World News in Brief: July 21

* Counting of votes for the subsequent Indian president started within the capital New Delhi on Thursday. The voting passed off on July 18 when the elected representatives solid their votes to elect the nation’s fifteenth president.

* Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi handed in his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday after his unity authorities fell aside, plunging the nation into political turmoil and hitting monetary markets.

* Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Thursday, a day after successful a vote in parliament and urging the island nation to return collectively to discover a means out of its worst financial disaster in many years.

* Cambodia’s financial system is projected to develop by 5.3 % this yr, up from 3 % in 2021, Chea Chanto, governor of the Nationwide Financial institution of Cambodia (NBC), stated right here on Thursday.

* The Philippine financial system is forecast to develop quicker than initially anticipated in 2022, following the comfort of COVID-19 mobility restrictions, the enlargement of the COVID-19 vaccination program, and a rebound in funding and family consumption, in line with an Asian Improvement Financial institution (ADB) report launched on Thursday.

* The Asian Improvement Financial institution (ADB) on Thursday lowered its financial progress forecast for Malaysia to five.8 % for 2022 and 5.1 % for 2023, from 6 % and 5.4 % respectively. The financial institution stated in its July report that elevated uncertainty and weaker international progress are dampening Malaysia’s prospects.

* Indonesian authorities are getting ready transportation infrastructures within the Indonesia-Timor-Leste border space to strengthen connectivity and commodity distribution, in line with a Ministry of Transportation assertion launched Thursday.

* Russia resumed pumping fuel through its greatest pipeline to Europe on Thursday after a 10-day outage, the operator stated, allaying Europe’s speedy winter provide fears after President Vladimir Putin had warned that flows could possibly be reduce additional or stopped.

* Inventory markets eased on Thursday as a resumption of Russian fuel provides to Europe lifted the euro forward of the European Central Financial institution’s anticipated first rate of interest hike in over a decade to quell inflation.

* Talks between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations on resuming Ukrainian grain exports by means of the Black Sea are going nicely to this point, Turkish Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Thursday, including he was hopeful about reaching a deal.

* Whereas international issues over meals insecurity develop, Istanbul is getting ready to host a second spherical of talks in anticipation of a stable consequence relating to the secure transport of Ukrainian grain to worldwide markets.

* Serbia and Egypt agreed on Wednesday to determine a strategic partnership and increase bilateral cooperation in numerous areas, particularly in grain and cereal commerce.

* Argentine Overseas Minister Santiago Cafiero on Wednesday referred to as for unity and a world outlook for the Southern Widespread Market (Mercosur), throughout the sixtieth extraordinary assembly of the bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

* South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday urged stakeholders to look at areas the place transformation has been sluggish and implementation has been weak because the nation mirrored on progress in remodeling racialized financial system.

* The Irish authorities achieved a fiscal surplus of near 300 million euros (about 305 million USD) within the first quarter (Q1) of this yr, stated the nation’s Central Statistics Workplace (CSO) on Wednesday.

* Hungary will scrap caps on fuel and energy costs for higher-usage households from Aug. 1, the federal government stated in a decree on Thursday, which implies many Hungarians pays rather more for the additional power they eat.

* The Spanish authorities is not going to order shoppers to restrict their fuel consumption, Power Minister Teresa Ribera stated on Thursday, after Spain stated it could oppose a European Union proposal to chop fuel utilization.

* South African inflation surged to a 13-year excessive in June, information confirmed on Wednesday, shifting additional away from the central financial institution’s goal the day earlier than an rate of interest announcement.

* The Biden administration is planning to take away Nicaragua from the listing of nations eligible for low-tariff shipments of sugar to america, the Wall Road Journal reported on Wednesday.

* Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Wednesday signed a decree to raise a state of emergency within the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, the place no less than 18 individuals have been killed when safety forces broke up protests earlier this month.

* New Zealand stated late on Wednesday it had elevated measures to stop foot and mouth illness (FMD) from stepping into the nation after the illness was just lately discovered within the Indonesian vacationer resort of Bali.

* Two large wildfires raging in southwestern France over the previous week have evacuated no less than 36,000 individuals from house and burned 20,600 hectares of land, French information channel BFMTV reported on Wednesday.

* Spain’s Ministry of Well being reported on Wednesday that 679 individuals had misplaced their lives within the first eight days (July 10-17) of the second heatwave that hit the nation this summer time.

* Mainland China reported 943 new coronavirus circumstances for July 20, of which 200 have been symptomatic and 743 have been asymptomatic, the Nationwide Well being Fee stated on Thursday.

* Europe is engulfed by a brand new COVID-19 wave because the variety of new infections has tripled in six weeks, the Stockholm-based European Centre for Illness Prevention and Management (ECDC) stated on Wednesday.

* Australia reported one in every of its highest each day dying tolls from the novel coronavirus on Thursday whereas hospital admissions hovered close to report ranges, as authorities wrestle to get forward of extremely contagious Omicron variants.

* Malta has reported the best variety of COVID-19 deaths and the best positivity fee in Europe, the European Centre for Illness Prevention and Management (ECDC) stated on Wednesday.