KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

Pos   /   Country   /   New Daily cases   /   Total Deaths   /        Daily Deaths /           Active Cases   /           Deaths/1M Pop

              World   6,63,404             /             31,32,842           /             10,270  /              1,87,67,774        /             401.9

1            USA       44,629  /             5,86,579             /             422        /              68,15,159           /             1,764

2            India     3,19,435             /             1,97,880             /             2,764    /              28,82,513           /             142

3            Brazil    28,636  /             3,91,936             /             1,011    /              10,98,436           /             1,833

4            France  5,952    /             1,03,256             /             398        /              9,95,023             /             1,579

5            Turkey  37,312  /             38,711  /             353        /             5,06,899              /             455

6            Iran       21,026  /             70,070  /             496        /             4,54,931              /             826

7            Italy       8,444    /             1,19,539             /             301        /              4,52,812             /             1,979

8            Ukraine 5,062    /             42,518  /             195        /             4,08,377              /             977

9            Germany            9,568    /             82,344  /             107        /              3,15,325             /             980

10          Argentina           18,793  /             62,087  /             443        /              2,75,586             /             1,364

11          Russia   8,803    /             1,08,588             /             356        /              2,68,145             /             744

12          Mexico 1,653    /             2,14,947             /             94          /              2,62,764             /             1,653

13          Hungary             1,936    /             26,801  /             176        /              2,58,218             /             2,780

14          Poland  3,451    /             65,437  /             22          /             2,41,881              /             1,731

15          Spain    6,500    /             77,738  /             49          /             2,27,837              /             1,662

16          Netherlands      6,200    /             17,062  /             13          /              2,22,317             /             994

17          Sweden              /             13,923  /                           /             1,52,084              /             1,372

18          Honduras           526        /             5,141    /             41          /              1,24,087             /             512

19          Belgium              2,377    /             24,024  /             34          /              1,13,653             /             2,066

20          Slovakia              99          /             11,531  /             36          /              1,13,179             /             2,111

IRAN'S ZARIF CRITICIZES GUARDS IN LEAKED AUDIO

In a leaked recording, Iran's top diplomat complained that the nation’s elite Revolutionary Guards had more influence in foreign affairs and the country's nuclear program than him.

On the tape, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says he has “zero” influence over foreign policy.

The remarks shine a light on tensions between pragmatists such as Zarif who serve in President Hassan Rouhani’s government, and hardliners in the Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC, loyal to Iran’s Supreme Leader.

These divisions underlie - and could potentially undermine - efforts at rapprochement between Tehran and the West at reviving a 2015 nuclear accord.

In the recording, leaked to a London-based news channel late on Sunday, Zarif said, "I have never been able to tell a military commander to do something in order to aid diplomacy."

His spokesman did not dispute the audio's authenticity, but said the channel only aired excerpts of a seven-hour interview.

Perhaps most surprising, Zarif used language rarely heard inside Iran to talk about the late IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year.

Zarif complained about the extent of the major general’s influence over diplomacy, saying, “He asked me to make this or that concession or point almost every time I went to negotiate.”

Although Zarif said he had no intention of running in Iran's June 18 presidential election, some critics said Zarif's comments were aimed at gaining votes from Iranians disillusioned by a stalled economy and lack of political and social freedoms.

CORONAVIRUS | IN TELEPHONIC CONVERSATION WITH MODI, BIDEN CONVEYED SOLIDARITY WITH INDIA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on the phone on Monday to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak in India and U.S. assistance to the country. The conversation comes a day after Mr Biden and some of his cabinet publicly expressed solidarity with India and the U.S. government promised assistance to India in its fight against the pandemic.

“Had a fruitful conversation with @POTUS @JoeBiden today. We discussed the evolving COVID situation in both countries in detail. I thanked President Biden for the support being provided by the United States to India,” Mr Modi said on Twitter.

Their conversation “also underscored the importance of smooth and efficient supply chains of vaccine raw materials and medicines,” the Prime Minister said.

Significantly, a readout of the call from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also said that Mr Modi informed Mr Biden of “India's initiative at the WTO for a relaxation in the norms of the Agreement on TRIPS to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries.”

The White House readout of the call does not mention the TRIPS initiative.

“The President pledged America’s steadfast support for the people of India who have been impacted by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases,” the White House readout said.

“President Biden conveyed solidarity with India and affirmed that the United States was determined to support India’s efforts by quickly deploying resources such as therapeutics, ventilators and identifying sources of raw materials to be made available for the manufacture of Covishield vaccines,” the PMO readout said.

The Prime Minister “mentioned India’s commitment to contain the COVID-19 pandemic globally through Vaccine Maitri, and its participation in COVAX and the Quad Vaccine Initiatives,” as per the PMO.

Mr Modi and Mr Biden agreed to remain in touch and directed their officials to coordinate closely on the COVID-19 issue, the PMO said.

