Briefly

INDIA

Draupadi Murmu wins presidential election

The ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate Draupadi Murmu was chosen on Thursday as India's new president over the Opposition's candidate Yashwant Sinha, The Associated Press reported. Murmu was elected by the Indian Parliament and state legislatures in voting held on Monday, making her the first president from one of the country's tribes and the second woman to hold the position. She will be formally sworn in as the president on Monday. A teacher by profession, Murmu began her political career with today's main ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in 1997.Murmu, 64, was the first female governor of the eastern Jharkhand state from 2015 to 2021.

UNITED STATES

2 indicted over Texas migrants tragedy

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two men for the deaths of 53 migrants found in an abandoned tractor-trailer last month in San Antonio, Texas, federal prosecutors said. Homero Zamorano Jr, the 46-year-old driver of the vehicle, and Christian Martinez, 28, whose phone showed he communicated with Zamorano over the incident, were charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and other counts, the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said. The counts could result in life imprisonment or the death penalty, said the office. The incident is believed to be the deadliest human smuggling case in modern US history.

FRANKFURT

ECB lifts rates for first time in 11 years

The European Central Bank raised its interest rates for the first time since 2011 on Thursday and unveiled a new bond-buying program to keep borrowing costs in check for the eurozone's most indebted countries. The ECB raised its deposit rate by 50 basis points to zero in an effort to curb record-high inflation in the eurozone. It also raised the rate on its weekly and daily cash auctions by 50 basis points to 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent respectively, and signaled that further increases in its three rates were likely to come this year. The eurozone's central bank had not raised rates for 11 years.

Agencies - Xinhua