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Washington (CNN): President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he has instructed the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats" that harass US ships. "I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea," Trump wrote. Later on Wednesday senior Pentagon officials said the tweet was a lawful order though it did not mark a change in the rules of engagement. "The President issued an important warning to the Iranians. What he was emphasizing is all of our ships retain the right of self-defense and people need to be very careful in their interactions to understand the inherent right of self-defense," Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist told reporters at the Pentagon. Gen. John Hyten, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military will "apply that clear direction from the commander in chief into lawful orders" adding that i...

(CNN) __ Far more interested in stunts than story, "Extraction" is a simple-minded action vehicle for Chris Hemsworth that should benefit from providing a theatrical-style adrenaline rush when the spigot for such fare has closed. Basically, Netflix is serving up an old-fashioned B movie, at a moment when the A-list blockbusters have been postponed. The "Thor" star reunites with "Avengers" directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who produced the film, with Joe writing the script. Sam Hargrave, a second-unit director and stuntman on the "Avengers" movies (he doubled for Chris Evans), also makes his feature directing debut, which explains the emphasis on visceral thrills and can-you-top-this stunts. The centerpiece of that is a bracing action sequence shot as one continuous scene, which would be more impressive, frankly, if "1917" hadn't done the whole thing longer and better. Still, if the goal is to show off a bit in terms of tec...

The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korea's leader,  Kim Jong Un , is in grave danger after a surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge. Kim  recently missed the celebration  of his grandfather's birthday on April 15, which raised speculation about his well-being. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting. Another US official told CNN Monday that the concerns about Kim's health are credible but the severity is hard to assess. Daily NK, an online newspaper based in South Korea that focuses on North Korea, reports that Kim reportedly received a cardiovascular system procedure on April 12. Kim received the cardiovascular system procedure because of "excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork," according to the news site, and is now receiving treatment in a villa in Hyangsan County following his procedure. After assessing that Kim's condition had improved, most of the medical team treating him returned ...

(Reuters) - Families across Canada struggled on Monday to come to grips with the deadliest shooting rampage in the country’s history, in which the victims included a veteran police officer, a teacher and a nurse. Constable Heidi Stevenson had spent about 23 years as an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was a participant in the annual Musical Ride. She was among at least 19 people killed, including the gunman, in the weekend massacre in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia. Stevenson had grown up in Nova Scotia, said Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Association, and left behind her husband, Dean, who is a high school teacher, and two children, a girl and a boy aged 10 and 13. She had “an infectious personality, a fantastic smile, was full of life, loved what she did,” Sauve told Reuters. On Monday, over 150 police and members of the community gathered for a somber procession as Stevenson’s body left the office of the province’s chief medical ...

ISLAMABAD, Apr 21(APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan was apprised that the corona virus infection testing capacity in the country would reach 20,000 per day by the end of current month, whereas at present more than 8,000    corona virus  tests were being carried out on daily basis. The prime minister was chairing a meeting to review the measures to contain the corona virus infection (COVID-19) and the latest situation in the country. The meeting was attended by federal ministers, including Hammad Azhar, Asad Umar, Makhdoom Khusru Bakhtiar and Syed Fakhar Imam, Special Assistant to the PM (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, SAPM on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, SAPM on national Security Dr Moeed Yousaf, Focal Person on Corona Dr Faisal Sultan, National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal and other senior officials, PM Office Media Wing in a press release said. Addressing the participants, the prime minister said the government was strivi...

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices recovered on Tuesday to trade in positive territory after sinking below $0 for the first time ever, but international benchmark Brent dipped as  dema nd for crude oil slumps amid the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices for May delivery was up $39.00 in thin trade at $1.37 a barrel by 0356 GMT after settling down at a discount of $37.63 a barrel in the previous session. The May contract expires on Tuesday and the more-active June contract rose 96 cents, or 4.7%, to $21.39 a barrel of  crude oil prices   . Global benchmark Brent  crude oil prices   for June delivery was down 20 cents, or 0.8%, at $25.37 per barrel. “Demand destruction from COVID-19 will see a slower than expected reopening of the U.S. economy,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at broker OANDA, predicting a weak period for  crude oil prices  . “The WTI crude June contract was able to h...

A post claiming British PM Boris Johnson did not have the coronavirus has been shared on social media.  The post, which was originally written as satire but since has been shared in a way that has led some social media users to react in anger, claims two doctors who treated Johnson at St Thomas’ hospital in London said his condition was “contrived”.   “‘He had the most pathetic, contrived cough I have heard in all my years of practise! I’d’ve sent him home with a packet of Lockets and bottle of Calcough Children’s Syrup’ - Knott. ‘If he had Covid-19 then I’m not a doctor!” - Pullin,” the post reads.   Johnson first entered hospital on April 5 after suffering from the symptoms of COVID-19 for more than a week. He spent a week in hospital, including three nights in intensive care, before being discharged on April 12.  The clai...

