Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine data, say UK, U.S. and Canada

Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said on Thursday. A co-ordinated statement from Britain, the United States and Canada attributed the attacks to group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear, which they said was almost certainly operating as part of Russian intelligence services.

With hospitals ‘close to collapse,’ Bogota doctors call for city-wide quarantine

Doctors in Bogota are calling for a return to a strict city-wide quarantine to slow coronavirus infections in Colombia’s capital, warning that medical services are close to collapsing, a leading medic said on Thursday. The Andean country has reported over 165,000 cases of the coronavirus and around 6,000 deaths. Bogota accounts for more than a third of the country’s total cases and over 20% of its deaths.

Non-essential travel restrictions extended at U.S. borders with Canada, Mexico

Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced on Thursday. “Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until August 21, and we’re going to keep working closely with our American neighbors to keep people safe on both sides of the border,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference.

Canada to spend C$19 billion on ‘safe restart’ after lockdown, Trudeau says

Canada’s federal government will give the 13 provinces and territories more than C$19 billion to help pay for the costs of restarting the economy after several months of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. The cash, which is meant to take care of extraordinary costs over the coming six to eight months, will be earmarked for tracing and tracking the virus, providing protective equipment, helping municipalities to pay for their operating costs, and other things, Trudeau said at a news conference.

U.S. targets all Chinese Communist Party members for possible travel ban: source

xThe Trump administration is considering banning travel to the United States by all members of the Chinese Communist Party and their families, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday, a move that would worsen already tense U.S.-China relations. Senior officials discussing the matter have begun circulating a draft of a possible presidential order, but deliberations are at an early stage and the issue has not yet been brought to President Donald Trump, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mexico tightens coronavirus curbs in tourist spots, other pockets

The spread of the coronavirus has spurred Mexican authorities to impose local restrictions on mobility, commerce, and leisure, particularly in popular tourist destinations, even as the government seeks to revive the battered economy. On Wednesday, authorities in the Caribbean beach resort of Tulum threatened to fine or arrest people for disobeying rules on wearing face masks, the latest in a series of local and state-level curbs against the spread of the virus.

Queen to knight 100-year-old UK fundraiser Captain Tom on Friday

Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old who became a national hero in Britain by raising millions of pounds for health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, will become “Sir Tom” on Friday when he is knighted by Queen Elizabeth. The World War Two veteran raised a record sum of 33 million pounds ($41 million) by walking 100 laps of his garden with the aid of a walking frame in April in the run-up to his landmark birthday.

UK boosts healthcare funding to ward off winter COVID-19 wave

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to pour 3 billion pounds ($3.77 billion) into England’s National Health Service (NHS) to try to ward off any resurgence of the coronavirus. Britain is the worst-affected country in Europe by COVID-19 with a death toll from confirmed cases of more than 45,000.

European students exempt from U.S. coronavirus travel ban: WSJ

Foreign students coming from Europe are exempt from a travel ban the United States imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The exemption for Europe also includes some au pairs and family members of visa holders in the United States, according to a memo sent by the U.S. State Department to Congress, the Journal said.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, says he hopes U.S. president is reelected

Brazil right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday said he hopes Republican U.S. President Donald Trump will be reelected in November, although he said the commercial relationship between the two countries is promising even if a Democrat wins. Bolsonaro has often lauded Trump, calling him a political role model and drawing parallels between their conservative agendas.