G20 NATIONS AGREE TO KEEP MARKETS OPEN, TACKLE SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS

Group of 20 trade chiefs pledged to try to keep supply chains open as the

world fights to contain the coronavirus pandemic and limit the economic

fallout. The G-20 commerce ministers also vowed to "guard against

profiteering and unjustified price increases" during a conference call on

Monday devoted to the trade and investment implications of the health scare.

"We will continue to work together to deliver a free, fair,

non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment

environment, and to keep our markets open," the ministers said in a joint

statement released by Saudi Arabia, current holder of the G-20's rotating

presidency. "We will explore ways for logistics networks via air, sea and

land freight to remain open."

The pandemic is exposing rifts between countries' traditional pledges to

uphold free trade and their actions to meet the short-term needs of domestic

populations facing lockdowns meant to stop the spread of the virus, which

has killed 35,000 globally.

Russia, for example, last week proposed limiting shipments of its grain

abroad. The European Union criticized such moves on Monday by warning

against food-export restrictions. "There is no global supply shortage at

this time and such measures are completely unjustified," EU Trade

Commissioner Phil Hogan told his G-20 counterparts.

At the meeting of trade ministers, the World Bank asked the nations to

refrain from setting any new export restrictions on "critical medical

supplies, food or other key products," according to the text of a speech

made by Mari Pangestu, the bank's managing director for development policy

and partnerships. She also asked them to lower or eliminate tariffs on

products related to Covid-19, food and or other key products," according to

the text of a speech made by Mari Pangestu, the bank's managing director for

development policy and partnerships. She also asked them to lower or

eliminate tariffs on products related to Covid-19, food and other basic

goods.

In their joint statement, the G-20 trade chiefs appeared to offer scope for

such moves by saying they can be compatible with World Trade Organization

rules.

"We agree that emergency measures designed to tackle Covid-19, if deemed

necessary, must be targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary, and

that they do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to

global supply chains, and are consistent with WTO rules," the ministers

said.

TRUMP WARNS OF 'PAINFUL TWO WEEKS' AS OFFICIALS PREDICT UP TO 240,000 US

CORONAVIRUS DEATHS

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned of a "very painful" two weeks as

the United States wrestles with a coronavirus surge that the White House

warns could kill as many as 240,000 Americans.

"This is going to be a very painful, a very, very painful two weeks," Trump

told a press conference at the White House.

Trump described the pandemic as "a plague."

"I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead," he

said.

Top health experts said that the decision to maintain strict social

distancing was the only way to stop the easily transmitted virus, even if

this has caused massive disruption to the economy with three quarters of

Americans under some form of lockdown.

"There's no magic vaccine or therapy. It's just behaviors, each of our

behaviors translating into something that changes the course of this viral

pandemic over the next 30 days," Deborah Birx, coronavirus response

coordinator at the White House, said.

Birx displayed a chart at the press conference charting a range of 100,000

to 240,000 deaths in the United States, when current efforts at mitigation

are taken into account.

Infectious diseases specialist Anthony Fauci told the press conference that

"mitigation is actually working" and that authorities are "doing everything

we can to get it (the death toll) significantly below that."

CORONAVIRUS: US NAVY CAPTAIN PLEADS FOR HELP OVER OUTBREAK

The captain of a US aircraft carrier carrying more than 4,000 crew has

called for urgent help to halt a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.

Scores of people on board the Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for

the infection. The carrier is currently docked in Guam.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," Captain Brett Crozier wrote

in a letter to the Pentagon.

Captain Crozier recommended quarantining almost the entire crew.

In the letter Captain Crozier said that with large numbers of sailors living

in confined spaces on the carrier isolating sick individuals was impossible.

The coronavirus' spread was now "ongoing and accelerating", he warned, in

the letter dated 30 March.

"Decisive action is needed," he said.

"Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft

carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary

measure. This is a necessary risk."

It is not clear how many crew members on the Theodore Roosevelt have the

coronavirus. The San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported on the

letter, said at least 100 sailors were infected.

COVID-19 WORST CRISIS SINCE WORLD WAR II, SAYS U.N. CHIEF

The coronavirus pandemic is the worst global crisis since World War II, UN

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, expressing concern that it

could trigger conflicts around the world.

Guterres said that the scale of the crisis was due to "a disease that

represents a threat to everybody in the world and... an economic impact that

will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past."

"The combination of the two facts and the risk that it contributes to

enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict are things that

make us believe that this is the most challenging crisis we have faced since

the Second World War," he told reporters.

The New York-based United Nations was founded at the end of the war in 1945

and has 193 member states.

"A stronger and more effective response... is only possible in solidarity if

everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand

that it is humankind that is at stake," Guterres added.

