The CM should have taken ministers in charge of Industries, Food Supplies or Revenue and Disaster Management departments along with him, the leaders opined.
“It suggests that the CM doesn’t trust his ministers. If he has trust on them, then the ministers of concerned departments should have also accompanied him along with the secretaries. It seems he is disregarding his ministers,” said BJP leader Pradeep Purohit.
Senior Congress leader and Jatni MLA Suresh Routray said, “Ministers had accompanied him (Naveen Patnaik) during his last foreign trip to London in May, 2012. This time, he, ignoring them, has taken only bureaucrats with him. This is perhaps why people in the State believe ministers are not so powerful as to transfer even a peon.”
In response to the Oppositions’ criticisms, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallik said, “The CM is well aware of everything and can talk on anything. He is capable enough to get things done by himself. It is the job of the Opposition parties to oppose the government. So they are always digging up dirt on the government.”
Notably, during his London visit, the then ministers like Ramesh Majhi and Usha Devi had accompanied Naveen.
Meanwhile, after reaching Rome, Patnaik met India’s Ambassador to Italy, Neena Malhotra.
He left New Delhi at 4.15 am on Monday and reached Rome later in the day.
During his six-day stay in Rome, he will attend an event of the World Food Progarmme (WFP) where he will share the details of transformative initiatives his government has taken to ensure food security.
He will also share details regarding disaster management.
Odia expats living in Netherland, Germany, Belgium and Italy are scheduled to meet the CM on June 23. During his stay, Patnaik will also meet Pope Francis at the Vatican City.
“We are very excited for the fact that our CM is on a foreign trip. He had last visited London in 2012. We are going to Rome to meet him,” said Sukant Kumar Sahu, an Odia expat living in London.
Notably, the CM is scheduled to reach Dubai on June 26 where he will meet potential investors.
Italy had won their first Euro title in 1968 and they won their second one when goalkeeper Donnarumma blocked a poor effort by 19-year-old Bukayo Saka of England, after Jorginho had missed the last Italian kick, to win the penalty shoot out 3-2 after both teams were deadlocked 1-1 after 120 minutes of action.
Playing in front of 60,000 fans despite the pandemic, Italy came back after conceding an early goal to tie the game 1-1 and then showed steely nerves in the penalties.
England added to their list of miserable history in penalty shootouts as despite being put ahead of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who saved a couple of penalties.
Earlier, England took early lead when defender Luke Shaw scored at one minute and 57th second -- the fastest goal of a Euro final. Luke Shaw started the counter and rushed ahead to meet a long cross by Kieran Trippier near the six-yard spot and shot home off the left-hand post.
Italy equalised midway through the second half when defender Leonardo Bonucci, scored off a goal-line scramble in the 67th minute. Off a corner, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford forced Marco Verratti's header onto the left-hand post but the ball fell for Bonucci and he did not make any mistake to make it 1-1.
Both teams made efforts to break the deadlock but failed as the match went into extra time and penalties.
Spain's Alex Rins (Suzuki) on Sunday had the lead before the race was stopped midway through because of the wet track conditions, but the race belonged to Dovizioso after it resumed, reports Efe news.
The Italian rider earned his fourth victory this season with a time of 24 minutes and 3.408 seconds, and had already clinched second place in the MotoGP championship.
Rins finished second, 2.75 seconds off the pace, while his countryman Pol Espargaro (Red Bull) completed the podium.
MotoGP champion Marc Marquez of Spain (Honda) could not finish the race after suffering a fall in the first half, but had secured his fifth title in six years at the Japanese MotoGP in October.
A crash in qualifying on Saturday reportedly dislocated Marquez's shoulder for the second time this season.
Spanish rider Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) crashed out as well, despite starting the race from pole position.
A group of musicians, including the popular Sufi singer Harshdeep and Sanjoy Das, have reached the venue to perform at the celebrations, set to take place in the picturesque Lake Como.
"We have reached Milan for a very special occasion of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. I am performing with Harshdeep Kaur along with Bobby Pathak and Firoz Khan," Sanjoy wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
Sanjoy later deleted it as the celebrations are being kept as private as possible.
Harshdeep, known for songs like "Heer" and "Dilbaro", gave a subtle hint to fans by posting a picture from a flight. She captioned it: "Off to a very special place for even more special occasion. Arrivederci?"
Deepika and Ranveer, whose on-screen chemistry in films like "Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela" and "Bajirao Mastani" has been loved as much as their off-screen camaraderie, will tie the knot over two days of ceremonies on November 14-15.
According to Ranveer's stylist Nitasha, the couple is "love personified".
"No pictures but it was love personified to see them together today. Couldn't stop my tears, but these were tears of happiness and so I hope they never do," she tweeted on Monday.
The couple has been dating each other for six years but never confirmed their relationship until recently. They put rest to months of speculation about their nuptials with a social media announcement of their wedding dates.
After their very private wedding ceremonies, the two stars will have a reception each in Bengaluru and Mumbai on November 21 and 28 respectively.
They have urged their guests to direct gifts in the form of a donation to The Live Love Laugh Foundation, which works towards spreading awareness on mental health.
"CONI has formalised its bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2026 in Milan and Cortina," said Lombardy region president Attilio Fontana on Monday.
In a statement confirming Milan and Cortina as the candidate host cities for the 2026 Games, CONI President Giovanni Malago said Italy's bid would be an "innovative project".
"It will be in line with the Agenda 2020 guidelines and new rules and will include the Lombardy and Veneto regions, not just Milan and Cortina," Malago's wrote in a letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) chair Thomas Bach.
The IOC is due in September 2019 to announce its choice of host city for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Swedish capital Stockholm, the Canadian city of Calgary and Erzurum in Turkey were the other candidates for the 2026 games.
The Italian bid originally also included Turin, but it pulled out after refusing to cooperate with the other two candidate cities.
Turin already hosted the 2006 Winter Games, while the mountain resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted them in 1956.
He has reportedly rented a $13,000 a night villa at the Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello to enjoy with the love of his life.
[caption id="attachment_323101" align="alignnone" width="750"] Pic Credit: meaww.com[/caption]
The Canadian singer, 25, looked like he was having the time of his life as he spent quality time with his soon to be wife who wore a skimpy black bikini while they were on a yacht on the Amalfi Coast on Friday, reports dailymail.co.uk.
In between showering each other with kisses, they seemed immersed in an intense conversation.
Although there were still no official figures on the number of people missing, Italian authorities did not rule out a possibility of a dozen bodies trapped under the rubble.
The search and rescue operations were concentrated among the cement blocks of the pillar, which collapsed along the left bank of the Polcevera River, Efe news reported.
Meanwhile, 15 people continued to be hospitalized in the San Martino hospital, nine of whom were in a serious condition. Six hundred and sixty-four people and 331 families were evacuated from the houses located under the bridge.
State funerals are expected to be held on Saturday for some of the victims, among whom were four French tourists and two young Albanian nationals working in Italy. Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation into the incident.
A roughly 100-metre section of Morandi Bridge collapsed amid torrential rains on Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, railway lines and two warehouses.
The government on Wednesday said it would be revoking concessions to Autostrade per l'Italia, the company that manages the country's highways, following the accident.
"Significant progress has been made on a cabinet and on appointing a prime minister amid constructive cooperation between the two sides.
"The goal is to finalise everything is as short time as possible to give answers and a democratic government to Italy," said the statement, coming after a meeting at the Italian parliament between Di Maio - who heads Italy's largest party - and Salvini - who leads the biggest political bloc.
President Sergio Mattarella on Monday gave the pair a further day of last-ditch talks on forming a coalition after two months of political deadlock since Italy's inconclusive March 4 election.
The main obstacle to a Five-Star-centre-right tie-up has been Salvini's refusal to break with his veteran conservative ally Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the Forza Italia party who has a tax fraud conviction and is on trial for bribery.
But late on Monday, Berlusconi yielded to pressure, including from his own lawmakers, and pledged that he is open to Five-Star and the League parties governing together.
Mattarella has given Di Maio and Salvini until Thursday afternoon to agree on forming a majority government.
The accord, signed by ENI's CEO Claudio Descalzi and the research council's President Massimo Inguscio, covers four areas of high scientific and strategic interest: nuclear fusion, water, agriculture and the Arctic ecosystem, ENI said in a statement.
Under the accord, ENI and CNR will combine their strong technological research and development capabilities by establishing four joint research centers, investing 20 million euros over a period of five years.
"This agreement is a significant step for Eni towards the development and implementation of increasingly efficient energy-generating technologies that are sustainable and accessible to a growing number of people," said Descalzi.
"Collaboration with a prestigious research center such as the CNR will allow us to conduct in-depth studies which have immediate repercussions on both the ecosystem and private companies," he added.
The joint research will focus on water and agriculture to achieve purification and reuse of the hydric resource and sustainable food production; nuclear fusion; latest generation superconductor materials; and plasma technologies able to produce virtually unlimited clean energy, said Inguscio.
"The National Research Council, together with Eni, aims at accelerating the development of new technologies that can tackle global challenges, such as the relationship between energy, water, food and the environment, with solutions that are efficient, clean and with a low water footprint," he said.
A total 90 per cent of global power production requires a significant use of water, but water is also vital for agricultural development (70 per cent of global water use) and its availability is under stress in various areas of the world, also due to climate change, ENI noted.
The Egyptian, a Milan resident, was deported aboard a flight to Cairo from nearby Malpensa airport after police began tracking him in 2015, the ministry said.
The radical Islamist was in contact on Facebook with a Moroccan foreign fighter who travelled to Syria and a second Moroccan jihadist who allegedly died in fighting in the city of Homs in 2016, the ministry said, citing investigators.
The suspect was the 35th alleged religious extremist to be deported from Italy this year and the 272nd since January 2015, according to the ministry.
"A new and challenging phase is starting that will require different but no less demanding efforts," Pinotti told a meeting in Rome of defence ministers from the US-led coalition against IS on Tuesday.
"It is the time for reflection and political and strategic review of the future of our fight against jihadist terrorism," Pinotti said.
"IS has been routed from its territory but its deadly ideology has not been vanquished," she said.
Pinotti and US Defence Secretary James Mattis were among 15 defence ministers attending Tuesday's summit focused on foreign fighters and the reconstruction of areas of Iraq and Syria formerly under IS control.
Meanwhile, Italy's Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Tuesday that the global coalition against the Islamic State was now at a "crucial" stage in its battle to eradicate jihadist group.
Although the IS had been seriously weakened by its defeats in Iraq and Syria, much remained to be done to prevent a resurgence of the group and to reconstruct the areas it once controlled, Alfano told a coalition meeting in Kuwait City.
