KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,04,817              /             37,26,665            /             9,759     /             1,32,95,748               /             478.1

1             USA        16,239   /             6,12,197              /             508        /             55,26,223            /               1,840

2             India      1,21,457              /             3,44,101              /             3,382     /             15,62,585               /             247

3             Brazil     38,482   /             4,70,968              /             1,184     /             11,31,294            /               2,201

4             Argentina            30,950   /             80,411   /             538        /             3,69,849              /               1,764

5             Iran        9,209     /             80,813   /             155        /             3,50,794              /             951

6             Russia    8,947     /             1,23,037              /             377        /             2,64,580              /               843

7             Mexico  2,894     /             2,28,362              /             216        /             2,63,919              /               1,754

8             Italy       2,557     /             1,26,415              /             73           /             2,00,192              /               2,094

9             France   6,953     /             1,09,916              /             84           /             1,98,070              /               1,680

10           Colombia             30,000   /             90,890   /             537        /             1,60,056              /               1,769

11           Poland   319        /             74,101   /             26           /             1,56,997              /               1,960

12           Honduras             954        /             6,415     /             12           /             1,48,086              /               638

13           Spain     4,975     /             80,196   /             97           /             1,46,628              /               1,715

14           Netherlands        2,382     /             17,666   /             8             /             1,27,591              /               1,029

15           UK          6,238     /             1,27,823              /             11           /             1,07,633              /               1,874

16           Nepal    4,624     /             7,731     /             101        /             97,699   /             261

17           Indonesia            6,486     /             51,296   /             201        /             94,773   /             186

18           Germany              2,995     /             89,733   /             128        /             87,952   /               1,068

28           Philippines           7,450     /             21,537   /             181        /             60,794   /             194

32           Pakistan               1,893     /             21,105   /             83           /             51,478   /             94

37           Bangladesh         1,887     /             12,758   /             34           /             47,351   /             77

UK APPROVES PFIZER JAB FOR 12 TO 15-YEAR-OLDS

Britain's medicines regulator said on Friday it had approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for use on 12- to 15-year-olds, following similar clearances in the US and the EU.

The regulator said it would now be up to the country's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to decide whether to go ahead and inoculate this age group as part of Britain's vaccination roll-out plan.

Children aged 12-15 are already receiving the Pfizer shot in the United States, while France and Germany are planning to start offering it to that age group this month.

Britain's Health and Social Care department said it would provide an update once the JCVI had made its decision.

The chief executive of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency June Raine said in a statement that her agency had carefully reviewed the clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years old.

"(We) have concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk," she said.

However, giving vaccines to younger people in affluent countries while many parts of the world await doses for older and more vulnerable people has raised concerns. The World Health Organisation has urged rich countries to give shots to the COVAX scheme instead.

FAUCI CALLS ON CHINA TO RELEASE MEDICAL RECORDS OF WUHAN LAB WORKERS

Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser has called on China to release the medical records of nine people whose illnesses might provide vital clues into whether Covid-19 first emerged as the result of a lab leak.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, told the Financial Times that the records could help resolve the debate over the origins of a disease that has killed more than 3.5m people worldwide.

The records in question concern three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology who reportedly became sick in November 2019, and six miners who fell ill after entering a bat cave in 2012. Scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology subsequently visited the cave to take samples from the bats. Three of the miners died.

Shi Zhengli, the institute’s leading expert on coronaviruses, has previously denied there were any infections at the lab — a claim Fauci did not dispute, but said should be investigated further.

“I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019,” Fauci said. “Did they really get sick, and if so, what did they get sick with?

“The same with the miners who got ill years ago . . . What do the medical records of those people say? Was there [a] virus in those people? What was it? It is entirely conceivable that the origins of Sars-Cov-2 was in that cave and either started spreading naturally or went through the lab.”

GLOBAL STOCKS NEARLY GRASP ALL-TIME RECORD, AFTER US JOBS DATA

Global stocks rallied on Friday and closed near all-time highs, and oil and gold rose while the dollar dropped after U.S. jobs data was strong but not as robust as expected, easing investor worries that the Federal Reserve would soon rein in monetary stimulus.

On Wall Street, Microsoft lifted the S&P 500, followed by Apple, as the index gained 37.04 points, or 0.88%, to 4,229.89, marking an overall near-record jump of more than 12% this year. Those technology firms account for more than 5% of the MSCI's all-country index's weight.

Shares for Amazon.com Inc, Facebook, Alphabet's Google and Tesla also were up.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 179.35 points, or 0.52%, to 34,756.39 while the Nasdaq Composite added 199.98 points, or 1.47%, to 13,814.49.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.39% after hitting a record high this week. MSCI's all-country world index, which tracks shares in 50 countries across the globe, gained 0.71%.

A stronger-than-expected jobs report would have heightened worries that the Fed might contemplate paring back its bond-buying program and raising interest rates.

PUTIN SIGNS LAW TO BAR ‘EXTREMISTS’ FROM ELECTIONS

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed legislation that bars members of "extremist" organisations from running for office, a move allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny say aims to sideline them from parliamentary election this year.

This comes days before a court will consider outlawing Navalny's anti-corruption foundation and regional campaign groups on the grounds they are extremist. The law bars members or heads of groups declared extremist from running for seats in the State Duma or taking part in other elections for periods ranging from three to five years.

SINOVAC’S COVID-19 VACCINE GAINS CHINA APPROVAL FOR EMERGENCY USE IN CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS

China has approved emergency use of Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine in people aged between three and 17, its chairman Yin Weidong told state TV late on Friday.

China’s mass vaccination drive, which administered 723.5 million doses of vaccines as of June 3, is currently only open to those aged 18 and above.

When Sinovac’s vaccine will be offered to younger groups depends on health authorities formulating China’s inoculation strategies, Yin told state TV in an live interview.

Yin said minors have lower priority for vaccination against the coronavirus compared with the elderly, who face higher risk of severe symptoms after infection.

Preliminary results from Phase I and II clinical trials showed the vaccine could trigger immune response in three to 17 year-old participants, and most adverse reactions were mild.

State-backed drugmaker Sinopharm, which has two shots using similar technology to Sinovac’s product, is also submitting data for clearance in younger groups.

ENVIRONMENT DAY: PHASE OUT CARBON OR LOSE OUT ON CONTRACTS, UK TELLS BUSINESSES

Boris Johnson’s government told companies to publish their carbon reduction plans and commit to phasing out greenhouse gas emissions altogether by 2050, or lose out on large UK state contracts.

Firms that haven’t committed to so-called net zero emissions or published a “clear and credible” carbon reduction plan by September won’t be allowed to bid for contracts worth more than 5 million pounds ($7.1 million) a year, the Cabinet Office said in an emailed statement.

Johnson is seeking to position the UK as a leader in the battle against climate change as he carves out a post-Brexit identity for the nation, and Saturday’s announcement, timed for World Environment Day, means the government is using its 290 billion pounds of annual procurement to push businesses into swifter action to slash emissions.

“It’s important we use this purchasing power to help transform our economy to net zero,” Minister for Efficiency and Transformation Theodore Agnew said. “Requiring companies to report and commit to reducing their carbon emissions before bidding for public work is a key part of our world-leading approach.”

The UK hosts a major round of United Nations climate talks in Glasgow in November, and Johnson has unveiled a succession of ever-more ambitious targets in an effort to spur international and domestic action.

The UK has a legally-binding goal to phase out net emissions by 2050, and Johnson has announced interim plans to reduce them by 68% by 2030 and 78% by 2035, from 1990 levels -- the most ambitious targets among major economies.