"We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to

create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the

dramatic consequences," Guterres warned, pointing to unemployment, the

collapse of small firms and vulnerable people in the informal economy.

"We are slowly moving in the right direction, but we need to speed up, and

we need to do much more if we want to defeat the virus."

The UN on Tuesday created a new fund to help developing countries after last

week appealing for donations for poor and conflict-hit nations.

SIX EUROPEAN NATIONS CONDEMN NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES

The UN Security Council didn't issue a statement after discussing North

Korea's latest missile tests but six European nations on the council are

condemning Pyongyang' repeated launches, saying they illustrate its ongoing

efforts to develop its ballistic missile programs and expand its arsenal.

Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom said in a

statement after a closed council discussion Tuesday that they are deeply

concerned by North Korea's continued testing of missiles, using ballistic

missile technology.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name, has

conducted 17 sets of missile launches since May 2019 including four this

month, the latest on March 29.

"We condemn such provocative actions," the Europeans said. "They undermine

regional security and stability, as well as international peace and

security, and are in clear violation of unanimously adopted UN Security

Council resolutions."

Germany's deputy U.N. ambassador Juergen Schulz told the council it was sad

that North Korea is giving priority to its illegal weapons programs instead

of making global solidarity and cooperation a top priority and working with

the World Health Organization and the U.N. on "the unprecedented global

threat faced by the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of transparency in DPRK's

cooperation with the U.N. over COVID-19 which we find dangerous and

cynical," he said.

The Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea

which Germany heads has granted "all COVID-19 related humanitarian exemption

requests with unprecedented speed and urgency," Schulz said. "The sanctions

are therefore no impediment to effectively combating COVID-19 in the DPRK."

FROM HUNGARY TO THAILAND, CORONAVIRUS GIVES AUTOCRATS A CHANCE TO GRAB MORE

POWER

In Hungary, the prime minister can now rule by decree. In Britain, ministers

have what a critic called "eye-watering" power to detain people and close

borders. Israel's prime minister has shut down courts and begun an intrusive

surveillance of citizens. Chile has sent the military to public squares once

occupied by protesters. Bolivia has postponed elections.

As the coronavirus pandemic brings the world to a juddering halt and anxious

citizens demand action, leaders across the globe are invoking executive

powers and seizing virtually dictatorial authority with scant resistance.

Governments and rights groups agree that these extraordinary times call for

extraordinary measures. States need new powers to shut their borders,

enforce quarantines and track infected people. Many of these actions are

protected under international rules, constitutional lawyers say.

But critics say some governments are using the public health crisis as cover

to seize new powers that have little to do with the outbreak and have few

safeguards to ensure that the new powers will not be abused.

The laws are taking swift hold across a broad range of political systems -

in authoritarian states like Jordan, faltering democracies like Hungary, and

traditional democracies like Britain. And there are few sunset provisions to

ensure that the powers will be rescinded once the threat passes.

As the new laws broaden state surveillance, allow governments to detain

people indefinitely and infringe on freedoms of assembly and expression,

they could also shape civic life, politics and economies for decades to

come.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha of Thailand has assumed the authority to

impose curfews and censor the news media. Journalists there have been sued

and intimidated for criticising the government's response to the outbreak.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has authorized his country's

internal security agency to track citizens using a secret trove of cellphone

data developed for counterterrorism. By tracing people's movements, the

government can punish those who defy isolation orders with up to six months

in prison.

And by ordering the closing of the nation's courts, Netanyahu delayed his

scheduled appearance to face corruption charges.

NO FOOLING AROUND WITH CORONAVIRUS

It's 1 April, and a number of places around the world are warning people not

to play pranks or spread fake news during the pandemic. Some governments

have also highlighted their fake news laws and penalties.

Thailand for instance has warned that those found spreading rumours online

could be penalised under its strict Computer Crime Act, while in India,

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh has tweeted a warning of swift

action against "miscreants" who spread rumours about the virus.

Germany's health ministry posted this plea saying "Corona is no joke", while

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen introduced a stern-looking "April Fools'

Day Lucky Cat", who is pictured below saying: "This is not funny."

On April Fools' Day, those who can't help themselves can be humorous, but

please remember, do not use the pandemic to make jokes," she said in her

Facebook post, before listing a string of penalties for spreading fake news.

SAUDI TELLS MUSLIMS TO WAIT ON HAJJ PLANS AMID CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims to wait until there is more clarity about the

coronavirus pandemic before planning to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage,

the Minister for Hajj and Umrah said on state TV on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage

over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam's holiest cities, an

unprecedented move that raised uncertainty over the annual Hajj.

Some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world usually flock to Mecca and

Medina cities for the week-long ritual scheduled to begin in late July. The

pilgrimage is also a significant source of income for the kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia is fully ready to serve pilgrims and Umrah seekers," Minister

Mohammed Saleh Benten told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya television.

