15 HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. The lockdown order, issued late Friday night, bans the gathering of more than two people in public. Only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses can stay open. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases. On Friday, Hanoi reported 70 confirmed infections, the city’s highest, part of a record 7,295 cases in the country. Nearly 5,000 are from Vietnam’s largest metropolis, southern Ho Chi Minh City, which has extended its lockdown until Aug. 1. ___ MORE ON THE PANDEMIC: — Vietnam locks down capital Hanoi for 15 days as cases rise — Thousands protest lockdown in Sydney, several arrested — AP poll: Most … [Read more...]

London (CNN Business) Just seven months after singing its praises , British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is attempting to rewrite the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union. It's a risky move that will undermine Britain's credibility as a trustworthy trading partner at the very moment that the UK government is seeking to forge economic alliances far beyond Europe to justify its "global Britain" sales pitch for Brexit, according to experts. EU officials have already rejected the UK call for a renegotiation , which trade experts say amounts to a brazen attempt to press the European Union to agree to demands that it already rejected during several rounds of talks. Other countries watching the drama unfold will proceed with caution when it comes to dealing with the United Kingdom, according to L. Alan Winters of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex in England. "It certainly does raise questions about the … [Read more...]

(CNN) For over a week, riots have marred the streets across five cities and towns in Northern Ireland. Cars and a bus have been hijacked and burned, young people have thrown petrol bombs at police, and at least 74 officers have been injured. The escalating unrest threatens to undermine the region's fragile peace between pro-British loyalists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom, and pro-Irish nationalists who would like Northern Ireland to be part of the Republic of Ireland. When did the most recent flareup begin? On March 29, police officers were targeted in a petrol bomb attack in a predominately unionist area of Tullymore, in Derry/Londonderry, after an attempt to break up a crowd of approximately 40 people. For five nights, similar scenes unfolded in the city. By Friday, April 2, the disorder spread to south Belfast, where a small protest descended into an attack on police in a loyalist pocket of the Sandy Row area, where 15 … [Read more...]

Sydney/Hong Kong (CNN Business) Australia and the United Kingdom announced a free trade agreement Tuesday as Britain begins to forge new economic relationships following its departure from the European Union . The main elements of the deal were agreed by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a meeting in Downing Street on Monday night. The agreement in principle will be published in the coming days. It's the first major bilateral free trade agreement brokered by the United Kingdom since it left the European Union in January 2020. Britain has also struck deals with Japan and Norway, but they were based on existing agreements negotiated by the European Union. The United Kingdom's ability to negotiate its own trade policy has been billed by the government as a major benefit of Brexit. And it is moving ahead with the Australia deal despite opposition from UK farmers and other food and drink producers who are … [Read more...]

6 LAS CHINAMAS, El Salvador (AP) — Anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval fled Guatemala late Friday, arriving in neighboring El Salvador just hours after he was removed from his post. Consuelo Porras, Guatemala’s attorney general, had accused the former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity of “abuses” without specifying what they were. Sandoval said he was fired because of his investigations into top officials in the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei. He said he had fled for his own safety, becoming the fifth law enforcement official in three years to do so. “Sadly, this has become a situation that many public servants in Guatemala have had to go through simply because we are not useful for the regime,” Sandoval said. “Wherever I am, I'm going to continue working for the good of the people of Guatemala, but for my own safety, I am not going to be used by people who have made … [Read more...]

Good morning, it’s 7:30 a.m. Pacific on Saturday, and midnight is approaching in Tokyo. Here’s what you missed while you were sleeping, as the first full day of the Games got underway. Three things to know 1. China won the first gold medal of the Games when Yang Qian won the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics in women’s 10-meter air rifle. The Chinese scored golds in weightlifting (Hou Zhihui, women’s 49 kilogram) and fencing (Sun Yiwen, women’s epee individual), bringing their total to three after the Games’ first slate of finals. Seven other countries have one gold medal, including host Japan. The U.S. is awaiting its first medal, which could be won by Davis native Nyjah Huston in skateboarding’s Olympic debut tonight (men’s street final, 8:30 p.m., NBC). 2. The first medals of the Olympics are one thing. We would be remiss to not mention the first meme of the Olympics. That honor went to ... the boyfriend of the mother of U.S. basketball player and flagbearer Sue Bird. … [Read more...]