HOUSTON -- U.S. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday reinstated statewide indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to surge.

According to the mandate, which will be effective from Aug. 4 until at least Sept. 1, all people aged five and older mush wear a face mask at indoors places. (US-COVID-19)

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WASHINGTON -- The board of governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) equivalent to 650 billion U.S. dollars, the largest allocation in the IMF's history, in an effort to boost global liquidity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an IMF statement released Monday.

"This is a historic decision - the largest SDR allocation in the history of the IMF and a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. (IMF-SDR-Pandemic)

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BERLIN -- Germany's industry was increasingly worried about supply bottlenecks of materials such as chips and semiconductors, as almost two in three companies reported production impeded by shortages, the ifo Institute announced on Monday.

From April to July, the share of German industrial companies worried about the shortages grew from 45.0 to 63.8 percent, according to the quarterly ifo survey among 2,700 companies. (Germany-Supply-Shortage)

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GAZA -- A study published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday showed that about 80 percent of populations in the Gaza Strip live in "complete darkness."

The study sent to Xinhua said that "80 percent of the populations of the Gaza Strip spend most of their times in complete darkness, with electricity only available for eight hours a day at best." (Gaza-Electricity)