KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    5,42,117              /             35,11,530            /             11,945   /             1,47,38,407               /             450.5

1             USA        20,965   /             6,06,140              /             568        /             57,02,381            /               1,822

2             India      2,11,553              /             3,15,263              /             3,842     /             24,26,658               /             226

3             Brazil     79,459   /             4,54,623              /             2,399     /             10,86,830            /               2,125

4             Iran        10,468   /             79,219   /             163        /             4,07,506              /             932

5             Argentina            35,399   /             75,588   /             532        /             3,65,259              /               1,659

6             Russia    8,373     /             1,19,600              /             406        /             2,64,478              /               819

7             Italy       3,937     /             1,25,622              /             121        /             2,60,029              /               2,080

8             Mexico  2,483     /             2,21,960              /             265        /             2,59,872              /               1,705

9             France   12,646   /             1,09,023              /             144        /             2,46,070              /               1,667

10           Spain     5,007     /             79,855   /             54           /             1,69,363              /               1,707

11           Netherlands        2,754     /             17,576   /             10           /             1,66,791              /               1,024

12           Poland   1,267     /             73,305   /             209        /             1,64,564              /               1,939

13           Ukraine 3,395     /             49,893   /             208        /             1,49,914              /               1,147

14           Honduras             800        /             6,210     /             22           /             1,43,945              /               618

15           Peru                      /             68,470   /                            /             1,43,120              /               2,051

16           Germany              4,473     /             88,479   /             318        /             1,39,762              /               1,053

17           Colombia             23,487   /             86,180   /             514        /             1,28,956              /               1,678

18           Nepal    6,677     /             6,845     /             145        /             1,17,077              /             231

19           Sweden                /             14,400   /                            /             1,13,974              /               1,418

20           Turkey   8,738     /             46,787   /             166        /             1,07,623              /             549

28           Pakistan               2,724     /             20,465   /             65           /             60,268   /             91

33           Bangladesh         1,497     /             12,458   /             17           /             47,369   /             75

34           Philippines           5,310     /             20,169   /             150        /             46,037   /             182

JOE BIDEN ASKS U.S. INTEL COMMUNITY TO INVESTIGATE COVID-19 ORIGIN

President Joe Biden on Wednesday asked U.S. intelligence officials to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the unlikely possibility that the origins of the virus trace to Chinese lab.

After months of minimizing the possibility as a fringe theory, the Biden administration is responding both to domestic and geopolitical concerns about putting pressure on China to be transparent about the outbreak.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have promoted the theory that the virus emerged from a laboratory accident, rather than naturally through human contact with an infected animal.

Mr. Biden in a statement said the majority of the intelligence community had “coalesced” around those two likely scenarios but “do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.” He revealed that two of the 18 intelligence agencies lean toward the animal link and “one leans more toward” the lab theory, adding, “each with low or moderate confidence.”

Biden directed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and called on China to cooperate with international probes into the origins of the pandemic.

“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the White House supports a new World Health Organization investigation in China, but added it “would require China finally stepping up and allowing access needed to determine the origins.”

Mr. Biden, for his part, held out the possibility that a firm conclusion may never be known, given the Chinese government's refusal to fully cooperate with international investigations.

“The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,” he added.

JAPAN BATTLES COVID-19 WAVE AHEAD OF OLYMPICS

Japanese leaders moved to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other major cities for several weeks into June, citing persistently high coronavirus infections with the Summer Olympics set to start in less than two months.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike asked the central govt on Wednesday for the extension beyond the current end date of May 31. Other regional leaders have made similar requests, and the govt is expected to make the move official later this week. Local media said the extension is likely to go through June 20, which would be just 33 days before the scheduled day of the Olympic opening ceremony.

All this has fueled domestic opposition to the Olympics including by leading CEOs. On Wednesday, the newspaper Asahi Shimbun—itself an Olympics sponsor—called on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to cancel the Games.

EU TAKES ON ASTRAZENECA IN COURT OVER VACCINE DELIVERIES

The European Union took on vaccine producer AstraZeneca in a Brussels court on Wednesday and accused the drugmaker of delivering shots to other nations when it had promised them for delivery among the 27 member states.

The bloc accused the Anglo-Swedish company of pushing EU deliveries back so it could service Britain, among others.

AstraZeneca’s contract signed with the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, on behalf of member states foresaw an initial 300 million doses for distribution among all 27 countries, with an option for a further 100 million. The doses were expected to be delivered throughout 2021. But only 30 million were sent during the first quarter.

Deliveries have increased slightly since then but, according to the European Commission, the company is set to provide only 70 million doses in the second quarter. It had promised 180 million.

EU lawyer Rafael Jafferali told the court that the company now expects to deliver the total number of doses by the end of December, but he added that “with a six-month delay, it’s obviously a failure."

The EU also accused the company of misleading the European Commission by providing data lacking clarity on the delivery delays.

MILLIONS IN AUSTRALIA PLUNGED INTO SNAP COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Australia's second most populous state Victoria will enter a seven-day lockdown to counter a fast-spreading outbreak in its capital, Melbourne.

The lockdown will begin at midnight on Thursday (14:00 GMT).

Authorities have so far found 26 cases, and identified 150 sites where people may have been exposed to the virus.

For locals, there is growing anxiety over similarities between this outbreak and a devastating second wave that swept the state last year.

That outbreak caused more than 20,000 infections and 820 deaths - about 70% of cases and most of the deaths nationwide.

Victoria was forced to endure a marathon 112-day lockdown to bring cases back to zero.

The new outbreak marks the biggest increase in community transmission of the virus in Victoria since then.

On Thursday, the state's acting Premier James Merlino said the lockdown was necessary given the rapid spread of the virus, describing it as "running faster than we have ever recorded".

For the next seven days, Victorians will be required to stay at home except for essential work, shopping, exercise, caregiving or to get a Covid vaccine. No gatherings are allowed and travel is restricted to within 5km (3.1 miles) of the home.

MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICAN ADULTS VACCINATED: WHITE HOUSE

More than half of all adults in the US have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the White House said on Tuesday, roughly six weeks before President Biden’s July 4 goal of 70% of the adult population receiving at least one shot.

Infections nationwide are on a decline. US CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday the seven-day average case count is below 23,000 per day, down about 25% from the prior week.

RESEARCH TIES COLD VIRUSES USED TO DELIVER COVID VACCINE TO RARE BLOOD CLOT RISK

German researchers on Wednesday said that based on laboratory research, they believed they have found the cause of the rare but serious blood clotting events among some people who received Covid-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson.

The researchers, in a study not yet reviewed by experts, said Covid-19 vaccines that employ adenovirus vectors - cold viruses used to deliver vaccine material - send some of their payload into the nucleus of cells, where some of the instructions for making coronavirus proteins can be misread. The resulting proteins could potentially trigger blood clot disorders in a small number of recipients, they suggest.

Scientists and U.S. and European drug regulators have been searching for an explanation for what is causing the rare but potentially deadly clots accompanied by low blood platelet counts, which have led some countries to halt or limit use of the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines. Other scientists have suggested competing theories for the clotting condition.

Johnson & Johnson, in an emailed statement said: "We are supporting continued research and analysis of this rare event as we work with medical experts and global health authorities. We look forward to reviewing and sharing data as it becomes available."