KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    5,90,302              /             42,57,838            /             9,324     /             1,54,62,602        /             546.2

1             USA        95,598   /             6,30,457              /             478        /             56,55,911            /             1,893

2             UK          21,691   /             1,29,881              /             138        /             12,41,308            /             1,902

3             Spain     20,327   /             81,773   /             130        /             6,89,312              /             1,748

4             Brazil     32,316   /             5,58,432              /             1,073     /             6,80,520              /             2,607

5             Indonesia            33,900   /             98,889   /             1,598     /             5,24,142              /             357

6             Russia    22,010   /             1,60,925              /             788        /             5,13,524              /             1,102

7             Iran        39,019   /             91,785   /             378        /             4,63,292              /             1,078

8             India      42,566   /             4,25,789              /             561        /             4,16,828              /             305

9             Mexico  6,506     /             2,41,279              /             245        /             3,78,351              /             1,850

10           France   26,829   /             1,11,993              /             57           /             3,48,851              /             1,712

11           Turkey   24,832   /             51,645   /             126        /             2,71,931              /             605

12           Argentina            14,850   /             1,06,447              /             402        /             2,49,407              /             2,332

13           Thailand               18,901   /             5,315     /             147        /             2,09,039              /             76

14           Malaysia              17,105   /             9,598     /             195        /             2,03,664              /             292

15           Honduras             1,018     /             7,902     /             31           /             1,91,026              /             784

16           Netherlands        2,184     /             17,832   /             3             /             1,82,984              /             1,038

17           Poland   164        /             75,265   /             4             /             1,54,085              /             1,991

18           Iraq        11,644   /             18,865   /             63           /             1,53,320              /             458

19           Bangladesh         15,776   /             21,397   /             235        /             1,49,651              /             129

20           South Africa       8,988     /             72,992   /             555        /             1,47,046              /             1,214

27           Pakistan               3,582     /             23,529   /             67           /             75,373   /             104

29           Philippines           6,879     /             28,141   /             48           /             63,137   /             253

POTENTIAL HIJACK' UNDERWAY OFF UAE COAST: UK MARITIME TRADE AGENCY

A "potential hijack" was unfolding off the coast of the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah region on Tuesday, Britain's maritime trade agency reported, without giving details on the vessel or vessels involved.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had in an earlier warning notice, based on a third-party source, advised ships to exercise extreme caution due to an incident around 60 nautical miles east of Fujairah.

The area in the Arabian Sea leads to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil exports flow.

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

On Tuesday afternoon at least five ships in the sea between the UAE and Iran updated their AIS tracking status to "Not Under Command", according to Refinitiv ship tracking data. Such a status generally indicates a ship is unable to manoeuvre due to exceptional circumstances.

Reuters could not confirm this Refinitiv data had any connection to the reported incident.

TALIBAN RETREAT FOLLOWS PUBLIC UPRISING IN HERAT

A public uprising against the Taliban has started in the western Afghan city of Herat after government forces repulsed an assault by the militant group. Herat, capital of the eponymous province, was the first city feared to fall to the Taliban as they had reached close to the government offices. The latest deployment of forces by Kabul helped the Afghan soldiers and private militia headed by former warlord Muhammad Ismail Khan to drive the militants out of key parts of the provincial capital. Until lately, the militants had engaged government troops in a street-to-street fight.

Officials in Herat said that government forces had managed to push back Taliban fighters from several areas of the city, including near the vital airport. “Afghan security forces plus resistance forces launched a big operation in the west of the city,” said spokesman for Herat’s governor.

On Monday night, the residents of the city, sensing the Taliban retreat, marched on the streets of Herat chanting “Allahu Akbar (God is Great)”. The locals had announced their support for the government forces and vowed to defend the province. Monday was the sixth day of fighting in Herat. The move was welcomed by Afghans in other regions including Kabul, who joined in by creating the hashtags “Herat uprising” and “Allahu Akbar”.

PENTAGON ON LOCKDOWN AFTER SHOOTING NEAR METRO STATION

An officer died after being stabbed Tuesday during a burst of violence at a transit station outside the Pentagon, and a suspect in the incident was shot by law enforcement and died at the scene, officials said.

The Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. military, was temporarily placed on lockdown after gunshots were fired Tuesday morning near the entrance of the building, A Pentagon police officer who was stabbed later died, according to officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The incident occurred on a Metro bus platform that is part of the Pentagon Transit Centre, according to the Pentagon Protection Force Protection Agency. The facility is just steps from the Pentagon building, which is in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

A Pentagon announcement said the facility was on lockdown due to “police activity.”

UN CREATES PERMANENT BODY TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF RACISM

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Monday establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

The resolution adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body also calls for the forum to serve as “a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent” and their full inclusion in the societies where they live.

The forum’s establishment comes during the International Decade for People of African Descent, established by the General Assembly, which began on January 1, 2015, and ends on December 31, 2024. It is focusing on the themes of recognition, justice and development.

The new body’s creation comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the controversial September 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which was dominated by clashes over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery. The US and Israel walked out during the meeting over a draft resolution that singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism to racism.

BY 2030, INDIA MIGHT LEAD THE WORLD IN ALMOST EVERY CATEGORY

By 2030, India might lead the world in every category, a former top America's diplomat has said asserting that the two largest democracies of the world can do much together.

“I look out at the year 2030, for example, and I see an India that may lead the world in almost every category…the most populous nation, the most college graduates, the largest middle-class, the most cell phone and Internet users, along with the third largest military and third largest economy, all coexisting in the world's largest democracy, with 600 million people under the age of 25,” Richard Verma said on Monday.

“That's on top of the massive development that is taking place in India today right before our eyes. Some $2 trillion will be spent on infrastructure in just the next decade. The bulk of the infrastructure needed for 2030 is yet to be built. That's why some 100 new airports are under planning or construction today alone,” he said.

In his commencement address to the Jindal University School of Banking and Finance, the former US Ambassador to India told young students that India has the youngest workforce in Asia.

“…and you'll hold that advantage until 2050. That's pretty formidable,” he said in his remarks on 'Driving Shared Prosperity — A 21st Century Priority for US-India Ties'.

The first ever Indian-American envoy to India said the modern US-India relationship was quite young.

In his address, Mr Verma asserted that it was now time for the relationship to deliver.

CHINA ORDERS TESTING OF ALL 11M IN WUHAN AS DELTA SPREADS

China suspended flights and trains, cancelled professional basketball league games and announced mass Covid testing in Wuhan on Tuesday as widening outbreaks of the Delta variant reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019.

While the total number of cases is still in the hundreds, they are far more widespread than anything China has dealt with since the initial outbreak that devastated Wuhan in early 2020 and over time spread to the rest of the country and the world. China has not eliminated but largely curbed Covid-19 at home with quick lockdowns and mass testing. Most previous outbreaks didn’t spread far beyond a city or province. This time, cases have been confirmed in over 35 cities in 17 of China’s 33 provinces and regions. The cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou have cancelled all domestic flights, and Beijing has halted long-distance trains from 23 stations.

Wuhan, a provincial capital of 11 million people in central China, is the latest city to undergo city-wide testing. City officials said they had detected three symptomatic local cases in the previous 24 hours, as well as five asymptomatic ones. They were among 90 new cases confirmed nationwide the previous day, the National Health Commission said Tuesday. Of those, 61 were locally spread ones.

Wuhan officials also announced a ban on large- scale gatherings and encouraged residents not to leave Wuhan and suspended offline classes.