The International Monetary Fund has called on the world’s largest economies to extend debt relief, warning of an economic catastrophe in developing countries without such help. The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) expires at the end of the year, and without a renewal, developing countries would face financial pressure and spending cuts. The spread…
The United States of America will invest in five to 10 large infrastructure projects around the world in January, as part of a wider G-7 initiative to counter the growing dominance of China. U.S. President Joe Biden launched his Build Back Better World, or B3W, plan during the June G-7 summit, with the goal of…
Walking through Glasgow you’d be forgiven for thinking the pandemic is over. Motorcades carrying world leaders are bustling for space as armed bodyguards wrestle to showcase their individual and state prowess in Scotland’s capital. The port resembles a classy exhibition showcasing the most luxurious yachts the world has ever seen, full of many rich business…
It may be located 6,500 miles from the capital of the European Union, Brussels, but this West African country holds the key to a zero-emissions future the bloc seeks. Last week, the EU proposed an effective ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 as the body seeks to speed up…
Makthar Diop, the World Bank’s vice president for infrastructure, has been appointed to head the International Finance Corporation (IFC), becoming the first African to lead the Washington based lender’s arm for the private sector. Diop will take over at the IFC at the beginning of March, World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement…
Over 2.5 million people have died, and the confirmed cases are soaring past the 100 million mark. But that hasn’t stopped the wealthiest people on the planet from increasing their wealth during the coronavirus pandemic, a report from Oxfam International indicates. While that in itself is shocking, more grappling to deal with is the fact…
The global economy is projected to grow by 4% in 2021 if the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues throughout the year and is effective, the World Bank said. In their annual January release of Global Economic Prospects, the Washington-based lender noted that the worst case scenario occasioned by delays to rollout the vaccine or an increase…
Netflix has appointed Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa to its board, becoming the firm’s first African director as it eyes new markets for future growth. Masiyiwa is the founder and executive chairman of Econet Global, a telecommunications company that operates across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Econet offers phone broadband and satellite service, and is…
The European Union has halted the payment of about 90 million euros in budget support to Ethiopia due to the bloc’s concerns over the crisis in the Tigray region. According to an internal EU document, the delay is meant to reinforce the EU’s request for a response from Ethiopia’s government over the bloc’s calls for…
For 45 years, they have been stateless. And now U.S. President Donald Trump says they should never have a state in the future. Late on Thursday, news broke out that Morocco had agreed to normalize ties with Israel, a deal that many termed “historic.” And yes it is. For many, this is a rare moment…
The U.K. has become the first western country to license a Covid-19 vaccine, opening up mass immunization campaigns starting next week ahead of similar decisions in the U.S. and European Union. The U.K. regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said on Wednesday that the vaccine “met its strict standards of safety, quality and…
The UN says that the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly accelerating to record highs the number of people worldwide who need humanitarian assistance to survive. As a result there has been a sharp increase in extreme poverty in just one year, with 235 million people worldwide now living in extreme poverty. The largest concentrations are in…
The U.S. State Department has issued a new temporary rule that could require tourists and business travelers from 24 countries, most in Africa, to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to visit the United States. President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration said the temporary final rule, which takes effect December 24 and runs through June 24,…
Thousands of farm workers in Kenya are on the verge of losing their jobs due to closure on sell of ‘non-essential’ items by supermarkets and florists during the lockdown in France. On Friday, France began its second lockdown in just seven months in a nationwide effort to curb the country’s renewed surge in Covid-19 cases….
Trump’s rhetoric versus Biden’s policies. If ever words could summarize a story. The most powerful country in the world is heading to the polls in an election that pits the incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden, who served under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama – the first head of state with African…
Global payments provider firm PayPal has announced that it will allow customers to hold bitcoins and other virtual coins its online wallet, and shop using cryptocurrencies at the 26 million merchants on its network. Through this move, the California based company could aid bitcoin and rival cryptocurrencies gain wider adoption as viable payment methods across…
As the world hurtles towards 5G mobile network, NASA has selected Finish tech company Nokia to construct the first-ever 4G mobile network on the moon. Nokia’s U.S. industrial research arm, Bell Labs, is offering up its infrastructure to NASA to assist build out the lunar network. An announcement from Nokia claims that the network will…
The World Bank has issued an urgent call for $25 billion in further COVID-19 emergency financing to assist the world’s poorest nations tackle the challenges raised by the pandemic. David Malpass, the World Bank’s president, spoke to finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 major economies that he would lay out a supplemental…
As airlines worldwide struggle to stay afloat due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airports Council International (ACI) World have urged governments to use testing as a means to safely re-open borders. Both organizations are also calling to for the re-establishment of global connectivity to avoid the systemic collapse…
Royal Dutch Shell Plc has announced that it will slash 9,000 jobs globally, as part of the firm’s cost-cutting measures to alleviate the effects of the crude oil crush and overhaul its business to embrace clean energy. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant employed 83,000 workers last year across five continents. The firm says that about $2.5…