US avoids risk of default

US avoids risk of default

On the evening of June 1, with 63 votes in favor and 36 votes against, the US Senate passed a bill to suspend the policy of applying the public debt ceiling, thereby avoiding the first debt default disaster in the history of this country.

In a statement, President Joe Biden praised the timely action of Congress, emphasizing: “This bipartisan agreement is a great victory for the economy and the people.” Mr. J. Biden also announced that he would sign the law as soon as possible.

The debt ceiling bill will be signed into law shortly before the June 5 deadline as warned by the US Treasury Department for the parties to reach an agreement to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling before the federal budget runs out.

Previously, with 314 votes in favor and 117 votes against, the US House of Representatives also passed the above bill and sent it to the Senate for consideration. President J. Biden urged the Senate to quickly pass the bill so that he can sign it into law.

On May 27, after weeks of negotiations, President J. Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement. According to the agreement, the two sides agreed to suspend the debt ceiling of 31.4 trillion USD for two years, until January 1, 2025; limit budget spending in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, accordingly, in fiscal year 2024, 886 billion USD will be allocated for the defense budget and 704 billion USD for non-defense items. Thus, non-defense spending in general will not change in fiscal year 2024. The two sides agreed to increase non-defense spending by 1% in fiscal year 2025. In addition, the two sides agreed to recover unused COVID-19 funds; speed up the licensing process for some energy projects and increase conditions for programs for the poor.

UN Security Council extends sanctions on South Sudan

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on May 30 adopted a resolution extending for another year, until May 31, 2024, the arms embargo, as well as travel bans and asset freezes against individuals and entities in South Sudan.

Resolution 2683 also decided to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts supporting the work of the Sanctions Committee for South Sudan, until 1 July 2024.

This resolution requests the Secretary-General, in close consultation with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Panel of Experts, to assess progress in achieving the key elements of resolution 2577 adopted in 2021. The deadline for this assessment is 15 April 2024.

Resolution 2683 also requests the competent authorities of South Sudan, by the same date, to report to the Sanctions Committee on the progress made in this regard.

Ukrainian President issues "ultimatum" to NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a move that is considered an "ultimatum" to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on admitting Kiev as a new member of this military alliance. Accordingly, President Zelensky will not attend the NATO conference held in Vilnius (Lithuania) next July, if NATO does not provide a specific roadmap to help Ukraine become an official member of the bloc.

Earlier, speaking to his NATO counterparts, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the bloc to ensure Ukraine’s security on its path to joining the alliance. According to Kiev officials, the summit in July should strengthen institutional ties between Ukraine and the military organization.

NATO has yet to approve Ukraine's request to join the military alliance soon, as some member states are wary of moves that they fear could bring NATO closer to a conflict with Russia.

Ukraine is set to send a "clear message" at the NATO summit in Vilnius that it will join the military alliance after its conflict with Russia ends. Ukraine has acknowledged it will not join NATO while it is fighting on its territory, but wants the alliance to go beyond a 2008 pledge to admit Kiev at some point.

Russia will participate in BRICS Summit at appropriate level

On May 30, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will attend the BRICS Summit at the appropriate level.

Responding to the question of whether President Vladimir Putin will attend the BRICS Summit to be held in South Africa at the end of August, Dmitry Peskov said: "Russia will send representatives to this Summit at the appropriate level."

Last week, Mr. Peskov said that no decision had been made on how President Putin would attend the BRICS Summit.

The BRICS summit, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24.

Former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello sentenced to prison for corruption

On May 31, the Supreme Court of Brazil sentenced former President Fernando Collor de Mello to 8 years and 10 months in prison for corruption and money laundering.

At the trial, the chief judge of the case, Mr. Edson Fachin, said the circumstances of the case were “extremely serious,” demonstrating the abuse of public office for personal gain. Judge Fachin said Mr. Collor used his political influence to promote the appointment of the Board of Directors of Petrobas subsidiary Distribuidora and to create the basis for the establishment of contracts. Meanwhile, the money laundering was carried out through more than 40 deposits into accounts in Collor’s name and in 65 accounts of companies owned by him.

Mr. Collor has the right to appeal the sentence. The former president’s defense attorneys have maintained that Mr. Collor “did not commit any crime” and expressed confidence that he will be vindicated.

Previously, the Brazilian prosecutor's office accused Mr. Collor, 73, of receiving about 30 million reais ($6 million) in bribes from the state-owned oil company Petrobras. In a ruling in mid-May, the Brazilian Supreme Court formally convicted Mr. Collor of receiving 20 million reais ($4 million) in bribes from Petrobras, while he was a senator from 2010 to 2014, to arrange a contract between a construction company and a Petrobra subsidiary.

Mr. Collor was elected President of Brazil in 1989 and held the position from 1990 to 1992. During his time in office, thousands of people took to the streets to protest and demand his resignation. After corruption allegations, Congress initiated impeachment proceedings, which led to Mr. Collor's decision to resign.

More than 170 countries discuss solutions to plastic waste crisis

On May 29, in Paris (France), countries around the world began the second negotiating session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on an International Agreement to End Plastic Pollution.

Representatives of 175 countries with varying ambitions gathered at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the aim of making progress towards a historic agreement to end plastic pollution next year.

Speaking to delegates, head of the United Nations Environment Program Inger Andersen emphasized that the habit of throwing away plastic is causing serious environmental pollution, suffocating the Earth's ecosystem, increasing climate change, harming human health, and the most vulnerable people are the ones most severely affected.

In a video message to the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron called on the negotiating countries to end the “globalized and unsustainable” production model, in which rich countries export plastic waste to poorer ones. He stressed that plastic pollution is “a time bomb and a scourge of our time,” noting that fossil fuel-based materials pose a risk to global warming mitigation goals as well as to biodiversity and human health.

In February last year, countries agreed in principle on the need to develop a legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution worldwide, setting an ambitious deadline of 2024 for reaching an agreement. Policy actions to be debated during the talks include a global ban on single-use plastics and limits on the production of new plastics./.

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