Latest news with #BridgeofSpies
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Backroom diplomacy and battlefield reality: Ukraine at the IMF Spring Meetings
Visiting Washington during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings this April felt surreal. The weather was nice, but the air was heavy with the uncertainty of the tariff war, President Donald Trump's administration's criticisms of international institutions, and the far more immediate tension of geopolitics between Ukraine and the U.S. As reported by the Guardian, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva quoted the movie Bridge of Spies, emphasizing the need to stay calm and focused amid chaos. A U.S. lawyer in the movie tells a Soviet spy that he has been appointed to defend him, and that he will probably be executed. 'You don't seem alarmed,' he says, to which the spy replies, 'Would it help?' The metaphor also fits Ukraine's situation perfectly: in 2025, it is once again navigating perilous waters, maybe even worse than a year before. For Ukraine, this year's IMF meetings were not center stage, but rather the backdrop for two monumental, intertwined developments. First, there was the critical minerals agreement — a deal that could shape Ukraine's economic future by anchoring its resource sector to the U.S.'s sphere of influence. Second, there were ongoing negotiations towards a peace settlement with Russia, where Trump has actively played an intermediary role. Despite developments, in both instances, relations remained strained. These developments far overshadowed the typical Spring Meeting business, at least for the Ukrainian delegation. For Ukraine, Washington 2025 was therefore less about public speeches and more about navigating a complex maze of alliances, negotiations, and backroom deals. The progress on the critical minerals deal brought cautious optimism. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the latest draft (signed on April 30) better aligns with both Ukrainian and EU priorities: crucially, previous Western aid to Ukraine won't be retroactively counted as debt, and no existing Ukrainian revenue streams will be diverted to fund new projects. But memories of the last draft's public leak keep everyone on edge. The peace deal, however, remains the major stumbling block in Ukraine-U.S. relations. While Donald Trump appears determined to end the war at any cost, it is the Ukrainian people who are expected to bear that cost, and they are far from willing to do so. The complexities of the relationship were even spotlighted at a special event at the Spy Museum, where former National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne remarked, 'We do not have a strong track record of appeasing dictators' — a sentiment that resonates deeply with most Ukrainians. By the weekend, however, all conversations turned to the extraordinary scene that had unfolded: after a scandal at the White House, a hastily organized meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump at Pope Francis's funeral became the new focal point. The symbolism was too rich to ignore, and it fuelled new hopes in a lot of hearts. Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was also in Washington, pursuing the task of securing external funding for 2026. His mission once again underscored Kristalina Georgieva's steadfast commitment to a 'no-alarm' approach. As usual, the IMF emphasized the familiar refrain: the need for stronger revenue generation and disciplined fiscal policy. While essential, these prescriptions have become an almost ritualistic part of Ukraine's dialogue with international lenders. Meanwhile, concerns over Ukraine's debt sustainability continue to loom large, threatening to narrow the space for additional aid. True to form, both the IMF and the World Bank remain skeptical about confiscating frozen Russian assets. With new grants increasingly scarce and debt sustainability concerns limiting access to additional loans, advancing the effort to seize Russian assets remains a critical task Ukraine cannot afford to let slip. Finally, the Innovation Days at Ukraine House unfolded in stark contrast to the grim reality back home. Beneath the bright Washington sun, with green lawns and easy conversations, Ukrainian officials and guests networked and participated in panels. Yet even as ideas were exchanged and opportunities discussed, many attendees kept refreshing their phones: that very morning, Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, had endured a deadly Russian attack. While bombs fell on those who remained at home, Ukraine's delegation in Washington tried to balance hope for the future with the horror unfolding in real time. This article was prepared with the support of the European Union and the "Renaissance" International Fund within the framework of the joint initiative 'European Renaissance of Ukraine." The article represents the position of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union or the International Renaissance Foundation. Read also: Why Zelensky won't — and can't — sell out Ukraine for Trump's peaceWe've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Netflix fans captivated by ‘breathtaking' British crime thriller that ‘gives them chills' - comparing it to Vera and Black Mirror as it rockets up the charts
