KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    5,18,351              /             43,15,457            /             7,918     /             1,65,00,529               /             553.6

1             USA        98,620   /             6,33,790              /             311        /             62,17,028            /               1,902

2             UK          25,161   /             1,30,357              /             37           /             12,96,101            /               1,909

3             Spain     13,212   /             82,125   /             39           /             7,12,457              /               1,756

4             Brazil     12,471   /             5,63,707              /             237        /             6,75,385              /               2,631

5             Iran        40,808   /             94,603   /             588        /             5,39,359              /               1,111

6             Russia    22,160   /             1,65,650              /             769        /             5,34,279              /               1,135

7             Indonesia            20,709   /             1,08,571              /             1,475     /             4,48,508               /             392

8             France   5,775     /             1,12,288              /             68           /             4,20,803              /               1,716

9             Mexico  7,573     /             2,44,420              /             172        /             4,00,931              /               1,874

10           India      27,429   /             4,28,715              /             376        /             3,94,919              /               307

11           Turkey   23,731   /             52,313   /             117        /             3,78,238              /             613

12           Argentina            10,180   /             1,07,961              /             502        /             2,39,453               /             2,365

13           Malaysia              17,236   /             10,961   /             212        /             2,27,230              /               334

14           Thailand               19,603   /             6,353     /             149        /             2,14,421              /               91

15           Honduras                            /             8,120     /                            /             1,94,706              /               806

16           Netherlands        2,026     /             17,871   /             2             /             1,68,709              /               1,040

17           Iraq        9,619     /             19,270   /             67           /             1,65,318              /             468

18           SouthAfrica       6,756     /             75,012   /             199        /             1,57,156              /               1,247

19           Poland   64           /             75,285   /                            /             1,54,253              /               1,992

20           Vietnam               9,340     /             3,757     /             360        /             1,40,068              /               38

22           Bangladesh         11,463   /             22,897   /             245        /             1,22,402              /               138

25           Pakistan               4,040     /             23,918   /             53           /             83,298   /             106

26           Philippines           8,900     /             29,128   /             6             /             78,480   /             262

LANDMARK U.N. REPORT DELIVERS STARK WARNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS IT’S ‘CODE RED FOR HUMANITY’

The world’s leading climate scientists on Monday delivered their starkest warning yet about the deepening climate emergency, with some of the changes already set in motion thought to be “irreversible” for centuries to come.

A highly anticipated report by the U.N.’s climate panel warns that limiting global warming to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius or even 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels “will be beyond reach” in the next two decades without immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

To be sure, the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is a crucial global target because beyond this level, so-called tipping points become more likely. Tipping points refer to an irreversible change in the climate system, locking in further global heating.

At 2 degrees Celsius of global warming, the report says heat extremes would often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health.

U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres described the report as “a code red for humanity.”

“The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk,” Guterres said.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest findings, approved by 195 member states on Friday, deals with the physical science basis of climate change and outline how humans are altering the planet. It is the first installment of four reports released under the IPCC’s current assessment cycle, with subsequent reports scheduled to be published next year.

The first part of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report provides world leaders with a gold standard summation of modern climate science ahead of U.N. climate talks, known as COP26, in early November.

Reacting to the report’s publication, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry said the report underscored the “overwhelming urgency of this moment.” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped it could be a “wake-up call” for global leaders ahead of COP26.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said the report contained no real surprises. “We can still avoid the worst consequences, but not if we continue like today, and not without treating the crisis like a crisis.”

The IPCC report makes clear that it is not just about temperature. It says climate change is bringing different changes in different regions — and all will increase with further global heating.

These changes include more intense rainfall and associated flooding, more intense drought in many regions, coastal areas to see continued sea level rise throughout the 21st century, the amplification of permafrost thawing, ocean acidification, among many others.

It follows a series of mind-bending extreme weather events worldwide. For instance, in just the last few weeks, floods have wreaked havoc in Europe, China and India, toxic smoke plumes have blanketed Siberia and wildfires have burned out of control in the U.S., Canada, Greece and Turkey.

Policymakers are under immense pressure to deliver on promises made as part of the Paris Agreement ahead of COP26. Yet, even as global leaders publicly acknowledge the necessity of transitioning to a low-carbon society, the world’s dependency on fossil fuels is expected to get even worse.

PM MODI CHAIRS UNSC DEBATE, CALLS FOR COOPERATION TO COMBAT MARITIME THREATS

Noting that the joint maritime heritage of the world is facing several types of challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said maritime disputes should be settled peacefully and on the basis of international law.

Chairing the UNSC High-Level Open Debate on ‘Enhancing Maritime Security: A Case For International Cooperation’, he outlined five principles and called for joint efforts to combat natural disasters and maritime threats posed by non-state actors. The Prime Minister, who chaired the meeting through video conference, said that barriers should be removed for legitimate maritime trade.

“The first principle is that we should remove barriers in legitimate maritime trade. The second principle is that maritime disputes should be sorted out peacefully and on the basis of international law only.” The PM said the third principle is we should face natural disasters and maritime threats created by non-state actors together.

“The fourth principle is that we have to preserve the maritime environment and maritime resources,” he said.