ISLAMABAD, Apr 18 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming smuggling a curse for national economy, said strict action was inevitable against smugglers, hoarders and profiteers to eliminate such ills from the society. Chairing a meeting to control smuggling, crackdown on hoarders and eliminating locust attacks on crops, the prime minister said smuggling and hoarding resulted in inflation that put direct financial burden on general public and poor. The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah, Minister for National Food Security Syed Fakhar Imam, Planning Minister Asad Umer, Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, PM’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority General Muhammad Afzal and senior officials. The prime minister emphasized the role of intelligence agencies in checking smuggling and hoarding and called for appointment...

ISLAMABAD, Apr 18 (APP):A delegation of Tetra Pak Pakistan called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here the other day and presented him a cheque of Rs 20 million for the PM’s Corona Relief Fund. The delegation comprised Sonia Kiyani, Regional Communication Director and Tahir Hafeez, Cluster Leader Supply Chain Greater Middle East and Africa. Sweden’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ingrid Johansson was also present on the occasion. Tahir Hafeez also presented a cheque of Rs one million from his own pocket. The Prime Minister lauded the spirit and contribution of Tetra Pak.

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government was too slow to react on several fronts to the novel coronavirus outbreak that could cause the deaths of 40,000 people in the United Kingdom, a leading public health professor told lawmakers on Friday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed but then closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in Britain. So far, more than 14,576 people with COVID-19 have died in British hospitals, though new official data indicates the true death toll could be much larger. “Where were the system errors that led us to have probably the highest death rates in Europe?” Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the UCL Institute for Global Health, asked at the Health and Social Care Committee. “We have to face the reality of that: We were too slow with a number of things,” Costello told the commit...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan, alarmed by rising coronavirus deaths and the specter of the collapse of the medical system, is scrambling to expand testing with drive-through facilities and general practitioners helping to collect samples. For weeks Japan has limited its testing for the coronavirus, which emerged in neighboring China late last year, despite calls from many health experts who see testing as vital to detecting and isolating cases and slowing the spread. Japan conducted about 52,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in March, or just 16% of the number carried out in South Korea, according to data from Oxford University. Experts say Japan’s strategy of keeping the number of PCR tests low has made it difficult to trace the disease as it spread in Tokyo and other big cities and led to a wave of in-hospital infections, crippling some facilities. The decision to expand testing came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week expanded a state of emergency, originally iss...

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said on Friday a large number of migrants on a deportation flight to Guatemala from the United States this week were infected with the coronavirus, adding that U.S. authorities had confirmed a dozen cases. Giammattei said 12 randomly selected people on the deportation flight tested positive for coronavirus when examined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He suggested more on the flight had tested positive as well. “A large part of it was infected,” the president said in a televised address, referring to a flight carrying 73 Guatemalans that left the United States for Guatemala City on Monday. The Trump administration has pressured Guatemala to keep receiving deported migrants despite growing concern in the poor Central American nation that returnees are bringing the virus with them and could infect remote communities. Monday’s flight has been at the center of a political storm sinc...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart on Friday that any future arms control talks must focus on an American proposal for a new arms control accord that includes Russia and China, the State Department said. Pompeo emphasized in a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that “any future arms control talks must be based on President (Donald) Trump’s vision for a trilateral arms control agreement that includes both Russia and China,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. China, whose arsenal of an estimated 300 nuclear weapons is far smaller than those of Russia and the United States, has rejected such talks. Ortagus said Pompeo’s comments came as he and Lavrov discussed “next steps in the bilateral Strategic Security Dialogue, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic”. Trump last year proposed that the United States, Russia and China negotiate a new pact to replace the 2010 New...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian state retailers sold 50% less refined fuel in the first two weeks of April than the same time a year ago as a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus hit transportation and industrial activity, industry sources said. State companies - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat - own about 90% of India’s retail fuel outlets. India’s gasoil sales by state retailers in the first 15 days of April dropped by 61% from a year earlier while gasoline and jet fuel sales declined by 64% and 94%, provisional industry data provided by two sources, who asked not to be named, show. India’s overall refined fuel demand includes consumption of fuel oil, bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). State-retailers sold 21% more LPG in the first fortnight of April from a year earlier. India is providing free cooking gas cylinders to the poor for three months to June to help them weather the impact of the lockdown. India has extend...

