World

Brussels, Sep 17 (IANS) Belgian government has adopted a new package of energy measures to help households and businesses cope with soaring energy prices.

Thanks to the new measures, the electricity and gas bills of households will be lowered by 400 euros ($400) in November and December. The deduction will be 135 euros for gas, and 61 euros for electricity bills per month, which will be deducted from the deposit invoices at the end of the year.

For households heating with oil, the earlier benefit of 225 euros, introduced on August 31, has been increased to 300 euros, Xinhua news agency reported.

The government has laid out a series of measures for businesses and the self-employed. These include allowing companies to defer the payment of social security contributions and tax, introducing temporary "energy" unemployment support, and a moratorium on bankruptcies.

All the measures announced on August 31, including a 6-per cent VAT reduction on gas and electricity, the reduction of excise duties on fuel, and the extension of the target group eligible for subsidised "social" tariffs and fuel oil vouchers, will also be effective until the end of March 2023.

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United Nations, Sep 17 (IANS) The General Assembly has adopted a decision to exclusively allow the Ukrainian head of state to submit a pre-recorded speech to the General Debate next week, instead of physical presence.

Representatives of all other member states and observers will have to be physically present at the General Assembly Hall if they wish to make a statement at this year's General Debate.

The decision on Friday said that Ukraine may submit a pre-recorded statement of its head of state, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall at the General Debate. The President of the General Assembly will circulate the pre-recorded statement as a document of the Assembly.

The decision says it will not set a precedent for future General Debates and mandated high-level meetings planned for future high-level weeks of the General Assembly, Xinhua news agency reported.

The draft resolution, tabled by Ukraine and some 50 other states, was adopted with 101 votes in favuor, 7 against and 19 abstentions.

Belarus tabled an amendment to the draft decision, which would have allowed leaders of other member states who cannot participate in person for reasons beyond their control to speak by pre-recorded statements. The amendment was rejected by the General Assembly in a vote.

Before and after the vote on the draft decision tabled by Ukraine, several member states voiced concern that such a decision would jeopardise sovereign equality among member states and politicise a procedural issue of the General Assembly.

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Beirut, Sep 17 (IANS) Lebanese banks will close for three days starting from Monday amid mounting security concerns, local media reported.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced the closure after angry depositors across the country stormed banks on Friday demanding their savings, according to al-Jadeed TV channel.

More than five banks on Friday were broken into and raided by depositors, some of whom wielded pistols and brought fuel jerricans threatening to commit arson, Xinhua news agency reported.

The incidents prompted Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to call for an emergency meeting of security forces to discuss measures that could be taken.

The wave of raids comes a month after a Lebanese judge ordered the release of Bassam Al Sheikh Hussein, who took hostage at the Federal Bank of Lebanon demanding $35,000 of his savings to pay hospital bills, the National News Agency reported.

Lebanon has been witnessing an unprecedented financial crisis that plunged a big part of the population into poverty and forced banks to place heavy restrictions on depositors' withdrawals.

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he is aware of India's concerns over his country's conflict with Ukraine, and wanted the war to end.

During the bilateral meeting between both the leaders on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Samarkand, Putin was quoted on Friday as saying, "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine, and I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible. We will keep you abreast of what is happening there."

The Russian President said this after Modi told him that "today's time is not the time for war".

This was the first face-to-face meeting between Modi and Putin after Russia had attacked Ukraine in February this year.

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New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, discussions between the two leaders, apart from centering around issues pertaining to bilateral cooperation, also focussed on energy security, global food security and availability of fertilisers in the context of the challenges emanating from the current geo-political situation.

The meeting between Modi and Putin assumes significance in the context of Russian crude forming a significant 13 per cent share of India's overall oil import basket, amid increased supplies from there.

Meanwhile, the statement further said that the leaders appreciated the sustained momentum in bilateral ties, including contacts at various levels.

"President Putin expressed appreciation for Prime Minister's video-message at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok earlier this month," the statement said.

In the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi reiterated his call for an early cessation of hostilities and the need for dialogue and diplomacy.

This was the first meeting of both leaders this year, which marks the 75th anniversary year of establishment of diplomatic relations. They agreed to remain in touch, the statement said.

--IANS
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By Ashe O
Washington, Sep 16 (IANS) US President Joe Biden's administration has accelerated the vaccine programme to immunise more Americans in a major effort not to lose the momentum gained in the declining trend in Covid-19 infection outbreak in many parts of the country, ahead of the onset of autumn and winter.


The Biden administration is pushing updated coronavirus booster shots that target the Omicron variants as a way to blunt the expected surges in the winter when most people will stay indoors.

"This week marks an important shift in our fight against the virus," White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said as the shots rolled out last week. "It marks our ability to make Covid vaccines a more routine part of our lives as we continue to drive down serious illness and deaths and protect Americans heading into the fall and winter."

The shots target Omicron sub variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are responsible for virtually all new infections in the US. BA.5 has plateaued in the US, maintaining a rate of about 88 per cent of coronavirus cases over the past month. It's believed to be the most transmissible strain yet.

"As 99 per cent of circulating viruses in the United States are BA.5 or BA.4, updating our Covid-19 vaccines to match the circulating variants helps us to better be protected against these variants and future variants that might be closely related to Omicron," Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), told the press.

Meanwhile, the majority of the population should still be wearing a mask while inside public spaces or considering the measure based on their risk for severe Covid-19, the CDC warned in a bulletin.

Nearly 53 per cent of the population lives in an area with a medium or high Covid-19 community level, according to CDC data. According to the agency, people living in those areas should consider taking additional mitigation measures to protect themselves and others, like masking. The percentage has been on the decline for weeks as coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalization fall, the CDC reported.

