Israel to Bolster Ties with Palestinian Authority Despite no Peace Deal
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel will strengthen its ties with the Palestinian Authority despite no intention to negotiate a peace deal with it.
The remarks were made at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in response to a no-confidence motion over Gantz's meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in recent months.
David Attenborough, WHO, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya among Nominees for Nobel Peace Prize
British nature broadcaster David Attenborough, the World Health Organization and Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya are among the nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize after being backed by Norwegian lawmakers who have a track record of picking the winner.
Also among the candidates for the accolade were Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis, the Myanmar National Unity Government formed by opponents of last year's coup and Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe.
Norwegian lawmakers have nominated an eventual Peace laureate every year since 2014 - with the exception of 2019 - including one of the two laureates last year, Maria Ressa.
Feb 01, 2022
Sri Lanka's Inflation Rate Accelerates to Asia's Fastest
Sri Lanka's inflation rate surged past Pakistan to make it the fastest in Asia, stoked by failed harvests, import restrictions to conserve dwindling foreign-exchange reserves, and high global prices of key commodities.
Consumer prices rose 14.2 per cent in January from a year earlier, faster than the median estimate of 13.2 per cent in a Bloomberg survey. The average annual inflation rate rose to 6.9 per cent.
Jan 31, 2022
Which Country has the Most Islands?
Various countries around the world can boast of having the most of something. The most lakes is an accolade belonging to Canada — it has around 879,000 — while the country with the most trees is Russia, where around 45% of the landmass is considered forest.
But when it comes to the number of islands, which country tops the list?
The winner, by quite some margin, is Sweden. This Northern European nation is home to a whopping 221,800 mostly uninhabited islands, according to Statista, a German company that provides statistics.
Finland, the runner-up, has an estimated 188,000 islands, while Norway, which rounds out the top three, is a long way behind, with around 55,000.
Sergio Mattarella Re-elected as Italy's President
Italian President Sergio Mattarella was elected to a second term, Lower House Speaker Roberto Fico announced, after the parliament gathered in a joint session and concluded its eighth round of voting.
Mattarella was reconfirmed with a broad majority, namely 759 votes in favor from a total of 983 lawmakers and regional representatives actively taking part in the ballot.
Mattarella's candidacy emerged prominently at the end of a tense week in which the two major political blocs, the center-left and the center-right, failed to agree on a different common candidature.
Portugal PM Antonio Costa Re-elected With Absolute Majority
Portugal's ruling centre-left Socialists won an outright parliamentary majority in a snap general election, securing a strong new mandate for the Prime Minister, Antonio Costa.
The result, boosted by a higher than expected turnout despite the coronavirus pandemic, came as a surprise after the Socialists had lost most of their advantage in recent opinion polls.
The Socialists received 41.7 percent of the vote giving it 117 seats in the 230-seat parliament, up from 108 in the outgoing assembly.
Pakistan's Upper House of Parliament Passes Law for Central Bank's Autonomy
Pakistan's upper house of parliament put the seal on a law backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give the central bank more independence in decision-making.
The new legislation, passed by 43-42 votes and with immediate effect, was among the most important of conditions by the IMF for revival of a stalled $6 billion funding. The lower house had earlier this month also passed the law.
The bill gives the bank independent powers to control price stability and monetary policy, plus guaranteed tenure for its governor.
It also stops the government borrowing from the bank.
Kazakh President Tokayev Takes over as Ruling Party Leader
Kazakhstan's ruling Nur Otan party elected President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as its chairman, finalising the transfer of political power from his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Nazarbayev, who resigned in 2019, had retained sweeping powers until this month as the chairman of the Security Council and the head of Nur Otan, which dominates parliament. Tokayev took over the Security Council position at the peak of violent unrest in January.
Jan 30, 2022
Amid Pressure, Lanka to Amend Anti-terror Law
Sri Lanka will amend a controversial anti-terror law that gives police sweeping powers to arrest suspects without trial to fully align it with international standards, amid mounting pressure from the EU and the UN Human Rights Council.
The government issued a gazette notification, saying the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) would be amended. Enacted in 1979, the PTA allows authorities to make warrantless arrests and searches if a person is suspected of involvement in a "terrorist activity". The move comes ahead of the March session of the UNHRC in Geneva, where Sri Lanka's rights and progress accountability has come under review. The Bill proposes a number of amendments and ensures the suspects are allowed to approach the Supreme Court on grounds of violation of their fundamental rights and seek relief, officials said. It proposes to allow for legal access to the person in custody and also permits relatives to communicate with the detainee.
Jan 29, 2022
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.
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