TRUMP SETS STAGE FOR UNSC MEET ON COVID-19 ON APRIL 9; PANS W.H.O, CHINA

After US President Donald Trump virtually blamed the World Health

Organisation for playing the Chinese side on the coronavirus pandemic, heat

will now mount on Beijing at an informal discussion on the virus outbreak in

the UN Security Council on Thursday, April 9, at 3 pm EST (April 10 12.30

am). The informal discussion will be preceded by a briefing by the UN

Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

"The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United

States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look.

Fortunately, I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China

early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation," Donald Trump

tweeted on Tuesday. It is not what prompted the outburst but as one Indian

analyst put it, Trump had hit the nail on its head.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected to the post

after China backed him in the May 2017 election as he defeated US-backed Dr

David Nabarro, who was the candidate of the UK. Despite the coronavirus

being detected in Wuhan in China as early as November 17, 2019, the WHO

categorised Covid 19 outbreak as a pandemic on 12 March 2020 when it had

crossed the borders and created havoc in Europe. By then, the virus had

already killed 1,000 people in the european region.

All the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council have backed the

informal discussion led by the UNSC President; the post is held by the

Dominican Republic. But whether the closed-door discussion will conclude

with any outcome depends on the proposals put up and the exercise of veto

powers of China and its ally Russia.

If President Trump's tweet is indicative of the US mind, then the vote will

be 13 to 2 or 14 to 1 depending on how Russia plays. Other two members of

the P5, the UK and France have suffered at the hands of pandemic and so has

Europe.

While China may say that the pandemic is not a peace and security issue -

the argument used to block a request by Estonia for a discussion last month

- the economic misery that the pandemic has hurled the world towards a deep

crisis.

CORONAVIRUS | TRUMP ACCUSES WHO OF BEING CHINA-CENTRIC, THREATENS TO CUT

FUNDING

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would put a hold on America's

funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of becoming

China-centric during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"We're going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO. We're going to put a

very powerful hold on it and we're going to see. It's a great thing if it

works. But when they call every shot wrong, that's no good," Mr. Trump told

reporters at his daily White House news conference.

Geneva-headquartered World Health Organization receives vast amounts of

money from the United States.

"We pay for a majority or the biggest portion of their money. They actually

criticised and disagreed with my travel ban at the time I did it. They were

wrong. They've been wrong about a lot of things. They had a lot of

information early and they didn't want to -they're very - they seem to be

very China centric," Mr. Trump charged during his news conference.

Mr. Trump said his administration is going to look into the U.S. funding to

the WHO.

RUSSIA READY TO START TESTING CORONAVIRUS VACCINES ON HUMANS IN JUNE

The head of a top Russian research centre told President Vladimir Putin on

Tuesday that his lab was ready to start human trials of experimental

coronavirus vaccines in June.

Rinat Maksyutov, head of the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Centre,

said his facility proposed first-phase clinical trials of three vaccines

from June 29, on 180 volunteers.

Maksyutov was speaking during a video-link meeting between Putin and the

heads of top research centres.

"Groups of volunteers have already been formed," he told Putin, adding that

a lot of people wanted to take part in the trials.

"We have already received more than 300 applications." Maksyutov said

scientists at the top-secret lab complex located in Koltsovo outside the

Siberian city of Novosibirsk had developed several prototype vaccines.

CORONAVIRUS WARSHIP ROW: ACTING US NAVY SECRETARY RESIGNS

The acting secretary of the US Navy has resigned amid uproar over his

handling of a coronavirus outbreak on an aircraft carrier.

Thomas Modly fired the USS Theodore Roosevelt's captain after he pleaded for

help in a letter leaked to media.

Mr Modly apologised on Monday after it emerged he had called Captain Brett

Crozier's actions "naive" and "stupid".

The secretary's exit comes a day after US President Donald Trump signalled

he might get involved in the dispute.

Defence secretary Mark Esper said Mr Modly had "resigned of his own accord".

The Pentagon chief said the crew's health and safety were a priority for the

department.

Army Undersecretary James McPherson is expected to replace Mr Modly.

CORONAVIRUS | THOUSANDS LEAVE WUHAN AS CHINA LIFTS OUTBOUND TRAVEL BAN

Thousands of Chinese travellers flocked to catch trains leaving

coronavirus-ravaged Wuhan as authorities lifted a more than two-month ban on

outbound travel from the city where the global pandemic first emerged.

As the ban was lifted on schedule at midnight (9.30 p.m. IST on April 7),

many passengers expressed joy and relief as they filed into Wuhan's Wuchang

station, leaping at the chance to board overnight trains heading out of

town.

