World News This Week #17 | NF World Latest News
Egypt’s economic fall | Finland-NATO membership | 2,300-year-old Golden Boy | China offer money to SL | Covid in Beijing – World News This Week
Check out the Top 5 Prime World News of this Week in the NF World Latest News Section below. In this section, you can read the weekly summary of interesting and important World News around the globe.
Egypt’s economy is facing downfall due to the Russia-Ukraine war
Egypt’s economy is currently facing a downturn due to various factors including the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which caused a decrease in tourists and foreign investment, as well as a shortage of imported goods.
The government has been forced to make significant economic changes, including allowing the value of the Egyptian pound to fluctuate without interference and selling off state-owned companies to raise money.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also required Egypt to remove tax breaks and privileges for military-owned companies in order to allow private businesses to compete.
This has caused significant difficulties for Egyptians, many of whom are struggling to afford basic necessities such as food and healthcare.
Finland may reconsider NATO membership: Finnish Foreign Minister
Finland’s Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, has stated that Finland may need to reconsider whether to move jointly with Sweden toward membership in NATO after fresh objections to Sweden from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The primary option is still for the two countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization simultaneously, given the security considerations of both Finland and Sweden, Haavisto said in an interview on YLE Tuesday.
However, it’s too early to take a decision now, he said. It’s the first time a Finnish policymaker signalled decoupling the bids after the Nordic nations applied to join NATO in May.
Turkey has objected to their entry but allowed the process to move forward at a NATO summit in June. Turkey and Hungary are the only two of NATO’s 30 members who have yet to ratify the applications.
US officials have reiterated their support for the Nordic bids.
Cairo scientists reveal the secret of 2,300 years old golden boy mummy
The mummified remains of a teenager buried 2,300 years ago have been “digitally unwrapped” by scientists using CT scans.
Radiologists at Cairo University in Egypt non-invasively unwrapped the remains and discovered 49 precious amulets, including a golden heart scarab that was used to replace the boy’s heart.
The amulets were used to protect and provide vitality for the body in the afterlife, and a gold tongue amulet was placed inside the boy’s mouth to ensure he could speak in the afterlife.
The remains were found in 1916 at a cemetery in Nag el-Hassay in southern Egypt and were stored in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo until the new study.
Experts were able to determine that the boy was 14 or 15 years old and came from a wealthy or noble family.
China Offers Sri Lanka Two-Year Moratorium on Debt and Support for IMF Loan
The Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) has offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it will support the country’s efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
India wrote to the IMF earlier this month, saying it would commit to supporting Sri Lanka with financing and debt relief, but the island nation also needs the backing of China in order to reach a final agreement with the global lender.
China’s Jan 19 letter, sent to the finance ministry, however, may not be enough for Sri Lanka to immediately gain the IMF’s approval for the critical loan, a Sri Lankan source with knowledge of the matter said.
The EXIM bank had loaned Sri Lanka $2.83 billion which is 3.5% of the island’s debt, according to an IMF report released in March last year.
However, Sri Lanka owed Chinese lenders $7.4 billion, or nearly a fifth of its public external debt, by the end of last year, calculations by the China Africa Research Initiative showed.
New Study Reveals 92% of Beijing Population Will Have Contracted COVID-19 by January 31
A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine has revealed that around 92% of the population in the Chinese capital of Beijing will have contracted COVID-19 by January 31.
According to researchers from the University of Hong Kong, nearly 76% of people in Beijing had contracted COVID-19 as of December 22 and it was expected to reach 92% by January 31.
The study tracked the reproduction rate of Omicron variant BF.7 in Beijing in November and December, after China eased its zero-Covid policy.
There was a surge in cases across the country after the policy changes. The study estimated that the reproduction rate jumped from 1.04 on November 11 to 3.44 a week later, meaning that “one person with the virus could infect 3.44 others”.
The study found that the number of people with severe COVID-19 infections peaked on January 5.
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