Leaflets in support of Tong Ying-kit are placed at a shopping mall near the High Court in Hong Kong, July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

World

Some 200 Afghans arrived at the Fort Lee Army base in Virginia in an airlift of translators and others who risked Taliban retaliation because they worked for the U.S. government during its 20-year war in Afghanistan.

The first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law was jailed for nine years for terrorist activities and inciting secession.

Nations across the Asia-Pacific region are tightening restrictions as COVID-19 continues its spread. Japan expanded its state of emergency to three prefectures near Olympics host Tokyo and the city of Osaka, while Australia called out the military to enforce a lockdown in some Sydney neighborhoods.

Outrage over femicides is growing in Pakistan after Noor Mukadam, 27, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded in a posh neighborhood of Islamabad earlier this month. Police have charged Zahir Jaffer, a U.S. national and scion of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, with murder.

Business

Scarlett Johansson, star of the Marvel superhero movie “Black Widow,” sued the Walt Disney Company, alleging that it breached her contract when it offered the movie on streaming services at the same time it played in theaters. The outcome could have broad ramifications in Hollywood as movie studios often negotiate payments to actors based on how films perform in cinemas, not on services like Disney+, where increasing numbers of people are watching them.

Ratings data from the opening ceremony and first few nights of events indicate that the Tokyo Games are currently the least watched Olympics in recent history across Europe and in the United States.

Find out why Astra the short-haired kitty didn’t get her salmon Whiskas and Loki the Alaskan malamute had to do without his usual Royal Canin kibble.

Quote of the day

“They are going to become just a little bit more than a small marina”

Filippo Olivetti

Managing director of the Bassani group, which provides port and tourism services, who says Venice can’t survive without cruise ships.

Venice ban may not end cruise ship battle