• The blast centred on the city's port caused massive destruction and killed more than 100 people, heaping misery on a country already in crisis.

• Aberdeen, in northeast Scotland, saw 54 new virus cases in a 24-hour period to Wednesday, according to the devolved government in Edinburgh.

• It accused the Irish low-cost airline of "repeated violations of the COVID-19 health regulations currently in force and imposed by the Italian government to protect the health of passengers".

This relationship will minimise the financial cost on the Captains who are working to provide ride-hailing services to the masses during the pandemic.

• SBP said that unique account ownership in the country has increased to 66 million with 60% active accounts by December 2019. The target of 50 percent of accounts has been accomplished well before the deadline of 2020.

• India is one of the world's hardest-hit countries, with nearly 40,000 people dead of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

• Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

• Some outside experts and US officials have cast doubts on North Korea's claim to have no coronavirus cases, but no cases have been independently confirmed.

• The unemployment rate, which stood at 4.8pc before the crisis, hit a record 28.8pc in April after 600,000 people claimed emergency payments.

Norwegian said winning the first piece of silverware under his leadership would be "massive".

Worldwide, nearly 689,000 people out of 18 million have succumbed to the virus.

• Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas said that September 15 is a tentative date depending on the coronavirus situation in Punjab.

Madrid travel to Manchester on Friday looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit from February.

• A report from the group, based on government data, highlighted the vast scope of a fast-growing criminal cottage industry - from phony stimulus-check offers to shopping scams and fake cures - preying on Americans already distressed by the pandemic and its economic fallout.

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• The new drug is also being tested on people with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

• The software is being used by 43 Brazilian hospitals, 60 percent of them public.

• Twenty-nine new deaths were reported over the same period, bringing the country's toll to 30,294.

• More than 27 million people on the main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, went back into a partial lockdown.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd is seeking protection from creditors in the United States under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows a foreign debtor to shield assets in this country, according to a court filing on Tuesday.Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic is the second Virgin airline to declare bankruptcy as pandemic rips apart the industry.

• Nadal had said in June that he had reservations about travelling to the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• After many thoughts I have decided not to play this year's US Open," Nadal said on Twitter, "The situation is very complicated worldwide.

• These are new growth initiatives that could create a lot of value for the company.
• Hackett and Farley will work together during a two-month transition period, and Hackett, 65, will continue as a company advisor through March 2021.

• The world's No. 2 copper producer said production of the red metal plunged 20.4% in the first half of 2020 versus the same period in 2019.
• Gold production also fell 34.7% in the first six months of the year, while zinc output dropped off 23.7%, the country's Energy and Mines ministry said in a statement.

• NIH would start with testing Eli Lilly and Co's experimental COVID-19 antibody treatment in a mid-stage, ACTIV-2, and a late-stage study, ACTIV-3.
• Lilly's LY-CoV555, which is being developed in partnership with Canadian biotech AbCellera, is already being studied as a COVID-19 treatment in patients.

• The 1,083 new COVID-19 cases reflects a "severe" rise in recent days that raises concerns as Turkey wrapped up a four-day holiday weekend.
• The virus has killed 5,765 and infected 234,934 in total in the country.

• After a week of almost daily negotiations, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that he, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
• We remain far apart on a number of issues. But we're finally moving in the right direction," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

• "The balance is fragile and we can change course at any time to a less controlled scenario like in Spain for example," it said.