eufic.org

 

eufic.org   Tiny but mighty. A plant-based protein superstar. Packed full of fibre, vitamins & minerals. Battling the global climate, health and cost-of-living crisis. And so tasty you can’t get enough of them…  We’re talking about pulses!    With #WorldPulsesDay coming up this Friday, 10 February, we’re excited to announce that we’re joining the Beans Is How coalition & campaign with the aim to double global bean consumption by 2028!  So, how are we going to achieve this target?  Read on to explore the many benefits of pulses, how we can cook them and in which simple ways we can include more of them in our diet. Why pulses are good for you & the planet Pulses offer many nutritional and environmental benefits, so it’s important to include them regularly in our diet! For example, did you know beans release 90% fewer harmful greenhouse gasses than some animal proteins? How to easily add more pulses to your diet From chickpeas, soybeans & black beans to lentils, split peas & many more. There’s a wide variety of pulses to choose from. Plus, they’re super versatile & can be incorporated into almost any dish!

How to cook dry pulses Cooking pulses might seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ve got you covered with three ways to cook your dry pulses. Tip: try soaking dry pulses in water overnight, so they cook faster & become more easily digestible. How to make the most out of your pulses  Last but not least! With a few simple tips & tricks, we can make pulses even more nutritious than they already are! For example, combine them with rice or sprinkle some lemon juice on top to enhance their nutritional value.

www.eufic.org

 

Dear maria, We just published a new blog—please find the full text below.  Charting Globalization’s Turn to Slowbalization After Global Financial Crisis (Photo: Erik Odin/Unsplash) By Shekhar Aiyar and Anna Ilyina The free flow of ideas, people, goods, services, and capital across national borders leads to greater economic integration. But globalization, the trend toward these things moving ever more freely between nations, has seen ebbs and flows over the decades. Those trends are coming into sharper focus this year as policymakers work to understand and address the prospect of geoeconomic fragmentation, which threatens to undo the integration that has improved the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. Looking back over a century and a half of data, the main phases of globalization are clearly visible using the trade openness metric—the sum of exports and imports of all economies relative to global gross domestic product. As the Chart of the Week shows, globalization plateaued in the decade and a half since the global financial crisis. This latest era is often referred to as “slowbalization.” View the interactive version here. Each of the chart’s five main periods was characterized by different configurations of economic and financial powers, and different rules and mechanisms for economic and financial ties between countries, as we recently highlighted in a recent IMF staff note that discussed the impact of trade fragmentation as well as technological decoupling. The Industrialization era was a period when global trade—dominated by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States—was facilitated by the gold standard. It was largely driven by transportation advances that lowered trade costs and boosted trade volumes. The Interwar era saw a dramatic reversal of globalization due to international conflicts and the rise of protectionism. Despite the League of Nations push for multilateral cooperation, trade became regionalized amid trade barriers and the breakdown of the gold standard into currency blocs. The Bretton Woods era saw the United States emerge as the dominant economic power with the dollar, then pegged to gold, underpinning a system with other exchange rates pegged to the greenback. The post-war recovery and trade liberalization spurred rapid expansion in Europe, Japan, and developing economies, and many countries relaxed capital controls. But expansionary US fiscal and monetary policy driven by social and military spending ultimately made the system unsustainable. The United States ended dollar-gold convertibility in the early 1970s, and many countries switched to floating exchange rates. The Liberalization era saw gradual removal of trade barriers in China and other large emerging market economies and unprecedented international economic cooperation, including the integration of the former Soviet bloc. Liberalization accounted for most of the increase in trade, and the World Trade Organization, established in 1995, became a new multilateral overseer of trade agreements, negotiations and dispute settlement. Cross-border capital flows surged, increasing the complexity and interconnectedness of the global financial system. The “Slowbalization” that followed the global financial crisis has been characterized by a prolonged slowdown in the pace of trade reform, and weakening political support for open trade amid rising geopolitical tensions.   Jeff Kearns Managing Editor IMF Blog jkearns@IMF.org   Thank you again for your interest in IMF Blog. Read more of our latest content here. Take good care!

