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The US will reopen its Consulate General in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday — a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration.

The consulate long served as an autonomous office in charge of diplomatic relations with the Palestinians. But former US President Donald Trump downgraded its operations and placed them under the authority of his ambassador to Israel when he moved the embassy to Jerusalem.

Trump's move infuriated the Palestinians, who view east Jerusalem as occupied territory and the capital of their future state.

Blinken did not give a precise date for reopening the consulate.

READ MORE: Biden sends top diplomat to Middle East to push peace talks

Blinken announced the step after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

"As I told the president, I'm here to underscore the commitment of the United States to rebuilding the relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people, a relationship built on mutual respect and also a shared conviction that Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve equal measures of security, freedom opportunity and dignity," he said.

Blinken is in the region to help shore up the cease-fire last week that ended a devastating war 11-day war between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers that killed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians, and caused widespread destruction in the impoverished coastal territory.

He promised to "rally international support" to help Gaza in the wake of the war. He later announced nearly US$40 million ($51.66 million) in aid to the Palestinians, including US$5.5 million ($7.1 million) in emergency assistance for Gaza. That brings total US assistance to the Palestinians under the Biden administration to over US$360 million ($464.9 million) after the Trump administration had cut off nearly all assistance to them.

READ MORE: The frustration of young Palestinians is stronger than ever

Blinken has promised that any assistance will be kept out of the hands of Hamas, which does not recognise Israel's right to exist and which Israel and the US consider a terrorist organisation.

The US is trying to bolster Abbas, who was sidelined by recent events, in his rivalry with Hamas and on the international stage. Abbas heads the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank but whose forces were driven from Gaza when Hamas seized power there in 2007.

Abbas is seen by many Palestinians as having lost all legitimacy. But he is still seen internationally as the representative of the Palestinian people and a key partner in the long-defunct peace process.

The truce that ended the Gaza war on Friday has so far held, but it did not address any of the underlying issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, something Blinken acknowledged after meeting earlier in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We know that to prevent a return to violence, we have to use the space created to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges. And that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and starting to rebuild," he said.

READ MORE: Israeli-Hamas truce 'just a ceasefire', cautions Middle East expert

The top US diplomat faces the same obstacles that have stifled a wider peace process for more than a decade, including a hawkish Israeli leadership, Palestinian divisions and deeply rooted tensions surrounding Jerusalem and its holy sites. The Biden administration had initially hoped to avoid being drawn into the intractable conflict and focus on other foreign policy priorities before the violence broke out.

The war was triggered by weeks of clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site revered by Jews and Muslims that has seen several outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence over the years. The protests were directed at Israel's policing of the area during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.

The truce remains tenuous since tensions are still high in Jerusalem and the fate of the Palestinian families is not yet resolved.

The evictions were put on hold just before the Gaza fighting erupted, but the legal process is set to resume in the coming weeks. Police briefly clashed with protesters at Al-Aqsa on Friday, hours after the cease-fire came into effect.

Adding to the tensions, an Israeli soldier and a civilian were stabbed and wounded in east Jerusalem on Monday before police shot and killed the assailant in what they described as a terrorist attack.

READ MORE: Palestinians see victory in Gaza truce as Israel warns Hamas

Then, early Tuesday, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by undercover Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Wafa news agency. Pictures circulating online appeared to show the man bloodied and lying in the street. The Israeli army referred questions to the Border Police, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is fighting for his political life after a fourth inconclusive election in two years. He faces mounting criticism from Israelis who say he ended the offensive prematurely, without forcibly halting rocket attacks or dealing a heavier blow to Hamas.

Netanyahu hardly mentioned the Palestinians in his remarks after his meeting with Blinken, warning of a "very powerful" response if Hamas breaks the cease-fire.

Netanyahu spoke of "building economic growth" in the occupied West Bank, but said there will be no peace until the Palestinians recognise Israel as a "Jewish state." The Palestinians have long objected to that language, saying it undermines the rights of Israel's own Palestinian minority.

Blinken will also visit neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, which have acted as mediators in the conflict. Egypt succeeded in brokering the Gaza truce after the Biden administration pressed Israel to wind down its offensive.

