#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017735

More than 40 people have been reported unaccounted for by loved ones after floodwaters swept a riverfront Appalachian community in southwestern Virginia on Wednesday, triggered by heavy rains in the area, local authorities said.

As many as 18 search-and-rescue teams, including swift-water rescue crews, were dispatched to the area in and around Whitewood, Virginia, early in the day, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Eric Breeding told reporters.

Well over 100 houses in the area have been damaged, and many roads and bridges had been washed out by mudslides and high water, a Virginia state emergency management official told the same news briefing, carried by local television station WCYB, based in Bristol, Virginia.

Breeding said there were no confirmed fatalities or serious injuries so far, and that the 44 people listed as unaccounted reflected the number of individuals whose loved ones have reported their whereabouts as unknown after floods struck.

They were not considered “missing” as yet, since many were likely to have been merely left unreachable because of telephone and electricity service disruptions in the region.

Still, Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency in southwestern Virginia in order to hasten disaster assistance to the flood-stricken area.

The downpours blamed for the flooding were part of a larger storm system that struck the mid-Atlantic region Tuesday night and early Wednesday, with showers continuing into the morning hours.

“Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Buchanan County, along with power outages, impacts to roads and other infrastructure and significant resource and operational challenges,” Youngkin said in his declaration.

Whitewood, an unincorporated Appalachian community of about 500 people, is located along the Dismal River in Buchanan County near the border of both West Virginia and Kentucky.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017711

Japan’s government is concerned about the yen’s recent sharp falls and will monitor the currency market with even more sense of urgency while working closely with the Bank of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Thursday.

“We are concerned by the yen’s recent sharp falls in the foreign exchange market recently,” Japan’s top government spokesperson Matsuno said, reiterating comments from a number of top policymakers in recent months. He did not comment on currency interventions.

At a regular news conference, Matsuno also said Japan would keep monitoring the impact of inflation trends and monetary policy changes in the United States on the Japanese and global economy.

Matsuno was answering a reporter’s question about the yen’s decline on Thursday morning to 138 yen per U.S. dollar levels for the first time since September 1998, after U.S. annual consumer prices posted the largest increase in more than four decades, raising fears the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates even more aggressively than previously expected.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017710

Talks between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and U.N. officials on resuming Black Sea exports of Ukraine grain resulted in an agreement to form a coordination centre in order to ensure the safety of routes, the Turkish defence minister said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said an agreement would be signed next week when all parties meet again, adding the parties had agreed on joint controls for checking grains at harbours.

Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish military delegations met with U.N. officials in Istanbul on Wednesday for talks on resuming exports of Ukrainian grain from the major Black Sea port of Odesa as a global food crisis worsens.

More than 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain are stuck in silos in Odesa and dozens of ships have been stranded due to Russia’s blockade, part of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine but which Kyiv and the West say is an unjustified war of aggression.

The talks, in Istanbul between Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and U.N. officials, took place behind closed doors at an undisclosed location.

Ukraine’s president also said in a video message on Wednesday that there was “progress” on an agreement to resume grain exports blocked by Russia.

It raised hopes of an end to a standoff that has exposed millions to the risk of starvation.

“We are indeed putting a significant effort into resuming the supply of food to the world market. And I am grateful to the United Nations and Turkey for their respective efforts,” Zelenskiy said.

“The success of this story is necessary not only for our state, but without exaggeration for the whole world. If the Russian threat to navigation in the Black Sea can be removed, it will alleviate the global food crisis,” he added.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017709

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point, surprising markets with its biggest rake hike since 1998 in a bid to tame soaring inflation.

The central bank, in a regular rate decision, raised its policy rate to 2.5% from 1.5%, and said more hikes would be needed. The move was more forceful than the 75-basis point increase economists and money markets had forecast.

“An increase of this magnitude in one meeting is very unusual. It reflects very unusual economic circumstances,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said at a news conference.

“By front-loading interest rate increases now we’re trying to avoid the need for even higher interest rates down the road. Front loading tightening cycles tend to be followed by softer landings,” he added.