(Photo: iStock/wonry) China’s severe covid lockdowns since the start of the pandemic undoubtedly contributed to an economic downturn last year not seen in decades. And while China has lifted the containment measures and is reopening, the factors behind that slowdown, like its ailing property sector, low productivity growth and the lingering COVID threat, could weigh on its economic performance this year if left unaddressed. In this podcast, IMF economists Sonali Jain-Chandra and Thomas Helbling walk us through China’s latest economic review, a deep analysis of China’s economy that includes outlooks, risk assessments, and policy recommendations. Sonali Jain-Chandra is head of the China team, and Thomas Helbling a Deputy Director, both in the Asia Pacific Department.   Listen to the podcast on: IMF.org | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Libsyn |  Soundcloud | Google Podcasts   Read the transcript     Thanks for listening to the podcast. We're always looking to improve your experience so let us know if you have any suggestions! Send your comments to me at bedwards2@imf.org.   Bruce Edwards Producer, IMF Podcasts

Secretary General in Washington: NATO Allies are united like never before

 

Secretary General in Washington: NATO Allies are united like never before At a joint press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (8 February 2023), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commended President Biden and the United States for their strong leadership during the most serious security crisis in a generation. "Unwavering American leadership and bipartisan support have ensured that NATO Allies are united like never before," said Mr Stoltenberg. Read more on the NATO website. While in Washington, Mr Stoltenberg’s agenda also includes a meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Congressional leadership.  Click here to download the press conference by the NATO Secretary General and the US Secretary of State. The Q&A session will be available as soon as possible. All video files from NATO Secretary General's visit to the US are under this link. The joint statements with the US Secretary of Defense will be available as soon as possible under the same link. The transcript of the press conference is available on the NATO website.

Invitation letter by President Charles Michel to the members of the European Council

 

Wednesday 8 February 2023

● European Council   08/02/2023 19:48 | Press release | Invitation letter by President Charles Michel to the members of the European Council   I would like to invite you to a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 9 and 10 February 2023. We will have three main issues on our agenda: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, our economy and competitiveness, and our migration policy. In the follow-up to the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on 3 February, and in the context of Russia's brutal war, which has lasted almost a full year, we will continue to address all aspects of our unwavering support to Ukraine. I would also like us to discuss in particular Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace, based on full respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the potential use of Russia’s frozen and immobilised assets and accountability. Since its inception, the European Union has thrived on its single market and openness to trade, guaranteeing prosperity to its citizens and projecting its values globally. Almost seventy years on, this focus has not shifted. As global markets become more competitive, we need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve in the digital and green transition. We want to remain leaders in innovation and in deploying net-zero technologies, for instance, and are determined to foster our strategic sovereignty. Following our discussion in December and building on the Commission's recent communication, I would like us to provide further guidance on our short and long term strategy to keep our economies more prosperous and competitive. This entails addressing our regulatory and investment environment and discussing where and how to best provide key funding, while preserving the integrity of the Single Market. Our discussion will set the foundations for further work in this area at our meetings in March and June. We will also discuss the migration situation. Managing migration is one of our defining common challenges both now and, I believe, in the years to come. Faced with rising numbers of irregular border crossing across most routes, and internal movements within the Union, we need to find a sustainable, responsible and humane solution, together. I propose we focus in particular on the external dimension of migration, strengthening our external action, improving returns and readmissions, better controlling our external borders, and fighting trafficking and smuggling. As to the practical aspects, our special European Council will start at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday 9 February. I look forward to seeing you.

NASA's Earth Observatory

 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Weekly News

LATEST IMAGES OF THE DAY view the archive

Fires Blaze through South-Central Chile Hot, dry winds fanned the flames of widespread fires in Chile.       A Dry Lake Hamun Means More Dust Storms When the seasonal lake and wetlands in the Sistan Basin dry out, dust often fills the sky.       Landslide Creeping Below an African City A large, slow-moving landslide is accelerating in eastern Congo, putting a community at risk.       Siling Lake One of the largest water bodies on the Tibetan Plateau has been growing even larger in recent decades.       Quirimbas Islands Skirting the coastline of Mozambique, these 32 small islands are home to a diversity of corals and sea turtles.       Ex-cell-ent Clouds off Chile's Coast Satellites have exposed the impressive coverage of marine stratocumulus clouds as well as their compelling shapes and patterns.       Sichuan's Smoggy Basin The waters of an ancient lake once pooled in this basin in southwestern China. Now haze and air pollution do the same.

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