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Chnages to Mexico's labor laws passed in Congress and to be signed by president Calderon include companies having to pay only one year of back wages to laidoff workers for lawsuits on unfair dismissals. The law also formalized part-time work and temproary training contracts. The effort is likely to foster greater formalization of the workforce and push fewer workers into the underground economy. About 29% of Mexican workers are in the underground economy, where worker protections and legal benefits are lacking. Also made part of the law an yearly audit of union finances and election by secret ballot for unions. Mexico's large public sectors form a core base for support of the newly elected PRI government.

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A tri-service briefing for the India Armed Forces explains how the Agnipath scheme was developed to clear any doubts about the military recruitment scheme. It shows why the scheme was developed and the need for armed services to reflect the youthful population of India.

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Remote work and fewer people commuting to work is leading to large vacant office space in American cities. In San Francisco about 30% of office space is vacant. One building in the financial district 350 California Street is selling for 20% of its pre-pandemic price.

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US-China relations shift from adversarial to peaceful cooperation after the Busan meeting in South Korea in October 2025 between Chinese leaders Xi and Wang Yi. This is how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC presented the meeting- a turning point in relations. In April 2026, 6 months later it appears that this is certainly the case as shown in the WSJ Analysis in the adjoining article. Both leaders have decided that they will avoid any actions that disrupt peaceful cooperation and maintain friendly relations in anticipation of the May 14-15 visit to Beijing of DJT which will be followed by a trip by Xi and Wang Yi, He Lifeng to the US. The spirit of cooperation is reflected in this statement- "China will host APEC 2026, and the U.S. the G20 summit next year. The two sides can support each other in making both summits productive to promote world economic growth and improve global economic governance. President Trump said that it is a great honor to meet President Xi. China is a great country. President Xi is a well respected great leader, and has been my good friend for many years. We have always got along well. The United States and China have always had a fantastic relationship, and it will be even better. We will make both China and the U.S. even better. China is the biggest partner of the U.S. Together, our two countries can get many great things done for the world and have many years of success. China will host APEC 2026, and the U.S. will host the G20 summit next year. We expect both to be successful." ...

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Britain has suffered a deep recession with negative 10% growth and is not expected to regain pre-pandemic levels till 2022, says the International Monetary Fund.

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The same trends hollowing out San Francisco downtown are hurting the hotel business in San Francisco says this report in WSJ. The lodging business is hurt by crime and quality of life issues even as New York and Los Angeles hotels recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

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With the increasing unpopularity of the PRI party government, after corruption scandals and othe problems, the turnout in the midterm elections is expected to be low. In the state of Nuevo Leon, with the capital at Monterrey, the business establishment is backing a independent candidate Jaime Rodriguez, as an alternative to the PRI candidate.

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The movement for Catalan independence is stronger in smaller towns in the interior of Catalonia. In Barcelona feelings are mixed, and it is possible that Barcelona would vote against independence. The city's leftist Mayor Ada Colau, says Barcelona is a pluralistic city with many opinions and is not pro-independence in the way the rest of Catalonia is. One reason is the cosmopolitan look of Barcelona with some of the residents coming from other parts of Spain. Prof. Bartomeus of the University of Barcelona says the support for independence is low in Barcelona compared to the rest of the Catalan region. 

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Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves dropped to $2.9 billion in February 2023, says this report in the WSJ, enough to cover 2 weeks of imports and a fraction of debt servicing requirements. Under an IMF agreement that is being negotiated $1.1 billion will be given by the IMF, which would lead to further lending by other countries and banks based on IMF oversight. This includes putting $630 million in  additional taxes and increasing the price of electricity. Successive governments have decided to avoid the IMF conditions of increasing taxes and price of electricity. Donor countries such as Saudis and Qatar, UAE, would step in once IMF oversight is in place and invest in airports, power plants, oil and gas companies, and make loans to Pakistan once the IMF oversight is in place, says WSJ.   Sri Lanka faced a similar situation after it delayed an IMF program and loan, leading to financial crisis. The situation is now stabilized with the IMF on the verge of making a $2.9 billion loan and other banks making loans on the basis of IMF oversight. In Sri Lanka's case India is a serious donor, investor and supporter of Sri Lankan recovery. ...

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Following the pandemic and the floods Pakistan is in a precarious position with its finances. The IMF estimates $25 billion in debt servicing requirements per year for the next 3 years. Pakistan's situation is similar to Argentina and Sri Lanka, countries that have gone to the IMF. International financial institutions are owed $41 billion and China $30 billion.

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Nirmala Sitharaman brings together France, Japan, and India to bring attention to resolution of debt issues of Sri Lanka, Ghana and other countries during the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington D.C.

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Are high prices for pharmaceutical products and healthcare services putting a severe burden on U.S. finances and defunding education, infrastructure, R&D in new technologies, which provide the underpinnings for future U.S. competitiveness? Yes say experts. In 2009 Americans per person cost of healthcare was $7,960. By comparison Canada was $4,808, Germany $4,218, and France $3,978. And without necessary efforts for educating people about caring for health and preventive care, the health conditions of Americans are no better than these countries, and poorer in some dimensions. Klein says deficits would not be a problem for the U.S. if prices for pharmaceutical products and healthcare services in the U.S. were similiar to that of the largest developing countries. Experts say the Obama healthcare law simply postponed the addressing of this problem.

