Monday, July 11, 2022

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Sri Lanka’s political vacuum continues

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 02:43 AM PDT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka is in a political vacuum for a second day Monday with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, whose residences are occupied by protesters angry over the country's economic woes.Protesters remained in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, his seaside office and the prime minister's official home, which they took possession of on Saturday demanding the two leaders to step down. It was the biggest and most eventful day of protests over the past three months surrounding the administrative district in the capital, Colombo.They remained there Monday saying they would stay until the resignations are official.Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Saturday he would leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday.Wickremesinghe's office said Monday that President Rajapaksa has confirmed his earlier decision to resign on Wednesday.The president's whereabouts were unknown, though a statement from his office said Sunday that he ordered the immediate distribution of a cooking gas consignment to the public, suggesting that he was still at work. Pressure on both men had grown as the economic meltdown set off acute shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to obtain food, fuel and other necessities. (AP)

Macao streets empty after casinos shut to fight outbreak

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 02:43 AM PDT

BEIJING — Streets in the gambling center of Macao were empty Monday after casinos and most other businesses were ordered to close while the Chinese territory near Hong Kong fights a coronavirus outbreak.Residents were told to stay indoors unless they were buying food or other necessities. Authorities warned anyone violating the rules would be punished.Casinos were ordered over the weekend to close for at least a week as the number of coronavirus cases in the territory of 700,000 people rose. On Monday, the government reported 59 new cases, bringing the total in the latest outbreak to 1,526.Macao and Hong Kong are imitating the mainland's "zero Covid" strategy that aims to isolated every infected person.Casino gambling is the mainstay of Macao's economy but it has been devastated by anti-virus travel restrictions.This week's order marks the first time since early 2020 at the start of the pandemic that casinos were closed outright, reflecting official urgency about containing the latest outbreak.Restrictions imposed in June limited their workforce to 10% of normal levels.The government says it plans to test everyone in the city for the virus over the coming week. Bus drivers, people who deliver food and some others were told to be tested every day. (AP)

Inflation pushed 71M people into poverty since Ukraine war

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 11:50 PM PDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A staggering 71 million more people around the world are experiencing poverty as a result of soaring food and energy prices that climbed in the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program said in a report Thursday, July 7, 2022.The UNDP estimates that 51.6 million more people fell into poverty in the first three months after the war, living off $1.90 a day or less. This pushed the total number globally at this threshold to nine percent of the world's population. An additional 20 million people slipped to the poverty line of $3.20 a day.In low-income countries, families spend 42 percent of their household incomes on food but as Western nations moved to sanction Russia, the price of fuel and staple food items like wheat, sugar and cooking oil soared. Ukraine's blocked ports and its inability to export grains to low-income countries further drove up prices, pushing tens of millions quickly into poverty."The cost of living impact is almost without precedent in a generation... and that is why it is so serious," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said at the launch of the report.The speed at which this many people experienced poverty outpaced the economic pain felt at the peak of the pandemic. The UNDP noted that 125 million additional people experienced poverty over about 18 months during the pandemic's lockdowns and closures, compared with more than 71 million who hit poverty in just three months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February."The speed of this is very quick," said George Molina, UNDP chief economist and author of the report.Among the 20 countries hit hardest by inflation are Haiti, Argentina, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sudan, Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. More people in these countries, some of which have been roiled by political turmoil like Sudan and Sri Lanka, are facing poverty, according to the UNDP. In countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Yemen, the effects of inflation are felt deeply by those already at the lowest poverty line.The total number of people living in poverty, or are vulnerable to poverty, stands at over 5 billion, or just under 70 percent of the world's population.In Ghana, where the daily minimum wage is just $1.80 a day, people are struggling under the weight of inflation. Albert Kowfie, a 27-year-old security guard in Accra, Ghana, said a loaf of bread costs the equivalent of over $2 and commuting to work costs another 20 cents."It means that by the end of the first week (of work), everything is gone," he said, expressing frustration at the government for not doing more to alleviate the burden. "I don't answer my mother's calls anymore because I know she needs help since she is not on any pension, but what can l do?"Another UN report released Wednesday said world hunger rose last year with 2.3 billion people facing moderate or severe difficulty obtaining enough to eat — and that was before the war in Ukraine.There is a need for the global economy to step up, Steiner said, adding that there is enough wealth in the world to manage the crisis, "but our ability to act in unison and rapidly is a constraint."The UNDP recommends that rather than spending billions on blanket energy subsidies, governments instead target expenditure to reach the most impacted people through targeted cash transfers that can prevent a further 52.6 million people from falling into poverty at $5.50 a day.For cash-strapped and debt-laden developing countries to achieve this, the UNDP called for an extension of debt payments that had been in place during the pandemic among the world's richest nations.Steiner said doing so is not only an act of charity but is also "an act of rational self-interest" to avoid other complex trends, such as economic collapse in countries and popular protests already taking place in communities across the world.The war in Ukraine has roiled a region known as the world's bread basket. Before the war, Russia was the world's largest exporter of natural gas and the second biggest exporter of crude oil. Russia and Ukraine combined accounted for almost a quarter of global wheat exports and more than half of sunflower oil exports. (AP)

