KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    3,66,160              /             38,56,840            /             7,931     /             1,16,36,677        /             494.8

1             USA        9,630     /             6,16,426              /             276        /             51,18,514            /             1,852

2             Brazil     72,916   /             4,96,004              /             2,167     /             11,29,143            /             2,318

3             India      62,409   /             3,83,521              /             1,310     /             8,05,422              /             275

4             Argentina            23,780   /             87,789   /             528        /             3,16,265              /             1,926

5             Russia    14,057   /             1,27,992              /             416        /             2,96,350              /             877

6             Iran        10,291   /             82,619   /             139        /             2,79,064              /             972

7             Mexico  3,789     /             2,30,624              /             200        /             2,70,614              /             1,771

8             UK          11,007   /             1,27,945              /             19           /             1,76,432              /             1,875

9             Colombia             29,945   /             98,156   /             596        /             1,71,773              /             1,910

10           Poland   218        /             74,734   /             46           /             1,54,007              /             1,977

11           Honduras             813        /             6,691     /             17           /             1,52,129              /             665

12           Spain     4,197     /             80,634   /             19           /             1,32,025              /             1,724

13           Indonesia            12,624   /             53,753   /             277        /             1,25,303              /             195

14           South Africa       11,767   /             58,323   /             100        /             1,04,437              /             972

15           France   2,044     /             1,10,634              /             56           /             1,02,738              /             1,691

16           Italy       1,325     /             1,27,190              /             37           /             98,608   /             2,107

17           Turkey   5,904     /             49,012   /             62           /             85,344   /             575

18           Costa Rica                          /             4,437     /                            /             76,471   /             863

19           Netherlands        1,064     /             17,722   /             3             /             70,386   /             1,032

20           Iraq        5,189     /             16,811   /             30           /             69,396   /             409

24           Philippines           6,637     /             23,276   /             155        /             58,407   /             210

29           Bangladesh         3,840     /             13,345   /             63           /             51,276   /             80

37           Pakistan               1,119     /             21,874   /             46           /             36,215   /             97

U.S. TO SPEND $ 3.2 BILLION TO DEVELOP TREATMENTS FOR COVID-19 AND POTENTIAL THREATS

The United States is devoting $3.2 billion to advance the development of antiviral pills for Covid-19 and other dangerous viruses that could turn into pandemics.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, announced the investment Thursday at a White House briefing as part of a new “antiviral program for pandemics” to develop drugs to address symptoms caused by potentially dangerous viruses like the coronavirus.

The pills for Covid-19, which would be used to minimize symptoms after infection, are in development and could begin arriving by year’s end, pending the completion of clinical trials. The funding will speed those clinical trials and provide additional support to private sector research, development and manufacturing.

Fauci said the new program would invest in “accelerating things that are already in progress” for Covid-19 but also would work to innovate new therapies for other viruses.

“There are few treatments that exist for many of the viruses that have pandemic potential,” he said.

But he added, “vaccines clearly remain the centerpiece of our arsenal.”

Health experts, including Fauci, have increasingly called for simpler pill-based drugs that patients could take themselves. Some drugmakers are testing such medications, but initial results aren’t expected for several more months.

CHINA'S FIRST ASTRONAUT CREW BOARDS UNDER-CONSTRUCTION SPACE STATION

Six hours after it lifted off from the Jiuquan launch center on the edge of the Gobi Desert, China's Shenzhou-12 spacecraft docked with the under-construction Tianhe space station on Thursday. The docking marks the beginning of a three-month-long mission for a three-member Chinese astronaut crew to construct the ambitious space station.

The three astronauts are the first to board the living modules on the space station, where they will carry out various experiments, test equipment and conduct maintenance. The crew will prep the station for receiving two laboratory modules next year as China pushes for its ambitious space programme, competing against the US and Russia, which have so far dominated human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

China has so far launched 14 astronauts into space since 2003, which includes its latest crew docking.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft launched in the wee hours of Thursday dropped off its boosters just two minutes into the flight before separating from the rocket’s upper section ten minutes later. Following that, the spacecraft deployed its solar panels and entered into orbit. The crew performed nearly half a dozen adjustments to line the spacecraft with the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony module for smooth docking.

