WORLD NEWS May 20: Leisure tourism recovers to pre-COVID-19 levels

Domestic tourists at Da Nang beach in April 2022 – Photo: TON LUC

* According to Bloomberg news, US consumers are spending less money on goods and more on experiences – a trend that could help undo supply bottlenecks, reduce inflationary pressures, and at the same time, spend more money on experiences. tourism recovery this summer.

A report by the Mastercard Institute of Economics shows that, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak halted all travel globally, leisure travel has recovered back to pre-pandemic levels. . People feel more comfortable traveling long distances, despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases and an average 18% increase in airfare globally since the start of this year.

If bookings continue at their current rate, the number of global air travelers in 2022 will increase by 1.5 billion compared to last year, the report said. of which Europe recorded the largest increase, about 550 million visitors.

In April, the number of short and medium-haul flights increased by 25% and 27% respectively compared to April 2021. Long-haul flights, which were down 75% from pre-pandemic levels earlier this year, rebounded sharply in late April, down just 7% from pre-pandemic levels.

* The United Nations (UN) urges Russia and Ukraine to continue to develop channels of communication and cooperation, which have facilitated the evacuation of civilians and wounded soldiers from Mariupol, in order to resume talks. Peace talks have been suspended.

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent at the United Nations, in a speech on May 19, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said operations to evacuate people and then soldiers from the steel plant. Azovstal in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has set the stage for broader negotiations to end the conflict in the country. He said that the evacuation operations could not take place without the coordination of the Russian Federation and the Ukrainian authorities.

* According to Radio Al Jazeera, The US Senate has approved a $40 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine and its allies. In addition, the US also announced a shipment of military equipment worth $ 100 million for Ukraine, including 18 howitzers and anti-aircraft radar systems. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the equipment will soon reach Ukrainian forces.

The US sends more military equipment to Ukraine – Photo: AP

* Speaking at the Food Security Conference at the United Nations on May 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of using food as a weapon in Ukraine.

The United Nations has also warned of a global food shortage due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that could last for years.

Earlier, Tass news agency quoted Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, as saying that the unwise actions of the West were the cause of the global food crisis.

* Reuters news agency quoted an informed source as saying Five foreign vice-presidents of Russia’s Rosneft oil corporation have submitted their resignationsbecause of European Union (EU) sanctions banning European citizens or Russian citizens living in Europe from working for this Russian oil company.

* May 19, US President Joe Biden met the leaders of Finland and Sweden at the White House to express the strong support of the United States for the application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of these two countries, the newspaper Guardian news.

Mr. Biden said his administration is submitting papers to Congress to expedite approval once other NATO members give the two Nordic countries the green light.

Meanwhile, Turkey opposes Helsinki and Stockholm joining the military alliance. Finland and Sweden need the approval of all 30 current NATO members to enter the military bloc.

US President Joe Biden (centre) receives Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (right) and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the White House on May 19 – Photo: REUTERS

* The Advisory Board of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted in favor of booster shots for children 5-11 years old, at least 5 months after they have completed 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. originally, according to the magazine US News. Previously, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this booster nose.

* On May 19, Bloomberg News quoted an informed source as saying Canada is about to announce a ban on the use of 5G equipment from Huawei and ZTE (China)joins a similar ban with the rest of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

The decision, much expected, was delayed by Ottawa amid diplomatic tensions with Beijing. The rest of the Five Eyes are the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand which have banned Huawei’s 5G equipment.

* More European countries have detected cases of monkeypox. On May 19, France, Italy, and Sweden all reported their first cases of monkeypox, according to Reuters news agency. These are the latest in a series of European and North American countries to detect cases of the disease circulating in many parts of Africa.

On the same day, the city of Montreal (Canada) announced that it was investigating 17 suspected cases of monkeypox. A day earlier, Massachusetts (USA) also reported a case of this disease.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) said it expected early next week to publish its first report assessing the risk. With the situation closely monitoring, the ECDC recommends “timely notify, isolate and test suspected cases”. There is currently no vaccine for monkeypox, but UK health officials say the smallpox vaccine is still effective.

Many countries in Europe and America have recorded cases of monkeypox – Photo: AP

* May 19, The European Council (EC) and the European Parliament (EP) have reached an interim agreement on gas storage legislation, according to VNA. The law aims to ensure that gas reserves in the EU are filled before winter and can be shared among member states in a spirit of solidarity.

Accordingly, underground gas storage in EU member states must be at least 80% full by winter 2022 and 2023, and 90% before 2024 and 2025.

The EU will work together to achieve the filling of 85% of the capacity of underground gas storages in the bloc by 2022. The gas filling obligation will be capped at 35% of the annual gas consumption of countries. member states over the past five years to avoid disproportionate effects on some of the large hoarding member states.

The interim agreement also stipulates that member states can partially meet the 90% capacity target by tallying stocks of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or alternative fuels.