Cash-rich China on Thursday announced an additional USD 30 million grant to the World Health Organization to support its global fight against the deadly coronavirus, days after Beijing expressed "serious concern" over President Donald Trump's decision to freeze US' funding for the UN health agency over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang made the announcement at a media briefing here. The grant will be in addition to the USD 20 million provided by China, the world's second largest economy, earlier to the WHO.

"China has decided to donate another USD 30 million in cash to the WHO in addition to the USD 20 million cash donation to support the global fight against COVID-19 to help strengthen developing countries health systems," Geng said. He clarified that the additional USD 30 million funding was "aimed to COVID-19 response and supporting the health systems of developing countries".

"This is a different thing from the membership dues paid by China," he said. China hinted at stepping up its monetary contribution to the UN health agency on April 15. Beijing's response came a day after Trump announced to put a "very powerful" hold on US' funding to the WHO, accusing the UN agency of being "very China-centric" and criticising it for having "missed the call" in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The US is the largest donor to the Geneva-based WHO.

Trump also criticised the organisation's relationship with China. "American taxpayers provide between USD 400m and USD 500 million per year to the WHO; in contrast China contributes roughly USD 40 million a year, even less. As the organisation's leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability," he said. While announcing the new funding, Geng without referring to Trump's criticism, expressed China's full backing for the WHO and its Director General Dr General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whom Trump has termed as pro-China.

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the WHO and its Chief Dr Tedros have been actively fulfilling their duties in upholding scientific, objective and an impartial stance. It played an important role in helping the relevant countries strengthen their pandemic response and promote international cooperation," Geng said.
"As the global fight against COVID-19 is at a crucial stage supporting the WHO is defending the ideals and principles of multilateralism and upholding the status and authority of the UN," he said.

Terming the virus the "common enemy of all", Geng said solidarity was the only weapon to defeat it. "Our donation is made out of support and trust of Chinese government and people for the WHO," Geng said, adding that "this is also our way of contributing to global public health and global efforts against the pandemic" Earlier while responding to Trump's announcement to freeze US' funding for the WHO, another Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian had said: "China expresses serious concern over the US announcement to halt its funding to WHO".

He said China will always support the Geneva-based WHO in playing an important role in international public health and global anti-epidemic response. Asked if China will step-up funding to the WHO to replace the US contributions, Zhao had said, "China has provided USD 20 million to the WHO (to fight COVID-19) and we will study the relevant matter", indicating that Beijing was considering to increase its contribution to the global health body.

Both China and the WHO faced serious criticism over lack of transparency especially about the discovery of the coronavirus in December last year and its silent spread in Wuhan until Beijing imposed a lockdown in the city on January 23. By that time, over five million people from Wuhan were reported to have left for holiday destinations at home and abroad to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which many allege resulted in the spreading of the deadly virus worldwide.

China has denied the allegations of any cover-up, saying it was the first country to report the COVID-19 to the WHO.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Many Americans in India who had signed up for airlifts back to the US are now deciding to stay back and "ride it out" during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the State Department's top consular official. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ian Brownlee said on Tuesday that many who had enlisted for repatriation from India were not responding to offers of seats on the planes arranged by the department to take them home.

The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the US reached 1 million on Tuesday, with 58,348 deaths, while India had only 31,368 officially recorded cases with 1,008 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brownlee said: "Two weeks ago, we had a list of folks and we were pretty sure if we called (the) folks they'd show up at the airport and say, 'Yes, please.' We're now getting to the point on that list, we're having to make multiple calls for individual seats because people are deciding 'No,' they'd just as soon ride it out where they are."

Last week he said that 4,000 Americans had been brought back to the US and 6,000 were waiting for airlifts. India has cancelled passenger flights and rail transportation during the strict lockdown imposed on March 25.

Brownlee had spoken earlier of the massive logistics effort required to bring Americans from around the vast country to Mumbai and New Delhi, the departure points for the chartered flights.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Millions of people were allowed to return to work in Italy Monday as Europe's longest lockdown started to ease, while countries from Iceland to India took a patchwork of steps to loosen Coronavirus restrictions. Businesses including hairdressers in Greece and restaurants in Lebanon were opening their doors under new conditions.

With pressure growing in many countries for more measures to restart the economy, politicians also were trying to boost funding for research into a vaccine for COVID-19. There are hopes that one could be available in months, but warnings that it could take much longer.

Italy, the first European country to be hit by the pandemic and a nation with one of the world's highest death tolls, started stirring after its two-month shutdown. In all, 4.4 million Italians were able to return to work, and restrictions on movement eased. Traffic in downtown Rome picked up, construction sites and manufacturing operations resumed, and flower vendors returned to the Campo dei Fiori market for the first time since March 11.

