KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    6,00,984              /             34,17,707            /             13,485   /             1,64,46,029               /             438.5

1             USA        26,105   /             6,01,308              /             711        /             59,24,877            /               1,807

2             India      2,67,174              /             2,83,276              /             4,525     /             32,32,165               /             204

3             Brazil     74,379   /             4,39,379              /             2,517     /             10,48,497            /               2,054

4             France   17,210   /             1,08,040              /             198        /             6,08,623              /               1,652

5             Iran        13,930   /             77,532   /             310        /             4,43,837              /             913

6             Italy       4,452     /             1,24,497              /             201        /             3,15,308              /               2,062

7             Argentina            35,543   /             71,771   /             744        /             3,07,412              /               1,575

8             Russia    8,183     /             1,16,575              /             364        /             2,68,955              /               799

9             Mexico  822        /             2,20,489              /             56           /             2,58,762              /               1,695

10           Ukraine 4,095     /             48,469   /             285        /             2,29,282              /               1,114

11           Germany              7,604     /             87,148   /             278        /             2,08,448              /               1,037

12           Netherlands        5,326     /             17,473   /             17           /             2,02,469              /               1,018

13           Spain     3,988     /             79,502   /             70           /             1,98,322              /               1,700

14           Poland   1,734     /             71,920   /             245        /             1,75,788              /               1,902

15           Honduras             797        /             5,970     /             10           /             1,38,626              /               594

16           Sweden                /             14,301   /             38           /             1,33,076              /               1,408

17           Hungary               382        /             29,277   /             64           /             1,28,714              /               3,037

18           Turkey   11,937   /             45,186   /             203        /             1,23,054              /             531

19           Colombia             13,137   /             82,291   /             482        /             1,14,595              /               1,602

20           Nepal    8,136     /             5,411     /             196        /             1,14,529              /             183

26           Pakistan               2,566     /             19,752   /             135        /             67,665   /             88

29           Philippines           4,487     /             19,372   /             110        /             52,291   /             175

34           Bangladesh         1,272     /             12,211   /             30           /             45,709   /             74

WORLD POWERS URGE TRUCE AS ISRAEL CONTINUES BOMBING IN GAZA

European Union foreign ministers called on Tuesday for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and boosted humanitarian aid for Gaza, but failed to reach the unanimity that might give the EU leverage in peacemaking.

Hungary, Israel's closest ally in the bloc, declined to join the other 26 foreign ministers in calling for a truce on their video call, convened by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Nevertheless, the other ministers vowed that the EU would try to relaunch the peace process along with the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

"As a minimum we can try to get a ceasefire, then provide humanitarian aid, and then see what can be done to restart the Middle East peace process to address the root causes of the violence," Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo told Reuters.

"We cannot let the extremists on both sides feed off each other and set the agenda," he said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris that the Middle East quartet of mediators, comprising the EU, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, was the right forum to push for a resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been moribund since 2014.

"We must relaunch the peace process as quickly as possible and find a path to dialogue," he said.

Germany called for a ceasefire and offered more aid to help Palestinians before emergency European Union talks.

Weeks of Israeli-Palestinian tensions boiled over into armed conflict at the start of last week, and Turkey in particular has criticised the West's failure to respond quickly.

Washington has long been the key broker in Middle East peacemaking, but President Joe Biden did not publicly back the idea of a ceasefire until a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

SPANISH STUDY FINDS ASTRAZENECA VACCINE FOLLOWED BY PFIZER DOSE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE

A Spanish study on mixing Covid-19 vaccines has found that giving a dose of Pfizer's drug to people who already received a first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine is highly safe and effective, preliminary results showed on Tuesday.

The Combivacs study, run by Spain's state-backed Carlos III Health Institute, found the presence of IgG antibodies in the bloodstream was between 30 and 40 times higher in people who got the follow-up Pfizer shot than in a control group who only received one AstraZeneca dose.

Meanwhile, the presence of neutralising antibodies rose sevenfold after a Pfizer dose, significantly more than the doubling effect observed after a second AstraZeneca shot.

Around 670 volunteers between the ages of 18-59 who had already received a first dose of AstraZeneca's vaccine participated in the study, with some 450 given a Pfizer dose.

