KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,54,911              /             37,16,070            /             9,983     /             1,33,55,472        /             476.7

1             USA        15,280   /             6,11,554              /             536        /             55,36,429            /             1,838

2             India      1,31,371              /             3,40,719              /             2,706     /             16,42,832            /             245

3             Brazil     83,391   /             4,69,784              /             2,078     /             11,04,705            /             2,196

4             Argentina            32,291   /             79,873   /             553        /             3,66,137              /             1,753

5             Iran        9,657     /             80,658   /             170        /             3,55,535              /             949

6             Russia    8,933     /             1,22,660              /             393        /             2,64,540              /             840

7             Mexico  3,269     /             2,28,146              /             306        /             2,63,325              /             1,753

8             France   8,161     /             1,09,857              /             71           /             2,05,849              /             1,680

9             Italy       1,968     /             1,26,342              /             59           /             2,05,562              /             2,092

10           Poland   572        /             74,075   /             91           /             1,57,890              /             1,959

11           Colombia             28,624   /             90,353   /             545        /             1,55,633              /             1,759

12           Spain     5,250     /             80,099   /             50           /             1,48,017              /             1,713

13           Honduras             608        /             6,403     /             24           /             1,47,241              /             637

14           Netherlands        2,735     /             17,658   /             14           /             1,32,476              /             1,028

15           Nepal    5,825     /             7,630     /             75           /             1,01,839              /             258

16           Indonesia            5,353     /             51,095   /             187        /             94,438   /             185

17           Germany              3,686     /             89,605   /             95           /             93,485   /             1,066

18           Ukraine 2,581     /             50,959   /             102        /             86,367   /             1,172

19           Malaysia              8,209     /             3,096     /             103        /             83,331   /             95

20           Turkey   6,602     /             47,882   /             114        /             82,424   /             562

30           Philippines           7,217     /             21,357   /             199        /             55,790   /             193

32           Pakistan               2,028     /             21,022   /             92           /             53,099   /             94

37           Bangladesh         1,687     /             12,724   /             30           /             47,221   /             77

FRAGILE ISRAELI COALITION TO OUST NETANYAHU AND LEAD ISRAEL

Through three inconclusive Israeli elections in 2019 and 2020, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to keep his opponents at bay and remain in office. He clung to power by exacerbating divisions within the ideologically diffuse opposition, ensuring that although he could not build a majority coalition, neither could they.

Yet on Wednesday night, more than two months after an equally inconclusive fourth election, there were several of his opponents, signing an agreement that would — if barely — make them the government, assuming they win a vote of confidence in the Parliament. For the first time in 12 years, Mr. Netanyahu would be out of power.

The question of what changed, and why, has several answers, both systemic and circumstantial.

One factor was the dexterity of the centrist opposition leader, Yair Lapid, in constructing a precarious, norm-defying coalition of the center, right and left, of the secular and religious, and of Jews and Arabs.

But Mr. Netanyahu also played a crucial role, reversing years of unrepentant and divisive policies toward Israel’s Arab minority by suddenly courting Arab politicians like Mansour Abbas, who have long been considered fifth columnists by much of the Israeli right. Rather than work with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Abbas joined forces with Mr. Lapid and the right-wing Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett.

The new coalition also owes its existence to the calculations of Mr. Bennett, who is slated to become prime minister.

Even if Mr. Bennett had stuck by Mr. Netanyahu, his support would not have been enough to give the prime minister a majority. That meant that Mr. Bennett was left with either joining the opposition or helping send Israel to a fifth election in little more than two years — a vote that some analysts predicted would deal a serious blow to his small party.

Right-wing leaders have also made patriotic arguments for finally replacing Mr. Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges. In the face of sustained intimidation and anger from their base, they have said that they have a responsibility to work with their ideological opposites in order to wrest Israel from a cycle of endless elections and entropy.

“There is a mix of national duty, and also political and sometimes personal considerations,” said Dani Dayan, a former Israeli ambassador who ran unsuccessfully in the election for New Hope, a hard-right party led by former allies of Mr. Netanyahu, which is part of the new coalition. “You know, politics is not always free of cynical considerations.”

X-PRESS PEARL OWNERS CONFIRM NO SIGN OF POLLUTION FROM THE SINKING VESSEL

X-Press Feeders, the operator of the sinking container ship X-Press Pearl, said there are "no signs of debris and no reports of oil pollution as of 07:00 Sri Lanka local time," despite some international media that have already reported sea pollution.

"X-Press Feeders can confirm that the situation on scene remains the same as late yesterday," stated the Singaporean company earlier today (3 June).

