KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    6,82,499              /             42,89,579            /             10,082   /             1,61,93,868               /             550.3

1             USA        1,21,773              /             6,32,627              /             736        /             59,73,838               /             1,899

2             UK          31,808   /             1,30,178              /             92           /             12,83,960            /               1,907

3             Spain     21,561   /             82,006   /             75           /             7,21,582              /               1,753

4             Brazil     42,159   /             5,61,807              /             1,006     /             6,78,337              /               2,623

5             Russia    22,660   /             1,63,301              /             792        /             5,18,910              /               1,118

6             Indonesia            39,532   /             1,04,010              /             1,635     /             5,07,375               /             376

7             Iran        34,913   /             93,086   /             458        /             5,07,117              /               1,093

8             India      38,700   /             4,27,401              /             616        /             4,18,929              /               306

9             France   25,077   /             1,12,158              /             60           /             4,03,695              /               1,714

10           Mexico  21,569   /             2,43,165              /             618        /             3,95,959              /               1,865

11           Turkey   23,957   /             51,976   /             101        /             3,27,003              /             609

12           Argentina            13,549   /             1,07,213              /             190        /             2,50,580               /             2,349

13           Malaysia              20,889   /             10,179   /             160        /             2,21,396              /               310

14           Thailand               21,379   /             5,854     /             191        /             2,12,926              /               84

15           Honduras             794        /             8,052     /             38           /             1,93,263              /               799

16           Netherlands        2,907     /             17,858   /             8             /             1,84,633              /               1,040

17           Iraq        11,435   /             19,087   /             87           /             1,66,415              /             463

18           South Africa       13,523   /             74,352   /             479        /             1,56,336              /               1,237

19           Poland   172        /             75,281   /             6             /             1,54,291              /               1,992

20           Bangladesh         12,606   /             22,150   /             248        /             1,40,673              /               133

25           Pakistan               4,745     /             23,702   /             67           /             79,992   /             105

27           Philippines           10,623   /             28,673   /             247        /             74,297   /             258

WON’T ACCEPT A GOVT IMPOSED BY FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN: UNSC

Members of the UN Security Council on Friday made it clear the world community wouldn’t accept any government forcibly imposed in Afghanistan by the Taliban, even as India called for the dismantling of terror safe havens and sanctuaries in Pakistan.

A meeting of the Security Council held under the Indian presidency to discuss the situation in Afghanistan was given a grim briefing on the fallout of the Taliban’s massive campaign of violence and attacks by Deborah Lyons, the UN secretary-general’s special representative, who said the country was at a “dangerous turning point”.

The envoys of UK, US, France, Ireland, Norway and Estonia called upon the Taliban to engage meaningfully and spoke against providing aid to the government that does not respect human rights.

France called on the Taliban to end violence and said they must be held accountable for their crimes and there can be no cloak of impunity surrounding violations of international human rights. The sentiment in the ongoing discussion was that a negotiated settlement should guarantee inclusive governance and human rights protections, especially for women.

India on Friday condemned forcible removal of Nishan Sahib atop the roof of Gurdwara Thala Sahib in Afghanistan’s Paktia.

The Taliban shot dead the head of the Afghan government’s media information centre Friday at a mosque in the capital, days after being warned of more attacks targeting Afghan government leaders, after the defence minister escaped an assassination attempt.

Barbara Woodward, the UK envoy to the UN, said the Taliban must realise there will be consequences if it continues its military offensive. “There can be no military solution to this conflict. For our part, the UK will not recognise a Taliban government that comes to power by force,” she said.

Following the statements by the 15 members of the Security Council, the meeting was adjourned for consultations behind closed doors.

G7 COUNTRIES CONDEMN 'UNLAWFUL' ATTACK ON TANKER OFF OMAN, BLAME IRAN

The Group of Seven leading industrialised countries on Friday jointly condemned last week's attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea and said evidence indicated Iran was behind the incident. The HV Mercer Street was struck off the coast of Oman on July 29, killing two people a Romanian and a British national.

