1. IMF Supported The $650 Billion Plan
2. Trump Organization Could Face Criminal Charges This Week
3. Sydney Goes into Two Weeks Lockdown

IMF Supported The $650 Billion Plan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) unanimously supported the proposal to create a record $650 billion in new reserves, bringing its plan to increase resources for countries battling the pandemic one step closer to final form.

According to the two members who attended the meeting and did not want their names to be disclosed, all members of the board of directors, consisting of 24 representatives of IMF member countries and IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, supported the new plan.

The plan needs final approval by the board of directors of 190 IMF member countries, made up of finance ministers or central bank governors. Georgieva’s report to the board will be the next step, and the plan will be submitted for approval.

With this plan, the IMF is preparing to give its member countries the largest injection of resources in its history to increase global liquidity and help to develop and low-income countries cope with rising debt and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Spokesman Gerry Rice said the fund expects that could happen around mid-July. But after Friday’s discussion, that basically amounts to an administrative step, according to one of the people familiar with the process.

The IMF press office confirmed that the proposal on creating the reserves, known as special drawing rights, or SDRs, was discussed on Friday but declined to comment on the executive board’s reaction.

Trump Organization Could Face Criminal Charges This Week

It seems likely that the criminal case process will start this week in the investigation conducted by the New York prosecutor’s office into former US President Donald Trump’s companies and business connections.

The charges would likely involve allegations of a company effort to avoid paying payroll taxes on compensation it provided to employees, including rent-free apartments, cars, and other benefits, a person familiar with the matter said.

In February, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Manhattan prosecutor’s office had access to 8 years of tax records and related documents, despite Trump’s multiple objections.

In May, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced that the public investigation into Trump’s companies had turned into a criminal one. It was reported that a jury was formed to decide whether to file a criminal case based on the evidence gathered within the scope of the 2-year investigation.

Besides, Ron Fischetti, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, noted that he had reached out to New York District Attorney Cy Vance and Mark Pomerantz. During a videoconference on Thursday, Fischetti and other attorneys sought to persuade the prosecutors not to bring charges against the company.

“They didn’t seem, in my opinion, to be very receptive to these arguments,” Fischetti said.

“It’s outrageous. It’s unprecedented. It’s never happened before,” he said of a company being indicted in connection with failing to pay taxes on benefits. He said that if the company is charged, it will plead not guilty and make a motion for the judge to dismiss the indictment.

Sydney Goes into Two Weeks Lockdown

Australia has also been added to the list of countries affected by the Delta variant, which emerged in India and spread worldwide. A two-week quarantine has begun in Sydney, the country’s largest city.

One of the coronavirus epidemic’s new and most important agenda items is the Delta variant, which first appeared in India and caused uneasiness because it is much more contagious. The Delta variant, which has been observed in about 80 countries worldwide and where the number of cases has increased, has caused the restrictions and quarantines to return in many countries.

The World Health Organization announced that the Delta variant has now become the dominant variant in the epidemic. The Delta variant is also known to be a newly identified ‘Delta Plus’ variant, which is shown to be much more contagious and dangerous.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was “the scariest time that I felt since the pandemic started,” as she announced the lockdown and associated stay-at-home orders for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, and Wollongong.

“Everyone in Greater Sydney must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason,” Berejiklian said in a statement outlining the restrictions.

Under the order, which will be in place through at least July 9, residents are only permitted to leave their homes for essential work, education, receive a Covid-19 vaccine, seek medical care, outdoor exercise, and shop for food or other necessary items. Those who wish to exercise outdoors may only do so in groups of 10 or fewer.