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☆ Visits to Zambia by Yellen, IMF reflect concern over stalled debt talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Frustrated by the delays, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva arrived for separate visits in Zambia on Sunday. Both see a new sovereign debt roundtable - introduced late last year - as a way to make progress on long-stalled debt restructuring processes. Yellen told Reuters en route to Zambia she supported the roundtable as a forum for discussing general principles of debt relief. Yellen, however, noted rates were nowhere near those seen under Volcker and inflation was not out of control. "We're in a higher interest rate environment, and that's something that's linked to the strong dollar, and weaker currencies for many emerging markets, but also Japan and other countries," Yellen said.

☆ Yellen says critically important to restructure Zambia debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives a speech after she visited the House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) at Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ngouda DioneLUSAKA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday during a visit to Zambia that it was critically important to restructure Zambia's debt, and she believed progress could be made after her frank talks with key creditor China last week. Yellen added that Zambia's debt overhang was a drag on its whole economy and that China had been a barrier to reaching a resolution on the southern African country's debt problem. "I specifically raised the issue with Zambia (with Chinese officials) and asked for their cooperation in trying to reach a speedy resolution. She said it was also critically important for Zambia to address corruption and human rights, and create a business environment that would promote investments and trade.

☆ U.S. wants to see quicker progress on World Bank reforms- Yellen
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUSAKA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said the United States wanted to see quicker progress on the World Bank's plans for expanding its lending capacity to address climate change and other global crises. It calls for World Bank management to develop specific proposals to change its mission, operating model and financial capacity that could be approved by the joint World Bank and International Monetary Fund Development Committee in October. Yellen said working on the reforms - first of the World Bank and then other multilateral development banks - was one of her biggest priorities this year. The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, worked with other countries to push the World Bank to develop the reform plan, which was discussed by the bank's board on Jan. 11. These would focus on the World Bank's vision and mission, stretching its financial capacity ... and stepping work on private sector mobilization, the official said.

☆ Janet Yellen Dismisses Minting $1 Trillion Coin to Avoid Default
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Andrew Duehren | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is a former chair of the Federal Reserve and meets regularly with central bank’s current leader. LUSAKA, Zambia—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve likely wouldn’t accept a $1 trillion platinum coin if the Biden administration tried to mint one to avoid breaching the debt limit, dismissing an idea that has been floated to circumvent Congress on the issue. Some Biden administration officials and Democrats on Capitol Hill have discussed the possibility that the Treasury could use an obscure law authorizing platinum coins in the event of a potential default. Under the proposed scheme, the Treasury would mint a $1 trillion coin and deposit it at the Fed, and then draw the money to pay the country’s bills.

☆ U.S. Treasury's Yellen says IRS needs to be 'completely redone'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

She said she decided to stay on as Treasury secretary in large part to oversee implementation of legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the IRS funding and passed on party lines last year. "That agency needs to be completely redone, and it’s a big task." Republicans sought unsuccessfully to slash tens of billions in IRS funding from the law. Yellen, 76, conceded that the split Congress reduced the chances of passing legislation to advance Biden's agenda, but said she still enjoyed the job. Asked about the debate with Congress over raising the debt ceiling, Yellen simply puts her hand to her forehead and sighs.

☆ Yellen leads new U.S.-Africa policy with trip to Senegal, Zambia, South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We believe that Africa's growth will be a key driver of global growth over the coming decades," a senior Treasury official told reporters. But some African countries, including Zambia, have soured on Chinese lending and are looking for alternatives, experts say. Yellen has criticized Beijing - now the world's largest creditor - for not moving quickly to restructure the debt of poor countries in Africa. The topic will be a key issue when she visits Zambia, the Treasury official said. Biden in December proposed that the African Union be included in the Group of 20 major economies to give African countries a bigger seat at the table.

☆ Zambia extends electricity rationing to mining firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies ZESCO Limited FollowLUSAKA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Zambia has started rationing electricity supply to mining firms following reduced power generation after a big drop in water levels in lake Kariba, the chairman of state-owned power utility Zesco said on Tuesday. Water levels in the lake were down at 1.66% of usable storage on Monday for the Kariba North Bank Power Station in Zambia and the Kariba South Bank Power Station on the Zimbabwean side of the lake, said the Zambezi River Authority, which manages the dam. The north bank power station has an installed capacity of 1,080 megawatts (MW), while the south bank power station in Zimbabwe has a capacity of 1,050 MW. Water levels in the lake have fallen due to reduced inflows from the Zambezi river and its tributaries and heavy use by power generation companies in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Ncube said power rationing was expected to be reduced by the middle of next month as water levels increased and full generation was to likely resume in March.

☆ Zambia: One survivor as police find bodies of 27 suspected Ethiopian nationals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Zambia’s police service says it is investigating the deaths of 27 men, all believed to be Ethiopian nationals, whose bodies were found on Sunday “dumped” by the roadside near the capital, Lusaka. Only one of the men – who were all aged between 20 and 38 years – survived, Mwale said. Some Ethiopian nationals are lured with promises of job opportunities in South Africa but end up being held in dire conditions, according to immigration officials cited by the Lusaka Times. Four more bodies of Ethiopian nationals were found “in a decomposed state” a day after, near the site of the mass grave in Mzimba, Malawi’s police said at the time. In July, Zambia’s immigration officials intercepted more than 50 Ethiopians who were believed to have been smuggled into the country on their way to South Africa.

