KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    3,32,988              /             40,00,177            /             5,908     /             1,16,32,787        /             513.2

1             USA        4,351     /             6,21,335              /             23           /             48,65,392            /             1,866

2             Brazil     22,703   /             5,25,229              /             754        /             11,15,609            /             2,453

3             India      34,067   /             4,03,310              /             552        /             4,70,798              /             289

4             UK          27,334   /             1,28,231              /             9             /             4,64,482              /             1,879

5             Russia    24,353   /             1,38,579              /             654        /             4,13,274              /             949

6             Indonesia            29,745   /             61,140   /             558        /             3,09,999              /             221

7             Mexico  2,611     /             2,33,622              /             42           /             2,91,578              /             1,793

8             Argentina            17,277   /             96,521   /             617        /             2,80,373              /             2,116

9             Iran        16,025   /             84,949   /             157        /             2,45,020              /             999

10           Colombia             25,366   /             1,09,466              /             570        /             1,90,382              /             2,128

11           South Africa       12,513   /             62,171   /             331        /             1,85,417              /             1,035

12           Honduras             940        /             7,089     /             8             /             1,67,565              /             704

13           Spain     10,675   /             80,934   /             7             /             1,64,118              /             1,730

14           Poland   38           /             75,085   /             1             /             1,52,995              /             1,986

15           Bangladesh         9,964     /             15,229   /             164        /             1,00,570              /             92

16           Iraq        8,030     /             17,345   /             29           /             90,916   /             422

17           Turkey   4,678     /             49,959   /             35           /             79,840   /             586

18           Costa Rica                          /             4,686     /                            /             70,424   /             911

19           Malaysia              6,387     /             5,574     /             77           /             69,447   /             170

20           Tunisia  3,530     /             15,482   /             105        /             67,141   /             1,296

25           Philippines           5,392     /             25,192   /             43           /             51,594   /             227

37           Pakistan               1,347     /             22,427   /             19           /             33,299   /             100

OPEC+ IN CRISIS AS SPECTER OF DESTRUCTIVE INFIGHTING LOOMS

The OPEC+ oil cartel is facing its biggest crisis since a price war at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The UAE, the group’s fourth-biggest producer, argued against a deal proposed by Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend quota limits until the end of next year, rather than ending them in April as originally planned.

The UAE agreed with the other 22 OPEC+ members that monthly output cuts should be eased by 400,000 barrels a day from August, but said the extension should be treated separately.

The group normally settles its differences in private and likes to put on a show of unity. But this rift runs so deep that the energy ministers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia aired their grievances in interviews with Bloomberg Television and other media on Sunday.

The OPEC and its allies were meant to reconvene on Monday to try to bridge the divide, but called their meeting off. Without a deal, markets will be left in limbo at a time when they’re clamoring for more oil, prices for which are already up around 50% this year.

The UAE claims it can pump much more than the 3.2 million barrels a day baseline accorded to it under OPEC+’s quota system. Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said that level’s “totally unfair and unsustainable.” The country wants an increase to 3.8 million barrels daily if the supply agreement -- signed in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic was crushing oil demand -- is extended until the end of 2022.

Mazrouei said the UAE has roughly one-third of its output idle, meaning it’s “sacrificing” its production to a greater extent than other OPEC+ members.

Saudi Arabia argues that it’s withholding much more oil than the UAE -- and has done for years. Riyadh also insists that the extension is needed to put energy markets at ease because of the continued threat to fuel consumption from the pandemic.

COVID: MOST RULES SET TO END IN ENGLAND, SAYS PM

Face masks will no longer be legally required and distancing rules will be scrapped at the final stage of England's Covid lockdown roadmap, Boris Johnson has confirmed.

The rule of six inside private homes will be removed and work-from-home guidance abolished as 16 months of on-off restrictions on daily life end.

Johnson said he would set out how the country would “learn to live with this virus” — a major shift in tone from a leader who has previously painted COVID-19 as an enemy to be vanquished.

“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from COVID and exercise judgment when going about our lives,” Johnson said.

