaming into the back of another, sending debris flying across the lanes of traffic and damaging both trams.  An AFP reporter on the scene saw extensive damage to both trams, with mangled metal and shattered glass.