KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    7,32,931              /             33,58,016            /             13,214   /             1,78,09,518        /             430.8

1             USA        37,875   /             5,98,518              /             740        /             63,59,518            /             1,799

2             India      3,38,019              /             2,62,239              /             3,888     /             37,12,328            /             188

3             Brazil     75,141   /             4,30,596              /             2,340     /             10,26,902            /             2,013

4             France   19,461   /             1,07,250              /             131        /             7,34,669              /             1,640

5             Turkey   11,534   /             44,059   /             238        /             1,83,174              /             518

6             Russia    8,380     /             1,14,723              /             392        /             2,70,838              /             786

7             UK          2,657     /             1,27,651              /             11           /             58,682   /             1,872

8             Italy       8,085     /             1,23,745              /             201        /             3,46,008              /             2,049

9             Spain     5,701     /             79,281   /             73           /             2,21,831              /             1,695

10           Germany              17,496   /             86,276   /             267        /             2,49,068              /             1,027

11           Argentina            26,531   /             69,254   /             447        /             2,81,414              /             1,520

12           Colombia             19,160   /             79,760   /             499        /             1,13,463              /             1,553

13           Poland   3,730     /             71,021   /             342        /             1,89,990              /             1,878

14           Iran        14,246   /             76,231   /             297        /             4,65,886              /             898

15           Mexico  3,090     /             2,19,590              /             267        /             2,58,657              /             1,688

16           Ukraine 6,813     /             47,333   /             346        /             2,71,910              /             1,088

17           Peru       7,677     /             65,316   /             418        /             87,335   /             1,958

18           Indonesia            3,448     /             47,716   /             99           /             94,857   /             173

19           Czechia 1,261     /             29,825   /             13           /             32,665   /             2,781

20           South Africa       3,221     /             55,012   /             44           /             29,362   /             918

25           Philippines           6,385     /             18,821   /             107        /             55,260   /             170

29           Pakistan               3,265     /             19,336   /             126        /             75,052   /             86

33           Bangladesh         1,290     /             12,076   /             31           /             46,992   /             73

U.S. ALLOWS FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE TO FORGO MASKS INDOORS

In the biggest indication that the United States is fast returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said fully vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks.

The recommendation holds true for both indoors and outdoors, the CDC said.

Following the announcement on Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared before reporters at the Rose Garden of the White House without wearing masks.

"I think it's a great milestone. A great day. It's been made possible by the extraordinary success we've had in vaccinating so many Americans so quickly," Biden said.

Referring to the latest CDC guidelines, Mr. Biden said fully vaccinated people are at a very, very low risk of contracting COVID-19.

“Therefore, if you've been fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask. But if you've not been vaccinated, or if you've been getting a two-shot vaccine and you've only had your first shot but not your second, or you haven't waited the full two weeks after your second shot, you still need to wear a mask," the President said.

He said 250 million vaccine shots have been given in 114 days.

ISRAEL REINFORCES GAZA BORDER AS CONFLICT RAGES ON

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday started sending thousands of troops to its border with Gaza as an IDF spokesman told reporters that plans were being presented to Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi and would then have to go to the Cabinet for approval.

Additional troops have been redeployed to the Gaza border and reservists serving as paramedics and in intelligence and other units have been called up, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"We are prepared, and continue to prepare for various scenarios," army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told AFP, describing a ground offensive as "one scenario".

Hamas responded to the troop buildup with defiance, with its armed wing spokesman, Abu Ubaida, urging Palestinians to rise up. "Mass up as you wish, from the sea, land and sky. We have prepared for your kinds of deaths that would make you curse yourselves," he said.

The developments came as an Egyptian delegation arrived in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli officials as a part of efforts to negotiate a cease-fire, according to Egyptian intelligence officials.

Meanwhile fighting between Israel and Hamas entered a fourth day with no let-up of hostilities despite the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas fired rockets deep into Israel on Thursday, including a large rocket at the Ramon airport near Eilat. Israel has carried out bone-rattling strikes on the besieged, densely populated Gaza Strip.

Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll has climbed to 83 Palestinians, including 17 children and seven women, with more than 480 people wounded since fighting broke out Monday. Seven Israelis, including a soldier, have been killed in the attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday visited batteries of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which the military says has intercepted 90 percent of the 1,200 rockets that have reached Israel from Gaza so far.

“It will take more time, but with great firmness ... we will achieve our goal — to restore peace to the State of Israel,” he said.

OLI REAPPOINTED AS NEPAL PM AS OPPOSITION FAILS TO PROVE MAJORITY TO FORM GOVERNMENT

K P Sharma Oli was reappointed as Nepal Prime Minister on Thursday after the Opposition parties, riddled by factionalism, failed to secure majority seats in Parliament to form a new government.

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari had asked the Opposition parties to come up with the support of majority lawmakers to form a new government by 9 p.m. on Thursday after Mr. Oli, 69, lost a crucial trust vote on Monday.

The Nepali Congress (NC) under the leadership of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday had announced its intention to stake a claim for the prime minister’s post.

Though Mr. Deuba had received support from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, a meeting of current and former NC office bearers at the party president’s residence on Thursday concluded that the sharp division within the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) whether to support the NC-led government had made the formation of an alternative government impossible.

A Standing Committee meeting of the Maoist Centre held at the party’s headquarters on Thursday also concluded that the formation of an alternative government was not possible. The Maoist Centre had earlier decided to support the formation of a NC-led coalition government.

Following the Opposition’s failure to prove its majority in Parliament, Mr. Oli is expected to stake his claim to form the government.

Subsequently, President Bhandari reappointed Mr. Oli, whose party has 121 seats in Parliament, as the prime minister. He will take the oath of office tomorrow.

BITCOIN SLIPS BELOW $50K AFTER MUSK SAYS TESLA WON’T TAKE IT

The price of bitcoin fell below $50,000 on Thursday morning after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a day earlier that the electric car maker would stop accepting the digital currency as payment for its vehicles.

Musk on Wednesday cited environmental concerns for the change in policy.

“We are concerned about rapid increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk said on Twitter.

He added that cryptocurrency is a “good idea on many levels” but its promise cannot come at a “great cost to the environment”.

Bitcoin relies on computers, which rely on electricity, to exist. The number of computers and the energy needed to power them is rising — the growing value of bitcoin is directly tied to the amount of energy it uses.

He also said that Tesla won’t be selling any of the Bitcoin it owns.

ON EID, XINJIANG IMAMS DEFEND CHINA AGAINST US CRITICISM

Muslim leaders from the Xinjiang region rejected Western allegations that China is suppressing religious freedom, speaking at a reception Thursday for foreign diplomats and media at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The event was the latest in a series of moves by the Chinese government to counter accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It came a day after human rights groups and Western nations met and demanded unfettered access for UN human rights experts to the region and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned China for "crimes against humanity and genocide against Muslim Uyghurs'' during the release of an annual report on international religious freedom.

Abdureqip Tomurniyaz, who heads the association and the school for Islamic studies in Xinjiang, accused anti-China forces in the US and other Western nations of spreading rumors and lies.

"They want to sabotage Xinjiang's harmony and stability, contain China's rise and alienate relations between China and Islamic countries,'' he said.

He also said the US is turning a blind eye to its own human rights violations, citing the US involvement in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and other Muslim countries and anti-Muslim discrimination at home.

Religious leaders from five mosques spoke at the 90-minute presentation, three in person and two by video. They all described prayers and feasting for Eid al-Fitr and rejected criticism of China's religious policies. Videos showed men praying inside mosques and people dancing in squares outside.