KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,41,926              /             40,16,924            /             7,997     /             1,17,23,974        /             515.3

1             USA        13,873   /             6,21,816              /             197        /             48,50,823            /             1,868

2             Brazil     54,022   /             5,28,611              /             1,595     /             10,27,756            /             2,469

3             UK          32,548   /             1,28,301              /             33           /             5,17,116              /             1,880

4             India      45,196   /             4,05,054              /             814        /             4,66,968              /             291

5             Russia    23,962   /             1,40,041              /             725        /             4,20,674              /             959

6             Indonesia            34,379   /             62,908   /             1,040     /             3,43,101              /             228

7             Mexico  7,989     /             2,33,958              /             269        /             2,92,634              /             1,796

8             Argentina            19,423   /             97,439   /             456        /             2,89,846              /             2,136

9             Iran        17,212   /             85,261   /             166        /             2,51,053              /             1,002

10           Spain     17,384   /             80,969   /             17           /             1,95,604              /             1,731

11           South Africa       21,427   /             63,039   /             411        /             1,95,493              /             1,050

12           Colombia             24,229   /             1,10,578              /             559        /             1,73,849              /             2,150

13           Honduras             1,020     /             7,149     /             20           /             1,69,217              /             710

14           Poland   103        /             75,114   /             21           /             1,53,096              /             1,987

15           Bangladesh         11,162   /             15,593   /             201        /             1,11,473              /             94

16           Iraq        8,777     /             17,413   /             37           /             96,923   /             423

17           Turkey   5,160     /             50,048   /             52           /             81,128   /             587

18           Tunisia  9,823     /             15,735   /             134        /             76,194   /             1,317

19           Malaysia              7,097     /             5,768     /             91           /             74,344   /             176

20           Costa Rica                          /             4,740     /                            /             70,089   /             922

27           Philippines           4,289     /             25,459   /             164        /             47,519   /             229

36           Pakistan               1,517     /             22,469   /             17           /             34,013   /             100

TOKYO TO HOST OLYMPICS UNDER FRESH STATE OF EMERGENCY

Japan is set to place Tokyo under a state of emergency that would last through the Olympics, fearing an ongoing COVID-19 surge will multiply during the Games.

At a meeting with experts Thursday, July 8, 2021, morning, government officials proposed a plan to issue a state of emergency in Tokyo from next Monday to Aug. 22. The Summer Olympics, already delayed a year by the pandemic, begin July 23 and close Aug. 8.

The Games already will take place without foreign spectators, but the planned six-week state of emergency likely ends chances of a local audience. A decision about fans is expected Friday when local organisers meet with the International Olympic Committee and other representatives.

Tokyo is currently under less-stringent measures that focus on shortened hours for bars and restaurants but have proven less effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is to formally announce the emergency plans later Thursday, hours after IOC President Thomas Bach was to land in Tokyo. Bach must self-isolate for three days in the IOC’s five-star hotel in the Japanese capital before heading to Hiroshima, where heavy rain is threatening flooding.

TALIBAN LAUNCH ASSAULT ON AFGHAN PROVINCIAL CAPITAL AS U.S. RAMPS UP WITHDRAWAL

The Taliban launched a major assault on a provincial capital in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the first since the U.S. military began its final drawdown of troops from the country, as insurgents press on with a blistering offensive.

Fierce fighting erupted in the western city of Qala-i-Naw, the capital of Badghis, with the militants seizing police headquarters and offices of the country’s spy agency.

As news of the morning assault spread, social media was flooded with videos of clashes — with some showing armed Taliban fighters on motorbikes entering the city as onlookers cheered.

Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi said government forces were in a “very sensitive military situation”, adding that “the war is raging” with the Taliban.

“The enemy has entered the city, all the districts have fallen,” Badghis Governor Hessamuddin Shams told reporters in a text message.

In the span of just over two months, the Taliban have managed to seize at least 150 of Afghanistan’s roughly 400 districts.

JOVENEL MOÏSE: POLICE KILL FOUR AFTER HAITI'S PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED

Four people suspected of assassinating Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse have been shot dead by the security forces, police say.

