KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

Pos   /   Country   /   New Daily cases   /   Total Deaths   /        Daily Deaths /           Active Cases   /           Deaths/1M Pop

               World    3,59,358              /             39,32,141            /             7,073     /             1,15,70,704               /             504.5

1             USA        5,718     /             6,19,333              /             147        /             49,56,766            /               1,860

2             Brazil     64,134   /             5,12,735              /             1,463     /             13,26,000            /               2,395

3             India      49,851   /             3,95,780              /             1,256     /             5,93,205              /               284

4             Russia    21,665   /             1,32,683              /             619        /             3,54,084              /               909

5             Argentina            18,555   /             92,317   /             338        /             2,90,479              /               2,024

6             Mexico  5,270     /             2,32,346              /             278        /             2,80,552              /               1,784

7             UK          18,270   /             1,28,089              /             23           /             2,75,597              /               1,877

8             Iran        7,034     /             83,711   /             123        /             2,51,568              /             984

9             Indonesia            21,095   /             56,729   /             358        /             1,94,776              /               205

10           Colombia             33,594   /             1,04,014              /             693        /             1,92,839               /             2,023

11           Honduras             1,531     /             6,902     /             23           /             1,59,194              /               686

12           Poland   100        /             74,974   /             21           /             1,53,235              /               1,983

13           South Africa       17,956   /             59,778   /             157        /             1,52,013              /               996

14           Spain                    /             80,779   /                            /             1,25,801              /               1,727

15           Turkey   5,266     /             49,524   /             51           /             85,326   /             581

16           Iraq        4,814     /             17,061   /             28           /             77,212   /             415

17           Costa Rica                          /             4,602     /                            /             69,155   /             895

18           Bangladesh         4,334     /             14,053   /             77           /             68,231   /             85

19           Bolivia   2,182     /             16,496   /             82           /             63,547   /             1,395

20           Malaysia              5,803     /             4,884     /             81           /             60,646   /             149

26           Philippines           6,871     /             24,244   /             92           /             53,447   /             218

39           Pakistan               935        /             22,188   /             36           /             32,710   /             99

IMRAN KHAN SEEKS INDIA-U.S.-LIKE TIES WITH WASHINGTON

Pakistan is seeking a “civilised” and “even-handed” relationship with Washington like the one that existed between the U.S. and the U.K. or with India “right now”, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, underlining the role Islamabad could play in the region, including in Afghanistan after America leaves the war-torn country.

Mr. Khan made the comments during an interview with The New York Times in which he also expressed his disappointment that his bid to normalise ties with India did not make any progress though he approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after assuming office in August 2018.

In the interview that comes as US President Joe Biden had his first face-to-face meeting with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghan at the White House on Friday, Mr. Khan recalled that Pakistan has had a closer relationship with the US than other nations in the region, such as India, and was a U.S. partner in the war against terrorism, Dawn newspaper reported.

“Now, after the US leaves Afghanistan, basically Pakistan would want a civilised relationship, which you have between nations, and we would like to improve our trading relationship with the U.S.,” he said.

Asked to elaborate his concept of a civilised relationship, Mr. Khan said he was seeking relations like the one that existed “between the U.S. and Britain, or between the U.S. and India right now. So, a relationship which is even-handed”.

TRUDEAU CALLS ON POPE FRANCIS TO APOLOGIZE ON CANADIAN SOIL

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has asked Pope Francis to come to Canada to apologize for church-run boarding schools were hundreds of unmarked graves have now been found.

He said Canadians are “horrified and ashamed” by their government's longtime policy of forcing Indigenous children to attend such schools.

Indigenous leaders said this week that 600 or more remains were discovered at the Marieval Indian Residential School, which operated from 1899 to 1997 in the province of Saskatchewan. Last month, some 215 remains were reported at a similar school in British Columbia.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools, most run by Roman Catholic missionary congregations, in a campaign to assimilate them into Canadian society.

Indigenous leaders have called for Pope Francis to apologize — a demand echoed again Friday by Trudeau, who said the pope should visit Canada to do it.

“I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness, Pope Francis, to impress upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil” Trudeau said.

“I know that the Catholic church leadership is looking and very actively engaged in what next steps can be taken.”

IRAN SAYS NUCLEAR DEAL SALVAGEABLE BUT WILL NOT NEGOTIATE FOREVER

Iran said on Saturday it believes a reinstatement of its 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers is possible but warned that Tehran “will not negotiate forever”.

"Out of a steadfast commitment to salvage a deal that the US tried to torpedo, Iran has been the most active party in Vienna, proposing most drafts," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter, referring to talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal.

"Still believe a deal is possible, if the US decides to abandon Trump's failed legacy. Iran will not negotiate forever," Khatibzadeh tweeted.

The UN nuclear watchdog on Friday demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend a monitoring agreement that expired overnight. An Iranian envoy responded that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer.

The Vienna talks, which began in April, are now in a pause that had been expected to last until early July, but failure to extend the monitoring accord could throw those negotiations into disarray.

CHINA SAYS NO STRINGS ATTACHED TO VACCINE SHIPMENTS OVERSEAS

China said Saturday that it provides vaccines to other countries with no political conditions attached, responding to a story by The Associated Press saying China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing from a multi-country statement on human rights in China's Xinjiang region by threatening to withhold a Covid-19 vaccine shipment.

A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed Ukraine's decision to take its name off the statement at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding "we haven't heard that Ukraine has encountered any difficulty in importing vaccines from China.''

The Associated Press, citing diplomats from two Western countries, reported that Ukraine had pulled its name from the statement Thursday after China warned it would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines unless it did so. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity.

China's written response to AP did not directly address the specific charge, but said, "China's provision of vaccines and anti-epidemic materials to other countries is not meant to gain benefits from other countries and there isn't any geopolitical purpose nor any political conditions attached.''

MODERNA, PFIZER VACCINES WARN OF HEART INFLAMMATION RISK

In a rare side effect of the coronavirus vaccine shots, the product information about the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines is now warning about the increased risk for heart inflammation, reported Associated Press.

However, the benefits and the protection offered by the vaccines against the deadly infection outweighs the risk posed by the side effect which is evident commonly in people under 30, government officials said.

Earlier this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded more than 1,200 cases of heart inflammation in people who received messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines.

The risk from the vaccine is surfacing particularly after the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the symptoms usually appear within a few days of vaccination, the Food and Drugs Administration said. Those witnessing mildest of symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, or a fast, fluttering or pounding heart after vaccination, should immediately seek medical attention, officials said.

PAKISTAN FM QURESHI SAYS “NO ROOM” TO KEEP PAKISTAN ON FATF’S ‘GREY LIST’

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said there was “no room” to keep Pakistan on the FATF’s ‘grey list’ since it has implemented 26 out of the 27 points of the action handed out by the global body against money laundering and terror financing.

Mr. Qureshi’s comments came a day after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), during its plenary meeting from June 21-25, retained Pakistan in its ‘grey list’ for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.

It also asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.

He said that whatever steps Pakistan took were in its own interests and added that it is in the country’s interest to stop money laundering and terror financing.

Mr. Qureshi said “some powers” desired to keep Pakistan in the FATF’s ‘grey list’ and it needs to be looked at whether the global forum is being used for political purposes. However, he did not elaborate.