KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    17,73,027            /             55,05,660            /             3,234     /             4,27,06,943               /             706.3

1             USA        2,35,499              /             8,59,298              /             250        /             1,80,79,098               /             2,573

2             UK          1,41,472              /             1,50,154              /             97           /             35,44,139               /             2,194

3             France   2,96,097              /             1,25,438              /             90           /             34,70,204               /             1,915

4             Italy       1,55,659              /             1,39,038              /             157        /             19,43,979               /             2,305

5             Spain                    /             89,934   /                            /             19,29,092            /               1,922

6             India      1,79,723              /             4,83,936              /             132        /             7,23,619               /             345

7             Germany              30,812   /             1,14,712              /             60           /             7,03,818               /             1,363

8             Russia    16,246   /             3,16,163              /             763        /             6,47,774              /               2,165

9             Argentina            73,319   /             1,17,492              /             27           /             6,25,378               /             2,564

10           Australia              1,00,011              /             2,367     /             23           /             5,96,739               /             91

11           Turkey   61,727   /             83,702   /             173        /             5,78,129              /             976

12           Netherlands        32,484   /             21,080   /             7             /             4,97,013              /               1,226

13           Mexico  30,671   /             3,00,303              /             202        /             4,77,527              /               2,293

14           Canada 23,803   /             30,786   /             43           /             4,20,973              /             805

15           Greece  18,592   /             21,394   /             66           /             4,01,665              /               2,068

16           Poland   11,106   /             99,742   /             22           /             3,90,880              /               2,640

17           Switzerland                        /             12,425   /                            /             3,74,489              /               1,420

18           Vietnam               15,779   /             34,319   /             202        /             3,65,008              /               348

19           Ireland  21,384   /             5,952     /                            /             3,63,152              /               1,185

20           Norway 4,184     /             1,350     /                            /             3,54,066              /             246

21           Belgium                              /             28,459   /                            /             3,51,889              /               2,439

22           Brazil     24,382   /             6,20,031              /             50           /             2,77,040              /               2,886

23           Portugal               26,419   /             19,113   /             22           /             2,73,961              /               1,883

24           Finland                 /             1,638     /                            /             2,57,884              /             295

25           Honduras                            /             10,444   /                            /             2,44,000              /               1,030

26           Denmark              17,921   /             3,385     /             14           /             2,43,248              /               581

27           Sweden                /             15,331   /                            /             1,87,476              /               1,504

28           Colombia             30,630   /             1,30,338              /             50           /             1,56,914               /             2,521

29           South Africa       4,482     /             92,453   /             82           /             1,46,649              /               1,530

30           Bulgaria               1,716     /             31,556   /             40           /             1,28,857              /               4,594

31           Philippines           28,707   /             52,150   /             15           /             1,28,114              /               466

88           Pakistan               1,572     /             28,969   /             7             /             16,432   /             127

92           Bangladesh         1,491     /             28,102   /             3             /             14,693   /             168

109        Sri Lanka              436        /             15,119   /             7             /             9,471     /             702

US TOP DIPLOMAT DENOUNCES TOKAYEV’S SHOOT-TO-KILL ORDER, SAYS IT SHOULD BE RESCINDED

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced the order by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to shoot to kill those who refuse to put down their arms, saying that it should be rescinded.

"I condemn that statement, and if that’s the national policy, condemn that policy, the shoot to kill," he said in an interview aired by CNN on Sunday. "I spoke to my counterpart in Kazakhstan just a couple of days ago. The authorities in Kazakhstan should be able to deal with the challenges that they’re facing peacefully, to make sure that the rights of those who are protesting peacefully are protected, to protect the institutions of the state and law and order, but to do it in a way that is rights-respecting," Blinken added.

"The shoot-to-kill order, to the extent it exists, is wrong and should be rescinded," Secretary of State said during an interview aired by ABC.

