*)US Covid-19 death toll surpasses that of Vietnam war

The US coronavirus death toll has crossed 59,000 on Tuesday; that’s more than the number of American lives lost in the Vietnam War.

US military involvement in Vietnam killed at least 58,220.

In addition to exceeding the Vietnam War toll, the US toll for Covid-19 also tops the number of annual deaths from the flu in recent years.

*)Suicide bomber kills three, wounds 15 in Kabul

A suicide bombing in Kabul province, not far from Afghanistan's capital, has killed three people and wounded 15.

The suicide bomber was among civilians when he detonated his explosives in Char Asiab district of Kabul.

A UN report this week said violence in Afghanistan has gone up in the first three months of 2020 after the signing of the Taliban-US peace deal.

*)Bomb blast in Afrin kills at least 40 people

At least 40 civilians were killed, including 11 children, when a bomb detonated on an oil tanker in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Tuesday.

The YPG/PKK attack occurred in a crowded area in Afrin’s centre, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey's military and allied Syrian opposition forces seized Afrin from the YPG in March 2018 in a major military offensive.

*)US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist

A US government panel has called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist after a "drastic" downturn under PM Narendra Modi.

Its annual report said India should join the ranks of "countries of particular concern" which are subject to sanctions if they do not improve.

It called on the US to impose punitive measures, including visa bans, on Indian officials who also provide funding to groups that incite hate speech.

And finally…

*)Coronavirus brews trouble for tea amid disrupted supply

The coronavirus outbreak is causing a rare stir in the usually staid global tea market, with labour lockdowns stifling supplies.

Just five countries – China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Vietnam – account for 82 percent of global tea exports.

However, strict restrictions to contain the coronavirus pandemic have disrupted the key leaf-picking season.