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After the resignation of Montebourg as Economy minister, the administration of prime minister Manuel Valls in France moves to the centre and takes up pro-business policies to generate economic growth.

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The idea that strongmen and populist politics are the problems of Sri Lanka is misleading. In the recovery of 2023-2024 it is PM Ranil Wickremasinghe with the help of PM Modi's financial loan assistance and arrangement through the IMF that put Sri Lanka back on the road to recovery.  Sri Lanka was called Ceylon during the colonial era. It became a Portuguese colony in 1505, and by 1600 a Dutch colony from which the Dutch extracted spices and cinnamon. In 1802 it was transferred by treaty to the British till independence in 1948. British left 1948 a country with an economy generating surplus from exports of coconuts, cinnamon, rubber and tea which financed a generous welfare state with subsidized rice. Under the British literacy was highest in South Asia. The failures were in race relations over two decades of war 1977-2009 by the attitudes of Sinhalese and Tamil leaders, and lack of a role model in northern India as PM Modi offers today for modernization. The second is the colossal failure of the "cut" politics where governments use their office for a cut in every business transaction which PM Modi has fought against with calls for good honest governance. The governments after 2009 continued these policies and let the central banks funds be depleted in the process leading to the financial crisis, inflation and inability to fund imports. Lessons are being learned and PM Modi is setting the path for all of South Asia for investment in infrastructure and modernization, good governance and Vikshit Bharat- developed India 2047. Sr Lanka is part of this vision for South Asia and Indonesia with 1.7 billion people.   ...

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Najib Razak of the UMNO United Malay National Organization who succeeded post independence leader Mahathir Mohamed of Malaysia is implicated in the1MDB scandal that also involved Goldman Sachs. $4.3 billion is estimated to be stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Razak is given a15 year jail sentence in a scandal that has rocked Malaysian politics and reduced confidence in Malaysia's investment for modernization. irreparable harm is done to the nation's British inherited institutions for law and order, responsible parliamentary government, following the long premiership of Mahathir, ethnic nationalist "putra" movement of the UMNO, and the governments that followed Mahathir including Razak. Similar problems have affected other countries with ethnic nationalist movements in Sri Lanka where corruption and mismanagement of the state finances and treasury led to lack of funds for essential imports, and in other countries in Asia. Corrupt practices and misuse of state funds intended for development became a feature of government in Indian states following the rule of the Indian Congress party under Jawaharlal Nehru, with ethnic nationalism creating ethnic states in India, and causing irreparable harm to development and modernization with lack of capital and policy decisions. This has led to the lag of modernization in India with China of about 10-15 years that also affects defense at the Himalayan border with China as China's hybrid state capitalist economy surpassed India and matched the US in 2 decades 2000-2025. Only now is India under responsible governance pushing to close the gap and modernize rapidly under a new government in it's third term. Much of the thinking that accompanied post independence decolonization is now under question with it's assumptions that decolonization alone would lead to development is debunked. Modernization as China and India has learned comes from the good and responsible use of abundant capital, abundant labor, and abundant management resources, abundant technological access, good policy and plans at the federal and state levels, and good sustained leadership from the top. ...

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In this look at China's One Belt One Road Inititative, DW.com analyst Siegfried Wolf is critical of the way it was put together. It has no institutional structure, and is mostly based on bilateral not multilateral arrangement, and lacks transparency. He says its will complicate geopolitics in the region. This is already evident with Japanese foreign minister Kono calling for Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. to come up with an alternative to OBOR. Wolf says the EU has concerns about corruption, exclusion of regions inside countries such as Pakistan in economic arrangements, and seeks free trade guarantees. His biggest criticism of the Silk Road Initiative is that being based on Chinese loans it will pose a severe challenge in terms of debt buildup for weaker economies. This was already evident with the effort to convert part of about $6 billion in loans to Sri Lanka, through a $1.12 billion lease to China of the port of Hambantota. Wolf says many of the projects inside OBOR were already planned before it was setup, and now put under OBOR as part of president Jinping's initiative.  ...

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The economies of Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt dependent on 12-26% of earnings from abroad on tourism are hit by the war in Gaza. Israeli tourism is also affected with only half of the flights going in. Egypt was a bright spot after the pandemic faded with a strong recovery above that of pre pandemic levels. In 2023 Egypt expected to see 15 million tourists.

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Devendra Fadnavis was Mayor of Nagpur from 1997 to 2001 and represents Nagpur in the State Assembly of Maharashtra. This story in the Indian Express describes his evolution in recent years focused on development work in the state, getting a first hand look at conditions in the state how they relate to missing development, and hard work. As states and state leaders compete in India for good governance, transparency, delivery of development goals, and good management related to infrastructure projects in each state, new leadership is taking on a serious role. Single minded determination and hard work to achieve development goals is important to deliver the for too long missed development goals of one of India's largest states Maharashtra.  National Institute for Transformation of India, NITI Aayog, has 7 pillars for effective governance and Fadnavis now faces the challenge of bringing results in these 7 areas set by the federal government under PM Modi. They are: 1. Pro-People  2. Pro-Activity  3. Participation. 4. Empowering   5. Inclusion of All  6. Equality  7. Transparency   ...