Nepal Names Province 2 Bordering India as 'Madhes Pradesh'
Nepal's south-eastern Province 2 was named Madhes Pradesh with Janakpur retained as its capital, settling a long-standing debate on the region's official reference after it was made a province in 2015.
Madhes is Nepal's smallest province in terms of area but second largest in terms of population. It borders Bihar in the south and has eight districts — Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, and Siraha.
Electric Vehicle Sales Overtake Diesel Models for First Time in Europe
According to Financial Times preliminary estimates, the sale of electric vehicles (EV) in the European market has surpassed that of diesel cars for the first time ever.
Across 18 European markets – including the UK—more than a fifth of vehicles sold were electric, while diesel cars slumped to less than 19 per cent.
In December, around 176,000 battery EVs were sold in Western Europe—an all-time record high and a 6 per cent increase on December 2020 levels – while European car makers sold 160,000 diesel cars.
Indonesia Names New Capital that will Replace Jakarta
Indonesia has announced that its new capital will be called Nusantara, meaning "archipelago" in Javanese.
It came as parliament approved a bill to relocate the capital from Jakarta, which is rapidly sinking.
The idea of building a new capital 1,300 km (800 miles) away on the island of Borneo was first proposed in 2019.
But critics have said the new name could be confusing and that the move itself fails to take environmental factors into consideration.
Jakarta has become crowded, polluted and is sinking at an alarming rate due to the over-extraction of groundwater. Home to more than 10 million people, it sits on swampy land on the large island of Java.
Malta Legislator 3rd Woman EU Parliament President
Christian Democrat Roberta Metsola of Malta was elected president of the European Union's parliament, taking over for a two and a half years term following the death of Socialist David Sassoli last week.
Metsola is only the third woman elected to the post. She is the European Parliament's youngest president. Metsola was the candidate of the Parliament's biggest group, and she received 458 of the 616 votes cast.
Jan 18, 2022
World Employment and Social Outlook Report
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released its report titled "World Employment and Social Outlook". In the report, ILO projected global unemployment of 207 million in 2022.
Global unemployment will reach to 207 million in 2022. It is almost 21 million more than 2019.
Total hours worked in 2022 will be about 2% below than the pre-pandemic level.
There will be deficiency of 52 million full-time equivalent jobs in 2022.
ILO is a United Nations agency, that advances social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. It was established in October 1919, under the League of Nations. ILO is the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN. It has 187 member states. 186 are among 193 UN member states and the Cook Islands. Its headquartered is in Geneva, Switzerland as well as 40 field offices worldwide.
Credit Suisse Chairman Horta-Osorio Resigns
Credit Suisse will stick to its strategic overhaul despite the abrupt departure of its mastermind Antonio Horta-Osorio following an internal probe into his personal conduct, including breaches of Covid-19 rules.
Horta-Osorio's exit comes less than a year after he was hired to help the bank deal with the implosion of collapsed investment firm Archegos and the insolvency of British supply chain finance company Greenshill Capital, even as it was still reeling from the 2020 exit of CEO Tidjane Thiam over a spying scandal.
Jan 17, 2022
Ireland Marks 100 Years since British Handover of Power
A ceremony was held to mark 100 years since Dublin Castle, the then headquarters of the British in Ireland, was handed over to Irish authorities.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended.
In 1922, the handover took place a week after the Dáil (Irish parliament) voted to ratify the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
The treaty allowed for the creation of an independent Irish Free State within the British Empire and confirmed the partition of the island of Ireland.
President Higgins then unveiled a plaque marking the site where Dublin Castle was formally handed over by the representatives of the British government in 1922.
Jan 16, 2022
Joe Biden Nominates 3 for Fed Board, Including First Black Woman
President Joe Biden announced the nominations of three people for the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed and Treasury official, for the top regulatory slot and Lisa Cook, who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's board.
Biden also nominated Phillip Jefferson, an economist, dean of faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina and a former Fed researcher.
The three nominees, who will have to be confirmed by the Senate, would fill out the Fed's seven-member board.
Jan 14, 2022
Pakistan's New Security Policy Seeks Peace with India
Pakistan is willing to make peace with immediate neighbours, including India, under its first-ever National Security Policy which leaves doors open for trade with New Delhi even without the settlement of the Kashmir issue provided there is headway in bilateral talks, according to a media report.
The National Security Policy, separately endorsed by the National Security Committee and the Cabinet last month, was formally unveiled by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The five-year-policy document covering a period between 2022-26, is being propped up by the Pakistan government as the country's first-ever strategy paper of its kind that spells out the national security vision and guidelines for the attainment of those goals.
Old India Hand Alipov is New Russian Envoy
Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed old India hand Denis Alipov as the new envoy to India.
Nikolay Kudashev, who had been the Russian envoy to India since October 2017, has been shifted to the relatively insignificant post as ambassador to Singapore.
Alipov was the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Russian embassy in New Delhi during the tenure of Alexander Kadakin as ambassador and was till recently Acting Director of the Second Asia Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
UK, EU Resume Talks on Brexit Trade Spat
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called for Britain and the European Union to rebuild their relationship, as she and bloc's top Brexit official met for talks on a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade.
Truss and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic were meeting at Chevening House, the foreign secretary's official country retreat in southeast England.
Truss urged the EU to show a "pragmatic approach" to resolving problems that have soured the relationship since Britain left the 27-nation bloc last year.