Netflix fans have been captivated by a British crime thriller that 'gives them chills' and even compared it to Vera and Black Mirror. Three-part thriller Black Work first aired in 2015 on ITV but is still proving to be a hit with viewers. Starring Sheridan Smith, Matthew McNulty and Oliver Woollford, the drama was created by Bridge of Spies writer Matt Charman. Black Work delves into the story of a widowed police officer PC Jo Gillespie, played by Sheridan, who takes things into her own hands and investigates her husband's (Kenny Doughty) death. The series was recently added to the popular streaming platform and sees Jo discover secrets from her husband's undercover work, according to the synopsis. Some fans have likened Black Work to other popular thrillers including Vera and Black Mirror and it has rocketed up the charts on Netflix. Many viewers left their verdicts on Google and penned: 'ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS ON ITV, Very good and breathtaking storyline, every time I hear its soundtrack and scenes where they filmed at the Leeds shopping centre, I always get the chills.' 'Awesome show, it has a mixture of Vera and DCI Banks with the crime scenes of forensic analysts and modus operandi, it has to be the best shows on TV, Especially on ITV, the British are the best at crime procedurals like this, it's breathtaking.' 'Superbly done, detective fiction thriller in the style of the French Connection and Black Mirror.' 'As usual anything with Sheridan Smith is brilliant, this is no exception.' 'Worth watching, with decent performances and a good storyline though, to be fair, you could drive a bus through the gaps! 'But well paced and just right over three episodes. So many of these dramas are stretched to five or six. Recommended by us.' But not everyone has been impressed and one viewer wrote: 'Despite loving a good brit crime I just couldn't connect, felt constantly confused and eventually only finished this convoluted series in the hopes it wouldn't be so boring and maybe even make sense.' Some fans have likened Black Work to other popular thrillers including Vera and Black Mirror and it has rocketed up the charts on Netflix Another crime thriller on Netflix has proven to be a hit with fans recently too. The Glass Dome hit the popular streaming platform last week and has already been praised by viewers. It delves into the story of criminologist Lejla Ness (Léonie Vincent), who joins the search for her friend's missing daughter. However, she soon realises how similar the case is to her own childhood abduction and 'must confront the haunting trauma' of her past experience, according to the synopsis. The Swedish thriller consists of six episodes and stars Johan Hedenberg, Johan Rheborg, Farzad Farzaneh, Ia Langhammer, Cecilia Nilsson and Emil Almén.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As policymakers leave IMF-World Bank talks, they take with them a sense of foreboding
Kristalina Georgieva's favourite film, the International Monetary Fund boss told the audience at a packed panel event in Washington on Thursday, is Tom Hanks's cold war romp Bridge of Spies. In one of the stranger digressions in a frequently strange week, Georgieva recalled the moment when Hanks's character, a US lawyer, tells the Soviet spy he has been appointed to defend that he will probably be executed. 'You don't seem alarmed,' Hanks says to him; to which the spy – played by Mark Rylance – replies, 'Would it help?' Georgieva mentioned the vignette to underline the fact that this week's spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank were not swept up in panic, despite the mayhem emanating from the Trump administration. Instead, the reaction to the uncertainty of many of the hundreds of policymakers present has been a kind of stunned resignation. Trump was barely mentioned by name at the scores of public events where policymakers chewed over how to respond to the challenges thrown up by his chaotic tariffs. Georgieva spoke of 'major trade policy shifts' which had 'spiked uncertainty off the charts'. Central bankers earnestly discussed how best to portray today's heightened uncertainty to the public. Perhaps, mused the Bank of England's deputy governor Clare Lombardelli, they could learn from the way medics communicated during the Covid pandemic. And the IMF suggested regulators keep a close watch on economic institutions, warning of 'further shocks, corrections of asset prices, and tightening of financial conditions'. Yet as one UK official privately acknowledged, it often felt as though the real