Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

The delta variant is engulfing Southeast Asia. Biden thinks investors aren’t taking warnings over Hong Kong business seriously enough. And Bitcoin’s on the slide again. Here’s what you need to know.

Southeast Asia is emerging as a battlefield for one of the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks. With a population about twice that of the U.S., the momentum of the region’s outbreak has now eclipsed previously hard-hit places like Latin America and India, with cases jumping 41% over the past week to more than a half-million. Meanwhile, in Tokyo new covid cases hit a six-month high just over a week before the city hosts the Olympics; Australia’s Melbourne has just kicked off yet another lockdown, joining Sydney in imposing stay-at-home restrictions; Singapore is pressing ahead with reopening despite its karaoke cluster; and scientists say most vaccinated Americans are unlikely to need booster shots. And here’s how access to mRNA vaccines is carving up the world into haves and have-nots.