Sri Lanka Ports Authority has also confirmed that "no sign of oil spill from the vessel detected so far."

The ship's aft portion is sitting on the seabed at a depth of about 21 meters, and the forward section continues to settle down slowly, according to a statement.

At the same time, "salvors remain on scene to deal with any possible debris supported by the Sri Lankan Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, who have oil spill response capabilities on standby," added X-Press Feeders.

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS DR FAUCI OVER LAB LEAK EMAILS

The White House has defended President Biden’s top Covid-19 adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, amid scrutiny of his recently released work emails.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said Dr Fauci had been an “undeniable asset” in the US response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, Dr Fauci told on the lab leak theory of the virus was being taken out of context.

There is no evidence that the Covid-19 came from a lab, though Joe Biden has ordered a review into the matter.

President Biden meanwhile announced the US would donate 25 million doses of surplus Covid-19 vaccine to Covax, the global facility designed to distribute vaccines fairly.

On Thursday, Ms Psaki said: “The president and the administration feel that Dr Fauci has played an incredible role in getting the pandemic under control, being a voice to the public throughout the course of this pandemic.”

A trove of Dr Fauci’s emails covering the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic – 3,200 pages, many of them redacted – were released this week to media under a freedom of information request.

Allies of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) infectious disease specialist say Dr Anthony Fauci’s messages show nothing more than a dedicated public servant navigating the early days of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

But conservative critics are suggesting that the top US virus expert may have engaged in a cover-up, and even claim he perjured himself in testimony to Congress.

On Thursday, Dr Fauci told CNN that it was “nonsense” to infer from the email any cosy relationship between himself and the figures behind the Wuhan lab research.

BIDEN EXPANDS US INVESTMENT BAN ON CHINESE FIRMS

US President Joe Biden is set to ban Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese tech and defence firms with alleged military ties.

The new executive order will come into effect on 2 August, hitting 59 firms including communications giant Huawei. The list of firms will be updated on a rolling basis.

The move expands an order previously issued by ex-President Donald Trump.

Even before the official announcement, China suggested it would retaliate.

Under the new order, US investors will be banned from buying or selling publicly-traded securities for other companies including the China General Nuclear Power Corporation, China Mobile Limited and Costar Group.

It expands the previous list from 31 firms to include surveillance companies and is aimed at ensuring "US persons are not financing the military industrial complex of the People's Republic of China," one White House official said.

"The prohibitions are intentionally targeted and scoped to maximise the impact on the targets while minimising harm to global markets," the official added.

AUSTRALIA'S VICTORIA DETECTS DELTA COVID-19 VARIANT IN LATEST OUTBREAK

Australia's Victoria state authorities said on Friday genomic sequencing has detected for the first time the Delta Covid-19 virus variant among infections in the latest virus outbreak in state capital, Melbourne.

"That variant is the Delta variant, it is now infamous in India and increasingly found in the United Kingdom. It is a variant of significant concern," Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne.

Sutton said the new variant had not been linked to any sequenced Covid-19 infections cases across Australia from hotel quarantine or elsewhere.

So far, two Victoria cases have the so-called 'Delta' variant of concern, which is likely the strain that caused the latest devastating wave of Covid-19 in India.

"It is a concern that it is not linked to other cases but we are chasing down all those primary-case contacts ... and looking into where it might have been acquired," Sutton said.

Authorities blamed the extension of tough curbs in Melbourne on the Kappa variant, first detected in India, which they described as a highly infectious strain, although new cases have remained in single digits for eight days in a row.

Four new locally acquired cases were reported on Friday, versus three a day earlier.

Snap lockdowns, regional border restrictions and strict social distancing rules have largely helped Australia rein in prior outbreaks and keep its Covid-19 numbers relatively low at just over 30,100 cases and 910 deaths.

MORE THAN TWO BILLION COVID VACCINES GIVEN: REPORT

More than two billion Covid-19 vaccines have been given across the world, according to an AFP tally Thursday drawn from official sources.

The milestone comes six months after the first vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 began.

At least 2,109,696,022 shots have been given in 215 countries and territories, according to the count from an AFP database taken at 0915 GMT.

Israel, which has led the race from the start, is still out in front, with nearly six in 10 people there fully vaccinated.

It is followed by Canada (59 percent of the population have had at least one jab), the United Kingdom (58.3 percent), Chile (56.6 percent) and the United States (51 percent).

Six out of 10 of the injections have been administered in the world's three most populous countries -- China (704.8 million doses), the US (296.9 million) and India (221 million).

Nearly four out of 10 people in the European Union have had at least one shot, with Germany leading with 43.6 percent, followed by Italy (40 percent) and France and Spain on 39.4 percent.

