Indonesia reports a record 11,092 new recoveries from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 1,691,593. (Asian News International)
The government announces a new disaster payment available to casual workers who are not getting shifts due to COVID-19 lockdowns, replacing the earlier JobKeeper program. Victorians have been in lockdown for one week without any form of support payments. (The Guardian)
Fiji reports a record 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 508. The Ministry of Health confirms that most cases were linked to the Navy cluster, when an officer attended a funeral and later infected his co-workers aboard the ship. (RNZ International)
U.S. PresidentJoe Biden signs an executive order banning Americans from investing in nearly a dozen Chinese companies and their subsidiaries, such as China General Nuclear Power Group, either for their ties to the People's Liberation Army or for selling surveillance technology that is used to spy on the country's religious minorities or dissidents. The ban will go into effect on August 2, and current investors have a year to fully divest from these companies. (South China Morning Post)
Unannounced and early in the morning, Minneapolis officials had cement barricades and other objects removed from George Floyd Square. Demonstrators gathered to protest the removals and after city crews left, activists quickly restored the barricades and other objects around the intersection. Several activists later spoke at a press conference in opposition to the city's action. Jaylani Hussein, director of the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations, said it was an attempt to "delete history". (The New York Times)