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Indonesia
Coronavirus outbreaks are spread throughout Asia, with Indonesia becomes a new hot spot. The country’s health officials on Wednesday reported more than 54,000 new infections, surpassing recent daily infections in India, where cases are on the decline after reach a summit of daily COVID-19 infections in May. COVID-19 cases are spreading rapidly in the Indonesian archipelago, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

South Africa
South Africa has deployed 25,000 soldiers of the National Defense Force in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where riots and looting devastated a around 800 stores and caused the death of more than 70 people. The military’s deployment, the largest since the end of the white minority regime in 1994, is part of an effort to help police end the week-long violence that began after imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

Pakistan
Pakistani officials, who are investigating the explosion of a bus, said on Thursday that they had identified traces of explosives and that a terrorist attack could not be ruled out. A bus carrying dozens of construction workers heading towards a hydroelectric project exploded on Wednesday and fell into a ravine in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals. China, which sent a team to help with the investigation, initially called the incident a bombing, but has since reconsidered the point.

Of the world

Iranian journalist targeted by alleged Iran kidnapping plot says operation “must be condemned”

An Iranian intelligence officer and three suspected members of an Iranian intelligence network have been charged in Manhattan with conspiring to kidnap Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian-American opposition activist and journalist living in exile in New York City, and bring her back to Tehran, authorities said. Marco Werman of the World spoke with Alinejad about the alleged plot.

Do lobsters feel pain? The British Parliament wants to know.

The UK Parliament is in the process of passing a new Animal Welfare Bill (Sentience). The law will replace EU law, which legally recognizes that animals can experience pain and feel emotions.

Some in the House of Lords (the upper house of the UK Parliament) believe the bill should go further and include certain invertebrates, including acknowledging that all seashells experience pain.

Light point

Talk about athletic endurance! 🚴🏽‍♂️

Professional cyclist Lachlan Morton has just completed the 21 stages of the Tour de France, with the last eight laps of the Champs-Élysées. It’s a historic achievement as the Australian completed what he called the Alt Tour: over 2,000 Tour miles and transfers between stages, all on his own.

In case you missed it

Listen: FBI foils Iranian kidnapping plot

Iranian intelligence agents have planned a kidnapping on American soil. The alleged target: Iranian-American writer and journalist Masih Alinejad, a harsh critic of the Iranian government. Additionally, this week marks five years since a faction of the Turkish military attempted a coup that left more than 250 dead. The country declared a state of emergency and has prosecuted thousands of people since then. And, we’re celebrating July 14 with a controversial 1979 reggae version of the French national anthem: “Aux Armes Etcetera” by Serge Gainsbourg, recorded in Kingston, Jamaica.

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