KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,26,726              /             51,73,716            /             5,188     /             1,94,04,307               /             663.7

1             USA        59,918   /             7,94,453              /             315        /             93,54,433            /               2,381

2             Russia    35,681   /             2,65,336              /             1,241     /             10,47,860            /               1,817

3             UK          44,917   /             1,43,972              /             45           /             9,94,009              /               2,105

4             Germany              40,489   /             99,817   /             204        /             6,69,564              /               1,186

5             Ukraine 7,464     /             81,598   /             326        /             4,85,319              /               1,881

6             Turkey   24,856   /             75,235   /             193        /             4,00,293              /             879

7             Netherlands        23,002   /             18,995   /             29           /             3,88,986              /               1,105

8             Poland   12,334   /             80,830   /             8             /             3,75,133              /               2,139

9             Mexico  1,225     /             2,92,471              /             99           /             3,46,287              /               2,236

10           Belgium                              /             26,568   /                            /             2,88,571              /               2,279

11           France   5,266     /             1,18,555              /             94           /             2,49,361              /               1,811

12           Honduras                            /             10,388   /                            /             2,47,686              /               1,026

13           Czechia 8,244     /             32,173   /             46           /             2,03,035              /               2,997

14           Brazil     2,594     /             6,12,842              /             120        /             1,76,671              /               2,855

15           Vietnam               10,321   /             23,951   /             190        /             1,70,608              /               243

16           Iran        5,427     /             1,29,053              /             97           /             1,58,752              /               1,510

17           Norway 2,391     /             1,002     /             3             /             1,55,348              /             183

18           Austria  13,806   /             12,042   /             27           /             1,52,984              /               1,327

19           Italy       6,404     /             1,33,247              /             70           /             1,51,514              /               2,208

20           Hungary               27,209   /             33,172   /             392        /             1,44,533              /               3,446

22           India      8,488     /             4,65,911              /             93           /             1,18,443              /               333

62           Pakistan               323        /             28,663   /             4             /             22,562   /             126

93           Bangladesh         264        /             27,955   /             2             /             7,860     /             167

US JOLTED INTO ACTION AFTER CHINA’S RAPID ADVANCES IN HYPERSONIC TECH

As the designated head of the US National Space Council, the challenge arising from China’s stunning lead over US in hypersonic technological capability, acknowledged by leading American generals, has landed on US Vice-President Kamala Harris’s table. Concern is permeating through US defence and strategic circles over China’s advances in the field.

Top US military officials admitted over the weekend that America has “catching up to do very quickly” to match Beijing’s hypersonic capability, while indicating even Russia has taken a lead in the field. “We’re not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programmes,” General David Thompson, vice-chief of space operations, said.

Admiral John Aquilino, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said that the US Space Force is working to “figure out the type of satellite constellation that we need” to track these missiles, and while “it’s a new challenge... it’s not that we don’t have an answer to this challenge. We just have to understand it, fully design it, and fly it.”

Easier said than done. US generals have been expressing concern over what they see as a slow and risk-averse acquisition driven by bureaucracy, even as China has raced ahead. But recent reports of Chinese advances appear to have jolted Washington into action.

The Pentagon announced last week that it has selected Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to research and develop a missile system that would be able to defend the US against a hypersonic weapons attack. The firms were awarded separate contracts totalling $60 million.

CHINA WILL NOT SEEK DOMINANCE OVER SE ASIA, XI TO ASEAN

Chinese leader Xi Jinping says his country will not seek dominance over Southeast Asia or bully its smaller neighbors, amid ongoing friction over the South China Sea.

Mr. Xi made the remarks on November 22 during a virtual conference with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, marking the 30th anniversary of relations between the sides.

“China resolutely opposes hegemonism and power politics, wishes to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors and jointly nurture lasting peace in the region and absolutely will not seek hegemony or even less, bully the small," Mr. Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

China has repeatedly sought to overcome concerns about its rising power and influence, particularly its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea that overlaps with the claims of ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines.

Mr. Xi’s remarks came days after Chinese coast guard ships blocked and sprayed a powerful stream of water at two Philippine boats carrying supplies to troops at a disputed South China Sea shoal.

In other comments, Mr. Xi said peace was the “greatest common interest" of all sides and China would exert its utmost to avoid conflict.

“We must practice true multilateralism and insist on handling international and regional matters through negotiation," Mr. Xi said.

AUSTRALIA SIGNS SUB DEAL WITH U.S., U.K.

Australia formally embarked on Monday on a hotly contested programme to equip its Navy with nuclear-powered submarines in a new defence alliance with Britain and the United States.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton joined U.S. and British diplomats in signing an agreement allowing the exchange of sensitive “naval nuclear propulsion information” between their nations.

It is the first agreement on the technology to be publicly signed since the three countries announced in September the formation of a defence alliance, AUKUS, to confront strategic tensions in the Pacific where China-US rivalry is growing.

“The deal will help Australia to complete an 18-month study into the submarine procurement,” Mr. Dutton said after signing it in Canberra with U.S. Charge d’Affaires Michael Goldman and British High Commissioner (ambassador) Victoria Treadell.

Details of the procurement have yet to be decided, including whether Australia will opt for a vessel based on U.S. or British nuclear-powered attack submarines.

“With access to the information this agreement delivers, coupled with the decades of naval nuclear-powered experience our U.K. and U.S. partners have, Australia will also be positioned to be responsible and reliable stewards of this technology,” Mr. Dutton said in a statement.

AMNESTY URGES PAKISTAN TO END ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

Amnesty International on Monday urged Pakistani authorities to stop forcibly disappearing suspected militants for years without trial, calling the practice “abhorrent.”

