KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    3,68,401              /             40,48,856            /             6,261     /             1,19,89,439        /             519.4

1             USA        6,642     /             6,22,845              /             27           /             48,65,805            /             1,870

2             Brazil     20,937   /             5,33,546              /             597        /             9,68,082              /             2,492

3             UK          31,772   /             1,28,425              /             26           /             6,34,266              /             1,882

4             India      37,676   /             4,08,792              /             720        /             4,57,915              /             293

5             Russia    25,033   /             1,43,002              /             749        /             4,40,112              /             979

6             Indonesia            36,197   /             66,464   /             1,007     /             3,76,015              /             240

7             Mexico  9,581     /             2,34,907              /             232        /             3,10,396              /             1,803

8             Argentina            8,850     /             98,781   /             280        /             2,66,263              /             2,165

9             Iran        17,664   /             85,859   /             165        /             2,61,680              /             1,009

10           Spain                    /             81,003   /                            /             2,20,282              /             1,732

11           South Africa       16,302   /             64,289   /             151        /             2,08,709              /             1,070

12           Honduras             972        /             7,250     /             29           /             1,72,209              /             720

13           Poland   66           /             75,160   /             1             /             1,53,156              /             1,988

14           Colombia             19,423   /             1,12,826              /             528        /             1,44,576              /             2,193

15           Bangladesh         11,874   /             16,419   /             230        /             1,30,269              /             99

16           Iraq        7,616     /             17,548   /             33           /             1,05,360              /             427

17           Tunisia  6,592     /             16,388   /             144        /             87,920   /             1,372

18           Malaysia              9,105     /             6,158     /             91           /             87,841   /             188

19           Thailand               9,539     /             2,711     /             86           /             85,689   /             39

20           Turkey   5,261     /             50,229   /             37           /             81,982   /             589

27           Philippines           5,916     /             25,921   /             105        /             49,701   /             233

36           Pakistan               1,980     /             22,582   /             27           /             37,499   /             100

BIDEN BACKS TRUMP REJECTION OF CHINA'S SOUTH CHINA SEA CLAIM

The Biden administration on Sunday upheld a Trump-era rejection of nearly all of China’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea.

The administration also warned China that any attack on the Philippines in the flashpoint region would draw a U.S. response under a mutual defense treaty.

The stern message from Secretary of State Antony Blinken came in a statement released ahead of this week’s fifth anniversary of an international tribunal’s ruling in favour of the Philippines, against China’s maritime claims around the Spratly Islands and neighbouring reefs and shoals. China rejects the ruling.

Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the ruling last year, the Trump administration came out in favour of the ruling but also said it regarded as illegitimate virtually all Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea outside China’s internationally recognised waters.

Sunday’s statement reaffirms that position, which had been laid out by Mr. Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

“Nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea,” Mr. Blinken said, using language similar to Mr. Pompeo’s. He accused China of continuing “to coerce and intimidate Southeast Asian coastal states, threatening freedom of navigation in this critical global throughway.”

“The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea,” he said, referring to Mr. Pompeo’s original statement. “We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments.”

Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty obligates both countries to come to each other’s aid in case of an attack.

N KOREAN LEADER KIM, CHINESE PRESIDENT XI VOW TO STRENGTHEN TIES

President Xi Jinping hailed on Sunday the 60 years of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and vowed to work with the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un to take bilateral ties to a new level.

In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said it is “the fixed stand” of his government to “ceaselessly develop the friendly and cooperative relations” between the countries, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

Mr. Xi said in his message that China and North Korea have “unswervingly supported each other,” according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “The world has recently seen accelerating changes unprecedented over the past century,” Mr. Xi said. “I wish to ... lead bilateral relations to unceasingly rise to new levels to the benefit of the two countries and their peoples.”

North Korea has been expected to seek greater support from China, its major ally and aid benefactor, as it grapples with economic hardship exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. China, for its part, sees preventing a North Korean collapse as crucial to its security interests and would need to boost ties with North Korea and other traditional allies amid fierce rivalry with the United States, some experts say.

Mr. Kim said in his message that the bilateral treaty “is displaying its stronger vitality in defending and propelling the socialist cause of the two countries ... now that the hostile forces become more desperate in their challenge and obstructive moves.” Under the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, North Korea and China are committed to offering one another immediate military and other aid in the event of an attack.

AUSTRALIA: NEW SOUTH WALES CONFIRMS FIRST COVID-RELATED DEATH IN 10 MONTHS

Australia has reported its first locally contracted coronavirus death this year.

The authorities said a woman, in her 90s, died in Sydney. She had contracted the virus in a family setting.

New South Wales reported 77 new cases on Sunday. There are now 52 people in hospital, with 15 in intensive care.

Sydney is currently in lockdown, as Australia's largest city fights to contain the highly transmissible Delta strain of the virus.

The reported death is the state's 57th and the first in 10 months.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the number of new daily infections would rise further on Monday.

"I'll be shocked if it's less than 100," she said at a briefing on Sunday.

She said she feared that "tomorrow and the few days afterwards will be worse, much worse than we've seen today".

Australia has recorded 911 deaths and more than 31,000 cases since the pandemic began.

