Apr 24 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the European Tour Gran Canaria Open on Saturday -18 Garrick Higgo (South Africa) 65 64 63 -16 Matthieu Pavon (France) 66 64 64 Matthias Schwab (Austria) 65 63 66 Connor Syme (Scotland) 71 61 62 -15 Sam Horsfield (England) 69 61 65 Jeff Winther (Denmark) 67 66 62 -14 Wil Besseling (Netherlands) 64 63 69 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 65 67 64 Rhys Enoch (Wales) 65 62 69 Joachim B. Hansen (Denmark) 63 67 66 Maximilian Kieffer (Germany) 63 65 68 Guido Migliozzi (Italy) 70 64 62 Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark) 65 61 70 Ashun Wu (China PR) 67 68 61 -13 Alexander Björk (Sweden) 67 66 64 Dean Burmester (South Africa) 65 67 65 Alejandro Del Rey (Spain) 64 68 65 Justin Harding (South Africa) 65 67 65 Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark) 67 64 66 Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 63 68 66 Clément Sordet (France) 65 68 64 -12 Richard Bland (England) 64 66 68 Aaron Cockerill (Canada) 71 62 65 Niall Kearney (Republic of Ireland) 66 68 64 Romain Langasque (France) 67 63 68 Benjamin Poke (Denmark) 66 66 66 Jack Senior (England) 66 65 67 Darius Van Driel (Netherlands) 66 65 67 -11 Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain) 65 67 67 Ben Evans (England) 64 67 68 Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 71 63 65 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 68 65 66 Marcel Schneider (Germany) 68 66 65 Lars Van Meijel (Netherlands) 66 67 66 -10 Pep Angles (Spain) 71 64 65 Maverick Antcliff (Australia) 66 63 71 Nino Bertasio (Italy) 69 63 68 Jonathan Caldwell (Northern Ireland) 68 65 67 Calum Hill (Scotland) 68 66 66 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 64 68 68 Robin Roussel (France) 63 65 72 -9 Ivan Cantero (Spain) 67 67 67 John Catlin (USA) 67 67 67 Victor Dubuisson (France) 68 62 71 Julien Guerrier (France) 68 67 66 Sebastian Heisele (Germany) 69 66 66 Sihwan Kim (Korea Republic) 67 65 69 Zander Lombard (South Africa) 66 65 70 Adrian Meronk (Poland) 67 68 66 Antoine Rozner (France) 66 68 67 Max Schmitt (Germany) 66 69 66 Jordan L Smith (England) 68 65 68 -8 Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark) 71 64 67 Alejandro Cañizares (Spain) 70 65 67 Ashley Chesters (England) 70 65 67 Oliver Farr (Wales) 68 67 67 Grégory Havret (France) 65 70 67 Andrew Johnston (England) 68 63 71 Garrick Porteous (England) 68 67 67 Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 68 67 67 -7 Louis De Jager (South Africa) 69 66 68 Matt Ford (England) 64 66 73 Francesco Laporta (Italy) 66 68 69 Mike Lorenzo-Vera (France) 65 68 70 Oliver Wilson (England) 65 69 69 -6 Adri Arnaus (Spain) 69 66 69 Sean Crocker (USA) 67 68 69 Paul Waring (England) 68 65 71 -5 Marcus Armitage (England) 69 64 72 Berry Henson (USA) 70 63 72 James Morrison (England) 69 66 70 Andy Sullivan (England) 70 65 70 Justin Walters (South Africa) 69 65 71 -4 Richard Mansell (England) 68 66 72 
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European Tour Gran Canaria Open Scores

JOHANNESBURG, April 24 (Reuters) &#8211; One of South Africa&#8217;s largest public sector trade unions said on Saturday that it was preparing for a strike, as wage talks with the government reached a deadlock.
Africa&#8217;s most industrialised nation is trying to rein in public sector salaries to arrest a rapid build-up in debt that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2021 budget presented in February, the National Treasury said ways to curb the wage bill could include freezing salaries for the next three years, headcount reductions and changing or abolishing some benefits for civil servants.
Those proposals further strained relations with unions, after a court battle over the government&#8217;s failure to raise salaries last year.
The Public Servants Association (PSA) said in a statement on Saturday that it rejected a revised government offer made on Friday and would strike to secure salary increases for its more than 235,000 members.
Public sector unions affiliated with the COSATU federation, the country&#8217;s largest union grouping, said in a separate statement that a deadlock had been reached and they were consulting members over next steps.
A spokeswoman for the ministry negotiating on behalf of the government told Reuters its position had not changed since a Thursday statement saying there was no money for higher wages. She declined to elaborate.
At the start of negotiations in March, unions demanded wage increases of inflation plus 4% for all workers in the 2021/22 fiscal year, as well as better housing payments and a risk allowance because of COVID-19. Annual inflation is currently around 3%.
The government offered no salary increases during the first round of talks.
The PSA said the government&#8217;s tweaked offer on Friday proposed using &#8220;funds allocated for pay progression, resettlement costs, daily allowances, and encashment of leave to fund a cost-of-living adjustment,&#8221; which it called nothing more than &#8220;shifting funds&#8221;.
&#8220;The employer is hell-bent on a zero-increase approach,&#8221; COSATU said in its statement.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Wendell Roelf, Editing by Ros Russell)
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South African public sector union prepares for strike as wage talks hit deadlock