IRAN VOTES IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL TIPPED IN HARD-LINER’S FAVOUR

Iran began voting Friday in a presidential election tipped in the favour of a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Polls opened at 7 am local time for the vote, which has seen widespread public apathy after a panel under Khamenei barred hundreds of candidates, including reformists and those aligned with the outgoing president, the relatively moderate Hassan Rouhani.

State-linked opinion polling and analysts have put hard-line judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi as the dominant front-runner in a field of just four candidates. Former Central Bank chief, Abdolnasser Hemmati, is running as the race’s moderate candidate but hasn’t inspired the same support as Rouhani, who is term-limited from seeking the office again.

There are more than 59 million eligible voters among Iran’s more than 80 million people. However, the state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency has estimated a turnout of just 42 per cent, which would be the lowest ever since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a high turnout in the country’s presidential election on Friday, in a contest likely to be won by a judge fiercely loyal to the religious establishment.

RUSSIA READY FOR FURTHER DIALOGUE IF U.S. IS WILLING: PUTIN

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow is ready to continue dialogue with Washington after his summit meeting with President Joe Biden, provided the U.S. was also willing to do so.

The two leaders held their first face-to-face meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to ease soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington, with relations at their lowest since the end of the Cold War.

"We are ready to continue this dialogue to the same extent as the American side is," Mr. Putin said in televised remarks.

He added that the atmosphere of the meeting was "quite friendly" and two leaders "were able to understand each other on key issues".

When asked to describe Biden, Mr. Putin said the U.S. president's portrayal in the press has "nothing to do with reality".

"Biden is a professional, you have to be very attentive when working with him so as not to miss something," Mr. Putin said.

"So what that he sometimes confuses things. His press secretary is a young, educated, beautiful woman -- she herself constantly confuses things," Mr. Putin said, referring to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

"It is not because she is poorly educated or has a bad memory, just when people think that some things are secondary they don't focus too much attention on them," he said.

Mr. Putin added that "Americans think that nothing is more important than themselves".

KIM JONG UN SAYS MUST PREPARE FOR "DIALOGUE AND CONFRONTATION" WITH US: REPORT

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country needs to prepare for "both dialogue and confrontation" with the United States under President Joe Biden, state media reported Friday.

At a plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Thursday, Kim outlined his strategy for relations with Washington, and the "policy tendency of the newly emerged US administration", the Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim "stressed the need to get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation, especially to get fully prepared for confrontation in order to protect the dignity of our state" and reliably guarantee a "peaceful environment", KCNA reported.

The North Korean leader "called for sharply and promptly reacting to and coping with the fast-changing situation and concentrating efforts on taking stable control of the situation on the Korean peninsula", the agency said.

WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST DIAMOND UNEARTHED IN BOTSWANA

A 1,098-carat diamond believed to be the third-largest gem-quality stone ever to be mined has been discovered in Botswana, according to a joint venture between Anglo American's De Beers and the government.

The stone was presented to President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday by Debswana Diamond Company's acting managing director Lynette Armstrong. It is the third-largest in the world, behind the 3,106 carat Cullinan stone recovered in South Africa in 1905 and the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona unearthed by Lucara Diamonds in Botswana in 2015.

"This is the largest diamond to be recovered by Debswana in its history of over 50 years in operation," Armstrong said.

"From our preliminary analysis, it could be the world's third-largest gem-quality stone. We are yet to make a decision on whether to sell it through the De Beers channel or through the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company," Armstrong said.

Minerals minister Lefoko Moagi said the discovery of the yet-to-be-named stone, which measures 73mm long, 52mm wide, and 27mm thick, could not have come at a better time after the COVID-19 pandemic hit diamond sales in 2020.