The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. And of those vaccinated people who died with breakthrough infections, most caught the virus from an unvaccinated person, he said. “I remember when we broke that 100,000-death mark, people just shook their heads and said ‘Oh, my god,’” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Then we said, ‘Are we going to get to 200,000?’ Then we kept looking at 100,000-death marks,” and finally surpassed the estimated 675,000 American deaths from the 1918-19 flu pandemic.

Oct 1 (Reuters) – Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. More than half of all global deaths reported on a seven-day average were in the United States, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and India. While it took just over a year for the COVID-19 death toll to hit 2.5 million, the next 2.5 million deaths were recorded in just under eight months, according to a Reuters analysis. An average of 8,000 deaths were reported daily across the world over the last week, or around five deaths every minute. More than half of the world has yet to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Our World in Data.

TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Japan’s incoming prime minister, Fumio Kishida, is set to keep current Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and current Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda in his cabinet, the Mainichi newspaper reported. Kishi, 62, and Hagiuda, 58, are both in the Hosoda faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is closely related to former premier Shinzo Abe. Among other significant appointments, current finance minister Taro Aso’s brother-in-law Shunichi Suzuki is set to replace him in the post, according to the daily Yomiuri. Little-known Suzuki is a former Olympics minister and son of former premier Zenko Suzuki, and belongs to Aso’s LDP faction. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is set to retain his post, while Hirokazu Matsuno, who served as education minister under former prime minister Shinzo Abe, is likely to become chief cabinet secretary, media have reported.

Auckland’s 1.7 million residents are expecting a government decision on Monday about whether it will remain sealed off from the rest of New Zealand. Daily case numbers have fluctuated between 8 and 45 in recent days, with the total from the outbreak in the city standing at 1,295 cases. Around 1,000 people rallied in the city, organised by Destiny Church, a Pentecostal fundamentalist Christian movement, demanded “freedom from lockdown”, New Zealand media reported. Amid mounting pressure, Ardern has said her strategy was never to have zero cases, but to aggressively stamp out the virus. She said strict lockdowns can end if 90% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, contrasting with the current 46%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has pledged at the Capitol to “get it done” as Democrats strained to rescue a scaled-back version of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill after days of frantic negotiations. Biden huddled with House Democrats on their home ground in a private meeting Friday that was part instructional, part morale booster for the tattered caucus of lawmakers, telling them he wanted both bills passed regardless of the time it takes. He discussed a compromise topline of $1.9 trillion to more than $2 trillion for his bigger vision, according to lawmakers in the room. But it was clear they are all now in it for the long haul as the White House and its allies in Congress prepared for protracted negotiations. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s six minutes, six days or six weeks — we’re going to get it done,” Biden declared to reporters as he left his late-afternoon meeting at the Capitol.

CAIRO (AP) — Libyan security forces on Friday detained at least 500 African migrants, including women and children, two officials and a refugee group said. Gargaresh, a known hub for migrants and refugees, is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west of Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The chief prosecutor office said hundreds of arrested migrants were taken to detention centers. “Torture, sexual violence, and extortion is rampant in Libyan detention centers,” he said. Those returned to shore have been taken to government-run detention centers, where they are often abused and extorted for ransom under the very nose of U.N. officials.

ISTANBUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The Turkish Red Crescent is sending aid to Afghanistan to feed internally displaced people in need amid turmoil following the Taliban’s takeover, the organization’s head said on Friday. Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik said the shipment of food would be sent from Pakistan towards Kabul on Saturday and provide for 16,000 people for a month. He said the Turkish Red Crescent had provided support to areas under Taliban control before U.S. troops pulled out and there had been no problem in providing aid after the withdrawal. “The Taliban appointed an authority to the head of the Afghan Red Crescent for the transition process,” he said, adding that they were cooperating to bring humanitarian aid to Afghans. The Turkish Red Crescent had provided some $250,000 since 2018 to Afghans who established their own businesses after returning to the country and would increase the amount, he said.