"We have defeated IS, freeing at least eight million people from the jihadists' grip," he said. "Now the crucial stage of our mission begins."
"The only bracelets we make in Italy are the ones produced by jewellers," said Calenda, who summoned Amazon representatives to a meeting on Friday.
"I told them, and they understood, that such a thing, which is not in use but which has been patented, will never happen in Italy," he said.
Amazon claims the wristbands are a time-saving device for staff, meaning they don't need to scan the products' barcodes as they take them off shelves or alerting them when they're approaching the item they looking for.
"Patents take years to be approved and do not necessarily reflect current developments in our products and services," the company said in a statement.
At a electoral rally on Thursday, Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni also voiced his opposition to electronic wristbands for workers. "The challenge is quality jobs, not jobs with electronic bracelets," he said.
The rumoured wristbands have been blasted by Italian politicians of all stripes and "electronic bracelets" was on Friday one of the top trending terms for Italian Twitter users, some of whom likened the plan to modern-day slavery or even Nazi death camps.
Amazon has been accused of dodging 100 million euros of tax in Italy and workers at its distribution centre in the northern city of Piacenza held strikes in December during the Black Friday retail bonanza on November 24 to protest pay levels and working conditions.
"There is no evidence that 50 ISIS fighters have come to Italy on board migrant ships as reported by Interpol," the ministry's Public Security Department said in a statement.
"Constant and deep" collaboration between Italy and Tunisia had enabled Italian police to identify "a tiny number of people" flagged by Tunis authorities, and they had already been deported, the statement said.
The department stated that Italy pays "maximum attention towards all those who arrive illegally on national territory".
"The immediate expulsion of certain suspects provides incontrovertible proof of this," it added. A total 243 alleged extremists have been expelled from Italy since 2015, according to the Interior Ministry.
The Tunisians on the Interpol list are believed to have arrived in Sicily between July and October last year on fishing boats or small vessels that were then abandoned on the beach, Britain's Guardian newspaper quoted a European counterterrorism officer as saying.
The migrants reportedly disappear into the countryside, a few miles from the coast, avoiding the Italian Coast Guard and police controls. Around 3,000 Tunisians are believed to have secretly landed in southern Sicily since last July of whom only 400 were stopped and identified by police, the Guardian said.
Many Tunisians who arrive in Italy are categorised as economic migrants and are issued with orders to leave the country within seven days, but often authorities lose track of them.
The Interpol list was sent on November 29 to the Italy's interior ministry which distributed it to national anti-terrorism agencies across Europe, according to the Guardian report.
Interpol believes the suspects may be attempting to reach other European countries, the Guardian said.
Around 5,500 Tunisians were believed to have travelled to IS territory in Syria and Iraq to fight for the terror group, according to UN estimates.
"Today we have promised each other to be bound in love for ever," Kohli tweeted.
Today we have promised each other to be bound in love for ever. We are truly blessed to share the news with you.This beautiful day will be made more special with the love and support of our family of fans & well wishers. Thank you for being such an important part of our journey. pic.twitter.com/aobTUwMNAK
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) December 11, 2017
"We are truly blessed to share the news with you. This beautiful day will be made more special with the love and support of our family of fans and well wishers. Thank you for being such an important part of our journey," Kohli said.
Virat and Anushka, who have been together for four years, chose the luxury heritage resort Borgo Finocchieto, a little over 100 km away from here, for their wedding.
Buffon had also earlier said that the 2017-18 season may be his last also in club football.
Buffon's long-time rival and Spain veteran Iker Casillas posted a picture of a tearful Buffon and wrote on Twitter: "I do not like anything to see you like that! I want to see you as before, as what you continue to be for many: a LEGEND. Proud to meet you and proud of having faced you many times. You still have to delight us in friend football! #1."
Casillas' compatriot Sergio Ramos said: "The World will miss you, @gianluigibuffon. Courage, friend! You are so big."
Former England star striker Gary Linekar said Buffon "will be much missed". "A mountain of a man. A Giant of a goalkeeper. A credit to his sport," he wrote.
France great Franck Ribery said: Tough opponent, great character & idol for every player. Respect for your international career @gianluigibuffon."
Germany great Lukas Podolski wrote: "Grazie #Buffon, one of the best on and off the field #Legend."
Buffon captained the Italian national team 79 times -- joint highest with Fabio Cannavaro.
German tennis great Boris Becker said: "Grazie @gianluigibuffon !!! One of the all time greatest says #Goodbye."
"You realise that the time has come, every day you have physical problems, you cannot train as you want because you always have some problem," the former AC Milan and Juventus star deep-lying playmaker was quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday.
Pirlo, who has played just 15 of New York City's 32 MLS games this season, said he can't keep playing forever and has to give younger players a chance.
"At my age, that's enough. It's not that you can go on forever until the age of 50. I'll do something else. At 38, it's just right to give young players room. I'm not angry. Instead, I will give a hand to team-mates and to the coach," the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and 2012 Euro runners-up added.
Pirlo has won the Serie A title four times with Juventus. At Milan, he won the Italian league title and Champions League twice each.
The first tremor was recorded at 0.44 am at 11 km depth, off Calabria's western coast in the province of Cosenza, Italy's National Institute of Geology and Vulcanology (INGV) reported.
The second temblor struck at 4.59 am in the province of Messina and the towns closest to the quake's epicentre were Basico, Oliveri and Falcone, INGV said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in either earthquake.
A magnitude 4 earthquake killed at least two people, injured 39 and left 2,600 homeless on the seismically active resort island of Ischia off Naples last month. The Ischia quake came almost a year to the day after a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated several towns in central Italy on August 24, 2016, killing 297 people and leaving several thousand homeless.
The earthquake set off a months-long series of powerful aftershocks that depopulated towns and hamlets in the area and is believed to have triggered a deadly avalanche in the central Abruzzo region in January that killed 29 people at a ski hotel.
Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Italy, which is criss-crossed by seismically active fault lines.
Gandhi on Saturday attended the launch of the commemorative publication of the Congress party's organ "National Herald", which was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi, among others.
Before taking a break, Gandhi had posted on Twitter: "Will be travelling to meet my grandmother and family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them."
Rahul was conspicuous by his absence when Congress President Sonia Gandhi announced former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's name as the presidential nominee of the informal grouping of 17 opposition parties.
He was also not present on the day (June 28) Kumar filed her nomination for the election to the highest constitutional post of the country.
"Will be travelling to meet my grandmother and family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them," Gandhi said on Twitter.
Will be travelling to meet my grandmother & family for a few days. Looking forward to spending some time with them!
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 13, 2017
Rahul Gandhi, whose maternal grandmother Paola Maino lives in Italy, did not mention how many days he will remain out of the country. He will celebrate his 47th birthday on June 19.
The Congress leader's latest foreign visit comes amid hectic politics over the July 17 presidential election and other developments like the farmers unrest and protests in various states across the country.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Rahul Gandhi is travelling abroad to meet his 93-year-old grandmother and family. To take care of the well-being of elders is part of our culture."
He said Rahul Gandhi will continue to lead and guide the ongoing farmers' agitation and every Congressman is committed to fight for the farmers rights.
Rahul Gandhi visited the US in March after his mother and congress chief Sonia Gandhi went there for a health check-up.
This is not the first time that Gandhi had announced his plans to go abroad on Twitter. He did the same when he earlier visited London in December 2016.
Moreover, it is not the first time Gandhi will go abroad when presidential election and farmers unrest looms large over the country, and six farmers have been killed in police firing on June 6 in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.
He went abroad ahead of New Year celebrations in December 2016, when the country was in economic and political turmoil owing to the government's November 8 decision to demonetise currency notes and infighting in the Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
He drew criticism from political opponents when he went abroad in 2016-end, leading to his absence from Parliament in the first few days of the Budget session.
He again drew flak when he attended the Aspen conference in September 2015 amid assembly election campaign in Bihar.
The incident occurred in the city's Piazza San Carlo square on Saturday night, Efe news reported.
According to local media reports, five people were seriously injured.
The reason for the panic was that a banister of a stairway to an underground parking lot collapsed - some thought they heard explosions - which led to people getting injured when they tried to flee the area, the reports said.
The accident occurred at around 10.15 p.m., when the fans tried to get away as quickly as possible, only to end up crammed against the retaining walls.
Security forces and firefighters rushed to the site and immediately worked to get the situation back to normal.
The vast majority of fans left the square after the alarm and only a few remained until the end of the Champions League final in Cardiff, in which Real Madrid beat Juventus, the Italian football club, 4-1.
Though the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was to open to the public for the relic's veneration at 2 p.m., a one-km line formed outside the church since early Monday, Efe news reported.
The relic, a left rib of the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Turkey, was flown out on Sunday, accompanied by the head of foreign affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion, and the Archbishop of Bari, Monsignor Francesco Cacucci.
Bells from Orthodox churches across the city rang to commemorate the relic's arrival at the cathedral, as St. Nicholas has always been considered the country's most important saint.
City authorities and a committee from the Russian Orthodox Church expected hundreds of thousands of people to visit the cathedral and see the relic over the next 52 days, after which the rib is to be sent to Saint Petersburg.
The decision to temporarily move the relic to Russia was reached after a historic meeting in February 2016 between Pope Francis and the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow at the airport in Havana, Cuba, which opened a new chapter in the cooperation between the two main Christian Churches after 1,000 years of schism.
On July 12, the rib is to be moved to Saint Petersburg, where it is to remain for two weeks before returning to Bari.
The popular chat app has been asked by all of the 28 European Union data protection authorities to stop sharing users' data with Facebook as there were doubts over the validity of users' consent, Express.co.uk reported on Friday.
"We're reviewing the decision and we look forward to responding to officials," the report quoted a WhatsApp spokesman as saying.
Facebook took over WhatsApp in 2014 and in August 2016, it changed its privacy policy to allow the transfer of its users' personal information to the parent company for processing -- a move that also created a furore in India.
The Indian government told the Supreme Court in April that it was actively considering to put in place a law to protect data and curb sharing of individual data on social networking sites and online messaging services.
The petitioners challenged a September 23, 2016, Delhi High Court order which allowed WhatsApp to roll out its new privacy policy.
Although the high court did say that it could not share the data of its users collected up to September 25, 2016, with Facebook or any other related company.
During the acquisition, Facebook had claimed that respect for users' privacy was "coded into its DNA".
But Italy's antitrust regulator alleged that "the opportunity for WhatsApp users to refuse the handover of data to Facebook was available 'but it was inadequately flagged'."