Apr 23 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the PGA Tour Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Friday -13 Cameron Champ (USA) 63 68 Viktor Hovland (Norway) 62 69 -11 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 65 68 Bubba Watson (USA) 64 69 -10 Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 63 71 Richy Werenski (USA) 65 69 -9 Jason Kokrak (USA) 65 70 Marc Leishman (Australia) 63 72 -8 Keegan Bradley (USA) 63 73 Billy Horschel (USA) 63 73 Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 66 70 Rob Oppenheim (USA) 66 70 Cameron Percy (Australia) 66 70 Jon Rahm (Spain) 65 71 Brendon Todd (USA) 66 70 -7 Tyler Duncan (USA) 64 73 Brice Garnett (USA) 62 75 Max Homa (USA) 66 71 Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea Republic) 63 74 Keith Mitchell (USA) 66 71 Alex Noren (Sweden) 67 70 Thomas Pieters (Belgium) 67 70 Doc Redman (USA) 66 71 -6 Wyndham Clark (USA) 64 74 Michael Gligic (Canada) 67 71 David Hearn (Canada) 67 71 Charley Hoffman (USA) 64 74 Michael Kim (USA) 67 71 Peter Malnati (USA) 65 73 Xander Schauffele (USA) 64 74 Sepp Straka (Austria) 68 70 Justin Suh (USA) 65 73 Danny Willett (England) 65 73 -5 Dylan Frittelli (South Africa) 65 Harry Higgs (USA) 67 Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark) 67 Mark Hubbard (USA) 63 Matt Jones (Australia) 65 Martin Laird (Scotland) 67 Maverick McNealy (USA) 69 Troy Merritt (USA) 69 Cameron Tringale (USA) 65 -4 Branden Grace (South Africa) 67 Matthew NeSmith (USA) 68 Scott Piercy (USA) 65 Chez Reavie (USA) 70 Roger Sloan (Canada) 64 Kevin Tway (USA) 70 -3 Sungjae Im (Korea Republic) 68 Sung-hoon Kang (Korea Republic) 68 Hank Lebioda (USA) 67 Robby Shelton (USA) 67 Michael Thompson (USA) 65 -2 Rafael Campos (Puerto Rico) 68 Austin Cook (USA) 66 Jason Dufner (USA) 68 Russell Knox (Scotland) 65 Nelson Ledesma (Argentina) 66 Cheng-Tsung Pan (Chinese Taipei) 71 Bo Van Pelt (USA) 70 Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) 68 -1 Tom Hoge (USA) 69 Kevin Kisner (USA) 70 Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand) 68 0 Albert Woody Austin II (USA) 68 Ryan Blaum (USA) 71 Joel Dahmen (USA) 69 Chesson Hadley (USA) 67 J.B. Holmes (USA) 68 Danny Lee (New Zealand) 69 Andrew Putnam (USA) 67 1 Rhein Gibson (Australia) 69 2 Matt Every (USA) 68 D.J. Trahan (USA) 70 3 Hunter Mahan (USA) 70 Collin Morikawa (USA) 70 4 Kevin Stadler (USA) 69 5 Martin Trainer (USA) 69 6 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 71 Bo Hoag (USA) 71 
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PGA Tour Zurich Classic of New Orleans Scores

By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. lawmakers and nonprofit groups on Friday heaped pressure on the Biden administration to back a temporary patent waiver for COVID-19 vaccines to help poor countries contain the pandemic.
The groups delivered a petition signed by two million people, adding to separate letters already sent to U.S. President Joe Biden by a group of senators, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, nearly 100 members of the House and 60 former heads of state and 100 Nobel Prize winners.
Senator Bernie Sanders said it was also in the United States&#8217; own interest to ensure as many people were vaccinated as quickly as possible, to limit the chance of virus mutations that could prompt further U.S. lockdowns. But he also appealed to Biden&#8217;s desire to rebuild U.S. credibility in the world.
&#8220;On this enormously important health issue, this moral issue, the United States has got to do the right thing,&#8221; he told a news conference.
The United States and a handful of other big countries have blocked negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving a proposal spearheaded by India and South Africa that now has the support of 100 WTO members. The proposal would temporarily waive the intellectual property (IP) rights of pharmaceutical companies to allow developing countries to produce vaccines.
Proponents are pushing Washington to change course ahead of the next formal WTO meeting on the issue on May 5.

&#8216;COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE&#8217;
One source briefed on the issue told Reuters U.S. trade officials realized &#8220;that something needs to be done, whether it&#8217;s the TRIPS waiver or some other solution,&#8221; a reference to the WTO&#8217;s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property agreement.
A second source said the administration was concerned that worsening COVID-19 outbreaks in India and other low-income countries could undermine progress made in the United States.
The office of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai had no immediate comment on the petitions or the latest comments.
Tai last week likened the huge gap in access to medicines to the AIDS crisis and called it &#8220;completely unacceptable,&#8221; but stopped short of backing the waiver, which is opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and big pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson &amp; Johnson.
Critics argue that waiving IP rights could reduce the safety of vaccines worldwide, and say other issues &#8211; such as improving distribution networks &#8211; are far more urgent priorities. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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Lawmakers urge Biden to back ‘moral’ patent waiver to speed vaccine access

