KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,24,454              /             50,78,418            /             6,807     /             1,87,17,154        /             651.5

1             USA        57,056   /             7,77,880              /             1,007     /             91,50,351            /             2,332

2             UK          33,117   /             1,42,124              /             262        /             15,59,020            /             2,079

3             Russia    39,160   /             2,49,215              /             1,211     /             10,04,844            /             1,707

4             Ukraine 18,988   /             73,390   /             833        /             4,96,534              /             1,692

5             Turkey   28,662   /             72,510   /             196        /             4,49,537              /             847

6             Mexico  810        /             2,89,811              /             77           /             3,44,717              /             2,216

7             Germany              28,986   /             97,355   /             188        /             3,35,180              /             1,157

8             Poland   13,644   /             77,980   /             220        /             2,88,741              /             2,063

9             Honduras             129        /             10,313   /             4             /             2,49,874              /             1,019

10           Iran        8,305     /             1,27,551              /             112        /             2,47,313              /             1,493

11           Netherlands        11,282   /             18,612   /             29           /             2,00,376              /             1,083

12           Brazil     10,948   /             6,09,756              /             154        /             1,86,381              /             2,841

13           Belgium               8,418     /             26,200   /             24           /             1,82,544              /             2,247

14           India      12,331   /             4,61,827              /             480        /             1,48,906              /             330

15           Romania              7,589     /             51,483   /             462        /             1,45,547              /             2,701

16           Norway 2,126     /             924        /             3             /             1,30,637              /             169

17           France   12,476   /             1,18,023              /             58           /             1,30,020              /             1,803

18           Vietnam               8,133     /             22,686   /             88           /             1,19,319              /             230

19           Finland  810        /             1,209     /             9             /             1,18,093              /             218

20           Bulgaria                              /             25,408   /                            /             1,14,301              /             3,694

67           Pakistan               400        /             28,558   /             11           /             22,845   /             126

94           Bangladesh         206        /             27,904   /             3             /             8,140     /             167

COVID IS SURGING AGAIN IN EUROPE AS WINTER LOOMS

Coronavirus cases may be falling in much of the world but they are on the rise again in Europe, where pandemic restrictions have been relaxed and cold weather has moved into some countries. Low vaccination rates in Eastern Europe are also to be blamed for the grim numbers. More than half of all new infections reported worldwide were from countries in Europe, with a million new infections about every four days, according to a Reuters analysis Germany’s coronavirus infection rate has risen to its highest level since the start of the pandemic. The seven-day incidence rate - the number of people per 100,000 to be infected over the last week — rose to 201.1, higher than a previous record of 197.6 in December last year.

Authorities in France said on Monday the number of people hospitalised because of Covid-19 went up by 156 over the past 24 hours, the highest daily rise since August 23, to reach a one-month peak of 6,865.

A group of hospitals in the southern Dutch province of Limburg on Tuesday called for the government to take new measures to stem rising cases, saying they have no space or staff to handle more coronavirus patients. Infections in the Netherlands is approaching all-time highs despite adult vaccination levels around 85%. The country on Tuesday reported weekly cases were up 45% to 76,790, or more than 400 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Denmark on Monday proposed reinstating the use of a digital “corona pass” to be presented when Danes visit indoor bars and restaurants, as the country is entering a third wave of the pandemic. Bulgaria reported record daily Covid deaths on Tuesday as the EU’s least vaccinated country grapples with a fourth wave.

Russia said the nationwide workplace shutdown it ended this week had helped turn the tide on Covid wave, even as officials on Tuesday reported the largest one-day virus death toll (1,211) so far. The country reported 39,160 cases in the last 24 hours, down from a peak of 41,335 on Saturday. Ukraine on Tuesday also hit record for daily Covid toll with 833 deaths over the past day, surpassing the previous high of 793 over the weekend.

INDIA, CHINA, OTHER DEVELOPING NATIONS PROPOSE $1.3 TRILLION PER YEAR IN CLIMATE FINANCE

Most of the developing nations, including China, India and African countries, have sought at least US $1.3 trillion per year from the wealthy countries in climate finance starting from 2030—a demand that would be most likely to cause further consternation even as countries at COP26 negotiate on the amount.

