DAILY DOSE: April 4, 2022
Posted on 04/04/2022
POLITICAL LEADERS
1. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced she will not seek a second term. She said that her current term will end on June 30, 2022. The chief executive position is selected by a 1,500-person election committee.
2. The people of Hungary voted for the re-election of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party. Orban has won a fourth consecutive term in office – his fifth in total. With around 91% of votes tallied, Orban’s Fidesz-led coalition had won 53%, while a pro-European opposition coalition, United for Hungary, had just over 34%, according to the National Election Office. Hungary is a member of both the European Union and NATO.
3. Serbia’s incumbent President Aleksandar Vučić won re-election. With 87.67% of the ballots counted, Vučić had won 59.5% of the votes, the State Election Commission announced.
4. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faced an attempt to oust him from office in recent days. Imran Khan accused the U.S. government of trying to oust him. Imran Khan cancelled a no-confidence vote he was poised to lose. He then ordered the National Assembly dissolved so new elections can be held. Imran Khan, who was not in Parliament on Sunday, went on national television to announce he was submitting the dissolution request, which Pakistan President Arif Alvi later executed.
“I ask people to prepare for the next elections. Thank God, a conspiracy to topple the government has failed,” Khan said in his address.
According to Pakistan’s constitution, an interim government inclusive of the opposition will now Pakistan toward elections held within 90 days.
FOOD AND ECONOMY
1. An Egyptian cabinet spokesperson said Egypt has strategic wheat reserves sufficient for 2.6 months.
2. U.S. February durable goods orders decrease 2.1%. The estimate was -2.2%.
COVID-19
1. China’s military and and thousands of healthcare workers are in Shanghai to help carry out COVID-19 tests for all of its 26 million residents. Cases continued to rise throughout the week. Shanghai remains in lock down due to a COVID outbreak.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
1. Russia plans to lift ban on air flights to and from 52 countries after April 9, 2022, according to TASS.
2. The German government is seeking buyers for Gazprom unit in Germany with state guarantees. Russia has strategically invested in German refineries and gas storage facilities for years.
NFT
1. The U.K. Finance Ministry says Chancellor asked U.K. Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token (NFT) to be issued in the summer of 2022.
