KEY COVID NOS. WORLDWIDE

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

               World    5,11,411              /             44,53,036            /             7,564     /             1,80,10,772               /             571.3

1             USA        1,11,134              /             6,46,667              /             406        /             75,97,700               /             1,941

2             UK          31,914   /             1,31,680              /             40           /             12,94,749            /               1,928

3             Iran        38,657   /             1,02,648              /             610        /             6,52,099              /               1,205

4             Russia    19,454   /             1,76,820              /             776        /             5,54,854              /               1,211

5             Spain     7,967     /             83,337   /             67           /             5,45,094              /               1,782

6             Brazil     13,103   /             5,74,944              /             370        /             5,29,103              /               2,683

7             Turkey   18,857   /             54,765   /             232        /             4,55,373              /             641

8             France   5,166     /             1,13,419              /             108        /             4,46,037              /               1,733

9             Mexico  7,658     /             2,53,155              /             228        /             4,18,292              /               1,940

10           India      11,359   /             4,35,050              /             266        /             3,34,692              /               312

11           Indonesia            9,604     /             1,27,214              /             842        /             2,90,764               /             460

12           Malaysia              17,672   /             14,342   /             174        /             2,60,700              /               437

13           Japan     22,285   /             15,631   /             35           /             2,18,413              /             124

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

15           Argentina            6,135     /             1,10,609              /             257        /             2,06,937               /             2,422

16           Thailand               17,491   /             9,562     /             242        /             1,95,454              /               137

17           Vietnam               10,280   /             8,666     /             389        /             1,95,178              /               88

18           South Africa       7,632     /             79,584   /             163        /             1,63,023              /               1,323

19           Poland   107        /             75,316   /                            /             1,55,172              /               1,993

20           Iraq        7,151     /             20,262   /             78           /             1,43,668              /             491

22           Philippines           18,332   /             31,961   /             151        /             1,30,350              /               287

24           Pakistan               3,772     /             25,003   /             80           /             89,919   /             111

31           Bangladesh         5,717     /             25,399   /             117        /             69,460   /             152

TALIBAN WARNS OF ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IF U.S. EXTENDS EVACUATION

The Taliban warned on Monday there would be "consequences" if the United States and its allies extend the presence of troops in Afghanistan beyond next week, as chaos continued to overwhelm Kabul airport.

The rapid fall of the country to the hardliners last weekend shocked Western nations, coming just two weeks before an August 31 deadline for all troops to fully withdraw from the country.

Instead, thousands of soldiers have poured back in to manage the frantic airlifting of foreigners and Afghans -- many who fear reprisals for working with Western nations -- out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations -- the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News on Monday.

Staying beyond the agreed deadline would be "extending occupation", he added.

But with the European Union and Britain saying it would be impossible to get everyone out by then, Biden is under pressure to extend the deadline.

Meanwhile, The Taliban has reportedly taken over three districts in northern Afghanistan near the Panjshir Valley that that fell to local militia groups last week. The districts that were retaken by the insurgent group are Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar. These districts in the northern province of Baghlan were taken by local militia groups last week in one of the first signs of armed resistance to the Taliban.

PFIZER VAX WINS FULL FDA APPROVAL

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine – becoming the first in the U.S. to win the coveted designation and giving even more businesses, schools and universities greater confidence to adopt vaccine mandates.

Up until now, the mRNA vaccine, which will be marketed as Comirnaty, was on the U.S. market under an emergency use authorization that was granted by the FDA in December. Since then, more than 204 million of the Pfizer shots have been administered, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal health officials had been under mounting pressure from the scientific community and advocacy groups to fully approve Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine ever since the drugmakers submitted their application to the agency in early May. The companies submitted a Biologics License Application, which secures full approval, to the FDA on May 7 for patients age 16 and up.

FDA scientists evaluated “hundreds of thousands of pages” of vaccine data from 40,000 trial participants, according to the U.S. agency. The vaccine was found to be 91% effective in preventing Covid – slightly lower than the 95% efficacy rate trial data showed when the shot was authorized late last year and before the delta variant took hold in the U.S.

Pfizer’s vaccine met the agency’s “high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated.”

US MISSION IN INDIA APPROVES A RECORD 55,000 STUDENT VISAS THIS YEAR

The United States mission in India has approved more student visas in 2021 so far than ever before, said the country's embassy in a statement on Monday. This comes despite the many challenges that people are facing in travelling abroad.

As per the US embassy, more than 55,000 students and exchange visitors have or will board planes to study in the United States this year. “More students are being approved every day," it said.

“The US Mission looks forward to another great student season as it facilitates study for spring semester students over the coming few months," the embassy added.

Speaking about the process to facilitate the students' journey, ambassador Atul Keshap said that the Covid-19 pandemic posed several logistical challenges for the team.

“Studying in the United States is a unique and often life-changing experience for Indian students, granting fresh, global perspectives and frequently leading to invaluable career opportunities," he said.

“Indian students also enrich US society, achieve high levels of academic success, and deepen the bonds of friendship between our countries," added Keshap.

The embassy further said that while they typically begin interviewing fall semester students for a given year in May, the second wave of Covid-19 forced the mission to delay the commencement

“In July, as soon as conditions allowed for the resumption of visa services without endangering applicants’ health and safety, consular teams worked not only to match, but surpass, their pre-Covid workload," it said.

INDO-PACIFIC, SE ASIA TO DICTATE FUTURE OF WORLD, SAYS KAMALA

US Vice President (VP) Kamala Harris on Monday said she believed that Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific would dictate the future of the world as she held talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as part of her Southeast Asia visit aimed at bolstering America’s engagement in the region.

Harris, at a press conference here with Lee, pointed out that the agreements the US had inked with Singapore and the Southeast Asian region were evidence of its strength and enduring relationships around the globe. These are not only priorities that relate to the United States’ security or economic interests but they also relate to challenges the world faces going forward - such as future pandemics and what countries can do together to research on and stop them, she said.

“This is a relationship that is based on a shared vision, both in terms of the challenges we face and also the opportunities that we face... It is about the future in terms of our mutual commitment, curiosity and interest,” said Harris, who arrived here on Sunday but was given a formal welcome on Monday at Singapore’s Presidential Palace, the Istana.

Addressing the press conference, Prime Minister Lee said: “Our two countries have robust cooperation on transnational issues including terrorism, cybersecurity and counter-proliferation… we were later the first Southeast Asian country to contribute personnel and assets to the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS.”

UAE TO ACCEPT INDIAN PASSPORT HOLDERS WITH 14-DAY RIDER

Indian passport holders, who have not been to the country in the last 14 days, can get tourist visas to the UAE, according to a media report on Sunday.

The facility has been extended to Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uganda as well, the Gulf News reported.

Until now, only UAE citizens and transit passengers were allowed to fly to the UAE, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Approval of tourist visas for Indian passport holders, who have not been in the country in the last fortnight, came as the UAE is slowly opening up its arrivals.

All flyers will have to undergo a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test on the day of arrival and on the ninth day after arrival in the UAE. Meanwhile, the UAE has said it will accept passengers from Pakistani airports — Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Earlier, arrivals from Pakistan were only allowed to transit passengers.

The coronavirus has claimed 2,018 lives alongwith 7,08,302 confirmed infections in the the UAE, according to the Johns Hopkins University.