KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,37,910              /             49,36,618            /             7,230     /             1,77,81,689               /             633.3

1             USA        71,886   /             7,51,627              /             1,958     /             95,28,747            /               2,254

2             UK          49,139   /             1,39,031              /             179        /             14,21,995            /               2,034

3             Russia    34,073   /             2,26,353              /             1,028     /             8,02,760              /               1,550

4             Turkey   29,760   /             68,274   /             214        /             5,03,405              /             798

5             Mexico  4,220     /             2,84,923              /             446        /             3,52,226              /               2,180

6             Iran        11,770   /             1,24,585              /             162        /             3,35,963              /               1,459

7             Ukraine 18,912   /             61,843   /             495        /             2,72,543              /               1,425

8             Honduras             286        /             10,148   /             27           /             2,48,700              /               1,004

9             Brazil     15,610   /             6,04,228              /             326        /             2,15,206              /               2,817

10           Poland   5,559     /             76,254   /             75           /             1,95,939              /               2,018

11           India      18,359   /             4,52,844              /             160        /             1,85,657              /               324

12           Romania              17,158   /             43,039   /             414        /             1,85,032              /               2,257

13           Germany              18,687   /             95,668   /             80           /             1,58,951              /               1,137

14           Serbia    7,745     /             9,272     /             58           /             1,21,387              /               1,067

15           Norway 657        /             893        /             9             /             1,08,316              /             163

16           Finland  312        /             1,133     /             13           /             1,04,966              /             204

17           Thailand               8,918     /             18,486   /             79           /             1,03,507              /               264

18           France   6,036     /             1,17,376              /             21           /             88,626   /               1,793

19           Malaysia              5,516     /             28,138   /             76           /             81,955   /             855

20           Italy       3,702     /             1,31,688              /             33           /             73,668   /               2,182

58           Pakistan               554        /             28,312   /             12           /             25,205   /             125

97           Bangladesh         368        /             27,791   /             6             /             9,324     /             167

In Russia, Indian Officials Meet With Taliban Deputy PM, Offer Humanitarian Aid

A delegation of senior Indian diplomats met with Taliban deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi with an offer to provide humanitarian aid and to take into concern sensitivities of both sides.

This offer was first made by the Ministry of External Affairs’ joint secretary in charge of the Afghanistan file, J.P. Singh, during the Moscow format consultations closed-door meeting on Wednesday. It was again reiterated by the Indian diplomat at a separate meeting with senior Taliban leaders.

Singh was accompanied by MEA joint secretary (Eurasia) Adarsh Swaika.

India’s offer was first reported by the Twitter account of the Taliban’s official spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, who said that India’s representative was “ready to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan”.

After a couple of hours, the Taliban spokesperson tweeted a short statement that the Taliban delegation met with Singh on the sidelines of the Moscow meeting.

He added that “both sides considered it necessary to take into account each other’s concerns and improve diplomatic and economic relations”, as per a rough translation of the statement. Singh also stated that India was ready to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, the Taliban spokesperson noted.

The Taliban spokesperson’s acknowledgement of the Indian offer was the first time the new dispensation had mentioned India on its social media outlets. Interestingly, Mujahid tweeted summaries of statements from just three countries – India, China and Turkmenistan – that attended the closed-door meeting in Moscow.

INDIA-ISRAEL-US-UAE GROUPING ‘NOT AGAINST CHINA’

A new grouping that has been created among India, Israel, the US and the UAE is meant to give shape to a new level of economic cooperation and is “not against China”, according to Rony Yedidia-Clein, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israel Embassy in India. The Israeli diplomat said the possibility of a mega trade deal cannot be ruled out.  “The joint working group (a mechanism to be set up under the grouping) will take forward the discussions the foreign ministers had during the meeting. We are calling it a joint international forum for economic cooperation of these four countries who want to do business together,” she said.

“We are not trying to be against any country, and, to your question, this is not something against China.”

The foreign ministers of India, Israel, US and the UAE met Monday and decided to create a joint working group on issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and transport.  The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Israel, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan tuning in via video link. The meeting was an Israeli initiative.

COP26: DOCUMENT LEAK REVEALS NATIONS LOBBYING TO CHANGE KEY CLIMATE REPORT

A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change.

The leak reveals Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia are among countries asking the UN to play down the need to move rapidly away from fossil fuels.

It also shows some wealthy nations are questioning paying more to poorer states to move to greener technologies.