By Megan Rowling
BARCELONA, April 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; From installing solar energy in villages in Sierra Leone to making electric buses for American schools, the clean energy revolution the world needs for a safer future can also bring secure jobs with good wages, a U.S.-led summit heard on Friday.
Hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, the second day of the international climate summit looked at how to develop clean technologies and industries to replace planet-heating fossil fuels, while ensuring prosperity for workers.
&#8220;If we can keep the focus on the jobs we&#8217;re going to create, the economic opportunity, the growth &#8211; and in my country, at least, on union jobs &#8211; to provide the ability to raise the economy, raise the GDP, raise every part of who we are &#8211; I think this is just an incredible opportunity,&#8221; the president said.
One of the first people Biden spoke to on environmental issues as he took office was Lonnie Stephenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, he said.
That was &#8220;because I am so sick and tired of people talking about how we get this (transition) done and (they) don&#8217;t care about jobs&#8221;.
Biden has sought to connect efforts to fight climate change with opportunities to create jobs in growth industries like green energy as part of his $2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure package, which requires approval by Congress.
Stephenson, who heads the largest energy union in North America, told the event that so far not enough employers in renewable power, including wind and solar energy, allowed workers to join trade unions and secure their labour rights.
He noted there would be new jobs in boosting electricity transmission capacity, building smart neighbourhood grids and laying fibre optic cables, as well as in adding nuclear and hydrogen power and working on carbon capture.
&#8220;The current energy transition can be a win for the climate and a win for jobs as long as lawmakers commit to implementing labour protections that ensure new energy jobs are good, union jobs,&#8221; Stephenson said.
Roxanne Brown, international vice president at large of the United Steelworkers, a union with about 850,000 members, said governments around the world could put workers at the centre of building a clean energy infrastructure by &#8220;simply making room for us at the table, like you did today&#8221;.
&#8220;Oftentimes, policymakers form ideas about what they think is essential for workers in a particular state, industry, region, province or country. But, really, only workers can best answer the question of how a net-zero economy includes us,&#8221; she said.
Workers can and should be key allies in shaping green economy policies and &#8220;not an after-thought&#8221;, she added.

JUST TRANSITION
Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, warned against repeating the unfair transitions of the past that left some communities stranded.
Starting in the 1980s, for instance, northern U.S. states lost heavy industry jobs to automation and factory moves overseas, while in Britain many workers were left jobless as the country&#8217;s coal mines closed.
To curb climate change, clean technologies will be needed not just for energy production but also in agriculture, construction, transport, services and their supply chains in both cities and rural areas, affecting a wide range of workers, Burrow noted.
As the need for a socially and economically &#8220;just transition&#8221; to a low-carbon future becomes clearer, countries from Germany to New Zealand and Ghana to Canada have put in place agreements to consult workers on the changes, she noted.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke about how his left-wing government has negotiated pacts with workers, businesses and local authorities in coal-mining areas to support the move from dirty to clean industries, with the aim of leaving no one behind.
Burrow also cited the example of Danish renewable energy company Ørsted, which struck a deal with North America&#8217;s Building Trades Unions to train new offshore wind workers to supply a pipeline of projects down the U.S. East Coast.
&#8220;The good news is that for every dollar &#8230; invested in climate transition, there are jobs,&#8221; she said.
Every 10 jobs in renewable energy generates five to 10 jobs in supply chains, and can produce up to three times that many jobs in places where workers get good wages and spend them, she added.

COMMUNITY SOLAR
Nthabiseng Mosia, co-founder of Easy Solar, a company that in five years has created about 800 jobs for young people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, said clean energy in West Africa could help provide the employment needed for a fast-growing population.
African nations should not have to &#8220;worry about a problem we did not create&#8221; in tackling climate change, she said.
But &#8220;I do believe it&#8217;s a unique opportunity to look forward&#8230; challenge the status quo, and say economic development does not have to be dirty,&#8221; said the off-grid solar entrepreneur.
In Kenya, decentralised renewable energy companies now employ more than 10,000 workers, most of them based in rural areas &#8211; a figure comparable to the number working for the country&#8217;s state utility, Mosia noted.
But off-grid renewables will require billions of dollars in new funding to expand enough to beat energy poverty in Africa, she said.
The summit also heard from Erica Mackie, CEO of California-based GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit that installs solar systems and also trains low-income communities and groups including women, racial minorities and ex-prisoners to do the work.
Many then find jobs in the solar industry or start their own business ventures, Mackie said.
&#8220;Those most impacted by fossil fuel pollution, climate-induced disasters and burdensome energy costs must be first (in) climate solutions &#8211; they must benefit first,&#8221; she said.
U.S. National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said the organisation&#8217;s work was a reminder that clean energy &#8220;is not a luxury for a few&#8221;.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a necessity for all of us,&#8221; she told the summit. (Reporting by Megan Rowling @meganrowling; editing by Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
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Clean energy shift a chance to ‘raise’ people and the economy, Biden says