action this week was happening not in the IMF – the spiritual home of the 'Washington consensus' of free-market neoliberalism – but up the road at the White House, where what remains of that consensus was being torched. Away from the public eye, policymakers at the IMF speculated about who is up and who is down in the administration, and what that may mean for its direction. Trump's apparent softening of his stance earlier this week on sky-high tariffs against China, and insistence he is not about to sack Jay Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, stoked hopes that the relatively more moderate Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has a stronger influence than the president's tear-it-all-down trade adviser, Peter Navarro. It appears unlikely to have been as a result of the IMF's warning on Tuesday of a 'major negative shock' from the tariffs. Instead, many observers pointed to the influence of the mighty bond markets – the agents of Liz Truss's destruction. Even after markets recovered some ground this week, bond investors still appeared to be demanding an additional risk premium to hold US Treasuries, usually considered the ultimate haven. With Trump's administration hoping to drive down Treasury yields – and hence the interest rate on the monster US debt-pile – it is likely to be this, rather than moral suasion from the world's finance ministers, that sways him in the coming weeks and months. Indeed, there were signs everywhere in Washington that policymakers are keen to show they accept aspects of the administration's worldview. Rachel Reeves, who was to lobby Bessent on tariff exemptions for the UK, told guests at a drinks reception hosted by the British ambassador, Peter Mandelson, that she shared some of Trump's concerns about persistent trade deficits – if not his approach to resolving them. 'There's been a feeling in my country, and in America and in many other developed countries, that the system we have today delivers for some but not for all, and jobs have been hollowed out in some sectors of the economy,' the chancellor said. 'It does matter where things are made and who makes them, and we can't be agnostic or naive about that.' Meanwhile, the IMF and World Bank reined in their rhetoric about how they see their role, even before Bessent himself accused them of 'mission creep' in a speech on Wednesday. He claimed the IMF spent too much time on 'climate change, gender, and social issues' and that the World Bank expected 'blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing'. Despite his strong words, there was a sigh of relief at both Bretton Woods institutions – based in Washington, with an oversized role for the US – that the Trump administration did not want to quit them altogether. Bessent suggested they had 'enduring value' – as long as they don't overstep their core tasks. Accordingly, both the World Bank president, Ajay Banga, and Georgieva framed their role in every public utterance as about jobs, growth and stability. One politician attending described Banga admiringly as 'an operator'. A longtime observer of the institutions, Prof Richard Kozul-Wright, of Soas University of London, said the change in emphasis was stark. 'I've found it quite shocking, how craven they can be: six months ago they were going to save the planet,' he said. Bessent suggested he wanted to see the IMF acting on some of the White House's concerns about the global economy – including what it sees as excessive currency depreciation, and a failure by economies including China to stoke sufficient domestic demand: the latter a widely shared diagnosis among experts. But Kozul-Wright said the Bretton Woods institutions, which have to answer to all their members, were ill-fitted for the task. 'They can't be an overt mouthpiece for the Trump agenda,' he said. While the US president has been smashing up the global trading system, and rocking the world's financial architecture in the process, other pillars of the Washington consensus seemed as solid as ever this week. Georgieva lavished praise on Javier Milei's government in Argentina, with which the IMF recently agreed a massive $20bn support package, for its drastic public spending cuts and agenda of slashing red tape. She proudly pinned on a small badge featuring Milei's trademark chainsaw, handed to her on stage by the country's minister of deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, who had just finished a lengthy digression about overzealous US regulation of watermelon exports. As if to emphasise how fleeting any hopes of calm may be, Trump gave a defiant Time interview as policymakers prepared to leave Washington this weekend, saying he would consider it a 'total victory', if tariffs were still as high as 20% or even 50% in a year's time. With his punitive paused 'reciprocal' tariffs still hanging over the global economy, IMF delegates will take home with them a sense of foreboding for what lies ahead.
