IRAN WARSHIP HIT BY OWN MISSILE, 19 DIE

One Iranian warship accidentally struck another with a missile during an

exercise, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others, Iran's navy said on

Monday.

The incident took place during training in the Gulf of Oman, a sensitive

waterway that connects to the Strait of Hormuz. The frigate Jamaran fired at

a training target released by a support ship, the Konarak. However, the

support ship stayed too close to the target and was hit, state broadcaster

IRIB said. "The incident took place in the perimeter of Iran's southern

Bandar-e Jask port during Iranian Navy drills on Sunday afternoon, in which

19 sailors were killed," the state TV said quoting Navy.

CORONAVIRUS | EUROPE EMERGES FROM CURBS, BUT ASIA FEARS A SECOND WAVE

Swathes of Europe began the long process of reopening from coronavirus

lockdowns on Monday, but the first new infections in weeks at China's ground

zero offered a sobering reminder of the dangers of a second wave of cases.

The mixed fortunes illustrate the high-wire act governments face across the

globe as they try to get economies moving while keeping in check a pandemic

that has now killed more than 2,80,000 people and infected over four

million.

As France and Spain basked in a relaxation of restrictions and Britain

plotted a path to normality, the Chinese city of Wuhan where the pandemic

was born reported a second day of new cases after a month without a sign of

the virus.

And neighbouring South Korea announced its highest number of infections for

more than a month driven by a cluster in a Seoul nightlife district.

With millions out of work and economies shattered, governments are desperate

to hit the accelerator, but most are choosing a gradual approach as fears

about a resurgence of the virus linger.

CORONAVIRUS | PUTIN ANNOUNCES END TO NON-WORKING PERIOD

President Vladimir Putin on Monday said Russia's non-working period imposed

to contain the spread of the coronavirus will be lifted from Tuesday.

"Starting from tomorrow, May 12, the national period of non-working days

will be over for all sectors of the economy," he said, adding that Russia's

regions will be able to keep in place anti-virus measures.

The President's announcement came after Russia registered a record number of

daily cases on Monday, with more than 11,000 people testing positive over

the last 24 hours.

Health officials have recorded a total of 2,21,344 infections and 2,009

deaths.

Mr. Putin said that Russia had used the self-isolation period to prepare its

healthcare system, increasing the number of hospital beds and saving "many

thousands of lives." This "allows us to begin a gradual lifting of

restrictions," he said. "It is in the interest of all of us for the economy

to return to normal quickly." Construction, agriculture and energy should be

restarted first, he added. "The epidemic and associated restrictions have

had a strong impact on the economy and hurt millions of our citizens," he

said. As people begin going back to work, mass events are still suspended

and "strict sanitation demands" must be observed, Mr. Putin said.

UN SAYS 7 OR 8 'TOP' CANDIDATES FOR A COVID-19 VACCINE EXIST

The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or

eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and

work on them is being accelerated.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a U.N. Economic and

Social Council video briefing the original thinking two months ago was that

it may take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. But he said an accelerated effort

is under way, helped by 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) pledged a week ago by

leaders from 40 countries, organizations and banks for research, treatment

and testing.

He said the $8 billion will not be enough, and additional funds will be

needed to speed up the development of a vaccine, but more importantly to

produce enough "to make sure that this vaccine reaches everyone - (and)

there's no one be left behind."

"We have good candidates now," Tedros said. "The top ones are around seven,

eight. But we have more than a hundred candidates."

"We are focusing on the few candidates we have which can bring probably

better results and accelerating those candidates with better potential," he

said.

Tedros did not identify the top candidates.

VISA, OCI CARD SUSPENSION PREVENTS SEVERAL INDIANS IN US FROM FLYING BACK

HOME

Several Indians in the US, either on the H-1B work visa or Green Card having

children who are American citizens by birth, are being prevented from

travelling to India aboard the special repatriation flights being run by Air

India amidst the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions.

According to the regulations issued by the Indian government last month and

updated last week, visas of foreign nationals and OCI cards, that provide

visa-free travel privileges to the people of Indian-origin, have been

suspended as part of the new international travel restrictions.

For some of the Indian citizens like the Pandey couple in New Jersey (name

and place changed at request), it's a double whammy. Having lost their H-1B

job, they have to go back to India within the stipulated 60 days as required

by law. The couple has two kids aged one and six years who are American

citizens.

In the wee hours of Monday, they had to return from Newark airport as Air

India refused to give their kids a ticket to fly to India along with them,

despite them having a valid Indian visa. The young mother and father are

Indian citizens.

