UNITED KINGDOM
Economy exits recession
The kingdom exited a shallow recession and beat growth forecasts in the first quarter, official data showed yesterday, in a boost to embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of this year’s election. GDP expanded 0.6 percent, bolstered by robust growth in service industries and auto manufacturing, the Office for National Statistics said. That beat market expectations of 0.4 percent growth and marked the strongest performance since the fourth quarter of 2021, helping send London’s stock market to yet another record peak. Sunak — whose governing Conservatives are trailing the Labour Party before a general election and suffered heavy losses in English local polls last week — has made economic growth one of his top priorities. The economy had suffered two successive quarters of slight contraction in the second half of last year on the back of elevated inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
RUSSIA
Putin reappoints Mishustin
President Vladimir Putin yesterday reappointed Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister. In line with the law, Mishustin, 58, submitted his Cabinet’s resignation on Tuesday when Putin began his fifth presidential term. Mishustin’s reappointment was widely expected by political observers, who said that Putin has appreciated his skills and low political profile. Mishustin, the former head of the nation’s tax service, has steered clear of political statements and avoided media interviews during his tenure. Lower house Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin announced that Putin had submitted Mishustin’s candidacy to the State Duma, which was to hold a session later yesterday to consider it. Mishustin’s approval is a mere proforma in the Kremlin-controlled parliament.
ZIMBABWE
Official forex rate pushed
The government said it would fine businesses using inflated exchange rates as it battles to maintain the value of its newly introduced gold-backed currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). Any business using an exchange rate higher than the official rate of 13.5 ZiG per US dollar would be fined 200,000 ZiG (US$14,815), a government notice on Tuesday showed. Anyone offering “goods or services at an exchange rate above the prevailing interbank foreign currency selling rate” would be guilty of a civil infringement, it said. The government has been striving to keep the ZiG afloat since its launch early last month, with authorities launching a blitz on illegal foreign currency traders last month. Some businesses such as supermarkets have been charging a premium above the market rate for customers paying in the new currency, while the ZiG is being rejected by informal traders.
UNITED STATES
Scores of pelicans starving
Scores of sick and starving pelicans have been found in coastal California communities in recent weeks and many others have died. Lifeguards spotted a cluster of two dozen sick pelicans earlier this week on a pier in coastal Newport Beach and called in wildlife experts to assist. Debbie McGuire, executive director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, said the birds are the latest group that they have tried to save after taking in more than 100 other pelicans that were anemic, dehydrated and weighing only half of what they should. “They are starving to death and if we don’t get them into care, they will die,” she said. “It really is a crisis.” It is not immediately clear what is sickening the birds. Some experts said the pelicans are malnourished even though marine life abounds off the Pacific Coast.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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