"Kazakhstan has the ability to maintain law and order, to defend the institutions of the state, but to do so in a way that respects the rights of peaceful protesters and also addresses the concerns that they’ve raised - economic concerns, some political concerns," he said, adding that "these ought to be things that the Government of Kazakhstan can handle on its own and handle in a rights-respecting way."

Blinken also repeated that Washington was seeking answers from Kazakhstan officials on why they needed to call in Russian-led security forces to resolve domestic unrest. "We're asking for clarification on that," he said.

SRI LANKA ASKS CHINA TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Sunday sought Chinese assistance to restructure the debt owed by the island nation to the Asian giant.

“The President pointed out that it would be a great relief to the country if the attention could be paid on restructuring the debt repayments as a solution to the economic crisis that has arisen in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Presidential Media Division said in a statement on Mr. Gotabaya’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Colombo. Mr. Wang concluded his five-nation tour of littoral countries in the Indian Ocean Region, with a one-day visit to Colombo on Sunday, following a visit to the Maldives.

Sri Lanka owes China over $5 billion, amounting to about 10 % of the country’s total foreign debt. Mr. Gotabaya’s request to Beijing to restructure it comes during an unprecedented economic meltdown in Sri Lanka, with the country’s foreign reserves rapidly declining following the devastating impact of the pandemic on its crucial export and tourism sectors over the last two years.

ALL NOT WELL BETWEEN PAK & TALIBAN AS FIGHT OVER BORDER FENCING GOES ON

The recent tension on Pak-Afghan border busted the myth that Pakistan has been enjoying a big influence over the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the US troops pullout and toppling of the West-backed government in August 2021.

PM Imran Khan, politicians of religious parties, media outlets and retired military officers had described the change in the war-battered country as a strategic triumph for Pakistan. For them, the Taliban takeover has largely reduced the role for India.

But the recent skirmishes signalled that dealing with the Taliban in Kabul would not be easy for Pakistan. Last month, Taliban fighters stationed in Nangarhar province broke the border fence and stopped Pakistani soldiers from fixing it. The Afghan defence ministry supported the action, saying the fencing divided families on both sides of the 2,670km border, known as the Durand Line.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid too rejected the fencing and the border itself, saying the Durand Line has divided one nation. “We do not want it,” he said. On December 31, both sides reached an understanding not to escalate the situation and Pakistan directed NSA Moeed Yusuf to visit Kabul to discuss the issue with Taliban. The visit, officials said, will possibly happen on January17-18.

If the border tension escalates, observers said, it would have serious repercussions for Pakistan considering the presence of Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan.

WATERSHED MOMENT IN NYC: NEW LAW ALLOWS NON-CITIZENS TO VOTE

More than 8,00,000 non-citizens and “Dreamers” in New York City will have access to the ballot box — and could vote in municipal elections as early as next year — after mayor Eric Adams allowed legislation to automatically become law on Sunday.

Opponents have vowed to challenge the law, which the city council approved a month ago. Unless a judge halts its implementation, New York City is the first major US city to grant widespread municipal voting rights to non-citizens. Over a dozen communities across the US already allow noncitizens to cast ballots in local elections.

Noncitizens still wouldn’t be able to vote for president or members of Congress in federal races, or in the state elections that pick the governor. It’s a watershed moment for the nation’s most populous city, where legally documented, voting-age noncitizens comprise nearly one in nine of the city’s 7 million votingage inhabitants. The measure would allow non-citizens who have been lawful permanent residents of the city for at least 30 days, as well as those authorised to work in US, including “Dreamers”, to help select the city’s mayor, city council members and other city officials.

“Dreamers” are young immigrants brought to the US illegally as children who would benefit from the never-passed Dream Act or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which allows them to remain in the country if they meet certain criteria.

164 DEAD, NEARLY 6,000 HELD AFTER KAZAKHSTAN PROTESTS

More than 150 people have died and almost 6,000 have been arrested in Kazakhstan following violent riots in Central Asia’s largest country this week, media reported on Sunday citing the Health Ministry.

At least 164 people were killed in the riots, including 103 in the largest city Almaty, which saw some of the fiercest clashes between protesters and security forces.

