The US Federal Reserve supports a more restrictive stance in its monetary policy if high inflation persists, according to minutes released Wednesday from its last meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members "concurred that the economic outlook warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy, and they recognized the possibility that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist," the minutes said from the central bank's meeting on June 14 - 15.

"In addition, such a stance would be appropriate from a risk management perspective because it would put the Committee in a better position to implement more restrictive policy if inflation came in higher than expected," it added.

The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points on June 15 -- its steepest rate hike in 28 years, as annual consumer inflation soared 8.6% in May, hovering around a 40-year high.

FOMC members noted that an increase of 50 or 75 basis points would likely be appropriate at the next meeting on July 26 - 27.

Many members stressed that high inflation "could become entrenched if the public began to question the resolve of the Committee to adjust the stance of policy as warranted."/aa

The number of people affected by hunger globally grew to as many as 828 million in 2021, swelling by about 46 million from 2020 and 150 million from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a United Nations report said Wednesday.

The UN report shows the world is moving further away from its goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

Cindy Hollerman, a Food and Agricultural Organization economist and editor of the report, said at a UN press conference in Geneva it is “dismaying” to see an upswing in hunger and worrying to see the trends.

“We are still seeing hunger rising in 2021 and that is very worrying,” Hollerman said, adding: “Worrying also is the cost of a healthy diet.”

“Increases are sharper, where people were experiencing economic slowdowns with the COVID pandemic, but combined with the other drivers,” she said, citing “conflict or climate factors and high levels of inequality.”

The five UN agencies behind the report said it was being published as war rages in Ukraine, involving two of the biggest global producers of staple cereals, oilseeds, and fertilizer, disrupting international supply chains.

They said the Russia-Ukraine war is hiking the prices of grain, fertilizer, energy, and ready-to-use therapeutic food for children with severe malnutrition.

"This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities," the agencies’ heads wrote in this year's foreword.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report is jointly published by the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Hunger jumps in 2020

After remaining relatively unchanged since 2015, the proportion of people affected by hunger jumped in 2020 and continued to rise in 2021 to 9.8% of the world population.

About 2.3 billion people worldwide (29.3%) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021.

That was 350 million more compared to before the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic, said the report.

Nearly 924 million people (11.7% of the global population) faced food insecurity at severe levels, an increase of 207 million in two years.

The gender gap in food insecurity continued rising in 2021 – 31.9% of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure, compared to 27.6% of men – a gap of more than 4 percentage points, compared with 3 percentage points in 2020.

Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, reflecting the effects of inflation in consumer food prices stemming from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it.

An estimated 45 million children under the age of five were suffering from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, which increases children's risk of death by up to 12 times.

Furthermore, 149 million children under five had stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets, while 39 million were overweight.

Progress in breastfeeding

The report said there is progress on exclusive breastfeeding, with nearly 44% of infants under six months of age being exclusively breastfed worldwide in 2020.

That number remains short of the 50% target by 2030.

"Of great concern, two in three children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential," said the report.

The report forecasts that nearly 670 million people (8%t of the world population) will still face hunger in 2030 – even if a global economic recovery occurs.

This is similar to 2015, when the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition by the end of this decade was launched under the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development./aa

The European Union is working on an emergency plan to prepare for a complete cutoff of Russian gas supply, the European Commission chief said on Wednesday.

“It is obvious: Putin continues to use energy as a weapon,” Ursula von der Leyen said, citing a dozen European countries directly affected by the partial or total cutoff of Russian gas.

The regional block has imposed partial sanctions on Russian crude oil and petroleum products, and outlined plans to reduce dependence on gas by two-thirds by the year-end.

Moscow too has announced a reduction in natural gas flows to Europe. Von der Leyen said EU members needed to be ready for disruptions, even complete cessation.

The 27-nation EU needs to respond to this challenge with common action and the plan to be presented by mid-July will have the necessary contingency measures.

Von der Leyen was at the European Parliament Plenary in Strasbourg to unveil the agenda of the Czech Republic’s presidency of the European Council, which she summed up as “Rethink, Repower and Rebuild.”

Addressing the legislators, she said the EU was on a priority diversifying gas supplies away from Russia towards “trustworthy, reliable suppliers.”

The average monthly import of Russian piped gas to the EU has declined by 33% compared to last year, she said, adding to the rise in the export of liquefied natural gas from the US and other countries.

“Since March, global LNG exports, other than from Russia, to Europe have risen by 75%,” she said.

In the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, she underlined Europe must achieve “independence from Russian fossil fuels” and the €300 billion ($305.6 billion) REPowerEU project was a step in this direction to make investments in renewable energy.

