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Let’s start with a wealth of information on Corona Virus (COVID-19) Vaccinations around the world provided by Our World In Data:
A glance through the statistical tables shows that the Biden administration has put the U.S. among the world leaders in vaccination rates. That’s a welcome departure from the past year when the Trump administration’s’ bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic put the U.S. near the bottom in categories such as infection rates and deaths per capita.
Here are the top five countries ranked by share of the total population that has received at least one vaccine dose:
1. Israel — 58.2%
2. United Arab Emirates -35.2%
3. United Kingdom — 33.3%
4. Chile — 22.1%
5. United States and Bahrain — 18.3%
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Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has been called “The Trump of the Tropics.” His bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic rivals Trump’s. Only 4% of Brazil’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
From Al Jazeera:
Brazil hits new daily COVID deaths record as crisis escalates
Brazil has once again recorded a single-day record for deaths linked to the novel coronavirus, as the head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned that nearly all states across the country are seeing a rise in infections.
The Brazilian Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 2,286 people had died in the previous 24 hours – up from 1,972 deatgs reported a day earlier.
More than 268,000 people have died in Brazil since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University data – the second-highest death rate in the world after the United States.
The country also reported 79,876 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, increasing its total to more than 11.1 million infections.
During a news briefing, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne warned that “cases are on the rise in nearly every Brazilian state and over the last week, the country reported its second-highest rate of infections and its deadliest day since the pandemic began”.
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It looks like President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan will also give a positive boost to the global economy.
From the BBC:
OECD: Prospects brighter for global economy
A leading international agency has upgraded its forecasts for global and British economic growth this year and next.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the world economy is likely to expand by 5.6% in 2021.
The figure for the UK is 5.1% followed by 4.7% next year.
The report does however suggest a risk of lasting costs from the pandemic in some countries, including the UK.
The significantly brighter outlook reflects the deployment of effective vaccines.
There was also a contribution from economic stimulus measures in the US … There is a particularly substantial upgrade for the US national forecast for this year. The report says there are likely to be welcome spill-overs in major US trading partners.
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From Japan’s Kyodo News:
Japan mourns lost souls 10 yrs after quake-tsunami, Fukushima crisis
Tears, prayers and a resolve to pass on lessons learned swept Japan Thursday as the country marked 10 years since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated its northeastern coast, with services to mourn the more than 15,000 lives lost held in the hardest-hit areas and Tokyo.
Residents in the severely affected prefectures of Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi will observe a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., exactly a decade after the huge quake shook eastern and northeastern Japan, triggering tsunami and the world's worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl crisis.
Places for people to lay flowers were set up from the morning at various venues in the region, while some residents stood near the sea and other sites to clasp their hands together in prayer.
In Miyagi's Ishinomaki, where more than 3,000 people died, locals took a moment from their daily schedules on Thursday to remember loved ones.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________ And finally, this year’s nominations for the BAFTA awards (Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars) have been announced and the field is quite diverse.
From CNN:
BAFTA film awards 2021 nominees announced, with huge rise in diverse talent featured
A notably diverse list of nominations for the UK's prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards were announced following last year's controversy over a lack of representation.
More than half of the 24 nominees in the acting categories are from ethnic minority backgrounds, including Daniel Kaluuya for "Judas and the Black Messiah" and Bukky Bakray for "Rocks."
Four women were nominated in the director category, including "Nomadland" director Chloé Zhao -- who just a few days ago became the first woman of Asian descent and second woman ever to win the same award at this year's Golden Globes.
Last year, BAFTA bosses acknowledged the “infuriating” lack of diversity in the 2020 nominations. Every person shortlisted for an acting award in 2020 was White, while the lack of gender diversity among nominees was also stark.
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