NATIONS BEGIN TO MAP OUT EXIT FROM LOCKDOWN

<https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/european-countries-begin-to-ma

p-out-exit-from-lockdown-1.4238409>

Boris Johnson returns to work for the first time in a fortnight with one key

item at the top of his in-tray: when will he let Britain do so?

The prime minister will chair the government's Monday morning meeting to

coordinate efforts to tackle the virus. He spent the last two weeks

recuperating at home, after contracting Covid-19 himself and spending three

nights in intensive care.

With the nation recording its lowest daily death toll since March and

lockdowns being partially lifted on the European continent, Johnson is

facing increasing pressure to explain how his administration will move

Britain onto the next phase.

Several US states are also beginning to lift lockdown orders even as US

leaders say social distancing guidelines will be necessary throughout the

summer.

But governors warn that life will not quickly return to normal, and that

restrictions will remain in some places to keep the virus from resurging.

Public health experts warn that lifting restrictions too soon could cause a

second wave of infections. The decision to end mandatory orders comes as

over 26 million Americans seek unemployment protection, and the jobless rate

climbs to around 16% of the population.

Even as state governors allow orders to expire, some city mayors have issued

their own separate plans to end local lockdowns rules.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday partially eased a 24-hour curfew in place to combat

the coronavirus pandemic, except for in hotspots including the Muslim holy

city of Mecca.

The curfew will be relaxed between 9am and 5pm and malls and retailers will

be allowed to reopen in all regions of the kingdom until May 13, the

official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia, which has reported the highest number of infections in the

Arab world, is scrambling to limit the spread of the disease at home.

On Saturday the health ministry said deaths from the respiratory illness had

risen to 136, while confirmed infections rose to 16,299 with 2,215 people

reported to have recovered from the illness.

Last month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage over

fears of the coronavirus pandemic spreading in Islam's holiest cities.

Authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year's

hajj, scheduled for the end of July, but they have urged Muslims to

temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage.

KIM JONG-UN IS 'ALIVE AND WELL', SAYS SOUTH KOREA'S SECURITY ADVISER

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "alive and well", a top security adviser

to the South's President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim's

health following his absence from a key anniversary.

"Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national

security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday. "Kim Jong Un is

alive and well."

The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan -- a resort town in the

country's east -- since April 13, adding: "No suspicious movements have so

far been detected."

Conjecture about Kim's health has grown since his conspicuous absence from

the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung,

the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political

calendar.

His absence has unleashed a series of unconfirmed media reports over his

condition, which officials in Seoul previously poured cold water on.

"We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside

North Korea as of now," the South's presidential office said in a statement

last week.

PAK CLERIC BLAMES WOMEN'S 'WRONGDOING' FOR COVID-19

<https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/264839464/pak-cleric-blames-women-wrongdoi

ng-for-covid-19>

Pakistan's well-known cleric has passed an inflammatory remark against women

in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan on live television, claiming

that COVID-19 has been unleashed on humanity because of the 'wrongdoing of

women.'The incident took place during the Ehsaas Telethon fundraising event

on Thursday. Prime Minister Imran Khan was present when Maulana Tariq Jameel

made these remarks. The Prime Minister did not stop him or question him for

making such statements.

Jameel also condemned media for disseminating lies but later apologised for

that remarks. No such apology was made for his offensive remarks on women.

Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has chided the maulana for

"inexplicably" correlating women's 'modesty' to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"HRCP is appalled at Maulana Tariq Jamil's recent statement inexplicably

correlating women's 'modesty' to the Covid19 pandemic. Such blatant

objectification is unacceptable and, when aired on public television, only

compounds the misogyny entrenched in society," the body tweeted.

CORONAVIRUS: ITALY'S PM OUTLINES LOCKDOWN EASING MEASURES

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Sunday (local time) that the

manufacturing, construction and wholesale sectors will be able to go back to

work beginning on May 4.

They will be followed by retailers, museums, galleries and libraries on May

18 and bars, restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons on June 1.

Also starting from May 4, people will be allowed to visit their relatives as

long as they wear masks, while parks and public gardens will reopen and

people will be able to go jogging or bike riding further than 200 metres

from their homes, Conte said in a nationally televised speech.

The Prime Minister made the remarks ahead of the end of the national

lockdown on May 3, which is to be followed by what he called Phase Two.