The German authorities in April banned Facebook from collecting information on its WhatsApp users in the country, after it was found to have breached data protection laws.
Since Facebook took over WhatsApp, it has been surrounded by controversies related to privacy.
Earlier in 2017, The Guardian reported a security vulnerability that could be used to allow Facebook and others to intercept and read encrypted messages had been found within its WhatsApp messaging service.
WhatsApp denied the allegation saying it had a design decision relating to message delivery, with new keys being generated for offline users in order to ensure messages did not get lost in transit.
The agenda of the summit, that is being attended by finance ministers and banking representatives of the world's seven most industrialised nations, began at 8.40 a.m. in the city of Bari, with a symposium with reputed economists, Efe news reported.
The meeting will last four hours and post-lunch, at 1.30 p.m., the participants will hold the first of the four working sessions scheduled until Saturday.
The discussions will be private and are expected to last for four hours.
In the evening, the participants will visit Matera, around 65 km from Bari and famous for its Sassi settlements that, along with its rupestrian churches, were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1993.
Among those attending the summit in Bari are US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Italy's Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Germany's Wolfgang Schauble, France's Michel Sapin, the UK's Philip Hammond, Canada's William Morneau and Japan's Taro Aso.
Mario Mandzukic and Dani Alves on Tuesday extended the hosts' advantage to four goals in the first half, before promising star Kylian Mbappe pulled one back for Monaco, reports Xinhua news agency.
Monaco's 2-0 home loss last week earned Juventus an insurmountable position as no team has turned around the table from a two-goal deficit in Champions League semi-finals first leg, according to UEFA statistics.
Monaco's left-back Benjamin Mendy was given a last-minute call into the starting line-up after Nabil Dirar suffered an injury in the warm-up, and their head coach Leonardo Jardim had to change the team's set-up as 3-5-2 which was much familiar to their Italian opponents.
Mbappe and his attacking partner Radamel Falcao were given little space to score by Juventus' defending trio.
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira, returning from a one-game suspension in the first leg, limped off just nine minutes into the game and was replaced by Claudio Marchisio.
Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic made brilliant saves on Gonzalo Higuain and Mandzukic's attempts.
Juventus built a solid lead in the 33rd minute when their 39-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon curtained up the attack with a throw out.
Through several stitching passes, Alves' right-flank cross set up Mandzukic for a header, which was blocked by his Croatian compatriot Subasic, while putting the loose ball into the net on his second attempt.
Subasic had another fine save on Dybala's one-on-one effort, resulting in a corner kick, where Alves pleased the home crowd with a spectacular shot late in the first half.
After Subasic blocked the ball outside the penalty area, the Brazilian defender finished a volley to beat the goalkeeper to his left.
With a 4-0 lead on aggregate into the locker room, Juventus has one foot into the final.
Sensational youngster Mbappe added another memorable goal to his promising future as he did well on Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho's pass from the left in the 69th minute.
It was the first time that Juventus have conceded in the tournament's knockout stage this season.
Juventus will meet the winner between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the final in Cardiffon June 3. Real Madrid won the first leg 3-0 at home.
"We are off the bilateral level, to raise the dispute to an international level: we are still willing to talk to the Indians", but "we have no other option than resorting to international arbitration", she told the Senate.
Rome does not consider the court proceedings in India "valid", Mogherini was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency.
"We do not accept a (future) Indian trial whose validity we do not recognise," she said.
"...we are mapping out a panel of experts under the leadership of a coordinator to pursue the new phase," Mogherini said.
Marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are awaiting trial over the killing of two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in February 2012, sparking diplomatic tensions between India and Italy.
The marines, deployed on the Italian-flagged oil tanker MT Enrica Lexie, had contended they mistook the fishermen for pirates. They are now staying in the Italian Embassy in New Delhi awaiting trial.
Italy has requested Latorre and Girone be allowed to return home and the whole case be dropped.
Rome wants the marines to be tried in Italy, claiming the incident took place in international waters. However, New Delhi says it has the right to try the Italians as the victims were Indians on board an Indian fishing boat.
A special court on March 31 has fixed July 31 for hearing the case of the two Italian marines.
The Supreme Court had sought response from the Centre on the petition filed by the two marines challenging the jurisdiction of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to prosecute and probe the case.
The marines had moved the apex court more than a month after the Indian Government had decided to withdraw their prosecution under the stringent anti-piracy SUA law that attracts death penalty as maximum punishment.
The Centre on February 24 had told the apex court that the marines would not be prosecuted under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation And Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act (SUA).
Mattarella, 73, is a member of Italy's Constitutional Court since 2011. He had entered politics as a Christian Democrat in the 1980s after his brother was killed by the Sicilian mafia, and served as minister in several cabinets.
Mattarella received over 505 votes out of an assembly of 1, 009 lawmakers and regional representatives, Xinhua news agency reported.
His candidacy was promoted by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his centre-left Democratic Party (PD). It received support from all minor centrist and leftist forces in parliament and most lawmakers belonging to junior coalition partner New Centre-Right party.
Mattarella was not backed by two major opposition forces, Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.
Three inconclusive rounds of voting requiring a two-thirds majority had already been held Thursday and Friday.
Mattarella will replace 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned Jan 14.
Trump was received by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, Efe news reported.
Abdulaziz organised a small reception for Trump, who was accompanied by his wife Melania Trump.
The President is scheduled to hold a meeting with Abdulaziz and other Saudi Arabian politicians to close economic deals.
Coinciding with the start of his visit, Riyadh organised a Saudi-American business forum to strengthen investments and bilateral trade.
On Sunday, Trump is to participate in a meeting with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as a summit with leaders and representatives from around 50 Middle Eastern and Islamic countries.
Parallel to these meetings, a forum for the fight against terror and extremism is to be held, sponsored by the Saudi-led anti-terror military coalition.
After wrapping up his two-day visit, Trump will travel to Israel, Palestine and the Vatican and then on to Brussels and Sicily where he is to take part in NATO and G7 summits.
The move came after an 18-year-old woman died of a blood clot Thursday after receiving an initial dose of AstraZeneca on May 25, Xinhua reported.
According to local media reports, the young woman suffered from autoimmune thrombocytopenia (meaning that she had a low blood platelet count) and was on double hormone therapy.
An investigation is underway to find out whether she had disclosed this information during the vaccine intake procedure, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
"The epidemiological scenario has changed, and so has the relationship between the benefits of vaccination and the potential risk of unusual blood clots," Franco Locatelli, coordinator of the Technical Scientific Committee (CTS) which gives advice to the government on how to handle the pandemic, said at the press conference.
The CTS recommends that people under 60 who received an initial dose of AstraZeneca be given a different vaccine for their second dose, Locatelli said, adding that this move represents "an excess of caution".
Over 40.7 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Italy and over 13.7 million people, or 25 per cent of the population aged over 12, have been fully inoculated, according to the latest tally from the Ministry of Health on Friday.
Separately, the European Union announced additional emergency medical support by its member countries including Denmark, Spain and Netherlands to India.
Besides a team of experts, Italy’s medical assistance to India comprised an oxygen generation plant and 20 ventilators.
The Italian embassy said the team comprised personnel from the Maxiemergenza group of the Piedmont Region, a doctor from the Lombardy region and a representative of the Ministry of Health.
The oxygen generation plant, capable of supplying oxygen to an entire hospital, will be deployed at the ITBP hospital in Greater Noida, it said.
Ambassador of Italy to India Vincenzo De Luca greeted the medical delegation at the airport along with the EU Ambassador to India Ugo Astuto.
“Italy stands with India in the fight against coronavirus. This is a global challenge that we must tackle together. The medical team and equipment provided by Italy will contribute to saving lives in these terrible moments,” De Luca said.
The UK sent 60 ventilators as part of its fourth shipment of supplies to India.
“Fourth consignment of medical supplies containing 60 ventilators arrives from the UK. Thank our strategic partner & friend United Kingdom for the support,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.
In a statement, the EU said a number of its member nations are sending additional supplies to India under the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
It said Denmark is sending 53 ventilators while Spain is supplying 119 oxygen concentrators and 145 ventilators.
The EU said the medical supplies from the Netherlands included 100 oxygen concentrators, 30,000 vials of antiviral drugs Remdesivir and 449 ventilators.
Fresh supplies from Germany will comprise 15,000 vials of antiviral drugs, 516 ventilators and one oxygen generator, the EU said in a statement.
The EU countries are sending to India medical assistance under the 27-nation grouping’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
As part of its Civil Protection Mechanism, the EU plays a central role in coordinating its responses to emergencies in Europe and beyond.
As India battles a devastating second wave of coronavirus pandemic, several countries around the world are sending medical supplies to help it tide over the situation.
"Despite the progress made in the last few years, LGBTI people continue to suffer acts of discrimination and violence in many parts of the world, and numerous laws criminalise consensual relations between adults of the same sex," the Ministry said in a statement on Friday to mark International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Italy along with other European Union member States, supports several international initiatives to protect and promote LGBTI rights, said the statement.
"These initiatives include enhancing the role of civil society organisations and human rights activists engaged in this issue throughout the world," the statement said.
Italy is active in the LGBTI Core Group, which unites countries and organisations committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation within the United Nations, and in the Equal Rights Coalition, a platform that promotes the exchange of information and good practices on the matter, the statement noted.
Italy also contributes to the Global Equality Fund, an intergovernmental fund that finances projects to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual people, according to the statement.
"Moreover, the commitment to promote and safeguard the principles of equality and dignity of all human beings is a priority of the mandate that Italy currently holds within the United Nations Human Rights Council," the statement added.
The prime minister arrived here on Sunday night to participate in the 74th session of the UNGA, after delivering an electrifying address in Houston to over 50,000 people belonging to the Indian diaspora at a mega community event, which was also addressed by US President Donald Trump.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, Modi interacted with a number of heads of state, including Merkel, Conte, bin Hamad, Colombian President Iv n Duque M rquez, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger, President Hage Geingob of Namibia, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte.
The prime minister discussed strengthening bilateral ties with the Italian president, particularly in the field of trade and investment, as also cooperation in the defence sector.
"Underscoring common synergies. PM@narendramodi met Italian PM @GiuseppeConteIT. Discussed strengthening bilateral ties, especially in trade & investment, inviting Italian SMEs to India to take advantage of low cost production, and cooperation in defence sector," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
During Modi's meeting with bin Hamad, both leaders reviewed the full range of ties between India and Qatar.
The Emir of Qatar also talked about the prime minister's efforts to make Yoga popular globally.
