Ukrainian troops regain control of the village of Staromaryivka in the so-called "grey zone" between Ukraine and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), according to DPR Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova. (TASS)
Eleven people are killed and 26 more injured as angry villagers attack residents of Nahr Al-Imam in retaliation for yesterday's Islamic State attack in the nearby village of Al-Rashad, Diyala Governorate, which killed 15 people. The victims were not however connected to the attack. (The New Arab)
Pope Francis blesses two large bells headed to Ukraine and Ecuador. The bells are part of an initiative by the Polish Yes to Life foundation. They each weigh more than 2,000 pounds, are nearly four feet in diameter, and were cast by the Felczyński bell foundry in Przemyśl, Poland. (Catholic News Agency)
Vietnam begins to vaccinate children in Ho Chi Minh City where 1,500 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17 years old are eligible to receive the vaccine as part of an effort to reopen schools after a six-month closure. (AP)
Singapore reports a record 5,324 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 184,419. (Today)
Bulgaria reports a record for the second consecutive day of 6,816 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 582,122. (Bulgarian News Agency)
Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,123 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 233,898. (ABC News)
Merck & Co. signs a licensing agreement with the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool that will allow more companies to manufacture generic versions of its experimental oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir with a royalty-free license that will apply to 105 low- and middle-income countries. (Reuters)
Tajikistan approves the construction of a new US$10 million Chinese military base near its border with Afghanistan, and in a separate statement offers to hand over a pre-existing base to China and waive future rent payments on the base in exchange for military aid. The approval comes as the Tajik government expressed concerns about the worsening security situation along the border after the Taliban took over Afghanistan a few months prior. (RFE/RL)
Protests continue for a second consecutive day across Ecuador due to an increase in the price of gasoline, as president Guillermo Lasso orders the deployment of security forces to highways in order to maintain order. Lasso also calls on indigenous populations and civil society groups to engage in dialogue. (Reuters)
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) fines Poland€1 million per day, for breaking the law by maintaining the disciplinary chamber of its Supreme Court. The ECJ says Poland has failed to comply with its order, and finds it might pose a "serious and irreparable harm to the legal order of the European Union". The fine is the highest daily penalty the ECJ has ever imposed on any EU member state. (DW)