Global Covid-19 cases surpass 200 million as Delta variant spreads
Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the more-infectious Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strains healthcare systems.
The global surge in cases is highlighting the widening gap in inoculation rates between wealthy and poor nations. Cases are rising in about one-third of the world’s countries, many of which have not even given half their population a first dose.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday called for a moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine boosters until at least 10 per cent of the population in every country is vaccinated.
The Delta variant is upending all assumptions about the virus and roiling economies, with disease experts scrambling to find whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people, especially unvaccinated individuals, sicker than before.
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US rebuffs WHO call for moratorium on Covid-19 booster shots
The United States on Wednesday rejected an appeal from the UN health agency for a moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots and for rich countries to focus instead on supplying poorer nations.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged the countries and companies controlling the supply of doses to change course immediately and prioritise addressing the drastic inequity in vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations.
“We definitely feel that it’s a false choice and we can do both,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, adding that the US has donated more than any other country and was asking others to step up. “Also in this country, (we) have enough supply to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine.”
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Dozens hurt in Lebanon clashes on Beirut blast anniversary
Dozens were injured on Wednesday when Lebanese police clashed with protesters demanding accountability for last year’s Beirut port explosion, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedy’s first anniversary.
Scuffles in central Beirut broke out between riot police and stone-lobbing protesters, who lit a fire and tried to storm the parliament’s headquarters, whose members have been accused of stalling a probe into the disaster.
Riot police responded by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water canons, and urging “peaceful protesters” to leave.
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Belarusian sprinter reaches Poland after defying order home
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya landed on Wednesday in Poland to take refuge after defying an order to return early to her authoritarian homeland from the Tokyo Olympics.
Reminiscent of sporting defections during the Cold War, the case could further isolate the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, which is under Western sanctions after a crackdown on opponents since last year.
After two nights in Poland’s embassy in Japan, the 24-year-old travelled first to the Austrian capital Vienna and then onto Warsaw, sporting sunglasses with the words “I RUN CLEAN”.
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Singer Rihanna is officially a billionaire, Forbes says
Pop star Rihanna’s net worth is estimated at US$1.7 billion (S$2.3 billion), making her the richest woman musician in the world, but her music is not the primary source of her wealth, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.
The Barbados-born singer, whose birth name is Robyn Fenty, derives an estimated US$1.4 billion of her fortune from her 50 per cent stake in the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line, Forbes reported.
The rest of Rihanna’s wealth comes from her share of the Savage x Fenty lingerie company and her income as a singer and actress, the magazine said.
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