KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,28,173              /             34,86,280            /             8,263     /             1,51,06,222               /             447.3

1             USA        16,568   /             6,04,365              /             278        /             57,55,723            /               1,816

2             India      1,95,815              /             3,07,249              /             3,498     /             25,92,487               /             221

3             Brazil     37,563   /             4,50,026              /             841        /             11,19,086            /               2,104

4             Iran        11,005   /             78,848   /             251        /             4,16,923              /             928

5             Argentina            22,651   /             74,480   /             417        /             3,54,472              /               1,635

6             Italy       2,490     /             1,25,335              /             110        /             2,76,439              /               2,076

7             France   2,229     /             1,08,658              /             62           /             2,75,126              /               1,661

8             Russia    8,406     /             1,18,801              /             319        /             2,66,898              /               814

9             Mexico  1,274     /             2,21,647              /             50           /             2,60,856              /               1,703

10           Ukraine 1,334     /             49,436   /             68           /             1,76,858              /               1,136

11           Netherlands        2,690     /             17,553   /             11           /             1,75,787              /               1,022

12           Spain     3,624     /             79,711   /             31           /             1,73,469              /               1,704

13           Poland   559        /             72,945   /             17           /             1,65,557              /               1,929

14           Germany              5,789     /             88,039   /             66           /             1,63,151              /               1,048

15           Honduras             531        /             6,146     /             3             /             1,42,901              /               612

16           Peru                      /             68,053   /                            /             1,36,571              /               2,039

17           Colombia             16,977   /             85,207   /             483        /             1,18,079              /               1,659

18           Nepal    7,220     /             6,531     /             185        /             1,15,447              /             221

19           Turkey   7,523     /             46,446   /             178        /             1,13,248              /             545

20           Sweden                /             14,366   /                            /             1,10,035              /               1,415

27           Pakistan               3,047     /             20,308   /             57           /             62,917   /             90

34           Philippines           4,973     /             19,983   /             39           /             48,917   /             180

35           Bangladesh         1,441     /             12,401   /             25           /             46,589   /             75

WUHAN RESEARCHERS FELL ILL WITH COVID-19 SYMPTOMS IN DECEMBER 2019

Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, a month before China reported the first cases of COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a U.S. intelligence report.

The newspaper said the previously undisclosed report – which provides fresh details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illnesses, and their hospital visits – may add weight to calls for a broader investigation into whether the COVID-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.

The Journal said current and former officials familiar with the intelligence expressed a range of views about the strength of the report’s supporting evidence, with one unnamed person saying it needed “further investigation and additional corroboration.”

The first cases of what would eventually be known as COVID-19 were reported at the end of December 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the advanced laboratory specialising in coronavirus research is located.

Chinese scientists and officials have consistently rejected the lab leak hypothesis, saying SARS-CoV-2 could have been circulating in other regions before it hit Wuhan, and might have even entered China from another country via imported frozen food shipments or wildlife trading.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said on Monday that it was “completely untrue” that three members of staff at WIV had fallen ill.

A joint study into the origins of COVID-19 by the WHO and China published at the end of March said it was “extremely unlikely” that it had escaped from a lab.

But China was accused of failing to disclose raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO team, and the United States, the European Union and other Western countries called on Beijing to grant “full access” to independent experts.

A State Department fact sheet released near the end of the Trump administration said “the U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses.” It did not say how many researchers.

EU AGREES SANCTIONS ON BELARUS FOR FORCING DOWN FLIGHT

Brussels agreed to ramp up sanctions against Belarus and ban its state airline from EU airports after the Minsk regime triggered global uproar by intercepting a Ryanair flight carrying an opposition activist.

European leaders agreed to “targeted” economic measures that are expected to be aimed at companies and oligarchs accused of financing the 27-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.

At a meeting in Brussels on Monday night, the bloc called for the immediate release of Roman Protasevich, the leading opposition activist, and his partner, Sofia Sapega, who were on the flight from Athens to Vilnius and detained in Minsk on Sunday after authorities forced the aircraft to land.

Belarus’s actions were condemned by western countries and raised fears that other authoritarian regimes may try to weaponise the skies. The Belarusian foreign ministry branded the criticism as “baseless” and its close ally Russia called the EU response “shocking”.

A pro-Lukashenko channel on the messaging app Telegram published the first footage of Protasevich since his arrest as the EU leaders were meeting. The activist appeared disheveled and said he was in a jail in Minsk but claimed he was being treated well, despite the bruises visible on his face.

Belarusian airlines will be barred from the bloc’s airspace and airports and the leaders urged EU airlines to stop flying over the country.

EU countries also called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to launch an investigation. The UN body, which agrees standards for civil aviation, has called a meeting for this Thursday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said Belarus had used control of its airspace to perpetrate a “state hijacking”.

“This is an attack on democracy; this is an attack on freedom of expression; and this is an attack on European sovereignty. This outrageous behaviour needs a strong answer,” she said.

