International Monetary Fund chief <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/imfs-lagarde-warns-us-china-tariffs-to-slash-global-growth-in-2020-224804">Christine Lagarde on Tuesday</a> announced she would step down "temporarily" from the global crisis lender after being nominated to lead the European Central Bank.

EU leaders announced a deal to fill the top positions in the political and economic bloc, including picking Lagarde to succeed ECB chief Mario Draghi, whose single, eight-year term ends in November.

"I am honored to have been nominated for the Presidency of the European Central Bank," Lagarde said in a statement, adding that she would "temporarily relinquish my responsibilities as Managing Director of the IMF during the nomination period."

The nomination means <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/imf-chief-christine-lagarde-says-us-china-tensions-threat-to-world-economy-216809">Lagarde will step down</a> two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF, which will open a search for her replacement.

The fund's executive board met Tuesday and named American economist David Lipton, Lagarde's chief deputy, as interim leader of the institution.

"We accept Ms Lagarde's decision to relinquish her IMF responsibilities temporarily during the nomination period," the board said in a statement.&nbsp;

"We have full confidence in First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton as Acting Managing Director of the IMF."

By tradition, since the institutions were created in the wake of World War II, a European has always led the IMF and an American has been at the helm of the World Bank, although emerging market nations in recent years have pressed for more representation.

When Lagarde was selected in 2011, it was the first time the fund had an open leadership search process, in which any board member or country representative could nominate a candidate. Lagarde was selected over Agustin Carstens, then the head of the Mexican central bank.

She has drawn praise for her role leading the IMF in the wake of the global financial crisis.

"She's been a tremendous ambassador for the fund, a great salesperson, a very good communicator," said Mark Sobel, a former US Treasury official and chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum.

He told AFP that Lagarde has experience in monetary policy even if she has never led a central bank and, like US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, is not an economist.

"She's been involved in all the monetary debate and it's not like they don't discuss monetary policy at the fund."

Her second term in office coincided with the rise of US President Donald Trump and a wave of confrontations among major economies over trade, which the former French finance minister described as the major threat to the world economy.

Lagarde has at the same time acknowledged the strains caused by globalization, which has disrupted industries and marginalised some workers. 
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International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday announced she would step down "temporarily" from the global crisis lender after being nominated to lead the European Central Bank.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday announced she would step down "temporarily" from the global crisis lender after being nominated to lead the European Central Bank. EU leaders announced a deal to fill the top positions in the political and economic bloc, including picking Lagarde to succeed ECB chief Mario Draghi, whose single, eight-year term ends in November. "I am honored to have been nominated for the Presidency of the European Central Bank," Lagarde said in a statement, adding that she would "temporarily relinquish my responsibilities as Managing Director of the IMF during the nomination period." The nomination means Lagarde will step down two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF, which will open a search for her replacement. The fund's executive board met Tuesday and named American economist David Lipton, Lagarde's chief deputy, as interim leader of the institution. "We accept Ms Lagarde's decision to relinquish her IMF responsibilities temporarily during the nomination period," the board said in a statement. "We have full confidence in First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton as Acting Managing Director of the IMF." By tradition, since the institutions were created in the wake of World War II, a European has always led the IMF and an American has been at the helm of the World Bank, although emerging market nations in recent years have pressed for more representation. When Lagarde was selected in 2011, it was the first time the fund had an open leadership search process, in which any board member or country representative could nominate a candidate. Lagarde was selected over Agustin Carstens, then the head of the Mexican central bank. She has drawn praise for her role leading the IMF in the wake of the global financial crisis. "She's been a tremendous ambassador for the fund, a great salesperson, a very good communicator," said Mark Sobel, a former US Treasury official and chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. He told AFP that Lagarde has experience in monetary policy even if she has never led a central bank and, like US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, is not an economist. "She's been involved in all the monetary debate and it's not like they don't discuss monetary policy at the fund." Her second term in office coincided with the rise of US President Donald Trump and a wave of confrontations among major economies over trade, which the former French finance minister described as the major threat to the world economy. Lagarde has at the same time acknowledged the strains caused by globalization, which has disrupted industries and marginalised some workers.

Lagarde 'temporarily' steps down as IMF chief; American economist David Lipton named interim leader

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Thursday reiterated that the major risk facing the global economy was the trade tension between China and the United States, reported Reuters.

She said it could precipitate the slowdown of the Chinese economy.

"A slowdown of China is fine. It's legitimate," Lagarde told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "But if the slowdown was fast, it would constitute a real issue," she said.

Lagarde said this at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.&nbsp;

(With inputs from Reuters)&nbsp;

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Thursday reiterated that the major risk facing the global economy was the trade tension between China and the United States, reported Reuters.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Thursday reiterated that the major risk facing the global economy was the trade tension between China and the United States, reported Reuters. She said it could precipitate the slowdown of the Chinese economy. "A slowdown of China is fine. It's legitimate," Lagarde told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "But if the slowdown was fast, it would constitute a real issue," she said. Lagarde said this at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. (With inputs from Reuters)

China-US trade tension a major risk to global growth: IMF chief

The death toll due to a massive fire in a hospital in India&#39;s eastern state of Orissa rose to 24 on Saturday.

The post-mortem reports of the 19 dead said they died of suffocation and not of burns in the incident on Monday evening.

The death toll in the Sum Hospital fire tragedy increased to 24 with the death of Kartikeswar Das, a resident of GGP Colony, said Manoj Kumar Mohanty, additional district magistrate of Bhubaneswar.

Das was moved from Sum hospital to a private facility on the night of the incident. He was referred to a third hospital when his condition worsened, where he died.

The post-mortem reports which reached the Commissionerate of Police revealed that &quot;there was no burn case&quot;, Press Trust of India reported.

&quot;All the 19 people died due to suffocation due to smoke caused by the fire,&quot; said commissioner of police YB Khurania.

On Monday, at least 19 people were killed and several injured after a fire broke out at the ICU and the dialysis unit of the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, situated in the capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar. Within minutes, the smoke engulfed the entire ICU and dialysis unit making evacuation of patients difficult.

The post-mortem reports of the other bodies are yet to come.

A preliminary investigation had revealed that the fire was caused due to a short circuit in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which later spread to rest of the hospital.&nbsp;

The police interrogated the owner of the hospital, Manoj Ranjan Nayak, and received &#39;vital&#39; information about the violation of the institution&#39;s fire safety norms, Khurania said. Nayak&#39;s two-day police remand ends on Saturday night.

&quot;We will interrogate all those concerned regarding the safety measures of the hospital,&quot; Khurania said, adding that Nayak&#39;s wife Saswati Das, also a trustee member of the hospital, was still at large, PTI reported.

Orissa&#39;s health minister Pradip Kumar Amat said he would &#39;try to do justice&#39; and take action against the culprits of the tragedy.

India&#39;s health minister J P Nadda visited the fire-ravaged hospital and the injured patients undergoing treatment on Wednesday.

&ldquo;It is really very saddening, shocking and painful also. I have found some lapses in safety issues there which need to be addressed. We see some protocol breach. Inquiry report will come soon. State government should see punitive action taken,&rdquo; said Nadda, adding, &ldquo;A fresh advisory will be given to all the states so that such incidents do not take place in future.&rdquo;

On the same day, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took cognisance of the&nbsp;matter and has sought a report from the Odisha government within six weeks.

On Tuesday as many as four officials of the hospital were arrested on charges of criminal negligence, including culpable homicide, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and negligence with regard to fire safety.

The arrested include the hospital&rsquo;s medical superintendent Pusparaj Samantasinghar, ex-executive engineer Amulya Kumar Sahu, fire safety officer Santosh Das and retired junior engineer Malay Kumar Sahu.

A similar incident in yet another eastern Indian state of West Bengal had occurred in 2011, where a fire in the AMRI hospital claimed as many as 90 lives.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

Lagarde congratulated Sharif 'on successfully completing the IMF programme which has helped Pakistan restore its macroeconomic stability'

The death toll due to a massive fire in a hospital in India's eastern state of Orissa rose to 24 on Saturday. The post-mortem reports of the 19 dead said they died of suffocation and not of burns in the incident on Monday evening. The death toll in the Sum Hospital fire tragedy increased to 24 with the death of Kartikeswar Das, a resident of GGP Colony, said Manoj Kumar Mohanty, additional district magistrate of Bhubaneswar. Das was moved from Sum hospital to a private facility on the night of the incident. He was referred to a third hospital when his condition worsened, where he died. The post-mortem reports which reached the Commissionerate of Police revealed that "there was no burn case", Press Trust of India reported. "All the 19 people died due to suffocation due to smoke caused by the fire," said commissioner of police YB Khurania. On Monday, at least 19 people were killed and several injured after a fire broke out at the ICU and the dialysis unit of the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, situated in the capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar. Within minutes, the smoke engulfed the entire ICU and dialysis unit making evacuation of patients difficult. The post-mortem reports of the other bodies are yet to come. A preliminary investigation had revealed that the fire was caused due to a short circuit in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which later spread to rest of the hospital. The police interrogated the owner of the hospital, Manoj Ranjan Nayak, and received 'vital' information about the violation of the institution's fire safety norms, Khurania said. Nayak's two-day police remand ends on Saturday night. "We will interrogate all those concerned regarding the safety measures of the hospital," Khurania said, adding that Nayak's wife Saswati Das, also a trustee member of the hospital, was still at large, PTI reported. Orissa's health minister Pradip Kumar Amat said he would 'try to do justice' and take action against the culprits of the tragedy. India's health minister J P Nadda visited the fire-ravaged hospital and the injured patients undergoing treatment on Wednesday. “It is really very saddening, shocking and painful also. I have found some lapses in safety issues there which need to be addressed. We see some protocol breach. Inquiry report will come soon. State government should see punitive action taken,” said Nadda, adding, “A fresh advisory will be given to all the states so that such incidents do not take place in future.” On the same day, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took cognisance of the matter and has sought a report from the Odisha government within six weeks. On Tuesday as many as four officials of the hospital were arrested on charges of criminal negligence, including culpable homicide, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and negligence with regard to fire safety. The arrested include the hospital’s medical superintendent Pusparaj Samantasinghar, ex-executive engineer Amulya Kumar Sahu, fire safety officer Santosh Das and retired junior engineer Malay Kumar Sahu. A similar incident in yet another eastern Indian state of West Bengal had occurred in 2011, where a fire in the AMRI hospital claimed as many as 90 lives. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Pakistan out of economic crisis: IMF chief Christine Lagarde