The PM said he expected the final step would go ahead as planned on 19 July.

This will be confirmed on 12 July after a review of the latest data.

Further updates on school bubbles, travel and self-isolation will follow in the coming days, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street news conference.

He said that even after the removal of the legal requirement to wear a face covering, he would continue to wear one himself in crowded places "as a courtesy".

Self-isolation orders for those who test positive would continue, Mr Johnson said, but he suggested there would soon be new rules for fully-vaccinated contacts.

OVER 1,000 AFGHAN TROOPS FLEE TO TAJIKISTAN

More than 1,000 Afghan troops fled into neighbouring Tajikistan on Monday following clashes with the Taliban, as the insurgents amassed momentum on the battlefield.

The exodus of troops followed another weekend of fighting across much of the northern countryside where the Taliban have overrun dozens of districts, spurring fears that Afghan forces are in crisis.

“They did not want to surrender. They had asked for reinforcements but their call was ignored,” said Abdul Basir, a soldier based with a battalion in Badakhshan province that had members flee over the border.

The U.S. announced on Friday that it had handed over Bagram Air Base — the centre of its operations — to Afghan security forces, effectively wrapping up operations in the country following nearly two decades of fighting.

Tajikistan’s national security committee said 1,037 Afghan government troops had fled into the ex-Soviet country “to save their lives” after clashes with the Taliban during the night.

The Afghan government has vowed to launch a counteroffensive in the north.

GERMANY LIFTS BAN ON TRAVELLERS FROM DELTA VARIANT HIT INDIA, OTHER COUNTRIES

Germany on Monday lifted a ban on travellers from India, the UK and three other countries, where the delta variant of coronavirus has been found in the samples of Covid-19 patients. In fact, the variant is the dominant one found in the UK which scuttled the Boris Johnson government's plan to open up the country.

The Robert Koch Institute, a German federal government agency responsible for disease control and prevention, said that India, Nepal, Russia, Portugal and the UK have been downgraded to "high-incidence areas" from the current categorisation of "areas of variant concern". This would make it easier for travellers who are not German residents or citizens to enter the country.

The quarantine period can be shortened to five days if they test negative for Covid-19. The new norms will be effective from Wednesday.

Travellers from high-incidence areas are also exempt from quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated.

The relaxation in curbs is driven by the fact that vaccines have been found effective against the delta variant, which was first discovered in India.

"We think that in the foreseeable future, those who have received double jabs will... be able to travel again, without having to go into quarantine," German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said on Friday.

CHINA WANTS TO EXPAND TIES WITH EUROPE, XI TELLS MACRON, MERKEL

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel he hoped China and Europe would expand cooperation to better respond to global challenges, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In a three-way video call, Mr. Xi also expressed the hope that Europeans can play a more active role in international affairs, achieve strategic independence and offer a fair, transparent and unbiased environment for Chinese companies, CCTV said.

Ms. Merkel’s office confirmed that the three leaders exchanged views on European Union-China relations.

“They also discussed international trade, climate protection and biodiversity,” her office added in a statement.

“The conversation also revolved around cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, global vaccine supply, and international and regional issues.”

In May, the European Parliament halted ratification of a new investment pact with China until Beijing lifts sanctions on EU politicians.

ARMED MEN KIDNAP 140 SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

Heavily-armed men kidnapped 140 students from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria on Monday, a school official said, the latest in a wave of mass abductions targeting schoolchildren and students.

Criminal gangs often attack villages to loot, steal cattle and abduct for ransom in northwest and central Nigeria, but since the start of the year they have increasingly targeted schools and colleges.

The attackers opened fire and overpowered security guards after storming the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state in the early hours of Monday, abducting most of the 165 pupils boarding there overnight.

“The kidnappers took away 140 students, only 25 students escaped. We still have no idea where the students were taken,” Emmanuel Paul, a teacher at the school, said.

“Tactical police teams went after the kidnappers,” he said. “We are still on the rescue mission.”

Police said they had safely rescued 26 people, including a woman.