Taken yesterday. For two days in a row, posting same stories as Mayadeen.
Do you believe in coincidences?
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/medvedev-calls-for-new-payment-methods-among-the-brics
Medvedev calls for new payment methods among the BRICS
Deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev requested, on Tuesday, that the BRICS switch to new payment methods, including the use of national currencies. The deputy did not rule out the creation of a new reserve currency for the BRICS states.
Earlier in the day, trading data reported that the euro fell to parity with the dollar, before settling at $1.0005, the lowest point ever recorded since December 2002.
Since the start of this year, the euro recorded a loss of 12% of its value against the dollar. Markets did not anticipate such a rapid fall in July, labeling the direction of EU/USD as bearish and predicting it could fall below the 1.0000 mark in the near term.
Medvedev commented on the euro-USD parity via his Telegram channel "The best protection against the falling euro will be the transition to new payment methods in trade with our reliable partners, including the use of national currencies, such as the Russian ruble, Chinese yuan, Indian rupee, etc. In the future, it is also possible to establish a new reserve currency for the BRICS countries. The US dollar, euro, and pound sterling are not enough for the modern world."
>> Managed to gather a short list of 10 countries which will soon join BRICS, including Iran and Argentina.
The creation of a new reserve currency for the BRICS states is underway. Posted all the trade deals signed the last 2 or 3 weeks, but it was all ignored.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sri-lanka-president-fails-bid-to-flee-country
Sri Lanka President fails bid to flee country
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has attempted to flee the country, which was met with failure after airport staff foiled his plan and forced him to retreat.
Rajapaksa is set to officially resign on Wednesday following months of demonstrations aimed at toppling the government and ending his reign as President. He was reportedly trying to escape to Dubai on Monday night.
The attempt was thwarted after immigration staff denied the president's request to access the VIP area of the airport to stamp his passport, officials said. He would not stand in the other queues out of fear of being among the public in light of the resentment felt toward him.
Due to the two aforementioned factors, Rajapaksa missed four flights to the UAE and he had to return to a nearby military base alongside his wife.
Though unconfirmed, officials told AFP that the president was mulling using a navy patrol craft to leave Sri Lanka in a bid to flee the outrage against him.
As President, Rajapaksa has immunity from arrest, and he reportedly wants to go abroad before resigning from his post to curtail any arrests. He could face charges of corruption and economic mismanagement. His actions bankrupted the country and led to the worst financial crisis in recorded history.
He could also face accusations of war crimes, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during his time as Sri Lanka's minister of defense when he ended the civil war in 2009 with bloody means. For more than a decade, the allegations against him have not made it to any court of law.
His brother, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, was also prevented from boarding a flight to the United States over accusations of widespread corruption.
Following news of the Rajapsksas attempting to flee Sri Lanka, a motion was filed to the supreme court seeking an order to prohibit the former finance minister, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and several others who served in Rajapaksa's administration from being able to leave the country due to the damage they have done to the population and the economy.
The protests against the Rajapaksa administration culminated in the president fleeing his official residence in the capital as protestors were gathering around the presidential palace. The demonstrators later broke into the palace and have been there since, with security guards and personnel not doing anything to stop them.
In response, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe summoned an urgent cabinet meeting to discuss a "swift resolution" to a potential power vacuum after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence Saturday.
Wickremesinghe, who is next in line of succession if Rajapaksa resigns, invited political party leaders to join the meeting and also asked for parliament to be convened urgently to discuss the crisis, his office said in a statement.
Sri Lanka went into default on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is currently negotiating a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/july-20-is-the-date-to-elect-sri-lankas-new-president
July 20 is the date to elect Sri Lanka's new president
Sri Lanka's parliament will reconvene on July 15 and a new president will be elected on July 20, the parliamentary speaker said on Monday, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday amid a devastating economic crisis.
"Nominations for the next president will be presented to parliament on 19 July. On 20 July parliament will vote to elect a new president," Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement.
"During the party leaders' meeting held today, it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution and to take forward essential services."
Yesterday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced to his PMs that he is intending to resign next Wednesday.
The protesters who ousted the president from his palace intend to continue to occupy the premises until he resigns next week, as he promised.
Saturday's events were the culmination of relentless protests that took place in recent months over the country's food, medicine, and energy shortages, for which citizens blame much of the incompetence and corruption on the Rajapaksa clique and his brothers who remained in power for more than fifteen years.
In this formerly middle-income country, three-quarters of the population are now reducing their diet, according to the United Nations, which warned on Sunday of a risk of a serious humanitarian crisis.
>> Also related story: https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gt:-us-eyes-sri-lanka-crisis-excitedly-opportunistically
Roger.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mexico-president-offers-americans-to-go-to-mexico-for-cheape
Mexico President offers Americans to go to Mexico for cheaper gas
Americans who live close to the US-Mexico border can come into Mexico and purchase gasoline at lower prices than they are sold in the United States, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday.
"Since the energy crisis started, Mexico has used 72 percent of its crude oil exports to the United States," Obrador said.
"While we're waiting for prices or gasoline to go down in the United States, we have decided that it was necessary for us to allow Americans who live close to the border to go and get their gasoline on the Mexican side at lower prices," Obrador added.
The Mexican president's words came ahead of his bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
The United States has been undergoing rampant inflation for months now.
Over the past months, the United States has been experiencing accelerating inflation, which the Biden administration has dubbed "Putin's price hike" and blamed on many additional factors.
On June 30, the US government released data that showed price increases that had held steady in the past 12 months ended in May, while the rise in consumer spending slowed sharply.
This, according to some, may comfort consumers as a sign that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate plans are beginning to have an effect in limiting the fastest uptick in inflation seen in more than four decades.
Compared to May 2021, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 6.3%, the same pace as in the prior month, despite it rising 0.6% compared to April, according to the Commerce Department.
This monthly increase, which was faster than in the preceding month, was still below economist projections. As for US multinationals, the quick rise in the value of the US dollar since the beginning of the year is a double-edged sword, forcing them to determine whether to hedge or move their operations abroad to prevent damage.
The obstacles faced by the US economy this year range from renewed Covid-19 lockdowns in China, rising food and energy prices, the central bank combating high inflation by increasing borrowing costs, and the decisive factor being the war in Ukraine.
Economists at Barclays envisioned a 2.2% growth for the US economy this year, followed by a 1.1% growth in 2023.
US President Biden has been blaming his domestic inflation on Russia at a time when it has been pushing for West-led sanctions on Russian oil, which is sinking the world into further crises.
>> Enjoying the movie.