COVID-19: TOKYO TO ENTER 4TH STATE OF EMERGENCY FROM TODAY

Tokyo entered its fourth coronavirus state of emergency on Monday. The measure will last throughout the Olympics and end on August 22.

The government has requested bars and restaurants not to offer alcohol as part of efforts to prevent infections, reported NHK World.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu said on Sunday that the government will consider providing subsidies more quickly to make it easier for pub owners to cooperate.

The emergency declarations and focused anti-infection measures are scheduled to continue through August 22.

The duration includes the Tokyo Olympics between July 23 and August 8 and the Obon holiday period in mid-August when many people usually visit their hometowns or tourist spots, reported NHK World.

The government is urging people to take thorough anti-virus measures out of concern that an increase of people's movement could spread infections. Officials are also concerned about the spread of the Delta variant.

The government also extended the state of emergency for the south-western prefecture of Okinawa and intensive anti-virus measures for Tokyo's neighbouring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as the western prefecture of Osaka, reported NHK World.

The government has been pushing ahead with its vaccination drive to curb infections and reduce the risk of patients becoming seriously ill.

It plans to consider lifting the emergency declaration earlier if the situation improves and the strain on the medical system is eased.

SAUDI SETS UPPER LIMIT FOR SUBSIDY CUTS WITH GASOLINE PRICE CEILING

Saudi Arabia’s government set an upper limit for the domestic cost of gasoline, a rare move to soften the impact of higher living costs on citizens.

The decision, which represents a step back from unpopular subsidy cuts, comes just days after the International Monetary Fund urged officials to reduce subsidies even further.

The ceiling for gasoline prices will be set at June’s levels, or 2.18 riyals (58 cents) per liter of 91 octane, as of Saturday, according to a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The decision was made to “decrease the burden of living costs on citizens and residents” and “support local economic activity,” a state committee for amending energy prices said in the statement.

The change will alleviate the pain of subsidy reforms introduced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and is a nod to complaints from Saudis about the rising cost of living under his economic diversification program. Inflation in the world’s largest oil exporter stood at 5.7% in May -- the latest figure available -- driven by higher food and vehicle prices as well as a move to triple the value-added tax last year. Even as the IMF urged Saudi Arabia to “press ahead” with subsidy cuts in a statement on Thursday, it simultaneously called for “enhancing the social safety net” to help low-income households.

KABUL AIRPORT GETS ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM

Afghan authorities said on Sunday they have installed an anti-missile system at Kabul airport to counter incoming rockets, as the Taliban pressed on with a blistering offensive across the country.

Washington and its allies are due to end their military mission in Afghanistan at the end of next month, even as the insurgents say they now control 85% of the country — a claim that could not be independently verified and is disputed by the government.

The Islamic fundamentalist group’s rapid gains in recent weeks have raised fears about the security of the capital and its airport, with NATO keen to secure a vital exit route to the outside world for foreign diplomats and aid workers.

“The newly installed air defence system has been operational in Kabul since 2:00 am Sunday,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. “The system has proven useful in the world in repelling rocket and missile attacks.”

Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told AFP it had been installed at the airport, though officials did not offer details about the type of system or who had installed it. But Afghan security forces spokesman Ajmal Omar Shinwari said the system was given by “our foreign friends”.

Turkey has promised to provide security for Kabul airport once the U.S. and NATO troops leave next month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey and the United States had agreed on the “scope” of how the airport would be managed under the control of Turkish forces.

SYRIA HIKES BREAD, DIESEL PRICES AS CRISIS DEEPENS

Steep bread and diesel price hikes went into force in government-held parts of war-torn Syria on Sunday, bringing more pain for civilians in a economic crisis. Damascus has repeatedly raised fuel prices in recent years to tackle a financial crunch sparked by the country’s decade-long civil war and compounded by a spate of Western sanctions.

The price of diesel fuel nearly tripled and the price of bread doubled on Sunday, according to the official Sana news agency, only days after Damascus announced a 25% increase in the price of petrol. “We fear further increases in the price of food and medicine,” Damascus resident Wael Hammoud, 41, said. President Bashar al-Assad also issued a decree that increases public sector salaries by 50%.

IRANIAN EXILES PROTEST, DEMAND PROSECUTION OF PRESIDENT-ELECT

Supporters of Iran’s exiled opposition rallied in Berlin and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the prosecution of the Islamic Republic’s newly elected president, Ebrahim Raisi, whom they accuse of crimes against humanity.

Flag-waving demonstrators rallied at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and other locations as part of a Free Iran World Summit that featured speeches by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

In a keynote address, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accused Raisi of being the “henchman” responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.

In an online address, Pompeo described the Iranian presidential election as “in fact, a boycott and the regime knows it”. “This is a show laid bare for the entire world to see,” Pompeo said.

He denounced Raisi as a leader who had been hand-picked by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to “inflict pain, frighten, continue to loot, and to plunder” on behalf of the theocracy.

Iran hit back, with a foreign ministry spokesman accusing “bought western politicians”, including Pompeo, of selling themselves cheap “for a Europe-hosted circus arranged by a once Saddam-backed terrorist cult with Iranian blood on its hands.”

“Insatiable thirst for $$ & anti-Iran obsession is driving shameful western hypocrisy,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh wrote in a tweet.