April 30, Friday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1. U.S. President Joe Biden has used a public rally to pitch his plan to rebuild the middle class by raising taxes on wealthy Americans and large corporations.
2.The first shipment of the coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna has arrived in Japan. A plane carrying the vaccine vials in six refrigerated containers arrived at Kansai Airport in western Japan from Belgium on Friday.
3. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 698 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday. The figure is down 61 from last Friday, marking the first week-on-week decline in 30 days. However, the seven-day average remains on an upward trend. The tally for the week up to Friday stood 773.4, up 10.9 percent from the previous seven days.