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
As policymakers leave IMF-World Bank talks, they take with them a sense of foreboding
Kristalina Georgieva's favourite film, the International Monetary Fund boss told the audience at a packed panel event in Washington on Thursday, is Tom Hanks's cold war romp Bridge of Spies. In one of the stranger digressions in a frequently strange week, Georgieva recalled the moment when Hanks's character, a US lawyer, tells the Soviet spy he has been appointed to defend that he will probably be executed. 'You don't seem alarmed,' Hanks says to him; to which the spy – played by Mark Rylance – replies, 'Would it help?' Georgieva mentioned the vignette to underline the fact that this week's spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank were not swept up in panic, despite the mayhem emanating from the Trump administration. Instead, the reaction to the uncertainty of many of the hundreds of policymakers present has been a kind of stunned resignation. Trump was barely mentioned by name at the scores of public events where policymakers chewed over how to respond to the challenges thrown up by his chaotic tariffs. Georgieva spoke of 'major trade policy shifts' which had 'spiked uncertainty off the charts'. Central bankers earnestly discussed how best to portray today's heightened uncertainty to the public. Perhaps, mused the Bank of England's deputy governor Clare Lombardelli, they could learn from the way medics communicated during the Covid pandemic. And the IMF suggested regulators keep a close watch on economic institutions, warning of 'further shocks, corrections of asset prices, and tightening of financial conditions'. Yet as one UK official privately acknowledged, it often felt as though the real action this week was happening not in the IMF – the spiritual home of the 'Washington consensus' of free-market neoliberalism – but up the road at the White House, where what remains of that consensus was being torched. Away from the public eye, policymakers at the IMF speculated about who is up and who is down in the administration, and what that may mean for its direction. Trump's apparent softening of his stance earlier this week on sky-high tariffs against China, and insistence he is not about to sack Jay Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, stoked hopes that the relatively more moderate Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has a stronger influence than the president's tear-it-all-down trade adviser, Peter Navarro. It appears unlikely to have been as a result of the IMF's warning on Tuesday of a 'major negative shock' from the tariffs. Instead, many observers pointed to the influence of the mighty bond markets – the agents of Liz Truss's destruction. Even after markets recovered some ground this week, bond investors still appeared to be demanding an additional risk premium to hold US Treasuries, usually considered the ultimate haven. With Trump's administration hoping to drive down Treasury yields – and hence the interest rate on the monster US debt-pile – it is likely to be this, rather than moral suasion from the world's finance ministers, that sways him in the coming weeks and months. Indeed, there were signs everywhere in Washington that policymakers are keen to show they accept aspects of the administration's worldview. Rachel Reeves, who was to lobby Bessent on tariff exemptions for the UK, told guests at a drinks reception hosted by the British ambassador, Peter Mandelson, that she shared some of Trump's concerns about persistent trade deficits – if not his approach to resolving them. 'There's been a feeling in my country, and in America and in many other developed countries, that the system we have today delivers for some but not for all, and jobs have been hollowed out in some sectors of the economy,' the chancellor said. 'It does matter where things are made and who makes them, and we can't be agnostic or naive about that.' Meanwhile, the IMF and World Bank reined in their rhetoric about how they see their role, even before Bessent himself accused them of 'mission creep' in a speech on Wednesday. He claimed the IMF spent too much time on 'climate change, gender, and social issues' and that the World Bank expected 'blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Despite his strong words, there was a sigh of relief at both Bretton Woods institutions – based in Washington, with an oversized role for the US – that the Trump administration did not want to quit them altogether. Bessent suggested they had 'enduring value' – as long as they don't overstep their core tasks. Accordingly, both the World Bank president, Ajay Banga, and Georgieva framed their role in every public utterance as about jobs, growth and stability. One politician attending described Banga admiringly as 'an operator'. A longtime observer of the institutions, Prof Richard Kozul-Wright, of Soas University of London, said the change in emphasis was stark. 