Apr 23 (OPTA) &#8211; Scores from the European Tour Gran Canaria Open on Friday -14 Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark) 65 61 -13 Wil Besseling (Netherlands) 64 63 Rhys Enoch (Wales) 65 62 -12 Maximilian Kieffer (Germany) 63 65 Robin Roussel (France) 63 65 Matthias Schwab (Austria) 65 63 -11 Maverick Antcliff (Australia) 66 63 Garrick Higgo (South Africa) 65 64 -10 Richard Bland (England) 64 66 Victor Dubuisson (France) 68 62 Matt Ford (England) 64 66 Joachim B. Hansen (Denmark) 63 67 Sam Horsfield (England) 69 61 Romain Langasque (France) 67 63 Matthieu Pavon (France) 66 64 -9 Ben Evans (England) 64 67 Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark) 67 64 Andrew Johnston (England) 68 63 Zander Lombard (South Africa) 66 65 Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 63 68 Jack Senior (England) 66 65 Darius Van Driel (Netherlands) 66 65 -8 Nino Bertasio (Italy) 69 63 Dean Burmester (South Africa) 65 67 Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain) 65 67 Alejandro Del Rey (Spain) 64 68 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 65 67 Justin Harding (South Africa) 65 67 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 64 68 Sihwan Kim (Korea Republic) 67 65 Benjamin Poke (Denmark) 66 66 Connor Syme (Scotland) 71 61 -7 Marcus Armitage (England) 69 64 Alexander Björk (Sweden) 67 66 Jonathan Caldwell (Northern Ireland) 68 65 Aaron Cockerill (Canada) 71 62 Berry Henson (USA) 70 63 Mike Lorenzo-Vera (France) 65 68 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 68 65 Jordan L Smith (England) 68 65 Clément Sordet (France) 65 68 Lars Van Meijel (Netherlands) 66 67 Paul Waring (England) 68 65 Jeff Winther (Denmark) 67 66 -6 Ivan Cantero (Spain) 67 67 John Catlin (USA) 67 67 Calum Hill (Scotland) 68 66 Niall Kearney (Republic of Ireland) 66 68 Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 71 63 Francesco Laporta (Italy) 66 68 Richard Mansell (England) 68 66 Guido Migliozzi (Italy) 70 64 Antoine Rozner (France) 66 68 Marcel Schneider (Germany) 68 66 Justin Walters (South Africa) 69 65 Oliver Wilson (England) 65 69 -5 Pep Angles (Spain) 71 64 Adri Arnaus (Spain) 69 66 Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark) 71 64 Alejandro Cañizares (Spain) 70 65 Ashley Chesters (England) 70 65 Sean Crocker (USA) 67 68 Louis De Jager (South Africa) 69 66 Oliver Farr (Wales) 68 67 Oliver Fisher (England) 69 66 Julien Guerrier (France) 68 67 Grégory Havret (France) 65 70 Sebastian Heisele (Germany) 69 66 Adrian Meronk (Poland) 67 68 James Morrison (England) 69 66 Garrick Porteous (England) 68 67 Max Schmitt (Germany) 66 69 Andy Sullivan (England) 70 65 Ashun Wu (China PR) 67 68 Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 68 67 -4 David Coupland (England) 70 66 Ross Fisher (England) 69 67 Tom Gandy (Isle of Man) 67 69 Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spain) 69 67 Kaske Janne (Finland) 69 67 Rikard Karlberg (Sweden) 73 63 Masahiro Kawamura (Japan) 69 67 Kurt Kitayama (USA) 71 65 Pablo Larrazábal (Spain) 66 70 Richard McEvoy (England) 69 67 Jake McLeod (Australia) 66 70 Pedro Oriol (Spain) 71 65 Adrian Otaegui (Spain) 70 66 Eddie Pepperell (England) 65 71 Carlos Pigem (Spain) 70 66 Haydn Porteous (South Africa) 68 68 Kalle Samooja (Finland) 68 68 Robin Sciot-Siegrist (France) 68 68 Sebastian Soderberg (Sweden) 71 65 Joël Stalter (France) 68 68 Julian Suri (USA) 64 72 Toby Tree (England) 68 68 Euan Walker (Scotland) 71 65 Suradit Yongcharoenchai (Thailand) 67 69 -3 Austin Bautista (Australia) 69 68 Steven Brown (England) 71 66 Jorge Campillo (Spain) 69 68 Liam Johnston (Scotland) 70 67 Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 69 68 Alvaro Quiros (Spain) 67 70 Ricardo Santos (Portugal) 69 68 Cormac Sharvin (Northern Ireland) 67 70 Lee Slattery (England) 67 70 Johannes Veerman (USA) 70 67 Borja Virto (Spain) 66 71 -2 Gaganjeet Bhullar (India) 69 69 David Drysdale (Scotland) 68 70 Scott Fernandez (Spain) 70 68 Pedro Figueiredo (Portugal) 72 66 Grant Forrest (Scotland) 68 70 Raphaël Jacquelin (France) 68 70 Matthew Jordan (England) 67 71 Tyler Koivosto (USA) 68 70 Mikko Korhonen (Finland) 68 70 Ondrej Lieser (Czech Republic) 67 71 Tapio Pulkkanen (Finland) 67 71 Adrien Saddier (France) 69 69 Ajeetesh Sandhu (India) 66 72 Thomas Sloman (England) 71 67 Steven Tiley (England) 70 68 Dale Whitnell (England) 69 69 -1 Yikeun Chang (Korea Republic) 71 68 Paul Dunne (Republic of Ireland) 68 71 David Law (Scotland) 71 68 Alexander Levy (France) 70 69 Shubhankar Sharma (India) 69 70 Carl Suneson (Spain) 71 68 0 Gonzalo Fernandez Castano (Spain) 68 72 Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 67 73 Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (Spain) 69 71 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) 71 69 Oscar Sanchez (Spain) 69 71 1 Eduardo De La Riva (Spain) 71 70 Benjamin Hebert (France) 72 69 Joakim Lagergren (Sweden) 73 68 Eduard Rousaud Sabate (Spain) 72 69 Samuel Del Val (Spain) 70 71 2 S.S.P. Chawrasia (India) 74 68 David Howell (England) 71 71 Ross McGowan (England) 73 69 Chris Wood (England) 70 72 3 Nacho Elvira (Spain) 76 67 Matthew Southgate (England) 71 72 4 Peter Hanson (Sweden) 74 70 6 Andrea Pavan (Italy) 78 68 16 Inaki Urriza Fuentes (Spain) 83 73 
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LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; The financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed efforts by central banks in a range of countries to unify parallel exchange rates, leaving states such as Lebanon and Iran with currency black markets that cause more economic damage, a study found.
Twenty-two countries now have more than one exchange rate, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) found in a report. Where official rates differ sharply from the rates available to ordinary people or businesses, that can cause a range of economic problems.
&#8220;An official exchange rate significantly stronger than a market-clearing rate will discourage FDI (foreign direct investment), reduce the interbank FX market, encourage rent-seeking, and impede business development,&#8221; said Garbis Iradian, IIF chief economist for the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus and Central Asia.
&#8220;In the current difficult global environment, confronted by both global (COVID-19) and country-specific challenges (sanctions in Iran and Syria, political paralysis in Lebanon), central banks in some countries with multiple exchange rates have held back from tightening monetary policy and from undertaking the reforms to their exchange rate systems necessary to achieve successful unification,&#8221; the report said.
Parallel market rates in March 2021 exceeded the official exchange rates by 720% in Lebanon, 520% in Turkmenistan and 490% in Iran, it added.
Lebanon joined the &#8220;club of problematic currencies&#8221; in late 2019 when political paralysis led to a sharp loss of confidence, the report said.
&#8220;Large premia encourage smuggling or illegal trade,&#8221; wrote Iradian, adding subsidies for basic products like fuel saw a high proportion of it end up in neighbouring Syria.
While Iran has had a number of failed attempts at unifying its exchange rates in recent years, the currency could appreciate in the parallel market significantly in the second half of 2021 if an agreement is reached to restore its nuclear deal with world powers.
&#8220;Such an agreement combined with tighter monetary stance and structural reforms would enable the authorities to unify the two rates by mid-2022,&#8221; Iradian said.
Looking at a number of case studies from Angola to Egypt, the IIF found that adjusting the official rate to a market-clearing level did not necessarily lead to further depreciation. But tight monetary and fiscal policies as well as structural reforms were necessary to stabilize a unified exchange rate beyond the near-term, the IIF said.
Meanwhile attempts by policy makers to enforce capital controls have proven to be ineffective.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker Editing by Peter Graff)
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Pandemic thwarts efforts to end currency black markets, study says

