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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

China issues statement on Sino-US trade talks

China said Sino-US trade negotiations in Beijing on Sunday are progressing.

China and the US have exchanged views on agriculture and energy, and achieved positive and concrete progress on implementing a consensus reached by the two sides in Washington earlier, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

The achievements reached by both countries should be based on the premise that the two sides should not start a trade war, the statement stressed.

China's attitude has been consistent. Reform and opening-up through expanding domestic demand have been the country’s national strategies. To meet the growing demand of high-quality economic development, China is willing to increase imports from all countries, including the US, the statement said.  (Xinhua - People’s Daily app)

"Shanghai Spirit" hailed at SCO media summit

Officials and media representatives proclaimed “Shanghai Spirit” plays a significant role in promoting cooperation among SCO member-states as well as other countries, especially during a time when the world is faced with multiple challenges.

They made the acclaim to Xinhua on the sidelines of the first Shanghai Cooperation Organization media summit held Friday in Beijing.

While addressing the opening ceremony, SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov noted that the world is faced with very complicated, continuous and untraditional threats, and he called for joint efforts to build a type of comprehensive, equal, and constructive cooperation. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

North Korea slams South Korea’s military for joining war drills with US

On Sunday North Korea slammed South Korea’s military for running counter to the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration by participating in two US military drills.

The North’s official daily, Minju Joson, said South Korea has dispatched three warships, fighter jets and some 700 troops to the Pacific Rim region for joint-military exercises conducted off the coast of Hawaii through June 27.  

The report also said that Seoul had announced it would launch its annual Ulji Freedom Guardian as scheduled in August.

"Known as RIMPAC, it is a North Korean-targeted war drill that has been staged biennially since 1971," the report said, adding that seeking military confrontation is "against the unanimous demand of all Koreans a trend of the times.”  (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

Mattis says relief for North Korea only after clear, irreversible steps to denuclearization

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday North Korea will receive relief only after it takes clear and irreversible steps to end its nuclear program, adding it would be a bumpy road to a summit between US and North Korean leaders.

The comments sought to address concern the United States may be rushing to strike a breakthrough in the unprecedented summit between the two leaders after US President Donald Trump put the meeting back on track for June 12 in Singapore.  

“We will continue to implement all UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. North Korea will receive relief only when it demonstrates verifiable and irreversible steps to denuclearization,” said Mattis. (Reuters)

G7 asks Mnuchin to convey 'concern' on tariffs

Finance leaders of the closest US allies vented anger over the Trump administration’s metal import tariffs on Saturday, ending a three-day meeting with a stern rebuke of Washington and setting up a heated fight at a G7 summit next week in Quebec.

In a rare show of division among the normally harmonious club of wealthy nations, the six other G7 member countries issued a statement asking US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to convey their “unanimous concern and disappointment” about the tariffs to President Donald Trump.

The 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs were imposed last week on Mexico, Canada and the European Union after temporary exemptions expired.

Speaking separately after the meeting, frequently referred to as the “G6 plus one,” Mnuchin told reporters that he was not part of the six-country consensus on trade and said Trump was focused on “rebalancing our trade relationships.” (Reuters)

Florida high school shooter's phone videos released

Nikolas Cruz, the gunman behind February's Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, filmed himself discussing his plans to attack his former school in video footage released by Florida prosecutors Wednesday.

"It's going to be a big event. When you see me on the news you'll know who I am," Cruz said, while filming himself with a cellphone.

In the short clips, Cruz explains his plan to take an Uber taxi, armed with his semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, to his old school. 

"My name is Nik, and I’m going to be the next school shooter of 2018," he said in one video, apparently made on February 14, the day of the shooting. (AFP)

Hawaii evacuees leave newly lava-threatened homes on Big Island

National Guard troops, police and firefighters ushered the last group of evacuees from homes on the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday, hours before lava from the Kilauea volcano severed all road access to the area, officials said.

A stream of lava as wide as three football fields flowed over a highway near a key junction on the outskirts of Kapoho, a seaside community of private homes and vacation rentals rebuilt after a destructive eruption of Kilauea in 1960.

Authorities since Wednesday had been urging residents of the area to pack up and leave before lava spewing from a volcanic fissure at the eastern foot of Kilauea reached the area.

But the summit has quieted down over the past few days, as tons of rubble shaken loose from the interior walls of the crater have fallen into the void and plugged up the bottom of the vent. (Reuters)

Respiratory health advocacy group warns about electronic cigarette use in youth

The American College of Chest Physicians, less formally known as CHEST, recently warned about the increasing risks of electronic cigarette addiction among young people.

E-cigarettes have grown in popularity among younger smokers, and in the US, it was reported that in 2016 over 450,000 middle school students had used them, indicating a 400 percent jump from the previous year.  

CHEST also announced findings from a separate study that involved 600 British students between the ages of 11 and 16, who showed greater interest in trying e-cigarettes after watching commercial advertising on tobacco products. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

Today’s quote is from Chinese philosopher Dong Zhongshu.  

“The standard of humaneness lies in loving others and not in loving the self.”

 (Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Ziyi Zeng, and Lance Crayon)