KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    2,99,743                             48,15,465                           4,560                    1,83,27,685                       617.8

1             USA        26,275                  7,19,927                             253                       98,60,740                           2,159

2             UK          30,439                  1,36,953                             43                          13,46,067                           2,004

3             Russia    25,769                  2,09,918                             890                       6,50,653                             1,438

4             Turkey   27,351                  64,661                  194                       4,87,360                             756

5             Brazil     9,004                    5,97,986                             237                       4,27,482                             2,788

6             Iran        12,428                  1,21,109                             229                       4,07,392                             1,419

7             Mexico  7,369                    2,78,590                             614                       3,71,576                             2,133

8             India      21,684                  4,49,029                             183                       2,71,570                             321

9             Honduras                                           9,855                                                  2,46,378                             976

10           Poland   1,090                    75,695                  6                            1,70,815                             2,003

11           Malaysia              9,066                    26,683                  118                       1,50,317                             811

12           Germany              4,965                    94,296                  7                            1,41,898                             1,121

13           Ukraine 7,967                    56,775                  126                       1,35,007                             1,308

14           Serbia    5,334                    8,380                    49                          1,30,073                             964

15           France   3,744                    1,16,798                             9                            1,19,917                             1,784

16           Spain                                   86,463                                                1,18,927                             1,848

17           Thailand               10,828                  17,014                  77                          1,12,251                             243

18           Philippines           13,273                  38,768                  112                       1,12,008                             348

19           Norway 309                       861                                                     1,00,720                             157

20           Romania              8,682                    37,544                  150                       99,187                  1,968

35           Pakistan               1,656                    27,866                  35                          46,503                  123

88           Bangladesh         617                       27,573                  18                          11,637                  165

US CONDEMNS ‘PROVOCATIVE’ CHINESE MILITARY ACTIVITY NEAR TAIWAN

US State Department spokesman called on Beijing to cease its ‘military, diplomatic’ coercion against Taiwan.

The United States has slammed China’s largest-ever incursion into Taiwan’s air defence zone, which it described as “provocative” and “destabilising” military activity.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Sunday called on Beijing to cease its “military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan”.

“The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,” Price said in a statement.

The comment followed a new record incursion on Saturday by 39 planes, a day after Beijing marked its National Day by buzzing the self-ruled democratic island with 38 warplanes, including nuclear-capable H-6 bombers.

‘PANDORA PAPERS’ EXPOSE OFFSHORE ASSETS OF HEADS OF STATE, GOVERNMENT

More than a dozen heads of state and government, including the King of Jordan and the Czech Prime Minister, have hidden millions in offshore tax havens, according to investigation published on Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) media consortium.

The so-called “Pandora Papers” investigation — involving some 600 journalists from media, including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian — is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in the documents analyzed by the ICIJ -- facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance.

The documents notably expose how King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a $100 million property empire from Malibu, California to Washington and London.

The BBC cited lawyers for King Abdullah saying all the properties were bought with personal wealth, and that it was common practice for high profile individuals to purchase properties via offshore companies for privacy and security reasons.

The documents also show Czech Prime minister Andrej Babis -- facing an election later this week -- failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth $22 million in the south of France.

In total, the ICIJ found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others.

More than two-thirds of the companies were set up in the British Virgin Islands.

Over 700 Pakistanis, including some ministers and key members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s inner circle, were listed among the individuals whose names were linked with the Pandora Papers

Pakistani investigative reporter Umar Cheema, who was part of the probe along with fellow journalist, Fakhar Durrani, shared details with Geo News. The two reporters are associated with The News newspaper owned by the Jang Group which also owns the Geo News.

NO MORE UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION: UK

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday he would not return to “uncontrolled immigration” to solve fuel, gas and Christmas food crises, suggesting such strains were part of a period of post-Brexit adjustment.

At the start of his Conservative Party's conference, Johnson was again forced to defend his government against complaints from those unable to get petrol for their cars, retailers warning of Christmas shortages, and gas companies struggling with a spike in wholesale prices.

The British leader had wanted to use the conference to turn the page on more than 18 months of Covid-19 and to refocus on his 2019 election pledges to tackle regional inequality, crime and social care.

Instead, the PM finds himself on the back foot nine months after Britain completed its exit from the European Union.

“The way forward for our country is not to just pull the big lever marked uncontrolled immigration, and let in a huge number of people to work... So what I won’t do is go back to the old, failed model of low wages, low skills supported by uncontrolled immigration," he said.

“When people voted for change in 2016 and ... again in 2019, they voted for the end of a broken model of the UK economy that relied on low wages and low skill and chronic low productivity, and we are moving away from that.” It was the closest the PM has come to admitting that Britain’s exit from the EU had contributed to strains in supply chains and the labour force, stretching everything from fuel deliveries to potential shortages of turkeys for Christmas.

5 KILLED IN KABUL MOSQUE BLAST AFTER TALIBAN HOLD VICTORY RALLY

Taliban supporters and senior figures held their first mass rally near Kabul on Sunday, but their show of strength was overshadowed by a bomb blast at the entrance of a mosque in the Afghan capital.

At least five civilians were killed in the blast, Qari Saeed Khosti, a Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman, said.

Mohammad Israil, a Kabul resident, said he heard the blast: “I heard a loud sound. All the people were running away.”

Initial reports indicate the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb. Three suspects have been arrested, Bilal Karimi, Taliban official spokesman said. He added the investigation was ongoing.

