International news brief: China's worst heatwave in 60 years, US tests long-range missile & more

Hong Kong, Aug 17: China's worst heatwave in 60 years is forcing factories to close with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in dozens of cities. China's Sichuan province has ordered all factories to shut down for six days to ease a power shortage in the region as a scorching heat wave sweeps across the country.

Sichuan is a key manufacturing location for the semiconductor and solar panel industries and the power rationing will hit factories belonging to some of the world's biggest electronics companies, including Apple (AAPL) supplier Foxconn and Intel (INTC), reported CNN. The province is also China's lithium mining hub -- a key component of electric car batteries -- and the shutdown may push up the cost of the raw material, analysts said.

Amid global tension, US Air Force tests nuclear-capable long-range missile

Washington, Aug 17: Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, rising tensions between China and Taiwan and other global issues, the US Air Force on Tuesday tested an unarmed nuclear-capable long-range missile, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command. The unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with a test re-entry vehicle, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and travelled 4,200 miles to a test range near the Marshall Islands, reported CNN. The missile, launched at 12:49 a.m. PT, was "to demonstrate the readiness of US nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear deterrent," a statement from the Air Force said.

Brazil's presidential campaign kicks off amid violence fears

Brazil's presidential election campaign officially began Tuesday with former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leading all polls against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro amid growing concern of political violence and threats to democracy.

Da Silva, whose two-term presidency ran from 2003 to 2010, has already taken to wearing a bulletproof vest for public appearances. He was scheduled to speak at an engine factory Tuesday morning, but federal police officers asked him to cancel the event due to security concerns, according to his campaign.

Instead, the leftist is launching his seventh bid for the presidency at a Volkswagen plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a manufacturing city outside Sao Paulo where he rose to fame as an union leader in the 1970s.

Bolsonaro revisited the intersection in city Juiz de Fora where he was stabbed by a mentally ill man on the campaign trail in 2018. He arrived on a motorcycle surrounded by security guards and wearing a bulletproof vest, unlike in 2018 when he plunged unprotected into the thronging crowd.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa not using state funds for expenses abroad: Sri Lankan govt

Amid the row surrounding the frequent travel of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to foreign countries since his ouster from power, the new Sri Lankan leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has come forward to clarify that the current government is not playing for the overseas stay of the former President who fled the country after violent protests. The Government Information Department said in a statement that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is not using state funds for any expenses he makes abroad, Sri Lanka's Newswire reported. "All such expenses borne by the personal funds of the former President," the Government Information Department added.

France loses up to 35 per cent of vegetable crops due to drought: Association of Producers

France loses up to 35 per cent of vegetable crops due to drought: Association of Producers ANI | Updated: Aug 17, 2022 01:03 IST Paris [France], August 17 (ANI/Sputnik): France's fruit and vegetable crops have fallen by nearly 35 per cent due to the extreme drought this summer, Jacques Rouchausse, president of the French national association of vegetable producers, Legumes de France, said on Tuesday. "We have losses on the yields. For the moment, we estimate that these losses are between 25 per cent and 35 per cent. We have to stress that if we want food sovereignty, if we want food security, we really have to find ways to continue producing on our territory," Rouchausse said on air of Radio Franceinfo. According to Rouchausse, the main prerequisite for food security in France is to review the current restrictions on the use of water.

China's youth jobless rate hits a record high of 19.9 pc

Youth jobless rate in China has hit a record high of 19.9 percent, media reports said citing the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Chinese local media portal Global Times while citing the Ministry of Education noted that the number of college graduates in 2022 is expected to reach 10.76 million, exceeding 10 million for the first time, which is 1.67 million more than 2021. The surveyed urban unemployment in July was 5.4 percent, down 0.1 percentage points compared with the previous month, Fu Linghui, a spokesperson from the NBS, said during a press conference. Meanwhile, Urban unemployment stood at 6.1 percent in April, followed by 5.9 percent in May, and 5.5 percent in June.

India flags concerns of Yuang Wang docking in Lanka, says it gives Chinese navy a comfort zone
Sri Lanka gave into immense pressure from China and allowed a surveillance vessel to dock at the Hambantota port. India has expressed concern over the development as it worries about the presence of more naval presence in the regional waters by the Chinese.

Under pressure Sri Lanka reversed a decision to defer the visit to Hambantota by the Yuan Wang 5 which docked at the southern port on Tuesday morning. India and the United States both conveyed concerns to Sri Lanka about the docking of the vessel used by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to track satellites and ballistic missiles.

A Hindustan Times report quoting Navy officials said that the Indian Navy keeps a close watch on extra-regional activity in the Indian Ocean region, especially the movement and presence of Chinese vessels such as the Yuang Wang 5.

India had conveyed its concerns to Sri Lanka long before the vessel had entered regional waters. The report also said that more than the military or strategic capabilities of the vessel it is the overall comfort level of the Chinese navy in operating in these waters.