ASTRAZENECA: US TO SHARE UP TO 60M VACCINE DOSES

The US will share up to 60 million doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries as they become available, the White House has said.

The doses will be able to be exported in the coming months after a federal safety review.

The US has a stockpile of the vaccine even though its regulators have not yet authorised it for public use.

Critics have accused the government of hoarding the vaccine, while other countries are in desperate need.

On Monday, the White House said it expected that about 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be released when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finishes its review in the coming weeks.

It said that another 50 million doses were in various stages of production.

At a news briefing, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said FDA officials would carry out quality checks on doses before they were exported.

"Our team will share more details about our planning and who will be receiving offers from here, but we're in the planning process at this point in time," she added.

EU COMMISSION LAUNCHES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ASTRAZENECA

The European Commission on Monday said it has launched a legal action against vaccine maker AstraZeneca for failing to respect the terms of its contract with the EU.

Spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said, “The Commission has started last Friday legal action against the company AstraZeneca on the basis of breaches of the advance purchase agreement.”

He said that the reason for the legal action was that “some terms of the contract have not been respected” and that “the company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure a timely delivery of doses”.

AstraZeneca's contract with the European Union foresaw an initial 300 million doses for distribution among the 27 member countries, with option for a further 100 million.

But only 30 million doses were delivered in the first quarter of 2021, and the company says it can only provide 70 million in the second quarter, rather than the 180 million it had promised.

RUSSIA EXPELS UKRAINIAN ENVOY IN TIT-FOR-TAT MOVE

Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday it had expelled a Ukrainian diplomat in retaliation for Kyiv kicking out an employee of the Russian embassy earlier this month.

Russia and Ukraine expelled a diplomat each earlier this month after Moscow accused a Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg of trying to obtain classified information.

Ukraine's foreign ministry called the decision "another provocation" and said that in the near future it would announce "on the basis of reciprocity" the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from country.

Tensions soared recently over a Russian military build-up near the Ukrainian border.

BRITAIN EXTENDS COVID-19 VACCINATION DRIVE TO EVERYONE AGED 44 YRS AND ABOVE

Everyone aged 44 and above in Britain will now be able to book their Covid-19 jab starting on Monday as the UK's National Health Service (NHS) vaccine programme expands further to more younger age groups.

Around half a million 44-year-olds will receive a text message inviting them to get their jab through the National Booking Service, with England's top doctor urging people to come forward for their jab when they are invited.

The move to the next age cohort in the vaccination programme comes alongside the latest NHS figures showing that more than two-thirds of people aged 45 to 49 have now been vaccinated as the programme moves through age and risk-based cohorts.

"Now that 95 per cent of all over 50s have had their first jab, and more than two-thirds of those aged 45-49, we are opening up vaccinations to 44-year olds,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

'The biggest vaccination programme in NHS history has delivered 45.5 million doses so far across the UK, and we are on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July. I encourage everyone who is 44 to book an appointment to get the jab – it will protect you and your loved ones, and help put this pandemic behind us,” he said.

INDIA’S POLICING OF SOCIAL MEDIA ‘NOT ALIGNED WITH U.S. VIEWS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH’, SAYS WHITE HOUSE

The Biden administration has said that the Modi government’s orders to remove social media content critical of New Delhi’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak was not in sync with U.S. views on freedom of speech.

“Well, that certainly wouldn’t be aligned with our view of freedom of speech around the world,” White House Press Secretary said at Monday’s briefing in response to a question on the government’s actions.

Twitter had removed over 50 posts at the behest of the government in recent days. Most of these were critical of the Centre – including mass gatherings like the Kumbh Mela, a shortage of beds and medicines, and so forth.

UK DENIES THAT JOHNSON SAID ‘LET THE BODIES PILE HIGH’

A British minister on Monday flatly denied a report that Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would rather bodies piled "high in their thousands" than order a third social and economic lockdown to stem coronavirus infections.

Johnson is facing a stream of allegations in newspapers about everything from his muddled initial handling of the COVID-19 crisis to questions over who financed the redecoration of his official apartment.

The Daily Mail newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying that, in October, shortly after agreeing to a second lockdown, Johnson told a meeting in Downing Street: "No more f***ing lockdowns - let the bodies pile high in their thousands."

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News: "It's not true."

"We're getting into the sort of comedy chapter now of these gossip stories. You know -- unnamed sources by unnamed advisers talking about unnamed events. You know - look - none of this is serious," Wallace said.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said he was astonished to read the newspaper's report.

"If he did say those things, he's got to explain it," he told broadcasters.

GILEAD SCIENCES TO PROVIDE AT LEAST 4,50,000 VIALS OF REMDESIVIR TO INDIA

Gilead Sciences, the U.S. manufacturers of anti-viral drug remdesivir, used in the treatment of COVID-19, has announced that it will donate at least 4,50,000 vials of the injection, under the brand name Veklury, to the Government of India, as the country is facing a shortage of the drug.

