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Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick delivers a statement outside the Old Bailey, where police officer Wayn sentenced following the murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain, Sep 30, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls) - 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (Oct 1) said he had confidence in the police and London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick as fury grew over the murder of a woman by a policeman.

Wayne Couzens, 48, used his position as a police officer to stop Sarah Everard before abducting, raping and murdering her. He was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.

Dick has faced criticism for her handling and response to the case, with some lawmakers calling for her to resign.

"I hope to goodness that it has not shaken public trust in those hundreds of thousands of police officers around the country... who do, overwhelmingly, a fantastic job," Johnson said.

Asked if he was standing by Commissioner Dick, he said "yes, absolutely".

"I think it's very important that people should have confidence in policing and what the police do, and I do, let me stress that."

Johnson said there was "disturbing stuff" about allegations of previous misconduct by Couzens that needed investigating, as well as his participation in WhatsApp groups with colleagues which is being probed.

"We also need to get to the bottom of the WhatsApp groups where messages were being exchanged between police officers. I am concerned," he said.

Many women have shared their own harrowing experiences in dealing with male policemen, and expressed anger at the police for continuing to put the onus on women to protect themselves from officers.

One police boss told BBC radio that women should be "streetwise" and not submit to unjustified arrest, while Met Police advice said that women should wave a bus down if they "do not believe the officer is who they say they are".

"Telling women to question an officer or shout down a bus is one small step away from blaming a woman for failing to spot danger or get help if and when they get attacked by a police officer," deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said on Twitter.

"It's simple. Stop expecting bus drivers to police the police and start protecting women."//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk in front of the White House as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Washington, U.S., May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis - 

The United States surpassed 700,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday (Oct 1), according to a Reuters tally, as officials roll out booster doses of vaccines to protect the elderly and people working in high-risk professions.

The country has reported an average of more than 2,000 deaths per day over the past week, which represents about 60 per cent of the peak in fatalities in January, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.

The United States still leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, accounting for 19 per cent and 14 per cent of all reported infections and fatalities, according to Reuters tally. Globally, the pandemic is set to surpass 5 million deaths.

The highly transmissible Delta variant has driven a surge in COVID-19 cases that peaked around mid-September before falling to the current level of about 117,625 cases per day, based on a seven-day rolling average.

That is still well above the 10,000 cases a day that top US infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said needs to be reached to end the health crisis.

While national hospitalisation numbers have fallen in recent weeks, some states, particularly in the south of the country, are bucking that trend to record big rises, putting pressure on healthcare systems.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Rochelle Walensky on Friday said that weekly COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations in the United States were down 15 per cent from the previous week.

The United States had a daily average of 106,400 COVID-19 cases, 8,300 hospitalisations and more than 1,476 deaths in its most recent seven-day period, Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing.

The US is on track to double the number of COVID-19 rapid-scale tests on the market over the next 60 says, said White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients.

The US Food and Drug Administration also said on Friday that an advisory panel of its experts would hold meetings later this month to discuss authorising booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines.

US President Joe Biden received a booster shot on Monday, hoping to provide an example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even as millions go without their first. 

While scientists are divided over the need for booster shots when so many people in the United States and other countries remain unvaccinated, Biden announced the push in August as part of an effort to shore up protection against the highly transmissible Delta variant.

About 56 per cent of the US population has been fully vaccinated, with around 65 per cent receiving at least one dose, according to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New York hospitals on Monday began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to be vaccinated, while a federal judge ruled in favor of an Ohio private healthcare provider that had mandated shots for its staff.

Vaccination rates in some parts of the Midwest and South are lagging those in the Northeast and parts of the West Coast, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicating a divide between the rural and urban parts of the country//CNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort of Sochi on September 29, 2021 - 

The United States on Friday (Oct 1) warned Turkey of further risks to bilateral ties if it buys more weapons from Russia, after US countermeasures over its purchase of the S-400 air defense system.

The statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this week and discussed greater military cooperation, including on warplanes and potentially submarines.

Turkey, a NATO member, defied US warnings in 2017 to buy the S-400 air defense system, a deal that the Western alliance fears will allow Russia to hone its skills at targeting US and Western European aircraft.