Funerals will be allowed but with a maximum of 15 participants as long as

social distancing requirements are fulfilled. All businesses will have to

follow rigorous workplace safety protocols.

"If you love Italy, maintain your inter-personal safety distance to keep the

new coronavirus pandemic at bay. We are about to embark on the phase of

living with the virus. We must be aware that the curve of the contagion

could go back up in some parts of the country," he added.

"The risk is there and we must take it on, methodically and rigorously. This

is why during Phase Two, it will be even more important to maintain the

inter-personal safety distance of at least one metre," the Prime Minister

further said.

FIRST PANDEMIC EPICENTRE WUHAN DISCHARGES ITS LAST COVID PATIENT FROM

HOSPITAL

The central Chinese city of Wuhan, the first Covid-19 pandemic epicentre

where the virus emerged late last year, has no remaining cases in hospitals,

China announced Sunday.

The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wet seafood and

meat market in Wuhan before spreading across China and then globally.

Early cases of Covid-19 were discovered among Wuhan residents in December.

"The latest news is that by April 26, the number of new coronavirus patients

in Wuhan was at zero, thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff

from around the country," national health commission (NHC) spokesperson Mi

Feng said at a briefing in Beijing on Sunday.

The last patient in serious condition in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province,

was cured on Friday, reducing the number of these patients in the city to

zero, Mi said.

Wuhan, however, recorded 20 new silent carriers of the virus on Friday, with

535 suspected patients under medical observation.

CORONAVIRUS: CHILE TO INTRODUCE CONTROVERSIAL CERTIFICATE

Chile's government has said it will go ahead with a controversial plan to

issue certificates to people who have recovered from Covid-19.

The documents would be given to people to allow them to return to work,

Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is "no evidence" that

people who contract coronavirus are immune from being infected again.

The body said "immunity" certificates could help the virus spread.

Chile has reported 189 virus-related deaths and more than 13,000 confirmed

cases of coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19

and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," the WHO said in

a briefing note on Friday.

The body argued that so-called "immunity certificates" could even be

harmful, because they could lead people to ignore public health advice and

therefore increase the risk of transmitting the disease.

YEMEN SEPARATISTS DECLARE SELF-RULE IN SOUTH

Yemen's main southern separatist group announced early on Sunday that it

would establish self-rule in areas under its control, which the Saudi-backed

government warned would have "catastrophic consequences". The move threatens

to renew conflict between the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional

Council (STC) and the Saudi-backed government, nominal allies in Yemen's

war, even as the United Nations is trying to secure a nationwide truce to

confront the novel coronavirus.

The STC deployed its forces on Sunday in Aden, the southern port which is

the interim seat of the government ousted from the capital, Sanaa, by the

Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Reuters journalists saw STC fighters in a

column of pickup trucks and military vehicles riding down a main street in

Aden.

The STC is one of the main groups fighting against the Houthis as part of a

coalition led by Saudi Arabia. But the separatists, long backed by Saudi

coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, have clashed with government

forces in the past.

In a statement, the STC announced emergency rule in Aden and all southern

governorates, saying it would take control of Aden's port and airport and

other state institutions such as the central bank.

The Saudi-backed government and southern regions of Shabwa, Hadhramout and

Socotra, among the few areas under coalition control, issued separate

statements rejecting the declaration.

SAUDI ARABIA TO END EXECUTIONS FOR CRIMES COMMITTED BY MINORS, SAYS

COMMISSION

Saudi Arabia will no longer impose the death penalty on people who committed

crimes while still minors, the country's Human Rights Commission says.

The announcement, citing a royal decree by King Salman, comes two days after

the country said it would ban flogging.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - which Riyadh has signed -

says capital punishment should not be used for offences carried out by

minors.

In a statement published on Sunday, Awwad Alawwad, president of the

state-backed commission, said a royal decree had replaced executions in

cases where crimes were committed by minors with a maximum penalty of 10

years in a juvenile detention centre.

"The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code," Mr Alawwad

said.

It was unclear when the decision - which was not immediately carried on

state media - would come into effect.

ROHINGYA CRISIS: HUNDREDS OF REFUGEES STRANDED IN BOATS AT SEA

A boat carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees was turned away from Malaysia,

with the government citing fears over coronavirus.

It comes as the United Nations issued a plea for the international community

to take urgent action, after dozens died on the perilous journey.

It is believed that hundreds more people are still stuck at sea.