'I've found it quite shocking, how craven they can be: six months ago they were going to save the planet,' he said. Bessent suggested he wanted to see the IMF acting on some of the White House's concerns about the global economy – including what it sees as excessive currency depreciation, and a failure by economies including China to stoke sufficient domestic demand: the latter a widely shared diagnosis among experts. But Kozul-Wright said the Bretton Woods institutions, which have to answer to all their members, were ill-fitted for the task. 'They can't be an overt mouthpiece for the Trump agenda,' he said. While the US president has been smashing up the global trading system, and rocking the world's financial architecture in the process, other pillars of the Washington consensus seemed as solid as ever this week. Georgieva lavished praise on Javier Milei's government in Argentina, with which the IMF recently agreed a massive $20bn support package, for its drastic public spending cuts and agenda of slashing red tape. She proudly pinned on a small badge featuring Milei's trademark chainsaw, handed to her on stage by the country's minister of deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, who had just finished a lengthy digression about overzealous US regulation of watermelon exports. As if to emphasise how fleeting any hopes of calm may be, Trump gave a defiant Time interview as policymakers prepared to leave Washington this weekend, saying he would consider it a 'total victory', if tariffs were still as high as 20% or even 50% in a year's time. With his punitive paused 'reciprocal' tariffs still hanging over the global economy, IMF delegates will take home with them a sense of foreboding for what lies ahead.
Telegraph
03-03-2025
- Telegraph
The remarkable renaissance of Potsdam – and why it has become a political hot potato
From a distance, Glienecke Brücke looks like just another ordinary road bridge, but as I cycle across it, over the tranquil River Havel, I notice something odd. The two halves of this bridge are slightly different shades of green – a reminder of the old border which once ran down the middle of this meandering, melancholic river. Then I remember where I've seen this bridge before, in the Tom Hanks film Bridge of Spies. Like Checkpoint Charlie, Glienecke Brücke became an iconic symbol of the Iron Curtain, a border crossing between East and West Germany, between Eastern and Western Europe. Yet while Checkpoint Charlie is in the busy centre of Berlin, Glienecke Brücke is hidden away on the leafy boundary of the city, amid a maze of lakes and woodland. That's why it was a favourite spot for Cold War assignations – trading intel, swapping spies… Today, Glienecke Brücke merely marks the boundary between Berlin and Brandenburg – no more barriers, no more border guards. However, half a lifetime since the Berlin Wall came down, the two sides of this river still feel like different places. On one side is Berlin and on the other side is Potsdam – a separate city with a different history, a world away from the German capital. Look at a railway map of Berlin and you might assume that Potsdam is merely a sleepy suburb, the last stop on the line. In fact, it's the old imperial Prussian capital. For most visitors to Berlin, it's just a day-trip destination – but spend a few days here and you'll discover another side of it, a place far closer to Germany's Prussian past than cosmopolitan Berlin. I first came to Potsdam in 1991, two years after the Wall came down. For 40 years, the city had been shut off behind the Iron Curtain – and though Germany was now reunified, those 40 years had left their mark. The city centre was run-down. Most of the historic landmarks were under scaffolding. I reckoned it'd take another 40 years – at least – to put it right. During the Nineties and Noughties I returned to Potsdam many times, but like most visitors I usually bypassed the city centre and headed straight for Sanssouci, the Prussian version of Versailles. Only half an hour from Berlin by train, this cluster of palaces and gardens attracted lots of tourists, but most of them merely toured the ornamental grounds, then headed straight back to Berlin. However, during the last ten years, something remarkable has happened here in Potsdam. Sanssouci is still stunning, but it's the city that's really changed. It has ceased to be an adjunct of Berlin – it's now a destination in its own right. Last time I came I stayed overnight, and I had a great time. This time, I stayed three nights. I wish I could have stayed for longer. It's much smaller than Berlin, and much less hectic, but there's still lots to see and do. A city reborn Like London, Berlin has fragmented into dozens of autonomous districts, with the city centre largely given over to international sightseers. Potsdam has its fair share of