As infection rates have fallen in large parts of Europe, tentative efforts to restart public life are gathering pace. But Europeans' new-found freedoms are limited as officials are wary of setting off a second wave of infections.

In Italy, mourners were able to attend funerals - but services were limited to 15 people and there was still no word on when Masses would resume. Restaurants scrubbed their floors in preparation for take-out service, but sit-down service is several weeks away.

Italians still have to carry certifications explaining why they are out. The list of acceptable reasons has now been expanded to include visits to family and lovers, but just who falls into that category is still unclear.

Russia braces for quick surge in cases

Russian officials on Monday reported a steady rise in the number of the COVID-19 infections, fueling concerns that the hospitals could be overwhelmed. The task force dealing with the outbreak reported 10,581 new cases on Monday, taking the total to 1,45,268, including 1,356 deaths. Officials have voiced fears that the holidays could cause a surge in contagion.

Spain sees lowest daily death toll

For a second day in a row, Spanish health officials are reporting 164 new deaths from COVID-19, the lowest daily death toll in six weeks, to a total of 25,428. The figures came as a respite for a country that has spent seven weeks under a strict lockdown and that on Monday entered the first stage of its four-phase lockdown rollback.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

India is projected to record the highest number of births in the 9 months since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, with more than 20 million babies expected to be born in the country between March and December, according to top UN body. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that pregnant mothers and babies born during the pandemic across the world were threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services. An estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF said on Wednesday, ahead of Mother's Day, observed on May 10.

These babies are projected to be born up to 40 weeks after COVID-19 was recognised as a pandemic on March 11. The highest numbers of births in the 9 months since the pandemic was declared are expected to occur in India, where 20.1 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16. Other countries with the expected highest numbers of births during this period are China (13.5 million), Nigeria (6.4 million), Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million), it said. "Most of these countries had high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with COVID-19 conditions," UNICEF said.

It is estimated that there will be 24.1 million births in India for the January-December 2020 period. UNICEF warned that COVID-19 containment measures can disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk. Even wealthier countries are affected by this crisis. In the US, the sixth highest country in terms of expected number of births, over 3.3 million babies are projected to be born between March 11 and December 16.
"New mothers and newborns will be greeted by harsh realities," UNICEF said, adding they include global containment measures such as lockdowns and curfews; health centres overwhelmed with response efforts; supply and equipment shortages; and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants as health workers, including midwives, are redeployed to treat COVID-19 patients.

"Millions of mothers all over the world embarked on a journey of parenthood in the world as it was. They now must prepare to bring a life into the world as it has become ¿ a world where expecting mothers are afraid to go to health centres for fear of getting infected, or missing out on emergency care due to strained health services and lockdowns," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. "It is hard to imagine how much the coronavirus pandemic has recast motherhood" Fore said.
UNICEF said its analysis was based on data from World Population Prospects 2019 of the UN Population Division.

An average full-term pregnancy typically lasts a complete 9 months, or 39 to 40 weeks. For the purposes of this estimate, the number of births for a 40-week period in 2020 was calculated. The 40-week period of March 11 to December 16 is used in this estimate based upon the WHO's March 11 assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. UNICEF warned that although evidence suggests that pregnant mothers are not more affected by COVID-19 than others, countries need to ensure they still have access to antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.

Similarly, sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy, it said. "This is a particularly poignant Mother's Day, as many families have been forced apart during the coronavirus pandemic, but it is also a time for unity, a time to bring everyone together in solidarity. We can help save lives by making sure that every pregnant mother receives the support she needs to give birth safely in the months to come," Fore said.

Issuing an urgent appeal to governments and health care providers to save lives in the coming months, UNICEF said efforts must be made to help pregnant women receive antenatal checkups, skilled delivery care, postnatal care services, and care related to COVID-19 as needed. Ensure health workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment and get priority testing and vaccination once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available so that can deliver high quality care to all pregnant women and newborn babies during the pandemic, it said.

While it is not yet known whether the virus is transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy and delivery, UNICEF advised all pregnant women to follow precautions to protect themselves from exposure to the virus. Closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and seek advice from the nearest designated facility if they have concerns or experience symptoms. Pregnant women should also take the same precautions to avoid COVID -19 infection as other people: practice physical distancing, avoid physical gatherings and use online health services, it said.

UNICEF said even before COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.8 million pregnant women and newborns died every year, or 1 every 11 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.
The agency called for immediate investment in health workers with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

[Source: Research & Innovation] The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot will work with an extra €150 million to support game-changing innovations to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The additional budget, approved by the European Commission today, will fund the best start-ups and SMEs who applied under the March cut-off.

