Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.11
    +1.76 (+2.16%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,254.80
    +42.10 (+1.90%)
     
  • DOW

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    56,019.53
    +1,239.21 (+2.26%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

N. Korea suspected ballistic missile, Haiti gang missionary ransom, UK Covid surge

Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita breaks down today's top stories from around the world.

Video transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

AKIKO FUJITA: And officials say North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile from a submarine overnight marking a significant improvement of its military capability. The missile landed off the coast of Japan. The launch came hours after the US reaffirmed an offer to resume talks on Pyongyang's Nuclear Weapons program.

Japan's new prime minister saying two ballistic missiles had been detected. He called the launches regrettable. This is just the latest missile launch in a string of tests North Korea has conducted in recent weeks. South Korean and US military say they are both closely studying the most recent launch.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Haitian gang is seeking $17 million in ransom for the 17 missionaries abducted in a suburb of Port-au-Prince. 16 Americans and one Canadian were taken by the notorious 400 Mawozo Gang over the weekend after visiting an orphanage. The abductions prompted Haitians to take to the streets and workers to go on strike Monday to protest the growing wave of kidnappings and lack of security in the country.

The "Wall Street Journal" reports the FBI and Haitian police are in touch with the kidnappers. The victims are reportedly being held in a safe house right now. Those kidnapped include five children, one of them, an eight-month-old baby.

Over in the UK healthcare officials are keeping a close watch on a new type of Delta variant that's led to a big spike in infections there. The UK has reported nearly 50,000 COVID cases a day. And new data shows 6% of those cases involve a strain some are calling Delta Plus.

The BBC reports it contains mutations that may give the virus survival advantages. But so far there is no evidence Delta Plus is more transmissible. Over the weekend, the UK reported the highest jump in New cases since mid-July. Weekly deaths from the virus have now topped 800 for six straight weeks.