* Cambodia has decided to impose a night curfew in capital Phnom Penh, provincial towns and populated areas for two weeks, starting from Friday to Aug. 12, in order to curb the spread of Delta COVID-19 variant, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said.
* Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his government on Wednesday to open the coronavirus vaccination campaign to anyone who wants a shot as his country scrambles to protect the population from more transmissible variants.
* Thailand reported on Thursday a daily record of 17,669 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases to 561,030 since the start of the pandemic last year. The country also reported a record 165 COVID-19 deaths, also a daily record, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,562.
* China's top economic planner has allocated CNY795 million (about US$122.4 million) for reconstruction in regions of several provinces, hard hit by rainstorms, typhoons, and floods.
* Russia has deployed Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets from its base in Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan for joint military drills near Afghanistan, the RIA news agency cited Russia's military as saying on Thursday.
* The US economy likely gained steam in the second quarter, with the pace of growth probably the second fastest in 38 years, helped by massive government aid and vaccinations.
* Australia's central bank will likely reverse a decision to trim its bond buying programme when it holds its monthly meeting next week.
* The United Nations on Wednesday called for a political solution to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, although the international community is providing urgent assistance to Gaza in the wake of the most recent round of hostilities.
* The United Nations on Wednesday wrapped up a three-day pre-summit on the world's food systems, casting light on the world's greatest food-related challenges and setting the table for September's ambitious full summit at UN headquarters in New York.
* Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday that cooperation between Syria and Iran will continue until all areas of his country are liberated from the rebel fighters, according to the state news agency SANA.
* The death toll from torrential rain in central China's Henan Province had risen to 99 as of Thursday noon, said the information office of the provincial government.
* The Portuguese government published on Wednesday the law creating the Capitalization and Resilience Fund, which initially earmarks EUR320 million (US$378 million) for the economic recovery of the country's companies.
* The Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday formally approved the recovery plans of Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus, raising to 16 the number of EU countries greenlighted for the funding to help them recover from the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The expansion and deepening of ties between Greece, Cyprus and Jordan were the main goals of a trilateral summit held in Athens on Wednesday.
* The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) has rescued a group of 37 migrants who were in difficulty while crossing the Mediterranean, a spokesman for the police told Xinhua on Wednesday.
* The 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.
* England will allow fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and United States to arrive without needing to quarantine from next week.
* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 66.6% of US counties had transmission rates of COVID-19 high enough to warrant indoor masking.
* Norway postponed for a second time a planned final step in the reopening of its economy from pandemic lockdown.
* The European Union (EU) has signed a contract with GlaxoSmithKline for the supply of up to 220,000 treatments of its investigational antibody therapy sotrovimab against COVID-19.
* New Zealand's health regulator has granted provisional approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.
* The Canadian province of Alberta said it is dropping quarantine requirements for close contacts of COVID-19 cases, while neighbouring British Columbia is bringing back a mask mandate for its central region.
* Iran will become the first country outside of Cuba to start producing one of the Communist-run island's homegrown vaccines on an industrial scale.
* Israel is expected to start vaccinating its elder citizens with a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19, according to a statement by the country's Ministry of Health on Thursday.
* The US Food & Drug Administration extended the shelf life for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to six months from four-and-a-half months.
* AstraZeneca still plans to seek US approval for its COVID-19 vaccine even though the process there is taking longer than expected, because it may still be used in the country in the future, CEO Pascal Soriot said on Thursday.
* Zimbabwe has authorised the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.
