Asia Pacific Daily News - Focus on Asia-Pacific Development, Daily News Express, Scholar Creation Center

TOP HEADLINES:

· A new trial conducted by AstraZenecaof 5,197 participants who had not been exposed to COVID-19 showed a 77 percent reduced risk of developing symptomatic disease . The participants were intolerant or poor responders to vaccines and it is hoped the drug could be used to offer up to 12 months of protection to those groups.

· Turkey, Ukraine and North Macedonia will accept the EU's Digital COVID Certificate system from Friday , opening the way to easier travel for their residents. The certificate shows proof of vaccination, a full recovery from the virus or a recent negative test.

· A Spanish court has endedthe night-time curfew imposed on the Catalonia region, including its capital Barcelona, last month, saying it is no longer justifiedin most areas due to falling infection rates.

· Protesters in Lithuania want Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins to resignand parliament to reject stricter measures as the government considers making vaccines mandatory for many workers. More than 5,000 people gathered in the capital Riga in the biggest demonstration in more than a decade.

· Marseille's head of infectious disease, Didier Raoult, could be replaced soon after the head of the French city's hospital system said it was time to find a successor to the controversial doctor, who supported the use of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment in 2020. Studies have found that hydroxychloroquine does not work against the coronavirus.

· The Greek government has slammed tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipasfor saying he sees no need for those aged under 25 to be vaccinated until more studies are conducted. "He has neither the knowledge, nor the studies, nor the research work, that would allow him to form an opinion about it," government spokesman Ioannis Economou said.

· The Malaysian MotoGP scheduled for October has been canceleddue to restrictions, with the Italian circuit at Misano stepping in to replace it.

· U.S. President Joe Biden says he and his wife Jill will both be getting a booster shot , with the extra dose becoming available to all U.S. adults from next month.

A bracelet to be kept on the wrist, to avoid taking out proof of being COVID-free every time a customer goes to a bar or restaurant, is being tested in Bordeaux. /Mehdi Fedouach/AFP

ACROSS EUROPE

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

Retail sales in the UK fell 2.5 percent in July to the lowest level since non-essential shops were allowed to reopen in April, following months of lockdown.

The Office for National Statistics said the end of the Euro 2020 soccer championships impacted sales, as did heavy rainfall, which kept people away from shops.

Officials in the UK could delay a third coronavirus booster jab for millions in the country.

According to

TheTelegraph

, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is considering restricting the vaccinations to a far smaller group of vulnerable people, rather than those aged over 50, as was previously planned to start in early September.

Ross Cullen in Paris

New reinforcements of health workers are going to be sent today to Guadeloupe and Martinique. More than 300 health care professionals from mainland France will come "in support" and will "take over" the teams "already on-site," according to the ministry of health.

They will fly from Paris Orly airport on Friday afternoon. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress in France, but at a slower pace than in recent weeks, although the situation remains worrying in the French Caribbean.

On islands such as Guadeloupe, which has a record incidence rate, 60 percent of French people are now fully vaccinated, announced France's Prime Minister Jean Castex.

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