KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,28,138              /             48,39,015            /             7,770     /             1,80,27,252        /             620.8

1             USA        1,01,198              /             7,27,179              /             1,998     /             98,02,932            /             2,181

2             UK          39,851   /             1,37,295              /             143        /             13,40,692            /             2,009

3             Russia    25,133   /             2,12,625              /             929        /             6,71,035              /             1,456

4             Turkey   30,438   /             65,373   /             236        /             4,78,864              /             765

5             Iran        10,497   /             1,21,779              /             216        /             3,87,631              /             1,427

6             Brazil     17,758   /             5,99,359              /             488        /             3,62,537              /             2,795

7             Mexico  7,682     /             2,79,894              /             790        /             3,60,937              /             2,143

8             India      22,617   /             4,49,883              /             315        /             2,50,440              /             322

9             Honduras             330        /             9,913     /             34           /             2,47,087              /             981

10           Poland   2,085     /             75,774   /             33           /             1,73,937              /             2,005

11           Germany              11,604   /             94,499   /             80           /             1,57,455              /             1,123

12           Ukraine 12,662   /             57,526   /             320        /             1,51,610              /             1,325

13           Malaysia                             /             26,876   /                            /             1,35,945              /             817

14           Serbia    7,150     /             8,531     /             50           /             1,27,593              /             981

15           Romania              14,744   /             38,260   /             328        /             1,16,657              /             2,006

16           Philippines           9,868     /             38,828   /                            /             1,12,807              /             348

17           Thailand               9,866     /             17,305   /             102        /             1,08,022              /             247

18           France   4,946     /             1,16,957              /             34           /             1,03,935              /             1,787

19           Norway 195        /             871        /             10           /             1,01,971              /             159

20           Finland  666        /             1,062     /                            /             97,603   /             191

35           Pakistan               1,212     /             27,986   /             39           /             44,828   /             124

89           Bangladesh         703        /             27,635   /             21           /             11,407   /             166

‘HISTORIC DAY’: WHO GO-AHEAD FOR BROAD USE OF FIRST-EVER MALARIA VACCINE FOR CHILDREN IN AFRICA

The first vaccine for malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills about 400,000 people each year, is set to be deployed more widely after more than three decades of work and about $1 billion in investment.

The vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and its partners won a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday for use in children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission. It marks a turning point in a battle against the parasite that causes malaria.

The shot prevented only about four in 10 malaria cases among children who received four doses in a large study, but the injection, along with other measures, could still save hundreds of thousands of lives. Now the focus will shift to getting it to more people following a pilot program in Africa that began in 2019.

Following a meeting of the United Nations health agency’s vaccine advisory group, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke of “a historic moment”.

“Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent, which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement.

NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY 2021: BENJAMIN LIST, DAVID MACMILLAN DECLARED WINNERS

This year, the Nobel Prizes for science present an all-male line-up. Like the awards in Medicine and Physics earlier this week, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to male scientists.

Germany's Benjamin List and US-based researcher David MacMillan received the Chemistry prize for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis.

While organocatalysis might sound complicated, it's exactly the opposite: it makes the job of chemists easier, cheaper and greener.

Pernilla Wittung Stafshede of the Nobel Prize Committee called it "truly elegant."

UK LIFTS TRAVEL ADVISORY AGAINST ALL BUT ESSENTIAL TRAVEL FOR 32 COUNTRIES

The UK government's travel advisory warning against "all but essential travel" on public health grounds was updated on Wednesday to lift COVID-19 related restrictions for 32 countries, including Bangladesh and Malaysia.

India was not among the countries covered by this complete travel ban, which impacts travellers' ability to access travel insurance. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the change means people will be able to travel to a larger number of destinations with greater ease.

UK government sources have said that the extension of vaccine certification to additional countries will be reviewed approximately every three weeks, with the first three-week review mark expected this week.

