Tokyo Olympics athlete Covid-19 infections rise to three
Top Biden officials now believe COVID lab leak possible: report
Psaki says administration is working with Facebook to limit COVID misinformation
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy has a heated exchange with Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Biden administration officials are divided over the origin of the coronavirus, but an increasing number now believe that it could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, according to a report.
The once-derided lab-leak theory is now being seriously considered by senior administration officials even as most experts on coronaviruses maintain that COVID-19 originated in nature, jumping from animals to humans, according to a CNN report Friday.
On Thursday, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said it was “premature” to dismiss the theory that the virus escaped from Wuhan’s Institute of Virology and called on China to provide “direct information on what the situation of these labs was before and at the start of the pandemic.”
Biden administration officials have also urged China to allow international investigators access to data that its scientists had gathered during the early days of the pandemic, CNN reported.
Click here to read more of the New York Post.
3rd venue cancels Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene rally
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A third event venue in California has canceled a Saturday night rally by Republican House Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Instead, Gaetz said on Twitter that they would be holding a protest outside City Hall in Riverside, where one of the events was canceled. An Anaheim spokesman had announced the latest cancellation hours before the rally was scheduled to begin.
Spokesman Mike Lyster said city officials “shared our public safety concerns with the operator and the operator shares the concerns,” the Press-Enterprise reported.
“We respect free speech and we are capable of holding events,” Lyster said. “But it was the lack of advance notice for an event that would attract the attention at the level this one would that has raised issues for our city.”
Lyster also said city officials had “concerns about the nature of the event and that it does not reflect the city of Anaheim and the values we share.”
Two venues in nearby cities previously canceled plans to host the event.
The two far-right members of Congress billed the event as an “America First” rally, part of a series they have spoken at this year.
Hiring activity saw uptick in most sectors in June: report
With the gradual easing of lockdowns, overall hiring activity witnessed positive growth for most sectors in June, according to a report.
Hiring activity improved, suggesting a recovery for the non-tech sectors as well, based on newly added job listings during the month, job site SCIKEY Market Network said in a report.
While the IT sector had so far been hiring at a fast pace, June’s data revealed that a lot of other sectors had started showing improvement in hiring activity, SCIKEY Market Network said based on job postings.
The data revealed that there had been a 21% improvement in hiring in the banking sector in June, compared with May.
Key industries like IT and BPO showed 18% growth each, the pharmaceuticals sector logged 16.9% growth, while hiring demand in healthcare improved by 20%, it stated.
Other sectors like insurance, retail, education and FMCG also showed a progress of 12%, 5%, 12.1% and 16%, respectively.
“It’s been a rough patch for most sectors since the lockdown took place,” said SCIKEY co-founder Karunjit Kumar Dhir. “We are hopeful that the recovery will become more robust in the coming months,” Mr. Dhir added.
Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes southern Philippines
MANILA (REUTERS) – An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 struck the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental early on Sunday (July 18), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The agency said damage and aftershocks were expected from the earthquake, which had a depth of 42km and was tectonic in nature.
This story is developing.
Join ST’s Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
India's daily COVID-19 infections rise by 41,157 – health ministry
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Sunday reported 41,157 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 31.1 million, health ministry data showed.
The number of deaths rose by 518, taking the total to 413,609, according to ministry data.
Tokyo Olympics athlete Covid-19 infections rise to three
- Infection rates are climbing among the general population of the capital, topping 1,000 new cases for four consecutive days.
- Polls show many Japanese oppose holding the Games with the influx of overseas visitors it entails.
Tokyo Olympics organizers on Sunday reported three new cases of Covid-19 infection among athletes, as the population of the athletes' village swells ahead of the start of the pandemic-hit Games next week.
Organizers reported 10 new cases connected to the Olympics including media, contractors and other personnel. That compares with 15 new cases on Saturday, which included personnel, the first case of infection at the athletes' village.
An International Olympic Committee member from South Korea tested positive for the coronavirus on landing in Tokyo. Ryu Seung-min, a former Olympic athlete, is vaccinated, reflecting the infection risk even from vaccinated attendees.
Infection rates are climbing among the general population of the capital, topping 1,000 new cases for four consecutive days. Polls show many Japanese oppose holding the Games with the influx of overseas visitors it entails.
