Saturday, November 23

Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7

Global organizations deserve a category because they matter so much to world politics and economies. Large ones coming from the Bretton Woods system include the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.

Even In The Olympics, There’s A Political Side
3Aug By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Diplomacy, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

Even In The Olympics, There’s A Political Side

August 3, 2021-- For the past week, people across the globe have gathered in front of their TVs to watch the momentous events of the Olympics. The Olympics emulate an image of peace through their recognition of cultures in the events and ceremonies. "The athletes show us that, despite all our differences, it is possible for humankind to live together in peace.," said IOC President Thomas Bach. "This is our Olympic message: yes, it is possible to compete with each other, even for the highest prize, but at the same time to live together peacefully under one roof in the Olympic Village.” Facing the option of a jump-off to decide who will win the gold medal for the high jump, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi -- who both cleared 2.37m -- decided to share the victo...
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G20 Finance Ministers Back Carbon Taxes To Fight Climate Change
12Jul By Steve BerlinNo Comments
Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Diplomacy, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

G20 Finance Ministers Back Carbon Taxes To Fight Climate Change

July 12, 2021—G20 finance ministers last week agreed carbon pricing could be an effective tool to help fight global climate change. During their meetings at the G20 High Level Tax Symposium on Tax Policy and Climate Change in Venice, Italy, the ministers also reaffirmed a 2050 target for net zero emissions of greenhouse gases, using carbon taxes as a way to get there. Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash Tools At Their Disposal While the ministers did not approve a carbon tax proposal, they acknowledged that different countries had many tools at their disposal to reduce emissions, but international cooperation is ultimately critical. Carbon Pricing, Explained Carbon pricing is a fee or tax on companies to cover the external costs of greenhouse gas emissions, such as...
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Australia Asks WTO For Dispute-Talks Over Waning Wine Sales in China
29Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

Australia Asks WTO For Dispute-Talks Over Waning Wine Sales in China

June 29, 2021-Australia requested dispute consultations in the World Trade Organization with China this week over its wine imports. Specifically, Australia is challenging China's anti-dumping and countervailing measures on imports of Australian wine. The WTO is the world's largest body for settling trade disputes. Australian exports of wine are facing countervailing measures in China over trade disputes. Photo credit: Just Wines According to a Reuters news story published in the Spring, Australian wine exports from AU$325 million in the final quarter of 2019 to AU$12 million in December of 2020. The agreements cited are the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. China-Australia Trad...
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Nicaragua Cracks Down on Political Speech, Opposition Ahead of Elections
24Jun By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Sanctions

Nicaragua Cracks Down on Political Speech, Opposition Ahead of Elections

June 24, 2021--Ahead of elections scheduled for November, the Nicaraguan government is arresting opposition leaders and potential presidential candidates who pose political opposition to their current leader, President Daniel Ortega.  Locals say the current repression dates back to the government's crackdown on political speech after the uprising against the president in 2018. Lesther Aleman, a university student leader, suggested that the current round-up of opposition leaders is to prevent any challenge to the election in November. "The strategy is to demoralize Nicaraguans, to delegitimize the electoral process to the point that the majority of people will abstain because there is no opposition. That is Ortega’s goal," Aleman told a reporter with Al Jazeera. "That way he can ...
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U.S. Raises ‘Deep Concerns’ About Conclusions of WHO Investigation
16Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Diplomacy, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Raises ‘Deep Concerns’ About Conclusions of WHO Investigation

Feb. 16, 2021-As the United States reengages with the World Health Organization under the new administration, its top national security officers are raising "deep concerns" about the credibility of the organization. The criticism comes as the WHO completed a controversial mission to Wuhan, China to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus. The WHO team, which included 17 participants representing China, ignored key information that scientists from the lab in Wuhan collected bats and virus samples from caves in China and brought them back to the lab. In the end, the WHO ceded the mission of scientific discovery to that of collaborating with China. U.S. Membership On his first day of office January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden informed UN Secretary General António Guterres...
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WHO Mission Gives China Political Win, Overlooks Evidence About Bats in Wuhan Lab
15Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