We condemn the unlawful attack committed on a merchant vessel, the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US said in a joint statement. This was a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law," they added. "All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack.

The ship is managed by a firm owned by an Israeli billionaire, and Israel along with the US and Britain had previously pointed the finger at Tehran. Iran has denied being involved. In their statement, the G-7 countries said, Iran's behaviour, alongside its support to proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threatens international peace and security.

We call on Iran to stop all activities inconsistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and call on all parties to play a constructive role in fostering regional stability and peace, they said. The ministers called for vessels in the region to be able to navigate freely in accordance with international law.

We will continue to do our utmost to protect all shipping, upon which the global economy depends, so that it is able to operate freely and without being threatened by irresponsible and violent acts, they added.

ENGLAND’S COVID CASES FALL, VIRUS REPRODUCTION RATE COULD BE BELOW 1

Fewer people in England had Covid-19 at the end of last month, while the closely watched reproduction “R” number might have dropped below 1, adding to evidence that the national epidemic has stopped growing.

Britain’s Office for National Statistics said 1 in 75 people in England were estimated to have had coronavirus in the week to July 31, down from 1 in 65 the week before. Public Health England said the estimated R number in England was between 0.8 and 1.1, down sharply from last week’s range of 1.1 to 1.4. An R number below 1 suggests the pandemic is shrinking, while if it is above one, it suggests exponential growth. The daily growth rate range was estimated between -3% and +1%.

The new data add to evidence that coronavirus cases have fallen from a peak on July 17 in daily reported figures for this wave, even after PM Boris Johnson lifted Covid restrictions in England. Daily cases in Britain hit 54,674 two days before the restrictions ended but have fallen since.

Daily case totals rose steeply in the run-up to the end of restrictions in England on July 19, and health minister Sajid Javid said cases could hit 100,000. Instead, daily cases started to fall. Epidemiologists credit the end of the Euro soccer championship and school summer holidays.

‘1L GREEN CARDS AT RISK OF GOING WASTE’

About one lakh employment-based green cards are at the risk of being wasted in less than two months, much to the chagrin of Indian IT professionals. This year’s quota for employment- based immigrants is 2,61,500, far higher than the usual 1,40,000, Indian professional Sandeep Pawar said. “If these visas aren’t issued by September 30, they are lost forever,” he said. The current pace of processing by the USCIS suggests that it will waste over 1,00,000 green cards, a fact confirmed by the state department, he said. Last week, the US government said it has processed green card applications at such a slow pace that it will come at least 1,00,000 slots short of using up the annual limit. A group of 125 Indian and Chinese nationals in the US have filed a lawsuit to prevent the wastage of green cards.

LOUIS VUITTON'S BERNARD ARNAULT IS NOW WORLD'S RICHEST PERSON AS JEFF BEZOS SLIPS

French businessman and investor Bernard Arnault has unseated Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person, according to Forbes real-time billionaires list. Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has a net worth of $198.9 billion at the moment as per the dynamic list which may change anytime.

Arnault’s net worth took a giant leap after LVMH completed a deal with American jeweller Tiffany & Co in January 2021 for $15.8 billion, which is believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever. In 2019, LVMH completed the acquisition of luxury hospitality group Belmond, which owns or manages 46 luxury hotels, restaurants, trains and river cruises.

The 72-year-old chairman of the world's largest luxury goods company was on the third position on Forbes’ Billionaires 2021 list. He now oversees an empire of 70 brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora. Arnault has five children and four of them - Frédéric, Delphine, Antoine and Alexandre - work in corners of the LVMH empire, per Forbes.

Bezos has slipped to the second position on Forbes real-time billionaires list even as the e-commerce giant, Amazon, thrived during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

Tesla’s Elon Musk holds the third spot on the Forbes list with $185.5 billion. Musk was the world’s richest person at one point but Tesla’s decision to no longer accept Bitcoin pushed him out of the top position.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, and Francoise Bettencourt Meyers are among the world’s top 10 billionaires.