Author: Starvision News Desk

Manila, July 5 (IANS) Year-on-year inflation in the Philippines slowed further to 5.4 per cent in June 2023 from 6.1 per cent in May due to lower food and transport costs, authorities said on Wednesday.Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed the average inflation rate from January to June this year stood at 7.2 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency. The inflation rate in June 2022 was higher at 6.1 per cent.”This is the fifth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 13 months,” PSA head Dennis Mapa told a news conference.Mapa added the…

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Moscow, July 5 (IANS) Russia’s economy is steadily recovering from the impact of sanctions and other challenges with a GDP growth of 0.6 per cent in the first five months of this year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Mishustin said the Russia’s economy grew by 5.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, and is expected to grow by more than 2 per cent this year if there were no unforeseen circumstances, reports Xinhua news agency.Putin pointed out that the IMF’s forecast for Russia economic growth was 0.7 per cent this year, compared…

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Madrid, July 5 (IANS) Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a royal decree ending the compulsory use of face masks in health centers, hospitals, socio-health facilties and pharmacies.Masks were made mandatory in 2020 in the country with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.Minister of Health Jose Minones confirmed at a press conference that the rule will come into force when it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on Wednesday.From then on, it will only be recommended to wear the masks in health centers, socio-health facilities and pharmacies.”Today we close an episode caused by the…

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Beijing, July 5 (IANS) At least 15 people have died and four others remain unaccounted for after torrential rain lashed China’s Chongqing city, local authorities said.The heavy rain, mainly seen in the areas along the Yangtze River, have triggered floods and geological disasters, disrupting the lives of more than 130,000 people in 19 districts and counties, according to the municipal bureau of emergency management.Over 7,500 hectares of crops have been damaged, Xinhua news agency quoted the bureau as saying.The city’s emergency response headquarters office has raised the relief response to Level III, allocating more than 29,000 items of disaster relief…

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St. Petersburg, July 5 (IANS) Tourists visiting St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, will be required to pay a resort fee in 2024, the local government announced.According to a decree signed recently by Governor Alexander Beglov, a pilot resort fee system will be introduced in St. Petersburg’s hotels from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, reports Xinhua news agency. The rate will be set at 0 rubles for the initial phase until April 1, 2024, and from this time on, each tourist will be charged 100 rubbles ($1.1) per day.No resort fee will be charged on the day of…

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Colombo, July 5 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said the government provided a 55 per cent relief in electricity prices to 3.5 million out of a total of 6 million consumers in June.The Minister told the media that significant progress has been achieved in eliminating fuel queues and ensuring continuous electricity supply after Sri Lanka saw massive power cuts in the past year amid the worst-ever economic crisis, reports Xinhua news agency.Wijesekera said a favourable environment for initiating new renewable electricity projects has been created.Regarding fuel supply, the minister said that the first fuel shipment…

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Islamabad, July 5 (IANS) The Pakistan government has announced holding nationwide protests on Friday against the recent incident of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.The act of the public burning of a copy of the holy book in Stockholm on the occasion of Eid ul Adha sparked worldwide protests and outrage, Geo News reported.A man set a copy of the sacred book ablaze outside a mosque in the Swedish capital.Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to stage the protests over the incident and appealed to all the political parties and the nation to partake…

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Dhaka, July 5 (IANS) Bangladesh reported 678 dengue cases in the last 24 hours — the highest single-day spike so far this year, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.Also in the same period, five people died due to the mosquito-borne disease, the highest number since January, which raised the official dengue death toll to 61 this year, reports Xinhua news agency.According to figures released by the DGHS under the Ministry of Health, 429 people were diagnosed with dengue in the capital city of Dhaka alone on Tuesday.With the fresh infections, the total number of dengue cases has surged…

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Islamabad, July 5 (IANS) The Pakistani rupee (PKR) has gained significant strength against the US dollar following the country’s staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) .In the interbank market on Tuesday, the greenback was traded at 275.44 PKR, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.The US dollar closed at 285.99 PKR on June 27, and it went down on Tuesday after the local currency appreciated by 10.55 PKR or about 3.83 per cent against the greenback, Xinhua news agency reported citing official figures.This is the highest day-on-day recovery after May 12 this year when the local currency appreciated…

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Moscow, July 5 (IANS) Yelena Milashina, a prominent Russian investigative journalist, was badly beaten up by a group of masked men shortly after her arrival in Chechnya to attend the trial of a human rights activistAccompanied by lawyer Alexander Nemov, Milashina, a reporter for the independent Moscow tri-weekly Novaya Gazeta, came under attack on Tuesday while they were heading from the Grozny airport to the court to attend the hearing for Zarema Musaeva — the mother of three exiled critics of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.In a recorded video interview with Novaya Gazeta, the reporter said her attackers “knew what they…

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