World News in Brief: July 3

Laos' National Assembly (NA)'s ninth legislature has closed its seventh ordinary session, with its closing ceremony witnessing the presence of Party Secretary General and State President Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Lao NA President Xaysomphone Phomvihane.
Floods displaced more than 2,500 households in several towns of northern Myanmar following heavy rains and rising river levels, official daily Myanma Alinn reported on Wednesday.
Floods displaced more than 2,500 households in several towns of northern Myanmar following heavy rains and rising river levels, official daily Myanma Alinn reported on Wednesday.

* The new Dutch government was officially sworn in on Tuesday at the Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, more than 220 days after the general elections in November last year.

* Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's cabinet is set for a long-awaited reshuffle, local media reported, with changes including new finance and foreign ministers expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.

* Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday set the presidential election date for Oct. 6.

* The main opposition Nepali Congress party on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to step down, one day after the largest ruling partner initiated the move.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are due to meet on Wednesday at the 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Kazakhstan's capital Astana from July 2 to 6.

* Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk was operating as normal on Wednesday after an attempted Ukrainian maritime drone attack, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the local administration.

* China and Switzerland on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed to officially start negotiations for the upgrade of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement (FTA) as soon as possible, according to Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

* Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had summoned Romania's ambassador in Moscow and declared one Romanian embassy official 'persona non grata'.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday to discuss cooperation and security issues, Zelensky's press service reported.

* Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday to discuss support for reforms in the country and the UN, said the presidential press service.

* Ukraine is not ready to compromise with Russia and give up any territory to end the war, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday when asked about U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's declaration that he could quickly end the conflict.

* The Finnish parliament has approved the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States, announced the parliament on Monday.

* Italy is planning to buy hundreds of tanks from Rheinmetall RHMG.DE in what would be the German defence group's biggest ever order, valued at around 20 billion euros ($21.50 billion), the Handelsblatt business daily reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources.

* Turkish exports to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries have increased significantly over the past five years, up 85 percent, according to a report by state-run TRT broadcaster on Tuesday.

* The recently concluded third round of UN-convened talks on Afghanistan in Doha was productive, said Zabihullah Mujahid, head of the Afghan delegation at the conference.

* Many Palestinians were seeking shelter on Wednesday after fleeing their homes in southern Gaza and complained of water shortages as Israel pressed on with its military offensive in the densely populated enclave.

* UN humanitarians on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the impact of Israel's order for tens of thousands of Gazans to evacuate 117 square kilometers in Khan Younis and Rafah governorates.

* Israel has killed about 900 militants in Rafah since the beginning of Israel's ground assault on the southernmost city in Gaza in early May, Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday.

* Pakistani Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan on Tuesday called for an early conclusion of a preferential trade agreement and bilateral transit trade agreement with Azerbaijan.

* Japan began circulating its first new banknotes in 20 years on Wednesday, featuring three-dimensional portraits of the founders of financial and female education institutions in an attempt to frustrate counterfeiters.

* Yury Borisov, head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, has approved the schedule for the creation of a Russian orbital station by 2033, the corporation said in a press release Tuesday.

* Latin America and the Caribbean should brace for the arrival of La Nina, the climate pattern seen fueling a highly active hurricane season in the Atlantic and greater climate variability across the region, experts said on Tuesday.

* Chinese Premier Li Qiang has stressed remaining alert to risks, strengthening preparedness and working unswervingly on flood control, disaster relief and rescue work to ensure the safety of people's lives and property, as well as overall social stability.

* The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 55.2 in June, up from 54.2 in May, marking a continued improvement in private business conditions for 16 straight months, the S&P Global said Wednesday.

* Pakistan is looking to clinch a staff level agreement on an International Monetary Fund bailout of more than $6 billion this month after addressing all of the lender's requirements in its annual budget, its junior finance minister told Reuters.

* The Mongolian central bank has decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 11 percent, the Bank of Mongolia said Wednesday.

* Thailand received over 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of 2024, an increase of 35 percent from a year earlier, on course to meet the year-end target of 36.7 million foreign arrivals, official data showed on Tuesday.

* The U.S. government on Tuesday announced a 176-million-USD investment in biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine against bird flu as concerns escalate over a multi-state outbreak in dairy cows.

* The death toll from a stampede at a Hindu religious congregation in northern India has risen to 121, authorities said on Wednesday, while a police report said the number of people present at the function was more than triple the permitted capacity.

* Hurricane Beryl barreled toward Jamaica as a powerful Category 4 storm on Wednesday, after flattening homes and devastating agriculture on smaller islands in the eastern Caribbean, killing at least three people.

* At least two people were dead, five missing and 25,000 affected as Hurricane Beryl ripped through northeast Venezuela's Sucre state, Interior and Justice Minister Remigio Ceballos said Tuesday.

* Incessant rains in India's northeastern state of Assam have worsened the flood situation as water has inundated new areas, officials said Wednesday.

* Authorities issued an urgent health alert on Wednesday after a new case of measles was reported in the Australian state of Victoria.

* Authorities have ordered more than 13,000 people to evacuate amid a fast-moving wildfire that broke out Tuesday in Northern California.

* At least three people died and seven were missing after a fishing boat capsized off central Portugal's Atlantic coast, the country's Lusa news agency said on Wednesday.

Reuters/Xinhua/VNA