IMF Gives Rare Slice of Good News

Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]( [OZY]() Your World. Bold & Bright [Presidential Daily Brief]( Start your day smarter with a dossier on the most important world news, rounded off with a shot of intriguing and offbeat stories. Like the president, you deserve no less. Jan 31, 2023 Today The IMF says we’re not headed for a global recession just yet. The death toll in the Pakistan mosque bombing rose to 88 — most of them police officers. Memphis police confirmed that two more officers were suspended over Tyre Nichols’ killing. And while Biden said he won’t be sending fighter jets to Ukraine, both France and Poland seemed open to the idea. All this and more in today’s PDB. IMPORTANT Brighter Outlook? IMF: Recession Not Imminent as Inflation Eases “We are not seeing a global recession right now,” said International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas Monday. He was speaking at the release of a [World Economic Outlook]( report in which the IMF upgraded its growth projections for 2023 and 2024. The fund now believes the global economy will grow by 2.9% this year and expects inflation to drop from 8.8% to 6.6%. Gourinchas even identified a “narrow path” for the U.S. to avoid a recession. “The fight against inflation is starting to pay off, but central banks must continue their efforts,” he stressed. (Sources: [WaPo](, [NYT]() Pakistan Mosque Bombing Death Toll Rises to 88, Mostly Police Officers As the search for survivors continued Tuesday, provincial governor Ghulam Ali vowed to ascertain “how the terrorist entered the mosque,” in a high-security police facility. It’s unclear who carried out the attack, which also wounded 150 people. A commander of the Pakistan Taliban initially claimed responsibility — but the group subsequently distanced itself from the attack, saying it would never target a religious place and vowing to punish any member who flouted this rule. “The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,” tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif after visiting a Peshawar hospital. (Source: [AP]() Tyre Nichols Two More Police Officers Suspended The Memphis Police Department confirmed that a total of seven police officers had been taken off duty in connection with Nichols’ murder. It’s unclear why the suspensions, all imposed Jan. 8, have only been disclosed now. One of the two has been identified as Preston Hemphill, a white officer whose body camera filmed “[Video 1](.” Hemphill is seen firing a stun gun at Nichols and saying: “Taser was deployed … One of the prongs hit the bastard.” His lawyers say he was not at the second scene, where Nichols was severely beaten. Police refused to answer questions about the seventh officer. (Source: [NYT]() Different Strokes Western Allies Disagree Over Fighter Jets for Ukraine When asked Monday whether the U.S. would send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, President Biden’s response was emphatic: “No.” France’s Emmanuel Macron, however, seemed far more open to the idea, saying that “by definition, nothing is excluded” — before quickly adding that he’d need assurances the planes wouldn’t “touch Russian soil.” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also refused to rule out sending F-16s to Ukraine. Since finally [managing to get some modern tanks donated](, President Zelenskky has made clear that long-range missiles and fourth-generation fighter jets are key to preventing Russia from drawing the war out and exhausting Ukrainian defenses. (Sources: [Reuters](, [NYT]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Hush money. In a surprise move, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will present a grand jury with evidence about hush money payments made by President Donald Trump to adult film star Stormy Daniels. (Source: [The Guardian]() End of an era. President Biden will end COVID-19 health emergency declarations on May 11. “This decision is based on what is best for the health of our country at this time,” a senior official said. (Source: [Politico]() Shameful record. A total of 87 rhinos — 61 black and 26 white — were poached in Namibia last year. This is the highest number on record, and almost double the 2022 death toll. (Source: [BBC]() INTRIGUING ‘Maternal Wall’ International Coalition of Scientist-Moms Demands Funding Reforms In their first decade of parenthood, scientist-moms typically publish ten fewer papers than scientist-dads. And roughly one-third of mothers in full-time STEMM positions end up leaving their jobs. Now, [Mothers in Science]( has outlined the steps needed to dismantle this “maternal wall.” These include providing funds for women to employ lab replacements during parental leave and making it easier to account for unproductive spells on grant applications. While many see motherhood and science as a “private issue and tend to treat it as an individual problem,” MIS chief executive Isabel Torres — who has four kids — said, “We’ve shown that it’s a structural problem.” (Source: [Nature]() Doppelgänger Murder Did This German Woman Kill a Lookalike to Fake Her Own Death? When the mutilated body of a young woman was found in a parked Mercedes in Ingolstadt, the victim was initially identified as Sharaban K — but an autopsy raised questions. The body was later found to be that of Khadidja O, also 23, an Algerian beauty blogger with “strikingly” similar features. “Investigations have led us to assume that the accused wanted to go into hiding because of a family dispute and fake her own death to that effect,” said prosecutor Veronika Grieser. Sharaban K allegedly used Instagram to contact several lookalikes in the weeks before the murder. Only Khadidja O agreed to meet. (Source: [The Guardian]() Reality Check Three Kids Later, Marie Kondo Admits: ‘My Home Is Messy’ The decluttering queen’s new book contains some surprise admissions. At a launch event she described how her life had been upended by the birth of her third child: “Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she said. “I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me. Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.” She hasn’t given up on sparking joy, however: silk pajamas and loose-leaf tea still feature heavily in her revised lifestyle. (Source: [WaPo]() Andrea Who? Academy to Review Nomination for Best Actress Andrea Riseborough’s [nomination]( for her stirring performance in the little-known indie production To Leslie was arguably the Oscars surprise of the decade. While some considered the flurry of last-minute endorsements she received from A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow and Edward Norton organic and heartfelt, others were less certain. The Academy Board of Governors will meet today to discuss whether the campaign broke any rules — and if the rules are still fit for purpose. But Till director Chinonye Chukwu would rather they addressed their “unabashed misogyny towards Black women.” Two Black actresses, Danielle Deadwyler (Till) and Viola Davis (The Woman King) were controversially not nominated. (Sources: [BBC](, [Variety]() Avalanche US Pro Skier Kyle Smaine Killed in Japan at 31 The 2015 halfpipe world champ was skiing on Hakuba Norikura mountain at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. “It was the last run of the last day of our trip. We had no camera gear with us. We were going out for fun,” said fellow U.S. professional skier [Adam Ü](. Shortly after completing the run, one of the skiers still on the slope triggered an avalanche. “We heard the crack. We realized it is a big one. We started running and then we got hit,” said Ü, who survived being buried in snow for 25 minutes. An unnamed Austrian skier also died. (Sources: [Mountain Gazette](, [Sky News]() NOW STREAMING FROM OZY STUDIO COMMUNITY What else are you curious about? Share your questions or thoughts with us at OzyCommunity@Ozy.com ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. [www.ozy.com]( / #OZY Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! [TV]( | [PODCASTS]( | [NEWS]( | [FESTIVALS]( A Modern Media Company OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](