US President Donald Trump has nominated US Treasury’s David Malpass as his pick for the next world bank president on Wednesday (local time). Maplass is known to a Trump legalistic and senior economic adviser to the US President, during his 2016 election campaign.
The 62 year old has criticized the world bank and other institutions such as the IMF in the past. Malpass would be a “strong advocate for accountability” at the World Bank, said Donald Trump.
“The Wall Street Journal just said today in an editorial that David Malpass is an excellent choice, which is America is the largest contributor to the World Bank, giving it over USD 1 billion every year,” ,Trump said.
If elected as the President of the World Bank, Malpass would replace South Korea’s Jim Yong Kim in April this year. Jim Yong Kim resigned unexpectedly last month from his post.
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The supporters of Venezuela’s opposition will be conducting rallies across the country, supporting the self proclaimed president Juan Guaido and showing their protest against Nicolas Maduro.
“We must all take to the streets of Venezuela and the world with a clear goal: to accompany the ultimatum given by members of the European Union,” said Juan Guaido. Washington has recognized Guaido as the legitimate president and the mobilizations are meant to keep up the pressure. Guido’s supporters hopes to encourage similar moves by other European countries. “We are going to stage the biggest march in the history of Venezuela and our continent,” said Guaido.
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The National Assembly of France has cleared a controversial law that bans the wearing of masks at protests. It is perceived as an attempt to reduce violent incidents during street protests. For the last few weeks, France has been witnessing violent street protests. In these protests, the masked protesters have participated in large numbers. It is observed that the majority of those engaged in the unlawful act of public property destruction during these protests have been those covered their faces with masks.
Meanwhile, in the assembly, the manner the French security officials have handled the violence protests organised by the yellow-vest has also invited serious criticism. Recently, a protester has lost one of his eyes when a French official’s attempt to disperse that protester went wrong.
The yellow-vest movement, which originally started as a protest against the issue of fuel price hike, has now transformed into a class struggle between the elite establishment and the rest which is totally detached from the establishment class.
By now, the establishment has understood that the movement cannot be handled in the manner it usually handles a public unrest.
The new developments indicate that the National Assembly is not sure how to handle this situation. A considerable number of lawmakers are neither willing to endorse the government to carry on freely with its cursing mission, not interested to encourage the protesters to destabilise the system.
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A ground of youngsters wearing red scarves has organised counter-protest in the capital city of France, Paris, against the yellow-vest movement, which has been disturbing the political hemisphere of France with persistent violent protests for last few days in the name of a sudden hike in the price of fuel.
The youngsters’ group has identified itself as the red scarves. In the protest organised against the yellow-vest movement, as many as ten thousand people have participated.
A social media page created by the group has already attracted tens of thousands of French youngsters.
The group, it seems, is not against the demands the yellow-vest movement has raised, but is against the means the movement has followed to achieve the demands. In short, the red scarves are against the yellow-vest’s widely recognised mean of violent protests.
Yellow-vest protesters confront red scarves protesters in the latest rally.
The yellow-vest is the most powerful political movement the country has witnessed in the recent history. The movement appeals for a change in the way the establishment looks at the issues that directly affect the common people of France such as the fuel price hike and rent hikes.
The movement’s excessive reliance to violent means is what that makes these genuine appeals less audible among the common people who always prefer peace over violence.
The red scarves’ counter-protest has come a few hours after the yellow-vest announced its plan to contest in the upcoming European Union parliament election.
If someone is worried about this latest political development in France in connection with the rise of yellow-vest movement, it is none other than Emanuel Macron, the man who was inducted to the top post by the anti-establishment faction with the hope of developing an new system free from the clutches of establishment.
Definitely, that timing evokes suspension in many minds. Do you think the red scarves’ counter-protest will reduce the prospects of the yellow-vest members in the upcoming EU parliament election?
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US Senator Kamala Harris formally declared Sunday her candidacy to become the country’s first black female president in 2020. She had officially launched her 2020 White house campaign. In a speech that she made several pointed attacks on Trump, she promised that she will be a fighter for the people.
