World News in Brief: November 9

An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 in Nepal early on Wednesday killed four children and two adults, seriously injured five others as several houses collapsed in the western district of Doti, and shook New Delhi in neighbouring India.
People watch the moon through a telescope during a lunar eclipse in Bangalore, India, Nov. 8, 2022. (Source: Xinhua)
People watch the moon through a telescope during a lunar eclipse in Bangalore, India, Nov. 8, 2022. (Source: Xinhua)

* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday unveiled the logo, theme and website of India's Group of 20 (G20) presidency next year. During its G20 presidency, India will hold about 200 meetings in 32 different sectors and in multiple locations across India next year.

* The control of the US House of Representatives and Senate still hangs in the balance with vote counting underway for the 2022 midterm elections.

* Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kiev could resume dialogue with Moscow only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the presidential press service reported Tuesday.

* The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed at talks in Washington to expedite negotiations between the two South Caucasus nations that have clashed repeatedly over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the US State Department said on Tuesday.

* The European Union has agreed to a law that sets national targets to reduce overall carbon emissions by the end of the decade across sectors including agriculture, buildings and transport.

* NATO leaders will gather for their next summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, the military alliance announced on Wednesday.

* Türkiye said on Tuesday it has been coordinating efforts to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer.

* Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday promised to meet Turkish security demands in an effort to get Türkiye's approval of his country's bid to join the NATO.

* China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.1 percent year on year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

* Japan's Cabinet approved Tuesday an extra budget spending of 29.1 trillion yen (199 billion USD) for the current fiscal year on a comprehensive economic package to combat soaring prices.

* A drop in total US energy consumption is expected next year, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, citing uncertainty in macroeconomic conditions which could significantly affect energy markets.

* The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the second quarter to 7.5 percent from 7.4 percent.

* Republic of Korea's employment growth continued to slow for the fifth consecutive month in October amid rising economic uncertainty such as interest rate hikes, statistical office data showed Wednesday.

* The current spike in energy prices will cost Germany nearly 110 billion euros (110 billion USD) in real income by 2023, with the funds flowing to sellers abroad, according to a study published Tuesday by the ifo Institute for economic research.

* France's renewable energy sector will bring in 30.9 billion euros (31.1 billion USD) of revenue in 2022-2023, the country's Commission for Energy Regulation (CRE) said in a press release Tuesday. The energy regulator has revised its July forecasts upwards following surges in the market prices of electricity.

* Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday proposed reviving the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) to protect South America's Amazon rainforest.

* The combination of the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y6 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area, the China Manned Space Agency said Wednesday. The agency said the cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time.

* At least 27.7 million children had been affected this year by floodings and other climate change related catastrophic events that occurred in 27 countries worldwide, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday.

* The European Union's (EU) economy has reached a turning point, with forces that were driving growth having "largely faded away," European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday in Brussels.

* Egypt and Belgium jointly launched a global renewable hydrogen forum in Sharm El-Sheikh on Tuesday, as the world is seeking to find environmentally friendly solutions to energy problems, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

* A large group of European countries will keep pressuring Germany to accept a price cap on gas used for electricity generation, Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said on Wednesday.

* Zambia on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Union aimed at partnering in the sustainable management of the forestry sector.

* Large swathes of northern Italy have this year experienced the hottest October since records began in 1800, Italy's National Research Council said Tuesday. Temperatures reached 3.18 degrees Celsius above normal levels in the northern part of the country, the Council said.

VNA, Reuters, Xinhua