WORLD
Trump aide Thomas Barrack arrested for allegedly working as foreign agent
The 74-year-old investment firm founder served as a key adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, and was considered a top fundraiser. Barrack has been accused of illegally lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during and after the campaign, the BBC reported on Wednesday. A spokesman for Barrack said he has planned to plead not guilty.
Russian Covid-19 cases top 6mn
The nationwide death toll grew by 784 to 149,922, while the number of recoveries increased by 22,218 to 5,382,213, the Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, Moscow, Russia's worst-hit region, reported 3,188 new cases, taking the city's total to 1,470,330. Nearly 160 million Covid-19 tests have been conducted across the country.
UK reports another 46,558 coronavirus cases
The country also recorded another 96 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest number since March 24. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now standing at 128,823. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.The latest data came as England lifted most of the legal restrictions on social contact on Monday.
White House sees more breakthrough Covid-19 cases among staff
"Yesterday, a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for Covid-19 off campus. In accordance with our rigorous Covid-19 protocols, the official remains off campus as they wait for confirmatory PCR test," said Psaki during Tuesday's press briefing. She said that the White House medical unit has conducted contact tracing and interviews, finding no close contact among White House principals.
'Best day ever': Bezos after first unpiloted suborbital flight
Bezos flew beyond the Karman line -- 100 kms above the ground and the internationally recognised boundary of space -- on board his company Blue Origin's fully automated and reusable New Shepard rocket. The mission lasted 10 minutes and 10 seconds. He was accompanied by his brother Mark, 82-year-old female aviator Wally Funk and an 18-year-old physics student Oliver Daemen on the first human flight of the New Shepard rocket, NS-16.
Bezos attempts history with flight to edge of space
New Shepard launched its first human flight, NS-16, from Launch Site One in West Texas at 9 am EDT (6.30 pm IST). The rocket aims to fly beyond the Karman line and the trip will last approximately 11 minutes from launch to capsule landing. Astronauts will experience three to four minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth in their space capsule.
Covid hospitalisations spike in LA County
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 1,233 new cases and two new deaths in the last 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. There are 528 infected people currently hospitalised in Los Angeles County. On June 15, there were 218 people hospitalised, said the department, adding that test positivity increased 10-fold from the 0.4 per cent on June 15 to Monday's test positivity rate of 4.1 per cent.
'Americas account for a quarter of global Covid cases, 40% deaths'
"There were almost one million cases reported in the Americas last week," Xinhua news agency quoted Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead on Covid-19 for the WHO, as saying in a live social media Q&A on Monday. "In Brazil there were almost 300,000 cases reported last week. In the US, more than 200,000 cases reported," she said.
Oregon wildfire scorches area 1.5 times the size of NYC
As of Monday, the active wildfire, which has burned through more than 300,000 acres, was 25 per cent contained from 22 per cent the previous day, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the fire officials, another 2,500 structures have been threatened by the massive blaze which has also triggered the expansion of mass evacuation orders.
S Korea readies law to curb Google's in-app billing system
Over the past year, multiple lawmakers have proposed bills to curb app market operators from imposing their proprietary billing systems on in-app purchases amid growing complaints from local app developers and content creators over high fees. Last September, Google said it would impose its billing system on all app developers on its mobile Android operating system's Play store from October this year.
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