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US President Joe Biden is scheduled to virtually meet other leaders of the G-7 countries on August 24 to discuss close coordination on Afghanistan policy, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.

"President Joe Biden is scheduled to virtually meet other leaders of the G-7 countries on August 24. The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans,” Psaki said in a statement.

Psaki said the leaders will also discuss plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees.

New Delhi: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved DNA COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D of Cadila Healthcare for restricted use in emergency situation in India for 12 years and above. It was approved after evaluation of interim Phase III clinical trial results in consultation with Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO. The vaccine has efficacy of 66.6 percent and it is to be stored at 2 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius.

The vaccine is needle free to be administered intradermally in three doses at day 0, 28 and 56. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, India is fighting COVID-19 with full vigour and the approval for world’s first DNA based ZyCov-D vaccine of Zydus Cadila is a testimony to the innovative zeal of India’s scientists.

Zydus Cadila's India-developed anti-Covid jab ZyCoV-D secured regulatory approval on Friday for emergency use, becoming the world's first DNA-based vaccine for the novel coronavirus that will be administered to children above 12 years and adults.

The company has indicated a supply of around five crore doses by December, a senior official said. The delivery of vaccines is likely to begin by next month-end. The DNA-based vaccine is the sixth shot to receive approval in India.

While the government is yet to sign a final agreement with Cadila, supplies to the national programme are set to be augmented.

The Taliban visited the closed Indian consulates in Kandahar and Herat on Wednesday, searched cupboards in Kandahar for papers, and took away parked vehicles from both embassies, even as it conducts door-to-door searches in Kabul to identify Afghans who worked for NDS, the state-run intelligence agency. Details of what’s happening to the Indian consulate in Jalalabad and the mission in Kabul are not available.

According to reports from Kabul, nearly 6,000 cadre of the Haqqani Network has taken control of the capital city, led by Anas Haqqani, brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the terrorist group and deputy leader of the Taliban.

While Anas Haqqani met former president Hamid Karzai, Chairman HCNR Abdullah Abdullah and Hezb-e-Islami veteran Gulbuddin Hetkmatyar, it is understood that the movements of both Karzai and Abdullah are restricted and controlled by the Taliban.

The Supreme Court Monday granted the Centre's application for four more weeks to frame guidelines regarding compensation to kin of those who died due to Covid-19. The earlier deadline set by the Court was August 15.

The relief was granted by a Bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah, while directing the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken by it on other issues as directed by the Court in a June 30 order. These included framing of guidelines on death certificates, mentioning the exact cause of death, and steps taken on the recommendations of the XVth Finance Commission regarding social security and welfare measures in the wake of Covid 19.