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday that veteran U.S. diplomat and former United Nations official Jeffrey Feltman will serve as Washington&#8217;s special envoy for the Horn of Africa region. (Reporting by Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey Editing by Chris Reese)
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Veteran diplomat Jeffrey Feltman named as U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa

(adds quotes from EU&#8217;s von der Leyen, Macron)
* WHO has repeatedly denounced inequities in vaccine distribution
* &#8216;Situation in India a devastating reminder of what virus can do&#8217;
* EU announces world&#8217;s biggest vaccine supply deal
* South Africa&#8217;s Ramaphosa challenges &#8216;vaccine nationalism&#8217;
*
By Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge
GENEVA, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Coronavirus vaccines remain out of reach in the poorest countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, marking the first anniversary of the COVAX dose-sharing facility.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly denounced inequities in vaccine distribution and urged wealthier countries to share excess doses to help inoculate health workers in low-income countries.
More than 3.2 million people have died in the pandemic worldwide.
&#8220;Nearly 900 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 81% have gone to high- or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.3%,&#8221; Tedros said in a report about the ACT (Access to COVID-19 Tools) Accelerator set up a year ago.
The European Commission said it had sealed the world&#8217;s biggest vaccine supply deal, agreeing to buy up to 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer&#8217;s vaccine for the next few years as a debate rages over access to shots for the world&#8217;s poorest people.
Its President Ursula Von der Leyen, in a recorded message to the WHO press conference: &#8220;The response of too many leaders was &#8216;my country first&#8217;. We made a different choice. We knew that we needed to fight this virus not just at home but in all continents and countries, from Asia&#8217;s megacities to Africa&#8217;s most remote villages.&#8221;
Tedros also said that he was concerned about the rising caseload in India saying: &#8220;The situation in India is a devastating reminder of what the virus can do.&#8221; India reported the world&#8217;s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents and lack of medical oxygen.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that one in six Europeans had been vaccinated, one in five in North America but just one in 100 in Africa.
&#8220;It&#8217;s unacceptable,&#8221; he said.
France will step up vaccine donations to COVAX in the coming months, providing 500,000 shots, including from suppliers other than AstraZeneca, Macron said, urging others to do the same.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on pharmaceutical companies to transfer mRNA vaccine technology to low- and middle-income countries &#8220;free of intellectual property barriers&#8221;.
&#8220;Let us together challenge vaccine nationalism and ensure that protecting intellectual property rights does not come at the expense of human lives,&#8221; he added.
The ACT Accelerator still needs $19 billion this year, Tedros said adding: &#8220;That’s a drop in the ocean compared with the trillions of dollars governments are spending on supporting their economies, and the massive revenues that most vaccine makers are generating.&#8221;
Dag Ulstein, Norwegian minister of international development, told the same briefing: &#8220;Continued lack of financial support for the ACT Accelerator poses a major obstacle for its ability to deliver at scale.&#8221;
COVAX, which has shipped 40.5 million doses to 118 countries so far, aims to secure 2 billion shots by the end of 2021. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Emma Farge and Alexander Winning; Writing by Stehanie Nebehay and Nick Macfie; editing by Louise Heavens)
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WRAPUP 3-WHO, Macron condemn global vaccine divide as COVAX scheme marks first year

JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Absa&#8217;s Punki Modise has been appointed as the interim financial director of the South African lender, the bank said on Tuesday, after Jason Quinn stepped into the interim chief executive position this week.
Quinn was appointed on Tuesday to replace Daniel Mminele, who stepped down just 15 months into his post after disagreements with the board about strategy and culture change, Absa said.
Modise joined Absa Group in 2008 and has held various senior management positions, including chief financial officer of retail and business banking since June 2016.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Edmund Blair)
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South Africa’s Absa appoints insider Punki Modise as interim CFO

JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa plans to lift the licensing threshold for small-scale power generation projects to 10 megawatts (MW) from 1 MW, a government notice showed on Friday, giving a boost to firms anxious to curb their reliance on ailing state utility Eskom.
Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy regularly suffers electricity outages because of faults at Eskom&#8217;s creaking coal-fired power stations.
But onerous regulations have prevented many companies, such as miners, from setting up their own generation facilities.
According to the notice published in the government gazette on Friday, generation projects of up to 10 MW will need to register with energy regulator Nersa, despite being exempt from requiring a licence.
The notice was signed by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and invited the public to comment on the proposed change.
President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that the licensing threshold would be raised during a state of the nation address in February, as part of reforms aimed at ending the country&#8217;s power crisis.
At the time he said easing licensing requirements for so-called &#8220;embedded generation&#8221; projects could unlock up to 5,000 MW of additional capacity.
Some local experts have said the threshold should be lifted to 50 MW, given the extent of the power shortfall and the fact that many companies want to build facilities larger than 10 MW.
Miner Gold Fields in February won approval for a 40 MW solar plant, four years after it first submitted a licence application. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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&nbsp;

South Africa to lift power generation licence threshold to 10 MW

By Nita Bhalla
NAIROBI, April 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; A sharp rise in gender-based violence in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an urgent need for more shelters to help victims and awareness campaigns, women&#8217;s rights groups said on Friday.
Cases of violence targeting women and girls &#8211; including rape, child marriage and murder &#8211; rose 36% in 2020 from a year earlier to just over 5,000, government data showed this week.
The report released by Kenya&#8217;s ministry of public service, youth and gender was based on the findings of an investigation ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year into rising reports of violence due to lockdown curbs.
Women&#8217;s rights groups said the real number of cases was likely much higher than the data showed, with many victims reluctant to report crimes due to fear and stigma, and urged authorities to provide more refuges and boost public awareness.
&#8220;There are very few shelters available and those that are there are full,&#8221; said Jean-Paul Murunga, programme officer for End Sexual Violence for the charity Equality Now.
&#8220;Just yesterday, I was given a call by a partner charity where their shelter is now full, and there is nowhere to take young girls who they rescued from sexual abuse and trafficking.&#8221;
The ministry said it had established rescue centres for gender-based violence victims in five counties, adding that there were 36 more shelters run by charities in other parts of the country.
But Murunga said few of the facilities were in operation and were too small to cope with the demand.
Across the world, violence against women increased during pandemic-related lockdowns.
Social and economic strains &#8211; compounded by strict limits on movement &#8211; have not only made women and girls been more prone to physical and sexual violence, but also more vulnerable to sexual exploitation &#8211; particularly in developing countries like Kenya.
With families unable to earn an income, many girls are being forced into transactional sex &#8211; exploited by neighbours, motorbike taxi drivers or other local men &#8211; just to buy food.
There have also been reports of a sharp increase in teen pregnancies during school closures and mass ceremonies of girls being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM).
&#8220;The figures are quite alarming,&#8221; said Beverly Nkirote, gender justice and programme officer at the Network for Adolescent Youth of Africa.
&#8220;We commend the work that the ministry is doing, but we still need to do a lot of work to raise awareness of things like the national hotline number and other places where people can go to seek help. You can only act if you have the information.&#8221; (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla; Editing by Helen Popper. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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Calls for women’s shelters as Kenya reports COVID-19 surge in violence

(Adds Macron, Ramaphosa)
* WHO has repeatedly denounced inequities in vaccine distribution
* &#8216;Situation in India a devastating reminder of what virus can do&#8217;
* Ramaphosa challenges &#8216;vaccine nationalism&#8217;
*
By Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge
GENEVA, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Coronavirus vaccines remain out of reach in the poorest countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Friday, marking the first anniversary of the COVAX dose-sharing facility.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly denounced inequities in vaccine distribution and urged wealthier countries to share excess doses to help inoculate health workers in low-income countries.
More than 3 million people have died in the pandemic worldwide.
&#8220;Nearly 900 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 81% have gone to high- or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.3%,&#8221; Tedros said about the ACT (Access to COVID-19 Tools) Accelerator set up a year ago.
He told a briefing he was concerned about the rising caseload in India.
India reported the world&#8217;s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents and lack of medical oxygen.
&#8220;The situation in India is a devastating reminder of what the virus can do,&#8221; he told a virtual briefing.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that one in six Europeans had been vaccinated, one in five in North America but just one in 100 in Africa.
&#8220;It&#8217;s unacceptable,&#8221; he said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on pharmaceutical companies to transfer mRNA vaccine technology to low- and middle-income countries &#8220;free of intellectual property barriers&#8221;.
&#8220;Let us together challenge vaccine nationalism and ensure that protecting intellectual property rights does not come at the expense of human lives,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;Continued lack of financial support for the ACT Accelerator poses a major obstacle for its ability to deliver at scale&#8221; Dag Ulstein, Norwegian minister of international development, told the same briefing.
COVAX, which has shipped 40.5 million doses to 118 countries so far, aims to secure 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.
On Thursday, COVAX, co-run by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance and WHO, said it was seeking to bolster its supplies of vaccines for poor countries from new manufacturers as it aims to mitigate supply problems of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India, its main shot so far.
&#8220;Low-income countries test less than 5% as much as high-income countries, and the majority of countries still have trouble accessing sufficient oxygen and dexamethasone,&#8221; Tedros said. He was referring to an inexpensive steroid found to help patients suffering severe COVID-19, the only WHO-approved treatment for the disease. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Emma Farge and Alexander Winning; Writing by Stehanie Nebehay and Nick Macfie; editing by Louise Heavens)
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&nbsp;

WRAPUP 2-WHO, Macron denounce vaccine inequity as COVAX scheme marks first year

RAMAPHOSA SAYS GREATLY ENCOURAGED BY SUPPORT FOR SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA&#8217;S PROPOSAL FOR TRIPS WAIVER ON SOME INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
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&nbsp;