A group of 24 nations that call themselves Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs), as well as countries from Africa, on Monday evening put forward this demand in a proposal for enhanced finance flows that they are pushing for inclusion in the final decisions that will be agreed at the climate conference in Glasgow.

India is part of the LMDC grouping along with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and others.

Earlier in 2009 at COP15, the world’s richest countries had pledged to provide $100 billion per year of climate finance for developing countries every year till 2020. In the Paris Agreement, this period was extended till 2025.

But the deal never materialised, with many rich nations admitting that they won’t be able to do so before 2023 — three years after the original deadline.

The developing nations have argued that the enhanced climate finance is essential to driving their climate ambitions and preventing a global rise in temperatures beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels under the Paris Agreement.

The developing countries have also said that climate finance must be clearly defined so that it is not mixed up with other kinds of existing financial flows.

CHINA EXPORTS WARSHIP TO PAK., TO BE DEPLOYED IN INDIAN OCEAN

China on Monday delivered to Pakistan’s Navy what its official media described as the “most advanced” Chinese warship ever exported, which is to be deployed by Pakistan in the Indian Ocean.

The delivery of the Type 054A frigate is the latest example of increasingly close military cooperation, which many Chinese and Pakistani analysts see as aimed at bolstering Pakistani capabilities in an effort to balance India in the region.

Pakistan’s envoy to China, Moin Ul Haque, told the Communist Party-run newspaper Global Times on Tuesday that the commissioning of the frigate “in the context of the overall security paradigm of the region” would “strengthen Pakistan Navy’s capabilities to respond to maritime challenges to ensure seaward defence, maintain peace, stability and balance of power in the Indian Ocean region”.

The newspaper quoted the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which designed and built the frigate, as saying the warship was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai.

It has been named PNS Tughril by the Pakistani Navy, and it is “the first hull of four Type 054 frigates being constructed for the Pakistan Navy”, the Pakistan Navy told the newspaper,

“Being equipped with state-of-the-art combat management and an electronic warfare system along with modern self-defence capabilities, the Type 054A/P frigate can simultaneously execute a number of naval warfare missions in a highly intense multi-threat environment,” it added.

HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS TRAPPED IN BELARUS-POLAND STAND-OFF

Hundreds of desperate migrants were trapped in freezing weather on the border between Belarus and EU and NATO member Poland on Tuesday, with Warsaw accusing the regime in Minsk of using them to threaten European security.

Western critics have for months said Belarus’s strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko is luring migrants from the Middle East to his country to send them across the border, in retaliation for European sanctions.

Belarus denies the claim and accuses Poland of violating human rights by refusing to allow the migrants in.

The tense situation has raised fears of a confrontation on the border, where armed troops from both countries are deployed.

A defiant Mr. Lukashenko said he was not looking for an armed confrontation but also would not back down.

“We are not seeking a fight... I am not a madman, I understand perfectly well where it can lead,” Mr. Lukashenko said in an interview released by state news agency Belta. “But we will not kneel.” The crisis came to a head on Monday when hundreds of migrants marched to the border in a bid to cross but were blocked by rows of Polish police, soldiers and border guards behind barbed wire.

Poland and Belarus said on Tuesday that between 3,000 to 4,000 migrants were now in an improvised camp on the border, near the Polish village of Kuznica.

Poland said Belarus was using the migrants as a weapon, insisting it would not open its border.

4 ASTRONAUTS BACK ON EARTH AFTER 199 DAYS AT ISS

Four astronauts safely returned on Monday from a record six-month Nasa science mission aboard the International Space Station, splashing down with their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of a daylong flight home. The Dragon vehicle, dubbed Endeavour, parachuted into the sea off the Florida coast as planned just after10.30pm EST on Monday. Real-time infrared thermal video imaging captured a glimpse of the capsule streaking like a meteor through the night sky over the Gulf minutes before splashdown. The return capped 199 full days in orbit, the longest ever for an entire US-launched crew. It surpassed the previous 168-day record set by the predecessor SpaceX-Nasa mission earlier this year. The four astronauts were launched to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that lifted off from Florida on April 23.