Two others have been detained, while officers are still in combat with some remaining suspects in the nation's capital Port-au-Prince.

"They will be killed or captured," police chief Leon Charles said.

Mr Moïse, 53, was fatally shot and his wife was injured in an attack on their home in the early hours of Wednesday.

Unidentified attackers stormed their private residence in Port-au-Prince at 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT). Mr Moïse was killed, but First Lady Martine Moïse survived and has been flown to Florida where she is receiving treatment.

She is reported to be in a stable but critical condition.

Speaking after the killing, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph called for calm and declared a nationwide state of emergency.

US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, offered condolences to the people of Haiti for the "horrific assassination". UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it "an abhorrent act" and also appealed for calm.

AMID POMP, ISAAC HERZOG SWORN IN AS ISRAEL'S 11TH PRESIDENT

Isaac Herzog, the scion of a prominent Zionist family, took the oath of office on Wednesday and became Israel's new president.

With one hand on a Bible before the Knesset - Israel's parliament - Herzog, 60, assumed the largely ceremonial position that is designed to forge national unity and serve as the country's moral compass.

The parliament chamber was festooned with large bouquets of white lilies for the inauguration. Military rabbis blew rams' horns, followed by a performance by a children's choir.

Herzog, whose father, Chaim, served as Israel's president in the 1980s, succeeded Reuven Rivlin as Israel's 11th president and is to hold office for a single seven-year term. Chaim Herzog also served as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.

The new president's pedigree includes his grandfather, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, who was the country's first chief rabbi. His uncle, Abba Eban, served as foreign minister and ambassador to the U.N. and United States.

"The truth is that I am a little envious of you," Rivlin said in a letter to Herzog published on Twitter. "In a short while you will discover what a great and wonderful privilege you have" to be president of all of Israel's various communities - Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, young and old.

CHINA SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT SHUTS LGBT ACCOUNTS

China’s most popular social media service has deleted accounts on LGBT topics run by university students and non-government groups, prompting concern that the ruling Communist Party is tightening control over gay and lesbian content.

WeChat sent account holders a notice they violated rules but gave no details, according to the founder of an LGBT group.

It wasn’t clear whether the step was ordered by Chinese authorities, but it comes as the ruling party tightens political controls and tries to silence groups that might criticise its rule.

WEEKLY COVID-19 DEATHS DROP TO LOWEST SINCE OCTOBER GLOBALLY, SAYS WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases across the world saw a spike last week, even as the weekly count of Covid-19 deaths dropped to the lowest level since October.

The UN health agency, in its latest weekly epidemiological report on the Covid-19 pandemic, also said on Wednesday that its 53-country European region has reported a sharp increase - 30 per cent - in infection incidence, while Africa registered a 23 per cent rise in mortality from Covid-19 during the period, reports AP.

The agency in a statement said that all WHO regions except America and southeast Asia posted an increase in deaths over the last week.

The WHO said that more than 2.6 million new Covid-19 cases were reported between June 28 and July 4, a slight increase on the previous week, while the tally of deaths registered over the week declined 7 per cent to 54,000, That was the lowest such weekly figure since October.

The WHO said that most new Covid-19 cases were reported in Brazil and India - though weekly case counts in those two countries were declining - as well as Colombia, followed by Indonesia and Britain, which each tallied a weekly increase in coronavirus cases.

36 U.S. STATES FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST GOOGLE

As many as 36 US states and Washington DC have filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the search engine giant's control over its Android app store violates antitrust laws.

The lawsuit alleges that Google has deprived Android device users of robust competition that could lead to greater choice and innovation, as well as significantly lower prices for mobile apps.

The coalition against Google has said that it served as the gatekeeper of the internet for many years, but, more recently, it has also become the gatekeeper of our digital devices. This has resulted in consumers paying more for the software they use every day.

The lawsuit alleges that Google imposes technical barriers that strongly discourage or completely prevent third-party app developers from distributing apps outside the Google Play Store.