With the Maldivian president, Modi discussed progress on development partnership and cooperation in climate change.
"Using every opportunity to touch base with our neighbour PM @narendramodi had a good discussion with Maldivian President @ibusolih on the margins of #UNGA. Both leaders discussed progress on development partnership, and cooperation in climate change," Kumar said in another tweet.
Modi also met with Henrietta Fore, the Executive Director of UNICEF, and underlined the efforts made by his government towards the health and nutrition of the children of India.
"Ms. Henrietta Fore @unicefchief called on PM@narendramodi on the margins of #UNGA. PM underlined the efforts made by the Government towards health and nutrition of children in India through several focused initiatives," the MEA spokesperson wrote on Twitter.
Those required to travel to India due to compelling reasons, may seek fresh visas from the nearest Indian embassy or consulate, it said.
"All regular/e-visas issued to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan issued on or before March 03, 2020 and who have not yet entered India, stand suspended with immediate effect. They may not enter India from air, land or seaport ICP," the DGCA circular said.
It further said that the regular or e-visas issued to all other nationals who have travelled to China, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Japan, on or after February 1, and who have not yet entered India, stand suspended with immediate effect, it said.
"Diplomats, officials of UN and other international bodies, OCI cardholders and aircrew from above countries are exempted from such restrictions on entry. However, medical screening is compulsory."
Passengers arriving directly, or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore must undergo medical screening at port of entry.
(IANS)
Chinese health authorities reported 11 deaths and 13 newly confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
All deaths were reported in Hubei Province, according to the National Health Commission.
Also on Tuesday, 21 newly suspected cases were reported. A total of 922 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 208 to 2,622.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,894 until midnight, including 8,056 patients who were still being treated, 69,601 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,237 people who lost their lives. The commission said that 119 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.
The commission added that 9,222 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Tuesday, 1,014 people were discharged from medical observation.
Twelve imported cases were reported on the mainland Tuesday. Among them, five were reported in Guangdong Province, three in Beijing, three in Shanghai, and one in Sichuan Province.
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Until midnight, 155 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.
As many as 167 confirmed cases including four deaths were reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 13 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 77 in Taiwan including one death. A total of 92 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 22 in Taiwan were discharged from hospital after recovery on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to the new coronavirus in the US has reached 105, with the outbreak spreading to all 50 states, even as President Donald Trump mounted a warlike effort to contain the situation, including an economic stimulus package of USD1 trillion.
The first fatality from COVID-19 was reported from the Washington state on February 26. Less than a month later, the toll has crossed 100. As of March 17, the figure stood at 105 and the number of confirmed infections crossed 6,500.
New York in the East Coast and Washington in the West are the two states that took major hits due to the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. President Donald Trump has said that the crisis in the US might continue till July and August.
According to The Washington Post, most of the deaths have occurred in people over 70 and those with underlying conditions.
"Public health experts believe the initial and ongoing testing problems mean that unknown numbers of cases have gone undetected, and they say the death toll will only continue to rise," Politico reported.
President Trump has urged people to avoid gatherings of more than 10 persons. He asked them to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible. Schools, offices, bars, restaurants and many stores remain closed across the United States.
Also Read: Iran Produces Drug To Heal Lung Lesion Of COVID-19 Patients
In Italy, Europe's worst coronavirus-hit country and the world's second after China, on Tuesday reported a further 345 deaths in the past 24 hours.
This was the third day running that it reported over 300 deaths - after 368 on Sunday, and 349 on Monday.
While the country's toll has gone upto 2,503, a point of optimism was that the infection rate had slowed down, according to the BBC.
The country now has 31,506 cases - with 2,060 people in intensive care, up from 27,980 earlier. However, this was the slowest rate of increase since the country identified the presence of the virus last month.
(With IANS & PTI Inputs)
Total deaths in Italy have reached 2,978, more than half of all the cases recorded outside China, while the number of infections stood at 35,713. The previous record high of 368 deaths was also recorded in Italy, on Sunday.
The nation of 60 million has now recorded 34.2 per cent of all the deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 across the world. With the death rate still climbing despite the Mediterranean country entering a second week under effective lockdown, officials urged Italians to have faith and to stay strong.
Also Read: US Begins First Human Trial Of Coronavirus Vaccine
"The main thing is, do not give up," Italian National Institute of Health chief Silvio Brusaferro said in a nationally televised press conference.
"It will take a few days before we see the benefits" of containment measures, said Brusaferro adding that "We must maintain these measures to see their effect, and above all to protect the most vulnerable."
Imposed nationally on March 12, the shutdown of most Italian businesses and a ban on public gatherings are due to expire on March 25. But school closures and other measures, such as a ban fan attendance at sporting events, are due to run on until April 3.
A top government minister hinted Wednesday that the school closure would be extended well into next month, if not longer.
The rates within Italy itself remained stable, with two-thirds of the deaths -- 1,959 in all -- reported in the northern Lombardy region around Milan, the Italian financial and fashion capital.
The neighbouring Emilia-Romagna region of Bologna has suffered a total of 458 fatalities, and Turin's Piedmont region has had 154 deaths. Rome's Lazio region has a toll of 32 deaths and 724 infections.
On the other hand, China's National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily report on Thursday said no new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on the Chinese mainland on Wednesday.
It, however, said 34 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported but they were all from those arriving from abroad.
Wuhan, which bore the brunt of the virus since it broke out in December last year, also reported zero cases on Wednesday, marking a notable first in the city's months-long battle with the deadly virus, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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The Health Commission of the Hubei Province said the total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease in Wuhan and Hubei remained at 50,005 and 67,800 respectively on Wednesday.
The NHC said with 34 confirmed cases from the people arriving from abroad, the number of imported cases in China rose to 189.
Of the 34 newly imported cases, 21 were reported in Beijing, nine in the Guangdong Province, two in Shanghai, one in the Heilongjiang Province and one in the Zhejiang Province, it said.
China so far has reported a total of 80,928 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 of which 3,245 died, while 70,420 patients were discharged after treatment.
By the end of Wednesday, 192 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in Hong Kong, 15 confirmed cases in the Macao and 100 in Taiwan including one death, the NHC said.
The coronavirus outbreak has killed 8,809 people and infected 21,8631 across 157 countries and territories, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
(With AFP & PTI Inputs)
Conte's announcement on Saturday night came as Italy reported 4,825 coronavirus deaths, the highest global tally even surpassing China where the virus originated last December. The number of confirmed cases as of Saturday stood at 53,578.
With his declaration, Conte further tightened what is the most dramatic peacetime lockdown in recent history, reports xinhua news agency.
Also Read: COVID-19 Breaking: France Claims 100 Percent Cure For Coronavirus
The Prime Minister deemed the crisis as "the country's most difficult since the end of World War II".
Conte said that supermarkets and pharmacies would remain open, and banking and vital transport services would still be available, but that all non-essential commercial activities would be prohibited. This amounts to a near-total shutdown of the Italian economy, with factories and offices that had been able to operate in some limited capacity no longer operating.
The new rules are expected to enter into force starting Monday.
Conte spoke for less than five minutes with more than 30,000 people logged onto the site despite the fact that he spoke at around 11.30 p.m. and with little advance notice.
Conte said he was speaking via social media because of a desire to "operate with complete transparency".
Italy on Saturday reported 793 new coronavirus deaths, a one-day record that saw its toll shoot up to 4,825 -- 38.3 per cent of the world's total. The number of COVID-19 infections rose by 6,557 to 53,578, another record.
The total number of fatalities in the northern Lombardy regions around Milan surpassed 3,000. It accounts for nearly two-thirds of Italy's fatalities.
Italy has reported 1,420 deaths since Friday, a grim figure that suggests the pandemic is breaking through the government's various containment and social distancing measures.
The Mediterranean nation of 60 million has been under an effective lockdown since March 12, when public gatherings were banned and most stores shuttered.
Police were out in force across the streets of Rome on Saturday, checking documents and fining those outsides without a valid reason, such as buying groceries.
Joggers were asked to run around the block of their houses, parks and beaches were closed, and the government in Rome prepared to extend the school and other closures into the summer months.
But the outbreak keeps gathering pace in the new global epicentre of the virus. First reported in December in China, it has since transformed the world, straining healthcare systems, upending the lives for millions and pummelling global stock markets.
Also Read: China Can Be Held Legally Accountable For Corona ‘Cover-Ups’
The figures released Saturday showed deaths still largely contained to Italy's richer north, whose world-class healthcare system is under strain but still not breaking.
It is much better than what is available in the poorer south, whose regions have registered a few dozen deaths each -- and which the government in Rome is watching closely.
The Lazio region that includes Rome has recorded a total of 50 deaths and 1,190 infections.
The National Health Institute (ISS) said the average age of coronavirus victims was 78.5, and the average age of those infected 63.
The ISS said 98.8 per cent of those who died from COVID-19 had least one pre-existing condition or ailment, based on the study of Italy''s first 3,200 fatalities.
Italy's figures are being watched closely by other governments as they try to formulate an urgent response to the rapidly unfolding crisis.
(With IANS & PTI inputs)
"Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine," read a tweet on the senator's official Twitter account, Xinhua reported.
The senator, the tweet continued, "is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person."
It added that the senator "expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends," and that his office was closed 10 days ago, "hence virtually no staff has had contact with Senator Rand Paul."
The senator's confirmed infection came after Coronavirus Penetrates US Senate with two members of the House -- Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Democrat Ben McAdams of Utah -- tested positive on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who has been appointed to lead the White House coronavirus task force, have also been tested amid concerns of contact with individuals sickened by the virus. Their results are both negative.
Also Read: China Can Be Held Legally Accountable For Corona ‘Cover-Ups’
Confirmed cases and fatalities both continued to surge nationwide, reaching 31,057 and 390, respectively, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University updated on Sunday noon.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in quarantine after meeting a doctor on Friday who has since tested positive for coronavirus, as per her spokesman.
Merkel was told about the contact after a press conference on Sunday in which she announced further measures to try to curb the spread of coronavirus, the BBC reported.
Addressing the press conference, Merkel, who announced some more restrictions, said: "Our behaviour is the most effective way" of slowing the rate of coronavirus spread.
Germany has now banned meetings of more than two people outside work and home for two weeks.
People living under the same roof and going out together for a stroll will be an exception.
The government has also ordered hairdressers and beauty, massage and tattoo parlours to close and restaurants will only be allowed to offer takeaway services.
Schools and non-essential shops have already been closed.
As per data from the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Centre, Germany presently had 23,974 coronavirus cases and 92 deaths, while 266 people have recovered.