“We are here because the American Dream and our American democracy are under attack and on the line like never before,” Said Kamala Harris. “And we are here at this moment in time because we must answer a fundamental question: Who are we? Who are we as Americans? So, let’s answer that question to the world and each other right here and right now. America, we are better than this.”
Harris’s campaign will be based in Baltimore and led by Juan Rodriguez, who managed her 2016 Senate campaign. Aides say the campaign will have a second office in Oakland.
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The longest shutdown in the US history comes to an end. U.S. President Donald Trump announces a deal with congressional leaders to temporarily reopen the government for three weeks, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The shutdown over the president’s demand for the the border wall finding is now into its 35th day. Trump spoke regarding the deal from White house.
“We have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government” – Donald Trump
Trump warns of emergency if no border deal with democrats. Donald Trump on Friday signed bill to reopen the government. The government is opened by Trump for 3 weeks. An estimate of 800,000 federal employees will return to work now. Trump had demanded congress to give him money for building border wall. Trump says that he will resume discussion after February 15th.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that Venezuela will close its embassy and all consulates in the United States. On Wednesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido had proclaimed himself acting president. Soon after this, U.S. did the recognition of Guaido as interim president.
Venezuela decided to shut all diplomatic missions in US. Maduro avenge back the US as they supports the opposition against him. Mike Pompeo urged the Venezuelan army to protect Guaido. Maduro added that he agreed with a call by Mexico and Uruguay for dialogue between Venezuela’s government and the opposition for a resolution to the country’s political crisis.
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In a blow to US president Donald Trump, the Senate has rejected two bills to end the US shutdown. Trump demands down payment for wall to end shutdown. The US shutdown enters almost 34 days with no end in sight. This is the longest partial government shutdown in the US history.
About 800,000 of federal workers struggle to cover their bills. The senate rejects the bills to open Government. On Monday, the Senate has released a bill flashing an offer that Trump had made to reopen the unfunded quarter of the government. As the chamber plans to take up the measure later this week, it will definitely fail to meet the 60-vote threshold.
The chamber desides to take up that proposal on Thursday afternoon. If this fails, Senate will take up a Democratic-backed bill to fund the government through February.
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This year’s European Union parliament election is likely to witness a very unusual phenomenon: the emergence of an anti-elitist group yellow-vest (the group formed in France to protest, in short, against the fuel price hike, and, in large, against the elitist behaviour of the country’s ruling and its remoteness to the genuine grievances of the common people such as the price hike, rent hike and the labour issues).
In the European parliament election which is scheduled to take place on 23 May this year, the yellow-vest, which has jolted the streets of France and forced to the French president, Emanuel Macron, to drop his ambitious plan to increase the fuel tax, has decided to field as many as ten candidate, leaving behind the question whether they will expand the list of candidate in the run-up to the EU election to the imagination of the public.
In the list of ten, Ingrid Levavasseur is the most prominent one. She is a poor care worker, and is the representative of the larger population, which is totally unfamiliar with the elitist faction of the modern France.
Many evaluate the development as the rebirth of socialist populism in France. If the yellow-vest passes this crucial litmus test, the experiment will be repeated in the future elections also in France.
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The EU Commission had insisted EU states for tight checking on non-EU nationals with ‘golden passports’ through investments. The commission says that the granting of ‘golden visas’ might be leading to tax evasion, money-laundering and other forms of corruption. So, a thorough checking is being planned for the schemes regarding ‘golden visa’ granting residence in exchange for big investments.
According to reports, wealthy candidates for residency or citizenship do not face sufficient security and background checks to prevent them from posing a security risk or laundering money. Some of the non-government organisations have already marked countries such as Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria for offering wealthy foreigners citizenship that allows them to move freely in most of the 28-nation bloc. Many other countries grant residence permits to foreign investors. Hence the EU commission had presented this stunning report regarding the risks of the ‘golden visa business’
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