RAMAPHOSA SAYS GREATLY ENCOURAGED BY SUPPORT FOR SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA’S PROPOSAL FOR TRIPS WAIVER ON SOME INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

HARARE, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe successfully defended a modest total to pull off an upset 19-run win over in-form Pakistan and level their Twenty20 international series at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.
Zimbabwe were sent into bat first, and despite a feisty 34 from Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, made only a paltry 118-9 as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.
But Pakistan, who beat South Africa 3-1 in a four-match series earlier this month, fell short in a laboured chase as they were bowled out for 99.
Luke Jongwe emerged the home hero as he took the important wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (13) and captain Babar Azam (41) to finish with figures of 4-18.
It was the lowest total defended in a T20 international in Harare and a first win for Zimbabwe over Pakistan in 15 past T20 internationals.
Zimbabwe bowled with accuracy and fielded without mistakes to make up for a poor performance in Wednesday&#8217;s first T20 and set up a deciding contest in the last of the three-match series on Sunday.
&#8220;It was big turn around for us after the first game,&#8221; said stand-in captain Brendan Taylor afterwards.
&#8220;I&#8217;d be lying if I said I was confident after our batting, but we dug deep and managed to squeeze Pakistan and our commitment and determination got us over the line.&#8221; (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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Cricket-Zimbabwe pull off shock T20 win over Pakistan

April 23 (Reuters) &#8211;
For other diaries, please see:

Political and General News
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&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211; This diary is filed daily. ** Indicates new events &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
** LJUBLJANA &#8211; Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath at the Monument to the Victims of all Wars in Ljubljana during a visit to Slovenia at the invitation of her counterpart Borut Pahor. ** LISBON &#8211; Portugal&#8217;s Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva opens conference EU-Africa Green Investment Forum &#8211; 0800 GMT. ** VIENNA &#8211; Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein hold news conference on reopening the country &#8211; 1200 GMT. ** GENEVA &#8211; WHO to mark one-year anniversary of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator &#8211; 1300 GMT. ** LISBON &#8211; Portugal&#8217;s Defense Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho holds workshop with several EU defense ministers and secretaries of state about the Strategic Compass &#8211; 1530 GMT. ** ISTANBUL &#8211; Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shan Mahmood Qureshi and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hold talks in Istanbul &#8211; 1600 GMT. ** HANOI &#8211; Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate. ** WARSAW &#8211; Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks at a U.S. climate summit &#8211; 1330 GMT.
BELGRADE/PRISTINA &#8211; Germany&#8217;s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visits Kosovo and Serbia (final day). LONDON &#8211; Britain&#8217;s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will be hosting Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to discuss the UK-Australia free trade agreement. BERLIN &#8211; German Health Minister Jens Spahn and Robert Koch Institute (RKI) vice president Lars Schaade speak to reporters on the coronavirus situation &#8211; 0800 GMT. DUBAI &#8211; Saudi Arabia&#8217;s Finance Minister and the Minister of Investment will give a media briefing on the five-year progress made under Vision 2030, a broad package of reforms to transform the economy of the world&#8217;s top oil exporter &#8211; 0900 GMT. SEOUL &#8211; South Korean President Moon Jae-in attends Climate Change summit organized by the U.S. by video link and delivers a message. MADRID &#8211; Spain&#8217;s prime minister Pedro Sanchez speaks at the Leaders Summit on Climate. He will participate in the session on economic opportunities of climate action &#8211; 1300 GMT. ANKARA &#8211; Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will pay a two-day official visit to Turkey on Friday on the invitation of Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu (to Apr. 24)
JAKARTA &#8211; Foreign Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states meet in Jakarta one day before a leaders summit. BRUSSELS &#8211; European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen meets Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in Brussels. MADRID &#8211; Spain&#8217;s economy minister Nadia Calvino participates in the signing of an agreement on connectivity (Memorandum of Understanding, MOU) with Portugal &#8211; 1100 GMT. BRUSSELS &#8211; EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosts Swiss president for talks on EU-Swiss relations.
GLOBAL – U.N. World Book and Copyright Day. BRUSSELS – EU Informal meeting of environment ministers. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SATURDAY, APRIL 24
MOSCOW &#8211; Mexico&#8217;s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard will visit Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart. (To Apr. 28) &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SUNDAY, APRIL 25
GLOBAL &#8211; World Malaria Day. ALBANIA &#8211; Parliament of Albania election. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
MONDAY, APRIL 26
** MOSCOW &#8211; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Honduran Foreign Minister Foreign Affairs Lisandro Rosales Banegas in Moscow &#8211; 1000 GMT.
** GENEVA &#8211; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), to give news conference on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic.
GLOBAL &#8211; World Immunization Week 2021 (to May 2). NEW DELHI &#8211; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be visiting India. It will be his first visit abroad since the UK left the European Union. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
TUESDAY, APRIL 27
KATUNAYAKE , SRI LANKA &#8211; China’s State Councilor and Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe will be in Sri Lanka to hold bilateral discussions with government officials. SAN FRANCISCO, United States &#8211; Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, will be on a virtual visit to San Francisco. (To Apr. 28) GENEVA &#8211; United Nations calls meeting of Greece, Britain, Turkey and the two rival sides on ethnically partitioned Cyprus to establish whether there is common ground for resumption of peace talks. (To April 29)
BRUSSELS &#8211; European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic speaks to press regarding better regulation in the EU – 1000 GMT. BRUSSELS &#8211; European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Commissioner for Budget Johannes Hahn give a press conference on Next Generation EU funding strategy. BRUSSELS &#8211; European Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager gives a press conference on &#8220;Updating the new industrial strategy for Europe.&#8221; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
** MOSCOW &#8211; Foreign minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov meets with foreign minister of Mexico Marcelo Ebrard in Moscow &#8211; 0900 GMT.
VIENNA – 16th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting Via videoconference.
PORT ARTHUR, Tasmania – 23rd anniversary of Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
** BRUSSELS &#8211; EU development ministers will meet in virtual format to hold an orientation debate on the future of the European financial architecture for development (EFAD).
LONDON – 10th wedding anniversary of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
FRIDAY, APRIL 30
** BRUSSELS &#8211; EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis speaks at BusinessEurope event about the planned EU-Mercosur free trade agreement &#8211; 1300 GMT.
CHAD &#8211; Chad President election. BENIN &#8211; Benin President election.
DJIBOUTI &#8211; President election.
BRUSSELS &#8211; European Commissioner for economy Paolo Gentiloni speaks at an online event on the macroeconomic environment one year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Europe. &#8211; 1300 GMT
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
TUESDAY, MAY 4
** MOSCOW &#8211; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold negotiations with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki in Moscow.
SINGAPORE &#8211; Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will visit Singapore to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
THURSDAY, MAY 6
BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) meeting.
SCOTLAND (PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM)- Scottish Parliament election. WALES &#8211; National Assembly for Wales Election.
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; SATURDAY, MAY 08 PORTUGAL – Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Portugal for the India-EU summit.
PORTO, Portugal – EU-India summit. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
MONDAY, MAY 10
BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
TUESDAY, MAY 11
BRUSSELS &#8211; EU General Affairs Council meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; WEDNESDAY, MAY 12
DUBLIN &#8211; EU Financial Services Commissioner McGuiness speaks at green economy conference &#8211; 0900 GMT
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
MONDAY, MAY 17 BRUSSELS &#8211; Euro zone finance ministers meet &#8211; 1300 GMT
WELLINGTON &#8211; Trade ministers of Asia-Pacific countries meet ahead of the APEC Summit in New Zealand (to May 30)
BRUSSELS &#8211; EU Informal General Affairs Council meeting.
BRUSSELS – Eurogroup meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; TUESDAY, MAY 18
LUCERNE, Switzerland &#8211; World Economic Forum holds annual meeting (to May. 21).
BRUSSELS – EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
THURSDAY, MAY 20
VIENNA &#8211; IMF&#8217;s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, ECB&#8217;s Christine Lagarde address conference on Gender, Money and Finance. (To May 21)
BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; FRIDAY, MAY 21 ROME &#8211; Italy hosts G20 summit on global health crisis.
PORTUGAL – EU Informal meeting of economic and financial affairs ministers, (To May 22). &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SATURDAY, MAY 22
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES &#8211; Palestinians hold legislative elections &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SUNDAY, MAY 23
CYPRUS &#8211; Cypriot House of Representatives election. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; TUESDAY, MAY 25
BRUSSELS – EU Foreign Affairs Council (Development) meeting. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26
CAYMAN ISLANDS &#8211; Cayman Legislative Assembly election. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
THURSDAY, MAY 27
BRUSSELS – EU Informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers – Gymnich
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
FRIDAY, MAY 28
BRUSSELS – EU Informal meeting of defense ministers.
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
TUESDAY, JUNE 1
VALPARAISO, Chile &#8211; Chile&#8217;s President Sebastian Pinera delivers the annual state of the nation address. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SATURDAY, JUNE 5
GAMBIA, THE – Referendum Election. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
SUNDAY, JUNE 6
MEXICO &#8211; Mexican Chamber of Deputies election.
IRAQ &#8211; Iraqi Council of Representatives election. &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
MONDAY, JUNE 7
BRUSSELS – EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting. (To June 8) &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9
MONGOLIA – President Election.
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
THURSDAY, JUNE 10
DUSHANBE &#8211; President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will visit Tajikistan. (To June 12)
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;
FRIDAY, JUNE 18
IRAN, Islamic Republic of Iran – President Election.
&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; NOTE: The inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean that Reuters will file a story based on the event.
For Technical Issues Please contact Thomson Reuters Customer Support (TRCS) at https://customers.reuters.com/kccontactus/telephone.aspx
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