Among people aged 15-49 years, every day, there are more than 1 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs), revealed data released today by the World Health Organization.

2nd February 2014 – Colombo, Sri Lanka Agriculture and wetlands should be managed in unison in order to conserve vital ecosystems and support the livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new report published to coincide with World Wetlands Day, today. Download the full media release Download the report

New study urges future dam projects to consider better disease control measures

Researchers at Africa Water Week call for efforts to “decolonize” and improve water permit systems, so more farmers are encouraged to invest in much-needed irrigation.

India has donated USD 5 million worth of medicines and related supplies to the world till now to combat COVID-19 pandemic. Sources in the ministry

New Delhi, May 3 (ICMR) Million RT-PCR tests for novel coronavirus have been conducted so far in India. In a press statement the apex medical research

Global confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 1.5 million on Wednesday afternoon local time, reports Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

COVID-19 death rate is still mounting high across the globe. The number of newly infected cases is increasing day-by-day amid lockdown. The global death

Millennials are at a higher risk of developing health problems than their parents. Ayurvedic treatments can provide new hope to fight several diseases.

Blindness Might be as well be termed as an epidemic in Sri Lanka as Nearly 1 million people suffer from it and cataract could be the reason behind it.

The 360-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Convention Center has completed its final phase of a multimillion-dollar property renovation. The transformation focuses on bringing forth a vibrant, contemporary design with a touch of coastal inspiration. All the hotel's public spaces are completely renovated to maximize and create functional space throughout the hotel. The hotel's expansive atrium fosters an atmosphere of socializing and unwinding for guests. The renovated guest suites feature modern comforts, including two 55" flat screen high-definition TVs, a refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave and a selection of gourmet coffee and teas. New window treatments and locally inspired artwork complete the look of the revitalized suites. More than 9,000 sq. ft. of newly renovated, flexible meeting space offers creative set-up options, advanced audiovisual equipment and high-speed WiFi Internet access. The event spaces include large meeting rooms, two boardrooms and pre-function s...

Thompson Thrift Retail Group (TTRG), a wholly owned company of Thompson Thrift, announced today that it has closed on the sale of the hotel pad at The Stations, a $60-million mixed-use development in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, Ind. The buyer, Indiana-based Dunn Hospitality, will spend $20 million to build a 145-room Courtyard by Marriott that it plans to open in the latter half of 2021. The Courtyard will feature meeting space, expansive fitness facilities, an indoor pool, room service and a bistro bar offering sit-down meals throughout the day. The new hotel is expected to accommodate the expanding business and leisure travel needs of the rapidly growing Fishers suburb. Later this year, TTRG expects to begin construction of a class-A, four-story office building with 60,000 square feet of demisable office space. The building will feature an expansive lobby with elevators, outdoor work areas on the top floor of the building, excellent visibility from 116th Street along with bu...

Frank Miller brings King Arthur to Netflix! Netflix has revealed the first look at Cursed, a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend based on the illustrated novel by Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller.

Kevin Hart has just got a major burden released from his shoulders. Reportedly, the actor and comedian has had his $60 million sex tape lawsuit dismissed.

Arsenal desperate steering Suarez
Tottenham Baldini broker a secret meeting with Roberto Soldado

Higuain fly, as quoted in the £ 23 million increase on the unwilling, Real Madrid halt the...

Two draws a penalty after one win and one loss, Juventus [microblogging] in the TIM Cup triangular tournament still ranks among the newly promoted after the second place, but the Serie A champions lackluster performance in the...

Barcelona and who want to purchase Zhongwei Chelsea David Lewis cheap jerseys. "Post" disclosure, the Spanish giants on Tuesday officially offer 34500000 to buy the...

Responses from SMEs in 11 cities having business operations in 24 states and Union Territories were collected for the purpose of the survey.

Anushka Shetty is all thrilled to cross the record of 3 million followers on her Instagram account. The Baahubali actress shared an interesting photo to thank all her fans on the page.

Today, L&T technology Services Limited, an ER&D service provider to myriad technology continuum, inked a multi-million dollar contract with a giant global semi-conductor company.

Outdoor air pollution could cause 6 to 9 million premature deaths a year by 2060 and cost 1% of global GDP – around USD 2.6 trillion annually – as a result of sick days, medical bills and reduced agricultural output, unless action is taken, according to a new OECD report.

Imports of Intra EU - Milling Industry Products in the United Kingdom decreased to 22.82 GBP Million in February from 26.41 GBP Million in January of 2020. Imports of Intra EU - Milling Industry Products in the United Kingdom averaged 16.85 GBP Million from 1996 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 38.70 GBP Million in March of 2019 and a record low of 7 GBP Million in June of 2001. This page includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Imports of Intra EU - Milling Industry Products.

