World News in Brief: July 23

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a set of policy reforms to the concessional lending facilities to better support the recovery of low-income countries (LICs) from the COVID-19 pandemic.

People walk on a street in Lao capital Vientiane July 21, 2021. Lao government on Monday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown for another 15 days to help curb COVID-19 infections. (Photo: Xinhua)
People walk on a street in Lao capital Vientiane July 21, 2021. Lao government on Monday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown for another 15 days to help curb COVID-19 infections. (Photo: Xinhua)

* Asian share markets were in a mixed mood on Friday after a volatile week in which sentiment over global growth waxed and waned with every new headline on the Delta variant.

* China has shored up efforts in emergency rescue and disaster relief in the central province of Henan, where record rainstorms wreaked havoc.

* Republic of Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held the ninth round of the ROK-US vice foreign ministerial strategic dialogue in Seoul on Friday.

* Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday held a phone conversation with Israeli Minister of Public Security Omer Barlev to discuss peace and security issues in the region, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

* Despite reports of a rare neurological disorder appearing in some people who have received Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, the benefits of its use outweigh the risks, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel said.

* The European Central Bank pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for even longer to boost sluggish inflation and warned that the rapidly spreading Delta variant poses a risk to the euro zone's recovery.

* The European Commission said Thursday that the Russia-Germany natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is "not of common EU interest," but it is planning to discuss the agreement between the United States and Germany among EU member states.

* A total of 36 migrants were rescued on Thursday in the sea area southeast of the Crete island, according to an e-mailed press release by Greece's Coast Guard.

* The Afghan special forces have evicted the Taliban fighters from several villages from around Kunduz city, capital of the northern Kunduz province, after killing 10 militants on Friday, provincial police chief Zabardast Khan Safi said.

* Initial jobless claims in the United States rose to 419,000 last week, indicating a bumpy recovery amid the recent COVID-19 surge, the US Labor Department reported Thursday.

* Daily contact testing will be rolled out to workplaces in Britain's food sector so staff who have been 'pinged' by the COVID-19 app can keep working if they test negative rather than isolating, the government said.

* Australia's New South Wales state on Friday reported its biggest daily rise in new COVID-19 cases this year, prompting a tighter lockdown in Sydney in what state officials called a "national emergency" that has already derailed a broad economic rebound.

* New Zealand will pause its quarantine-free travel arrangement with Australia for at least eight weeks starting Friday night, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as Australia fights an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta virus variant.

* Australia's medical regulator provisionally approved Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for individuals aged 12 to 15 years on Friday when more than half of the country's 25 million people were under lockdown.

* Los Angeles, the most populous county in the United States, reported Thursday 2,767 new COVID-19 cases, an alarming 80 percent increase over last week amid the Delta variant surge.

* The Portuguese government announced Thursday that the current "calamity situation," its highest response to a national emergency, will be extended until Aug. 8, as the country hit a four-month high of daily new COVID-19 cases and deaths.

* The COVID Green Pass will be mandatory to enter restaurants, cafes and other eateries in Italy starting from Aug. 6, the government announced Thursday.

* Africa's third wave of COVID-19 pandemic is at a crossroads, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday at an online press conference.

* Chile has fully vaccinated 78.34 percent of its target population against COVID-19, or 11,908,045 people, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

* More than 50 percent of Argentina's population is vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of its mass immunization campaign, the health ministry said on Thursday.

* Global pharmaceutical firms should license production of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa rather than just do piecemeal contract deals, an African Union special envoy said.

* Israel announced plans to allow only people who are deemed immune to COVID-19 or have recently tested negative to enter some public spaces such as restaurants, gyms and synagogues.

Xinhua,Reuters