Only six countries in the world have not yet started vaccinating -- North Korea, Haiti, Tanzania, Chad, Burundi an Eritrea.

WHITE HOUSE OUTLINES PLAN TO DISTRIBUTE 25 MILLION DOSES AROUND THE WORLD

The White House, besieged with requests from other nations to share excess doses of coronavirus vaccine, on Thursday announced it will distribute an initial 25 million doses this month across a “wide range of countries” within Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, as well as the Palestinian territories, the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The doses represent an initial tranche of a total of 80 million that President Joe Biden has pledged to send overseas by the end of this month. Three-quarters of that first batch will be given to the international vaccine effort known as COVAX, officials said at a White House news conference on the pandemic. The rest will be reserved for “immediate needs and to help with surges around the world,” said Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, including in India and Iraq as well as the West Bank and Gaza.

Thursday’s announcement comes a week before Biden leaves for Cornwall, England, to meet with the heads of state of the Group of 7 industrialized nations, where the global vaccine supply is certain to be a topic of discussion. Officials said the Biden administration would continue to donate additional doses throughout the summer as they become available.

“This is just the beginning,” said Jeffrey Zients, Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator. “Expect a regular cadence of shipments around the world, across the next several weeks.”

'UNACCEPTABLE': IRAN SAYS AS UN SUSPENDS COUNTRY'S VOTING RIGHTS

Iran on Thursday slammed the United Nations' decision to suspend its voting rights for failing to pay its dues as "fundamentally flawed, entirely unacceptable and completely unjustified".

Tehran argues that the $16.2 million it owes to the UN is the result of Washington's crippling sanctions, imposed after former president Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear deal with Iran.

Iran's voting rights at the UN General Assembly were suspended in January under rules for countries whose arrears are equal to or exceed their contributions due for the past two years.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his "strong dismay" at the loss of voting rights, in a letter sent Thursday to UN chief Antonio Guterres.

"Iran's inability to fulfil its financial obligation toward the United Nations is directly caused by 'unlawful unilateral sanctions' imposed by the United States," Zarif wrote, according to the letter posted on his Twitter account.

Zarif said Iran rejected the suspension of its voting privileges because Tehran's "incapacity to transfer its financial contribution has been entirely beyond its control".

PML-N SLAMS IMRAN KHAN GOVT FOR RISING INFLATION IN PAKISTAN

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday lashed out at the Imran Khan-led government for the

rising inflation in the country and reiterated that the party will not let the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pass the 'anti-people budget' in the national assembly.

In a press conference, PML-N leader and former finance minister Miftah Ismail said that his party cannot accept the 'anti-people budget' being promulgated by the PTI, reported The News International.

"We expect that this will be an anti-people budget and we will not approve it [in the assembly]," said Ismail as he made his party's

position clear on the issue.

Highlighting that the rate of inflation has not come down below 10 per cent in the last two years, Ismail alleged that the assets of Imran Khan and his cabinet members have increased. "In three years, the income of those working in the private sector has not increased," he said.

He also compared the incumbent government's tenure with his party's tenure, adding that the PTI had pushed 20 million people into a state of destitution, The News International reported.

"Eighty-five million Pakistanis are unemployed right now...the salary of 75 million people is less than Rs 18,000. Pakistanis will not survive with some food banks," said Ismail.

"The PTI government intends to put an economic burden on the low-income class," said the PPP chairperson adding that the PPP will defend the public against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) propaganda to crush them economically in the budget.

BELARUS OPPOSITION JOURNALIST MAKES TV CONFESSION

Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich, who was arrested in Minsk after being taken off a diverted flight last month, has appeared in a tearful interview on state television.

In the interview, he confessed to organising anti-government protests and praised President Alexander Lukashenko.

Mr Protasevich's family say the interview was conducted under duress.

The reporter, 26, was editor of the opposition Nexta channel on the Telegram messaging app until last year.

He was put on a list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" last year.

Mass protests erupted across Belarus after long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in a 9 August presidential election widely condemned as rigged, and a crackdown followed.

The protests have been curbed and opposition leaders have been sent to prison or into exile.

In the interview broadcast on Thursday evening, Mr Protasevich admitted to attempting to topple Alexander Lukashenko and said that he was speaking to the television channel by choice.

He said that he had criticised President Lukashenko a lot but "began to understand that he was doing the right thing and I certainly respect him".

At the end of the interview, he burst into tears and said he hoped one day to marry and have children.

The journalist's father told AFP news agency that it pained him to watch the interview.

"I know my son very well and I believe that he would never say such things. They broke him and forced him to say what was needed," he said.