"But under the current circumstances, as we are talking about the global

pandemic... the kingdom is keen to protect the health of Muslims and

citizens and so we have asked our brother Muslims in all countries to wait

before doing [Hajj] contracts until the situation is clear."

Besides suspending Umrah pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia has also halted all

international passenger flights indefinitely and last week blocked entry and

exit to several cities, including Mecca and Medina.

To date, the kingdom has reported just over 1,500 confirmed coronavirus

cases and 10 deaths.

MYANMAR SCRIBE HIT WITH TERROR CHARGES

A Myanmar journalist faces up to life in prison for publishing an interview

with a rebel group operating in the country's restive Rakhine state a week

after the insurgents were classified as a terrorist organisation.

The western region has long been a tinderbox of conflict between the Myanmar

military and Arakan Army (AA), a group demanding greater autonomy for the

state's ethnic Rakhine people. Clashes have left scores of civilians killed,

hundreds injured and 150,000 displaced since January last year, and both

sides have traded allegations of abuse.

A March 27 interview with a top representative of Arakan Army, a group

seeking greater autonomy for Rakhine people, published by Voice of Myanmar

led to the detention of editor-in-chief Nay Myo Lin, who was brought to

court on terrorism charges on Tuesday. The government had classified the

insurgents as a "terrorist group".

"I was accused under two charges of the counter-terrorism law," he told

reporters before leaving the court in Mandalay.

The charges - which cover violations including allowing terrorist groups to

spread fear, gather or hide - were filed by Special Branch, Myanmar's

intelligence arm, he said.

They carry penalties ranging from three years to life in prison.

"This is disturbing for press freedom," said the journalist, who previously

worked for the BBC's Burmese-language news service.

CORONAVIRUS | OPPOSITION URGES SRI LANKAN GOVT. TO RECONVENE PARLIAMENT

Nearly a month after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament and

called for elections, the Opposition's calls for reconvening the legislature

have grown louder in Sri Lanka.

A day after the Parliament completed 4.5 years of its term -

constitutionally mandated for dissolution - President Rajapaksa dissolved

the 225-member legislature and called snap general elections for April 25.

However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also affected the

island nation, the Election Commission postponed the polls indefinitely.

Health authorities on Monday confirmed the country's second COVID-19 death,

of its 122 confirmed cases. Fourteen persons have recovered, according to

the Health Promotion Bureau. Sri Lanka has been on curfew for over a week,

as authorities try to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

However, several former MPs from Sri Lanka's political opposition have urged

the government to reconvene Parliament.

However, government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the necessity to

reconvene Parliament "hasn't arisen yet." "Whether there is parliament or

not, everything is moving.things can't be smoother," he told The Hindu,

adding that the government was using "provisions available in the

Constitution".

1ST HEATWAVE RECORDED IN ANTARCTICA

Even the world's coldest continent is not immune to rising global

temperatures, with scientists recording the first-ever heatwave event in

Antarctica over the 2019-20 summer period.

"Heatwaves are classified as three consecutive days with both extreme

maximum and minimum temperatures," University of Wollongong biologist Sharon

Robinson explained.

Scientists are concerned about the effect that the heatwave could have on

Antarctica's ecology - both positive and negative.

"Most life exists in small ice-free oases in Antarctica, and largely depends

on melting snow and ice for their water supply," Australian Antarctic

Division applied Antarctic ecologist Dana Bergstrom, said.

"Melted ice flooding can provide additional water to these desert

ecosystems, leading to increased growth and reproduction of mosses, lichens,

microbes and invertebrates, he said." It is believed that the unusual

temperatures were linked to meteorological patterns which occurred in the

Southern Hemisphere during spring and summer of 2019.

19 KILLED IN MASSIVE FOREST FIRE IN CHINA

Eighteen firefighters and one farm worker died while fighting a massive

forest fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province, state-run media reported

on Tuesday. The fire started on a local farm at 3.51 pm on Monday and

quickly spread to the nearby mountains due to the strong winds. Those killed

include 18 firefighters and a local forest farm worker who led the way for

the firefighters. They were trapped in the fire due to a sudden change in

the wind direction, the report said.

A 1st , UN SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS 4 RESOLUTIONS REMOTELY

The UN Security Council, currently under China's Presidency, unanimously

adopted four resolutions, voting for the first time remotely as diplomats

and United Nations staff work from home due to the coronavirus outbreak in

New York. The Council adopted unanimously a resolution on renewing the

mandate for the Panel of Experts working with the 1718 Sanctions Committee

for North Korea, a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Assistance

Mission in Somalia, a resolution on maintaining the African Union-United

Nations Mission Hybrid Operation in Darfur of its current troop and police

ceilings, and a resolution on improving safety and security of peacekeepers.