They said that the officials from Air India and (Indian) Consulate (in New

York) were very cooperative.

But they could not do anything as their hands were tied by the latest

regulation issued by the Indian government, a shocked Ratna Pandey told PTI.

"I would like to urge the Indian government to reconsider their decision on

the humanitarian basis," said the Indian national who has lost her job but

could not leave the US within the stipulated 60 days to avoid any future

visa complications.

She now plans to make an appeal to the US Citizenship and Immigration

Services (USCIS) to extend their stay.

CORONAVIRUS AND OIL PRICE CRASH: SAUDI ARABIA IS BATTLING DOUBLE CRISES

Saudi Arabia, which under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been trying

to diversify its economy away from oil and expand its regional influence

through aggressive foreign policy posturing, has run into trouble with the

economy hit by the double crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the oil

price crash.

The Kingdom, 87% of whose budget revenues come from the petroleum sector,

has already announced some "painful" economic decisions and signalled a rare

readiness to scale back its regional operations to lift itself out of the

"worst crisis in decades".

The coronavirus pandemic has aggravated the crisis with most economic

activities suspended under a curfew. In March, the Kingdom shut down shops,

malls, restaurants, cafes and other public places. All pilgrimages,

including the annual Haj to Mecca, which hasn't been interrupted since

Napoleon's 1798 attack of Egypt, were stopped.

Despite these actions, the virus continued to spread across the country. As

of May 11 evening, the Kingdom has reported over 39,000 coronavirus

infections and 246 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus

Resource Centre. On top of it, it has also aggravated that economic woes.

The IMF now forecasts the country's GDP will fall 2.3% this year.

"The situation in Saudi Arabia has been deteriorating well before the

pandemic. Economic pressures were already building up on the Kingdom.

Coupled with this, we have the war against Yemen. On top of this, while the

Crown Prince has projected himself as the fountainhead of liberalism, in

actual fact, he's emerged as a very authoritarian and harsh ruler, who can

be extremely impulsive in decision making," said Talmiz Ahmad, India's

former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, adding that the oil crash and the

pandemic made the situation worse.

TRUMP ABRUPTLY ENDS PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER SPAT WITH REPORTERS

US President Donald Trump abruptly ended his coronavirus press briefing on

Monday after getting into a testy exchange with an Asian-American reporter.

CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang asked Trump why he continued to insist that

the US was doing better than other countries when it came to testing for the

virus.

"Why does that matter?" she asked. "Why is this a global competition when,

every day, Americans are still losing their lives?"

"They're losing their lives everywhere in the world," Trump replied. "And

maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that

question, OK?"

Jiang, who identifies herself in her Twitter bio as a "Chinese born West

Virginian," pushed back.

"Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?" she said, implying it was

due to her race.

"I'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that," Trump

said.

He then attempted to move on to another reporter as Jiang continued to press

him about his response.

Trump called on another female reporter but then immediately called on

someone else.

When the woman tried to ask her question, Trump abruptly ended the press

conference and walked back into the White House.

The internet was quick to rally round Jiang, with the hashtag

#StandWithWeijiaJiang soon trending on Twitter.

IRS SETS DEADLINE FOR RELIEF PAYMENT BY DIRECT DEPOSIT

The Treasury Department and the IRS are urging taxpayers who want to get

their economic impact payments directly deposited to their bank accounts to

enter their information online by Wednesday.

The government has sent out about 130 million payments in the first four

weeks of the program by both direct deposit and by mail.

The IRS said Monday that people should use the Get My Payment " tool on the

IRS website by noon on Wednesday to provide their direct deposit

information.

After that time, the agency will begin preparing millions of files to send

to Bureau of Financial Services for paper checks that will begin arriving

through late May and into June.

The government cannot provide direct deposit once the process of sending a

paper check has commenced.

The payments are part of a massive economic relief package Congress passed

to lessen the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

WHITE HOUSE STAFF ORDERED TO WEAR MASKS

Staff in the White House have been ordered to wear face masks when entering

the West Wing, after an aide for Vice-President Mike Pence and a valet for

President Trump fell ill.

Staff have been told to cover their faces at all times except when seated at

their desks, socially distant from colleagues.

But Trump said he did not need to follow the rule because he kept "far away

from everyone".

He added that the White House was "doing a good job containing [the virus]".

Three members of the White House virus task force, including top medical

officer Dr Anthony Fauci, have gone into self-isolation for two weeks after

possible exposure to the virus.