KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,54,822              /             42,47,622            /             7,358     /             1,52,61,495        /             544.9

1             USA        39,975   /             6,29,693              /             141        /             55,27,734            /             1,890

2             UK          21,952   /             1,29,743              /             24           /             12,36,459            /             1,900

3             Brazil     15,143   /             5,57,223              /             337        /             7,09,075              /             2,601

4             Spain     18,647   /             81,643   /             53           /             6,81,678              /             1,745

5             Indonesia            22,404   /             97,291   /             1,568     /             5,23,164              /             352

6             Russia    23,508   /             1,60,137              /             785        /             5,11,265              /             1,097

7             Iran        37,189   /             91,407   /             411        /             4,44,768              /             1,073

8             India      30,031   /             4,25,228              /             420        /             4,11,469              /             305

9             Mexico  6,740     /             2,41,034              /             128        /             3,98,074              /             1,848

10           France   5,184     /             1,11,936              /             51           /             3,30,903              /             1,711

11           Turkey   22,898   /             51,519   /             91           /             2,53,468              /             604

12           Argentina            11,183   /             1,06,045              /             273        /             2,46,112              /             2,323

13           Thailand               17,970   /             5,168     /             178        /             2,08,875              /             74

14           Malaysia              15,764   /             9,403     /             219        /             1,99,051              /             287

15           Honduras                            /             7,834     /                            /             1,88,580              /             778

16           Netherlands        2,094     /             17,829   /                            /             1,82,018              /             1,038

17           Poland   91           /             75,261   /                            /             1,53,959              /             1,991

18           South Africa       5,574     /             72,437   /             246        /             1,50,933              /             1,205

19           Bangladesh         15,989   /             21,162   /             246        /             1,50,407              /             127

20           Iraq        12,734   /             18,802   /             68           /             1,49,098              /             456

27           Pakistan               4,858     /             23,462   /             40           /             73,213   /             104

29           Philippines           8,167     /             28,093   /             77           /             62,615   /             253

CORONAVIRUS LEAKED FROM CHINA LAB, SAYS REPORT BY US REPUBLICANS

A preponderance of evidence proves the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility, said a report by US Republicans released on Monday, a conclusion that US intelligence agencies have not reached.

The report also cited "ample evidence" that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists - aided by US experts and Chinese and US government funds - were working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans and such manipulation could be hidden.

Representative Mike McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the report by the panel's Republican staff. It urged a bipartisan investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic that has killed 4.4 million people worldwide.

China denies a genetically modified coronavirus leaked from the facility in Wuhan - where the first Covid-19 cases were detected in 2019 - a leading but unproven theory among some experts. Beijing also denies allegations of a cover-up.

Other experts suspect the pandemic was caused by an animal virus likely transmitted to humans at a seafood market near the WIV.

"We now believe it's time to completely dismiss the wet market as the source," said the report. "We also believe the preponderance of the evidence proves the virus did leak from the WIV and that it did so sometime before September 12, 2019."

The report cited what it called new and under-reported information about safety protocols at the lab, including a July 2019 request for a $1.5 million overhaul of a hazardous waste treatment system for the facility, which was less than two years old.

In April, the top US intelligence agency said it concurred with the scientific consensus that the virus was not man-made or genetically modified.

U.S. PULLOUT WORSENED AFGHAN CRISIS: ASHRAF GHANI

The Afghan President on Monday blamed the American troops’ speedy pullout for the worsening violence in his country and said that his administration would now focus on protecting provincial capitals and major urban areas in the face of the rapidly advancing Taliban.

Ashraf Ghani also urged lawmakers to back a national mobilisation drive against the Taliban amid an intensifying war between the Taliban and Afghan government forces over the past few months as U.S. and NATO troops complete their pullout from the war-torn country.

“An imported, hasty” peace process — a reference to Washington’s push for negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban — “not only failed to bring peace but created doubt and ambiguity” among Afghans, Mr. Ghani said in his address to Parliament.

The Afghan President arrived by helicopter for the extraordinary session of the house, called because of the dire situation on the ground.

The Taliban are now trying to seize provincial capitals after already taking large swaths of land and scores of districts in more rural areas, as well as several key border crossings with neighbouring countries.

“The Taliban do not believe in lasting or just peace,” Mr. Ghani said. He predicted a sea change on the battlefield “in the next six months” that would push the Taliban back, without elaborating.

He claimed that Afghan forces are up to the task and have the “capacity” to defeat the insurgents. But in past weeks, Afghan forces have struggled against the Taliban onslaught, and have often been left without reinforcements and resupplies.

POLAND GRANTS HUMANITARIAN VISA TO BELARUSIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETE

Poland has granted a humanitarian visa to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian Olympic athlete who claimed her team tried to force her to leave Japan, Poland’s deputy foreign minister said Monday. Tsimanouskaya “is already in direct contact with Polish diplomats in Tokyo. She has received a humanitarian visa. Poland will do whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career," Marcin Przydacz wrote on Twitter.

Przydacz said Tsimanouskaya had turned to Poland for help out of her “very difficult" situation and was “safe on the grounds of our embassy" in Tokyo, news channel TVN24 reported.

“Poland offers support to Belarusian citizens who for political reasons either want to leave Belarusian territory or do not want to return to Belarus," he said.

