KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,69,728              /             43,06,941            /             7,901     /             1,63,94,745        /             552.5

1             USA        24,283   /             6,33,115              /             128        /             60,51,067            /             1,900

2             UK          27,429   /             1,30,320              /             39           /             12,96,844            /             1,909

3             Spain                    /             82,006   /                            /             7,21,582              /             1,753

4             Brazil     13,893   /             5,63,470              /             388        /             6,94,959              /             2,630

5             Russia    22,866   /             1,64,881              /             787        /             5,27,362              /             1,129

6             Iran        39,619   /             94,015   /             542        /             5,25,679              /             1,104

7             Indonesia            26,415   /             1,07,096              /             1,498     /             4,74,233              /             387

8             France   20,450   /             1,12,220              /             30           /             4,33,247              /             1,715

9             India      36,035   /             4,28,339              /             447        /             4,09,327              /             307

10           Mexico  20,018   /             2,44,248              /             515        /             4,07,670              /             1,873

11           Turkey   22,699   /             52,196   /             108        /             3,61,989              /             612

12           Argentina            6,141     /             1,07,459              /             157        /             2,41,675              /             2,354

13           Malaysia              18,688   /             10,749   /             360        /             2,25,393              /             327

14           Thailand               19,983   /             6,204     /             138        /             2,14,786              /             89

15           Honduras                            /             8,120     /                            /             1,94,706              /             806

16           Netherlands        2,292     /             17,869   /             2             /             1,76,966              /             1,040

17           Iraq        8,346     /             19,203   /             57           /             1,64,453              /             466

18           South Africa       9,978     /             74,813   /             190        /             1,60,679              /             1,244

19           Poland   122        /             75,285   /                            /             1,54,330              /             1,992

20           Vietnam               9,690     /             3,397     /             147        /             1,35,511              /             35

21           Bangladesh         10,299   /             22,652   /             241        /             1,25,596              /             136

25           Pakistan               4,455     /             23,865   /             68           /             82,076   /             106

26           Philippines           9,671     /             29,122   /             287        /             77,516   /             262

TOKYO DOUSES OLYMPIC FLAME, ENDING PANDEMIC GAMES

Tokyo doused its Olympic flame in a ceremony on Sunday that echoed the restraint of a Games that played out without spectators and were defined and transformed by the global pandemic, dazzling sport and deeply person turmoil.

Moments after the flame was extinguished in the Olympic Stadium a volley of multi-coloured fireworks lit up the night sky about the Olympic Stadium where athletes were already heading for the exits.

They were given a surreal glimpse of everyday Tokyo life when the closing ceremony was briefly transformed into a park with grass, buskers and BMX riders. Organisers said the scene was meant so they could “experience Tokyo”, a poignant nod to the fact that many spent their time at the Games cooped up in rooms or competing in venues.

It was a duly odd closing to a Games that were upended by the pandemic and then transformed by the drama of politics, sport and personal turmoil. The Tokyo Olympics were originally intended to show Japan’s recovery from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in 2011.

It was also in marked contrast to the far more festive park scene that played out in Paris, where several thousand sports fans waving the tricolour flag thronged into a fan zone across the river from the Eiffel Tower as the French capital prepared to take the Olympic baton from Tokyo for the 2024 Games.

After being postponed for a year, organisers said the Games would serve as a symbol of the world’s triumph over the pandemic. Held without spectators and with COVID-19 variants resurgent, the Games fell short of triumph and the financial windfall Japan first sought.

Instead, the host nation is saddled with a $ 15 billion bill, double what it initially expected, and with no tourist boom to offset it.

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) thanked the Japanese people and touted the Olympics as a symbol of hope during a trying pandemic.

“Nobody has ever organised a postponed Games before,” he said.

France promises a 2024 Summer Olympics “for the people” after the pandemic-hit Tokyo event. In a sign that those days are far from close, though, public entry to the fan zone was permitted only upon presentation of a vaccine certificate or negative COVID-19 test.

TALIBAN CAPTURE THREE REGIONAL CAPITALS

The Taliban have captured three regional capitals in Afghanistan as they continue to make sweeping territorial gains in the country.

They seized control of the key northern city of Kunduz on Sunday, as well as Sar-e-Pul and Taloqan.

It means five regional capitals have fallen to the militants since Friday, with Kunduz being their most important gain this year.

The Taliban said there is no agreement on a ceasefire with the government.

Taliban militants have made rapid advances in recent weeks. Having captured large swathes of the countryside, they are now targeting key towns and cities.

The three northern cities fell to Taliban control within hours of each other on Sunday, with one resident in Kunduz describing the situation as "total chaos".

NO TALK BY THE U.S. FOR MILITARY BASE IN PAKISTAN: NSA MOEED YUSUF

Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf said no US official or lawmaker asked for a military base in Pakistan, a Dawn report said.

Yusuf gave the statement while leaving for Islamabad on Thursday night. He was on a 10-day visit to the United States capital.

Summing up the visit, the national security adviser told US-based Pakistani journalists, “The word base was not mentioned, not even once, during our talks, except in the media. Bases were not discussed at all from either side during this trip because we have already made our position clear. That chapter is closed."

