Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
Tokyo Games Open
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito officially opens the Tokyo Olympics in a nearly empty stadium and under the cloud of COVID restrictions after the Games were postponed for a year because of the pandemic.
Moderna For 12 And Up
The European medicines watchdog approves the use of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, making it the second jab, after Pfizer/BioNTech, for use on adolescents in the continent.
Sydney 'National Emergency'
The fast-growing outbreak in Australia's largest city has become a "national emergency," state leaders say, as Sydney reports another record number of new infections despite a month-long lockdown.
ECB Lifts Curbs On Dividends
The European Central Bank says it will end pandemic-era restrictions on banks' pay-outs to shareholders but urged eurozone lenders to "remain prudent".
The ECB imposed a cap on banks' rewards to shareholders at the onset of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, to ensure lenders had enough liquidity to weather the fallout. The curbs were extended twice until September 2021.
German Travel Curbs
Germany's public health institute puts Spain and the Netherlands on a list of high-incidence countries for coronavirus, meaning new restrictions, including quarantine, for unvaccinated travellers.
US Buys 200 Million Shots
The United States (US) will purchase 200 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech and has an option to buy additional doses to address virus variants, the companies announce.
Europe Free Testing Call
Increased free testing, contact tracing and other steps are needed to fight the COVID-19 Delta variant, now dominant in much of Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU's disease agency warn.
Jabs To Start In Tanzania
Tanzania's government says it is gearing up to roll out vaccinations soon, in a shift from the policies of the country's former COVID-sceptic leader.
Four Million Dead
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,139,040 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
The US is the worst-affected country with 610,177 deaths, followed by Brazil with 547,016, India with 419,470, Mexico with 237,626 and Peru with 195,547 fatalities.
The WHO says up to three times the number suggested by official figures have died directly or indirectly as a result of the pandemic. – AFP