KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    6,38,701              /             42,02,538            /             9,873     /             1,43,46,643        /             539.1

1             USA        74,296   /             6,28,059              /             449        /             52,40,488            /             1,886

2             UK          27,734   /             1,29,430              /             91           /             11,60,965            /             1,896

3             Brazil     48,443   /             5,53,272              /             1,366     /             7,13,938              /             2,583

4             Spain     27,149   /             81,396   /             73           /             6,10,295              /             1,740

5             Indonesia            47,791   /             88,659   /             1,824     /             5,58,392              /             321

6             Russia    22,420   /             1,56,178              /             798        /             4,91,525              /             1,070

7             India      43,211   /             4,22,695              /             641        /             4,09,805              /             303

8             Iran        33,817   /             89,782   /             303        /             3,92,069              /             1,054

9             Mexico  17,408   /             2,39,079              /             484        /             3,61,672              /             1,834

10           Argentina            15,883   /             1,04,822              /             470        /             2,57,729              /             2,297

11           France   27,934   /             1,11,735              /             40           /             2,54,902              /             1,708

12           Honduras             1,240     /             7,713     /             63           /             1,85,564              /             766

13           Thailand               16,533   /             4,397     /             133        /             1,78,270              /             63

14           Malaysia              17,405   /             8,551     /             143        /             1,75,113              /             261

15           Turkey   22,291   /             51,124   /             76           /             1,71,307              /             599

16           Netherlands        3,455     /             17,812   /             8             /             1,70,948              /             1,037

17           Bangladesh         16,230   /             20,016   /             237        /             1,55,082              /             120

18           Poland   138        /             75,252   /             3             /             1,53,767              /             1,991

19           South Africa       17,302   /             70,908   /             520        /             1,50,629              /             1,180

20           Iraq        13,515   /             18,484   /             66           /             1,34,285              /             449

29           Pakistan               4,119     /             23,133   /             46           /             56,952   /             103

30           Philippines           4,478     /             27,401   /             84           /             54,552   /             247

CHINA-TALIBAN TIES WARMING AHEAD OF US WITHDRAWAL

A Taliban delegation, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, on Wednesday made a surprise visit to China and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which the Taliban leader termed Beijing as a “trustworthy friend” and assured that the group would not permit “anyone to use” Afghanistan's territory. This is the first meeting between China and the Taliban amid the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan.

The ongoing offensive by the Taliban capturing a significant amount of territory from government forces has sparked concerns in China that the separatist Uygur militant group from its volatile Xinjiang province, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, (ETIM) would infiltrate through its Afghan borders. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, has confirmed at a media briefing that the delegation led by Baradar met Wang at the port city Tianjin located close to Beijing.The ministry also posted photos of Wang with Baradar and his delegation.

The Taliban delegation's visit followed days after Pakistan and China announced plans to launch 'joint actions' in Afghanistan to drive out terrorist forces during the talks between Wang and Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Chinese city of Chengdu on July 25.

During talks, Wang expressed hope that the Taliban could draw a clear line between themselves and the ETIM. Wang said the ETIM was a listed terrorist organisation that threatened territorial integrity.

THERE’S NO RUSSIA AT THE OLYMPICS, BUT ITS ATHLETES ARE WINNING MEDALS IN TOKYO

Russia is not participating in the Tokyo Olympics. And yet Russian athletes have already won 22 medals at the event, including seven golds.

Despite a ban on the country participating in any international sporting event till 2022, 335 Russian athletes are part of the Tokyo Olympics, participating under the ROC banner, which is currently ranked fourth, according to the medal tally.

In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from participating in any international events for four years, following doping allegations against athletes from the country.

However, while the country is banned — stopping Russian athletes from participating under the country’s banner and flag, using the country’s name or singing the national anthem — the country’s athletes are participating at the Tokyo event under the ROC banner.

ROC stands for the Russian Olympic Committee, but since the use of the committee name is also prohibited under the ban, the athletes are using the acronym ‘ROC’, which is all that Russian athletes have been allowed to publicly display as the association to which they belong.

