KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    6,45,299              /             52,94,338            /             7,521     /             2,15,03,333        /             679.2

1             USA        1,11,658              /             8,13,783              /             1,214     /             97,90,022            /             2,438

2             UK          51,342   /             1,45,987              /             161        /             11,24,581            /             2,134

3             Germany              68,832   /             1,04,932              /             571        /             10,08,961            /             1,247

4             Russia    30,752   /             2,84,823              /             1,179     /             10,08,707            /             1,951

5             France   61,340   /             1,20,032              /             133        /             6,97,474              /             1,833

6             Netherlands        18,062   /             19,842   /             72           /             5,96,006              /             1,154

7             Belgium               10,878   /             27,360   /             41           /             4,57,065              /             2,346

8             Poland   28,542   /             86,796   /             592        /             4,51,062              /             2,297

9             Turkey   20,874   /             78,407   /             192        /             3,69,782              /             916

10           Mexico  3,304     /             2,95,601              /             289        /             3,47,296              /             2,259

11           Ukraine 9,371     /             89,436   /             450        /             3,21,122              /             2,063

12           Vietnam               14,599   /             26,930   /             230        /             2,88,799              /             273

13           Czechia 19,482   /             34,034   /             61           /             2,84,723              /             3,170

14           Italy       17,959   /             1,34,472              /             86           /             2,49,214              /             2,229

15           Honduras             46           /             10,416   /                            /             2,45,607              /             1,028

16           Spain                    /             88,237   /                            /             2,21,127              /             1,886

17           Norway 5,259     /             1,134     /             42           /             2,09,927              /             207

18           Switzerland         5,587     /             11,718   /             14           /             1,94,266              /             1,340

19           Hungary               6,849     /             36,048   /             213        /             1,84,295              /             3,745

20           Brazil     10,055   /             6,16,298              /             231        /             1,52,167              /             2,870

26           India      8,333     /             4,73,952              /             89           /             93,733   /             339

77           Pakistan               310        /             28,793   /             9             /             11,844   /             127

88           Bangladesh         277        /             28,016   /             6             /             7,068     /             168

DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTTS, PENG CASE TEST IOC BEFORE BEIJING GAMES

The president of the International Olympic Committee did his best to stay neutral Wednesday as Canada, Britain and Australia followed the United States in announcing diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Games in Beijing.

Thomas Bach, who has led the body through a series of problematic Olympic preparations since taking over in 2013, tried to spin the diplomatic snub into a positive by noting each country is allowing its athletes and teams to compete in Beijing. “We have our full focus on the athletes,” Bach said in an online news conference. “We welcome that they can participate, that they are supported by their national govts. The rest is politics.”

Bach also praised himself for his video calls with tennis player Peng Shuai, a former Olympian from China who has mostly disappeared from public view since accusing a former top Communist Party official of sexually assaulting her.

The Beijing Games are set to open on Feb. 4. The western allies announcing diplomatic boycotts are acting against China because of long-standing concerns about the country’s human rights record, including the treatment of its Muslim minority Uyghur people. Many have called it genocide.

OMICRON COULD SPREAD FASTER, ITS SEVERITY STILL NOT CERTAIN, SAYS WHO

The WHO says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease - though it's too early to make firm conclusions.

Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO's chief of emergencies, told reporters Wednesday that data about the omicron variant so far is pointing to a virus that's efficiently transmitting and probably more efficiently transmitting than even the delta variant, which is by far the most widespread and deadly version.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for COVID-19 at the U.N. health agency, cautioned that it was too early to determine the severity of disease caused by omicron, saying there's only anecdotal information about that for now.

Meanwhile, WHO officials stuck to their stance that giving booster shots to people who are already vaccinated should be a secondary priority to getting first doses into the arms of people in places that have relatively little vaccination coverage.

SCHOLZ VOWS NEW BEGINNING FOR GERMANY

Olaf Scholz became Germany’s new Chancellor on Wednesday after 16 years with Angela Merkel at the helm, pledging his centre-left-led coalition would offer a “new beginning” for Europe’s top economy.

Mr. Scholz was officially named the country’s ninth post-war leader by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who urged him to “ensure that the pandemic does not keep us firmly in its grip for another year” as a fourth wave of the coronavirus outbreak rages.

The former Finance Minister, who won 395 of the 707 votes cast in the Bundestag Lower House, has vowed broad “continuity” with the popular Ms. Merkel while making Germany greener and fairer.

“It will be a new beginning for our country,” Mr. Scholz pledged as he officially assumed the office from Merkel and thanked her for her lengthy tenure. “I will do everything to work towards that.”

Ms. Merkel wished Mr. Scholz luck as Chancellor, urging him to “take this office and work in the best interest of our country”.

The 63-year-old, who turned emulating Ms. Merkel in style and substance into a winning strategy, forged Germany’s first national “traffic light” coalition with the ecologist Greens and the liberal Free Democrats, nicknamed after the parties’ colours.

The alliance aims to slash carbon emissions, overhaul decrepit digital infrastructure, modernise citizenship laws, lift the minimum wage and have Germany join a handful of countries worldwide in legalising marijuana.

