TRUMP ATTACKS 'CHINA-CENTRIC' WHO; TIES BIDEN TO CHINA

The Trump Administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on

coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US' financial assistance to

it. "I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of

themselves because they are like the public relations agency for China,"

Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House.

The United States, he reiterated, pays the WHO almost $500 million a year

and China pays them $38 million a year. "Whether it's a lot more, it doesn't

matter. They shouldn't be making excuses when people make horrible mistakes,

especially mistakes that are causing hundreds of thousands of people around

the world to die." "I think the WHO should be ashamed of themselves," said

the President.

"With respect to the WHO, we know that they had one job, right? A single

mission: To prevent the spread of a pandemic. We know that the leader of

that organization travelled to China and then declined to declare it a

pandemic until everyone in the world knew that was already true," US

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox news in another interview.

Trump also threatened China with fresh tariffs, saying he had seen evidence

linking a Wuhan lab to the contagion. Asked if he had seen anything giving

him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the

source of the outbreak, Trump replied, "Yes, I have."

Pressed by reporters at the White House for details on what made him so

confident, Trump replied: "I cannot tell you that."

Trump alleged that China does not want to see him elected in polls due later

this year, mainly because of the billions of dollars he has been taking from

them as import tariffs. Instead, he claimed, China wants to have former vice

president Joe Biden elected as the next US president in the November

elections. Biden is the presumptive nominee of the opposition Democratic

party.

OMAN ORDERS FIRING OF EXPATS FROM STATE SECTOR COMPANIES

Oman's Finance Ministry has asked all state-owned companies to replace

foreign workers with qualified local Omanis, as part of efforts to develop

the national workforce, news agency Reuters reported.

The circular issued by the Finance Ministry said that the replacement of

expats with Omanis will need to be done in a "speedy and organised manner".

The move is part of the government's "Omanisation" policy, which strives to

improve the number and quality of jobs available for Omani citizens.

More than a third of the 4.6 million population in Oman are expatriates,

including a sizeable number of Indians.

VIRUS WAS NOT MANMADE: U.S. AGENCIES

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the new coronavirus was "not

manmade or genetically modified" but say they are still examining whether

the origins of the pandemic trace to contact with infected animals or an

accident at a Chinese lab.

The statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the

clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, comes as President Donald

Trump and his allies have touted the as-yet-unproven theory that an

infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicentre of the Chinese outbreak, was

the source of the global pandemic that has killed more than 220,000

worldwide.

"The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus

that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," said the

statement. "The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information

and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact

with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory

in Wuhan."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institute's director, Yuan

Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that

would prevent the release of any pathogen.

"I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex

scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals,"

Mr. Geng said.

GERMANY CLASSIFIES HEZBOLLAH AS TERRORIST ORGANISATION, CONDUCTS RAIDS

Germany has banned Iran-backed Hezbollah activity on its soil and designated

it a terrorist organisation, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Police conducted early morning raids in Germany to detain suspected members

of the group. Security officials believe up to 1,050 people in Germany are

part of Hezbollah's extremist wing.

"Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has banned the Shiite terrorist

organisation Hezbollah in Germany," tweeted a ministry spokesman.

"Even in times of crisis, the rule of law is capable of acting," he added.

Germany had previously distinguished between Hezbollah's political arm and

its military units, which have fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's

army in Syria.

Israel and the United States had been pushing Germany to ban the

organisation.

CORONAVIRUS: BORIS JOHNSON SAYS UK IS PAST THE PEAK OF OUTBREAK

PM Boris Johnson said he will set out a "comprehensive plan" next week on

how to restart the economy, reopen schools and help people travel to work

following the coronavirus lockdown.

He said the UK was "past the peak" of the virus outbreak, but stressed the

country must not "risk a second spike".

Mr Johnson said face masks will be "useful" as part of the strategy for

coming out of lockdown.

Some 26,771 people have now died with the virus in the UK, a rise of 674.

The prime minister said that "we can now see the sunlight", but he insisted

that to avoid the "disaster" of a second peak the UK must keep the R rate -

the number of people to which one infected person will pass the virus -

below one.

More than 81,000 coronavirus tests were carried out on Wednesday, still

short of the Downing Street's target of 100,000 by the end of April. Mr

Johnson insisted: "We're massively ramping up testing."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, told BBC One's Question Time that the

government was "quite likely to get very close to or meet" the target when

the figures for the final day of April are announced on Friday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the prime minister's commitment to

outline a plan next week as "a step in the right direction".

The government has set out five tests that must be met before lockdown

restrictions can be eased, including:

making sure the NHS can cope

a "sustained and consistent" fall in the daily death rate

rate of infection decreasing to "manageable levels"

ensuring supply of tests and PPE can meet future demand

and being confident any adjustments would not risk a second peak "that

overwhelms the NHS"

'REMARKABLE EXAMPLE: UN CHIEF SAYS WORLD SHOULD FOLLOW SOUTH KOREA ON

COVID-19 FIGHT

The United Nations chief said he hopes many countries in the world will

follow the "remarkable example" of South Korea, which he said has been

"extremely successful" in addressing the coronavirus pandemic and is

planning to tackle climate change in its recovery from COVID-19.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed to Thursday's announcement "that

there was no new case in the Republic of Korea," the country's official

name.

At the same time, he said, South Korea has presented plans for "a very

ambitious green deal" for its recovery from the pandemic, including a ban on

new coal-fired plants and a reduction of emissions from existing coal-fired

plants.

"We hope that this example of the Republic of Korea will be followed by many

other countries in the world," Guterres said at a news conference.

The Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement

early Thursday that four cases in the previous 24 hours, all imported, took

the country's total to 10,765, with 247 deaths and 9,059 recoveries.

South Korea had its first confirmed coronavirus case Jan. 20, the same day

as the United States.

But unlike the U.S., officials there used a test focused on the same gene

targets as the World Health Organization's recommended test, according to

the website of a test manufacturer. The government then quickly allowed

private sector labs to produce it.

As a result, a nation with less than one-sixth the population of the United

States mobilized to test more than 20,000 people a day. South Korea also

instituted drive-through testing centers, allowing quicker identification of

those who were infected but might not be displaying symptoms, thus slowing

the emergence of new cases to a more manageable level.

By comparison, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided

to develop its own test, focusing on three gene targets distinct from what

the WHO used. The test was reportedly flawed and according to CDC data only

472 patients had been tested nationwide on Feb. 29, with just 22 cases

confirmed.

The result was that while South Korea was able to manage its caseload, the

rate of U.S. infections soared.

Guterres said recovery from the pandemic "needs to go hand-in-hand with

climate action," just as South Korea is doing now.

RUSSIAN PM MIKHAIL MISHUSTIN TESTS COVID-19 +VE, GOES INTO SELF-ISOLATION

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Thursday said he tested positive

for coronavirus and will self-isolate to protect other cabinet members.

"I have just learned that the test on the coronavirus I took was positive,"

Mishustin said in a video meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

"I have to observe self-isolation and follow orders of doctors. This is

necessary to protect my colleagues," he said, promising to be in constant

contact "on all the main issues."

He suggested that First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov takes his

place as an "acting" prime minister.

"What is happening to you now can happen to anyone," Putin reassured him in

the televised meeting.

"I hope that you stay able to work and will actively participate" in

government decision-making, he said.

"Without your opinions and your participation these decisions will not be

made," Putin told Mishustin, wishing him a quick recovery.