Eighty telecommunication towers owned by Mytel have been destroyed in Myanmar, leaving 700,000 people without communication. The People's Defence Force has claimed responsibility for the destruction. (CNA)
Singapore reports 935 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (U.S. News and World Report)
Fiji lifts its containment area borders on the main island of Viti Levu as 60% of the targeted population has been fully vaccinated. However, a curfew remains in effect and inter-island travel remains suspended. (RNZ)
New Zealand extends the suspension of the travel bubble agreement with Australia for a further eight weeks as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to remain high and also due to the spread of the Delta variant. (Al Jazeera)
The Sloveniangovernment announces that all public sector employees, with the exception of employees working in the education sector, will have to show a proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 beginning on October 1 or they risk losing their jobs. (AFP via Barron's)
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration vote to reject a wider COVID-19 vaccine booster dose and to only recommend booster doses for people over the age of 65 and people who are at high risk of severe illness. (CNBC)
A five-month survey finds that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective vaccine against hospitalization due to COVID-19. The study found that Moderna’s vaccine candidate had a 93% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations, compared to 88% for Pfizer’s, and 71% for Johnson & Johnson’s. (CBS News)
France recalls its ambassadors from the United States and Australia in protest of the security pact, which also includes the United Kingdom. The French Foreign Ministry says that the "exceptional decision" was justified by the seriousness of the pact, which has replaced its own security agreement with Australia. (BBC News)
In escalating tensions over the past week, North Korea accuses the United States of double standards when it comes to condemning missile tests, saying that the U.S. only condemned North Korea the same day that South Korea also tested missiles. North Korean state media cited its chief as saying that the American response was a "vivid revelation of the American-style double-dealing attitude" and also says that unless "the U.S. drops its hostile policies towards North Korea, denuclearization can never be put on the table" of negotiations. (Reuters)
Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed condemns Djibouti for detaining and forbidding a Somali security advisor from leaving the country. The president accused Djibouti of "destabilizing" relations amid a political feud between the Somali president and prime minister. (Reuters)
President of El SalvadorNayib Bukele says that the proposed constitutional reforms he sent for review will not include the legalization of abortion or same-sex marriage. El Salvador has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world. (Reuters)