No foreign government has yet recognised the Islamist former rebels’ rule, though their hold on power within the country is becoming stronger, seven weeks after they took the capital.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had said on Saturday that a prayer ceremony would be held at the mosque for his mother following her recent death. He made no reference to this on Sunday as he tweeted that the blast had killed civilians in the area.

ISRAEL MAKES COVID BOOSTER JAB MUST FOR ‘FULLY VACCINATED’ TAG

Israel on Sunday introduced new rules for determining coronavirus vaccination status, making a booster shot a requirement for full inoculation and vaccination passports. After pioneering booster shots for everyone 12 and older, Israel is believed to be the first country to condition the validity of vaccination passports on having got a booster.

Israel said it would soon cancel the vaccination passports of over a million people, mainly those who are eligible for, but have not yet received, a third vaccination shot. To be considered fully vaccinated in Israel people must meet one of the following criteria: be 12 or older and have received a booster shot at least a week ago; be within six months of having received a second shot; or be within six months of having tested positive for Covid. The booster shots are Pfizer vaccinations.

In Israel, a Green Pass — a digital or paper vaccination certificate — is required for entry to public spaces, including restaurants, hotels, clubs, cultural venues and large private gatherings. Unvaccinated people can only gain entry with a proof of a negative rapid test carried out at an authorised test station, which is valid for 24 hours, or a negative PCR test valid for 72 hours.

The change in policy came after Israeli health officials and experts identified a significant waning of immunity in people five or six months after their second Pfizer dose and after studies indicated the effectiveness of the booster shot in preventing severe disease.

IN QATAR POLLS, WOMEN FAIL TO BREAK THROUGH

Women voters voiced disappointment on Sunday after none were elected in Qatar’s first legislative polls with all eyes on whether the Emir will use his powers to appoint 15 lawmakers to boost representation.

Thirty men were elected to Qatar’s Shura Council at Saturday’s polls despite more than two dozen women standing for the body which is seen as a nod to democracy rather than a fully-fledged parliament.

“The (emir’s) quota is the lifeline to ensure women’s representation in the next Assembly,” said defeated candidate Aisha Jassim al-Kuwari, who ran in a constituency alongside four other women against 14 male contenders.

“We hope to appoint four to five women because the presence of women is very important. Some of the female candidates were disappointed, of course, because they presented strong programmes — but we should not forget that some female voters chose men and this is the will of the people.”

It is not known when the Emir’s appointments will be announced or when the Council will meet.

Of the 284 hopefuls who went into the race for the 30 available council seats, just 28 were women although the final proportion after a number of eleventh-hour candidate withdrawals has not been published.

As well as counting no women amongst their number, the 30 victorious candidates were older men mostly from prominent families, many of whom had backgrounds in business or government.

“You lost the battle of victory, but you won the war of participation!” popular Qatari author Ebtesam al-Saad wrote on Twitter.

If as expected by many analysts the Emir does directly appoint women to improve the gender balance it would follow what happened in Bahrain’s election.

NORTH KOREA THREATENS TOP UN BODY AFTER EMERGENCY MEET

North Korea has warned the UN Security Council against criticising the isolated country’s missile programme, in a statement on Sunday that included unspecified threats against the international body.

During an emergency closed-door meeting of the top UN body on Friday, France circulated a proposed statement that expresses concern over North Korea’s missile launches and calls on it to fully implement council resolutions that ban its ballistic missile firings.

On Sunday, Jo Chol Su, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, warned the UNSC it “had better think what consequences it will bring in the future in case it tries to encroach upon the sovereignty” of North Korea.

Mr. Jo also accused the UN body of a “double-dealing standard” because it doesn’t equally take issue with similar weapons tests by the U.S. and its allies, according to the statement circulated by state media.

NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA HAVE PHONE CALL AFTER MONTHS

North Korea has restored communication lines with the South, months after it cut a cross-border hotline.

The move comes days after the country's leader Kim Jong-un said he was willing to restore communication as a conditional olive branch.

However, Pyongyang also said the restoration of their relationship was dependent on the "attitude of South Korean authorities".

North Korea has also recently been ramping up its military tests.

It has fired four missiles in less than a month - a sign that it has no intention of slowing down its arms development.

On Monday morning, South Korea's unification ministry said officials from both Koreas exchanged their first phone call since August.

"With the restoration of the South-North communication line, the government evaluates that a foundation for recovering inter-Korean relations has been provided," the ministry said in a statement.

MERKEL: 31 YRS LATER, GERMAN UNIFICATION INCOMPLETE

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Germans must keep working for democracy, as the country celebrated the 31st anniversary of the reunification of East and West.

In what is expected to be one of her last major speeches, the outgoing Chancellor said that “mentally and structurally, unification hasn't been completed yet”. Three decades on, there remains a political and economic divide between Germany's formerly communist east and the west. The difference was illustrated in last month's national election, where the far-right Alternative for Germany party captured 16 constituencies in the east even as its overall share of the vote dropped across the country.

ALGERIA SLAMS MACRON, BANS FLIGHTS, RECALLS ENVOY

Algeria has refused permission for France to fly military planes in its airspace and announced the recall of its ambassador from Paris in the wake of what it said were "inadmissible" comments attributed to French President Emmanuel Macron.

The sharp escalation in tensions also follows a French decision to slash the number of visas issued to people in North Africa, including Algeria, because governments there are refusing to take back migrants expelled from France.

French media reported that Macron spoke recently about Algeria's post-colonial system of government and its attitudes to France. In its report, Le Monde said Macron accused Algerian authorities of stoking hatred for France.