The administration had been roundly criticised for its perceived hands-off initial response to the deadly violence, including from Democratic allies in Congress who demanded it take a tougher line on Israel. Biden repeatedly affirmed what he said was Israel's right to defend itself from rocket attacks from Gaza.

The administration has defended its response by saying it engaged in intense, but quiet, high-level diplomacy to support a cease-fire.

Blinken has said the time is not right for an immediate resumption in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but that steps could be taken to repair the damage from Israeli airstrikes, which destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged infrastructure in Gaza.

The narrow coastal territory, home to more than 2 million Palestinians, has been under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep Hamas from importing arms, while the Palestinians and human rights groups view it as a form of collective punishment.

Victorian health authorities are combing through CCTV and potentially thousands of AFL fans will be ordered into self-isolation after a person with COVID-19 went to a match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground at the weekend.

The Victorian outbreak had already grown to nine and impacted venues outside of its origin Melbourne suburb of the City of Whittlesea when the MCG link was revealed on Tuesday, just before midnight.

The positive case sat in zone four, level one, of the Great Southern Stand, at the Punt Road end of the ground, to watch Collingwood's nail-biting loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday, the Department of Health said.

READ MORE: How states and territories are reacting to Victoria's new COVID-19 cases

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1397188001382518792

Fans seated in bays M1 to M16 will be contacted and told to get tested and isolate but that advice could be extended to more parts of the stadium after security footage is reviewed.

The 100,000-seat venue was less than a quarter full for the Power's one-point win, according to Austadiums, but thousands of fans may still have been sitting in the affected section.

It's not clear which of the nine cases identified so far watched the Pies-Power clash but the potential spreading of the virus at the MCG poses a major setback for Victorian authorities racing to keep the cluster from growing.

Five new infections announced on Tuesday came after a testing blitz in Melbourne and added to a rapidly growing list of exposure sites that spread from Epping in the city's outer north to the CBD.

McDonald's in Clifton Hill and Bamboo House in the CBD were added to the list of more than 20 tier-one sites on Tuesday, the first such sites outside of the City of Whittlesea. 

Other notable tier-one locations — sparking a 14-day quarantine and immediate testing for anyone linked to them — include supermarkets, restaurants and a swim school.

READ MORE: Collingwood AFL match linked to Melbourne COVID-19 outbreak

Sweeping restrictions came into force across greater Melbourne at 6pm on Tuesday in an attempt to contain the outbreak, limiting gatherings to five people in a private home and 30 people in public.

Masks are mandatory indoors for anyone older than 12 without an exemption until the rules are reassessed on June 4.

Schools and workplaces remain open and density requirements at restaurants and bars remain unchanged but the government is seeking advice on weddings and sporting and cultural events.

READ MORE: Testing centres in Melbourne overwhelmed as cases rise

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton was concerned a man identified as the fifth case in the latest cluster may have been infectious since at least May 17.

Contact tracers have established the man met with the first identified case for a business transaction on May 18.

Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino said genomic sequencing for the northern suburbs outbreak showed it was "closely linked" to the Wollert cluster from earlier this month, which originated in South Australia hotel quarantine.

Victorians who live in Greater Melbourne and travel to regional Victoria can continue to do so, but the restrictions will travel with them. 

Mr Merlino said the new restrictions were a necessary and "responsible step" in order for the state to stamp out the growing outbreak. 

"This is about giving our contact tracers the time they need to track this matter down and get on top of it," he said. 

Professor Sutton said the changing situation was a solid reminder that "millions" of Victorians who had not been vaccinated should go and get their jabs.

"We have enough supply," he said.

US President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration.

The White House confirmed details of the summit on Tuesday. The two leaders' meeting, set for June 16, is being tacked on to the end of Biden's first international trip as president next month when he visits Britain for a meeting of Group of Seven leaders and Brussels for the NATO summit.

"The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement announcing the summit.

READ MORE: Superpower tensions over Russia's Arctic base

Biden first proposed a summit in a call with Putin in April as his administration prepared to levy sanctions against Russian officials for the second time during the first three months of his presidency.

White House officials said earlier this week that they were ironing out details for the summit. National security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed details of the meeting when he met with his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev.

The Kremlin, in its own statement announcing the meeting, said that the presidents will discuss "the current state and prospects of the Russian-US relations, strategic stability issues and the acute problems on the international agenda, including interaction in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and settlement of regional conflicts".

