KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,32,813              /             35,75,249            /             10,106   /             1,37,35,340        /             458.7

1             USA        10,673   /             6,10,378              /             247        /             55,85,803            /             1,834

2             India      1,33,228              /             3,35,114              /             3,205     /             18,00,777            /             241

3             Brazil     77,898   /             4,65,312              /             2,346     /             10,92,114            /             2,175

4             Iran        10,687   /             80,327   /             171        /             3,65,900              /             945

5             Argentina            35,355   /             78,733   /             640        /             3,57,069              /             1,728

6             Russia    9,500     /             1,21,873              /             372        /             2,65,965              /             835

7             Mexico  932        /             2,23,568              /             61           /             2,61,707              /             1,718

8             Italy       2,483     /             1,26,221              /             93           /             2,25,751              /             2,090

9             France   9,848     /             1,09,662              /             129        /             2,13,743              /             1,677

10           Peru                      /             69,342   /                            /             1,65,462              /             2,077

11           Poland   588        /             73,856   /             111        /             1,58,340              /             1,953

12           Colombia             25,966   /             89,297   /             523        /             1,49,719              /             1,738

13           Spain     4,388     /             79,983   /             30           /             1,47,672              /             1,710

14           Honduras             646        /             6,353     /             37           /             1,46,985              /             632

15           Netherlands        2,320     /             17,632   /             9             /             1,44,156              /             1,027

16           Germany              2,990     /             89,316   /             168        /             1,05,192              /             1,063

17           Nepal    5,285     /             7,454     /             68           /             1,04,789              /             252

18           Indonesia            4,824     /             50,723   /             145        /             1,01,325              /             184

19           Ukraine 2,137     /             50,699   /             163        /             1,00,765              /             1,166

20           Turkey   7,112     /             47,656   /             129        /             84,779   /             560

29           Pakistan               1,771     /             20,850   /             71           /             57,336   /             93

32           Philippines           5,177     /             21,012   /             46           /             53,203   /             189

38           Bangladesh         1,765     /             12,660   /             41           /             47,494   /             76

GREECE, GERMANY KICK OFF EU VACCINATION TRAVEL CERTIFICATES

Greece, Germany and five other European Union nations introduced a vaccination certificate system for travelers on Tuesday, weeks ahead of the July 1 rollout of the program across the 27-nation bloc.

The other countries starting early were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia and Poland, according to the European Commission.

Greece, which depends heavily on tourism, has been pressing for the commonly-recognized certificate that uses a QR code with advanced security features. The certificates are being issued to people who are fully vaccinated as well as those have already contracted the virus and developed antibodies and others who have had a PCR test within the last 72 hours.

The documents will have both digital and paper forms. They'll be free of charge, distributed in the national language plus English and be valid in all the bloc's countries.

"EU citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and they want to do so safely. Having an EU certificate is a crucial step on the way," EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.

Greece's digital governance minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, said easier travel will open up within the EU as nations adopt the new verification standard.

COVID: CHINA'S SINOVAC VACCINE GETS WHO EMERGENCY APPROVAL

The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use — the second Chinese vaccine to receive the WHO’s green light.

The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world. “WHO today validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine for emergency use,” it said in a statement.

The move gives countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities “assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing”. Last month Sinopharm became the first Chinese vaccine to be approved by the WHO.

The Sinovac jab is already in use in 22 territories around the world, according to an AFP count.

Apart from China, the countries using Sinovac include Chile, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey.

The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation have reviewed the jab and published their advice on its usage.

“WHO recommends the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks,” the agency said.

“Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51 percent of those vaccinated and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalisation in 100 percent of the studied population.”

CHINA REPORTS HUMAN CASE OF H10N3 BIRD FLU

China's National Health Commission said on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, that it had confirmed one case of human infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu in Jiangsu province.

The case, detected in a male aged 41 living in Zhenjiang, a city in the eastern province, was transmitted from poultry, and the risk of spreading on a large scale was very low, according to a statement on the website of the commission.

There has not been any case of human infection of H10N3reported in the world before, NHC said.

"H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low", the NHC added.

The man was stable and ready to be discharged from hospital. Medical observation of his close contacts had not found any other cases.

Many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry. There have been no significant numbers of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017.

No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally, the NHC said.

UK REPORTS NO NEW COVID DEATH FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MARCH 2020

Britain recorded no new deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test on Tuesday. The last time Britain recorded no deaths was in March 2020, before the country had entered its first lockdown.

The figure on Tuesday relates to how many deaths have been reported and it comes after a national holiday on Monday — a factor which has in the past skewed the data. Britain’s overall death toll from the pandemic stands at 1,27,782 and is the fifth highest in the world, according to John Hopkins data. The data showed 3,165 new cases, broadly flat on the previous day.

“The whole country will be so glad there were no Covid-related deaths recorded yesterday,” health minister Matt Hancock said, adding that the vaccines were clearly working. But, he said, people still needed to take precautions. The milestone will reinforce calls to push ahead with plans for its final stage of unlocking the economy on June 21.

VATICAN CRIMINALISES ABUSE OF ADULTS BY PRIESTS

Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.

The new provisions, released Tuesday after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the Vatican's Code of Canon Law, the in-house legal system that covers the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic Church.

The most significant changes are contained in two articles, 1395 and 1398, which aim to address major shortcomings in the church's handling of sexual abuse. The law recognises that adults, too, can be victimised by priests who abuse their authority, and said that laypeople in church offices can be punished for abusing minors as well as adults.

The Vatican also criminalised the “grooming” of minors or vulnerable adults by priests to compel them to engage in pornography. It's the first time church law has officially recognised as criminal the method used by sexual predators to build relationships with their victims to then sexually exploit them.

The law also removes much of the discretion that had long allowed bishops and religious superiors to ignore or cover up abuse, making clear they can be held responsible for omissions and negligence in failing to properly investigate and sanction errant priests.

According to the new law, priests who engage in sexual acts with anyone — not just a minor or someone who lacks the use of reason — can be defrocked if they used “force, threats or abuse of his authority” to engage in sexual acts.

The law doesn't explicitly define which adults are covered, saying only “one to whom the law recognises equal protection.”

ALASKA: BIDEN TO SUSPEND TRUMP ARCTIC DRILLING LEASES

US President Joe Biden's administration will suspend oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review.

The move reverses former President Donald Trump's decision to sell oil leases in the refuge to expand fossil fuel and mineral development.

The giant Alaskan wilderness is home to many important species, including polar bears, caribou and wolves.

Arctic tribal leaders have welcomed the move.

During his campaign, Mr Biden pledged to protect the habitat.

"President Biden believes America's national treasures are cultural and economic cornerstones of our country," White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said in a statement.

Arctic tribal leaders praised the decision.