ISLAMABAD, Apr 17 (APP) - Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Thursday said the plea of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the rights of the poor in developing countries had been fully heeded to by the rich world. The world’s highest forums, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and G-20 countries had decided to provide debt relief to the poor states was welcoming amid the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic, she added in a tweet. She said the COVID-19 had affected the economies around the world, but its social and economic impacts were far more severe in the developing countries. An effective response from the rich was the crucial requirement to protect the people of Third World from hunger and poverty, she added. She said unconditional support and relief from the financial institutions and rich states was imperative for the developing countries to meet the current challenge and for their econ...

BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China’s daily crude oil throughput in March sank to a 15-month low with state refiners maintaining deep output cuts as the coronavirus pandemic erodes demand, but there are some signs of recovery as the country begins to ease virus-related curbs. The steep drop in runs at the world’s top energy consumer highlights not only the woes of the global oil sector but also that of the broader economy amid the health crisis that has upended lives, hobbled supply chains and roiled markets. China’s GDP shrank 6.8% in January-March from a year ago, the first such decline since at least 1992 when quarterly records began, as the virus crippled the economy. Crude runs over the period came in at 149.28 million tonnes, or about 11.98 million barrels per day (bpd), down 4.6% from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data shows. In March, throughput was 50.04 million tonnes, down 6.6% and equivalent to about 11.78 million bpd, data from the bureau s...

BEIJING, April 17 (APP): The healthcare professionals from China’s Jiangsu Province Hospital held a video conference with medical staff of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar on prevention and treatment of COVID-19. According to Zhao Jun, the Director of Jiangsu Province Hospital, Chinese medical experts on emergency management, infectious diseases and gastroenterology shared their experience with their Pakistani counterparts on topics of “Screening, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients”, “Public health management of healthcare personnel” and “Practice of endoscopy during COVID-19 pandemic”, China Economic Net reported on Thursday. Zhao Jun further mentioned that medical staff of Jiangsu Province Hospital acquired new experience during the battle against COVID-19, therefore they wish to help their iron-clad Pakistani friends to tackle the pandemic and save lives. On top of knowledge sharing, medics from both the countries completed a remote consultation of a critically ...

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 17 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that debt relief must be an important part of Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, while cautioning that the African continent could end up suffering the greatest impacts. “The crisis has wide-ranging implications”, said the UN Chief, delivering remarks at a meeting with leaders of the African Group of countries on Wednesday. “This is in no way of Africa’s making. But as with the climate crisis, the African continent could end up suffering the greatest impacts.” “Debt relief”, he said, “must be an important part of the response.” “The UN will continue to advocate for debt relief for Africa, including non-IDA (International Development Association) countries who cannot service their debt,” Guterres declared. “Debt relief from non-Paris Club official creditors and London Club commercial creditors should also be part of the consideration,” he added. The Paris Club is a group of official...

ISLAMABAD, Apr 17 (APP): The government of Pakistan has decided to establish more field hospitals in other cities of the country on the pattern Frontier Works Organization (FWO) The decision was taken during a meeting held to discuss the COVID-19 situation. The meeting was attended by Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister for National Food Security Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah, Special Assistant to the the PM (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, SAPM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, SAPM on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf, PM’s Focal Person for COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan and senior officials. Speaking at the meeting, the prime minister emphasized for compiling of correct data and information regarding the coronavirus so as to formulate policy on the basis of correct facts and figures. He especially directed for keeping correct data of those people dying from the coronavirus or othe...

ISLAMABAD, April 17 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the religious scholars’ cooperation was required to contain the spread of coronavirus and he would soon meet their delegation. The prime minister was talking to the renowned religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil, who called on him at the PM Office the other day. The prime minister lauded Maulana Tariq Jamil’s public awareness campaign against COVID-19. Imran Khan said the purpose of government’s efforts was to save the people from the pandemic, which had affected the entire world. He said the religious scholars had always guided the government in trying times. The government in consultation with clerics would formulate guidelines for the month of Ramazan, he added.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has revealed new guidelines on Thursday for U.S. states to emerge from a coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage approach meant to revive the U.S. economy even as the country continues to fight the pandemic. The recommendations call on states to show a “downward trajectory” of COVID-19 cases or positive tests for the disease over 14 days before proceeding with the plan, which gradually loosens restrictions on businesses that have been shuttered to blunt the spread of the virus. “We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The president had said earlier this month he wanted to reopen the economy with a “big bang.” The plan is a set of recommendations for state governors, not orders. In that sense, it represents a back down by Trump, who on Monday insisted he had total authority to direct states to re-open or remain closed. The responsibility for such decisions...