The Mexican Senate has approved a bill aimed at ending perceived corruption in employment practice by strongly limiting the ability of companies to hire subcontractors for permanent or essential tasks, El Economista reported April 20.
The Bank of Canada left its main policy rate unchanged at 0.25%, but announced a scaling back of asset purchases and hinted at a potential interest rate hike in “the second half of 2022” amid improved 2021 growth projections, Bloomberg reported April 22.
During a hearing on the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, U.S. Senators added measures to boost infrastructure investment in Africa and Latin America, as well as funding for technology research, to the landmark bill aimed at improving U.S. competitiveness and countering Chinese influence, the South China Morning Post reported April 21.
The Japanese government is planning to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo in an effort to contain rising COVID-19 cases in each prefecture, with lockdown measures reportedly starting April 25 and lasting until May 11, The Japan Times reported April 22, citing an unnamed senior official.
Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea will return to their permanent bases by May 1 following the completion of military exercises, but heavy weaponry recently deployed to western Russia will remain in the area for additional exercises later this year, AP reported April 22, citing a statement made by Russia’s defense minister.
In a speech to lawmakers, Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuted claims made by the opposition that his government illegally traded central bank reserves to protect the value of the country’s embattled currency, noting that international economic developments in 2019 and 2020 forced the bank to make large foreign exchange transactions, Bloomberg reported April 21.
The U.N.-led peace summit in Turkey was postponed until after Eid-al-Fitr due to non-participation from the Taliban, Al Jazeera reported on April 21.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted state-owned companies Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise due to their role in generating revenue for Myanmar’s military government, CNBC reported April 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a "swift, asymmetrical and severe" response to hostile actions that crossed unspecified Russian "red lines” in his annual address to parliament, presumably referencing tensions with the West over Ukraine, the Moscow Times reported April 21.
The European Commission unveiled new proposed regulations covering artificial intelligence (AI) in what would be the world's first strict rules covering the fast-evolving technology, The New York Times reported April 21.