The coronavirus epidemic continued to spread in locked-down Italy on Sunday with total cumulative number of infected cases reaching 59,138 and deaths reaching 5,476, according to the latest data released by the Civil Protection Department.
Speaking at a televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli confirmed that 46,638 active infections have been recorded and 5,476 have died since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on February 21, Xinhua reported.
Also Read: France Claims 100 Percent Cure For Coronavirus
Of those infected, 23,783 are in isolation at home, 19,846 are hospitalized and 3,009 are in intensive care, he said.
As well, a total of 7,024 patients have recovered, said Borrelli who is also the national commissioner in charge of the coronavirus emergency.
The numbers are up from an official tally on Saturday evening of 42,681 people actively infected, 4,825 deaths, and 6,072 recoveries.
Considering all data, the total cumulative number of infected cases in the country has reached 59,138, which is 5,560 more than 53,578 recorded on Saturday.
Borrelli also confirmed that 12 Civil Protection staff members have tested positive for the virus.
(With Agency Inputs)
Active infections grew by 3,491 cases on the daily basis, bringing the total active infections to 57,521 since the epidemic broke out in the northern regions on February 21, the Civil Protection Department coordinating the emergency response said on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
The cumulative number of confirmed cases grew by 5,210 cases, while 683 new fatalities were registered compared to Tuesday.
Among the people positive to the coronavirus, some 30,920, asymptomatic or with slight symptoms, are currently under home confinement, and 3,489 are in intensive care, while the rest 23,112 are hospitalized in normal wards, the Civil Protection Department added.
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With a daily increase by 1,036 in the number of people cured, the total recoveries was 9,362, the latest data showed.
In terms of geographical spreading of the contagion, northern regions remained the most affected. Lombardy registered 20,591 active infections up to Wednesday, followed by Emilia Romagna (8,256), Veneto (5,745) and Piedmont (5,556).
In the daily press conference to update the situation, Civil Protection officials said epidemic trends seemed to meet expectations, and strongly appealed again to people to respect all rules and restrictions imposed by a nationwide lockdown that is going to be effective until April 3.
"We are in a phase of apparent stabilization, and we believe the number of infected people, or new cases, is consistent with the trend that the virus spreading has had in the country," Agostino Miozzo, coordinator of the Civil Protection's scientific-technical committee, told the press conference.
"This makes us to think it is absolutely crucial to keep respecting the measures of social distancing, if we want to see the curve stabilize and then decrease," he stressed.
In this regards, the World Health Organization (WHO) Assistant Director-General Ranieri Guerra on Wednesday told local media that Italy's epidemic might reach its peak this week.
"The slowing down in the pace of (contagion) growth is a positive factor, and in some (Italian) regions I believe we are getting close to the drop-off point of the curve," Guerra told private radio broadcast Radio Capital.
"I believe this week and the first days of the next will be crucial, since these will be the moments in which the government's measures passed 15-20 days ago should find an effect, an impact," Guerra said.
Still, on the emergency response to the epidemic, Civil Protection officials said that over 9,600 volunteers have been deployed across the country to assist police forces, army, and health system engaged against the epidemic.
A wide response in terms of solidarity was also arriving from citizens, who donated over 44 million euros ($47.8 million) to a special bank account opened by the Civil Protection Department and devoted specifically to the emergency.
"So far, we have also put up some 720 tents for pre-triage outside hospitals' emergency rooms, which are very useful to detect and contain possible new cases," Luigi D'Angelo, Operative Director of the Civil Protection Department told reporters.
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"Another 151 tents for pre-triage were set up inside prisons to monitor the situation among inmates," he added.
Meanwhile, Italy's health professionals were paying a high price in this emergency. Fatalities linked to the COVID-19 included 31 doctors, of which at least five were family doctors who died in the last 24 hours, the Italian federation of general medicine physicians said on Wednesday.
Late on Wednesday, updating the parliament on all the emergency measures approved by the cabinet, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also addressed this aspect of the emergency.
"New doctors will be dispatched to the most affected hospitals in the next few days, and, as far as I know, a first group should have arrived already in the past hours," Conte told lawmakers. "We will also transfer some 500 nurses in the areas with the highest number of COVID-19 patients."
The prime minister further explained beds in intensive care have been increased from 5,343 to 8,370, and beds in sub-intensive care have also been added to 26,169 from 6,525.
(IANS)
Outside China, the countries that reported over 10,000 COVID-19 cases included Italy, the US, Spain, Germany, Iran, France and Switzerland. Italy suffered the most deaths from the disease, which stood at 8,165, according to the CSSE, Xinhua reported.
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It took around two days for the total number to jump from 400,000 to 500,000. Over 170 countries and regions have reported COVID-19 cases so far, the CSSE said.
Coronavirus claims over 8,000 lives in Italy
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 8,165 lives in locked-down Italy by Thursday, with the cumulative number of cases reaching 80,539, according to new data released by the Civil Protection Department.
Speaking during a nightly televised press conference, Agostino Miozzo, director of Civil Protection Department and coordinator of the Technical and Scientific Committee, confirmed that there are 4,492 new coronavirus infections compared to Wednesday, bringing the nationwide active infections to 62,013 cases, Xinhua reported.
Of those infected, 33,648 are under house isolation and 3,612 are hospitalized in intensive care, while 24,753 are in ordinary hospital wards.
He added that there were 999 new recoveries compared to Wednesday, bringing the total to 10,361.
The death toll between Wednesday and Thursday was 662, bringing the total to 8,165 since the pandemic first broke out in northern Italy on February 21.
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The numbers are up from an official tally on Wednesday evening of 57,521 actively infected, 7,503 deaths, and 9,362 recoveries.
Miozzo also confirmed that Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli has tested negative for the virus, and that Italian citizens have so far donated over 52 million euros to the Civil Protection Department to fight the emergency. (1 euro = $1.10)
(IANS)
The country saw 889 deaths in 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 10,023, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases across the world rose to 640,589 as on Saturday evening, with the US leading with 115,547 cases, while the global death toll rose to 30,249 according to data from the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Centre.
Italy, with 10,023 fatalities, comprised over one third of the death toll, and was followed by Spain with 5,812 and China's Hubei with 3,177. Iran with 2,517 deaths, and France with 2,314 were joined in the four-figure category by the UK, where the toll is now 1,019.
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As regards the total number of cases, the US was followed by Italy (92,472), China (81,999), Spain (72,248), Germany (56,202), Iran (35,408), France (33,450) and the UK (17,301).
Meanwhile, a total of 137,283 people have recovered from the infection with the bulk -- 62,098 -- of them from China's Hubei, the site of the disease outbreak, followed by 12,384 in Italy, 12,285 in Spain, 11,679 in Iran, and 6,658 in Germany.
The death toll had crossed 25,000 on Friday night, with the total number of cases around the world then were 553,244, with the US leading the tally at 86,012, followed by China at 81,897 and Italy at 80,859.
The United States has reported more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).
As of 6.40 p.m. on Saturday (2240 GMT), there were more than 121,000 confirmed cases in the United States, with 2,010 deaths, an interactive map maintained by the CSSE showed, Xinhua news agency reported.
New York state's cases have topped 52,000, followed by states of New Jersey and California, with 11,124 and 5,065 cases respectively, according to the update.
As COVID-19 cases continued increasing, U.S. President Donald Trump floated an idea on Saturday of putting in place an "enforceable quarantine" on travel for some of the hardest-hit areas.
"Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it's a hot spot - New York, New Jersey, maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined. I'm thinking about that right now," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"We might not have to do it but, there's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine - short term," he added.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in an interview with CNN on Saturday, said that he did not believe a possible New York quarantine was legal and that it would be a "federal declaration of war."
"It would be chaos and mayhem," said Cuomo, who has ordered New York residents to stay at home as much as possible. "It's totally opposite everything he's been saying. I don't think it is plausible. I don't think it is legal."
(IANS)
A total of 82,145 people have died so far, with 1,431,375 infections recorded globally. Besides, 301,385 people diagnosed with the virus around the world have recovered so far.
Italy, Spain, UK and France continue to be the countries facing the most fatalities, while the US has the largest number of positive cases with more than 383,000. Spain, Italy and France follow the US in the number of cases, with over 140,000, 135,000 and 110,00, respectively.
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Death toll in Italy is 17,127, in Spain 13,897, in the US 12,021, and 10,343 in France.
Many countries have restricted travel from the most affected areas and implemented lockdowns as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global pandemic with Europe being its new epicentre.
With India in the third week of its 21-day lockdown, the total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus surged to 5,194, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.
Of these, 4,643 are active cases of COVID-19, 401 individuals have recovered and discharged from the hospital, one person migrated to another country and 149 people succumbed to the disease.
Amongst the total affected people, 70 are foreign nationals.
Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with a total number of positive cases rising to 1,018, followed by Tamil Nadu which has 690 cases, according to the Health Ministry data.
Pakistan's novel coronavirus cases rose to 4,072 on Wednesday, as Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa directed his top commanders to provide full support to the federal and provincial governments in combating the pandemic which has killed 58 people in the country.
The Ministry of National Health Services in its morning update said that 208 new COVID-19 patients were added to the list during the last 24 hours.
So far 58 patients have died, including four in the last 24 hours, while 467 had recovered. Another 25 were reported to be in critical condition.
The authorities conducted 42,159 tests so far, including 3,076 in the last 24 hours. The province and region-wise data of cases were not available on the ministry's website as it was being updated.
However, private media and official sources reported that the number of patients in Punjab has risen to 2,030, Sindh 986, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 527, Gilgit-Baltistan 212, Balochistan 206, Islamabad 83 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 28.
Also Read: UK PM Boris Johnson Taken Into Intensive Care With Coronavirus
Pakistan was making frantic efforts to tackle the pandemic and Prime Minister Imran Khan once again warned the people to follow official guidelines on self-isolation or the virus would spread further.
Army chief Gen Bajwa held a meeting with his top Generals on Tuesday during which he reviewed geo-strategic, regional and national security issues with particular emphasis on the latest situation arising from COVID-19, said a statement issued by the army.
The generals, who attended the meeting through video link from respective Headquarters, reviewed the deployment of troops assisting civil administration across the country.
Appreciating the troops in the field for efforts so far, COAS directed all commanders to extend maximum assistance in moving critical resources and reaching out to mitigate suffering of people in far-flung areas, the statement said.
At least 50 prisoners in worst-hit Punjab province have tested coronavirus positive.
Inspector General Prisons Shahid Baig told PTI that some 20 cases have been reported in the camp jail Lahore and the remaining in others.
