CORONAVIRUS | NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO SAYS 'WORST IS OVER'

The coronavirus outbreak could reach its peak in the United States this

week, a top U.S. health official said on Monday as New York Governor Andrew

Cuomo declared "the worst is over" for his state, the U.S. epicenter of the

virus.

"We can control the spread: Feel good about that," Cuomo said at his daily

briefing on Monday. "The worst is over, if we continue to be smart going

forward. We have a hand on the valve, if we turn the valve, you'll go right

back."

More than 10,000 people have died in New York state, and the death rate was

"basically flat at an horrific level of pain and sorrow," Cuomo said,

referring to a flattening of the curve as seen on a graph.

The reopening "is a delicate balance and no one has done this before," he

said, adding that the process was in essence "recalibrating" what businesses

and activities are essential.

Tensions between state governors and President Donald Trump have bubbled up

since the outbreak and surfaced in the debate about when and how to restart

economic activity.

"It is the decision of the president, and for many good reasons," Trump said

on Twitter on Monday. He went on to write that his administration was

working closely with the governors.

SPAIN EASES LOCKDOWN AS TOLL FALLS TO 517

Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Monday

started to ease tough lockdown restrictions that have kept people confined

to their homes for more than a month and put a brake on economic activity.

Spain's cumulative death toll from the coronavirus rose to 17,489 on Monday,

up 517 from 16,972 on Sunday, the Health Ministry said.

With signs indicating the situation was taking a tentative turn for the

better, some businesses, including construction and manufacturing, were

allowed to reopen.

But most of the people were still confined to their homes, and shops, bars

and public spaces will remain closed until at least April 26. People at main

transport hubs were handed face masks by police as they went to work on

Monday morning.

"The health of workers must be guaranteed. If this is minimally affected,

the activity cannot restart," Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska

told Cadena Ser radio station.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday the decision to restart

some sectors was taken after consulting a committee of experts. Any further

winding down would depend on gains made against the virus, he said.

FRESH WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN US, CHINA

The US and China entered into another war of words on Monday over the

coronavirus pandemic after Beijing imposed restrictions on the publication

of academic research on the origins of Covid-19 and Washington accused it of

using the WHO to downplay the crisis.

Mistrust between the two sides deepened even as US President Trump, under

attack for poor handling of the pandemic during its initial foray into the

US, indicated that he is also losing faith in Anthony Fauci, the infectious

disease expert who has led the US battle against the pandemic.

Republicans lawmakers in the US also expressed loss of confidence in the WHO

and its head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accusing them of being China's

tools. The lawmakers called for the WHO to provide documents and information

on all of its communications with the Chinese Communist Party and the

Chinese government regarding public health from between August 2019 to now,

and all documentation and communications on the total number of infections

and fatalities caused by Covid-19 in China.

But China responded by clamping down on all Covid-19 research papers,

decreeing that studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra

scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials before being

submitted for publication.

CORONAVIRUS: TRUMP CLAIMS 'TOTAL' AUTHORITY TO LIFT LOCKDOWN

President Donald Trump has claimed "total" power to lift the nationwide

coronavirus lockdown, contradicting governors and constitutional scholars.

"The president of the United States calls the shots," Mr Trump said during a

combative press conference in which he feuded with reporters.

Nine states on the US East and West coasts are planning to lift strict

stay-at-home orders.

The US Constitution says states maintain public order and safety.

Legal experts say this means it is the responsibility of state governors to

decide when the coronavirus-related restrictions get lifted.

The president insisted "numerous provisions" in the US founding charter give

him such power, without specifying which ones.

He told reporters the number of deaths from the virus in the US had begun to

plateau, indicating that "social distancing" efforts had succeeded.

But despite Mr Trump's framing of the decision as one Washington can make

unilaterally, legal experts say the president does not have the authority to

reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local

level.

IMF CANCELS DEBT PAYMENTS FOR 6 MONTHS FOR 25 POOR NATIONS

The International Monetary Fund approved 500 million on Monday to cancel six

months of debt payments for 25 of the worlds most impoverished countries so

they can help tackle the COVID19 pandemic

IMF Executive Director Kristalina Georgieva issued a statement saying the

IMF executive board approved the immediate debt service relief for 19

African countries Afghanistan Haiti Nepal Solomon Islands Tajikistan and

Yemen

This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover

their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and

will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards

vital emergency medical and other relief efforts, Georgieva said.

She said the money will come from the IMFs revamped Catastrophe Containment

and Relief Trust which will use recent pledges of 185 million from the

United Kingdom and 100 million from Japan She urged other donors to help

replenish the trusts resources.

