BORIS JOHNSON’S ETHICS ADVISER LORD GEIDT RESIGNS
Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser Lord Geidt has resigned, saying the PM forced him into an “impossible and odious” position by asking for advice on a matter he believed would amount to a deliberate breach of the ministerial code. Lord Geidt wrote in his resignation letter: “The idea that the prime minister might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own code is an affront that would make a mockery not only of respect for the code but licence the suspension of its provisions in governing the conduct of Her Majesty’s ministers.” Lord Geidt is the second ethics adviser to quit under Mr Johnson’s premiership; Sir Alex Allan resigned in 2020. Labour’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said the two resignations showed there was “something really rotten at the heart of Downing Street.”
EU-TAIWAN TRACKER LAUNCHED BY SLOVAK THINK TANK
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Slovak think tank, The Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS), has launched an ‘EU-Taiwan Tracker’ tool on its website to chronicle events shaping the bilateral relationship between the EU and Taiwan since January 2020. The tracker provides entries sortable by topic or country with English or Mandarin media sources attached, providing insight into bilateral ties amid warming European interest in engaging with Taiwan.
CDB FOCUSED ON INCREASING REGION’S ACCESS TO FINANCING
Caribbean Development Bank President Dr. Gene Leon committed the organisation at its 52nd Annual Meeting in Turks and Caicos Islands to accelerating efforts to access the projected US$100 billion required to achieve the development envisioned for the region over the next three years, including US$40 billion for sustainable energy, US$22 billion for water and sanitation, US$11.5 billion for transportation, US$13 billion for agriculture and food security, and US$12 billion for digital transformation.