lystn

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chairs a high-level meeting to review the COVID-19 related situation in the country and the vaccination drive to battle the pandemic. The session comes amid talk of a potential third wave sweeping the country in September and October. 2. The Taliban have executed the brother of Amrullah Saleh, the former Afghan vice president who became one of the leaders of anti-Taliban opposition forces in the Panjshir valley, his nephew says on Friday. 3. Mizoram reported over 1,000 fresh COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day on Friday as 1,055 more people, including 185 children, tested positive, taking the tally in the state to 69,026, a health department official says. 4. India will host the first-ever 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue with Australia today in New Delhi. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton from the Australian side will meet with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. 5. Congress general secretary and party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her second trip to Lucknow to review preparation for the crucial 2022 assembly polls in the state. But with no alliances firmed up yet by the Congress and the task of selecting candidates across the state at hand, many are asking if there is any time left for the party to pull itself from its also-ran position in India's most populous state. 6. US President Joe Biden urges Americans to show unity, "our greatest strength," in a video posted Friday, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11.