Russia had planned to supply up to 4,00,000 doses of the anti-viral but those plans had run into trouble over intellectual property rights. The Indian government was trying to procure them directly from the U.S. as a consequence, The Hindu had reported .

Gilead said on Monday that it will provide technical assistance to its seven Indian licensees so they can expand production capacity and donate active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Last week, the Centre had announced that India’s monthly production capacity was being increased from 3.8 million (38 lakhs) vials to 7.4 million (74 lakhs).

“Gilead is also committed to providing support to voluntary licensees based outside of India to increase their production capacity. Gilead’s planned support will include the donation of API to licensees with a view to accelerate production,” the company said in a statement.

PAKISTAN’S WORRY IS REGROUPING OF MILITANTS AFTER AMERICAN TROOPS PULLOUT FROM AFGHANISTAN: U.S. GENERAL

The regrouping of terrorists such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda militants would be a biggest concern for Pakistan, a top U.S. general has warned as the Pentagon started pulling out its troops from Afghanistan, according to a media report on Monday.

The U.S. military has begun its complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, General Austin S. Miller, the head of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said in Kabul on Sunday. His remarks came almost two weeks after President Joe Biden announced that all the U.S. forces would be out of the war-torn country by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that propelled America into its long war in Afghanistan.

At a recent Pentagon briefing in Washington, General Kenneth F McKenzie Jr, Commander U.S. Central Command (Centcom), has warned that after the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the biggest threat would be the regrouping of Al Qaeda and IS militants who “will be able to regenerate if pressure is not kept on them”, the Dawn Newspaper reported.

And “that’s very concerning to all the neighbouring states, biggest concern to Pakistan,” he added. As head of Centcom, Gen. McKenzie is responsible for all the U.S. military activities in the Pak-Afghan region.

The Centcom chief also said militants regrouping was not just a threat to the U.S. or Pakistan. “It’s a concern of all the Central Asian states to the north. It is even of concern to Iran in the West...Everyone has a vested interest in a stable Afghanistan,” he said.

PAKISTAN ARMY TO HELP ENFORCE COVID NORMS

Pakistan on Monday deployed army across the country to help civil institutions in implementing the standard operating procedures against the coronavirus, amid the surge in the Covid-19 cases. Army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said enhanced deployment was done in 16 major cities with “very high positivity rate”.

These cities include Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda and Swabi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala (Punjab), Karachi and Hyderabad (Sindh), Quetta (Balochistan), Muzaffarabad (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and Islamabad.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said army teams would be led by brigadiers at the administration division level and by lieutenant colonels at the district level. He said that 75% of oxygen production was dedicated to the healthcare sector but it would be enhanced if required by reducing industry’s share.

CANADA PM TRUDEAU SURVIVES CONFIDENCE VOTE AS OPPOSITION PARTY BACKS BUDGET

Justin Trudeau’s government survived a confidence vote, avoiding an election for now, as its first budget in two years passed in Canada’s legislature with the support of a left-leaning opposition party.

In a Monday evening vote, lawmakers from the New Democratic Party backed Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s plan to help the Canadian economy recover from its pandemic-induced losses. The vote in the House of Commons was 178 to 157 in favor.

In her first fiscal plan as finance chief, Freeland’s budget outlines almost C$500 billion ($403 billion) in spending with a return to small deficits by 2025. It also earmarks C$101 billion for new programs over a three-year period.

The centerpiece of the budget is C$30 billion over five years to establish a national childcare strategy, with the goal of offering daycare spaces at C$10 a day.

The budget’s approval means Canadians likely won’t be going to the polls this spring, though Trudeau may try to force an election at some point this year in a bid to regain the majority his Liberal Party lost in 2019. The prime minister has promised that all adult Canadians who want a Covid-19 vaccine will be able to get one by September.

CHINA CENSORS CHLOE ZHAO’S HISTORIC OSCAR WIN, BUT FANS FIND WAYS TO REJOICE

Chloe Zhao’s historic Oscar win should have been met with jubilation in China, the country of her birth. On Sunday, she became the first Chinese and woman of colour to be named best director, for “Nomadland”, which also won the prize for best picture. Instead, China imposed a virtual blackout.

Chinese state-run news outlets made nearly no mention of the Oscars, let alone Zhao. Chinese social media raced to delete or limit the circulation of articles and posts about the ceremony and Zhao, forcing many users to use homonyms and wordplay to evade censors. No reason has been given for the suppression, though Zhao has recently been the target of a nationalist backlash over remarks she had made about China in the past. In a 2013 interview to a US magazine, Zhao criticised China as a place “where there are lies everywhere.”

But Zhao’s fans were undeterred. On social media, they resorted to tactics that are by now familiar to many Chinese internet users: blurring out the names of Zhao and the film, writing backward, turning images on their side or adding slashes or exclamation marks between Chinese characters. Many took note of her acceptance speech, in which Zhao quoted a line from a poem written in the 13th century that she, like many other Chinese, had memorised as a child, which translates as, “People are good at birth”.