Aurelia Butler

In a statement, Georgieva welcomed Argentina’s commitment to achieve targets for its debt program and said it “will remain unchanged.”Georgieva praised the “strong steps” taken by Argentine economy minister Sergio Massa to stabilize markets and “reverse a scenario of high volatility” in the South American country.The statement follows a meeting between Georgieva and Massa on Monday in the context of a second review of the $44 billion arrangement signed in March this year.The program seeks to boost national reserves and reduce Argentina’s primary fiscal deficit to 2.5% of GDP in 2022 and 1.9% in 2023. More

Good morning. Brussels is set to ban products made using forced labour, a move that could further increase strains in its trade relations with China in the light of allegations about forced labour in the province of Xinjiang. Shoes, clothes and commodities such as timber, fish and cocoa are among the products most likely to be affected, according to those with knowledge of the plans. The US in June enacted a blanket ban on all imports from China’s Xinjiang province, where there have been allegations of widespread human rights violations — including torture, arbitrary detention and forced labour — against Muslim Uyghur and other minorities. The EU ban will instead focus on all products made from forced labour — including those made within the bloc — to avoid breaching World Trade Organization rules on non-discrimination.Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia. Send your feedback on today’s newsletter to [email protected]. — Emily Five more stories in the news1. Russia to press on in Ukraine, says Kremlin Russia will push on with its invasion of Ukraine until all military goals are met, the Kremlin has said, as it responded to Kyiv’s massive counter-offensive in the east, which has reclaimed more than 3,000 square kilometres of terrain.Military developments: Russian troops “fled like Olympic sprinters” as Kyiv retook the north-east in an offensive that was months in the making. Follow the latest with our visual guide to the war.2. Renminbi heads for record annual fall against dollar The drop of 8.7 per cent against the greenback this year to Rmb6.96 puts the renminbi on track for its biggest annual fall since China abandoned its longstanding currency peg and moved to a managed floating exchange rate in 2005.3. Widodo to consider buying Russian oil imports Indonesian president Joko Widodo has said the country needs to look at “all of the options” as it considers joining other Asian economies including India and China in buying Russian oil to offset soaring energy costs.4. Byju’s failure to publish accounts prompts scrutiny India’s most valuable start-up is coming under intense pressure from the government, investors and creditors over repeated failures to publish its accounts, as funding and revenues dry up for the once-booming educational technology sector. 5. King Charles vows to uphold UK democracy King Charles III yesterday devoted himself to upholding “the precious principles of constitutional government”, in a ceremony at Westminster that served as a reminder of the monarch’s constrained role in Britain’s democracy.

King Charles III yesterday devoted himself to upholding ‘the precious principles of constitutional government’

Queen Elizabeth II met countless people during her 70-year reign. Did she ever come to your workplace or community? Please share your story via this short form. The day aheadJapan PPI The nation’s producer price index data for August will be released today.Victoria MPs in Australia swear allegiance to The King Members of Parliament in Victoria, the only Australian state or territory where lawmakers must swear their allegiance to a new monarch after the death of a predecessor, will today pledge allegiance to King Charles III. (Canberra Times) Twitter shareholder vote Elon Musk sent a third letter to the social media company last week attempting to call off his $44bn takeover of Twitter, but the company has repeatedly rejected Musk’s reasoning. Today, shareholders will vote on whether to approve the deal. (CNBC)Swearing in of Kenya’s new president William Ruto will be sworn in on Tuesday after his election victory was confirmed by the country’s supreme court. Now, as the FT editorial board has made clear, he must deliver.What else we’re reading Japan is preparing for a videogaming jamboree Later this week, after a Covid-enforced hiatus, the Tokyo Game Show will reopen its turnstiles for the first time in three years: a huge, 1,883-booth trade fair convened in the faith that cramming a hangar with humans is the best way to sell the idea that the future of gaming is virtual.EY’s challenge is just beginning Partners will begin voting in November on whether to split EY’s advisory and audit arm. But for EY, selling the deal to partners and keeping more than 300,000 employees happy will be just as difficult as winning the backing of the firm’s leaders proved, industry veterans say.The Merge: a blockchain revolution or just more hype? If there is one thing the crypto community has in good supply, it’s promises. Critics have highlighted the industry’s links to criminal activity and its huge carbon footprint. But enthusiasts say Ethereum’s switch to a greener system is a long-awaited chance to prove them wrong.The Ukraine war has reached a turning point After Russia’s setbacks a new and dangerous phase of the conflict is beginning, writes Gideon Rachman. Rather than accept defeat, Vladimir Putin may try to escalate. His options, however, look limited and unappealing.Don’t be indispensable at work The internet teems with advice on how to become “the person no one can live without”. But, as Miranda Green explains, making people dependent on you, can actually be a terrible trap.Add these to your book listAs epic levels of flood, heat and fire strike countries across the world, can 21st-century capitalism deliver the changes needed to prevent further environmental carnage? And do we really understand what is happening to the most fragile wildernesses on the planet? A new crop of environmental books addresses these two questions, now among the most pressing of our time, writes Pilita Clark. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A rocket from Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin failed mid-flight shortly after liftoff on Monday, aborting its cargo capsule to safety before crashing into the Texas desert, according to the company and a live video stream of the mission.Without any humans on board, the rocket lifted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site Monday morning as the company’s 23rd New Shepard mission, aiming to send NASA-funded experiments and other payloads to the edge of space to float for a few minutes in microgravity.But just over a minute after liftoff, and roughly 5 miles (8.05 km) above ground, the New Shepard booster’s engines flared unexpectedly during ascent. The capsule’s abort motor system triggered almost immediately, jetting the craft away from the faulty rocket before parachuting back to land intact.The booster crashed within a designated hazard area, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees and regulates launchsite safety. Blue Origin’s fleet of New Shepard rockets is grounded until the FAA signs off on the outcome of a company-led investigation into the mishap, the agency added.”During today’s flight, the capsule escape system successfully separated the capsule from the booster,” Blue Origin tweeted after the mishap. “The booster impacted the ground. There are no reported injuries; all personnel have been accounted for.”The mission, called NS-23, was the first New Shepard launch without humans aboard in over a year, and the fourth mission in 2022. The rocket-capsule system has flown 31 people in all under Blue Origin’s suborbital space tourism business, in which paying customers are launched some 62 miles high for a few minutes of microgravity at the edge of space before their capsule returns to land under parachutes.Billionaire Bezos, the Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder who started Blue Origin in 2000, was among the first passengers to fly New Shepard during its debut crewed mission in 2021.The rocket that crashed on Monday had flown eight times before, but it was not immediately clear whether those past missions included humans. Blue Origin flew New Shepard 15 times before its first crewed flight. More