Earlier, there were reports in both the US and Pakistani media, which said that the US was seeking military bases in Pakistan to influence developments in Afghanistan, especially if the Taliban seized Kabul.

The US officials also did talk about using Pakistani airspace to reach Afghanistan and having bases in the region but there was no mention of the location at a recent congressional hearing.

Underlining Pakistan’s desire to maintain good ties with both Washington and Beijing, Yusuf said, “If there are tensions between the United States and China, we cannot say that our relations with both will remain seamless.”

IRAN’S RAISI NAMES US-SANCTIONED MOHAMMAD MOKHBER AS FIRST VP

Iran’s new conservative President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday appointed Mohammad Mokhber, who is sanctioned by the US for running a powerful state-owned foundation, as his first vice-president, the government’s website said. Mokhber has for years headed the foundation known as Setad, or the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s order. Setad has stakes in various industries, and its Barekat Foundation is developing Iran’s own Covid vaccine. Setad and Mokhber were blacklisted by the US treasury in January. US had said Setad “has a stake in nearly every sector of Iran’s economy”.

‘MULTI-VAXXERS’ ON THE RISE IN US

A growing number of “multi-vaxxers” are getting Covid-19 boosters in pharmacies even though the US Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve any booster shots. More than 900 people have gotten a third dose of vaccines, according to an Associated Press review of a database run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Healthcare providers reported these instances voluntary, so the data do not provide a full extent of the phenomenon. Across the nation, “multi-vaxxers” are able to get the unauthorised shots by travelling to a different state, claiming they have not been vaccinated, or simply not disclosing their vaccination history because they’re are not asked, according to media reports. The FDA is still examining international data as it weighs on booster doses. The decision to authorise extra shots could arrive soon, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed federal officials.

SAUDI ARABIA TO PAY FAMILIES OF MEDICAL WORKERS

Saudi Arabia says it is giving half a million riyals, the equivalent of $133,000, to the family of each medical worker who died fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the kingdom.

An announcement made on Sunday said the financial award would apply to all healthcare workers who died as a result of the virus, including non-Saudis and personnel who worked in private sector settings.

The Health Ministry has not said publicly how many of the kingdom’s 8,320 pandemic deaths involved health workers.

Saudi Arabia, which has a population of 30 million, has administered nearly 30 million vaccine doses. The kingdom is currently reporting fewer than 1,000 new cases a day.

Early on in the pandemic, King Salman ordered the government to cover the cost of medical treatment for Covid-19 patients in the country. The kingdom has recorded close to 5,33,000 confirmed cases overall, and currently has about 1,400 considered critical.

MYANMAR PROTESTERS MARK 1988 UPRISING ANNIVERSARY

Myanmar protesters on Sunday marked the anniversary of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that brought Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence, with flash mobs and marches of defiance against the ruling junta.

The country has been in turmoil since the generals launched their February putsch and subsequent crackdown on dissent that has killed more than 900 people, according to a local monitoring group.

But protesters remain undeterred, taking to the streets daily in lightning-quick rallies to demand the end to the State Administration Council — as the junta’s so-called “caretaker” government has dubbed itself.

On Sunday, flash mobs popped up across Yangon and second city Mandalay to commemorate the 1988 uprising — a pro-democracy movement which the military violently quelled by opening fire on protesters and jailing thousands.

Following the calls of an online campaign, red-clad protesters on Sunday flashed an eight-finger salute and carried banners that read “Let’s return the old blood debt of 1988 in 2021.”

“In 1988, our country sacrificed a lot — many people lost their lives. But the dictatorship is still alive,” said Ko Sai Win, in Mandalay.

“It is like a black shadow on our country.”

The 1988 uprising heralded the rise of Ms. Suu Kyi, who had returned to Myanmar just before protests kicked off to care for her ailing mother.

IN A WORLD FIRST, SOUTH AFRICA GRANTS PATENT TO AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM

At first glance, a recently granted South African patent relating to a food container based on fractal geometry seems fairly mundane. The innovation in question involves interlocking food containers that are easy for robots to grasp and stack.

On closer inspection, the patent is anything but mundane. That's because the inventor is not a human being it is an artificial intelligence (AI) system called DABUS.

DABUS (which stands for device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience) is an AI system created by Stephen Thaler, a pioneer in the field of AI and programming. The system simulates human brainstorming and creates new inventions. DABUS is a particular type of AI, often referred to as creativity machines because they are capable of independent and complex functioning. This differs from everyday AI like Siri, the voice of Apple's iPhones.

The patent application listing DABUS as the inventor was filed in patent offices around the world, including the US, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. But only South Africa granted the patent (Australia followed suit a few days later after a court judgment gave the go-ahead).

SAUDI ARABIA OPENS UMRAH TO VACCINATED PILGRIMS FROM ABROAD

Saudi Arabia will gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting August 9 after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Sunday. With a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Mecca and Medina will start welcoming visitors from abroad to their mosques while maintaining Covid precautionary measures.

An official in the hajj and umrah ministry said domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorised vaccination certificates along with their Umrah request. Vaccinated pilgrims from countries that Saudi Arabia includes on its entry-ban list will have to be institutionally quarantined upon arrival, the report added. Umrah was reopened in October for domestic worshippers after it was totally upon the outbreak of the pandemic.