This "lobbying" raises questions for the COP26 climate summit in November.

It shows countries pushing back on UN recommendations for action just days before they will be asked to make significant commitments to slow down climate change and keep global warming to 1.5 degrees.

The leaked documents consist of more than 32,000 submissions made by governments, companies and other interested parties to the team of scientists compiling a UN report designed to bring together the best scientific evidence on how to tackle climate change.

These "assessment reports" are produced every six to seven years by the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with evaluating the science of climate change,

The report will be used by governments to decide what action is needed to tackle climate change and will be a crucial input to negotiations at the Glasgow conference.

COVID: WHO WARNS PANDEMIC WILL DRAG ON INTO 2022

The Covid pandemic will "go on for a year longer than it needs to" because poorer countries are not getting the vaccines they need, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Dr Bruce Aylward, senior leader at the WHO, said it meant the Covid crisis could "easily drag on deep into 2022".

Less than 5% of Africa's population have been vaccinated, compared to 40% on most other continents.

The UK has delivered more than 10 million vaccines to countries in need.

It has pledged a total of 100 million.

Dr Aylward appealed to wealthy countries to give up their places in the queue for vaccines in order that pharmaceutical companies can prioritise the lowest-income countries instead.

He said wealthy countries needed to "stocktake" where they were with their donation commitments made at summits such as the G7 meeting in St Ives this summer.

The People's Vaccine - an alliance of charities - has released new figures suggesting just one in seven of the doses promised by pharmaceutical companies and wealthy countries are actually reaching their destinations in poorer countries.

UK AGREES FREE TRADE DEAL WITH NEW ZEALAND

The UK has agreed a free trade deal with New Zealand which it says will benefit consumers and businesses.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the deal will cut costs for exporters and open up New Zealand's job market to UK professionals.

The government hopes it is a step towards joining a trade club with the likes of Canada and Japan.

The New Zealand deal itself is unlikely to boost UK growth, according to the government's own estimates.

Overall, only a tiny proportion of UK trade is done with New Zealand, less than 0.2%.

Labour and the National Farmers Union (NFU) said the deal could hurt UK farmers and lower food standards.

But International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said it "affords opportunities in both directions for great sharing of produce" and British farmers should not be worried.

Mr Johnson and New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, agreed the pact in a video call on Wednesday after 16 months of negotiations.

Tariffs will be removed on UK goods including clothing, ships and bulldozers, and on New Zealand goods including wine, honey and kiwi fruits.

Professionals such as lawyers and architects will be able to work in New Zealand more easily, the government said.

WHITE HOUSE DETAILS PLANS TO VACCINATE 28M CHILDREN AGE 5-11

Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician's office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for elementary school youngsters in a matter of weeks.

Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the safety and effectiveness of giving low-dose shots to the roughly 28 million children in that age group.

Within hours of formal approval, which is expected after the Food and Drug Administration signs off and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel meets on Nov. 2-3, millions of doses will begin going out to providers across the country, along with the smaller needles needed for injecting young children.

Within days of that, the vaccine will be ready to go into arms on a wide scale.

“We’re completing the operational planning to ensure vaccinations for kids ages 5 to 11 are available, easy and convenient,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said. “We’re going to be ready, pending the FDA and CDC decision.”

U.S. FDA AUTHORISES 'MIX AND MATCH' COVID-19 VACCINE; BACKS MODERNA, J&J BOOSTERS

U.S. regulators on October 20 signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially.

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which began with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine last month. But before more people roll up their sleeves, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel later this week before finalising official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The latest moves would expand by tens of millions the number of Americans eligible for boosters and formally allow “mixing and matching” of shots — making it simpler to get another dose, especially for people who had a side effect from one brand but still want the proven protection of vaccination.

Specifically, the FDA authorised a third Moderna shot for seniors and others at high risk from COVID-19 because of their health problems, jobs or living conditions — six months after their last shot. One big change: Moderna’s booster will be half the dose that’s used for the first two shots, based on company data showing that was plenty to rev up immunity again.

For J&J’s single-shot vaccine, the FDA said all U.S. recipients should get a second dose at least two months following their initial vaccination.

The FDA rulings differ because the vaccines are made differently, with different dosing schedules — and the J&J vaccine has consistently shown a lower level of effectiveness than either of the two-shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

NEPAL LANDSLIDES, FLASH FLOODS LEAVE AT LEAST 77 DEAD

The death toll after three days of heavy rain in Nepal triggered landslides and flash floods rose to 77 on Wednesday as rescuers recovered 34 more bodies, authorities announced.

