Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says US spending and production data “has softened” and consumer spending “slowed significantly”, as the central bank decided to again raise the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to tame spiraling price pressures.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he will speak to his Russian counterpart for the first time since the Ukraine invasion but would narrowly focus the call to priorities including the release of detained Americans.
Washington (AFP) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announces a raise of the benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, adding that the Fed expects ongoing rate increases “will be appropriate.”
Baghdad (AFP) – Supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr dance and sing after storming parliament in the capital’s high-security Green Zone, in protest at a rival bloc’s nomination for prime minister. IMAGES
Beirut (AFP) – Images of the heavily damaged grain silos in Beirut’s blast-hit port, where a fire has been burning since the beginning of the month. Lebanon’s Prime Minister earlier said that the section is at risk of collapse. The warning comes just days before Beirut marks two years since the deadly blast ripped through the capital. IMAGES
Baghdad (AFP) – Supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr carry an injured man after penetrating the capital’s high-security government Green Zone to protest against a rival bloc’s nomination for prime minister. IMAGES
Cotonou (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron on a visit to Benin brands Russia “one of the last imperial colonial powers” for its invasion of Ukraine.
Beirut (AFP) – Long lines form in front of bakeries and supermarkets in the Lebanese capital Beirut, where people wait hours for a bag of subsidised Arabic bread — in short supply as a years-long economic crisis depletes state coffers.
Bakhmut (Ukraine) (AFP) – A worker trapped inside a house that was hit by a Russian shell during an intense artillery exchange near the eastern front line of Ukraine, is rescued by emergency workers who make a hole in a steel fence with an axe.
Beijing (AFP) – China warns that Washington would “bear the consequences” if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, with tensions soaring between the two countries. Beijing has hit back hard against the United States after reports emerged last week that Pelosi, a Democrat who is second in line to the presidency, could visit the self-ruled island of Taiwan in August. “We are firmly opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan,” says Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a regular press conference in Beijing.
