KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    28,72,208            /             57,04,175            /             11,188   /             7,45,07,051               /             731.8

1             USA        2,64,693              /             9,13,924              /             2,780     /             2,89,55,249               /             2,736

2             France   4,16,896              /             1,31,312              /             381        /             66,22,263               /             2,005

3             UK          1,12,452              /             1,55,973              /             219        /             37,87,443               /             2,279

4             Spain     77,873   /             93,633   /             408        /             36,50,781            /               2,001

5             Brazil     1,71,028              /             6,28,132              /             767        /             26,43,640               /             2,922

6             Italy       1,33,142              /             1,46,925              /             339        /             24,76,514               /             2,436

7             Germany              1,83,434              /             1,18,709              /             182        /               22,56,069            /             1,410

8             India      1,61,386              /             4,97,975              /             670        /             16,21,603               /             355

9             Russia    1,25,836              /             3,32,012              /             663        /             13,66,319               /             2,274

10           Netherlands                       /             21,277   /                            /             12,66,742            /               1,237

11           Belgium               26,972   /             29,052   /             28           /             10,49,801            /               2,490

12           Switzerland         22,347   /             12,833   /             6             /             8,83,671              /               1,466

13           Sweden                /             15,926   /                            /             8,36,096              /               1,562

14           Poland   39,114   /             1,05,434              /             239        /             7,76,804              /               2,791

15           Norway 23,237   /             1,440     /                            /             7,13,894              /             262

16           Turkey   1,02,601              /             87,614   /             198        /             6,36,148              /               1,021

17           Japan     61,190   /             18,792   /             28           /             6,15,682              /             149

18           Portugal               50,888   /             19,968   /             63           /             5,92,365              /               1,967

19           Mexico  12,521   /             3,06,091              /             198        /             5,65,744              /               2,335

20           Denmark              42,851   /             3,770     /             15           /             5,58,170              /               647

38           Bangladesh         13,154   /             28,425   /             31           /             2,12,628              /               170

41           Philippines           9,493     /             54,054   /             51           /             1,76,053              /               483

53           Pakistan               5,327     /             29,301   /             32           /             1,05,675              /               129

103        Sri Lanka              1,137     /             15,474   /             33           /             17,999   /             718

UKRAINE TENSIONS: US BOOSTS TROOPS IN EUROPE

US President Joe Biden is to send extra troops to Europe this week amid continuing fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon says.

Some 2,000 troops will be sent from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland and Germany, and a further 1,000 already in Germany will go to Romania.

Moscow denies planning to invade but has deployed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders.

It called the US deployment "destructive".

The US troops being deployed will not fight in Ukraine but will ensure the defence of US allies.

Their deployment is in addition to the 8,500 troops the Pentagon put on alert last month to be ready to deploy to Europe if needed.

"It's important that we send a strong signal to Mr Putin and, frankly, to the world that Nato matters to the United States and it matters to our allies," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

But on the question of alleged invasion plans by Mr Putin, he said: "We still don't believe he's made a decision to further invade Ukraine."

He also said that a US proposal "leaked to a European news outlet" was genuine. He appeared to be referring to a story in Spain's El País newspaper about a US offer of talks with Russia on cutting back on nuclear weaponry and trust-building measures in exchange for reducing tensions over Ukraine.

FEMALE STUDENTS HEAD BACK TO CAMPUS, JOIN MALE PEERS AS AFGHAN UNIVERSITIES REOPEN

Afghanistan’s public universities opened on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban took over the country last year, with female students joining their male counterparts heading back to campus.

The Taliban administration has not officially announced its plan for female university students, but education officials told Reuters women were permitted to attend classes on the condition that they were separated from male students.

A Reuters witness in the eastern city of Jalalabad saw female students entering via a separate door at Nangarhar University, one of the large government universities opening this week.

An education official who asked not be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media said universities had been given different options to keep female students isolated, including separated classes and staggered operating hours.

Khalil Ahmad Bihsudwal, the head of Nangarhar University, told Reuters male and female students at the institution would attend separate classes, a practice already in place in many provinces.

HAVANA SYNDROME MAY BE CAUSED BY ‘PULSED ENERGY’

Pulsed electromagnetic energy "plausibly explains" some of the cases of the mysterious "Havana Syndrome" illness, a new US intelligence community report says.

There has been a contentious debate over whether symptoms afflicting US staff around the world were caused by some kind of device or were psychological in nature.

The latest report from a US Intelligence Community panel of experts says the symptoms are "genuine and compelling" and may have been caused by an external source.

Beginning in Havana, Cuba in 2016, US intelligence officers and diplomats began complaining of an array of unusual symptoms. At first, the claims were largely dismissed within government.

A January CIA study found no evidence of a widespread campaign by a foreign state and said many cases could be explained by natural causes or stress. However, it acknowledged that a number remained unexplained.

The study found that pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radiofrequency range, "plausibly explains" the core characteristics, although it says that there remain gaps in the information.

It says that non-standard antennas could create the effects on the human body. Such a source could be concealed and require only moderate power. It could also travel through the air and through walls of buildings.

There is no detail in the report of what such a device might be, nor whether the intention was to cause harm or carry out some kind of surveillance. The panel did not look at who might have been behind such activity.

COVID: NEW ZEALAND UNVEILS PHASED BORDER REOPENING PLAN

New Zealand has announced a phased reopening of its borders, as the country starts to ease some of the world's toughest Covid restrictions.

Vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia will be able to go home from 27 February, and jabbed citizens in the rest of the world can do so from 13 March, PM Jacinda Ardern says.

They will have to self-isolate for 10 days but mandatory stays at state quarantine facilities will be scrapped.

The key elements of the plan are as follows:

Step 1: Fully vaccinated New Zealanders from Australia can return home from 27 February

Step 2: Fully jabbed citizens from all other countries are able to arrive from 13 March. This also applies to a number of critical and skilled foreign workers

Step 3: Up to 5,000 international students are allowed into the country from 12 April

Step 4: Australians and all other visitors who can normally travel visa-free to NZ are expected to be able to travel to the country no later than July

Step 5: Begins in October and includes all other visitors and students who normally require a visa

New Zealand has recorded nearly 17,000 Covid cases and 53 deaths since the start of the outbreak.

TOP US SENATOR PANS CHINA FOR CHOOSING GALWAN SOLDIER AS OLYMPIC TORCHBEARER

After China chose People's Liberation Army (PLA) regiment commander Qi Fabao to carry the torch at this week's Winter Olympics relay in Beijing, the controversial move drew a frosty reception in India in light of the fact that that the torchbearer was, in fact, one of the commanding officers involved in clashes against India at Ladakh's Galwan Valley about two years ago.

Now, a top United States Senator has joined in on the debate. Jim Risch, ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on Thursday, condemned Beijing for choosing a torchbearer for the winter games who was a part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is also “implementing genocide against the Uyghurs”, the characterisation of another allegation often levelled against China for cracking down on its ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang region.

Calling China's actions “shameful”, Senator Risch reaffirmed the United States' commitment to supporting Uyghur freedom and the sovereignty of India.

Qi Fabao, the Chinese regiment commander, was among the troops present in 2020 during the high-altitude Himalayan skirmishes in Ladakh. Troops fought a fatal hand-to-hand battle that left at least 20 Indians and four Chinese soldiers dead, though it took Beijing eight months to acknowledge the casualties on its own side.