In a report entitled “Living Ghosts," the rights group describes the difficulties faced by the families of the disappeared in obtaining information about their detained relatives. It says that since the beginning of the U.S.-led war on terror, hundreds of Pakistani rights defenders, activists, students and journalists have gone missing.

Among such detainees was Idris Khattak, who disappeared while traveling in the country's northwest in 2019. Weeks later, authorities acknowledged he was in their custody on unspecified treason charges. Mr. Khattak worked for Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch before disappearing.

“Enforced disappearance is a cruel practice that has caused indelible pain to hundreds of families in Pakistan over the past two decades. On top of the untold anguish of losing a loved one and having no idea of their whereabouts or safety, families endure other long-term effects including ill-health and financial problems,” said Rehab Mahamoor, Amnesty International’s acting South Asia researcher.

She asked Pakistan to disclose the fate and whereabouts of all the disappeared to their families, and release those still being held. The group also urged officials linked to such enforced disappearances to be put on trial.

AFGHANISTAN'S BANKING SYSTEM ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE, WARNS UNDP REPORT

A new UN report on Monday said Afghanistan's banking and financial systems are on the verge of collapse following the country's takeover by the Taliban.

"Afghanistan's financial and bank payment systems are in disarray," the report by UN Development Program (UNDP) said. "The bank-run problem must be resolved quickly to improve Afghanistan's limited production capacity and prevent the banking system from collapsing."

Soon after the Taliban assumed power in Kabul, the United States froze Afghanistan's international reserves. This has led to a dramatic shock in the country's financial and payment systems.

Currently, the country's central bank could not meet deposit demands, prompting the Taliban to impose withdrawal caps of a maximum of USD 200 per week. The amount was recently increased to USD 400, Sputnik reported.

The report said that Afghanistan's total banking system deposits fell to USD 2 billion in September from USD 2.8 billion at the end of 2020.

With the current pace and withdrawal restrictions, deposits are projected to fall to USD 1.7 billion by the end of 2021, likely leading to the collapse of Afghanistan's banking sector, the report said.

"Without the banking sector, there's no humanitarian solution for Afghanistan," UNDP Resident Representative Abdallah Al Dardari said.

BIBI OBSESSED WITH IMAGE, COURT TOLD

Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought “total and complete” control over his media image, his ex-spokesman told the graft trial of the veteran leader on Monday.

“If we use the term ‘control freak,’ he is much more than that,” said Nir Hefetz. “In everything relating to the media, he demands to know everything, down to the smallest detail.”

The testimony of Hefetz, seen as a key prosecution witness in Israel’s highest-profile trial, had been postponed from last week at the request of Netanyahu’s legal team.

Netanyahu - who was Israel’s longest serving prime minister, including a record 12-year tenure from 2009 to 2021, and now head of the opposition - has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

The indictments collectively accuse him of accepting improper gifts and illegally trading regulatory favour with media moguls in exchange for positive coverage.

Hefetz said in his district court testimony that Netayahu’s “control over everything relating to media matters and his social media channels could not be higher”.

“Netanyahu spends at least as much as his time on media as he spends on security matters, including on matters an outsider would consider nonsense.”

AUSTRALIA TO WELCOME VACCINATED FOREIGN STUDENTS, WORKERS

Australia on Monday announced easing of its strict pandemic-related travel restrictions from next month, a decision that is expected to help thousands of Indian students return to the country.

From December 1, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders including students and skilled workers, can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption, a statement by the Australian government said.

It said the visitor will have to be fully vaccinated with a “completed dosage” of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and hold a valid visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses.

The travellers will also have to provide proof of their vaccination status and present a negative Covid PCR test taken within three days of departure for Australia. The statement said travellers must comply with the quarantine requirements in the territory of their arrival.

“The return of skilled workers and students to Australia is a major milestone in our pathway back,” PM Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

CAR RAMS XMAS PARADE IN US; 5 KILLED, 40 INJURED

A speeding SUV plowed into dozens of people, including children, during a Christmas parade in a small Wisconsin city on Sunday, leaving a scene of chaos and carnage in its wake, with at least five people killed and 40 injured. Police chief Dan Thompson told reporters that one person was in custody and a sports utility vehicle had been recovered after the incident in Waukesha, about 32 km west of Milwaukee. The number of dead and injured could change, authorities said.

At least six children injured are listed in critical condition. Doctors say 18 patients between the ages of 3 and 16 were taken Children’s Wisconsin Hospital. They include three sets of siblings. Those injured suffered serious head injuries, broken bones and scrapes on their faces.

One person has been taken into custody, and a law enforcement official said that investigators are looking into whether the driver was fleeing a crime involving a knife at the time. Two law enforcement officials identified the person as 39-year-old Darrell Brooks. Investigators were questioning him about an earlier crime. Although the investigation was in its early stages, authorities have found no connection to terrorism, the sources told CNN. The incident also appeared to be unrelated to Friday’s not-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who was charged with the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during racial justice protests in nearby Kenosha, CNN reported.

CHOOSE A SIDE, CHINA TELLS TAIWAN FIRMS

Taiwan firms operating in China need to draw a line between themselves and independence supporters, China’s government said on Monday after punishing a Taiwanese firm ostensibly for business violations. Xinhua reported law enforcement agencies had punished Taiwan’s Far Eastern Group, which has interests ranging from hotels to petrochemicals, for a series of problems, from tax to fire safety. China’s Taiwan affairs office did not say whether the move was linked to the government’s targeting of “pro-Taiwan independence” forces. But added those who support Taiwan independence threatened peace. “Taiwanese businessmen must distinguish right from wrong and draw a clear line with the Taiwan independence separatist forces,” it said.