KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    21,14,925            /             56,81,219            /             5,786     /             7,31,08,146               /             728.8

1             USA        96,954   /             9,07,190              /             329        /             2,87,32,901        /               2,716

2             France   2,49,448              /             1,30,583              /             127        /             68,52,832               /             1,994

3             Spain                    /             92,966   /                            /             38,46,305            /               1,987

4             UK          62,399   /             1,55,698              /             85           /             28,27,895            /               2,275

5             Italy       1,04,065              /             1,46,149              /             235        /             26,43,817               /             2,423

6             Brazil     1,04,012              /             6,26,923              /             280        /             25,60,816               /             2,917

7             Germany              1,09,029              /             1,18,380              /             45           /               20,94,068            /             1,406

8             India      2,09,918              /             4,95,050              /             585        /             18,31,268               /             353

9             Russia    1,21,228              /             3,30,728              /             617        /             11,88,128               /             2,265

10           Netherlands        75,164   /             21,272   /             2             /             11,87,510            /               1,237

11           Belgium                              /             28,957   /                            /             9,80,144              /               2,481

12           Switzerland                        /             12,785   /                            /             8,06,992              /               1,460

13           Poland   48,251   /             1,05,161              /             23           /             7,74,547              /               2,783

14           Sweden                /             15,820   /                            /             7,44,123              /               1,551

15           Norway 14,040   /             1,439     /                            /             6,74,670              /             262

16           Mexico  42,582   /             3,05,762              /             522        /             6,23,483              /               2,333

17           Turkey   88,145   /             87,234   /             189        /             6,21,666              /               1,017

18           Argentina            21,570   /             1,20,988              /             152        /             6,09,436               /             2,639

19           Portugal               45,335   /             19,856   /             29           /             5,97,879              /               1,956

20           Japan     82,159   /             18,729   /             43           /             5,62,030              /             149

39           Philippines           16,953   /             53,891   /             20           /             2,02,864              /               482

41           Bangladesh         12,183   /             28,363   /             34           /             1,91,324              /               170

55           Pakistan               7,958     /             29,248   /             29           /             1,00,005              /               128

105        Sri Lanka              1,056     /             15,420   /             20           /             16,632   /             715

PEGASUS-MAKER CALLS CRITICISM “HYPOCRITICAL”, BUT ADMITS "SOME MISTAKES"

An undeterred Chief Executive Officer of NSO Group, Shalev Hulio, in an interview to Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday, strongly defended the corporate’s operations, although he additionally conceded that some “mistakes” could have occurred over time.

Hulio called criticism of NSO Group’s sale of Pegasus to non-democratic countries “hypocritical,” comparing the surveillance technology to military weapons systems.

“There is not one country we’ve sold to, not one… that the US does not sell to, or that Israel doesn’t sell to. So it’s a bit hypocritical to say it’s okay to sell F-35s and tanks and drones, but it’s not okay to sell a tool that collects intelligence,” he said.

“If we see that [Pegasus] is being misused, or even suspect it is being misused, we disconnect the system,” he said, claiming this had happened seven times over the years.

Hulio sounded off on the recent US decision to blacklist NSO Group and another Israeli firm for allegedly engaging in malicious cyber activities.

“Our technology has over the years helped the interests and national security of the United States quite a bit,” he said. “I think the fact that a company like NSO is on [a US blacklist] is an outrage… I’m sure we’ll be taken off that list. I have no doubt.”

Hulio added: “It’s become something of a national pastime to blame anything that happens on NSO. A large proportion of the reports are simply untrue, are prejudiced, and it certainly sometimes angers [me] and sometimes frustrates. But in the end… we know the truth.”

“There are never more than 200 targets for Pegasus at any one time. 200 targets. That’s the whole story,” he told the network.

Asked if NSO Group had made mistakes since its establishment, Hulio said, “Over a period of 12 years it’s impossible not to make mistakes, which you learn from.” According to the network, sources close to the company have acknowledged that Israeli government players have indeed offered Pegasus to authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, in return for warmed ties or peace agreements.

BRITAIN TOUGHENS ITS STANCE ON RUSSIA

Britain will propose legislation this week that would let ministers impose a wider range of sanctions against Russia in the event of a new invasion of Ukraine, the British foreign secretary said on Sunday. The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, discussed the plan in an interview with broadcaster Sky News. Britain is already supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine and has offered to increase its troop deployments elsewhere in eastern Europe. The offer, set to be made to Nato military chiefs next week, could see London double the approximately1,150 UK troops currently in eastern European countries and “defensive weapons” sent to Estonia, the PM’s office said. “This package would send a clear message to the Kremlin — we will not tolerate their destabilising activity, and we will always stand with our Nato allies in the face Russian hostility,” PM Boris Johnson said in a statement late on Saturday. Truss, meanwhile, said that in case diplomacy fails, the British legislation would give the country more punitive options, so there would be “nowhere to hide” for oligarchs or “any company of interest to the Kremlin and the regime in Russia.” Britain has long been a financial hub for Russia’s wealthy and well connected. Canada foreign ministry, meanwhile, said on Sunday it will temporarily withdraw non-essential Canadian employees and dependents from its embassy in Ukraine. The embassy in Kyiv remains open, it said.