The 19 African countries to receive debt relief are Benin, Burkina,, Faso

Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo The Gambia Guinea GuineaBissau

Liberia Madagascar Malawi Mali Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao, Tome and

Principe Sierra Leone, and Togo.

TRUMP THANKS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT AND SAUDI CROWN PRINCE ON OIL DEAL

US President Donald Trump on Sunday thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir

Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud for their deal

along with other oil producing countries to calm global energy markets, the

White House said.

Trump spoke with the two leaders over phone. In separate readouts of the

call, the White House said Trump welcomed the commitment by Russia and Saudi

Arabia to return oil production to levels consistent with global energy and

financial market stability.

Trump, during his phone call, thanked them for working with each other, and

other oil producing states to calm global energy markets, the White House

said. The top oil-producing countries on Sunday agreed to reduce output in

order to boost prices that went down due to the new coronavirus crisis and a

Russia-Saudi price war.

Trump hailed the agreement as "great deal for all". In a tweet, Trump said,

"The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done. This will save hundreds of

thousands of energy jobs in the United States. I would like to thank and

congratulate President Putin of Russia and King Salman of Saudi Arabia. I

just spoke to them from the Oval Office. Great deal for all!"

CHINA TIGHTENS BORDER WITH RUSSIA AFTER SPIKE IN COVID-19 CASES

China's northeast Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia, has become

the new battleground against the coronavirus as authorities reported the

highest number of new daily cases in nearly six weeks, driven by infected

travellers from overseas.

China fears a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of Covid-19

and push the country back into a state of near paralysis.

A total of 108 new cases were reported in mainland China on Sunday, up from

99 a day earlier.

The National Health Commission said 98 of the new cases were imported, a new

record. A total of 49 Chinese nationals who entered Heilongjiang province

from Russia tested positive.

On Monday, two people were reported dead in Hubei, pushing the toll to 3,341

while total cases stood at 82,160. As of Sunday, the mainland had reported a

total of 1,378 imported cases.

Chinese cities near the border with Russia are tightening controls and

imposing quarantines in response to influx of infected patients from the

country.

China on Monday rejected reports that the earliest case of Covid-19 in its

territory occurred last November and that it had concealed the real

situation regarding the pandemic, describing them as a distortion of facts.

Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong said in a statement: "Recently, certain

Indian media ignored the facts that China had officially released and

continued to blame China for concealing the real situation. These claims are

fact-distorting and irresponsible."

BERNIE SANDERS ENDORSES JOE BIDEN FOR DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

Bernie Sanders endorsed his former rival Joe Biden for president on Monday

in a joint online appearance.

"I am asking all Americans, I'm asking every Democrat, I'm asking every

independent, I'm asking a lot of Republicans, to come together in this

campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse," Sanders said.

The backing is a crucial development for Biden, who must bridge the

Democratic Party's ideological divide to unify voters against President

Donald Trump in the fall. Biden and Sanders, a leading progressive, clashed

throughout the primary over policy issues such as the "Medicare for All"

universal health care plan.

The endorsement stands in contrast to the extended 2016 fight between

Sanders and Hillary Clinton, who became the nominee that year. Sanders

endorsed Clinton, but only after the end of a drawn-out nominating fight and

amid a bitter fight over the Democratic platform that extended to the summer

convention.

Sanders did not immediately address Monday whether he would continue to

fight for delegates at state conventions around the country or whether he'd

simply use his newfound alliance with Biden to influence the nominee and the

policy slate that he will present voters.

Appearing in a split screen with Biden, Sanders said there's "no great

secret out there that you and I have our differences."

But he cited ongoing work between the two camps on several policy matters as

a reason for the endorsement. And he said the biggest priority was defeating

Trump.

"We've got to make Trump a one-term president," Sanders said. "I will do all

that I can to make that happen."

NORTH KOREA'S KIM JONG-UNRESHUFFLES TOP GOVERNING BODY

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has carried out a major reshuffle of his

State Affairs Commission, official media reported on Monday, replacing more

than a third of its members.

Mr. Kim has established an iron grip on the levers of authority in his

nuclear-armed country since inheriting power in his late 20s in 2011.

He is chairman of the SAC - the North's highest decision-making body - and

five of its 13 other members were replaced at a meeting of the country's

rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) Parliament on Sunday, the state

KCNA news agency reported.

"This is a rather large scale of SAC membership shuffle," said former U.S.

government North Korea analyst Rachel Lee.