tourists, but the city is compact, and locals socialise in the city centre. A quirky, friendly combination of state capital and market town, it feels a lot more German than multicultural, multilingual Berlin. The thing that's brought Potsdam back to life is the restoration of its historic cityscape. Potsdam was badly bombed in the dying days of the Second World War, and although Sanssouci escaped destruction, much of the city centre was reduced to rubble. The communists patched up a few old buildings, but they neglected many more. They even took the trouble to tear down some of the surviving buildings which displeased them (the communists condemned Germany's Prussian heritage as 'militaristic' and 'imperialistic'). In place of these lost glories, they put up bleak, depressing tower blocks, bequeathing an ungainly mishmash of antique relics and modernistic eyesores. Since reunification, Potsdam has undergone a remarkable programme of regeneration. After half a century in the doldrums, the Prussian capital has re-emerged. Not only have architects restored numerous baroque buildings, they've built numerous modern replicas of those which were lost during the war. These meticulous duplications are virtually indistinguishable from the buildings which stood here before. The city feels reborn. In Potsdam, and elsewhere in Germany, this policy of recreating vanished buildings is a political hot potato (conservatives approve; progressive voters are more sceptical). Personally, I'm all in favour. I've seen Potsdam before and after, and for me there's no contest. Brutalist high-rise buildings create empty streets. Traditional architecture makes these streets come alive. A prime example of this rejuvenation is the Barberini, a beautiful Italianate building which houses one of Europe's finest collections of Impressionist art. A perfect replica of a baroque palace destroyed during the war, you'd never guess it was barely ten years old. Remarkably, this isn't a state institution, but the gift of German software billionaire and philanthropist Hasso Plattner, who was born in Berlin. Not only did Plattner erect this exquisite building, he's filled it with paintings – in particular a vast array of lovely Monets, the biggest haul outside Paris. Another stunning recreation is the Garrison Church which doubles as a place of worship and a colourful museum. Damaged but not destroyed by Allied bombers, it could have been repaired, but the communists decided to demolish it – partly because they disliked churches, but mainly because it had become an infamous Nazi site, the place where Hitler shook hands with Hindenburg. Last time I came here it was a hole in the ground, and I assumed its reconstruction was just a pipe dream, but now the imposing tower has been rebuilt, part of the Potsdam skyline once again (the view from the top is breathtaking). I finished my latest visit back where I'd begun, in 1991, in Sanssouci. When I arrived it was raining but as I walked through the wooded gardens the sky cleared and by the time I reached Frederick the Great's summer palace the sun was out. There were hardly any other visitors – the bad weather had deterred them. For a short while, I had this special place almost to myself. I ended up at Frederick's gravestone – plain and simple, barely any different from the graves of his beloved greyhounds, buried around him. Under Frederick, Prussia grew from an obscure backwater into a great nation. In 1945, it was wiped off the map by the victorious allies, but here in Potsdam, a little enclave of his kingdom – the best of Prussia – survives. What to see and do Potsdam is a virtual island, ringed by woods and water, and by far the best way to explore this verdant hinterland is by bike. Hire a bicycle from Pedales, a friendly, efficient firm right beside the Hauptbahnhof (central station). Potsdam Museum provides a vivid overview of the turbulent history of the city. Das Minsk is an excellent contemporary art museum, with a special focus on East German art, in a striking modernist building, built as a cultural centre by the GDR. Where to eat and drink The Holländische Viertel (Dutch Quarter) is the prettiest part of Potsdam. You'll find lots of cosy bars and restaurants here. Zum Fliegende Holländer dishes up hearty Germanic classics like Matjesfilet and Apfelstrüdel, washed down with Berliner Kindl, the local beer. Where to stay The Hotel Brandenburger Tor is a pleasant four-star in the baroque Innenstadt, a short walk from Sanssouci. Getting there Fly to Berlin with British Airways from London Heathrow or London City, with Easyjet from London Gatwick, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool or Manchester, or with Ryanair from London Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Manchester. Trains from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Potsdam cost just €4.30 and take around an hour. Visit Deutsche Bahn for details.
