DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Israel's president and the head of ChatGPT company OpenAI will make appearances at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, the third day of the annual gathering of elites at the Swiss resort of Davos that discusses everything from conflict to computers and climate. Israeli President Isaac Herzog could seek to return focus on the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since its deadly Oct. 7 raid into Israel. Much of the world's attention has been on rising casualty counts in Gaza as Israeli forces lead a blistering military campaign aimed to quash the armed militants. “Artificial intelligence is now undoubtedly the most important potential contribution for global development," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in Davos on Wednesday, a day when leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and President Javier Milei of Argentina also showed up. On Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister defended his country's strike on what he claimed was an Israeli intelligence operations site in the autonomous Kurdish region.

Persons: —, OpenAI, Isaac Herzog, António Guterres, Emmanuel Macron, Javier Milei, Sam Altman, Mohammed Shia, Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Masha Macpherson Organizations: Hamas Locations: DAVOS, Switzerland, Swiss, Davos, Israel, Gaza, Argentina, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish

☆ Taiwan Reports First Major Chinese Military Activity After Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Ben Blanchard and Michael MartinaTAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected 18 Chinese air force planes operating around Taiwan and carrying out "joint combat readiness patrols" with Chinese warships on Wednesday, the first large-scale military activity after the Taiwanese election. Taiwan's defence ministry said that starting around 7:50 p.m. (1150 GMT) on Wednesday it had detected 18 aircraft including Su-30 fighters operating off northern and central Taiwan and to the island's southwest. Eleven of those aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, or areas close by, working with Chinese warships to carry out "joint combat readiness patrols", the ministry added. Taiwan sent its own forces to monitor, its defence ministry said. There was no immediate response from China's defence ministry.

Persons: Ben Blanchard, Michael Martina TAIPEI, Democratic Progressive Party's, Lai Ching, Biden, Lai, Vincent Chao, Xi Jinping, Chao, We're, David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Gareth Jones, Mark Potter, Jamie Freed Organizations: Taiwan, Democratic Progressive, China's Taiwan Affairs Office, U.S . State Department, U.S . Institute of Peace, U.S Locations: Taiwan, China, