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AFP reports that US President Donald Trump casts blame for the pandemic on China in an address before the United Nations, whose chief warns against a new "Cold War" between the two world powers.

Trump attacks Beijing and the UN for not stopping the disease and even uses the loaded term "China virus".

China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, tells reporters that Trump's tone was "incompatible with the general atmosphere" of the world body.

"If we do have to hold anyone accountable, it should be the United States held accountable for losing so many lives with their irresponsible behaviour", he says.

UK to host "human challenge" trials for Covid-19 vaccines - reports

The UK will host clinical trials where volunteers would be deliberately infected with the new coronavirus to assess the effectiveness of experimental vaccines, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people involved in the project.

The government-funded project is expected to begin in January at a quarantine facility in London, the report said.

FT reported that volunteers will be first inoculated with a vaccine and later receive a challenge dose of the coronavirus, without naming the vaccine that would be tested in the project.

J&J Covid-19 vaccine trial moves into late stage

AFP reports that Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it was entering the final Phase 3 stage of its Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial following positive results in earlier stages.

The trial will seek to enroll up to 60 000 volunteers across more than 200 sites in the US and around the world, the company and the US National Institutes for Health (NIH), which is providing funding, said.

With the move, J&J becomes the tenth maker globally to conduct a Phase 3 trial against Covid-19, and the fourth in the US.

The company, which is developing the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis through its subsidiary Janssen, said it anticipated the drug would be ready for emergency approval by early 2021 if proven safe and effective.

"As Covid-19 continues to impact the daily lives of people around the world, our goal remains the same - leveraging the global reach and scientific innovation of our company to help bring an end to this pandemic," said Alex Gorsky, the company's chairman and CEO.

Virus delays top mobile fair until June 2021

AFP reports that organisers of world's leading annual mobile trade fair said Wednesday they would postpone the 2021 edition of the annual event from March to late June due to the pandemic.

This year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), which is held annually in Barcelona, was originally set for February but cancelled at the last minute after the Covid-19 outbreak sparked an exodus of participants, making it the first major trade fair to be called off over the crisis.

The event, which draws more than 100 000 global participants to check out the latest wireless innovations and strike deals, brings in nearly 500 million euros ($586 million) to Spain's second-largest city.

MWC 2021 will now run from 28 June to 1 July, said John Hoffman, chief executive of the GSMA, the mobile trade association that organises the show.

A smaller congress which focuses on the Asian market, MWC Shanghai, which usually takes place in the Chinese city in June, will instead be held next 23-25 February which will "allow us to test security procedures", he added.

Belgium eases mask rules, cuts quarantine despite rising cases

Reuters reports that Belgium is ending a requirement to wear masks outdoors and reducing the time people have to self-isolate, in a slight easing of coronavirus restrictions announced on Wednesday despite sharply rising numbers of Covid-19 infections.

Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes told a news conference that, from 1 October, people who have had contact with an infected person would only have to quarantine for seven days. Masks would no longer be mandatory everywhere outside, as currently the case in the capital Brussels and some other cities, she said.

Masks will still have to worn in shops, cinemas, on public transport and in crowded streets.

The country of 11 million people recorded on average 1 374 new infections per day over the past week. In early July, there were about 80 a day. That equates to 136 cases per 100 000 inhabitants over the last 14 days.

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Covid-19 wrap: Major vaccine trial moves into next phase, Trump takes aim at China again