Baig said the outbreak stemmed from a Pakistani citizen who was arrested over narcotics smuggling in Italy and handed over to Pakistan last month. He was diagnosed on March 23.
The government has extended partial lockdown till April 14 and constantly asking people to stay indoors and follow social distancing.
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Meanwhile, Balochistan Young Doctors Association (YDA) in Balochistan province has announced to resume services after successful talks with the government.
The YDA was on strike due to lack of protective kits and against police brutality after their rally was baton-charged and several of their colleagues were taken in custody earlier this week.
Provincial Agriculture Minister Zamrak Khan Achakzai said an inquiry will be held against the persons who used violence against the protesting doctors.
(With Agency Inputs)
As of Sunday morning, Italy has reported 19,648 coronavirus deaths, placing it in the second position after the US, the data published by the university's enter for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed.
The US also accounts for the highest number of confirmed cases with 529,887. Spain, where the number of confirmed infections stands at 163,027, is a distant second, followed by Italy with 152,271 cases.
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New York state, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, has recorded the most deaths in the country, 8,627, which is followed by New Jersey and Michigan with 2,183 and 1,276, respectively, the CSSE data showed.
A total of 32,001 patients in the country have recovered, it added.
US President Donald Trump's administration, which earlier estimated that the pandemic would cause anywhere from 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US, revised its projection downward this week to 60,000, reports Efe news.
Members of the White House coronavirus task force credit the more optimistic forecast to the success of the stay-at-home orders issued by 42 of the 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, covering around 316 million people.
Trump, who has repeatedly decried the economic cost of closing schools and businesses to contain the virus, said late last month that he hoped to re-open the country by Easter Sunday.
During Friday's news briefing by the task force, Trump sought to reassure Americans that he would guided by medical experts as well as by recommendations from the "Opening Our Country Council" he plans to install next week.
"I want to get it open as soon as possible. The facts are going to determine what I do," the president said.
"I'm going to have to make a decision, and I only hope to God that it's the right decision. But I would say, without question, it's the biggest decision I've ever had to make," Trump said.
COVID-19 death toll jumps to 9,875 in UK
The death toll of those hospitalized in Britain who tested positive for the novel coronavirus reached 9,875 as of Friday afternoon, marking a daily increase of 917, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
As of Saturday morning, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Britain hit 78,991, said the department, Xinhua news agency reported.
Amid mounting pressure on the government over the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the frontline medical staff, Home Secretary Priti Patel said Saturday that she was "sorry if people feel there have been failings" over PPE supplies.
"We are in an unprecedented global pandemic. There are going to be problems," Patel said at the daily coronavirus briefing in Downing Street. The British government has published a nation-wide plan to ensure that critical PPE is delivered to those on the frontline responding to COVID-19.
The plan will provide clear guidance on who needs PPE and when they need it, ensure those who need it can get it at the right time and set out action to secure enough PPE to last through the crisis, according to a statement from the government.
A new national supply and logistics network has been created from scratch in a matter of weeks to manage supply and demand across Britain, and to make sure appropriate PPE reaches those who need it.
"We now have capacity for coronavirus tests for all key NHS (National Health Service) and social care staff across the country," Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Saturday on Twitter.
WATCH: I’m glad to say we now have capacity for #coronavirus tests for all key NHS and social care staff across the country. pic.twitter.com/wQ8jb9FPwf
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) April 11, 2020
Britain's coronavirus lockdown faces its most serious test this weekend as the public is urged to stay at home during the Easter bank holiday weekend to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making "very good progress" as he continues his coronavirus recovery in hospital, Downing Street said Saturday.
Also Read: COVID-19 Could Push Half A Billion People Into Poverty: UN
The prime minister is playing games and watching classic films, and his choices of entertainment are said to include the 1987 comedy Withnail and I, and Lord of the Rings, according to Sky News.
Downing Street on Friday announced that Johnson had been able to take "short walks, between periods of rest" at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Johnson was moved to a general ward on Thursday evening after spending three days in intensive care. He was taken to the hospital on Sunday, 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
As of Sunday, the number of global coronavirus cases stood at 1,777,517, with 108,862 deaths, while 404,236 people have recovered.
(IANS)
Having largely stamped out the domestic transmission of the disease, China, where the pandemic originated last December, has been slowly easing curbs on movement as it tries to get its economy back on track, but there were fears that a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of the pandemic - especially among Chinese citizens returning from abroad, said the South China Morning Post report.
Also Read: COVID-19 Death Toll Rises To 308 In Inida, Positive Cases At 9,152
Authorities reported 108 new coronavirus infections over the past day, including 98 cases among travellers returning from abroad, according to data released on Monday by the National Health Commission.
This is the highest number of reported infections since March 6, when authorities reported 143 new cases.
Beijing on March 28 banned the entry of foreigners into China.
Around 300 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed in the city by Saturday, including 100 infected people who did not appear to be showing any symptoms, the South China Morning Post reported.
China has so far reported 82,160 coronavirus cases including 3,341 deaths and 77,663 recovered patients.
The global coronavirus death toll increased to 114,245 on Monday morning, while the overall number of confirmed cases stood at 1,850,527, according to data compiled by the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University.
Although the pandemic originated in China last December, the US now accounts for the highest number of cases and deaths in the world at 557,571 and 22,108, respectively, revealed the data by the university's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).
In terms of cases, Spain has the second highest number of infections at 166,831, followed by Italy (156,363), France (133,670) and Germany (127,854).
Also Read: Over 22,000 Healthcare Workers Infected By COVID-19: WHO
With 19,899 fatalities, Italy has the second highest number of COVID-19 deaths after the US, according to the data.
The other countries with the death toll over the 10,000 mark are Spain (17,209), France (14,393) and the UK (10,612).
(IANS)
Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 3.5 million, reaching 3,502,126 as of 7 p.m. (2300 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
A total of 247,107 people worldwide have died of the disease, according to the CSSE, Xinhua news reported on Sunday.
The United States, which remains the hardest-hit, reported 1,156,924 cases and 67,498 deaths. Spain and Italy followed with 217,466 cases and 210,717 cases, respectively. Other countries with over 150,000 cases included the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has soared to 20,084 including 457 deaths in Pakistan, according to the data updated by the country's health ministry.
As per the statistics, 7,494 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country's eastern Punjab province, 7,465 in southern Sindh province, 3,129 in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,172 in southwest Balochistan, and 393 in capital Islamabad, reported Xinhua news agency.
The virus has claimed 17 lives over the last 24 hours, and 981 new cases were reported during the same period, said the ministry on Sunday.
A total of 203,025 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far. Overall, 5,114 people across the country recovered and were discharged from hospitals after making full recovery.
The number of cases has continued to rise despite the country being under lockdown for the sixth consecutive week now.
Talking to journalists on Sunday, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said decisions regarding relaxation in lockdown will be taken in consensus with all the provinces after May 9.
"The decisions will be taken in such a manner that they do not paralyze our healthcare system," the minister said, adding that the restrictions will be eased gradually in order to provide livelihoods to the people.
On the eve of the easing of the eight-week national lockdown, Italy's daily new deaths from COVID-19 dropped to 174, the lowest level since the start of the lockdown on March 10.
Italy is set to ease its lockdown measures beginning on Monday. The new rules will allow Italians to visit family members living in the same region, and bars and restaurants to offer takeaway options instead of delivery only during the lockdown, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
The lockdown will be eased in further stages at two-week increments, on May 18 and June 1, provided the data related to the outbreak continue to improve.
In an interview published Sunday in La Stampa, a daily newspaper from Turin, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that Monday's easing did not mean "everyone was free" to do as they pleased. He said that if Italians did not obey the rules they risked reversing the dramatic gains reached so far.
But Conte told La Stampa that if indicators continue to improve he would consider moving up the time table up in parts of the country least hurt by the pandemic. That would include much of central and southern Italy, but would not include Italy's economic capital of Lombardy, the region that includes Milan.
As of Sunday, the coronavirus death toll in Lombardy (14,231) represented nearly half of the total for the country as a whole (28,884). In terms of population, Lombardy accounts for around one in six Italian residents.
Before Sunday, Conte publicly resisted the notion of scaling back the lockdown differently in different parts of the country. In the wake of his remarks to La Stampa, some media predicted political consequences if some parts of the country were allowed to reopen faster than Lombardy and other hard-hit northern parts of the country.
In the wide-ranging interview with La Stampa, Conte said that starting Monday Italy would be prepared to distribute some 12 million protective masks per day, which would be increased to 18 million a day in June and 24 million a day in August.
Conte also said that the country was stockpiling coronavirus test equipment and that next week the country would start a pilot project to test 150,000 people nationally for coronavirus antibodies that could show who has a resistance to the virus, either from being cured of COVID-19 or recovered naturally.
Other data released Sunday reinforced the positive trends indicated by the lowest one-day death toll in nearly eight weeks. The number of recovered totaled 1,740 on Sunday, up from 1,665 a day earlier.
Meanwhile, the numbers in intensive care, hospitalization and recovering at home with symptoms all decreased. Until three weeks ago, all three categories had not decreased on the same day, but have become commonplace since then.
Figures released by the French Health Ministry showed that coronavirus-linked fatalities in the country rose up by 135 to 24,895, representing the lowest daily toll since March 22.
Among the 25,815 hospitalized patients, 3,819 were in intensive care units (ICUs), down from 3,827 on Saturday, confirming a continued slowdown for the third running week on Sunday, reported Xinhua news agency.
A total of 131,287 people have tested positive for coronavirus since the start of the epidemic. That was up from 130,979 cases confirmed on Saturday.
France has entered a lockdown in mid-March. Now, it's planning to lift the two-month confinement by opening gradually schools and shops and unwinding restriction on people movement as a slowing-down spread of the virus put less pressure on hospitals in the last three weeks.
Meanwhile, the government decided to extend the state of health emergency it declared on March 24, by another two months to stem the coronavirus outbreak and address a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 when the lockdown ends on May 11.
"We must not relax our collective efforts which are bearing fruit and which are effectively curbing the epidemic. To succeed in the gradual lifting of containment, it is more than ever necessary to scrupulously apply all barrier gestures, respect the minimum physical distance of one meter and reduce contacts," the ministry said.
"All together we have fought against the spread of the epidemic...All together we will fight against the risk of epidemic resurgence," it added.
Another 315 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total novel coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 28,446, Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said.
The figures include deaths in hospitals, care homes and the wider community, reported Xinhua news agency on Sunday.
There were 76,496 coronavirus tests carried out in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) Sunday morning, said Gove, as more than 200,000 key workers and their families had been tested for coronavirus.
