GDIN CEO Jongkap Kim: "By matching technology needs with local markets, we create long-lasting joint ventures with multiple exit opportunities." SEOUL, South Korea , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN), led by CEO Jongkap Kim, proudly announced the major achievements of its 2024 Joint Venture Program. This program, which supports the establishment of joint ventures between South Korean companies and international partners, is designed to lower market entry barriers and create sustainable growth opportunities through local collaborations. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — When Kenyan police arrived in Haiti as part of a U.N.-backed mission earlier this year to tackle gang violence, hopes were high. The bodies of suspected gang members who were set on fire by residents, sit in a pile in the middle of a road in the Pétion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Coordinated gang attacks on prisons, police stations and the main international airport had crippled the country's capital and forced the prime minister to resign, plunging Haiti into an unprecedented crisis. But the crisis has only deepened since the international policing contingent arrived. The main international airport closed for the second time this year after gangs opened fire on commercial flights in mid-November, striking a flight attendant. Gunmen also are attacking once-peaceful communities to try and seize control of the entire capital, taking advantage of political infighting that led to the abrupt dismissal of the prime minister earlier this month. Now, a new prime minister is tasked with turning around a nation that sees no escape from its troubles as Haitians wonder: How did the country reach this point? 'No functioning authority' Bloody coups, brutal dictatorships and gangs created by Haiti's political and economic elite have long defined the country's history, but experts say the current crisis is the worst they've seen. "I'm very bleak about the future," said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. "The whole situation is really collapsing." The government is anemic, the U.N.-backed mission that supports Haiti's understaffed police department lacks funding and personnel, and gangs now control 85% of the capital. Then, on Wednesday, another blow. Doctors Without Borders announced it was suspending critical care in Port-au-Prince as it accused police of targeting its staff and patients, including threats of rape and death. It's the first time the aid group has stopped working with new patients since it began operating in Haiti more than 30 years ago. "Every day that we cannot resume activities is a tragedy, as we are one of the few providers of a wide range of medical services that have remained open during this extremely difficult year," said Christophe Garnier, mission director in Haiti. Lionel Lazarre, deputy spokesman for Haiti's National Police, did not return messages for comment. Neither did officials with Kenya's mission when asked about the surge in gang violence. In a recent statement, the Kenyan-led mission said it was "cognizant of the road ahead that is fraught with challenges." But it noted that ongoing joint patrols and operations have secured certain communities and forced gangs to change the way they operate. André François Giroux, Canada's ambassador to Haiti, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his country and others have been trying to bolster the Kenyan-led mission. "They've done miracles, I think, considering all the challenges that we've been facing," he said. "What we have to keep in mind is that it's still very much in deployment mode," Giroux said. "There are not even 400 on the ground right now." A spokesman for Haiti's new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, did not return messages for comment. In a statement Thursday, his administration said authorities were strengthening security along the capital's main roads and had formed a special security council. "The prime minister renews his commitment to find lasting solutions to current problems," it said. The statement was issued just days after gangs launched a pre-dawn attack Tuesday around an upper-class community in Haiti's capital, forcing residents armed with machetes and guns to fight side-by-side with police to repel gunmen. At least 28 gang members were killed, but not before some reached an area near an upscale hotel long considered safe. "It tells you that there is no functioning authority in Haiti," Fatton said. Dwindling aid and growing isolation A main concern in the ongoing crisis is the temporary closure of the main international airport in Port-au-Prince. It means critical aid is not reaching those who need it the most in a country where nearly 6,000 people are starving and nearly half of the more than 11 million inhabitants are experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse. Gang violence also has left more than 700,000 people homeless in recent years. "We are deeply concerned about the isolation of Port-au-Prince from the rest of Haiti and the world," said Laurent Uwumuremyi, Mercy Corps' country director for Haiti. The aid group helps people including more than 15,000 living in makeshift shelters, but persistent gang violence has prevented workers from reaching a growing number of them in the capital and beyond. Basic goods also are dwindling as the suspension of flights has delayed imports of critical supplies. "Before, there were some neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince that we considered safe that the gangs had never reached, but now they are threatening to take over the control of the entire capital," Uwumuremyi said. At least 150 people were reported killed in the capital and 20,000 forced to flee their homes in the second week of November alone. Overall, more than 4,500 people were reported killed in Haiti so far this year, the U.N. said. Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer who became a gang leader known as Barbecue, warned that a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm will keep attacking as they demand the resignation of a transitional presidential council tasked with leading the country along with the new prime minister. The council also is supposed to organize general elections for the first time in nearly a decade so voters can choose a president, a position left empty since President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021. 'What else are you left with?' The U.S. and other countries pushed for a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti at a U.N. Security Council meeting this week. Only about 400 officers from Kenya have arrived, along with a handful of police and soldiers from other countries — way short of the 2,500 personnel slated for the mission. "This is not just another wave of insecurity; it is a dramatic escalation that shows no signs of abating," Miroslav Jenča, U.N. assistant secretary general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said Wednesday at the meeting. But Russia and China oppose a U.N. peacekeeping mission, leaving many to wonder what other options are left for Haiti. Giroux, the Canadian ambassador, said his country supports a peacekeeping operation "when the time is right." "Everybody is looking at a peacekeeping mission as a silver bullet," he said, adding that even if that were to happen, it wouldn't be able to deploy for another six to 12 months. "We need to be realistic." Giroux said he is hopeful that some 600 Kenyans will arrive in Haiti in upcoming weeks, but added that "none of this matters if the political elite doesn't get its act together." The nine-member transitional presidential council has been marred by accusations of corruption and infighting and was criticized for firing the previous prime minister. "I'm at a loss for any short-term solution for Haiti, let alone any long-term solutions," Fatton said. "The gangs have seen that they shouldn't be afraid of the Kenyan mission." He said one option may be for the government to negotiate with the gangs. "At the moment, it is perceived as utterly unacceptable," he said. "But if the situation deteriorates even more, what else are you left with?"