Twenty-four deaths have been reported in the Panchthar district of east Nepal bordering India, 13 in neighbouring Ilam and 12 in Doti in west Nepal, interior ministry official Dil Kumar Tamang said. Others died in west Nepal.

The ministry said 22 people were injured and 26 missing.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has announced appropriate relief to the families of the deceased and those affected by the floods and landslides.

Authorities said the government would provide $1,700 as relief to the families of each dead victim and free treatment for the injured.

About 350km west of the capital Kathmandu, persistent heavy rains were hampering efforts to reach Seti, a village in west Nepal where 60 people have been marooned by floods for two days.

“Rescuers were unable to reach the village due to bad weather and continuous rains yesterday. Rescue efforts are continuing today,” Police spokesman Basanta Kunwar told Reuters.

PROTESTERS SEEK LAW FOR BANGLADESH MINORITIES

Demanding that the Bangladesh government should enact a law to ensure religious freedom for everyone, protesters and academicians across the country condemned the mob attacks on the Hindu community and vandalisation of temples and idols during Durga Puja festivities.

Attacks on Hindus and their temples have intensified in Bangladesh since last Wednesday after an alleged blasphemous post surfaced on social media during the Durga Puja celebrations. On late Sunday night, a mob damaged 66 houses and set on fire at least 20 homes of Hindus in Bangladesh.

Condemning the attacks on Hindus, protests were held across the country for the sixth day on Tuesday, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Speakers at various programmes demanded that the perpetrators of the violence be brought to justice, as well as other measures to protect minorities in Bangladesh.

The Dhaka University Teachers’ Association demanded exemplary punishment for those involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues across the country. They also urged the government to enact a law to ensure religious freedom for everyone.

According to M Wahiduzzaman, former VC of Noakhali Science and Technology University, the government should immediately enact a law that effectively discourages communal violence.

PAKISTAN PM IMRAN KHAN ACCUSED OF SELLING GIFTS RECEIVED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES' HEADS

Pakistan's Opposition parties on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of selling gifts he received from other countries' heads, including an expensive watch worth USD 1 million.

Gifts are routinely exchanged between heads of states or officers holding constitutional positions during a state visit. According to the gift depository (Toshakhana) rules, these gifts remain the property of the state unless sold at an open auction. Rules allow officials to retain gifts with a market value of less than ₹10,000 without paying anything, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

"Imran Khan has sold the gifts he received from other countries," PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz tweeted in Urdu.

"Caliph Hazrat Omar (companion of Prophet Muhammad) was accountable for his shirt and robe and you (Imran Khan), on the other hand, looted foreign gifts from Toshakhana and you are talking of setting up a state of Madina? How can a person (Khan) be this insensitive, deaf, dumb and blind?" asked the daughter of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Opposition alliance -- Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) -- president Maulana Fazlur Rehman said there are reports that prime minister Khan has sold a precious watch he received from a prince. "This is shameful," he said.

TRUMP TO LAUNCH NEW SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, banned from social media platforms Facebook and Twitter since the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has announced that he is launching a social media company , TRUTH Social, to “stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech.”

“We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” Mr. Trump said in a statement released via email by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG).

The platform will be made possible via the merger of TMTG and Digital World Acquisition Group, the email said, with TMTG eventually becoming a publicly listed company.

The app is expected to rollout across the U.S. in the first quarter of next year, with a beta version being launched next month.

“I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon. TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all. I'm excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech. Everyone asks me why doesn’t someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!”  Mr. Trump said. Presumably, a ‘TRUTH’ is the equivalent of a message or a tweet on Twitter.

TMTG also announced that it is launching a subscription video on demand program, featuring ‘non-woke’ programming.

JAILED RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER WINS TOP EU HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE

Imprisoned Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize on Wednesday in a clear slap to President Vladimir Putin.

In awarding the Sakharov Prize to Mr. Navalny, the European Parliament praised his “immense personal bravery.” The 45-year-old activist was poisoned with a nerve agent last year and promptly arrested upon his return to Moscow from treatment in Germany and later imprisoned.

“He has campaigned consistently against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and through his social media accounts and political campaigns, Navalny has helped expose abuses and mobilise the support of millions of people across Russia. For this, he was poisoned and thrown in jail,” Parliament President David Sassoli in a statement.

He called for Mr. Navalny’s immediate release.