EGYPT’S SISI, BIDEN DISCUSS GAZA CEASE-FIRE, RECONSTRUCTION

U.S. President Joe Biden called Egypt’s President Abdel-fattah al-Sisi on Monday and they discussed strengthening the Gaza ceasefire, urgent humanitarian aid to the strip and international reconstruction efforts, the Egyptian presidency said.

The two leaders also discussed ways to revive the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians after the latest wave of violence between the two sides, the presidency said in a statement.

Egypt brokered the ceasefire, now in its fourth day after 11days of hostilities. Cairo will be a stop during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region later on Monday.

“Biden made clear his country’s determination to work to restore calm and restore conditions as they were in the Palestinian territories, as well as coordinating efforts with all international partners to support the Palestinian Authority as well as reconstruction,” the statement said.

In Washington, the White House said in a statement that Mr. Biden in the call thanked Egypt for its “successful diplomacy and coordination with the United States” to end the hostilities.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Sisi discussed the urgent need to deliver humanitarian assistance in Gaza and support rebuilding efforts”in a manner that benefits the people there and not Hamas”, it said.

OPPOSITION FILES PLEA IN SC FOR REINSTATEMENT OF HOUSE, NAMING SHER BAHADUR DEUBA AS NEPAL PM

Nepal’s opposition alliance on Monday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court demanding restoration of the House of Representatives and appointment of Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as PM.

Leaders of the alliance moved court two days after President Bidya D Bhandari dissolved the 275-member House on the recommendations of PM K P Sharma Oli In the writ, the petitionersdemanded that Deuba should be lawfully appointed the PM in accordance with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal. Their other demands include the scrapping of the announcement of polls in November and to stop poll-related programmes amid the pandemic, it said. The petitioners noted that the dissolution was “unconstitutional”. About 146 members of the dissolved House have signed the petition, Kathmandu Post reported.

MILITARY DETAIN MALI’S PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER AND DEFENCE MINISTER

Military officers in Mali detained the President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the interim government on Monday, deepening political chaos just months after a military coup ousted the previous president, multiple sources told Reuters.

President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and defence minister Souleymane Doucoure were all taken to a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako, hours after two members of the military lost their positions in a government reshuffle, the diplomatic and government sources said.

Their detentions followed the military ouster in August of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The development could exacerbate instability in the West African country where violent Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State control large areas of the desert north.

Political instability and military infighting have complicated efforts by Western powers and neighbouring countries to prop up to the impoverished nation, contributing to regional insecurity.

The United Nations' mission in Mali called for the group's "immediate and unconditional" release and said those who hold the leaders would have to answer for their actions.

A delegation from the top regional decision-making body ECOWAS will visit Bamako on Tuesday to help resolve the "attempted coup", ECOWAS, the U.N., African Union, European Union and several European countries said in a joint statement.

POLICE AND SOLDIERS KILLED IN EASTERN MYANMAR AMID HEAVY FIGHTING

Dozens of Myanmar security force members were killed Sunday, rebel fighters said, after heavy fighting in the coup-hit country's eastern fringe.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the February putsch, as the military uses lethal force to crack down on dissent.

The civilian death toll has climbed to at least 815 people, according to a local monitoring group.

The violence has pushed some in the anti-junta movement to form a so-called "People's Defence Force" (PDF) in their own townships -- made up of civilians who fight back against security forces with homemade weapons.

There were clashes in eastern Myanmar over the weekend, particularly in Kayah state's Demoso town, and in neighbouring Shan state.

People's Defence Force member Thet Wai -- not his real name -- said at least 20 police officers died Sunday and his side seized a police station in Moebyel town, Shan state, east of the capital Naypyidaw.

The police station was burnt down and rebel fighters also took four security force members into custody, local media reported.

PRESSURE TO ACCEPT CHINA VACCINES INTENSIFIES AS TAIWAN BATTLES COVID-19 SURGE

A surge in domestic Covid-19 cases in Taiwan after months of relative safety is intensifying pressure on the government to accept vaccines from China, as the island has vaccinated just 1% of the population with no immediate sign of new shots arriving.

The Chinese-claimed island and Beijing have repeatedly sparred over the pandemic since it began.

Taipei accuses Beijing of spreading fake news and preventing its full participation at the World Health Organization, while Beijing says Taipei is playing political games with its people's lives by refusing Chinese vaccines.

Taiwan has only received about 700,000 vaccine doses to date, all from AstraZeneca Plc, which are rapidly running out. It has millions more on order, including from Moderna Inc.

Over the weekend, Hung Hsiu-chu, a former head of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), said the government should allow in Chinese vaccines as soon as possible, saying that they are internationally accepted and that Taiwan cannot wait.

"At this moment, lives are at stake, and we respectfully tell the Tsai government: the real enemy is the virus, not the mainland," she said, referring to President Tsai Ing-wen.

The KMT, always wary of being painted as pro-China, has not explicitly backed or rejected the idea, but has called on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) not to tar as Communist Party sympathisers those who are trying to obtain more vaccines.