At Sunday's Downing Street briefing, Gove said in the coming days Prime Minister Boris Johnson will talk more about the government's plan on the next step when the lockdown in Britain is eased.
He said that the comprehensive plan will explain "how we can get our economy moving, how we can get our children back to school, how we can travel to work more safely, and how we can make life in the workplace safer."
The government plans a "staged" return with ministers working with employers and unions to help workers understand safety guidance and public servants will be offered protective equipment varying "from setting to setting".
He also unveiled that the government has pledged an additional 1.6 billion pounds (US $2 billion) to councils across England to support their "essential frontline services" including adult social care.
A top White House official tasked with tackling the coronavirus pandemic said Sunday that those who failed to abide by the federal mitigation guidance while protesting against local lockdown measures were engaging in "devastatingly worrisome" behaviours.
White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx said on Sunday that it was "devastatingly worrisome" that those who protested at state Capitols demanding resumption of normal life didn't wear masks or keep social distance, as they should have been doing according to the White House's guidelines aimed at containing the spread of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported.
Speaking during Fox News's "Fox News Sunday," Birx warned that in doing so the protesters risked transmitting the contagion to their relatives who are vulnerable to the disease.
"It's devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and they infect their grandmother or grandfather who has a comorbid condition and they have a serious or very unfortunate outcome they will feel guilty for the rest of their lives," she said. "So we need to protect each other at the same time as we're voicing our discontent."
Birx's remarks came as protests against stay-at-home orders were taking place in several states demanding the reopening of the economy, a process a number of states have already started but is still at the initial phase.
Asked whether it was safe for businesses such as hair salons to reopen for the time being, Birx said it was "safer" if the barber and the customer both wore masks.
She added, however, that it is "clear that that's not a good phase one activity," referring to the four-phase gradual reopening that the White House previously unveiled.
(IANS)
Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO of Takis, the firm developing the medication, said that a coronavirus candidate vaccine has neutralised the virus in human cells for the first time, the Arab News reported.
"This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy. Human tests are expected after this summer," Aurisicchio was quoted as saying to Italian news agency ANSA.
"According to the Spallanzani Hospital, as far as we know we are the first in the world so far to have demonstrated neutralisation of the coronavirus by a vaccine. We expect this to happen in humans too," he added.
The researchers experimented with the vaccine on mice that had successfully developed antibodies that blocked the virus from infecting the cells. They further observed that the five vaccine candidates generated a large number of antibodies, and selected two with the best results.
All of the vaccine candidates currently being developed are based on the genetic material of DNA protein "spike", the molecular tip used by the coronavirus to enter human cells.
They are injected with the so-called "electroporation" technique, which consists of an intramuscular injection followed by a brief electrical impulse, helping the vaccine break into the cells and activating the immune system, the report said.
Researchers believe that this makes their vaccine particularly effective for generating functional antibodies against the "spike" protein, in particular in the lung cells, which are the most vulnerable to coronavirus.
"We are working hard for a vaccine coming from Italian research, with an all-Italian and innovative technology, tested in Italy and made available to everyone," Aurisicchio was quoted by the Arab News report.
"In order to reach this goal, we need the support of national and international institutions and partners who may help us speed up the process," he noted.
The total number of Covid-19 infections, fatalities and recoveries since the pandemic began has risen to 213,013 in the country.
(IANS)
A further 369 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours in Italy, bringing the country's death toll to 29,684, out of total infection cases of 214,457, according to fresh figures.
The country's Civil Protection Department registered 91,528 active infections on Wednesday, down sharply from 98,467 a day earlier. The day also saw 8,014 additional recoveries, bringing that total to 93,245 -- higher than the active infections for the first time since the pandemic struck the northern Lombardy region in late February, Xinhua news agency reported.
Yet, the Civil Protection specified, "such a high number of patients cured and discharged (in the day) is due to an update on data from the Lombardy region that also refers to the past days."
Of those infected, 1,333 are in intensive care, down by 94 compared to Tuesday, and 15,769 are hospitalized in normal wards, down by 501. The rest, or 81 per cent of those who tested positive, is in isolation at home.
As Italians faced their third day of a partial return to normality -- after the lockdown was eased on May 4, the European Union (EU) authorities warned the Italian economy might contract more than other big European countries due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
France's death toll from the novel coronavirus rose to 25,809, the world's fifth-highest behind the United States, Britain, Italy and Spain, according to figures released by the French Health Ministry.
On a daily basis, the tally grew by 278, slower than Tuesday's 330 and Monday's 306, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
The number of patients in hospitals fell by 792 to 23,983. The same downward trend was reported in intensive care units where 3,147 patients required life support, down by 283 for the 29th day in a row.
From May 11, France will start to slowly ease confinement to guarantee people safety and inject dynamism into a plunging economy. Schools will gradually reopen.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 546 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 15,738.
UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention on Wednesday said in a statement the new cases include many nationalities. All are in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment, Xinhua news agency reported.
The ministry said that 206 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 3,359.
It also confirmed 11 more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 157. The UAE was the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 case.
Another 649 COVID-19 patients have died, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in Britain to 30,076, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick said.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
Chairing the Downing Street daily briefing, Jenrick told reporters that 69,463 tests were carried out Tuesday, with a total of 201,101 people having tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Britain.
The latest figures came one day after Britain overtook Italy as the worst-hit country in Europe by the virus.
US President Donald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States, pointing the finger at China.
Trump said the pandemic had hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War Two, or the 9/11 attacks two decades ago, the BBC reported.
His administration is weighing punitive actions against China over its early handling of the virus outbreak. Beijing said the US wants to distract from its own handling of the pandemic.
Since emerging in China at the end of last year, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected 1.2 million Americans, killing nearly 73,000.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump said: "We went through the worst attack we've ever had on our country, this is worst attack we've ever had.
"This is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this. And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't."
Asked later by a reporter if he viewed the pandemic as an actual act of war, Mr Trump suggested it was the pandemic that is America's enemy, rather than China.
"I view the invisible enemy [coronavirus] as a war," he said. "I don't like how it got here, because it could have been stopped, but no, I view the invisible enemy like a war."
The deepening rift between Washington and Beijing was underscored by comments during a White House briefing later on Wednesday.
As more and more countries consider how to ease the so-called lockdown restrictions, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the exit measures should be done extremely carefully.
"The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach," he said at an online press conference from Geneva on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
He reiterated six criteria which WHO recommends countries to consider, including strong surveillance, to isolate, test and treat every case and trace every contact, sufficient preventive measures in workplaces and schools and full cooperation of the public in the post-lockdown "new norm."
According to the WHO chief, more than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 and almost 250,000 deaths have now been reported to WHO, and since the beginning of April, an average of around 80,000 new cases have been reported every day.
"These are not just numbers -- every single case is a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a brother, sister or friend," Tedros said.
(IANS)
As of Monday morning, the global death toll stood at 282,719, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) said in its latest update.
The US had the highest number of deaths in the world at 79,528, while the UK accounted for the highest in Europe with 31,930 fatalities.
The other countries with over 10,000 COVID-19 deaths were Italy (30,560), Spain (26,621), France (26,383) and Brazil (11,123), the CSSE data showed.
Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in the world has increased to 4,102,849.
The US still accounts for the highest number of cases in the world at 1,329,791.
The other nations with cases above the 100,000 marks are Spain (224,350), the UK (220,449), Italy (219,070), Russia (209,688), France (177,094), Germany (171,879), Brazil (162,699), Turkey (138,657) and Iran (107,603).
The Shanghai Disneyland, China's most prominent theme park, reopened on Monday with anti-virus controls even as the country reported 17 new confirmed coronavirus cases, including seven imported infections, authorities said on Monday.
The Shanghai Disneyland theme park in the eastern metropolis reopened to visitors with controlled capacity on Monday, as China began opening up entertainment centres after a declining trend was noticed in the coronavirus cases, official media reported.
This is the first of the six Disneyland theme park in the world that has reopened since the outbreak of the COVID-19. The deadly virus first emerged at China's Wuhan city in December last year and spread to all most all parts of the globe.
The Shanghai Disney Resort announced temporary closure in late January in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It now opened up limiting the ticket sales to 30 per cent, which was completely booked online.
China has downgraded COVID-19 risk levels in all regions signalling its containment as country has almost returned to normalcy with business and factories resuming their operations following government directives with warnings not to be complacent. Gyms and other entertainment centres are also being gradually opened up.
Meanwhile, China continued to report coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones.
According to China's National Health Commission, 17 new confirmed coronavirus cases, including seven imported ones, were reported on Sunday.
While five were in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, where a strict lockdown was lifted last month.
The NHC said three cases in Jilin Province, one in Liaoning Province and one in Heilongjiang Province have been reported on Sunday. Shulan city in Jilin Province bordering North Korea on Sunday imposed martial law after sudden spike in coronavirus cases. The city reported 11 cases on Saturday and three more on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, 12 new asymptomatic cases were in China taking their total number under medical observation to 780 cases, the NHC said.
Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.
As of Sunday, the overall confirmed cases in China had reached 82,918, including with 141 patients still undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Altogether 4,633 people had died of the disease, NHC said.
(With Agency Inputs)
Global COVID-19 cases surpass 4.1mn: Johns Hopkins University
The global number of coronavirus cases has surpassed the 4.1 million mark, while the death toll stood at 285,971, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
AS of Tuesday morning, the total number of cases increased to 4,175,284, the latest update by the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US accounted for the world's highest number of cases at 1,347,388.
This was followed by Spain (227,436), the UK (224,332), Russia (221,344), Italy (219,814), France (177,547), Germany (172,576), Brazil (169,143), Turkey (139,771) and Iran (109,286).
Of the total 285,971 global COVID-19 deaths, the US leads the world tally with 80,397 fatalities, according to the CSSE.
The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the UK (32,141), Italy (30,739), Spain (26,744), France (26,646) and Brazil (11,625).
Coronavirus-linked fatalities stood at 26,643 after 263 new patients died in the last 24 hours in France, the fifth worst-hit country in the world in terms of human losses, while pressure in hospitals eased for nearly one month, showed health ministry's data on Monday.
More people died of the disease in the last 24 hours compared with 70 deaths reported on Sunday, the lowest daily toll in nearly two months, the data showed, Xinhua reported.
The number of people in intensive care units, a key indicator of the health system's ability to deal with the pandemic, declined by 64 to 2,712, while hospitalizations were down by 285 to 22,284.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US topped 80,000 on Monday, reaching 80,087, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
A total of 1,344,512 cases have been reported in the country, according to the CSSE, Xinhua news agency reported.