CANADA PM TRUDEAU MOVED TO SECRET LOCATION AS PROTESTS FLARE-UP: REPORTS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have left their home in the country's capital and shifted to a secret location after a large-scale protest opposing Covid vaccine mandates converged on Parliament Hill, media reports said on Saturday.

What started as a protest dubbed as 'Freedom Convoy' against a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers has grown into a large demonstration against the Trudeau government's coronavirus regulations.

Thousands of truckers and other protesters converged in the Capital city on Saturday to call for an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Among the people were some kids with their kids, elderly and disabled people. Some even carried signs with aggressive and obscenity-laced rhetoric directed mostly at the Canadian prime minister, according to The Globe and Mail newspaper.

Some of the protesters were seen dancing on the prominent war memorial, prompting condemnation from Canada's top soldier Gen. Wayne Eyre and Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand.

Police are on high alert for possible violence after hundreds of protesters flooded into the parliamentary precinct, despite an extreme cold warning.

H-1B REGISTRATION FOR ’23 TO START ON MARCH 1: USCIS

Washington: The registration for the much sought-after H-1B visa for the fiscal year 2023 will begin from March1 and the successful applicants will be randomly selected and notified online by March 31, according to the US federal immigration agency. The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations. Technology companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the initial registration period for 2023 H-1B cap will open on March 1 and run through on March 18, 2022. During the period, petitioners and representatives will be able to submit their registrations using the online registration system, the agency said on Friday.

SNOWFALL IN BOSTON EQUALS 1-DAY RECORD OF 23.6 INCHES SET IN 2003

Blinding snow whipped up by powerful winds pummelled the eastern US into Sunday’s early hours, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people. Major cities such as New York and Boston bore the brunt of the blizzard, which the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed had intensified into a “bomb cyclone” — characterised by the explosive power of rapid drops in atmospheric pressure.

The heaviest-hit parts of New York and Massachusetts received 61cm of snow by early evening, with more than 95,000 homes in Massachusetts reported without power.

Snowfall in Boston equalled the one-day record of 23. 6 inches set in 2003, the NWS said, while the town of Sharon, 29km to the south, had recorded the highest snowfall by Saturday night with more than 30 inches.

Cold weather stretched as far south as Florida, where the NWS warned of “scattered to isolated falling iguanas from trees” as plunging temperatures temporarily paralysed the large lizards. People in towns and cities across the eastern seaboard were urged to avoid all unnecessary travel for a second night of whiteout conditions. In Long Island, officials said a woman had been found dead in her car by a snowplow operator. Meanwhile, flight-tracking website FlightAware. com said about 1,415 flights were cancelled on Sunday. The LaGuardia Airport and the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City and the Boston Logan International Airport each had over 200 flight cancellations as of Sunday afternoon. New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware declared emergencies for all or part of the states.

CHRISTIAN PRIEST GUNNED DOWN IN PAK.

Militants killed one Christian priest and wounded another as they were driving home from Sunday Mass in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.

Father William Siraj, 75, was shot multiple times and died instantly in the ambush in the Gulbahar neighborhood, while Father Naeem Patrick was treated briefly in hospital for a gunshot wound to the hand, officer Iqbal Shah said. A third priest in the car was unharmed.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest on Pakistan’s Christian minority.

NORTH KOREA MISSILE TESTS: PHOTOS FROM SPACE RELEASED

North Korean state media has released photographs it says were taken from its biggest missile launch since 2017.

The pictures show parts of the Korean peninsula and surrounding areas seen from space.

North Korea said the ballistic missile was an intermediate range Hwasong-12.

South Korea and Japan said it reached an altitude of 2,000km (1,242 miles) before landing in waters off Japan. Both countries have condemned the launch, the seventh test this month.

The photographs, released by the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, were reportedly taken from a camera fitted to the missile's test warhead.

Two of the images show the moment of launch and the other apparently shows the missile in mid-flight, taken from above.

Japanese and South Korean officials estimated that the missile flew for 30 minutes to a distance of 800km.

A senior United States official called on North Korea to join direct talks about its nuclear and missile programmes with no preconditions, Reuters reported.

PAK LOOKING TO SECURE $3BN LOAN FROM CHINA

Islamabad: Cash-trapped Pakistan is looking to secure a $3billion (Pakistan Rs 529 billion) loan from China and investments in half a dozen sectors during PM Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing next week, according to a media report on Sunday.

Khan will visit the Chinese capital on February 3 to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and to also meet the top Chinese leadership on the sidelines for bilateral talks. Express Tribune reported quoting government sources that a final meeting to shape the agenda of the visit would take place on Tuesday.

A finance ministry official said the government was considering requesting China to approve another loan to the tune of $3 billion in China’s state administration of foreign exchange so as to boost its foreign exchange reserves. China has already given $11 billion to Pakistan in the shape of commercial loans and foreign exchange reserves support initiatives.