Also, only those athletes who are not under any suspension or restriction have been allowed to participate.

IRAN BLAMES US FOR PAUSE IN NUCLEAR TALKS

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday declared Tehran would not accept Washington's "stubborn" demands in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal and said the United States had failed to guarantee that it would never abandon the pact again. "The Americans acted completely cowardly and maliciously," state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.

"They once violated the nuclear deal at no cost by exiting it. Now, they explicitly say they cannot give guarantees that it would not happen again." Since April 9, Tehran and six world powers have been in talks to revive the nuclear pact ditched three years ago by then US President Donald Trump, who argued it favoured Iran. The sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington adjourned on June 20, two days Ebrahim Raisi was elected President of the Islamic Republic.

BIG TECH STARTS REQUIRING COVID-19 VACCINES; TWITTER CLOSES RE-OPENED US OFFICES

Twitter Inc is shutting its reopened offices in United States, while other big tech companies are making vaccination mandatory for on-campus employees, as the highly infectious Delta Covid-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases.

Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc said on Wednesday all US employees must get vaccinated to step into offices. Google is also planning to expand its vaccination drive to other regions in the coming months.

Twitter, which on Wednesday also paused future office reopenings, had started allowing employees back to its campuses in San Francisco and New York at 50% capacity about a fortnight ago after more than 16 months.

US coronavirus cases have been rising due to the Delta variant, which emerged in India but has quickly spread and now accounts for more than 80% of US coronavirus cases.

Health authorities on Tuesday said Americans fully vaccinated against Covid-19 should go back to wearing masks in indoor public places in regions where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly.

ASTRAZENECA SAYS SMALL CLOT RISK AFTER FIRST DOSE, LESS AFTER SECOND

AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine carries a small extra risk of rare blood clots with low platelets after the first dose and no extra risk after the second, a study led and funded by the drugmaker showed on Wednesday, after worries over side-effects. The study, published in Lancet medical journal, found that the estimated rate of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after the first dose was 8.1 per million in those inoculated, AstraZeneca said.

After the second dose of the vaccine, invented by Oxford University, the rate was 2.3 per million, comparable to that seen in unvaccinated people, the Anglo-Swedish firm added. The EU’s drugs regulator has been looking into cases of TTS since March and has found a possible link to AstraZeneca’s vaccine, and to J&J’s single-dose shot. It has, however, maintained that overall benefits of both vaccines outweigh any risks.

Wednesday’s findings evaluated cases reported as of April 30 that occurred within 14 days of receiving the first or second dose, using AstraZeneca’s global safety database, it said. But the data used was limited to the EU, European Economic Area, and Britain.

As of the cut-off date, 13 cases of TTS had been identified globally after the second dose in people aged 45 years to 85 years, including eight women. Some 399 cases were reported after the first, the study showed. “Unless TTS was identified after the first dose, these results support the administration of the two-dose schedule,” AstraZeneca senior executive Mene Pangalos said. The EU regulator in May advised against a second Astra-Zeneca shot for those reporting TTS after the first.

ECUADORIAN COURT REVOKES CITIZENSHIP FOR JULIAN ASSANGE

Ecuador has revoked the citizenship of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks who is currently in a British prison.

Ecuador’s justice system formally notified the Australian of the nullity of his naturalization in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country’s Foreign Ministry.

A naturalization is considered damaging when it is granted based on the concealment of relevant facts, false documents or fraud. Ecuadorian authorities say Assange’s naturalization letter had multiple inconsistencies, different signatures, the possible alteration of documents and unpaid fees, among other issues.

Carlos Poveda, Assange’s lawyer, told The Associated Press the decision was made without due process and Assange was not allowed to appear in the case.

“On the date (Assange) was cited he was deprived of his liberty and with a health crisis inside the deprivation of liberty center where he was being held,” Poveda said.

Poveda said he will file appeals asking for an amplification and clarification of the decision. “More than the importance of nationality, it is a matter of respecting rights and following due process in withdrawing nationality.”