Thailand, Cambodia to sign ceasefire at ASEAN summit
Malaysia and the United States will facilitate a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on 1...
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday.
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday.
Biden announced the three-year U.S. pledge during a closed session of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the official told reporters, adding that the U.S. Treasury was leading negotiations at the World Bank for the IDA replenishment.
The new U.S. pledge is a record and substantially exceeds the $3.5 billion Washington committed in the previous IDA fund replenishment round in December 2021.
It is unclear if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed cutting foreign aid in the past, will honor Biden's pledge as he and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seek to slash U.S. spending through a new government efficiency panel. An appropriation by the U.S. Congress to fund the commitment would not likely take place until after Trump takes office in January.
A spokesperson for Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
'HISTORIC' PLEDGE
Earlier in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer told reporters that Biden would announce a "historic" pledge to the IDA replenishment.
Finer also told reporters at a briefing on the G20 summit that Biden will launch a bilateral clean energy partnership when he meets Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.
The World Bank's IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 5-6 in Seoul.
World Bank President Ajay Banga is aiming for a record amount exceeding the $93 billion refunding in December 2021, amid rising demands from poor nations in Africa and elsewhere that are struggling with crushing debts, climate disasters, conflict and other pressures.
Banga told Reuters in October that a $120 billion replenishment is possible, but that goal would require some substantial increases in country commitments.
Biden's new U.S. commitment is about 14.3% higher than its 2021 contribution. At the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in October, Spain announced plans to boost its contribution by 37% to 400 million euros ($423 million).
Denmark in September announced a 40% increase in its contribution to about $492 million.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 14 October, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Malaysia and the United States will facilitate a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on 14 October.
U.S. President Donald Trump remains set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in late October as both sides seek to ease tensions over tariff threats and export controls, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday.
The Gaza summit held on 13 October in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, is being hailed as a significant diplomatic milestone for securing peace in the region.
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey.
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