KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    3,61,138              /             38,97,123            /             7,947     /             1,13,53,961               /             500

1             USA        9,687     /             6,17,845              /             313        /             49,99,793            /               1,856

2             Brazil     86,833   /             5,04,897              /             2,080     /             11,62,895            /               2,359

3             India      54,393   /             3,90,691              /             1,129     /             6,49,848              /               280

4             Russia    16,715   /             1,30,347              /             546        /             3,31,122              /               893

5             Argentina            21,387   /             90,281   /             791        /             2,80,112              /               1,980

6             Mexico  1,268     /             2,31,244              /             57           /             2,73,052              /               1,775

7             Iran        11,716   /             83,217   /             116        /             2,62,414              /             979

8             UK          11,625   /             1,28,008              /             27           /             2,17,498              /               1,876

9             Colombia             28,616   /             1,01,302              /             614        /             1,80,757               /             1,970

10           Honduras             319        /             6,772     /             6             /             1,55,560              /               673

11           Poland   188        /             74,858   /             29           /             1,53,399              /               1,980

12           Indonesia            13,668   /             55,291   /             335        /             1,52,686              /               200

13           Spain     4,040     /             80,719   /             30           /             1,23,122              /               1,726

14           South Africa       11,093   /             59,092   /             297        /             1,18,940              /               984

15           Turkey   6,143     /             49,293   /             57           /             89,498   /             578

16           France   2,204     /             1,10,829              /             51           /             74,036   /               1,694

17           Italy       835        /             1,27,322              /             31           /             72,964   /               2,109

18           Iraq        6,003     /             16,935   /             25           /             71,850   /             412

19           Costa Rica           1,525     /             4,546     /             16           /             70,032   /             885

20           Bolivia   764        /             16,174   /             42           /             65,678   /             1,367

22           Bangladesh         4,846     /             13,702   /             76           /             59,063   /             82

27           Philippines           3,666     /             23,809   /             60           /             52,696   /             214

40           Pakistan               663        /             22,034   /             27           /             33,452   /             98

UN AFGHAN ENVOY DEBORAH LYONS ALARMED AT TALIBAN GAINS

Taliban fighters have seized dozens of districts in Afghanistan as they step up attacks during the final withdrawal by foreign troops, the UN has warned.

The insurgents have taken more than 50 of 370 districts since May, UN special envoy Deborah Lyons told the Security Council, warning of "dire scenarios".

She said increased conflict "means increased insecurity for many other countries, near and far".

The US and Nato are still aiming for a complete troop pullout by 11 September.

However, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the situation remained "dynamic" and, although the Taliban gains had not changed the withdrawal, there was still the flexibility to alter its "pace and scope".

The hardline Islamist group's recent advances were the result of an "intensified military campaign", Ms Lyons told the the 15-member UN Security Council in New York.

"Those districts that have been taken surround provincial capitals, suggesting that the Taliban are positioning themselves to try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn."

THEY RELIED ON CHINESE COVID-19 VACCINES. NOW THEY'RE BATTLING OUTBREAKS.

Examples from several countries like Mongolia, Seychelles and Bahrain, that relied on the easily accessible Chinese Covid-19 vaccines, suggest that the Chinese vaccines may not be very effective at preventing the spread of the virus, particularly the new variants, reported The New York Times (NYT).

In Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain and Mongolia, about 50 to 68 percent of the populations have been fully inoculated with Chinese vaccines, outpacing the United States, according to Our World in Data, a data-tracking project. They are also among the top 10 countries with the worst Covid-19 outbreaks as recently as last week.

"If the vaccines are sufficiently good, we should not see this pattern," said Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong. "The Chinese have a responsibility to remedy this."

Amid uncertainty over how countries with relatively high inoculation rates are suffering new outbreaks, scientists have pointed out to relaxing of social controls and careless behaviour.

Israel, which has the second-highest vaccination rate in the world with shots from Pfizer after Seychelles, reports 4.95 new Covid-19 cases per million. On the other hand, Seychelles, which relied mostly on Sinopharm, that number is more than 716 cases per million.

China, as well as the more than 90 nations that have received the Chinese shots, may end up as a country that is fully vaccinated but partly protected from the virus, contending with rolling lockdowns, testing and limits on day-to-day life for months or years to come. Moreover, economies could remain held back, reported NYT.

In a statement, China's Foreign Ministry said it did not see a link between the recent outbreaks and its vaccines. It cited the World Health Organization as saying that vaccination rates in certain countries had not reached sufficient levels to prevent outbreaks, and that countries needed to continue to maintain controls, according to NYT.

