The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to develop a concessional lending facility for low- and middle-income countries against the backdrop of climate change. This will particularly affect island states. The size of the fund will be $30-50 billion. "In light of the climate crisis, we intend to develop a low-interest long-term lending instrument, with loans to be extended not only to...

The European Union now has an opportunity to roughly double steel product shipments to the United States after the decision to lift the duty, said Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission (EC), at a press conference. The U.S. announced in late October that it would no longer apply duties from the so-called "Section 232" on a certain amount of steel and aluminum...

OPEC has worsened its forecast for global oil demand in 2021, now expecting it to rise by 5.7 million bpd instead of 5.8 million bpd a month earlier, and still expects growth of 4.2 million bpd in 2022, the organisation said in a November report. "Growth in global oil demand is revised downward by about 0.16 million bpd from last month's estimate, to 5.7 million bpd," the report said. The...

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that revaccinations against the coronavirus were likely to provide protection within a year, but pointed to the need for more research on the topic. "If I were to make a prediction, (protection) would probably last for a year. There is a possibility that it will be an annual vaccination," Bourla said on Tuesday, speaking during a virtual...

The US government is considering unleashing the country's strategic oil reserves in order to keep market prices stable. Jennifer Granholm, the US Secretary of Energy, stated this in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Ms. Granholm stated, "We are absolutely investigating the possibility [of delivering oil] from strategic reserves." She stated that US President Joe Biden's government was extremely...

China intends to increase imports from neighbouring countries, reduce the negative list for foreign investment and consistently expand openness in areas such as telecommunications and medicine, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the Fourth China International Import Expo. The Chinese leader pointed out that China's determination to share development opportunities with...

Iran will resume talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear programme in Vienna on 29 November. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Kani announced this on his Twitter page. The date was confirmed by the EU External Action Service and the US State Department. The EU External Action Service issued a press release confirming the date, specifying that...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking ahead of the opening of the conference, called on OECD countries to withdraw from coal power by 2030 and all other countries by 2040, ending public, private and international investments in coal. A few days before the summit, documents were released in which representatives from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia asked the UN not to force a rapid...

The global number of reported cases and deaths from COVID-19 has increased for the first time in two months, the WHO Director-General said. He linked the new rise to the growing incidence in Europe. The number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 has risen globally for the first time in two months. This was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) at a briefing on Thursday, 28 October....