BEIRUT (AP) — A Turkish company supplying electricity to Lebanon from two power barges off the coast of Beirut said Friday it has halted supplies after its contract with the Lebanese state electricity company expired. The move by the Turkish company, Karpowership, which has provided electricity for the past eight years, was expected. It had said earlier that Lebanon’s state power company owes Karpowership overdue payments in excess of $100 million. Lebanon is grappling with an economic meltdown that includes fuel and power shortages; blackouts last up to 22 hours a day. Lebanon hopes to improve production in the coming weeks with power supplies from Jordan and Egyptian natural gas supplies to one of its main power stations.

The Interior Ministry announced on Friday it has halted an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to resume its activities in Egypt undercover through two businessmen. “As part of the Ministry of Interior’s efforts to abort the Muslim Brotherhood’s terrorist plans aimed at compromising the security of the homeland and undermining its stability, the National Security Sector was able to halt a scheme aimed at reviving the organization by working to find sources of funding for its terrorist activities,” an official statement from the Ministry read. “Brotherhood member Yehia Mahran Othman Kamal Eddin played a prominent role in that scheme, being one of the main arms of the imprisoned Brotherhood leader Safwan Thabet. A secret room was found inside the apartment used as a safe to hide money up to US$8.4 million and some ammunition, the statement added. Measures were taken regarding the incident, and the Supreme State Security Prosecution continued its investigations.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis marched in the center of Baghdad on Friday to mark two years since mass anti-government protests erupted in the Iraqi capital and southern provinces calling for reforms. Around 1,000 protesters took part in the event, including a significant number of women, many carrying photos of loved ones who were killed by security forces during the protests. Demonstrators, mostly young people, had camped out in the capital’s Tahrir Square for months, decrying endemic corruption, poor services and unemployment. The killings have created a climate of fear and widespread reluctance to take part in the voting, particularly among young Iraqis who constitute the largest group of voters in Iraq. Hundreds of riot police and federal policemen fanned out in Baghdad ahead of the planned march.

Just 11 percent of Republicans approve of the president, which is similar to July. Close to 9 in 10 Democrats approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, compared with about 2 in 10 Republicans. Even among Democrats, only 54 percent say they approve of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan. Forty-six percent of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of national security, while 52 percent disapprove. Just 35 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, down from 43 percent in April, when it was already one of Biden’s worst issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck said Friday that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize its use. If cleared, the drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic. There were no deaths in the drug group after that time period compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, according to Merck. That is typical when early results so clearly show a treatment works that there is no need for further testing before applying for authorization. Merck had planned to enroll more than 1,500 patients in its late-stage trial before the independent board stopped it early.

AFP - Erling Braut Haaland has ruled himself out of Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga match against Augsburg on Saturday and is set to miss Norway's upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Norway play crucial qualifiers against Turkey next Friday and Montenegro on October 11 in their bid to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But it appears as though they will have to do without talisman Haaland, who scored five goals in three internationals in September. Haaland missed Dortmund's 1-0 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach last Saturday and Tuesday's Champions League home win against Sporting Lisbon by the same scoreline. Mahmoud Dahoud is suspended after being sent off at Gladbach, but is unavailable anyway with a knee injury.

The Russian airline Aeroflot started operating its first regular flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh airports on Friday, with one daily flight for each airport. The number of Russian flights are increasing and all seats on flights to Egyptian resorts are fully booked, navigational sources at Hurghada International Airport said. And tourist resorts in the cities of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam witnessed a tourism boom and a rise in occupancy from incoming foreign tourism. Companies can now operate one flight per week to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh from 49 Russian cities, and 15 flights per week from Moscow to the Red Sea resort cities. The resumption of and increase in flights will contribute to boosting tourism in Egypt, as Russian tourism generated billions of dollars in revenue for the country.

Terry Butcher is well known for playing a World Cup qualifier in 1989 with his England shirt drenched in blood. David Cannon/Allsport(Reuters) - Former England defender Terry Butcher wants heading to be gradually phased out of the sport to reduce the risk of brain trauma and neurodegenerative diseases. With several former players, especially from England’s World Cup-winning team of 1966, being diagnosed with dementia, Butcher said he eventually wanted to see no heading in football. “I think it’s something that we can do without and then it would rule out the trauma of heading a football, particularly at pace. You’ve got to get some brain trauma in there because your brain is going to rattle against your skull.