President Ashraf Ghani blames the worsening security situation in Afghanistan to the sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops amid a rapid advance of the Taliban across the country. Ghani warns that the Islamist group has not severed ties with other terrorist groups. The Taliban rejects Ghani's statement.

Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, and Saitama prefectures enter the state of emergency due to spike of COVID-19 cases during the 2020 Summer Olympics. The quasi-state of emergency also being imposed in Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, which both measures are in effect until August 31.

Malaysia reports a record 219 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,403.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya enters the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight to Belarus at Haneda Airport and asking for Japanese police protection. Her husband has left Belarus and entered Ukraine. The Japanese government says it will take measures to protect her stay as multiple European countries offer her asylum.

Militants belonging to the 3R group attack a military position in the village of Mann, Central African Republic, killing six civilians and wounding several more.

Five people, including three Hezbollah members, are killed and several more are wounded as gunmen open fire at the funeral of Ali Shibli, a Hezbollah member who was assassinated yesterday in Khalde, Lebanon. Both the attacks are described as motivated by anti-shi'ism and as a revenge for the killing of a Sunni Arab teenager and a Syrian last year in the same town.

The United Kingdom and the United States join Israel in blaming Iran for the strike. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says that the UK and its allies are planning a coordinated response. However, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson says that the allegation is "baseless".

Fifteen troops are killed and six others are missing as Islamists ambush them in Torodi, Tillabéri Region, Niger. A bombing also exploded as the soldiers tried to evacuate their wounded.

Canada observes "Emancipation Day" nationwide for the first time. The holiday, commemorating the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 came into force and outlawed slavery in Canada and most of the British Empire, was unanimously declared by Parliament in March.

YouTube bans News Corp's Sky News Australia channel from uploading new content for seven days after commentator Alan Jones spread COVID-19 misinformation. This comes shortly after The Daily Telegraph fired Jones and ended his regular column over similar concerns.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologizes to the Pacific Islander community for the Dawn Raids, a series of police raids in the 1970s that targeted and deported Pacific Islanders accused of overstaying their work visas, and says that the government will create new education and training scholarships for the community, and an official account of the raids in order to compensate for them. The apology was supposed to happen in June, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The death toll from raging wildfires in southern Turkey rises to eight with thousands of tourists evacuated from Bodrum by the Coast Guard Command as the fires close in on the port city.

Flash flooding continues for the fourth day in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, killing several more people and bringing the death toll to 113.

Tunisia receives 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Italy.

Cambodia begins a COVID-19 vaccination rollout for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. Prime Minister Hun Sen's grandchildren are among the first to receive the vaccine.

Saudi Arabia lifts its travel restrictions for the first time since March 2020 for tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 using government-approved vaccines. Vaccinated travellers must register themselves on the data registration portal introduced by the Ministry of Tourism which also requires a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours.

Thailand extends its semi-lockdown measures in 13 provinces including the Bangkok Metropolitan Region until August 31 and also extends the restrictions into 16 additional provinces beginning on August 3 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Germany begins to require any travellers over the age of 12 who have been not fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 regardless of transportation mode to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within the previous 48 hours for rapid antigen test and 72 hours for PCR test amid concerns about the spread of the Delta variant.

The number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Florida reaches a record 10,207, surpassing the previous record of 10,170 people recorded on July 23, 2020.

Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong warns South Korea against conducting military drills with the United States, saying that such a move could damage the talks to resolve the Korean conflict. The two Koreas have been improving relations lately, with North Korea restoring the border hotlines, which Kim Yo-jong called a "physical" measure in case the drills take place.

Five high-ranking army officers and several police officers are arrested in Madagascar in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate the country's president, bringing the number of people arrested in connection to the plot to 21.

On the six-month anniversary of the coup, military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing names himself Prime Minister "in order to perform the country’s duties fast, easily and effectively", according to the ruling State Administration Council.

French racing driver Esteban Ocon of Alpine wins his first Formula One race in his career.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is forcibly removed from the Games by the Belarus Olympic Committee after criticizing officials for entering her in the competition without her consent. Tsimanouskaya has appealed to the IOC for support, and asked Japanese police for protection at Haneda Airport after she refused to board a flight to Belarus.