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.
Jan 13, 2022
US: First Coin Featuring Black Woman
Maya Angelou became the first black woman to appear on US coin. The coin was rolled out by US Mint as a part of the American Women Quarters Programme.
She is known for her speaking voice and lyrical prose. She is an African American. She died at the age of 86 in 2014.
She has produced seven autobiographies, several books of poetry, three books of essays. Her autobiographies brought her fame. Her first autobiography "I know the Caged Bird Sings" fetched international recognition.
The coin has Maya on one side and the US first President George Washington on the other side. Maya is shown along an eagle in the coin.
She has received more than 30 honorary degrees. In 1992, she read the "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration of President Clinton. In 2010, President Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2013, she won the Literarian Award.
NATO, Russia to Hold more High-level Talks Despite Tensions
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the military organisation and Russia have agreed to try to schedule more meetings, despite tensions over Moscow's military buildup near Ukraine.
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, Stoltenberg said that both parties had expressed the need to dialogue and explore a schedule of future meetings.
There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia on this issue.
He underlined that Ukraine has the right to decide its future security arrangements on its own, and that NATO would continue to leave its door open to new members.
Jan 12, 2022
UAE to Convene World Leaders to Take Climate Action
The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2022 taking place from January 15-19 will convene global leaders, including heads of state, policy makers, and international business leaders, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to take the agenda global sustainability forward and accelerate pathways to net zero.
Hosted by Masdar, ADSW 2022 will be the first major sustainability event after the COP26 climate change conference, and will act as a global catalyst for COP27, which will be held in Egypt in 2022, and COP28, which will be hosted by the UAE in 2023.
Held annually since 2008, ADSW has become one of the latest sustainability platforms in the world, with more than 45,000 people from 175 countries participating in ADSW 2020.
IMF Asks Pakistan to Renegotiate if it Wants Extension in Loan Programme
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on Pakistan to talk and renegotiate the loan programme, if it intends to get the requested three weeks extension to implement prior committed actions.
The IMF's latest demands come in the wake of a request by Pakistan to get a three weeks extension in the process of implementing prior actions it committed to implement before the sixth review meeting with the global lender.
However, the demands have not been accepted by Pakistan.
World's most Powerful Passports in 2022
London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners released the Henley Passport Index for the year 2022, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
According to the latest report, Japan and Singapore top the list of being the most powerful passport in the world for the year 2022. The visa-free score of both these countries is at 192.
Countries like Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain are tied at the third position with regard to the most powerful passports in the world with a visa-free score of 189.
India improved it ranks and is currently placed at 83rd position from the earlier 90th position in the most powerful passport report with a visa-free score of 60.
Kazakhstan: Alikhan Smailov Named New Prime Minister
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev nominated Alikhan Smailov for Prime Minister, and the Lower House of parliament swiftly voted him in during a session.
Alikhan Smailov served as the first Deputy Prime Minister in the previous cabinet which Mr. Tokayev dismissed last week amid violent unrest in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.
Jan 11, 2022
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is New IMF Chief Economist
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas as the new Chief Economist.
He succeeded Gita Gopinath as its chief economist.
Gourinchas was the director of Clausen Center for International Business & Policy, at the University of California.
He will start his new position on January 24, 2022 part time.
He will be transitioning to full time on April 1, 2022.
From 2009 to 2016, He was an IMF visiting scholar as well as editor-in-chief of the IMF Economic Review.
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