Russia claims credit for Elena Rybakina's Wimbledon title

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 10:24 PM PDT

WIMBLEDON, England — The Russian Tennis Federation was quick to claim Elena Rybakina as "our product" on her run to the women's title at Wimbledon.They then praised her training program in the country after she won the Venus Rosewater Dish as Wimbledon champion while representing Kazakhstan."It's the Russian school, after all. She played here with us for a long time, and then in Kazakhstan," Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev told sports website Championat on Saturday after Rybakina beat Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Centre Court.The 23-year-old Rybakina was born on Moscow and played in the Russian system until 2018, when financial issues led to her nationality switch.There's been no official reaction from the Kremlin on Rybakina's Wimbledon success, but some commentators have claimed her victory as a Russian achievement and a symbolic snub to the All England Club's ban on players representing Russia and Belarus.Players from those countries were banned from the Wimbledon tournament because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Some Russian state media outlets emphasized Rybakina's roots in Moscow, with others opting to call her simply a "representative of Kazakhstan."The last Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title was Maria Sharapova at the French Open in 2014. Moscow-born Sofia Kenin, who left Russia as a baby and plays for the United States, won the Australian Open in 2020.Kazakhstan, meanwhile, is ecstatic at having its first Grand Slam singles champion."Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina has achieved a historic victory in the extremely prestigious Wimbledon tournament. I heartily congratulate this outstanding athlete!" President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wrote on Twitter.Rybakina's win is the culmination of a long-term plan for tennis in Kazakhstan. The oil and gas-rich Central Asian nation has a long tradition of homegrown success in sports like boxing and cycling but has often relied on recruiting talented tennis players from Russia.Rybakina, known for the big serve which has brought a tour-leading 253 aces this year, made the switch at 19 when her career stalled because of financial issues. The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation stepped in with an offer — represent them in exchange for the cash needed to support the global lifestyle of a tennis player. Rybakina said this week she feels like she lives on tour rather than in any one place.When Rybakina — nervous, barely smiling, seemingly not quite sure what she had achieved — climbed into the stands at Centre Court on Saturday to celebrate with her team, she embraced first KTF president Bulat Utemuratov, then Yaroslava Shvedova, the former player who has become her mentor. Shvedova, similarly to Rybakina, was born in Moscow, switched allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2008 and won two Grand Slam doubles titles.Rybakina's victory also comes at a tense time in relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.The year began with Russia deploying troops to its Central Asian neighbor to suppress protests which turned violent. The government in Kazakhstan welcomed that move but has been notably reluctant to endorse Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which started the following month. President Tokayev said in front of Putin at a televised conference in St. Petersburg last month that Kazakhstan would not recognize the two Russia-backed separatist governments in eastern Ukraine.Rybakina has been guarded in her comments on the invasion."I just want the war to end as soon as possible. Peace, yeah," she said after her quarterfinal match.Of the ban on players representing Russia, Rybakina said: "When I heard this, this is not something you want to hear because we are playing sport. Everybody wants to compete. They were not choosing where they born." (AP)
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