Just 1.7% of the participants reported severe side effects, which were limited to headaches, muscle pain and general malaise, said Dr Magdalena Campins, one of the study's leaders.

"These are not symptoms that can be considered serious," she said.

CHINA SAYS U.S. THREATENING PEACE AS WARSHIP TRANSITS TAIWAN STRAIT

China has accused the United States of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a US warship again sailed through the seas that separate Taiwan and its giant neighbour.

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Tuesday in accordance with international law.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it said in a statement on its website. “The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.”

A spokesman for China’s Eastern Theatre Command expressed strong opposition to the passage on Wednesday, which comes amid heightened tensions between the two powers.

“The US actions sends the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces, deliberately disrupting the regional situation and endangering peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

Chinese forces tracked and monitored the ship throughout its voyage, he added.

AMERICAN VACCINES EFFECTIVE AGAINST COVID STRAIN FIRST FOUND IN INDIA, SAY U.S. OFFICIALS

COVID-19 vaccines that are available in the United States are effective against the deadly variant that was first detected in India, top U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

The B.1.617 virus variant, first identified in India last year, has been classified as a ‘variant of concern’ at the global level by the World Health Organisation.

“The modest neutralisation resistance to the 617 antibodies suggests that the current vaccines that we are all using that we’ve been speaking about would be at least partially and probably quite protective,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the President told reporters during a news conference in Washington.

Making a presentation of his data and latest research on this issue, Dr. Fauci said that both the variants B617 and B1618, that have been identified in India, have been neutralised with only a 2.5 fold diminution in titer.

“That’s well within the cushion effect of the capability to protect against infection and certainly against serious disease,” he said.

“So, in summary, this is just another example of the scientific data accruing, literally over the last few days, indicating another very strong reason why we should be getting vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci said.

Andy Slavitt, White House COVID-19 Senior Advisor said the vaccines that are available in the U.S. are effective against the Indian variant.

RUSSIA, CHINA TO KICK-OFF THEIR BIGGEST NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT ON MAY 19

Russia and China will hold the ground-breaking ceremony of their biggest nuclear energy project on Wednesday under which Moscow would jointly build four nuclear power plants in two Chinese cities.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will join his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin via video link in Beijing to witness the ground-breaking ceremony of the bilateral nuclear energy cooperation project on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told the media here on Tuesday.

Both the countries signed a package cooperation deal in 2018 and agreed to jointly build units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant and units 3 and 4 of Xudapu Nuclear Power Plant.

The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is located in the city of Lianyungang in Jiangsu province. The Xudapu Nuclear Power plant is located in Xingcheng in Liaoning province.

"This has been the biggest China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project to date and represents the highest level of practical cooperation between the two sides,” Zhao said.

2,323 INFECTED WITH B.1.617.2 VARIANT: BRITAIN

The highly transmissible India variant of coronavirus has now been found in 86 districts across the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, as he urged the public to stay cautious when meeting friends indoors.

Authorities have identified 2,323 cases of the variant as of Monday, with cases doubling in the past week in Bolton and Blackburn in northwestern England, Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday.

With 86 local authorities confirmed to have five or more cases of the India variant, Hancock said it was vital that people get vaccinated. Most people with the strain known as B.1.617.2 in areas around Bolton had not received a shot, he said, and early evidence suggests vaccines still work against this variant.

“The vaccination program can give us confidence but we must be alert to new variants that can jeopardize the advances that we’ve made,” Hancock said. “We must proceed with caution and care and bear down on the virus, in whatever form it attacks us.”

Hancock faced repeated questions in parliament over the reopening of international travel, given that many variants are brought into Britain from overseas.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already warned that the final stage of lifting restrictions, due on June 21, may be delayed amid rising concerns over the new variant.

PAKISTAN PM IMRAN KHAN APPOINTS MOEED YUSUF AS NSA

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed his special assistant on national security Moeed Yusuf as the country's national security adviser (NSA).

Yusuf's elevation comes in the backdrop of the reported backchannel communication with India early this year, resulting in the restoration of the 2003 ceasefire agreement on the Line of Control in February.