Foreign ministry officials were quoted by Polish media saying they expected the athlete to travel to Poland this week.

IMF APPROVES BIG INCREASE IN FUNDS TO ALLEVIATE PANDEMIC IMPACT

The governing body of the International Monetary Fund has approved a $650 billion expansion in the agency's resources to support economically vulnerable countries battling the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it has caused.

The 190-nation lending institution said on Monday, August 2, 2021, that its Board of Governors approved the expansion of its reserves known as Special Drawing Rights, the largest increase in the institution's history.

“This is a historic decision ... and a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. “It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.”

The general allocation of SDRs will become effective on Aug. 23. The IMF said that the new reserves will be credited to IMF member countries in proportion to their existing quotas with the agency. About $275 billion of the new allocation will go to the world's poorer countries.

The agency is also looking into ways richer countries could voluntarily channel SDRs to poorer countries, the agency said.

MILLIONS UNDER LOCKDOWN IN CHINA

Millions of people were confined to their homes in China on Monday as the country tried to contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months including seven positive tests found in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in late 2019.

China reported 55 new locally transmitted cases on Monday as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached over 20 cities in more than a dozen provinces.

The Wuhan cluster came after the official daily tally was released, but it was confirmed by state media, which said the infections had been traced to a train station.

“The seven were identified as migrant workers,” Xinhua reported, citing COVID-19 prevention and control officials.

Major cities, including Beijing, have now tested millions of residents while cordoning off residential compounds and placing close contacts under quarantine.

Authorities in the capital met and agreed on the need to “raise vigilance, take strict precautions and defend (the city) to the death, sparing no expense,” in comments put out by the Beijing government.

SPYWARE FOUND ON PHONES OF JOURNOS: FRENCH INTELLIGENCE

Investigators from French intelligence have confirmed for the first time that the Pegasus spyware has been found on the smartphones of three journalists, including a senior employee at France 24 TV news channel, The Guardian reported on Monday.

The latest disclosure further corroborates the findings of “Pegasus Project”, a probe by a group of 17 media organisations into alleged surveillance.

Forbidden Stories, a French media entity, and Amnesty International had access to a leaked list of 50,000 phone numbers that had been identified as those of people of interest by clients of the Israeli firm NSO Group since 2016. NSO owns the Pegasus spyware.

According to the Guardian report, the French agency for information systems security, called Anssi, detected digital traces of the spyware on the TV journalist’s phone. Anssi shared the findings with the Paris public prosecutor’s office, which is overseeing the probe into possible hacking.

It also found the Pegasus spyware on phones belonging to Lénaïg Bredoux, a journalist at the French investigative website Mediapart, and the site’s director, Edwy Plenel.

“We are stupefied and angry that journalists could be the object of spying. We will not be taking this lying down. There will be legal action,” a source at France 24 said.

CHINA FLOOD TOLL TRIPLES TO 302; 50 REMAIN MISSING

More than 300 people died in recent flooding in central China, authorities said Monday, three times the previously announced toll.

The Henan provincial government said 302 people died and 50 remain missing. The vast majority of the victims were in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, where 292 died and 47 are missing. Ten others died in three other cities, officials said.

Record rainfall inundated Zhengzhou on July 20, turning streets into rushing rivers and flooding part of a subway line. Video posted online showed vehicles being washed away and desperate people trapped in subway cars as the waters rose. Fourteen people died in the subway flooding. The previous toll, announced on Friday, was 99. Authorities said189 people were killed by floods and mudslides, 54 in house collapses and 39 in underground areas.

HEAT EMERGENCY IN EUROPE AS WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS NATIONS

A heatwave baking southeast Europe has fuelled deadly wildfires in Turkey and threatened the national power grid in Greece as governments scrambled on Monday to secure the resources needed to cope with the emergency. Temperatures reached 45°C in inland areas of Greece and nearby countries and are expected to remain high for most of the week.

The European Union sent water-dropping planes to Turkey on Monday and volunteers joined firefighters in battling violent blazes that have killed eight people.

In Greece, an emergency was declared in fire-hit areas on the island of Rhodes. Workers with health conditions were allowed to take leaves, while Greek coal-fired power stations slated for retirement were brought back into service to shore up the national grid, under pressure due to the widespread use of air conditioning. Pregnant and vulnerable workers in North Macedonia were told to stay home. Italy, Spain and Croatia were also experiencing storms as well as wildfires. Some 30 people were treated for smoke inhalation in Italy’s coastal city of Pescara. Dann Mitchell, a professor of climate science, said this heat wave in Europe “is not unexpected, and likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change”.

TENSIONS BETWEEN IRAN & WEST RISE OVER SHIP ATTACK

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the US, Israel and UK blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. Tehran has denied any involvement in Thursday’s attack in which two crew members — a Briton and a Romanian — were killed.

The US and UK said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street. British PM Boris Johnson described the incident as “clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping”.”Iran should face up to the consequences of what they’ve done,” he said on Monday.

UK summoned the Iranian ambassador on Monday. Later, Iran summoned the British charge d’affaires and Romania’s top envoy in Tehran over their countries’ “accusations against the Islamic Republic’, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.“Iran has no hesitation in protecting its security and national interests and will respond promptly and strongly to any possible adventure,” Iranian state TV quoted foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.

The US navy had said on Saturday indications “clearly pointed” to a drone attack.