WHO Mission Gives China Political Win, Overlooks Evidence About Bats in Wuhan Lab

February 15, 2021--Over a year after the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization concluded a four-week investigatory mission in Wuhan, China, making comments favoring the Chinese government's narrative. It was a political win for China and a significant loss for science. In almost a surreal and surprising outcome, the mission team downplayed the possibility the virus started in a Wuhan lab and pointed to other theories popular in China. "All the work that has been done on the virus and trying to identify its origin continue to point to a natural reservoir of this virus and similar virus in bat population," said Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the WHO Mission in Wuhan. "But since Wuhan is not a city or environment close to this bat environment, a direct ...
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Central America Leaders Advance Regional Development Plans As Area Slides Into Poverty
12Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Global Economics, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

Central America Leaders Advance Regional Development Plans As Area Slides Into Poverty

Dec. 12, 2020-The global pandemic and a double-dose of hurricane damage is sending Central American populations and governments into a crisis. Poverty rates are increasing. And governments are facing protests at home. This week leaders from Central American countries met to discuss the structural roots of migration and an ambitious development plan for the region. Poverty Rising, Economies Shrinking About 12 million people in Central America fell into poverty this year, according to Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). "The fiscal standing of these countries has been affected by expenditures made to confront the pandemic," Bárcena said, according to the press release. "In addition, the ETA and IOTA hurricanes ...
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U.S. Ramps Up Case Against China on Virus Outbreak, Cover-Up
7May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Bit

U.S. Ramps Up Case Against China on Virus Outbreak, Cover-Up

May 7, 2020—With the key question unresolved about how the COVID-19 virus emerged in Wuhan, China, diplomatic relations between China and the United States as well as other Western governments have ruptured, perhaps permanently. Funding Pulled The U.S. government stopped funding a line of research funding that fostered collaboration between U.S. scientists and those in Wuhan, China. The National Institutes of Health research project received $3.38 million over six years. It was a small part of its overall budget. (For perspective, in 2019, total NIH awards/grants were $28 billion.) But it was still a lot in terms of funding. The project proposed to understand the risk of bat coronavirus that poses "a significant threat to global health and food security." It came in the wake o...
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COVID-19, From Bats to Humans: Examining the Wuhan Connection
17Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

COVID-19, From Bats to Humans: Examining the Wuhan Connection

April 17, 2020--A great and tragic mystery of 2020 is the origin of the COVID-19 virus that is sweeping the world with sickness and death. Some researchers point to a seafood market in Wuhan. Others say it could have started in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. Most certainly, it came from bats. But how did it jump to humans? From Wuhan to the World To date, the COVID-19 virus that has infected over 2 million people worldwide and killed 149,000 people. Of the first 309 confirmed cases in China, 270 cases were confirmed in Wuhan. Of the first 41 patients hospitalized in Wuhan with the virus, 27 of them, 66 percent, had a connection to a food and wild animal market. Wholesale Food Market As early as December 2019, reports from China pointed to the connection to the Huanan Seafood Wholes...
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South Korea Opts Out of Special Trade Status for Developing Countries
28Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Global Trade, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

South Korea Opts Out of Special Trade Status for Developing Countries

October 28, 2019-South Korea plans to give up a special status in the World Trade Organization. The status gives developing countries longer time periods to implement trade agreements and the ability to increase trade opportunities. South Korea Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the announcement late last week, saying it reflects his country's growing economy and external pressures. South Korea's economy is worth $1.5 trillion and is the 11th largest economy in the world. In July, U.S. President Donald Trump called on strong economies such as China to shed the special status. His July memorandum makes specific recommendations regarding the treatment of countries that he says should no longer be treated as developing economies. Singapore, Brazil, the UAE and Taiwan have also pledged...
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