A notification dated May 17 was issued by the cabinet division to appoint Yusuf as the NSA.

"The Prime Minister has been pleased to approve that Dr Moeed W Yusuf, special assistant to the Prime Minister on national security and strategic policy planning, shall function as national security adviser with the status of federal minister, with immediate effect," the notification read.

SRI LANKA’S CHINA-BACKED TAX HAVEN CLEARS FINAL HURDLE

A Chinese-funded tax-free enclave billed as Sri Lanka's answer to Dubai and Singapore cleared the final legal hurdle Tuesday as the Supreme Court in Colombo ruled it could go ahead with only minor tweaks.

The largest single foreign investment in Sri Lanka is one of several massive Asian infrastructure projects funded by China.

Sri Lanka's top court rejected 19 petitions challenging the "Colombo Port City Economic Commission" bill and approved the $1.4-billion project subject to minor amendments which the government immediately said it accepted.

Project officials have said they hope the brand new "Port City," an area of reclaimed land, will attract billions of Dollars for trade, banking and offshore services similar to what is available in Dubai and Singapore, two of its potential competitors.

Named the "Colombo Port City" because of its proximity to Colombo's main harbour, the sea reclamation -- carried out with considerable Chinese labour -- completed in 2019 has doubled the size of Colombo's financial district by adding 269 hectares (665 acres).

Under the proposed legislation expected to be passed by Sri Lanka's parliament on Thursday, the Port City will be administered by a commission with unprecedented powers to fast track investment approvals.

All transactions within the Port City will be denominated in foreign Currency and all salaries earned by any worker will be tax-exempt.

CONGRESS APPROVES BILL TO FIGHT HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS

Congress approved legislation Tuesday intended to curtail a striking rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, sending President Joe Biden a bipartisan denunciation of the spate of brutal attacks that have proliferated during the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, which the House passed on a 364-62 vote, will expedite the review of hate crimes at the Justice Department and make grants available to help local law enforcement agencies improve their investigation, identification and reporting of incidents driven by bias, which often go underreported. It previously passed the Senate 94-1 in April after lawmakers reached a compromise. Mr Biden has said he will sign it.

"Asian Americans have been screaming out for help, and the House and Senate and President Biden have clearly heard our pleas," said Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., who helped lead efforts to pass the bill in the House.

CEUTA: SPAIN SENDS TROOPS AS 8,000 MIGRANTS ENTER ENCLAVE

Spain has deployed troops after record numbers of migrants entered its north African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

Some 8,000 people have reached Ceuta in two days, Spanish officials say.

They say the migrants - who include about 1,500 minors - either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide.

Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has vowed to restore order. Spain says around half of the migrants have been sent back to Morocco.

By Tuesday evening, footage of the beach showed that nearly all migrants had been cleared.

Mr Sánchez travelled to Ceuta and Melilla to deal with the crisis, which exacerbated diplomatic tensions with Morocco.

Morocco withdrew its ambassador for consultations after Spain's foreign minister told the envoy of her "disgust" at what had happened.

Most of the migrants are said to be from Morocco. The Spanish troops have been deployed to the beach to help border police at Ceuta's main entry point - Tarajal, on the enclave's south side.

Dramatic scenes were captured offshore as families waded through the water and officers from Spain's Guardia Civil went into the sea to rescue young children.

Spain's Ceuta and Melilla enclaves have become magnets for African migrants trying to reach Europe.

CHINA SKYSCRAPER WOBBLES, SPREADING PANIC IN DOWNTOWN SHENZHEN

A skyscraper of more than 70 storeys has been evacuated after it started to shake, sending shoppers scrambling for safety in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Local authorities do not yet know what caused the 300m (980ft) SEG Plaza building to wobble on Tuesday afternoon.

No earthquakes were recorded at the time. An investigation is under way.

The 20-year-old building houses an electronics market and offices.

It stands in the heart of Shenzhen, a sprawling city of more than 12 million people known for its shopping and booming tech industry.

Footage shared on social media showed hundreds of people running away from the skyscraper shortly after it was evacuated.

In a later statement, the local government said a preliminary investigation found "no cracks in the ground surrounding the building" and no damage to "pieces of outer wall".