Argentina Reaches Agreement with IMF to Refinance $40 bn Debt
Argentina reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to refinance more than USD 40 billion in debt.
Since 2020, Argentina has been in an arduous negotiation with the IMF to refinance the debt contracted in 2018 during the government of conservative Mauricio Macri in the midst of a currency crisis.
Argentina had spent three years trying to renegotiate repayment terms with the IMF and considered a deal vital to stabilising an economy whose lengthy crisis has been hit as well by the pandemic.
World's Largest Canal Lock Unveiled in Netherlands
The world's largest canal lock was inaugurated at Ijmuiden, a small port city, in the Port of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The sea lock was inaugurated by Dutch King Willen-Alexander. The Ijmuiden sea lock is 500-meter (1,640-feet) long and 70-meter wide. Construction on the massive infrastructure project began in 2016 and was meant to be done by 2019. It also went over the initially planned budget by around €300 million ($338 million).
The Ijmuiden lock was designed to allow large, modern cargo ships to reach the port of Amsterdam. The structure is also deep enough that ships will no longer have to wait for a favourable water level to enter the canal. With almost nine meters above the sea leave, the structure is also a defence against the threat of flooding.
Jan 28, 2022
Xiomara Castro: Honduras' First Female President Sworn In
Xiomara Castro was sworn in as Honduras' first female President, amid a political crisis that threatens her plans for the impoverished nation.
She took the lead of a broken" country - but vowed to pursue social justice and transparency.
Ms. Casto promised to tackle powerful drug trafficking gangs and liberalise strict abortion laws.
But her agenda was undermined by a feud in her Libre (Free) Party.
Ms. Castro's husband, Manuel Zelaya, ruled the country from 2006 until 2009, when he was ousted by a coup. She ran for office twice in the years following his removal from power, before her victory in the election in November 2021.
Jan 27, 2022
Iran Signals Willingness to Engage Directly with US on Deal
As per reports, Iran signaled a willingness to engage directly with the United States in ongoing discussions over the nuclear deal with world powers if it is necessary to reach a good agreement.
In 2018, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, banned any negotiations with the U.S. saying negotiations with the U.S. would harm Iran.
Earlier this month Khamenei indirectly gave the green light to the Iranian negotiation team to talk with the U.S. and said that negotiating and interacting with the enemy does not mean surrender.
Iran and world powers have begun another round of nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria aimed at salvaging the tattered 2015 nuclear deal. The meetings include all the deal's remaining signatories Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
Italy's Third President Vote Fails
Italy's lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state for a third day, with no consensus candidate emerging to replace outgoing President Sergio Mattarella.
The race for the prestigious, seven-year role is wide open and on paper neither the centre-right nor the centre-left bloc have enough votes to ram through their candidate, meaning some sort of compromise deal will probably be needed.
A fourth round of voting may prove less predictable because the threshold required for election is considerably lower.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi remains in the frame but worries that his promotion to president might cause his coalition government to disintegrate and trigger an early parliamentary election have clouded his prospects.
Pakistan Slips Further on Corruption Perceptions Index
Pakistan dropped 16 spots on the global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021 and was ranked 140th out of 180 countries, according to Transparency International report released in January 2022.
The report released by the Berlin-based non-profit organisation formed to combat global corruption said that corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide, with 86 per cent of countries making little to no progress in the last 10 years.
In its 2021 edition, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives.
In 2020, Pakistan's CPI was 31 and it was ranked 124 out of 180 countries.
According to the report, the top-performing countries are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand — all having a corruption perceptions score of 88 — followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden, all of them scoring 85.
In contrast, the worst-performing countries were South Sudan with a corruption perceptions score of 11, followed by Syria (13), Somalia (13), Venezuela (14) and Afghanistan (16).
Jan 25, 2022
Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Calls for Three-tier Elections within a Year
Nepal will hold three-tier elections within a year, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba announced, urging the country's electoral body to start preparing for the polls.
Addressing the nation for the first time after he assumed the top executive post six months ago, Deuba said that the tasks performed by the coalition government within a short period had created a strong foundation for political stability, good governance and prosperity for the country.
The tenure of the existing Parliament, as well as local bodies and provinces, is expiring by next year.
Jan 24, 2022
Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Calls for Three-tier Elections within a Year
Nepal will hold three-tier elections within a year, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba announced, urging the country's electoral body to start preparing for the polls.
Addressing the nation for the first time after he assumed the top executive post six months ago, Deuba said that the tasks performed by the coalition government within a short period had created a strong foundation for political stability, good governance and prosperity for the country.
The tenure of the existing Parliament, as well as local bodies and provinces, is expiring by next year.
World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting Rescheduled to May 22-26
The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced that it will hold its 2022 annual meeting from May 22 to 26 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
"Under the theme, 'Working Together, Restoring Trust', the Annual Meeting 2022 will be the first global in-person leadership event since the start of the pandemic," the WEF said in a statement published on its website.
The meeting will offer world leaders an opportunity to take stock of the state of the world and shape partnerships and policies for the crucial period ahead.
Topics on the agenda will include the pandemic recovery, tackling climate change, building a better future for work, accelerating stakeholder capitalism, and harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Justice Ayesha Malik Becomes First Woman Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan
Pakistan President Arif Alvi gave his approval to the elevation of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha Malik as the country's first-ever woman judge of the Supreme Court, a watershed moment in the judicial history of the conservative Muslim country.
The historic development came just two days after the bipartisan Parliamentary Committee on the Appointment of Superior Judiciary approved the 55-year-old justice's nomination as the Supreme Court judge. The nomination was sent by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) earlier this month.
Justice Malik was appointed as a judge of the Lahore High Court in March 2012.
Barbados PM Mia Mottley Sworn in after 2nd Consecutive Elections
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley was sworn in for a second term after her party appeared to have swept every legislative seat in the first elections the island nation held as a republic since casting off the British monarchy.
Mottley's Barbados Labor Party seemed to have secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, the lower house of the island's Parliament, giving the island's first female leader a second term as prime minister. A majority of 16 seats was required for a win.
Mottley had achieved the same sweep when her party won elections in 2018.
Armenia's President Resigns
The President of Armenia announced his resignation, complaining that his office is not granted sufficient powers to allow him to be an effective head of state.
Armen Sarkissian was chosen as President by the national parliament in 2018 as Armenia was transitioning from a presidential system of government to a parliamentary one. He was recommended for the job by outgoing President Serzh Sargsyan.
+91-85588-96644