The move makes it the first G7 central bank to increase rates by 100 basis points in this cycle. It follows a 75-basis point rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve last month.

In its statement announcing the hike, the Bank of Canada raised its near-term inflation forecasts and made clear it expects price gains to go higher, averaging around 8% in the middle quarters of 2022. Canada’s inflation rate hit 7.7% in May, near a 40-year high.

The central bank now sees inflation averaging 7.2% this year, falling to about 3% by the end of 2023 and then back to the 2% target by the end of 2024.

“Of course, the Bank of Canada makes its decisions independently and is working very hard to counter inflation,” Canadian Prime Minister said after the rate increase was announced.

“At the same time, however, we have to highlight… how the Canadian economy has recovered and bounced back from the pandemic,” he added, citing a recovery in jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trudeau, who was speaking at an event to announce the deal to open a new electric vehicle battery plant in Ontario’s Loyalist Township, said the Canadian economy continues to face headwinds from global forces such as the disruption of supply chains and the war in Ukraine.

The Bank of Canada has been playing catch-up for months after significantly underestimating the persistence of inflation.

But the move combined with the promise of more coming could spook markets, said economists.

The policy rate is now at the nominal neutral rate – the midpoint between 2% and 3% – where monetary policy is neither stimulative nor restrictive.

The Canadian dollar CAD= was trading 0.4% higher after the news at 1.2970 to the greenback, or 77.10 U.S. cents.

The Bank of Canada noted a “sharp slowdown” in Canada’s housing market was underway, with that contraction expected to continue this year and into 2023.

Economic growth is now expected to be lower this year, with gross domestic product rising 3.5%, then slowing to 1.8% in 2023.

The slower growth is “largely due to the impact of high inflation and tighter financial conditions on consumption and household spending,” the bank said. Its baseline forecast is for a soft landing, with no recession over the next three years.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017708

The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said on Wednesday the Gulf Opec producer would continue to support global energy security as a main driver of global economic growth.

His comments, in a first televised address since becoming president in May, came ahead of a U.S.-Arab summit in neighbouring Saudi Arabia this week.

Sheikh Mohammed also said the UAE would extend a “hand of friendship” to all countries that share values of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.

His speech coincided with the start of a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to the region that includes a meeting with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday on the first leg of the trip that is expected to discuss energy supplies and regional security.

Sheik Mohammed had already wielded power behind the scenes for years as de facto ruler of the UAE, a key regional player, before becoming president following the death of his brother.

“We will also continue to consolidate our nation’s position as a reliable energy provider, and support global energy security as a fundamental driver of global economic growth and development,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The economy of the UAE, a trade and tourism hub, was “thriving and continues to grow at an impressive rate,” he said, adding that a key strategic focus was to diversify it further.

Long-standing relations between the United States and Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been strained, partly over perceived U.S. disengagement from Gulf security concerns and as Washington seeks support from the region to tame oil prices.

The Emirati leader stressed that the UAE would “not tolerate” anything that affects its security and would work to strengthen positive dialogue towards “stability and prosperity for all.”

Abu Dhabi has shifted away from a hawkish foreign policy that saw the UAE wade into conflicts from Yemen to Libya, to focus on economic priorities. This has seen the UAE forge ties with Israel and engages with Iran and Turkey after years of animosity.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017707

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates is donating $20 billion to the charitable foundation run by him and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates to boost its annual distributions.

The donation will help the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – one of the world’s largest private charitable foundations – increase its annual payout by 50% to $9 billion by 2026, he said in a post on his personal blog on Wednesday.

“The great crises of our time require all of us to do more,” Gates said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change, among others.

He added that the compounding effects of crises, which include surging inflation, had increased the need to invest more in the foundation’s core focus areas of health, education, gender equality and poverty alleviation.

The donation brings the 22-year-old organization’s endowment to about $70 billion, which includes a grant of $3.1 billion from Warren Buffett last month.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017688

Sri Lankan protesters breached the walls of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in the capital Colombo on Wednesday as the government declared a state of emergency.

