One protester is killed and dozens are injured after police attack protesters gathered at Baghdad's Tahrir Square in the evening, where hundreds marched to demand the end of targeted killings of prominent journalists and activists. (Euronews)
Tata Steel has said that it will support the families of its workers in India who have died of COVID-19. The firm said that it will pay deceased employees' salaries, housing and medical benefits until what would have been their retirement at the age of 60. The company has also pledged to cover the education costs of the children of deceased front line workers until they graduate. This is the third firm to make such an announcement, after hospitality group Oyo Rooms and glass manufacturer Borosil. (BBC News)
The MVX-Press Pearl, a container ship sailing with a Singaporean flag and carrying cosmetics and chemicals, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, catches fire off the coast of Sri Lanka after an explosion was detected onboard. Rescuers evacuated all crew from the ship and reported that two people were injured. (Reuters)
Malaysia reports a record 7,289 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 525,889. (The Straits Times)
Restrictions are tightened in Melbourne, Victoria, after an increase in cases, potentially linked to a hotel quarantine breach in South Australia. The mask mandate is reintroduced, public gatherings are limited to 30 people and private gatherings are limited to 5 people. Residents will also be expected to adhere to these rules when leaving the city. (The Guardian)
An independent report commissioned by the ruling Conservative Party on discrimination within the party details that two-thirds of the 727 discrimination complaints filed against the party from 2015 to 2020 are classified as Islamophobic incidents. Incidents listed include comments made by Prime MinisterBoris Johnson about the attire of Muslim women, and comments by London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith about his opponent and current Mayor Sadiq Khan during the 2016 election. It also found "no evidence" that these complaints were treated significantly different from other complaints. (Al Jazeera)
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces that it will begin making $4 billion of loan forgiveness payments for 13,000 loans that were made by the agency to Black, Hispanic and Indigenous farmers beginning in June. From there, the agency said that it will also distribute loan relief for another 3,000 loans which were made by banks and guaranteed by the USDA. The program has been delayed because of accusations of racism and is currently facing multiple lawsuits. (FOX Business)