The White House has repeatedly said it is seeking a "stable and predictable" relationship with the Russians, while also calling out Putin on allegations that the Russians interfered in last year's US presidential election and that the Kremlin was behind a hacking campaign — commonly referred to as the SolarWinds breach — in which Russian hackers infected widely used software with malicious code, enabling them to access the networks of at least nine US agencies.

READ MORE: Second suspected case of mystery 'syndrome' near White House

The Biden administration has also criticised Russia for the arrest and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and publicly acknowledged that it has low to moderate confidence that Russian agents were offering bounties to the Taliban to attack US troops in Afghanistan.

The Biden administration announced sanctions in March against several mid-level and senior Russian officials, along with more than a dozen businesses and other entities, over a nearly fatal nerve-agent attack on Navalny in August 2020 and his subsequent jailing. Navlany returned to Russia days before Biden's January 20 inauguration and was quickly arrested.

Last month, the administration announced it was expelling 10 Russian diplomats and sanctioning dozens of Russia companies and individuals in response to the SolarWinds hack and election interference allegations.

But even as Biden moved forward with the latest round of sanctions, he acknowledged that he held back on taking tougher action — an attempt to send the message to Putin that he still held hope that the US and Russia could come to an understanding for the rules of the game in their adversarial relationship.

READ MORE: Tensions rise between Russia and US during war games

In fact, he brought up the idea of holding a third-country summit in an April 13 call in which he notified Putin that a second round of sanctions was coming.

During his campaign for the White House, Biden described Russia as the "biggest threat" to US security and alliances, and he disparaged his predecessor President Donald Trump for his cozy relationship with Putin.

Trump avoided direct confrontation with Putin and often sought to downplay the Russian leader's malign actions. Their sole summit, held in July 2018 in Helsinki, was marked by Trump's refusal to side with US intelligences agencies over Putin's denials of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Weeks into his presidency, Biden said in an address before State Department employees that he told Putin in their first call that he would be taking a radically different approach to Russia than Trump.

"I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions — interfering with our election, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens — are over," said Biden, who last week spoke to Putin in what White House officials called a tense first exchange. "We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people."

In March, Biden in an ABC News interview responded affirmatively when asked by interviewer George Stephanopoulos whether he thought Putin was "a killer."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Biden's comment demonstrated he "definitely does not want to improve relations" with Russia and that relations between the countries were "very bad".

Geneva, a rich, if mid-size, city on the banks of Lake Geneva, offers bucolic vistas of the Mont Blanc peak — the highest in Western Europe — and a reputation as both a hub for international institutions and an icon of Switzerland's much ballyhooed neutrality.

Geneva became a leading crossroads of diplomacy in the postwar years of Cold War intrigue, an intersection where the Soviet-dominated Eastern bloc met the American-styled capitalist West.

The city last hosted American and Russian leaders in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev — a summit considered short on substance but critical in breaking the ice between East and West and fostering what would become mostly friendly relations between the two men through their tenures.

A Biden-Putin meeting there could revive the reputation of the city as a hub for international diplomacy, a far cry from the Trump administration, which largely shunned its globalist institutions like the World Trade Organisation and the World Health Organisation. Biden's administration has re-engaged with both of those organisations.

China's prosecution of an Australian writer and democracy activist on spying charges has been slammed as "an outrageous attack" on freedom of expression, just days before he faces trial.

Chinese officials in Guangzhou took Dr Yang Hengjun into custody in January 2019 when he stopped over on a connecting flight to Shanghai, en route to Australia.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne last week revealed he would face trial on Thursday, requesting Australian officials be permitted to access the hearing and labelling the process to date "closed and opaque".

READ MORE: The timeline of Yang Hengjun's arrest

Amnesty International went further on Wednesday morning, labelling the allegations "totally baseless" and calling on Chinese authorities to guarantee a fair trial

"This is an outrageous attack on his right to freedom of expression," Amnesty International China team head Joshua Rosenzweig said.

"Having reportedly endured hundreds of interrogations and been held in inhumane conditions with severely restricted access to his lawyer, Yang now faces an unfair trial behind closed doors.

"He remains at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

"Yang's case is yet more proof that incommunicado detention, coercive interrogations, secret hearings and the flagrant denial of fair trial guarantees on nebulous charges are part of the Chinese authorities' routine repertoire for targeting government critics and human rights activists."

