KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    4,49,291              /             44,43,809            /             8,170     /             1,79,70,723        /             570.1

1             USA        30,298   /             6,45,045              /             186        /             74,26,784            /             1,936

2             UK          32,253   /             1,31,640              /             49           /             13,04,695            /             1,928

3             Iran        36,419   /             1,02,038              /             684        /             6,42,604              /             1,197

4             Spain                    /             83,136   /                            /             6,08,471              /             1,777

5             Brazil     14,404   /             5,74,527              /             284        /             5,65,167              /             2,681

6             Russia    20,564   /             1,76,044              /             762        /             5,51,577              /             1,206

7             France   17,300   /             1,13,311              /             44           /             4,67,764              /             1,732

8             Turkey   18,622   /             54,533   /             206        /             4,52,581              /             639

9             Mexico  20,307   /             2,52,927              /             847        /             4,26,481              /             1,939

10           India      25,420   /             4,34,784              /             385        /             3,41,082              /             312

11           Indonesia            12,408   /             1,26,372              /             1,030     /             3,06,760              /             457

12           Malaysia              19,807   /             14,168   /             232        /             2,62,255              /             431

13           Honduras                            /             8,594     /                            /             2,13,083              /             852

14           Japan     25,492   /             15,596   /             33           /             2,09,622              /             124

15           Argentina            2,979     /             1,10,352              /             135        /             2,09,459              /             2,416

16           Thailand               19,014   /             9,320     /             233        /             2,00,339              /             133

17           Vietnam               11,214   /             8,277     /             737        /             1,92,115              /             84

18           South Africa       10,748   /             79,421   /             170        /             1,67,143              /             1,320

19           Poland   185        /             75,316   /                            /             1,55,239              /             1,993

20           Iraq        5,634     /             20,184   /             74           /             1,45,737              /             489

22           Philippines           16,044   /             31,810   /             215        /             1,25,900              /             286

24           Pakistan               3,842     /             24,923   /             75           /             89,334   /             110

31           Bangladesh         4,804     /             25,282   /             139        /             72,842   /             152

'DO NOT WANT WAR': MASSOUD ON PANJSHIR RESISTANCE

Ahmad Massoud, the face of Resistance in Afghanistan, and the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud gave interviews to Reuters and Dubai-based al-Arabiya television channel on Sunday amid reports of Taliban approaching the Panjshir province. Explaining the vision of the Anti-Taliban force, Massoud said the Panjshir resistance does not want bloodshed and war and believes that negotiation with the Taliban will be the only way out.

'Panjshir won't surrender'

As reiterated by other Resistance leaders, Massoud once again said on Sunday that Panjshir, which has never surrendered to anyone, will not give in to the Taliban as well. But if the Taliban do not agree to dialogue, then war will be unavoidable.

'Not a fight for Panjshir'

Massoud told Reuters that the Resistance force is not only fighting for the Panjshir province. Forces have come from various provinces to Panjshir and they are defending the whole country in one province. Massoud told Reuters that he has a mixture of forces from regular army units and special forces as well as the local militia.

Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for "urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan."

PUTIN SAYS DON’T WANT MILITANTS DISGUISED AS AF REFUGEES IN RUSSIA

President Vladimir Putin on Sunday rejected the idea of sending people evacuated from Afghanistan to countries near Russia, saying he did not want “militants showing up here under cover of refugees”, Russian news agencies reported. Putin criticised an idea of some Western countries to relocate refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their visas to the US and Europe are being processed. “Does that mean that they can be sent without visas to those countries, to our neighbours, while they themselves (the West) don’t want to take them without visas?” TASS news agency quoted Putin as telling leaders of the ruling United Russia party. “Why is there such a humiliating approach to solving the problem?” he said. The US held secret talks with a number of countries in a desperate attempt to secure deals to temporarily house at-risk Afghans who worked for the US government, Reuters reported last week. Putin said Russia, which allows visafree travel for residents of ex-Soviet Central Asian countries, opposes that. “We don’t want militants showing up here under cover of refugees,” TASS cited Putin as saying.

AFGHANISTAN: US ORDERS CIVILIAN JETS TO JOIN EVACUATION

Commercial planes will be used to help with the evacuation of people from Afghanistan, the US says.

Eighteen aircraft will transfer people to third countries from safe sites outside Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

Many thousands of Afghans are crowded outside Kabul airport, desperate to flee the country after the Taliban swept to power on 15 August.

President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the US had evacuated nearly 28,000 people in the past week.

"There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and the heart-breaking images you see," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House, adding: "We have a long way to go and a lot can still go wrong."

At least 20 people have died as thousands queue outside Kabul airport, a Nato official told Reuters news agency, with reports that some were being crushed to death.

The scene yesterday was reportedly calmer than in previous days.

AS CHINA, PAKISTAN WEIGH RECOGNISING TALIBAN, EXPERTS WARN LONG-TERM LOSSES, U.S. IRE

As China, Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for a global recognition of the Taliban regime in war-torn Afghanistan to further their interests, experts have warned the “all-weather allies” of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the U.S. which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a “humiliating defeat” of the U.S. after a 20-year war in Afghanistan despite lingering concerns over the return of the Taliban with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups.

Contrary to its oft-stated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying.

Within hours of Kabul’s fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had “broken the shackles of slavery” to the West.

Pakistan has lobbied the international community – close allies China and Russia in particular – to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said.

KAMALA HARRIS VISITS SINGAPORE TO DEEPEN TIES, COUNTER CHINA'S INFLUENCE

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met top leaders in Singapore on Monday on the first working day of her trip to Southeast Asia and struck partnerships to tackle cyber threats, supply disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic - areas that have emerged as top priorities for President Joe Biden's administration.

Harris met with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Halimah Yacob during a trip aimed at bolstering ties with partners in the region as part of Washington's efforts to counter China's growing economic and security influence.

Details of the meeting were shared by senior U.S. administration officials and Harris is expected to hold a press conference with Lee later on Monday. She will also visit the Changi Naval Base and tour the USS Tulsa combat ship.

Singapore is not a U.S. treaty ally, but remains one of its strongest security partners in the region with deep trade ties. However, it also seeks to balance its relationships with the United States and China by not taking sides.

The country is home to the biggest port in Southeast Asia, and supports continued free navigation in the area, where China is growing increasingly assertive - a concern U.S. officials will address during Harris's seven-day visit to the region, which also includes a trip to Vietnam.

COVID: TAIWAN ROLLS OUT HOMEGROWN VACCINE AMID CRITICISM

Taiwan has begun administering its first domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine, amid criticism that its approval was rushed.

The island's health ministry authorised emergency use of the Medigen vaccine last month although clinical trials are yet to be completed.

Taiwan's vaccination efforts have been hampered by delivery delays and hesitancy amongst its population.

President Tsai Ing-wen led the way in receiving the Medigen jab on Monday.

At the time of its approval, the vaccine - made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp - has yet to complete phase three trials but was granted emergency approval by regulators.

The company said there were no major safety concerns and studies showed that antibodies created were "no worse than" those created by AstraZeneca's vaccine.

It's expected to complete the final round of trials being held in Paraguay later this year.

Medigen, whose Chinese name literally means "high-end", is a recombinant protein vaccine, similar to the vaccine developed by Novavax.