FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China still requires international passengers to take pre-departure COVID-19 tests and quarantine upon arrival, the customs office said on Friday, a day after dropping some reporting requirements for travelers clearing customs. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of the news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 ASIA-PACIFIC

* North Korea said on Friday it had confirmed that cases of unknown fever reported near its border with China were patients with the flu, state media reported. * Mainland China reported 1,628 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 25, of which 312 were symptomatic and 1,316 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

* Shanghai reported one new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus case for Aug. 25, down from six a day earlier, while one local symptomatic case was reported, up from zero, the city government said on Friday. EUROPE

* Former finance minister Rishi Sunak, one of two candidates vying to be Britain's next premier, criticized the way outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson handled the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it had been a mistake to "empower" scientists and that the downsides of lockdowns were suppressed. AMERICAS

* The U.S. government said on Thursday it will suspend 26 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 cases. * Former world number one Novak Djokovic will miss the U.S. Open after he said on Thursday that he will not be able to travel to New York for the tournament, having chosen not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Il Dong Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Friday that South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety accepted the second phase of clinical trials for a COVID-19 oral treatment.

* Meiji Holdings Co Ltd said on Thursday its subsidiary Meiji Seika Pharma was in talks with Arcturus Therapeutics of the United States regarding manufacturing and marketing of Replicon vaccine in Japan to be used for COVID-19 including the Omicron variant. * Clover Biopharmaceuticals Ltd on Thursday announced positive phase 2/3 results in adolescents for its COVID-19 vaccine.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Asian shares were cautiously higher on Friday, while the dollar firmed slightly as traders and investors anxiously awaited a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that could offer clues on the U.S. central bank's rate-hike path.

* China will focus on creating jobs and promoting fiscal, monetary, and industrial policies to stabilize its labor market, Li Zhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Thursday. * The German economy grew in the second quarter, propped up by household and government spending and beating analyst expectations that saw it on the edge of a downturn, data showed on Thursday.

* Thailand's official unemployment rate in the second quarter dropped to its lowest since the pandemic began and should improve further as the economy recovers following an easing of restrictions, the state planning agency said on Friday. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)