"We've urged Turkey at every level and opportunity not to retain the S-400 system and refrain from purchasing any additional Russian military equipment," Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters when asked about Erdogan's trip.

"We continue to make that clear to Turkey and what the consequences will be if they move in that direction," said Sherman, who was on a visit to Switzerland.

Sherman reiterated that the S-400 was "not compatible or operable with NATO systems."

In response, the United States expelled Turkey from its state-of-the-art F-35 jet program in which multiple Turkish companies were involved and through which Ankara expected as many as 100 planes and had Turkish suppliers.

But Sherman stressed that the United States valued the relationship with Turkey, pointing to its welcome to millions of Syrian refugees and offers to help restore Kabul's international airport.

"Turkey is a challenge sometimes. I'm sure they find the United States a challenge at times. But they are a valued NATO ally," Sherman said.

Erdogan said Thursday that his relationship has "not gotten off to a good start" with US President Joe Biden, who while out of power described the Turkish leader as an autocrat and voiced support for the opposition//CNA

FILE PHOTO: A nurse shows a dose of Abdala vaccine against the coronavirus at a vaccination center in Havana, Cuba REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini - 

Cuba is speeding up its COVID-19 vaccination program as it aims to fully inoculate 90 per cent of its population against the coronavirus by December, an ambitious goal that has yet to be reached by even wealthier nations.

The health ministry reported on Thursday that more than 80 per cent of Cuba's 11.3 million people had received at least a first shot of a three-dose immunization regimen with Cuban-made vaccines Abdala, Soberana-2 or Soberana-plus.

Close to 50 per cent were fully vaccinated, it said - well ahead of the global average of 34 per cent, according to the Our World In Data website.

The government has said Cuba is on track to become the first country to inoculate so much of its population with its own vaccines. It is administering them to those as young as two years old after clinical trials testing them on children. The United States by comparison has yet to authorise COVID-19 vaccines for anyone younger than 12.

Currently Cuba is lagging China, which has fully inoculated an estimated 79 per cent of its population with its own vaccines. But Cuban authorities are vaccinating at a faster clip per capita.

"We will be the first in the world to reach everyone with our own vaccines,” Ileana Morales, director of science and innovation at the health ministry, said on state television.

State developer BioCubaFarma said its vaccines reduce serious illness and death by 90 per cent, even if breakthrough infections are possible.

It has not yet published data supporting that claim for the scientific community to review.

The World Health Organization recently launched the process to evaluate all three Cuban vaccines.

"It will be a unique case in the world," said Jose Moya Medina, the Pan American Health Organization's representative in Cuba. "I hope and think Cuba will be an example for all countries in the world as only full vaccination can stop the pandemic and possible emergence of more dangerous variants."

Cuba missed its early vaccination targets - partly due to US sanctions hampering production, the government said - and suffered one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks in July and August, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.

But the government said this month that BioCubaFarma had produced enough shots to fully vaccinate the entire population.

The cash-strapped country, which boasts pristine beaches and towns with colonial-era architecture, is banking on success to fully open its borders by mid-November for the tourism high-season.

Its vaccination campaign could give it an advantage over other countries in the region - one of the world's most reliant on tourism - which is struggling with surging cases in part due to vaccine scepticism and low uptake.

Cuba is already lifting domestic restrictions in heavily vaccinated provinces, including Havana, as it tries to revitalise an economy severely battered by the pandemic, US sanctions and domestic inefficiencies.

Shortages of food, medicine and just about every consumer good have led to severe hardship for many, on top of pandemic lockdowns, layoffs and inflation.

Cases and deaths per 100,000 residents in Havana, where around 80 per cent of adults are vaccinated, are less than 20 per cent of what they were two months ago, according to official data, and far below the rest of the country.

In 2020, Cuba’s pandemic response outperformed most countries. This year, however, the Delta variant swept through the populace and, in some provinces, overwhelmed its much acclaimed health services. At one point, Cuba had the highest per capita infection rate in the world, as daily cases peaked at nearly 10,000 in July and 98 deaths.

The health ministry reported a pandemic total of 11,863 cases and 146 deaths as of Dec. 31, 2020. Those tallies skyrocketed this year and stood at 877,428 cases and 7,436 deaths as of Wednesday//CNA