Day: April 23, 2022

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G20 hopes RI’s G20 Presidency finds solution to Global Economy Impact of Rusia-Ukraine conflict

JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting expects Indonesia’s G20 Presidency to bring about a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati met with the U. S Secretary of TreasuryJanet Yellen on the sideline of the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting on Thursday (April 21, 2022). Earlier, finance ministers of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom staged a walkout as a protest against the presence of the Russian delegation during the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting organized under Indonesia's G20 Presidency in Washington, D.C.

“(G20) members hope that the current geopolitical situation, particularly related to the war in Ukraine, will be handled,” Indrawati noted at a press conference of the second G20 FMCBG meeting on Thursday.

The expectation is based on the fact that the global situation has worsened and changed rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the Russia-Ukraine war, she remarked.

Moreover, the Russia-Ukraine war has a very dynamic implication, including on the energy, food, and fertilizer price hike, she affirmed.

Indrawati said Indonesia, which currently holds the G20 presidency, will continue to conduct intensive communication and consultations with all G20 members to address the very dynamic situation.

“The G20 good governance is actually based on consultations as well as cooperation,” she remarked.

Indonesia continues to hold discussions with all G20 member states to find ways to get out of the various global economic risks that result not only from the war in Ukraine but also from the pandemic, she stated.

The minister emphasized the current need for an exit strategy since several countries were under the threat of high inflation while the global energy and food price hike will increasingly create a challenging situation for policy makers.

According to Indrawati, G20 members are concerned about inflationary pressures that tend to prompt several central banks to raise the policy interest rates that will eventually lead to faster-than-expected global liquidity tightening.

Hence, the higher level policy becomes the focus to fulfill the exit strategy-related commitment that is well-calibrated, planned, and communicated to support recovery and reduce the potential impact of a spillover, she stressed.

The collective and coordinated actions are not only aimed at mitigating the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war but also at controlling the pandemic. The actions will remain high on the list of G20’s priorities, she stated.

G20 members have recorded an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in several regions that burdened growth, extended supply disruption, worsened inflationary pressure, and slowed down global recovery, she remarked.

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Caption: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati met with the U. S Secretary of TreasuryJanet Yellen on the sideline of  the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting on Thursday (April 21, 2022). Earlier, finance ministers of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom staged a walkout as a protest against the presence of the Russian delegation during the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting organized under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in Washington, D.C.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801899/image001.jpg

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Clashes Kill Eight in Sudan’s Darfur: Aid Group

Clashes between Arab tribesmen and ethnic minority farmers in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region have killed eight people and wounded 16, an aid group said on Saturday.

The fighting broke out on Friday in Krink, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the West Darfur state capital of Geneina, when armed Arab tribesmen attacked villages of the non-Arab Massalit minority in retaliation for the killing of two tribesmen, the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, an independent aid organization, said.

The clashes “led to the deaths of eight citizens,” said its spokesman Adam Regal.

Dozens of homes were burned and large numbers of families displaced, he added.

Rzeigat tribal leaders said the fighting was sparked by the killing of two Arab tribesmen on Thursday by gunmen who took refuge in Massalit villages.

The aid group accused the Janjaweed of orchestrating the attack on the Massalit villages. The mainly Arab militia, many of whose members have since been integrated into the security forces, gained notoriety in the early 2000s for its role in the repression of an ethnic minority rebellion in Darfur.

Regal said Krink and neighboring villages were suffering under a “tight economic blockade by the Janjaweed militias,” in addition to recurrent “threats” and “looting.”

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of houses torched in several bouts of violence in Darfur in recent months, the United Nations and medics say.

The conflict that erupted in 2003 between ethnic minority rebels and the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum killed 300,000 people and displaced 2.5 million, according to U.N. figures.

Large-scale fighting has abated across much of Darfur, but the region remains awash with weapons and deadly clashes often erupt over access to pasture or water.