Mr Rosenzweig called for the charges to be dropped unless Chinese authorities could provide "concrete, credible and admissible evidence" of Dr Yang's offending.

The Australian government has conveyed its concerns over Dr Yang's treatment and the lack of procedural fairness.

"Despite repeated requests by Australian officials, Chinese authorities have not provided any explanation or evidence for the charges facing Dr Yang," Senator Payne said on Friday.

"Since his detention, Dr Yang has had no access to his family, and limited, delayed access to his legal representation."

The Australian government is providing consular assistance to Dr Yang's family.

In July his wife, an Australian resident, was banned from leaving China. 

If convicted of espionage, Dr Yang could face the death penalty.

As Victorian health authorities race to contain a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne's north, states and territories around Australia have implemented restrictions to limit the spread of the virus across borders.

Queensland and South Australia have closed their borders to more than 200,000 Melburnians in the City of Whittlesea while many other states are requiring testing and self-isolation.

The changes came after four additional people tested positive to the virus on Tuesday afternoon after a fifth case, a man in his 60s, tested positive to the virus earlier in the day.

The cluster is currently nine people.

The cases are across multiple households and at least one is believed to have been highly contagious during their exposure period.

LIVE UPDATES: Long queues at Melbourne virus testing sites

Victoria's Department of Health is continuing to update its list of exposure sites where community transmission may have occurred.

The number of Tier One locations has increased and now includes a McDonald's and a CBD restaurant outside the City of Whittlesea area where the cluster emerged.

Several states and territories now require interstate travellers who have visited any of the listed locations to get tested and self-isolate immediately.

Some states have also limited entry from Victoria.

READ MORE: New restrictions in Victoria after fifth COVID-19 case

Here is a state-by-state breakdown of how governments are reacting to the Melbourne cluster.

New South Wales and the ACT

Everyone arriving in NSW – whether by air, rail or road – who has been in the Greater Melbourne area is required to fill out a travel declaration form confirming they have not visited a venue of concern as listed on the Victorian Government website, NSW Health says.

Anyone who has visited areas of concern will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

Anyone who has visited Melbourne since May 10 and has been to one of the listed exposure sites has also been urged to contact NSW Health to ensure they are meeting the state's isolation and testing requirements.

ACT Health said residents who are already in or entering the ACT and have been to one of the close contact exposure locations in Melbourne at the dates and times specified must:

• immediately quarantine for 14 days since last attending the venue
• call ACT Health on (02) 5124 6209
• get tested for COVID-19, regardless of whether symptoms are present, as advised by an authorised person within ACT Health

Non-ACT residents who have been to an exposure site in Melbourne must not enter the ACT unless they obtain an exemption before arriving.

Non-ACT residents who are already in the ACT must comply with the requirements for ACT residents above.

https://twitter.com/ACTHealth/status/1396757919413071872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

EXPLAINED: Guest limits, mask rules – All the new rules for Melbourne

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1397128680913072129

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday said it is "way too early" to declare the suburbs around northern Melbourne a COVID-19 hotspot after the four cases were confirmed yesterday.

Ms Berejiklian said her team would continue to update the community with the latest information however details surrounding the cases remained "preliminary".

"We've been down this road before, we need to expect outbreaks," she said.

Queensland

After nine cases were confirmed in Victoria, Queensland declared the City of Whittlesea local government area a COVID-19 hotspot.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the latest infections meant there was a need to take action.

The following new measures are being put in place:

• From 1am on Wednesday, May 26, anyone arriving into Queensland who has been in the City of Whittlesea local government area since May 11 will go into hotel quarantine unless they have a valid exemption.
• From 1am on Thursday, May 27, everyone arriving from Victoria will be required to complete a border pass.
• Anyone of those arrivals who have been in the City of Whittlesea local government area since May 11 and are not a Queensland resident will be turned away unless they have an exemption to enter the state. Queensland residents or those given an exemption to enter the state will go into hotel quarantine.

https://twitter.com/qldhealthnews/status/1397095376180563973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Dr Young said Queensland would continue to monitor the situation.

"Acting quickly matters," she said.

"These situations are always evolving, but we know the next few days are critical in suppressing the risk of the virus spreading.