Hardest-hit New York state reported 26,682 fatalities among 337,055 cases.
New Jersey reported 9,340 deaths, Massachusetts reported 4,979 deaths and Michigan reported 4,584 deaths, the CSSE data showed.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that he has decided to extend the current telecommuting arrangements at UN headquarters in New York through June 30.
"After consulting with senior management and our medical services about the COVID-19 situation, I have decided to extend the current telecommuting arrangements at the headquarters complex through June 30, 2020. We will continue to review these arrangements, and will provide advance notice should there be any easing or further extension of these measures," the UN chief said on Monday in a letter to all UN staff working at the New York headquarters, Xinhua reported.
US President Donald Trump said that Vice President Mike Pence had tested negative for the novel coronavirus again.
"The Vice President first of all has been tested and he's negative and he was tested yesterday, tested today and he is negative," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying at a White House press conference on Monday.
"He's in very good shape and I think that that's going to be fine."
White House staff have been ordered to wear masks when entering the West Wing after two aides tested positive for coronavirus.
The White House personnel office has said that staff must cover their faces at all times except when seated at their desks, socially distant from colleagues.
The directive comes after an aide for Vice-President Mike Pence and a valet for President Donald Trump fell ill, the BBC reported.
Trump said he required the policy.
Appearing without a mask in the Rose Garden for a press briefing on Monday, however, the president claimed he did not need to follow the directive because he kept "far away from everyone", and played down the White House infections.
(With IANS inputs)
The overall number of global coronavirus cases has increased to over 4.7 million, while the death toll has surpassed 315,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Monday morning, the total number of cases stood at 4,713,620, while the death toll increased to 315,185, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US currently accounts for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 1,486,515 and 89,562, respectively.
In terms of cases, Russia has the second highest number of infections at 281,752, followed by the UK (244,995), Brazil (241,080), Spain (230,698), Italy (225,435), France (179,693), Germany (176,369), Turkey (149,435) and Iran (120,198), the CSSE figures showed.
Meanwhile, the UK accounted for the second highest COVID-19 deaths worldwide at 34,716.
The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are Italy (31,908), France (28,111), Spain (27,563) and Brazil (16,118).
With 483 additional coronavirus-related deaths registered on Sunday, France saw its overall toll of the epidemic rise to 28,108, the Health Ministry said.
Hospitals reported 54 new deaths while retirement homes, which represent a third of the country's total fatalities, reported a one-day rise of 429 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported.
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus infection fell to 19,361 from 19,432 on Saturday, consolidating a continued decline now entering its seventh week. The number of people in intensive care reported a similar downtrend and fell by 45 to 2,087.
A total of 142,411 people have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak and 61,213 patients have recovered.
France cautiously eased the two-month lockdown on Monday to relaunch its battered economy. The first impact of de-confinement would be evaluated "within 10 to 15 days," Health Minister Olivier Veran told local newspaper Le Journal de Dimanche early Sunday.
A day before Italy takes its biggest step yet toward easing its national coronavirus lockdown, it recorded its lowest levels of new infections and deaths since early March -- before the lockdown was put into place.
Italy's Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 675 new cases and 145 deaths over the last 24 hours, down from 875 new cases and 153 deaths on Saturday, and 802 and 165, respectively, a week ago, Xinhua news agency reported.
The total for new infections announced Sunday was the lowest since March 4, and the death total was the lowest since March 9. Italy's national lockdown, the first peacetime lockdown in Europe, went into effect on March 10.
Other data released Sunday made a similar point that the lockdown has been effective in slowly reversing the spread of the pandemic in Italy.
The government reported that 2,366 people were cured of COVID-19 over the last day. The number of active infections fell by 1,836 to 68,351, according to the Civil Protection Department.
Another 170 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Saturday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 34,636, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma said.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
Chairing Sunday's Downing Street press briefing, Sharma told reporters that to conquer the disease "we need to find a safe, workable vaccine".
All phase one participants at the University of Oxford clinical trial have received their vaccine dose on schedule and are now being monitored. The Imperial College London vaccine will move into clinical trials by mid-June with larger scale ones planned for October, he said.
The Nepali government decided to extend the nationwide lockdown by another 15 days as the Himalayan country is witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, a senior cabinet minister said.
The current lockdown, imposed on March 24, is expiring on Monday. "The cabinet on Sunday decided to extend the lockdown till June 2," Nepali Finance and Communication Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada told a press conference on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.
During the lockdown, the Nepali government has suspended ground and air transport, shut down most of the shops and industries while relaxing it for certain industries and service sector, particularly related to essential food item and medical items and construction sectors.
The extension of the lockdown came hours after the Himalayan country reported the second death from COVID-19 on Sunday.
COVID-19 cases in Nepal have reached 295 on Sunday after the cases nearly tripled in the last 10 days, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
The total number of global coronavirus cases has increased to nearly 5 million, while the death toll has surged past 328,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
As of Thursday morning, the total number of cases stood at 4,995,712, while the death toll increased to 328,095, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US currently accounts for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 1,551,668 and 93,431, respectively.
In terms of cases, Russia has the second-highest number of infections at 308,705, followed by Brazil (291,579), the UK (249,619), Spain (232,555), Italy (227,364), France (181,700), Germany (178,473), Turkey (152,587) and Iran (126,949), the CSSE figures showed.
Meanwhile, the UK accounted for the second-highest COVID-19 deaths worldwide at 35,786.
The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are Italy (32,330), France (28,135), Spain (27,888) and Brazil (18,859).
[caption id="attachment_442584" align="aligncenter" width="650"] File Pic[/caption]
A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, the drugs for malaria and other diseases, in the treatment of COVID-19, saying these drugs should be reserved for use "within clinical trials".
Responding to question on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine being used to treat COVID-19 patients in certain countries, Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told a press conference on Wednesday that, despite that, both drugs are already licensed for many diseases, at this stage, they "have been as yet found to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19 or in the prophylaxis against coming down with the disease", Xinhua reported.
"And in fact the opposite, warnings have been issued by many authorities regarding the potential side effects of the drug and many countries have limited its use to that of clinical trials or during clinical trials or under the supervision of clinicians in a hospital setting that's specifically for COVID-19, because of a number of potential side effects that have occurred and could occur," Ryan stressed.
"Having said that, again it is for each national authority to weigh and assess the evidence for and against the use of this drug," he added.
Ryan said that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are included in the ongoing "solidarity trials" that take place across multiple countries. "And as WHO, we would advise that, for COVID-19, that these drugs be reserved for use within such trials."
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A further 161 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours in Italy, bringing the country's toll to 32,330, out of total infection cases of 227,364, according to fresh figures on Wednesday.
Nationwide, the number of active infections dropped by 2,377 to 62,752 cases, according to the Civil Protection Department, Xinhua reported.
Of those who tested positive for the new coronavirus, 676 are in intensive care, 40 fewer compared to Tuesday, and 9,624 are hospitalized with symptoms, down by 367 patients over the past 24 hours.
The rest 52,452 people, or about 84 per cent of those who tested positive, are quarantined at home with no symptoms or only mild symptoms.
Recoveries rose by 2,881 compared to Tuesday, bringing the nationwide total to 132,282.
Over 100,000 new COVID cases recorded in last 24 hrs: WHO
Highlighting its continuing peril around the world even as its spread slows in some areas of Asia and Europe and lockdown restrictions are eased, coronavirus has infected 106,000 people in the last 24 hours - the largest number of cases since its outbreak, the WHO said on Wednesday.
Revealing the alarming numbers at his daily briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that two-thirds of those cases came from just four countries, the BBC reported.
The global tally of cases is nearing five million, with more than 324,000 deaths, according to figures collected by Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Centre.
The US currently has the most cases, with 1.5m, followed by Russia, Brazil and the UK.
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The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across Africa rose from 88,172 on Tuesday to 91,598 as of Wednesday afternoon, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Wednesday.
The Africa CDC, specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, in its latest situation update issued on Wednesday, said the death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic across the African continent surged from 2,835 on Tuesday afternoon to 2,912 as of Wednesday afternoon, Xinhua reported.
The Africa CDC also disclosed that some 35,808 people who had been infected with the COVID-19 had recovered across the continent as of Wednesday afternoon, registering some 2,002 new recoveries during the past 24-hours period.
Figures from the Africa CDC also show that amid the rapid spread of the virus across the continent, the highly COVID-19 affected African countries include South Africa with 17,200 confirmed cases, Egypt with 13,484 confirmed cases, Algeria with 7,377 confirmed cases, as well as Morocco with 7,023 confirmed cases.
Another 363 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 35,704, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Wednesday.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community, Xinhua news agency reported.
As of Wednesday morning, 248,293 people have tested positive for the disease, marking a 2,472 daily increase, the secretary said during the Downing Street briefing.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it would increase the organization's funding and improve funding quality in order to expand programs and help countries that need support.
"As part of the transformation agenda, we have developed the first investment case, and we have developed a strategic plan to mobilize resources... we have also developed a strategy to build a foundation which we hope would be established soon and looking for new sources of funding and also expand our donor base," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said here at a press conference on Wednesday, stressing that transformation "has nothing to do with the current situation", Xinhua reported.
"WHO's budget is very, very small, it's not more than $2.3 billion a year and that's very small... Imagine the budget of a medium-sized hospital... for WHO, which is actually working in the whole world," he said.
"We started the transformation three years ago. So, we're working on it and we hope that the challenges we're facing with regard to financing will be resolved," he added.
He said the WHO already has a complete strategy to raise funding. "Hopefully when this strategy actually is implemented -- we have started already implementing -- we don't see it in terms of just mobilizing funding, but we will expand and strengthen our programs and deliver better to the world to those who need our service."
The WHO chief also highlighted the organization's strategy to improve the quality of funding.
"When we started this strategy as part of the transformation, the objectives are to increase funding and improve the quality of the funding itself. And that's what we're doing and I hope this will bring better results ... and we will expect more money but more importantly better quality money," he added.
Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said the organization's "greatest concern" is the core budgets -- life-saving funds for frontline health services in some of the most difficult places in the world.
"Much of the U.S. funding that reaches us here actually goes directly out in the emergencies program to humanitarian health operations all over the world, in all sites of fragile and difficult settings. It's... actually the greatest proportion of funding that we receive from WHO within the emergencies program," Ryan explained.
"We'll obviously have to work with other partners to ensure that those funds can still flow," he stressed.
"So this is going to be a major implication for delivering essential health services to some of the most vulnerable people in the world. And we trust that other donors will, if necessary, step in to fill that gap," he said.