Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.
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Trump threatens to deny US funding to World Health Organisation
US President Donald Trump has threatened to freeze American funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO), saying the international group had "missed the call" on the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far left more than 82 000 dead around the world.
Trump said on Tuesday that the international group had "called it wrong" on the virus and that the organisation was "very China-centric" in its approach, suggesting that the WHO had gone along with Beijing's efforts months ago to minimise the severity of the outbreak.
Trump first declared that he would cut off funding from the US for the organisation, before backtracking and saying he would "strongly consider" such a move.
Trump's conservative allies have also increasingly criticised the WHO, accusing the organisation of relying on faulty data from China about the pandemic.
Last week, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, called for the resignation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying: "He allowed Beijing to use the WHO to mislead the global community."
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric rejected the criticism of the UN agency.
- Al Jazeera
Britain's Johnson spends second night in intensive care
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care battling the coronavirus which has infected more than 55 000 across the country and killed nearly 6 200.
"He stayed at work for you... now pray at home for him," The Sun tabloid splashed across its front page on Wednesday while the Daily Express said: "Boris 'will pull through'."
Deputising for Johnson, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was "confident he'll pull through, because if there's one thing I know about this prime minister, he's a fighter and he'll be back, leading us through this crisis in short order".
In an update on Tuesday evening, the prime minister's spokesperson said his "condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring".
He earlier said the 55-year-old Conservative leader was receiving "standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance" and had not required a ventilator.
- AFP
Joy, relief as exodus from Wuhan begins
Voicing joy and excitement from behind face masks, tens of thousands of people fled Wuhan on Wednesday after a 76-day travel ban was lifted on the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic first emerged.
Previously quiet train and bus stations bustled as an exodus began from the city of 11 million, with some passengers wearing hazmat suits.
Hao Mei, a single parent from the nearby city of Enshi, said her two children had been home alone since she got stuck in Wuhan, where she works in a school kitchen.
"You have no idea! I was already up around 04:00. I felt so good. My kids are so excited. Mum is finally coming home," said the 39-year-old as she waited to board a train.
"At the start of the lockdown, I cried every night. I was really miserable, because my little girl is still young, she's only 10."
Up to 55 000 people are expected to leave Wuhan on Wednesday just by train, according to government estimates.
- AFP