"Further restrictions may be required," Dr Young said.

The requirement to quarantine also applies to those who have been fully vaccinated.

South Australia

Almost everyone who has been been in the City of Whittlesea in the past four days is banned from entering South Australia, with significant restrictions for those from other parts of Melbourne.

Essential travellers and those the state deems to be "permitted arrivals" can enter, but they must self-isolate for two weeks and get tested three times, according to the state's cross-border travel rules.

However, even essential travellers are banned from entering the state if they've been to one of Melbourne's listed exposure sites. Those fleeing domestic violence can still enter but must quarantine as directed.

Lesser restrictions also apply for anyone who has been anywhere else in greater Melbourne during the past fortnight. They have to self-quarantine until they get a negative COVID-19 test result and get tested again five and 13 days after arrival.

The report into how the coronavirus leaked out of the Playford Hotel, seeding the Melbourne outbreak, is yet to be finalised.

https://twitter.com/RoryMcClaren9/status/1396990796541267971https://twitter.com/SAPoliceNews/status/1397143560957267972

Western Australia

From 6pm on Tuesday (May 25) all arrivals in WA from Victoria will be required to take a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine until they receive a result.

New arrivals will not be allowed to use public transport until they have received their result.

Additionally, anyone who had visited exposure sites in Victoria at the relevant times should get tested immediately for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure.

WA's Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Paul Armstrong said he would be notified if any close or casual contacts were found to be in Western Australia for follow-up by the public health team.

"We will continue to monitor the situation in Victoria very closely and issue updated health advice as and when required," he said.

https://twitter.com/WAHealth/status/1397081757657321475

Tasmania

Tasmania has declared the City of Whittlesea a COVID-19 high-risk area, meaning anyone who has been there since May 6 "should not travel to Tasmania at this stage".

Affected travellers who get permission to enter from the deputy state controller via the G2G PASS system will need to go into hotel quarantine.

Anyone already in Tasmania having visited the council area should self-isolate until they test negative and travellers from Melbourne should monitor for symptoms, the Department of Health says.

Travellers who have visited any of Victoria's listed exposure sites will not be allowed to travel to Tasmania unless they are classed as an essential traveller.

Those who have visited an exposure site since May 20 are required to self-isolate immediately and call the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738 for further advice.

https://www.facebook.com/HealthTas/posts/4037522283001467

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory government had not declared Whittlesea as a hotspot on Tuesday night but did restrict travel from the exposure sites.

Anyone who visited a tier-one site must get tested and quarantine for 14 days regardless of the result while travellers who were at a tier-two site can stop quarantining once they test negative.

Those already in the NT must quarantine until they test negative while all new arrivals from greater Melbourne should monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they arise, the government says.

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Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans has been fined almost $80,000 by Australia's medical watchdog over alleged unlawful advertising of wellness products.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) today issued six infringement notices to Peter Evans Chef Pty Ltd, totalling $79,920.

The fines were issued over how a series of products, including a "BioCharger" device and hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, were depicted as impacting a customer's health.

READ MORE: Instagram removes Pete Evans for spreading COVID-19 misinformation

A directions notice was also issued to the company and its sole director Peter Evans to ensure the non-compliant advertising was removed.

Under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, therapeutic goods, including medical devices and medicines, must be entered in an official register before they can be lawfully advertised in Australia.

"Fines were also issued for the alleged advertising of static magnet products and hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers that contained statements that implied the products were endorsed by a health professional," the TGA said in a statement.

"Due to the repeated nature of the alleged advertising breaches, the TGA has also issued a directions notice to Mr Evans and his company, to cease advertising therapeutic goods not entered in the ARTG and to discontinue making various claims about therapeutic products."

READ MORE: Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans running for Senate

In April 2020 Mr Evans was issued two infringement notices totaling $25,200 over the advertising of his "BioCharger" device, where he claim during a Facebook live stream that the device could be used in relation to "Wuhan Coronavirus".

"Any claim that references COVID-19 is a restricted representation under therapeutic goods legislation, and is of significant concern to the TGA given the heightened public concern about the pandemic," the TGA said at the time.

"The TGA recently published a warning to advertisers and consumers about illegal advertising relating to COVID-19."

9News.com.au has contacted Pete Evans for comment.

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