Daily World Briefing, July 16
The SCO Tianjin summit will be held from August 31 to September 1, Wang said in Tianjin during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev.
On the same day, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired SCO member states' meeting of the council of the ministers of foreign affairs in Tianjin.
Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9 percent on a year-over-year basis in June, up from a 1.7 percent increase in May, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
Headline inflation grew at a faster pace, as gasoline prices fell to a lesser extent in June than in May, said the national statistical agency, adding that faster price growth for some durable goods, such as passenger vehicles and furniture, put upward pressure on the CPI in June.
The CPI excluding energy remained higher than the CPI in June, partly due to the removal of consumer carbon pricing in April, said the agency.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 percent in June, said Statistics Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Indonesia will pay a 19 percent tariff on all goods exported to the United States, while U.S. exports to Indonesia are to be free of tariff- and non-tariff barriers.
Trump said on Truth Social that he "finalized an important Deal with the Republic of Indonesia after speaking with their Highly Respected President Prabowo Subianto. This landmark Deal opens up Indonesia's ENTIRE MARKET to the United States for the first time in History."
As part of the agreement, Indonesia has committed to purchasing 15 billion U.S. dollars in energy and 4.5 billion dollars in agricultural products from the U.S. market, besides 50 Boeing jets, he added.
Hamas said Tuesday in a statement that one of its leaders Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.
The statement did not offer further details, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the airstrike.
This came as the Israeli military issued a new statement warning residents of several areas in Gaza City and in Jabalia, northern Gaza, to evacuate immediately to the western areas and then to the southern areas towards Al-Mawasi amid escalating military operations.
On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza. At least 7,656 Palestinians have been killed and 27,314 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 58,479, and injuries to 139,355, Gaza-based health authorities said Tuesday.
Experts from across Africa met in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday to discuss ways to improve rice production on the continent.
The day-long symposium on Improving Rice Seed Production Systems in Africa brought together agricultural experts, policymakers and researchers from across the continent to review strategies for achieving self-sufficiency in rice production.
Abdelbagi Ismail, principal scientist and regional representative for Africa at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said that Africa imports about 17 million tonnes of rice annually, as local production is insufficient to meet demand.
"Rising demand for rice as a staple food is being driven by rapid urbanization as well as shifting diets," Ismail said.
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