News in Brief

Date: 22 July 2022 - 21:37

News ID: ۱۰۴۹۶۶

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and went into isolation with mild symptoms. White House officials went all-out to show that the 79-year-old U.S. leader could power through the virus and keep working because he was vaccinated and boosted. In a navy blazer and Oxford shirt, Biden recorded a video on a White House balcony to send the message that he would be fine and the country should stay calm and carry on. He recognizes the pandemic as a national trauma that has killed more than one million Americans and alarmed millions more, and his words in the video posted to Twitter were meant to be reassuring.

***
ROME (AP) — Italy is headed for an early election after its president accepted Premier Mario Draghi’s resignation Thursday and decided there was no possibility for cobbling together another government following the rapid collapse of the ruling coalition. The demise of Draghi’s coalition in the eurozone’s third-largest economy and the uncertainty of what Italian voters will decide at the polls have dealt a destabilizing blow to the country and Europe amid rising inflation and Russia-Ukraine war.

***
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - At least 18 people died on Thursday during a major police raid in a dense warren of Rio de Janeiro slums, state military police said, in the latest bloody confrontation in Brazil’s second-largest city. Tactical teams from Rio de Janeiro’s civil and military police raided the Alemao complex to take down an alleged criminal organization. The group was suspected of involvement in cargo theft and bank robberies and was planning incursions into rival slums, the military police said in a statement. At least 18 people died in the raid: one police officer, 16 alleged criminals and a female bystander, police said. The operation involved around 400 officers, four aircraft and 10 armored vehicles.

***
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Lawmakers chose India’s first president from the country’s tribal communities on Thursday, which could boost the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party among marginalized groups ahead of the 2024 general election. Droupadi Murmu, a 64-year-old teacher turned politician, will be the second woman to hold the largely ceremonial role as head of the republic when she takes office on July 25 at the start of a five-year term. More than 4,500 state and federal lawmakers voted in the presidential election on Monday and ballots were counted on Thursday. Murmu’s victory was assured as she was backed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which dominates federal and state politics. “A daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!” Modi said on Twitter.

***
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man climbed on stage and tried to stab U.S. Congressman Lee Zeldin on Thursday as he gave a speech in his run for New York governor, the candidate and authorities said. Zeldin was unhurt and his attacker arrested. “His words as he tried to stab me a few hours ago were ‘you’re done’,” the Republican politician tweeted, thanking attendees including fellow politician Alison Esposito for help. “I’m ok ... fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him.” Monroe County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as David Jakubonis, 43, of Fairport. The motive was unclear. Video footage posted on social media by witnesses showed a man wearing a black baseball cap quickly approach Zeldin from the side of the stage at the rally in upstate New York. Zeldin pushed the suspect away before both men tumbled to the ground as several others tried to subdue the suspect.

***
PARIS (AFP) - At least nine people were killed overnight Thursday-Friday in heavy clashes between militias in the Libyan capital Tripoli, emergency services said. Updating an earlier toll, emergency services told Al-Ahrar television a child was among the nine dead and that 25 other people -- including civilians -- were wounded, several of them seriously. Tensions have been rising for months as two prime ministers vie for power in the North African country, raising fears of renewed conflict two years after a landmark truce ended a ruinous attempt by eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar to seize Tripoli by force.