Biden in ‘historic’ pledge for poor nations ahead of Trump’s return Posted on 19/11/2024 By udot President Joe Biden speaks during the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro. (AP pic) RIO DE JENAIRO: US president Joe Biden announced a “historic” US$4 billion pledge for a World Bank fund that helps the world’s poorest countries, the White House said Monday, before Donald Trump takes office with a new cost-cutting agenda. The outgoing leader unveiled the money for the International Development Association as he attends the G20 summit underway in Rio de Janeiro, his last time at the gathering of world leaders. “The president announced today that the United States intends to pledge US$4 billion over three years… which is really exciting,” a senior US administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity. The official said the pledge would not be binding on Trump’s incoming administration but said previous Republican governments had also backed top-ups for the fund. US deputy national security advisor Jon Finer earlier called the pledge “historic” and said Biden would “rally other leaders to step up their contributions.” The International Development Association is the concessional lending arm of the World Bank and is used for some of the poorest countries in the globe, including for projects focused on climate. During a six-day tour of South America, Biden has been trying to shore up his international legacy ahead of president-elect Trump’s return to the White House on Jan 20. On Sunday he visited the Amazon rainforest in Brazil to promote his record on climate change, saying that the United States had hit its target of increasing bilateral climate financing to US$11 billion a year. Billionaire Trump has pledged to take a wrecking ball to many of Biden’s policies and has appointed tech tycoon Elon Musk as head of a commission to target what he calls federal government waste. News
Foreign woman dies in fall from Setapak apartment, police rule out foul play Posted on 10/11/2024 KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — Wangsa Maju police have confirmed the death of a 27-year-old woman after a fall from an apartment building in Setapak here today, but have not found foul play. The foreign woman was said to have fallen from the 22nd floor, news portal Free Malaysia Today… Read More
DOSM: Sabah, Labuan, and Kelantan see lowest unemployment rates in Q3 2024 Posted on 09/11/2024 KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Unemployment rates across Malaysia showed striking differences, with Sabah leading at a high 7.9 per cent, Labuan trailing at 6.1 per cent, and Kelantan seeing the lowest at 3.7 per cent in Q3 2024. According to the statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia… Read More
Trump’s economic policies can add RM19.7bil to Malaysia’s GDP Posted on 19/11/2024 The International Monetary Fund has projected that Malaysia’s 2024 GDP will be US$440 billion. (AP pic) PETALING JAYA: US President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming economic policies are expected to significantly impact Malaysia’s economy, with projections indicating that they could contribute RM19.7 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Juwai IQI… Read More