Five people, including three Hezbollah members, are killed and several more are wounded as gunmen open fire at the funeral of Ali Shibli, a Hezbollah member who was assassinated yesterday in Khalde, Lebanon. Both the attacks are described as motivated by anti-shi'ism and as a revenge for the killing of a SunniArab teenager and a Syrian last year in the same town. (France 24)
YouTube bans News Corp's Sky News Australia channel from uploading new content for seven days after commentator Alan Jones spreads COVID-19 misinformation. This comes shortly after The Daily Telegraph fired Jones and ended his regular column over similar concerns. According to a YouTube spokesman, "Specifically, we don’t allow content that denies the existence of Covid-19 or that encourages people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus." (The Guardian)
Saudi Arabia lifts its travel restrictions for the first time since March 2020 for tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 using government-approved vaccines. Vaccinated travelers must register themselves on the data registration portal introduced by the Ministry of Tourism, which also requires a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours. (Hindustan Times)
Thailand extends its semi-lockdown measures in 13 provinces including the Bangkok Metropolitan Region until August 31 and also extends the restrictions into 16 additional provinces beginning on August 3 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. (Bloomberg News)
The number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Florida reaches a record 10,207, surpassing the previous record of 10,170 people recorded on July 23, 2020. (Associated Press)
The U.S. surpasses 35 million cases of COVID-19. (NBC News)
Germany begins to require any travelers over the age of 12 years old who have been not fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, regardless of transportation mode, to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within the previous 48 hours for rapid antigen tests and 72 hours for PCR tests amidst concerns of the spread of the Delta variant. (Deutsche Welle)
Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea against conducting military drills with the United States, saying that such a move could damage the talks to resolve the Korean conflict. The two Koreas have been improving relations lately, with North Korea restoring the border hotlines, which Kim Yo-jong called a "physical" measure in case the drills take place. (Reuters)