Imports of Wheat & Meslin Unmilled in Japan increased to 17604.25 JPY Million in March from 12755.05 JPY Million in February of 2020. Imports of Wheat & Meslin Unmilled in Japan averaged 13402.63 JPY Million from 1985 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 47752.31 JPY Million in June of 2008 and a record low of 4599.27 JPY Million in August of 2009. This page includes a chart with historical data for Japan Imports of Wheat & Meslin Unmilled.

Support for five networks around England follows coronavirus rescue packages for bus and train sectors

From the unstoppable rise of hip-hop to the 'millennial whoop', what does today's new music sound like? And how has social media changed the relationship between artists and fans?

Harriet Fitch Little, India Ross and Griselda Murray Brown discuss Drake, Cardi B and DJ Khaled - in particular 'Wild Thoughts' ft. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller from 2017, which leans heavily on the melody and mood of Santana's 1999 hit 'Maria Maria', the coming-of-age soundtrack for the oldest cohort of millennials. 

Warning: this podcast contains a live 'millennial whoop'.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Newer employees like their appraisals upfront and often

One says employees want to be untethered while the other believes they dream of buying a home

Debate: One says youthful staff want to remain in the EU, the other fears apathy

Debating about whether it is ever OK to become emotional in the office

Consumers who use tax preparation services or software could have to wait months for money

‘There are no warranties when you take on an insolvent company’

From hedge fund manager to making children’s festive dreams come true

We grew too fast, but came back stronger

Researchers at NYU have identified hundreds of groups of Instagram users, some with thousands of members, that systematically exchange likes and comments in order to game the service’s algorithms and boost visibility. In the process, they also trained machine learning agents to identify whether a post has been juiced in this way. “Pods,” as they’ve […]

Cutting the cord with cable or satellite TV used to mean a cost savings. But with the growing number of streaming services on the market, many consumers are finding that becoming a cord cutter is just as expensive, if not more so, as being a pay TV customer. As a result, many consumers continue to […]

Autotech Ventures popped on the scene three years ago with a $120 million debut fund and a plan to invest in early-stage ground transportation startups. Now, with investments in 26 startups and a handful of exits, including Xnor.ai, DeepScale and Frontier Car Group, the venture firm is back with a new, bigger fund and the […]

Apple has awarded $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a company focused on producing sample collection kits for testing COVID-19 to hospitals in the U.S. The money comes from the fund that Apple established to support the development and growth of U.S.-based manufacturing, but is particularly notable because to date, the […]

A stay-at-home order for several San Francisco Bay Area counties will be extended through the end of May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision that affects 7 million residents and thousands of businesses. The Public Health Officers of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara as well […]

The dating startup world is notorious for few exits, and a similarly slim number of buyers. There’s Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, and there’s Spark Networks, which owns Christian Mingle, JSwipe, Jdate and Zoosk. Dating.com Group also owns a slew of dating brands, like Dil Mil, a dating app for South Asians. […]

Just months after graduating from Y Combinator, H1 Insights, the LinkedIn for the healthcare industry, has raised $12.9 million in a new round of funding. “It’s a better way to connect the ecosystem,” says co-founder Ariel Katz. The company already has more than 8 million profiles for healthcare professionals in its database and is generating […]

Apple has awarded $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a company focused on producing sample collection kits for testing COVID-19 to hospitals in the U.S. The money comes from the fund that Apple established to support the development and growth of U.S.-based manufacturing, but is particularly notable because to date, the […]

Apple has awarded $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a company focused on producing sample collection kits for testing COVID-19 to hospitals in the U.S. The money comes from the fund that Apple established to support the development and growth of U.S.-based manufacturing, but is particularly notable because to date, the […]

Stilt, a Y Combinator alum that provides financial services for immigrants without Social Security numbers or credit reports, announced today that it has closed a $7.5 million seed round. It also launched FDIC-insured pre-approved global bank accounts today. The startup has raised equity from investors including Liron Petrushka; Hillsven Capital; Streamlined Ventures; Gokul Rajaram; Bragiel […]

Deskless workers make up 80% of the global workforce, but to Desmond Lim, that job title is his entire world. Lim grew up in Singapore and saw his father wake up every morning, six days a week, at 5 a.m. to start his job as a driver. Lim and his mom, who worked as a […]

Imagine a model of collaborative research and development among hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions where no one shared any actual data. That’s the dream of the new New York-based startup Owkin, which has raised $25 million in fresh financing from investors, including Bpifrance Large Venture, Cathay Innovation and MACSF (the French Pension […]