Hearing on Fed nominee. Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh told senators at his confirmation hearing yesterday that he would be “strictly independent” if confirmed and would not allow Trump to influence his interest rate decisions. Hours before the hearing, Trump said he would be disappointed if Warsh did not lower rates.
Report on resettling Afghans. The Trump administration is in talks to send as many as 1,100 Afghans who assisted the United States during the Afghanistan war to live in the DRC, the head of aid group AfghanEvac told the New York Times. The Afghans have been living at a former U.S. base in Qatar. Those who don’t wish to go to the DRC—which is experiencing an acute humanitarian crisis—would be sent back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A Congolese government spokesperson did not immediately comment, while a State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration moved Afghans to the United States too quickly following the war.
UK lifetime smoking ban. The UK parliament passed a bill yesterday banning the sale of tobacco or vape products to anyone born in 2009 or later. It is expected to go into effect after receiving the formality of final approval from the king. The government estimates that smoking costs the country almost $29 billion per year in healthcare and lost productivity costs and has touted this bill as a means to create a “smoke-free generation.”
U.S.-Iraq tensions. The United States has put military cooperation programs and U.S. dollar shipments to Iraq on hold in order to pressure Baghdad to dismantle Iran-backed militias in the country, unnamed U.S. and Iraqi officials told the Wall Street Journal. Iraq’s central bank denied a shortage of U.S. dollars yesterday, without mentioning any suspended shipments. A State Department spokesperson said Iraq’s failure to prevent attacks by the militias was hurting the bilateral relationship.
Yuan banking in Africa. Pan-African bank Ecobank is in talks with the Bank of China to allow for financial settlements in yuan, its CEO said, decreasing their reliance on the U.S. dollar. While China has invested in projects across Africa, African businesses that work with Chinese firms have often complained that having to convert their money to dollars in order to conduct business has slimmed their profit margins.
Peru’s election chief resigns. The head of the country’s election authority announced his resignation yesterday after logistical problems delayed the vote count in Peru’s presidential contest. The vote was held over a week ago and no winner has yet been declared. The official said he hoped his resignation would help “generate more confidence” ahead of a runoff set for June 7.
Mass trial in El Salvador. A court in the country began a trial yesterday of 486 alleged gang members, who face charges of homicide, femicide, extortion, and arms trafficking, among others. Mass detentions and trials are pillars of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s security strategy, but human rights groups say the mass trials violate defendants’ due process rights.
Potential U.S.-UAE currency swap. Washington is considering a U.S. currency swap with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to help it deal with the economic fallout of the Iran war, Trump told CNBC yesterday. The UAE had raised the idea with U.S. officials last week but not formally requested it, unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal.
