The Daily Populous

Saturday August 7th, 2021 evening edition

image for Japan confirms first case of lambda variant infection

The lambda variant of the novel coronavirus, first identified in Peru, has been found in Japan for the first time, health ministry officials said Friday.

The variant was detected in a woman in her 30s at Haneda Airport who arrived from Peru on July 20, according to the ministry.

The virus was confirmed to be of the lambda variant in an analysis by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

According to the institute, the lambda variant was first detected in Peru in August last year and has been spreading in South America.

Compared with the conventional strain, the variant may be more infectious and have stronger resistance to vaccines, but its details are not known, the institute said.

Thailand is bracing for the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters as the highly infectious delta variant rips through more regions outside of its current epicenter of Bangkok metropolitan region.

The surge in new COVID-19 infections is due to the fast-spreading delta variant, which has swept across the globe. »

State Dep. Investigating Missing $5,800 Bottle of Japanese Whiskey Gifted to Mike Pompeo

Authored by yahoo.com

The U.S. State Department is currently looking into the whereabouts of a $5,800 bottle of Japanese whiskey gifted to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by the government of Japan in June 2019.

The State Department filing says the department "is looking into the matter and has an ongoing inquiry" into the whiskey's location.

"Pompeo has no idea what the disposition was of this bottle of whiskey," Burck told the outlet. »

Why the Quad Alarms China

Authored by foreignaffairs.com

This gathering of “the Quad,” as the grouping was known, was merely “a headline-grabbing idea,” scoffed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Since then, Beijing has concluded that the Quad represents one of the most consequential challenges to Chinese ambitions in the years ahead.

Abe saw the Quad as a way to build the four countries’ capacity to work together to meet shared regional security challenges. »

Steam Deck can stream games for up to 8 hours

Authored by pcgamer.com

One of the biggest Steam Deck questions we've had is how much game time we'll get from its 40WHr battery.

And, for folks who prefer to stream their Steam games from their gaming PC over playing them locally from the handheld console's SSD, we've got some good news for you.

On a trip to Valve headquarters to see the Steam Deck in person, the developer gave us a pretty impressive figure. »

A Response To Our Pokémon GO Community – Niantic

Authored by nianticlabs.com
image for

Not every game has such a passionate, global player base that we’re fortunate enough to have.

Like everyone else around the world, our team has been working very hard to adapt to the global health environment.

That said, we will continue to monitor health and safety guidance related to outdoor activities, and will make future changes if necessary. »