The fifth principle is that we should encourage responsible maritime connectivity, Modi said. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to preside over a UNSC meeting.

LAWMAKERS SLAM AF GOVT FOR FALL OF CITIES

Afghan lawmakers have strongly criticised President Ashraf Ghani’s government for failing to defend the strategically important cities of Sheberghan and Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, which fell recently to the Taliban without much resistance.

Some members of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, or Junbish-e-Milli, a political party headed by former Afghan vice-president Abdul Rashid Dostum, warned that more cities in the north would come under threat if Taliban advances were not prevented in Kunduz province. They also linked the fall of neighbouring Jawzjan province to rivalry between Dostum and other powerful leaders.

“The internal rifts and rivalries between Dostum and others had provided an opportunity for Taliban to take over Jawzjan. The Taliban, otherwise, had not the ability to overrun the province with such ease,” said Bahruddin Jawzjani, a tribal elder from Jawzjan. The insurgent group had captured Sheberghan three days ago. During their interaction with Afghan media, lawmakers from Kunduz and Jawzjan provinces accused the Kabul administration of not paying attention to the security situation in the north. They said that the takeover of Jawzjan’s capital, Sheberghan, and parts of Kunduz city has threatened the security of other cities in the north.

“The Kabul administration had not focused on the security of Kunduz. The situation in Kunduz affects the situation in Takhar and Baghlan. The capture of Baghlan would cut off Kunduz and other key northern towns from Kabul. Kabul is now threatened from the north,” said former deputy interior minister Mirza Mohammad Yarmand. He urged the government to retake control of Kunduz as soon as possible.

‘27 kids killed in 3 Af provinces in 3 days’

At least 27 children have been killed and 136 injured across three provinces of Afghanistan over the past three days amid escalating violence, the UN children’s agency said on Monday. “Unicef is shocked by the rapid escalation of grave violations against children in Afghanistan,” Unicef country representative Hervé Ludovic De Lys said. The deaths and injuries were reported in Kandahar, Khost and Pakria provinces.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST

One person is now dying from Covid-19 every two minutes in Iran, state TV said on Monday, as West Asia’s worst-hit nation reported a new record daily toll of 588 fatalities. With authorities complaining of poor social distancing, state media say hospitals in several cities have run out of beds for new patients. Some social media users have criticised the clerical establishment over slow vaccinations, with only about 4% of the 83 million population fully inoculated.

Total deaths have reached 94,603, the ministry said, while cases rose by 40,808 in the past 24 hours to 4,199,537 in a fifth wave blamed on the Delta variant. “Every two seconds one person gets infected in Iran and almost every two minutes one person dies,” state TV said, adding that most of Iran’s 31 provinces have moved from the lower risk orange level to red alert. That compares to a reported rate of about one death per three minutes a month ago. In January, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned imports of US- and UK-made vaccines, saying they were unreliable. Iran has blamed US sanctions for hampering its vaccine drive.

For the first time since February, the US is averaging over 1,00,000 new Covid cases a day. Over the past week, the average number of cases doubled from two weeks ago. In the same period, deaths have doubled to 516 a day. The surge is tied to Delta variant. NYT

Meanwhile, China has punished over 30 officials nationwide, ranging from mayors and local health directors to the heads of hospitals and airports, for failing to curb Delta outbreak that has spawned nearly 900 symptomatic cases in less than a month.

BLACK SUNDAY IN AFRICA: 51 DIE IN MALI ATTACKS, 12 TROOPS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO

At least 51 people were killed late on Sunday after Islamist militants raided three villages in central Mali near the border with Niger, a district administrator said in a note seen by Reuters on Monday.

The towns of Ouatagouna, Karou and Deouteguef were simultaneously attacked around 6pm on Sunday, according to a note from the Asongo district administrator to the governor of Gao region. Houses were ransacked and burned to the ground and herds of livestock carried away, said the note, which was seen by Reuters.

In Burkina Faso, meanwhile, 12 troops were killed and eight were wounded on Sunday in an ambush near the border with Mali, the government said. “Members of the ground forces and the rapid intervention force GARSI were ambushed” in the northwest Boucle du Mouhoun region, communications minister Ousseni Tamboura said.

Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said in a tweet that “we continue to wage without concession the war the obscurantist and barbaric forces have imposed on our country”.

LONDON’S TOWER BRIDGE GETS STUCK OPEN FOR SECOND TIME IN A YEAR

London’s famous Tower Bridge got stuck in its open position for the second time in a year due to a technical fault on Monday, leading to tail-backs of road traffic trying to cross the River Thames.

The bridge, which allows boats to pass underneath by raising the road which crosses it, got stuck shortly before 2:45pm (1345GMT), a spokeswoman for the City of London police force said.

Since 1976, the bridge’s two arms, or bascules, have been operated by engines powered by oil and electricity, replacing the original steam-powered ones that dated back to the 19th century.

“Du to a technical issue, Tower Bridge is currently stuck in a raised position,” a spokesman for the City of London Corporation, which owns the bridge, said. “We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

It was the second time in a year that the bridge got stuck. In August 2020, it was closed for more 24 hours when its bascules jammed in an open position.