The clashes often take on an ethnic dimension as the region’s Arab tribes are largely pastoralists while many of the region’s settled farmers are drawn from minority groups.

A peace deal was signed in 2020 but since a military coup in October, Darfur has seen violence spike, with hundreds killed in fighting between herders and farmers.

Source: Voice of America

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Messi leads PSG to record-tying 10th French league title

Paris, Boos at halftime were replaced by raucous cheering at fulltime when Paris Saint-Germain clinched a record-tying 10th French league title after drawing with Lens 1-1.

Lionel Messi, in his first season with PSG, controlled a pass from Neymar before curling home from the edge of the box in the 68th minute to pacify frustrated PSG supporters, AP reports.

Lens substitute Corentin Jean equalized with a sliding effort in the 88th, but the draw was still good enough for PSG to claim an eighth Ligue 1 crown since 2013.

The team had an unassailable 16-point lead over second-placed Marseille with four games left.

PSG tied the record of 10 league titles set by Saint-Etienne in 1981. Last year, PSG was pipped to the post by Lille.

“We didn’t win (the league) last season, that hurt us a lot,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “So we must enjoy this title as much as we can.”

Messi came to PSG in the offseason when Barcelona couldn’t afford to keep him. He won a club-record 35 trophies at Barcelona, including 10 La Liga titles.

PSG was booed at the interval by its supporters after a lackluster performance in the first half.

Morocco fullback Achraf Hakimi capitalized on a fast break to be clean through on goal in the 26th minute but was denied by Lens goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca. Then Kylian Mbappe missed the target in the 32nd after Neymar played him in.

Marco Verratti took the Lens defense by surprise by quickly taking a free kick in the 53rd to find Mbappe, whose chip was saved by Leca. Mbappe pounced on the rebound only to have his angled strike cleared off the line by Christopher Wooh.

“That’s my eighth league title, that’s something I would have never imagined when I was little,” Verratti said. “That will always stay in my heart.”

Lens went down to 10 men in the 57th when center back Kevin Danso received a second yellow card for an awkward challenge on Neymar.

Soon after, Messi finally broke Lens’ defence.

Meanwhile, Monaco was making a strong finish in the race for Champions League spots after extending its winning streak to six games by defeating Saint-Etienne 4-1 to move into third place.

The match was suspended twice after supporters set off fireworks from the stands. The first suspension in the first half lasted only a couple of minutes but the second suspension in the second half lasted 35 minutes because league officials gathered to make a decision. The stadium announcer warned the crowd that a third incident would lead to the game being abandoned.

France international Wissam Ben Yedder scored his 20th league goal for Monaco.

Monaco trailed second-placed Marseille by three points.

Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone, one point from safety.

Also, Lyon pulled within four points of a Europa Conference League playoff spot by downing mid-table Montpellier 5-2.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

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New Ebola Case Confirmed in Northwestern DRC, Lab Report Says

A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, the National Institute of Biomedical Research said Saturday, four months after the end of the country’s last outbreak.

The case, a 31-year-old male, was detected in the city of Mbandaka, capital of Congo’s Equateur province, the institute said. A health ministry spokesperson confirmed the discovery.

The patient began showing symptoms on April 5 but did not seek treatment for more than a week. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment center on April 21 and died later that day, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

“Time is not on our side,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa.”The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up.”

Mbandaka, a crowded trading hub on the banks of the Congo River, has contended with two previous outbreaks — in 2018 and in 2020. It is a city where people live in close proximity, with road, water and air links to the capital Kinshasa.

The WHO said that efforts to contain the disease are already underway in Mbandaka, and that a vaccination campaign will begin in the coming days.

Congo has seen 13 previous outbreaks of Ebola, including one in 2018-2020 in the east that killed nearly 2,300 people, the second highest toll recorded in the history of the hemorrhagic fever.

The last outbreak, also in the east, infected 11 people between October and December and killed six of them.

Source: Voice of America