U.S. SEIZES IRANIAN NEWS SITES UNDER UNCLEAR CIRCUMSTANCES

The US has taken down dozens of Iranian news websites, which it has accused of spreading disinformation.

Many sites were offline on Tuesday, with notices explaining they have been "seized" by the US - alongside seals of the FBI and Department of Commerce.

They include Iran's state-owned Press TV and al-Masirah TV, run by the Iranian-backed Houthi movement.

It comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran over reinitialising a nuclear deal.

The US Department of Justice said the US had seized 33 websites run by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and another three run by Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Reuters news agency reported.

The websites were not accessible on Tuesday afternoon, with the statement on Al-Alam's website reading: "The domain alalamtv.net has been seized by the United States Government in accordance with a seizure warrant... as part of a law enforcement action by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Notices also appeared on some of Iran's Press TV websites, the Iranian government's main English-language satellite television channel, and Al Alam, its Arabic-language equivalent. Lualua TV, an Arabic-language Bahraini independent channel that broadcasts from the UK, was also taken down.

Several of the sites were back online within hours with new domain addresses.

GREAT BARRIER REEF DOWNGRADED: OTHER UN WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN DANGER

The World Heritage Committee under UNESCO has proposed to downgrade the status of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, recommending it to be added to the list of World Heritage sites in danger. The committee said it's recommendation is based on the detrimental impact of climate change.

Irked by the decision, Australia said it will challenge UNESCO's draft recommendation. "For us to be singled out in a way that completely distorts the normal process was something we were very strong about. And we made the point that we will challenge this decision when it comes before the full committee later on in July," Environment minister Sussan Ley said, noting that the authorities were "blindsided by a sudden late decision".

UNESCO's proposal also sparked an outcry among representatives of tourism businesses, as they fear the inclusion in the list of sites in danger will affect the industry.

Other places that risk losing their treasured heritage site status:

Venice - UNESCO said that the city in Italy has been damaged by "overtourism", and recommended adding Venice to its endangered heritage list.

Budapest - The Hungarian city, bisected by river Danube, has been put on the endangered list because of a major renovation of the Buda Castle quarter. The move is aimed at restoring the city's pre-World War 2 glory.

Tanzania game reserve - The granting of logging rights inside the Selous Game Reserve has landed it in hot water with UNESCO. The UN had recently expressed alarm over the construction of a dam on the Rufiji river, the country's largest.

‘DUAL ANTIBODY DRUGS EFFECTIVE AGAINST VARIANTS’

Covid-19 therapies made from a cocktail of two types of antibodies were effective against a wide range of variants of the coronavirus in a mice and hamster study, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported on Monday.

Former US president Donald Trump was treated by an antibody cocktail made by Regeneron in October after he had tested positive for Covid-19.

Italy, meanwhile, said it will lift a requirement that people wear face masks outdoors from June 28, as Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations decline. Mandatory masks were imposed in October last year, when the country was entering a second wave and authorities were struggling to curb cases.

AT UNHRC, GRAVE CONCERNS RAISED OVER XINJIANG

More than 40 countries led by Canada voiced grave concerns at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday about China’s actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet — triggering a fierce backlash from Beijing.

The widely anticipated joint statement had been in the pipeline for several days and was delivered on day two of the 47th session of the council in Geneva.

“We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region,” Canada’s Ambassador Leslie Norton said.

The statement was backed by Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.S., among others.

Beijing must allow UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and other independent observers “immediate, meaningful and unfettered access” to Xinjiang, and end the “arbitrary detention” of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, it said.

“Credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance disproportionately targeting Uighurs and members of other minorities and restrictions on fundamental freedoms and Uighur culture,” it said.

Aware that the statement was coming, China responded — before it was delivered.

Beijing’s representative read out a statement on behalf of a group of countries “deeply concerned about serious human rights violations against the indigenous people in Canada”.

SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEMOCRATS' ELECTION BILL

US Republicans have torpedoed a Democratic bid to implement nationwide election rules, a cherished priority of President Joe Biden's party.

The bill - which sought to make it easier for Americans to vote - ended up deadlocked 50-50 along party lines.

Mr Biden said the issue was the "fight of his presidency", but some Democrats accuse him of not fighting hard enough.

Advocates say the bill would have been the most far-reaching election measure since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Democrats' For the People Act passed the House of Representatives in March in a near party-line vote, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in opposing the bill.

But 60 votes are needed in the 100-member Senate to advance most legislation, and the upper chamber is evenly split 50-50 between the two parties.

Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has been assigned by the White House to push election reform, was presiding over the chamber as the bill failed.

"The fight's not over," she said after the vote.

The legislation would have introduced 15 days of early voting, made election day a public holiday, and guaranteed automatic voter registration for anyone with a driver's licence.

BIG BLOW TO PM OLI AS SC QUASHES APPOINTMENT OF 20 CABINET MINISTERS

The Supreme Court has cited Article 77 (3) in its ruling to quash the appointments. It states if the Office of the Prime Minister falls vacant after the PM fails to win a vote of confidence or resigns, the same Council of Ministers shall continue to act until another Council of Ministers is constituted, a report said.

The development comes when the Supreme Court is hearing the case regarding the reinstatement of the House of Representatives, which was dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 22 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli.

The political crisis deepened in Nepal on Tuesday after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of 20 ministers by beleaguered Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, invalidating his two Cabinet expansions since the dissolution of the House of Representatives, according to a media report.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana said Cabinet expansions after the dissolution of the House were unconstitutional and hence, the ministers could not discharge their duties, a report in the Kathmandu Post said.

With the order, there are only five ministers left in Oli's Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, it said.

EU LAUNCHES ANTITRUST PROBE AGAINST GOOGLE

The EU launched a wide-ranging antitrust probe against internet giant Google on Tuesday over concerns that it is using its technology to keep out rivals in the lucrative online advertising market.

The case opens yet another front by the European Commission against the search engine giant, which has already received eight billion euros ($9 billion) in fines for its anti-competitive practices.

The investigation will “assess whether Google has violated EU competition rules by favouring its own online display advertising technology services”, a statement from the EU executive said.

The probe narrows in on an important component of Google’s profit-making machine: more than 80% of the giant’s revenue in 2020 came from advertising, or $147 billion.

“We are concerned that Google has made it harder for rival online advertising services to compete” in display ad technology, said EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager.

At issue is Google’s largely unnoticed, but highly dominant technologies that serve as an intermediary or broker between advertisers and publishers online.

BITCOIN BOUNCES BACK AFTER TUMBLING BELOW $30,000 THRESHOLD

Bitcoin extended gains in Asia trading Wednesday, bouncing back after earlier whipsawing investors with a dip below the $30,000 level.

The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 4.5% and was trading at $33,837 as of 9:38 a.m. in Hong Kong. The coin plunged 12% at one point during U.S. trading hours Tuesday to hit $28,824, which briefly took it into negative territory for the year. Prior to that, it hadn’t fallen below $30,000 since January.

Bitcoin has lost more than 50% from its mid-April high of almost $65,000. The coin started 2021 trading around $29,000 following a fourfold increase in 2020.

Such trading signals “that Bitcoin traders could find themselves in choppy waters for weeks to come,” said Sean Rooney, head of research at crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments.

Chart-watchers said Bitcoin, which failed to stay above $40,000 last week, could have a tough time finding support in the $20,000 range following its drop below $30,000. Still, Bitcoin had prior to Tuesday breached $30,000 during at least five separate instances this year but recuperated to trade above that level each time.

“Any meaningful break below $30,000 is going to make a lot of momentum players to throw in the towel,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “Therefore, even if Bitcoin is going to change the world over the long-term, it does not mean it cannot fall back into the teens over the short-term.”

SAUDIS WHO KILLED JAMAL KHASHOGGI RECEIVED PARAMILITARY TRAINING IN US: REPORT

The four men - part of a Saudi kill team - who eliminated Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, received paramilitary training in the United States, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Tuesday. Citing documents and people familiar with the developments, NYT reported that the training was given under a contract approved by the US state department.

The report said that the training was provided by Tier 1 Group, which is owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. The training included “safe marksmanship” and “countering an attack”, according to the NYT report, which quoted the company to say that it was devised to better protect Saudi leaders.

The news report further points out that the American officials who approved the training knew the Saudis were involved in the crackdown.

Responding to the NYT report, state department spokesperson Ned Price said the department cannot comment "on any of the licensed defence export licensing activity alleged in media reporting". Price also said US policy towards Saudi Arabia "will prioritise the rule of law and respect for human rights."

Cerberus senior executive Louis Bremer confirmed his company's role in the training of four members of the Khashoggi kill team last year in written answers to questions from members of Congress as part of his nomination for a senior Pentagon job in former President Donald Trump's administration, according to NYT.

But, NYT said, the lawmakers never received the answers because the Trump administration does not appear to have sent them to Congress before withdrawing Bremer’s nomination.