International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
Macao wrapped up a three-day COVID-19 testing drive, with an estimated 614,000 people being tested. So far, no one has tested positive. An expert in Hong Kong, Leung Chi-Chiu, say the enclave should be closely monitored for at least two more weeks to ensure there’s no widespread outbreak of the virus. Outside the Macao Polytechnic Institute
More than a thousand homes were damaged and about 5,000 people evacuated in North Korea after flooding caused by heavy rains, the country’s state broadcaster reported, with swathes of farmland also inundated by the deluge. The TV report comes as the impoverished North in June admitted it was tackling a food crisis, sounding the alarm
(Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Thursday its COVID–19 shot was about 93% effective through six months after the second dose, showing hardly any change from the 94% efficacy reported in its original clinical trial. That compares favorably to data from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE last week in which they said their vaccine’s efficacy waned around 6% every two months, declining to around 84% six months after the second shot. Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are based on messenger
Apple on Thursday said that iPhones and iPads will soon start detecting images containing child sexual abuse and reporting them as they are uploaded to the iCloud. The software tweak to Apple’s operating systems will monitor pictures, allowing Apple to report findings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a statement
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that Hong Kong citizens currently in the United States who fear for their safety amid the political crackdown back home will receive temporary safe haven. Biden said the move recognizes “the significant erosion” of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong by the Chinese government. “By unilaterally imposing on Hong Kong the
Geneva (AFP) – The WHO on Wednesday called for a moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots until at least the end of September to address the drastic inequity in dose distribution between rich and poor nations. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the countries and companies controlling the supply of doses to change
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official said Wednesday. The requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens to the country. No timeline
Beijing (AFP) – China on Wednesday reported its highest daily number of local coronavirus cases in months as mass testing and contact tracing campaigns uncovered a trail of Delta variant infections. Health authorities reported 71 domestic cases on Wednesday, the highest since January, as China battles its largest outbreak in months by testing entire cities and
New York (AFP) – New York on Tuesday announced the introduction of a de facto vaccine pass for some public spaces, as China’s Wuhan said it would test all 11 million residents after the coronavirus returned to the place where it first emerged. Meanwhile, half of the European Union’s population has now been fully vaccinated against
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea has detected its first two cases of the new Delta Plus COVID–19 variant, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday, as the country battles with its fourth wave of infections. The Delta Plus variant is a sub-lineage of the Delta variant first identified in India, and has acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N, which is also found
BEIJING (AP) — China suspended flights and trains, canceled professional basketball league games and announced mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan on Tuesday as widening outbreaks of the delta variant reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019. While the total number of cases is still in the hundreds, they are far
(AFP) The chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei will be back in a Canadian court on Wednesday for a final round of hearings on her possible extradition to the United States, after nearly three years of court battles and diplomatic sparring. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of company founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, is
