GLOBAL DIARY

DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION

“The world’s advanced economies are in the midst of dual structural transformations that will change every aspect of our lives, from how we work and do business to how we regulate markets” ~

DIANE COYLE, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY IS TIME’S 2022 PERSON OF THE YEAR

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been named Time’s Person of the Year for 2022 as he continues to lead his country against Russian forces. The magazine also honoured “the spirit of Ukraine” in its annual recognition. In an essay explaining the choices, Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal said that picking Zelenskyy was the “most clear-cut in memory.” “Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelenskyy galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” he wrote.

DINA BOLUARTE, PERU’S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

Dina Boluarte became Peru’s first female president after her former boss and predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was ousted and then arrested for trying to shut down Congress illegally. The 60-year-old Boluarte, a lawyer, was Peru’s vice president, faces the unenviable challenge of healing a divided Peru, where the presidency has been in a battle with Congress for more than a year. Boluarte practised law before her political career and was relatively unknown to most Peruvians until recently. She had a thorny road to the top, as she won less than four per cent of the vote in the 2018 elections for president of Surquillo district in Lima and then lost in the race for a seat in parliament.

ST EDWARD’S CROWN RESIZED FOR THE CORONATION OF KING CHARLES III

It has been announced that St Edward’s Crown has been removed from the Tower of London to allow for it to be resized ahead of the King’s coronation on 6th May 2023. The crown is the centrepiece of the crown jewels and is normally kept in the Jewel House at the Tower, where millions of tourists flock each year to see it and other pieces of this historic ollection. St Edward’s Crown is thought to have been used to crown British and English monarchs since the 13th century. The current crown was made for Charles II in 1661, after the monarchy was restored following Oliver Cromwell’s ten-year republic, as a replacement for the medieval crown in use until 1649.

LESSONS

“Few will miss 2022, a year defined by a lingering pandemic, advancing climate change, galloping inflation, slowing economic growth, and, more than anything else, the outbreak of a costly war in Europe” ~ RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

JAPANESE EMPRESS MARKS HER 59TH BIRTHDAY

ITALY LIGHTS WORLD’S BIGGEST CHRISTMAS TREE

The Empress Masako of Japan celebrated turning 59 while posing for the photos with her husband Emperor Naruhito in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, where the photos were taken. It is the second Japanese Imperial birthday in a week after Crown Prince Akishino celebrated turning 57 just a few days before. In a letter released through the Imperial Household Agency, the Empress said she had spent about half of her life as a member of the Imperial Family after marrying Emperor Naruhito in June 1993, when she was 29. Citing the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts and natural disasters across the globe, Empress Masako described the past year as “a year with many heartbreaking events.”

GROWING SUPPORT FOR SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

The proportion of people who support Scottish independence has risen ahead of those who do not, following a Supreme Court ruling on the issue, a new poll suggests. The research found that 49% of Scottish respondents said they would vote yes, and 45% said they would vote no if there were to be a referendum tomorrow on whether Scotland should be an independent country, with the remainder saying they do not know. First Minister Sturgeon has set out plans to use the next general election, to be held no later than January 2025, as a de facto referendum on the constitutional question.

Italy has officially lit the world’s biggest Christmas tree, in the medieval Umbrian town of Gubbio. The display is big enough to cover 30 football fields, stretching 450 metres wide and 750 metres in length across the slope of Mount Ingino. It consists of 7.5 kilometres of electric cables and 700 lights and the star is located at the Basilica of the local Patron Saint Ubaldo. The Gubbio Christmas tree has been an annual spectacle since 1981. It was officially entered into the Guinness Book of Records in 1991. More than three decades later, its entry remains unchallenged.

LEADING MEDIA OUTLETS URGE U.S. TO RELEASE ASSANGE

The United States should end the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange, leading media outlets in the U.S. and Europe that worked with the WikiLeaks founder said, showing concern for media freedom. “This indictment sets a dangerous precedent and threatens to undermine the American First Amendment and freedom of the press,” said the editors and publishers of The Guardian, The New York Times, Mondo, Der Spiegel and El Pais in an open letter in which they emphasise that “publishing is not a crime”. Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities on 18 counts, including espionage, in connection with WikiLeaks’ release of classified U.S. military records and diplomatic cables. His supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimised for exposing U.S. war crimes, including in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.