Hundreds of protesters, marching right past rows of riot police, surrounded prime minister’s office at around noon, demanding his immediate resignation.

Riot police fired several rounds of tear gas as protesters climbed over the compound’s fences.

“The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (countrywide) and imposed a curfew in the western province,” Wickremesinghe’s media secretary, Dinouk Colombage, told Reuters. Western Province includes Colombo.

Protests against the economic crisis have simmered for months and came to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over key government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksas and their allies for runaway inflation, corruption and a severe lack of fuel and medicines.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday, hours before he was due to step down.

Rajapaksa has authorized the prime minister to carry out presidential duties, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday after the president fled to the Maldives amid protests.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said Rajapaksa had approved Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acting as president, invoking a section of the constitution dealing with times when the president is unable to fulfil his duties.

Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday, hours before he was due to step down after a people’s uprising over a devastating economic crisis ended his family’s grip on the island nation.

The president’s flight brings an end to the rule of the powerful Rajapaksa clan that has dominated politics in the South Asian country for the last two decades.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017665

Russia and Myanmar are to deepen their defence cooperation after a meeting in Moscow between Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, and top Russian defence officials, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement that the meeting had taken place on Monday, and that Hlaing was in Russia on a private visit.

“The meeting … confirmed the mutual disposition to consistently build up multifaceted cooperation between the military departments of the two countries,” the statement read.

Thomas Andrews, the United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar, said in February that Russia had supplied the junta with drones, two types of fighter jet, and two kinds of armoured vehicle, one with air defence systems.

Chaos has gripped Myanmar since a military coup in early 2021 ended a decade of tentative democracy, triggering protests that the junta’s troops suppressed with lethal force.

The United Nations has said its investigations show the military has committed mass killings and crimes against humanity. The junta has said it is seeking to restore peace and order.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017663

Nearly 50 chickens rescued from a suspected cockfighting ring in Chicago, Illinois, are in desperate need of new, forever homes.

These birds have been through a lot, according to the animal rights advocates who helped save them.

“Seven were in dire need of veterinary intervention due to multiple open wounds that were infected,” said Julia Magnus, attorney and animal rights advocate with Chicago Roo Crew, a small, fully-volunteer group focused on saving abused chickens. “Multiple were sick, they were all traumatized, they were all screaming. It was horrifying.”

Magnus says late-June’s cockfighting bust was the third one her group’s been a part of in Chicago alone since 2019.

“It’s (cockfighting) prevalent in spite of the fact that in the United States, in all of its territories, it’s banned,” said Magnus. “These birds are not valued as individuals with feelings, with sentience. They’re just seen as commodities for use to be tossed aside.”

Anyone interested in fostering any of the birds can reach out to Chicago Roo Crew on Facebook, Instagram or send an email to chicagoroocrew@gmail.com.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really worth it because the birds that survive those situations are amazing individuals,” said Magnus. “It’s really amazing when you work with them and you see the flipped switch in their head – that hands aren’t there to harm them, but they’re there to offer them treats. They’re there to help them, it’s pretty beautiful.”

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017661

Twitter sued Elon Musk on Tuesday for violating the $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform and asked a Delaware court to order the world’s richest person to complete the merger at the agreed $54.20 per Twitter share, according to a court filing.

“Musk apparently believes that he – unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law – is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away,” said the lawsuit.

On Friday, Musk said he was terminating the deal because Twitter violated the agreement by failing to respond to requests for information regarding fake or spam accounts on the platforms, which is fundamental to its business performance.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit accused Musk of “a long list” of violations of the merger agreement that “have cast a pall over Twitter and its business.”

Shares in the social media platform tumbled to $34.06 on Tuesday from above $50 when the deal was accepted by Twitter’s board in late April.

Musk said he was terminating the merger because of the lack of information about spam accounts and inaccurate representations that he said amounted to a “material adverse event.” He also said executive departures amounted to a failure to conduct business in the ordinary course, as Twitter was obligated to do.

Twitter said it negotiated to remove from the merger agreement language that would have made such firings a violation of ordinary course requirement.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters