OVERSEAS | ABS-CBN News

US condemns 'harassment' of foreign journalists in China

ABS-CBN News
Jul 30 03:50 PM

The United States is "deeply concerned" over the harassment and intimidation of foreign correspondents covering deadly floods in China, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. Read more »

South Korea announces vaccination plan for 18-49 year olds

Sangmi Cha, Reuters
Jul 30 02:58 PM

South Korea announced on Friday plans to expand its coronavirus vaccine rollout to people aged 18 to 49, as the country grapples with record high daily cases driven mostly by infections in the unvaccinated younger population. Read more »

Seeing snow for the first time at 62: Brazilians revel in icy snap

Reuters
Jul 30 02:42 PM

Temperatures dropped across Brazil on Thursday - with rare snowfall overnight in some places - as a polar air mass advanced toward the center-south of the global agricultural powerhouse, threatening coffee, sugarcane and orange crops with frost. Read more »

Japan to expand virus emergency 1 week into Olympics

Agence France-Presse
Jul 30 02:07 PM

Japan's government will extend a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and impose the measure in 4 more regions on Friday, as cases surge a week into the pandemic-postponed Olympics. Read more »

BMW chases China car smugglers across Canada over fake papers, bogus bank accounts

Ian Young, South China Morning Post
Jul 30 01:41 PM

A series of court petitions reveal BMW’s battle against buyers whose cars are immediately sent to Vancouver for export, their leases and loans unpaid. In an interview, one Chinese buyer admits work permit and job listed on sports car contract were fake.  Read more »

Saudi Arabia to reopen to vaccinated tourists after 17-month COVID closure

ABS-CBN News
Jul 30 01:35 PM

Saudi Arabia announced Friday it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated foreign tourists after a 17-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state news agency said. Read more »

Israel to offer 3rd Covid jab for over 60s: PM

Agence France-Presse
Jul 30 10:50 AM

JERUSALEM - Israel will start offering a third dose of Covid-19 vaccinations to people aged over 60, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Thursday, one of first countries to provide a booster shot. Read more »

Vaccinated Americans are getting angry at holdouts

Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse
Jul 30 10:01 AM

WASHINGTON - America's latest coronavirus wave, driven by the hyper-contagious Delta variant, has left vaccinated people seething at the unvaccinated for prolonging the pandemic and ensuring the return of restrictions rather than the carefree summer they were promised. Read more »

US sailor accused of starting 2020 California Navy ship fire

Agence France-Presse
Jul 30 08:01 AM

WASHINGTON - The US Navy on Thursday accused a sailor of causing the dramatic fire that broke out on a military ship off the coast of San Diego, California last year, injuring 21 people. Read more »

Vietnam accelerates vaccinations in COVID-19 epicenter

Reuters
Jul 30 05:01 AM

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business hub and largest population center, currently administers between 70,000 and 80,000 coronavirus vaccine doses per day.   Read more »

Phuket restricts travel from other Thai regions, as COVID-19 cases surge

Reuters
Jul 30 04:01 AM

Phuket is at the heart of efforts to revive Thailand's tourism industry, a major revenue earner that has been devastated by the pandemic. Read more »

COVID-19 could infect half of Myanmar in next 2 weeks, says envoy to UN

Michelle Nichols, Reuters
Jul 30 03:15 AM

Myanmar state media reported on Wednesday that the military ruler is looking for greater cooperation with other countries to contain the coronavirus.   Read more »

Thailand warns COVID-19 surge pushing hospitals to the brink

Reuters
Jul 29 10:53 PM

Hospitals in Thailand's capital Bangkok and surrounding province are running out of beds due to a jump in COVID-19 patients, a health official said on Thursday, as the country reported a record number of infections for the fourth time this week. Read more »

Delta variant drives virus spread to three China provinces

Agence France-Presse
Jul 29 05:44 PM | Updated Jul 29 07:09 PM

BEIJING— China on Thursday reported small coronavirus outbreaks driven by the Delta variant in three provinces as a cluster linked to an eastern airport spreads despite mass testing and a vaccination drive.   Read more »

8.2 magnitude earthquake off Alaskan peninsula, tsunami warning

Agence France-Presse
Jul 29 02:58 PM | Updated Jul 29 03:16 PM

A shallow 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, prompting a tsunami warning. Read more »

Games-related COVID-19 cases hospitalized in pandemic-hit Tokyo

Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka, Reuters
Jul 29 01:27 PM

Two people attending the Tokyo Olympics from overseas have been hospitalized with COVID-19, a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson said on Thursday, amid concerns the Games will add to the strains on Japan's medical system.   Read more »

Cambodia to impose COVID-19 lockdowns in areas bordering Thailand

Reuters
Jul 29 01:15 PM

Cambodia managed to largely contain the virus for most of last year, but an outbreak first detected in late February has driven up total cases to 75,152, with 1,339 deaths.   Read more »

Olympics: Games organizers admit to wasting about 4,000 boxes of food

Kyodo News
Jul 29 12:21 PM

Tokyo Games organizers on Wednesday admitted to throwing away approximately 4,000 of the 10,000 pre-ordered bento boxes full of food that was to be fed to volunteers on the day of the opening ceremony. Read more »

Bitcoin trader robbed of HK$3 million in cash at knifepoint

South China Morning Post
Jul 29 11:49 AM

A cryptocurrency trader was robbed of more than HK$3 million (US$128,500) in cash at knifepoint when he went to meet a bitcoin seller in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon. Read more »

Sydney posts record daily COVID-19 cases, police powers extended to enforce lockdown

Reuters
Jul 29 11:40 AM

The COVID-19 Delta outbreak in Australia's biggest city Sydney grew by 239 cases on Thursday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic started, forcing authorities to increase police powers to shut down businesses not complying with lockdown measures. Read more »

Jewel thief swaps pebbles for diamonds in US$5.8 million London heist

Agence France-Presse
Jul 29 11:34 AM

LONDON - A jewel thief was jailed for more than five years in Britain on Wednesday for stealing millions of pounds worth of diamonds by switching them with pebbles in a daring sleight of hand. Read more »

China names 'Wolf Warrior' diplomat as new ambassador in Washington

Agence France-Presse
Jul 29 11:33 AM | Updated Jul 29 11:36 AM

WASHINGTON, United States - One of China's most prominent "Wolf Warrior" diplomats was on Wednesday announced as his nation's new ambassador to the United States. Read more »

Japan COVID-19 adviser urges clear risk message as cases surge in Olympic host

Linda Sieg and Ami Miyazaki, Reuters
Jul 29 11:33 AM | Updated Jul 29 11:35 AM

TOKYO - Japan faces its most serious situation since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the country's top medical adviser warned on Thursday, urging the government to send a "clearer, stronger message" about growing risks, including to the medical system. Read more »

J&J says US FDA agrees to extend shelf life of its COVID-19 vaccine

ABS-CBN News
Jul 29 10:55 AM | Updated Jul 29 11:53 AM

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration extended the shelf life for Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to six months from four-and-a-half months, the company said late Wednesday. Read more »

Isolated Myanmar calls for international help as COVID cases surge

Agence France-Presse
Jul 29 05:18 AM | Updated Jul 29 11:53 AM

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called for more cooperation on prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19, including with fellow ASEAN members and "friendly countries". Read more »