Von der Leyen recalled the importance of moving towards a green transition, and not competing with limited fossil fuels. She said the soaring energy prices eventually “fill Putin's war chest.”/aa

More than 600 inmates escaped a Nigerian prison in the nation’s capital during a terror attack, an official said Wednesday.

Defense Minister Bashir Magashi said assailants, suspected to be from the Boko Haram terror group, invaded the Kuje Prison in Abuja late Tuesday with explosives and fired shots.

"They came in with high explosives, they attempted the initial entry with a very high explosive, but they were unsuccessful," he told reporters.

Magashi said military troops responded to the scene while the terrorists were attacking another section of the prison with high-caliber explosives.

"Right now, we have retrieved about 300, out of about 600 inmates that escaped their cells,” with some caught in nearby bushes hours after the attack.

The minister could not confirm the number of fatalities in the attack.

Residents said they were gripped with fear as gunshots and explosives continued late Tuesday.

Nigerians on social media said the attack accentuates the dire security situation in the country./aa

British government rejected a request to permit a second independence referendum in Scotland on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting for his job after a series of resignations from his government.

“I have carefully considered the arguments you set out for a transfer of power from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament to hold another referendum on independence,” Johnson said in a letter to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

He wrote: “As our country faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, I cannot agree that now is the time to return to a question, which was clearly answered by the people of Scotland in 2014.”

Sharing the letter on Twitter, Sturgeon wrote: “Just received this from Johnson (one of his last acts as PM?),” questioning Johnson’s immediate political future after dozens of resignations from his Tory government since yesterday.

“To be clear, Scotland will have the opportunity to choose independence - I hope in a referendum on 19 October 2023 but, if not, through a general election. Scottish democracy will not be a prisoner of this or any PM.”

Sturgeon announced last month that the country may hold a second independence referendum on Oct. 19, 2023.

Sturgeon’s announcement came as her government published a new bill on the second vote.

The purpose of the referendum is “to ascertain the views of the people of Scotland on whether or not Scotland should be an independent country,” Sturgeon said.

She also said the referendum must be lawful and the Scottish government will reveal what it is going to do if the local Westminster government blocks such a vote.

The first referendum that asked Scottish voters whether they want to break free from the UK was a mere two years before the historic Brexit vote.

The government under then-Prime Minister David Cameron pledged a better understanding for Scots from Westminster and “extensive new powers” for the Scottish parliament.

Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party had full confidence that the country would survive, and even be better off, outside the UK, strengthened by the nation’s oil fields in the North Sea, world-famous malt whiskey, textiles, jet engines, and various banking and financial services.

The idea, however, was rejected by Scots, as just over 2 million votes (55.3%) were cast to remain part of the UK, while 1.62 million (44.7%) people voted for independence./aa

Torrential monsoon rains and flash floods killed at least 29 people and injured several others in southwestern and northern Pakistan over the past 24 hours, officials and local media said on Wednesday.

Southwestern Balochistan province and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region were the worst hit where massive downpours and flash floods washed away bridges and houses, caused landslides and disconnected many towns and villages from the rest of the country.

At least 20 deaths have been reported from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, and several other districts, including Qila Saifullah, Sibbi, Kohlu, Gawadar, Turbat and Pasni over the last 24 hours in rain-related accidents, according to local broadcaster Dawn News.

The provincial disaster management authorities put the number at 14.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Farah Azim, a spokeswoman for the provincial government, said that some 35 people have lost their lives across the province during the ongoing monsoon and the pre-monsoon spell that struck the region late last month.

A total of 77 people have been killed across Pakistan since June 14, Minister for Environment and Climate Change Sherry Rehman said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

At least four women were killed and several others injured after a massive downpour flanked by flash floods and landslides struck the Ghizr district of the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which borders neighboring China, local broadcaster Sach News reported.

Flash floods also washed away nearly 200 houses in different villages of the scenic mountainous valley, the channel reported.

Heavy to moderate rains also lashed the capital Islamabad, commercial capital Karachi, garrison city of Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, and districts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

At least two deaths each were reported from Rawalpindi, and Gujranwala while a child died in Karachi in different rain-related accidents.

The Meteorological Department has forecast more rains in the next 48 hours.

Monsoon rains have long been wreaking havoc on Pakistan in terms of human casualties, and destruction of already fragile infrastructures. However, climate change has further increased their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability in recent years.

Rehman said the country has received 86% more rains this monsoon season so far compared to the past year.​​​​​​​/aa