20 BANGLADESH STUDENTS GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER

Bangladesh sentenced 20 university students to death on Wednesday for the 2019 murder of a young man who criticised the government on social media.

The battered body of Abrar Fahad, 21, was found in his dormitory hours after he wrote a Facebook post slamming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for signing a water-sharing deal with India. He was beaten with a cricket bat and other blunt objects for six hours by 25 fellow students who were members of the ruling Awami League’s student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

“I am happy with the verdict,” Fahad’s father Barkat Ullah told reporters outside court after the sentencing. “I hope the punishments will be served soon.”

The remaining five perpetrators were handed life terms. All those given death sentences were between 20 and 22 years old at the time of the murder and attended the elite Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology alongside Fahad. Three of the defendants are still at large, while the rest were in the courtroom.

Faruque Ahmed, a lawyer for some of the defendants, said the sentence would be appealed.

JOHNSON ORDERS CHRISTMAS PARTY PROBE AS AIDE QUITS

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised and his adviser resigned on Wednesday after a video emerged of senior aides joking about a Christmas party at Downing Street last year when social events were banned under COVID-19 rules.

The leaked footage appears to contradict more than a week of denials by Mr. Johnson and his Ministers that a party took place, following newspaper reports that dozens of staff had attended an evening-long gathering on December 18, 2020.

The embattled leader, facing calls for his resignation from some Opposition politicians during a raucous parliamentary questions session, vowed “disciplinary action” would be taken if the investigation found rules had been broken. “I understand and share the anger up and down the country at seeing No 10 staff seeming to make light of lockdown measures,” he said.

“I apologise unreservedly for the offence that it has caused... and I apologise for the impression that it gives.”

Mr. Johnson added he had been “repeatedly assured” that there was no party inside his Number 10 Downing Street office and that no rules were broken.

90% OF PAKISTANIS BLAME IMRAN GOVT FOR INCOME SQUEEZE, SAYS SURVEY

About 90% of Pakistanis believe that their income has been squeezed and 92.9% consider inflation and price hike to be the highest during PM Imran Khan’s government since 2018, with many calling it “incompetent”, according to a survey by Transparency International Pakistan.

“Compared to the three federal governments, majority of Pakistanis (92.9%) consider inflation and price hike to be the highest in the current PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) government’s tenure (2018-2021), compared to 4.6 % in during the PML-N government (2013-2018) and 2.5% in the PPP government (2008-2013),” said the report, National Corruption Perception Survey 2021.

The majority of survey participants attributed the government’s “incompetence” as the main reason for the rising inflation and shrinking income. At least 50.6% said the government was “incompetent”, 23.3% alleged corruption,16.6% pinned the inflation on lack of policy implementation, and 9.6% blamed it on politicians meddling in government affairs.

Regarding the government’s anti-corruption drive, 66.8% said the government’s accountability drive was partial, whereas 85.9% considered its self-accountability to be unsatisfactory. At least 51.9% of Pakistanis blamed weak accountability for the rise in corruption, whereas 29.3% linked it to the greed of powerful people and 18.8% blamed it on low salaries. Police and judiciary were the first and second most corrupt sectors, the survey said.

FRANCE FREES MAN ‘WRONGLY’ HELD AS KHASHOGGI HIT SUSPECT

The Saudi man arrested on Tuesday at a Paris airport over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was released on Wednesday after officials concluded it was a case of mistaken identity, Paris prosecutors said.

French law enforcement sources on Tuesday named the man as Khaled Aedh al-Otaibi, the same name as a former member of the Saudi Royal Guard listed in US and British sanctions documents and a UNcommissioned report as having been involved in Khashoggi’s killing in Turkey. The Saudi embassy in Paris had said the arrested person “has nothing to do with the case in question” Prosecutors said extensive checks on the identity of the person had shown that a warrant issued by Turkey, which had triggered the arrest when the man’s passport was scanned, did not apply to him.

BOSS SAYS SORRY FOR 'BLUNDERED' ZOOM FIRING OF 900 STAFF

The boss of a US mortgage company, who fired hundreds of his staff in a Zoom meeting has said he is "deeply sorry" for the way the lay-offs were handled.

The sackings were necessary said Vishal Garg, but he accepted he had "blundered the execution" and "embarrassed" them.

"I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected," he said in a letter on the firm's website.

Mr Garg was heavily criticised after he sacked 900 staff in an online meeting.

"I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be," he said.

Mr Garg said he had realised "the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse".

TOO PLASTIC? DOZENS OF CAMELS BARRED FROM SAUDI BEAUTY CONTEST OVER BOTOX

Saudi authorities have conducted their biggest-ever crackdown on camel beauty contestants that received botox injections and other artificial touch-ups, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday, with over 40 camels disqualified from an annual pageant. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which kicked off earlier this month, invites the breeders of the most beautiful camels to compete for some $66 million in prize money. Botox injections, face lifts and other cosmetic alterations to make the camels more attractive are strictly prohibited. Jurors decide the winner based on the shape of the camels’ heads, necks, humps, dress and postures. This year, authorities discovered dozens of breeders had stretched out the lips and noses of camels, used hormones to boost muscles, injected heads and lips with botox, inflated body parts with rubber bands and used fillers to relax their faces.