Briefly

UNITED STATES

Pandemic death toll surpasses 6 million

The official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday－underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over. The milestone, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe. The United States has the biggest official death toll in the world, but the numbers have been trending downward over the last month.

MIDDLE EAST

Teen's killing prompts warning in Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye condemned on Sunday the killing of a 14-year-old boy by Israeli soldiers in Abu Dis, a town southeast of Jerusalem, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Ishtaye warned of what he termed "the dangerous repercussions of the escalation of killings and field executions committed by the Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories". According to Palestinian witnesses, the boy was critically wounded by Israeli soldiers during clashes that broke out in the town with Palestinian protesters when an Israeli army force stormed in to arrest Palestinian activists.

THAILAND

Fertility push follows plunge in birthrate

Thailand is scrambling to encourage its people to have more babies to arrest a slumping birthrate, offering parents childcare and fertility centers, while also tapping social media influencers to showcase the joys of family life. The campaign comes as the number of births has dropped by nearly a third since 2013, when they started declining. Last year saw 544,000 births, the lowest in at least six decades and below the 563,000 deaths, which were also swelled by coronavirus-related fatalities.

Agencies - Xinhua