DIARY-Political and General News Events from April 23

CAPE TOWN, April 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has turned up the heat on Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) embattled Members Council after stripping them of the right to run the game, putting the country’s participation in future international tournaments in doubt.
The all-powerful Members Council, which is made up of the presidents of the 14 provincial unions, has been holding out against agreeing a new Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) for the organisation that would allow for a greater number of independent directors on its board.
Mthethwa, as well as the CSA’s interim board, see this as a necessary step to ensure good governance after years of graft allegations, which have bedevilled the organisation.
The move, which Mthethwa said would come into effect &#8220;at the earliest opportunity&#8221;, could fall foul of the International Cricket Council, who disapprove of government intervention.
&#8220;I have decided to invoke my powers &#8230; by de-funding and de-recognising CSA‚&#8221; Mthethwa said in a letter to CSA on Friday.
&#8220;I will‚ as soon as possible‚ also inform the ICC of my decision and provide them with my reasons for doing so.&#8221;
CSA’s interim board released a statement in response, calling it a &#8220;sad day&#8221; for cricket in the country.
&#8220;Only the Members Council can retrieve the situation now by resolving to support an expedited procedure (for the new MOI),&#8221; interim board chairman Stavros Nicolaou said.
A Special General Meeting was held last Saturday where it was expected that the Members Council would achieve the 75% majority vote in favour of a change to the MOI, but instead only six unions were in favour, while three abstained.
Those that voted against said they did not have enough time review the changes, something the interim board have denied.
South Africa’s next international series is not until June when they are due to tour the West Indies for test and limited overs matches.
(Reporting by Nick Said Editing by Toby Davis)
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