KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    5,22,583              /             35,23,179            /             11,233   /             1,46,23,462               /             452

1             USA        23,006   /             6,06,790              /             614        /             56,87,267            /               1,824

2             India      1,79,770              /             3,18,821              /             3,558     /             23,38,558               /             229

3             Brazil     66,722   /             4,56,753              /             2,130     /             10,99,117            /               2,135

4             Iran        9,994     /             79,384   /             165        /             3,99,934              /             934

5             Argentina            41,080   /             76,135   /             547        /             3,67,606              /               1,671

6             Russia    9,039     /             1,20,002              /             402        /             2,63,356              /               822

7             Mexico  2,932     /             2,22,232              /             272        /             2,60,669              /               1,708

8             Italy       4,147     /             1,25,793              /             171        /             2,53,193              /               2,083

9             France   13,933   /             1,09,165              /             142        /             2,42,058              /               1,669

10           Spain     5,290     /             79,888   /             33           /             1,67,009              /               1,708

11           Netherlands        3,328     /             17,592   /             16           /             1,64,776              /               1,025

12           Poland   1,230     /             73,440   /             135        /             1,63,729              /               1,942

13           Peru                      /             68,634   /                            /             1,47,946              /               2,056

14           Germany              6,928     /             88,689   /             210        /             1,46,480              /               1,056

15           Honduras             1,007     /             6,240     /             30           /             1,44,677              /               621

16           Ukraine 3,509     /             50,076   /             183        /             1,36,373              /               1,151

17           Colombia             25,092   /             86,693   /             513        /             1,31,110              /               1,688

18           Nepal    6,731     /             6,951     /             106        /             1,16,476              /             235

19           Sweden                /             14,413   /                            /             1,08,074              /               1,419

20           Turkey   8,426     /             46,970   /             183        /             1,02,764              /             552

28           Pakistan               2,726     /             20,540   /             75           /             59,018   /             91

33           Philippines           6,483     /             20,379   /             210        /             48,109   /             184

34           Bangladesh         1,292     /             12,480   /             22           /             47,348   /             75

INDIA SKIPS UNHRC RESOLUTION TO PROBE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION IN GAZA

India has abstained on a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to set up a Commission of Inquiry on human rights violations during violence blamed on Israel in Palestinian territory, said a diplomat on Thursday night.

New Delhi's decision to abstain from voting indicates a slight shift to strike a balance between its traditionally strong support to the cause of Palestine and its growing relations with Israel, reported the 'Indian Express'.

Among other countries that abstained are France, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland and South Korea.

"India abstains on resolution at UNHRC to set up Commission of Inquiry (on human rights violation in occupied Palestinian Territory incl East Jerusalem & in Israel). With 24 members voting in favour & 9 against, resolution is adopted," said Indra Mani Pandey, Indian envoy to United Nations (Geneva), on Twitter.

Those voting in favour of the resolution are Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Russia, while Germany, the UK, Austria, among others, voted against it following which UNHRC decided to create an open-ended international investigation into violations surrounding the latest Gaza violence, and into the "systematic" abuses in the Palestinian territories and inside Israel, said 'Express'.

COVID: CHINA HITS BACK AS US REVISITS WUHAN LAB-LEAK THEORY

China has denounced US efforts to further investigate whether Covid-19 came from a Chinese lab.

US President Joe Biden has said he expects to release the results of an intelligence report on the origins of the virus.

China's foreign ministry accused the US of "political manipulation and blame shifting".

It has rejected any link between Covid-19 and a virus research lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said it showed the US "does not care about facts or truth, and has zero interest in a serious science-based study of origins".

"Their aim is to use the pandemic to pursue stigmatisation, political manipulation and blame shifting. They are being disrespectful to science, irresponsible to people's lives and counter-productive to the concerted efforts to fight the virus," he said.

STABILITY IN S ASIA HINGES ON INDIA-PAK TIES: UNGA

The peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia hinged on normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India, a top UN official said here on Thursday as he urged the two neighbours to work for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue.

UN General Assembly president Volkan Bozkir, a former Turkish diplomat and politician who is in Pakistan on an official visit, made the comments during a talk on the 'Importance of Multilateralism' at the National Defence University here. Bozkir said peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia hinged on normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India.

"I have always urged the parties to refrain from changing the status of the disputed territory," Bozkir said, apparently in a veiled reference to India's move to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

POSTHUMOUS UN HONOUR FOR 3 INDIAN PEACEKEEPERS

Three Indian peacekeepers, who laid down their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping missions last year, are among 129 military, police and civilian personnel honoured on Thursday with a prestigious UN medal awarded posthumously for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.

Corporal Yuvraj Singh who served with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and two civilian peacekeepers — Ivan Michael Picardo, who served with UNMISS, and Mulchand Yadav, who worked for the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq — were honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal at a sombre virtual ceremony here on the occasion of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

India is the 5th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping with more than 5,500 military and police serving in peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan and the Western Sahara, according to the UN.

HONG KONG APPROVES NEW ELECTORAL LAWS

Hong Kong’s legislature on Thursday passed a bill amending electoral laws that drastically reduces the public’s ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.

The new law empowers the city’s national security department to check the backgrounds of potential candidates for public office and a sets up a new committee to ensure candidates are “patriotic”. The number of seats in Hong Kong’s legislature will be expanded to 90, with 40 of them elected by a pro-Beijing election committee. The number of legislators elected directly by Hong Kong voters will be cut to 20, from the previous 35.

Hong Kong bans Tiananmen vigil for 2nd year running

Hong Kong police cited Covid restrictions to ban for a second year running a June 4 annual vigil to commemorate the Chinese Communist government’s crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

SYRIA’S ASSAD WINS A FOURTH TERM IN A PREDICTABLE LANDSLIDE

Syrian President Bashar Assad was re-elected in a landslide, officials said on Thursday, ushering in a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country following an election described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opposition.

Mr. Assad’s win was not in doubt, in an election where officials said 18 million were eligible to vote. But in the country ravaged by the 10-year-old conflict, areas controlled by rebels or Kurdish-led troops did not hold the vote. At least 8 million, mostly displaced, live in those areas in northwest and northeast Syria. Over 5 million refugees — mostly living in neighbouring countries — have largely refrained from casting their ballots.

U.S. and European officials have also questioned the legitimacy of the election, saying it violates UN resolutions in place to resolve the conflict, lacks any international monitoring, and is unrepresentative of all Syrians.

FACEBOOK REVERSES COURSE, WON'T BAN COVID LAB LEAK THEORY

Facebook has reversed its policy banning posts suggesting Covid-19 was man-made, on the heels of renewed debate over the origins of the virus which first emerged in China.

The latest move by Facebook, announced late Wednesday on its website, highlights the challenge of policing misinformation and disinformation on the world's largest social network.

"In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of Covid-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that Covid-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps," the statement said.

"We're continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge."

The new statement updates guidance from Facebook in February when it said it would remove false or debunked claims about the novel coronavirus which created a global pandemic killing more than three million.

MALI PRESIDENT, PM RELEASED: MILITARY OFFICIAL

Mali's interim president and premier have been released, a military official told AFP on Thursday, three days after they were detained and stripped of their powers in what appeared to be the country's second coup in nine months.

"The interim president and prime minister were released overnight around 1:30 am (0130 GMT). We were true to our word," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Family members confirmed that President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane had been freed.