World News in Brief: August 11

Global shares edged higher on Thursday as investors bet on the pace of interest rate hikes slowing after data pointed to inflation peaking, leaving the dollar struggling after its biggest fall in five months.

Egypt's cabinet said on Thursday it approved a plan to ration electricity usage aimed at saving natural gas resources for export to generate hard currency.
Egypt's cabinet said on Thursday it approved a plan to ration electricity usage aimed at saving natural gas resources for export to generate hard currency.

* Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that instead of discussing absurd remarks such as setting up a no-fly zone over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), it is necessary for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the plant.

* A total of 5,885,061 Lao people have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, equaling 80.2 percent of the population, according to Laos' Ministry of Health. The figure meets the target set by the country to vaccinate 80 percent of the population by the end of 2022.

* Strong fiscal stimulus and high vaccination rates have helped quickened Cambodia's economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, an ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) report said on Thursday.

* Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Thursday that it has narrowed the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2022 to 3-4 percent from 3-5 percent.

* Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah on Wednesday announced to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and digital economy.

* Myanmar welcomed 42,315 foreign tourists between April and June, up 22.9 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

* Sales value of wholesale and retail trade in Malaysia surged 44 percent year on year to 132.8 billion ringgit (about 29.86 billion USD) in June, official data showed Thursday.

* The Republic of Korea logged a trade deficit in the first 10 days of August due to a faster increase in import than export, customs office data showed Thursday. The trade deficit amounted to 7.68 billion US dollars in the Aug. 1-10 period, according to Korea Customs Service.

* The average price of US retail gasoline fell below $4 per gallon on Thursday for the first time in months, giving some relief to drivers in the world's largest consumer of the fuel.

* The Swedish National Institute of Economic Research slashed the country's economic growth prediction for next year to 0.5 percent on Wednesday, citing the influence of inflation and interest rate hikes.

* Iraq's government has agreed to continue supplying Lebanon's electricity company with fuel for another year, Lebanese Prime Minister said on Thursday, extending the current agreement under the same terms.

* Israel on Wednesday announced the investment of 20 million shekels (6.13 million USD) to promote training programs that will prepare the Arab population for Israel's high-tech sector.

* Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic should resume within two days as problems with paying transit fees should be resolved, the chairman of Czech pipeline operator MERO Jaroslav Pantucek told Czech Television on Thursday.

* The eastern Chinese export hub Yiwu in Zhejiang province imposed a three-day lockdown starting on Thursday to contain a recent COVID-19 outbreak, the city government said on Thursday.

* India's daily COVID-19 caseload increased to 16,299 on Thursday, officials said.

* Japan logged 250,403 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a daily record high, amid concerns over a strain on the medical system due to a new wave of the pandemic.

* Russia reported 25,815 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, authorities said, the highest such figure since March 23.

* China and Britain have agreed to resume direct passenger flights between them, the British embassy in China said. The flights were suspended over fears of a new strain of the coronavirus.

* More than 200 major Alpine glaciers have disappeared in Italy since record-keeping began in 1895, Italy's environmental lobby group Legambiente said in a report released on Wednesday.

* France battled a "monster" wildfire raging for a third day near the wine-growing heartland of Bordeaux on Thursday, with no let-up in blistering temperatures likely before the weekend.

* China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Thursday activated a level-IV emergency response for drought in some provincial-level regions.

* Three bodies have been recovered and 17 others were feared killed Thursday after a boat ferrying them capsized in a river in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said. Fifteen people have been rescued from the water.

* At least two police officers and one civilian died after a day of anti-government protests in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, staff at the city's main mortuary said on Wednesday.

* Indonesia is targeting zero new cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) by the end of this year as vaccination has reached more livestock, government spokesperson for FMD handing Wiku Adisasmito said on Wednesday.

Xinhua/Reuters/VNA