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Samarkand, Sep 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the SCO Summit has pushed for full right to transit within the member countries.

In his address in Hindi, the Prime Minister said: "The pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine caused many obstacles in global supply chains, due to which the whole world is facing an unprecedented energy and food crisis. SCO must make efforts to develop reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains in our region. This will require better connectivity, as well as it will be important that we all give each other full right to transit."

He said that the role of SCO becomes very important as SCO member countries contribute about 30 per cent of global GDP, and 40 per cent of the world's population also lives in SCO countries. India supports greater cooperation and mutual trust among SCO members.

He also said that India's economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent this year, which will be the highest among the world's largest economies. A lot of focus is also being given on the proper use of technology in our people-centric development model. We are supporting innovation in every sector.

Today, there are more than 70,000 Start-ups in India, of which more than 100 are unicorns.

"Our experience can also be useful for many other SCO members. For this purpose, we are ready to share our experience with SCO member countries by establishing a new Special Working Group on Start-ups and Innovation," he added.

The PM asserted that India is today one of the most affordable destinations for medical and wellness tourism in the world. WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine was inaugurated in Gujarat in April 2022. This will be WHO's first and only global centre for traditional medicine.


"We must increase cooperation on traditional medicine among SCO countries. For this, India will take the initiative for a new SCO Working Group on Traditional Medicine," he added.

--IANS
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Beijing, Sep 16 (IANS) Typhoon Muifa, the 12th of this season, made a fourth landfall in China on Friday, bringing with it strong winds and rain.

The typhoon made two landfalls on Friday -- in the coastal city of Dalian in Liaoning province at around 12.40 p.m. and at 12 a.m. Friday in Qingdao, Shandong province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The typhoon made its first landfall on the coast of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province on Wednesday night, and the second was in Shanghai's Fengxian district the following day.

The typhoon packed winds of up to 82.8 km per hour near its centew and had a minimum atmospheric pressure of 990 hectopascals at its centre when it landed in Dalian.

Dalian's flood control and drought relief headquarters upgraded the emergency response from Level III to Level II, the second-highest, on Thursday afternoon.

Muifa is expected to become an extratropical cyclone on Friday after entering the Bohai Sea.

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Jakarta, Sep 16 (IANS) Higher costs are expected to hit Indonesia's tourism sector after the government raised the price of subsidised fuel by about 30 per cent earlier this month.

Tourism operators in the archipelago are now racking their brains under the circumstances.

I Gede Nyoman Sangka, who runs his own travel agency on the resort island of Bali for more than five years, is currently working to improve the operational efficiency of his business.

"Just like any businesses out there, we are also being put in difficult situations after the hiked fuel prices," he told Xinhua news agency.

The fuel price hike came shortly after the rising inflation.

Indonesia's inflation at the end of August reached 4.6 per cent year on year, slightly lower than the previous month's 4.9 per cent, and both figures exceeded the central bank's target range from around 2 to 4 per cent.

In a meeting with provincial government heads this week, President Joko Widodo asked them to allocate 2 per cent of their budget to controlling transportation costs and suppressing inflation, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and informal workers.

Bali, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations, is still striving to revive its tourism sector impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past more than two years.

The government has expressed its optimism about achieving an overall target of 3.6 million foreign visitor arrivals this year, although the Southeast Asian country is still grappling with other problems, such as the outbreak of foot and mouth disease among animals and the menace of monkeypox to public health.

Sangka expressed hope that authorities would design a special policy to help boost tourism in Bali.

"Tickets to fly to Bali should be subsidized. Cheaper tickets will bring more visitors and increase the hotel occupancy rate. This is important," he said, adding that the authorities should also temporarily suspend the hotel and restaurant taxes.

Meanwhile, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has said that it is preparing strategies to manage the significant impact of the rising fuel prices on the tourism and creative economy sectors.

Earlier this week, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said his ministry will provide technical guidelines and assistance particularly for small and medium-sized tourism businesses to manage operating costs in more effective ways.

It will also manage special interest tourism activities which have the potential to reduce fuel consumption directly or indirectly, and encourage businesses in the tourism and creative economy sectors to start transitioning to renewable energy.

According to the Minister, the number of visitors from middle-income groups and the upper class to tourist destinations in Indonesia is currently increasing.

"Tourism has become a basic need. It's for healing. A need for refreshment is sometimes needed," Uno said.

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Washington, Sep 16 (IANS) Initial jobless claims in the US have dropped for the fifth straight week to reach 213,000 amid continued labour market tightness, the Labour Department reported.

In the week ending September 10, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased by 5,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised level of 218,000, according to a report released on Thursday by the Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).

The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims, a method to iron out data volatility, also decreased by 8,000 to 224,000, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

The latest report also showed that the number of people continuing to collect regular state unemployment benefits, which was reported with a one-week lag, increased by 2,000 to 1.4 million during the week ending September 3.

The latest weekly figure of 213,000 was below the 2019 weekly average of 218,000, which was the pre-pandemic level.

In the week ending March 21, 2020, initial jobless claims skyrocketed to 2.9 million.

Jobless claims totalled 166,000 in the week ending March 19 this year, the lowest in decades. In recent months, the figures have been trending up amid surging inflation and rising interest rates.

The latest figure, however, showed that applications for unemployment insurance fell for a fifth week, signaling still robust demand for labour even as economic growth slows.

The number of job openings in the US rose to 11.2 million by the end of July, as the imbalances between labour market supply and demand remained, the Department had reported earlier.

With the increase in job openings, there were nearly two job positions per available worker.

--IANS
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