Ogun to establish environmental task force to promote market hygienePresident-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that his policies would reduce high borrowing costs and lighten the financial burden on American households. But what if, as many economists expect, interest rates remain elevated, well above their pre-pandemic lows? Trump could point a finger at the Federal Reserve, and in particular at its chair, Jerome Powell, whom Trump himself nominated to lead the Fed. During his first term, Trump repeatedly and publicly ridiculed the Powell Fed, complaining it kept interest rates too high. Trump’s attacks on the Fed raised widespread concern about political interference in the Fed’s policymaking. Powell, for his part, emphasized the importance of the Fed’s independence: “That gives us the ability to make decisions for the benefit of all Americans at all times, not for any particular political party or political outcome.” Political clashes might be inevitable in the next four years. Trump’s proposals to cut taxes and impose steep and widespread tariffs are a recipe for high inflation in an economy operating at close to full capacity. And if inflation were to reaccelerate, the Fed would need to keep interest rates high. Because Powell won’t necessarily cut rates as much as Trump will want. And even if Powell reduces the Fed’s benchmark rate, Trump’s own policies could keep other borrowing costs — such as mortgage rates — elevated. The sharply higher tariffs that Trump vowed to impose could worsen inflation. And if tax cuts on things like tips and overtime pay — another Trump promise — quickened economic growth, that, too, could fan inflationary pressures. The Fed would likely respond by slowing or stopping its rate cuts, thereby thwarting Trump’s promises of lower borrowing rates. The central bank might even raise rates if inflation worsens. “The risk of conflict between the Trump administration and the Fed is very high,” Olivier Blanchard, former top economist at the International Monetary Fund, said recently. If the Fed increases rates, “it will stand in the way of what the Trump administration wants.” Yes, but with the economy sturdier than expected, the Fed’s policymakers may cut rates only a few more times — fewer than anticipated just a month or two ago. And those rate cuts might not reduce borrowing costs for consumers and businesses very much. The Fed’s key short-term rate can influence rates for credit cards, small businesses and some other loans. But it has no direct control over longer-term interest rates. These include the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects mortgage rates. The 10-year Treasury yield is shaped by investors’ expectations of future inflation, economic growth and interest rates as well as by supply and demand for Treasuries. An example occurred this year. The 10-year yield fell in late summer in anticipation of a Fed rate cut. Yet once the first rate cut occurred Sept. 18, longer-term rates didn’t fall. Instead, they began to rise again, partly in anticipation of faster economic growth. Trump also proposed a variety of tax cuts that could swell the deficit. Rates on Treasury securities might then have to be increased to attract enough investors to buy the new debt. “I honestly don’t think the Fed has a lot of control over the 10-year rate, which is probably the most important for mortgages,” said Kent Smetters, an economist and faculty director at the Penn Wharton Budget Model. “Deficits are going to play a much bigger role in that regard.” Occasional or rare criticism of the Fed chair isn’t necessarily a problem for the economy, so long as the central bank continues to set policy as it sees fit. But persistent attacks would tend to undermine the Fed’s political independence, which is critically important to keeping inflation in check. To fight inflation, a central bank often must take steps that can be highly unpopular, notably by raising interest rates to slow borrowing and spending. Political leaders typically want central banks to do the opposite: keep rates low to support the economy and the job market, especially before an election. Research has found that countries with independent central banks generally enjoy lower inflation. Even if Trump doesn’t technically force the Fed to do anything, his persistent criticism could still cause problems. If markets, economists and business leaders no longer think the Fed is operating independently and instead is being pushed around by the president, they’ll lose confidence in the Fed’s ability to control inflation. Once consumers and businesses anticipate higher inflation, they usually act in ways that fuel higher prices — accelerating their purchases, for example, before prices increase further, or raising their own prices if they expect their expenses to increase. “The markets need to feel confident that the Fed is responding to the data, not to political pressure,” said Scott Alvarez, a former general counsel at the Fed. He can try, but it would likely lead to a prolonged legal battle that could even end up at the Supreme Court. At a November news conference, Powell made clear that he believes the president doesn’t have legal authority to do so. Most experts think Powell would prevail in the courts. And from the Trump administration’s perspective, such a fight might not be worth it. Powell’s term ends in May 2026, when the White House could nominate a new chair. It is also likely the stock market would tumble if Trump attempted such a brazen move. Bond yields would probably increase, too, sending mortgage rates and other borrowing costs up. Financial markets might also react negatively if Trump is seen as appointing a loyalist as Fed chair to replace Powell in 2026. Yes, and in the most egregious cases, it led to stubbornly high inflation. Notably, President Richard Nixon pressured Fed Chair Arthur Burns to reduce interest rates in 1971, which the Fed did, as Nixon sought reelection the next year. Economists blame Burns’ failure to keep rates sufficiently high for contributing to the entrenched inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. Thomas Drechsel, an economist at the University of Maryland, said that when presidents intrude on the Fed’s interest rate decisions, “it increases prices quite consistently and it increases expectations, and ... that worries me because that means inflation might become quite entrenched.” Since the mid-1980s, with the exception of Trump in his first term, presidents have scrupulously refrained from public criticism of the Fed. “It’s amazing, how little manipulation for partisan ends we have seen of that policymaking apparatus,” said Peter Conti- Brown, a professor of financial regulation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “It really is a triumph of American governance.”