Meanwhile, Indians entering the UK - irrespective of vaccination status - are required to undertake three PCR tests and self-isolate at a declared address.

British nationals entering India are subjected to the same rules, as part of retaliatory measures that came into force from Monday.

UAE CLAIMS TO HAVE ‘OVERCOME’ COVID CRISIS

The United Arab Emirates declared on Wednesday that it has overcome the COVID crisis, recording its lowest number of infections this month since summer last year.

“I wanted to assure you all that our lives must go back to normal,” said Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in footage published by the official WAM new agency.

“There are some changes in how we work, in our families’ studies or our personal lives... but we thank God for everything,” said the de facto UAE ruler.

“We also thank God that we have overcome this crisis... safely, in good health and with an experience, for which we paid the price, but we learnt a lot.”

The seven emirates of the UAE recorded fewer than 200 new cases of COVID this month — the lowest figure since August last year.

While life in the UAE has largely returned to normal, it retains strict rules on wearing masks and social distancing

AT LEAST 20 DEAD AS MAGNITUDE 5.7 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES PAKISTAN

Around 20 people have been killed after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit southern Pakistan in darkness early on Thursday, government officials said. Many of the victims died when roofs and walls collapsed, Suhail Anwar Hashmi, a senior provincial government official, told AFP. A woman and six children were among twenty dead, he said.

“We are receiving information that 20 people have been killed due to the earthquake,” provincial interior minister Mir Zia Ullah Langau added. “Rescue efforts are underway.”

Naseer Nasar, the head of Balochistan's provincial disaster management authority, told AFP that between 15 and 20 people had died, but that the toll may increase.

The worst-affected area was the remote mountainous city of Harnai, in Balochistan, where a lack of paved roads, electricity, and mobile phone coverage has hampered the rescue effort. The earthquake was also felt in Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta.

PAK ARMY APPOINTS LT GEN NADEEM ANJUM AS NEW ISI CHIEF

In a surprise military shake-up, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander -- a crucial position in view of the Taliban’s takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum was appointed as the new Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in place of Lt Gen Hameed, who was transferred as Peshawar Corps Commander, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the media wing of the Pakistan Army.

The ISI chief is appointed by the prime minister but as part of a tradition he executes this power in consultation with the Pakistan Army chief.

Lt Gen Anjum, who belongs to the Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army, has served as Karachi Corps Commander as well as the commandant of Command and Staff College Quetta.

He is considered as a battle-hardened who commanded the Frontier Corps Balochistan as its Inspector General and oversaw many operations against terrorists.

AS NEPAL RUNS DRY, COMMUNITIES TAP WATER HARVESTING

As groundwater depletes and climate change impacts strengthen, a rooftop system that catches, stores and filters rainwater is helping a Kathmandu Valley town beat thirst.

But two kilometres away, the residents of the town of Liwali enjoy clean water year-round, thanks to a rooftop rainwater-harvesting plant built in a disused earthquake camp.

For the past four years, Liwali residents have been collecting rainwater through a system of pipes connected to the zinc sheet roofs of shacks built as temporary housing after two huge earthquakes shook Nepal in 2015, explained resident Kamala Sitikhu.

The water is stored in a 106,000-litre underground tank, filtered and dispensed through a set of taps, and evenly shared among nearly 100 households, each of whom get 40 litres every other day, she said.

Rainwater harvesting projects like the one in Liwali could offer a solution to other thirsty towns, water experts say, as scientists warn a hotter climate will lead to more intense water shortages.

Rising temperatures driven by climate change are expected to exacerbate the problem, said Sangam Shrestha, a professor of water engineering and management at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, whose research predicts that the average maximum temperature in Kathmandu Valley could rise by up to 3.8 degrees Celsius (6.84 Fahrenheit) by the end of this century.

Higher temperatures will affect water demand and how groundwater is recharged by rain, which means "the water shortage in Bhaktapur will get worse," he warned.