Government estimates have said that as many as 55,000 people are expected to

flow out on April 8 by train from the city, which was placed under an

unprecedented quarantine lockdown on January 23.

Some could barely contain their happiness.

Chinese media outlets hailed the removal of the travel ban, with headlines

posted on their websites after midnight saying: "Wuhan, long time, no see."

An announcement blaring over the train station PA system said: "Wuhan

deserves to be called the city of heroes. Wuhan people deserve to be called

heroes."

JAPAN'S ABE DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared a one-month state of emergency in

response to the rapidly increasing number of coronavirus infections in big

cities, though people cannot legally be forced to stay home or businesses be

forced to close.

Tuesday's declaration covers Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, as

well as Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka.

It will be accompanied by a 108 trillion yen ($990bn) stimulus package,

representing about 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), though

some are worried whether the financial aid will arrive quickly enough.

"We must do everything to protect medical facilities from being overwhelmed,

they are now close to capacity," said Abe during an address to the nation.

"If we can reduce person-to-person contact by 70 or 80 percent, infections

will reach their peak in two weeks,"

CORONAVIRUS: BORIS JOHNSON SPENDS SECOND NIGHT IN INTENSIVE CARE

Boris Johnson is spending a second night in intensive care as he continues

to receive treatment for coronavirus.

The PM is being kept at St Thomas' Hospital in London "for close

monitoring", Downing Street said.

Mr Johnson's condition is "stable" and he remains in "good spirits", his

spokesman added on Tuesday evening.

Downing Street also confirmed that the planned review into whether the UK's

coronavirus lockdown measures could be eased would not go ahead this Monday.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the PM, has said he

was "confident" the PM would recover from this illness, describing him as a

"fighter".

Speaking at Tuesday's Downing Street coronavirus briefing, he said Mr

Johnson was receiving standard oxygen treatment and was breathing without

any assistance, such as mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory

support.

It is understood there will not be a further update on Mr Johnson's

condition until later on Wednesday.

AFRICAN AMERICANS AT MORE RISK FOR CORONAVIRUS, SAYS TRUMP

The African American community are more susceptible to coronavirus, the

latest COVID-19 testing data from the ground reflects, U.S. President Donald

Trump said on Tuesday.

We are actively engaging on the problem of increased impacts there's a real

problem, and it is showing up very strongly in our data on the

African-American community, Mr. Trump told reporters during the daily press

conference of the White House Task Force on coronavirus.

The U.S., so far, has conducted 1.87 million tests, he said.

"We are just seeing tremendous evidence that African Americans are affected

at a far greater percentage number than other citizens of our country," he

said in response to a question.

"We are doing everything in our power to address this challenge. It is a

tremendous challenge, is terrible and provide support to African-American

citizens of this country who are going through a lot, but it has been

disproportional. They're getting hit very, very hard, in fact," Mr.Trump

said.

CORONAVIRUS | TEN NEWBORNS CONTRACT VIRUS AT ROMANIAN HOSPITAL

A Romanian maternity unit was being investigated on Tuesday after 10

newborns tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with the suspicion they

contracted the virus from healthcare staff.

"The mothers tested negative, but the babies tested positive so we have to

consider their contacts with medical staff," Health Minister Nelu Tataru

said in an interview with the Antena 3 TV station late on Monday. The babies

have no symptoms and all but one of them, together with their mothers, have

gone into self-isolation at home.

Mr. Tataru pointed to the "failures in the activities of both maternity

officials and the local public health directorate (DSP)" and promised severe

measures if necessary. The local DSP chief has already been dismissed.

"For the past two days I have felt like I am living in a horror film," one

of the mothers told the local pressalert.ro website. "The staff were not

wearing masks," she said, adding that the mothers had heard on Wednesday

through unofficial channels that there was a case of coronavirus in the

hospital.

"On Thursday the hospital was disinfected with us inside," she said.

IRAQI MILITARY: 3 ROCKETS TARGET US OIL COMPANY IN SOUTH

At least three rockets hit near the site of an American oil field service

company in southern Iraq early on Monday, Iraq's military said, the first

such attack in recent months to target U.S. energy interests in Iraq.

The rockets targeted the site of Halliburton in the Burjesia area in the

oil-rich Basra province, the military statement said.

Two Iraqi security officials and one official at the state-run Basra Oil

Company said five rockets at struck the area. The officials spoke on

condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

A rocket launcher was subsequently found on the Zubair-Shuaiba road by

security forces, according to the statement, with 11 unused missiles that

were later defused.

No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.

There was no significant damage, the military said, adding that Iraqi

security forces in Basra are searching for the perpetrators of the attack.