The new figures — which have not been independently verified — mark a drastic increase in the death toll.

Officials previously said 26 “armed criminals” had been killed and that 16 security officers had died.

In total, 5,800 people have been detained for questioning, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.

The figures included “a substantial number of foreign nationals”, it said without elaborating.

“The situation has stabilised in all regions of the country,” even if security forces were continuing “clean-up” operations, the statement added after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a crisis meeting.

The Interior Ministry, quoted by local media, put property damage at around 175 million euros ($199 million).

More than 100 businesses and banks were attacked and looted and more than 400 vehicles destroyed, the Ministry reportedly said.

COVID-19: CHINESE CITY TESTS 14 MILLION PEOPLE

Tianjin, a port city of 14 million near China’s capital Beijing, began mass testing on Sunday after a cluster of 20 adults and children tested positive for Covid-19 including at least two with the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Epidemiologists told state media that containing the Omicron variant in Tianjin, considered a “gateway” to Beijing will be the “first real” battle against the variant on the mainland.

With less than a month left for the Winter Olympics, the discovery of a potential Omicron cluster near Beijing would have sent alarm bells ringing in the capital, some 130km away from Tianjin.

The source of the cluster outbreak remains unknown and there’s a possibility of a spillover, they said.

The Tianjin municipal government said the two cases were not linked with the imported Omicron case detected last December in the city. “Among the 20 infected people, 15 are children aged between 8 and 13. The cases are concentrated in Tianjin’s Jinnan and Nankai districts,” the tabloid, Global Times reported.

The other infections are mainly students and their family members related to a daycare centre and a primary school. “The Tianjin outbreak poses risks to Beijing and the upcoming Winter Olympics, because of the large number of commuters working and living in the two cities,” the report said, citing an unnamed immunologist.

Tianjin residents have been advised to remain home to be available for the mandatory nucleic acid testing.

CYPRUS FINDS COVID-19 INFECTIONS THAT COMBINE DELTA AND OMICRON

A strain of Covid-19 that combines delta and omicron was found in Cyprus, according to Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology.

“There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two,” Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. The discovery was named “deltacron” due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, he said.

Kostrikis and his team have identified 25 such cases and the statistical analysis shows that the relative frequency of the combined infection is higher among patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 as compared to non-hospitalized patients.

The sequences of the 25 deltacron cases were sent to GISAID, the international database that tracks changes in the virus, on Jan. 7.

“We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” over delta and omicron, he said. But his personal view is that this strain will also be displaced by the highly contagious omicron variant.

ROADS CLEARED AFTER BLIZZARD IN PAKISTAN

Army rescuers on Sunday cleared routes around a Pakistan hill town sheltering thousands of tourists after 22 people died in vehicles trapped by heavy snow.

The resort town of Murree, around 70 kilometres northeast of Islamabad, was inundated with tourists last week.

But a blizzard from Friday onwards felled trees and blocked narrow roads leading in and out of the town, which clings to steep hills and valleys at an altitude of 2,300 metres.

TALIBAN ARREST POPULAR AFGHAN PROFESSOR CRITICAL OF REGIME

The Taliban have arrested a popular university professor and outspoken critic of successive Afghan governments, including the new rulers in Kabul, the group’s spokesman said on Sunday.

Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet that professor Faizuallah Jalal was being held by the Taliban’s intelligence arm. The group accused the professor of “nonsense remarks on social media, which were provoking people against the government.”

In the capital of Kabul, a small group of women protested Mr. Jalal’s detention. They chanted: “Talking is not a crime, professor Jalal is not a criminal.”

The arrest of a prominent political activist was certain to complicate the country’s humanitarian aid efforts.

It also reinforced fears that the Taliban are imposing the same harsh and repressive rule as their last stint in power.

In a tweet early on Sunday, Mr. Jalal’s daughter Hasina Jalal pleaded for her father’s release. “As I confirm the disturbing news. I ask for the immediate release of my father Professor Faizuallah Jalal,” she tweeted.