Briefly

SWITZERLAND

WHO reports big drop in new infections

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that there were about 4 million coronavirus cases reported globally last week, marking the first major drop in new infections in more than two months. In recent weeks, there have been about 4.4 million new COVID-19 cases. Although the worldwide number of deaths decreased to about 62,000, with the sharpest decline in Southeast Asia, there was a 7 percent increase in deaths in Africa. The highest numbers of cases were seen in the United States, Britain and India, and the highly contagious Delta variant has now been reported in 180 countries.

JAPAN

Top adviser cautions on hasty easing

Japan's top COVID-19 adviser Shigeru Omi on Wednesday warned against hurriedly relaxing anti-epidemic measures, saying restrictions should be eased only after the state of emergency is lifted. At the House of Representatives' health committee, Omi stressed again that measures should be gradually lifted after the number of infections declines to a certain level, saying a resurgence in cases will certainly occur if the restrictions are eased suddenly. His comments came as the government looks to relax restrictions around November.

UNITED KINGDOM

IS bride prepared to face terror charges

A woman who lost her British citizenship after joining the Islamic State group said on Wednesday she would be prepared to return to face terror charges so she can prove her innocence. Shamima Begum was 15 when she traveled from her home in London in 2015 with two school friends to Syria, where she married an IS fighter and had three children. Dubbed "IS bride", she was stripped of her British citizenship after a right-wing media outrage when she was tracked down by reporters to a displacement camp in 2019 and defended the extremists.

Agencies Via Xinhua