CNN —The body of Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda, a fighter recruited by the mercenary group Wagner for combat operations in Ukraine, was returned to Zambia on Sunday. The body was received by Nyirenda’s family and foreign ministry officials, the ministry stated in a series of tweets Sunday. A relative of Lemekani Nyirenda, who died in the conflict in Ukraine in September, is consoled as his coffin arrives at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka on Sunday. A hearse carrying the remains of Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda at Lusaka's Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Salim Dawood/AFP/Getty ImagesFlorence Nyirenda, Lemekani Nyirenda's mother, is comforted by family members at the airport in Lusaka, on December 11.

☆ Twenty-seven men believed to be Ethiopian migrants found dead along road in Zambia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LUSAKA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Zambian police on Sunday found the bodies of 27 men, believed to be migrants from Ethiopia, dumped in a farming area on the outskirts of the capital after they died from suspected hunger and exhaustion, authorities said. Preliminary police investigations showed the victims were all males aged between 20 and 38 and had been dumped along a road by unknown people. "Police and other security wings have since instituted investigations into the matter," Danny Mwale, police spokesman, said in a statement after police were alerted to the gruesome scene by members of the public. Ethiopian migrants often use Zambia when travelling to countries such as South Africa, though reports of deaths in transit there are rare. Reporting by Chris Mfula Editing by Wendell Roelf and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia pardoned Zambian prisoner ‘to join military operation in Ukraine,’ says minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Russia pardoned a Zambian prisoner so that they could be deployed to Ukraine, where they died fighting for the Wagner mercenary unit, Zambia’s foreign affairs minister said Friday. Zambian national Nathan Lemekhani Nyirenda was “pardoned on 23rd August, 2022 in order to join the military operation, in exchange for amnesty,” the minister, Stanley Kakubo, said in Lusaka, adding that this information was provided to him by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. However, it appears that Lavrov also gave the first indication that the Russian government is sanctioning the recruitment of prisoners from Russian prisons for the war in Ukraine. During the summer, the financier of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, toured Russia’s prisons searching for prisoners to join the war in Ukraine. He was caught on video at multiple Russian prisons giving speeches to potential recruits.

It could also negatively impact African nations that produce battery materials. The United States has a Free Trade Agreement in place with only one African country, Morocco. Battery materials and trade are set to be a focus at next week's U.S.-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington where President Joe Biden will meet presidents of African countries including Congo. Under IRA, U.S. carmakers will get tax credits if they source at least 40% of battery materials domestically or from American free-trade partners. His is one of many projects across sub-Saharan Africa aiming to produce battery materials like lithium, nickel and graphite.

☆ Zambia seeks answers from Russia after national dies in Ukraine war -foreign minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LUSAKA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Zambia has asked Russia to explain how one of its citizens who had been serving a prison sentence in Moscow ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine where he was killed, Zambia's foreign affairs minister said on Monday. Stanley Kakubo said in a statement that Russia had notified Zambia about the death in September of the 23-year-old, but did not provide details. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the circumstances of his journey to Ukraine and subsequent death. Kakubo said further details would be provided once official communication was received from the Russian authorities on the circumstances surrounding the Zambian's death. His remains have been transported to the Russian border town of Rostov in readiness for repatriation to Zambia, Kakubo added.

Creditors and investors are closely monitoring how China, the world's largest bilateral lender, is managing debt negotiations around the world. The policy bank has extended to Zambia more than half of Chinese loans while a $982 million loan was made jointly with the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Including commercial lending, Zambia government data showed it owed more than a third of its $17.27 billion external debt to Chinese lenders by end-2021. Reuters GraphicsThe bank also leads China's team in Ethiopia's bilateral debt talks, its state finance minister told Reuters last month. In 2018, EximBank agreed to extend repayment on a loan worth at least $2.5 billion for a railway between Addis Ababa and Djibouti by 20 years.

☆ Zambia in touch with China and other creditors, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zambia's Minister of Finance Situmbeko Musokotwane addresses participants during the Initial Public Offer launch of Zambia's Konkola Copper Mine in the capital Lusaka, November 17, 2010. REUTERS/Mackson Wasamunu/File PhotoJOHANNESBURG, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Zambia remains in touch with China and all its other creditors as it continues to negotiate a debt restructuring, finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said at an International Monetary Fund press conference on Saturday. Zambia secured a $1.3 billion, three-year loan from the IMF in September. It is now seeking a present value $6.3 billion debt reduction, or 49% of the external debt being restructured, a level some bondholders have said would be unacceptable. At the end of 2021, about a third of Zambia's $17.27 billion external debt was held by China, much of it for infrastructure projects.

☆ Care este cel mai scump oraş din lume pentru lucrătorii străini
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-23 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Cel mai scump oraș din lume pentru lucrătorii din străinătate este capitala turkmenă Așgabat. La această concluzie a ajuns compania de analiză financiară Mercer, care a analizat costul vieții în 209 orașe de pe glob. Acolo s-a produs o hiperinflație și o criză a alimentelor, ceea ce a dus și la creșterea prețurilor pentru închirierea apartamentelor. În top 10 se mai regăsește capitala japoneză Tokyo, orașele elvețiene Zurich, Geneva și Berna, Singapore și metropolele chineze Shanghai și Beijing. La celălalt capăt al clasamentului, cele mai ieftine orașe de locuit pentru lucrătorii din străinătate sunt capitala georgiană Tbilisi, cea a Zambiei, Lusaka, și cea kârgâză, Bișkek.

Persons: Mercer Locations: străinătate, Așgabat, Hong Kong, libaneză Beirut, Beirut, japoneză Tokyo, elvețiene Zurich, Geneva, Berna, Singapore, metropolele, Shanghai, Beijing, Tbilisi, Zambiei, Lusaka, Bișkek

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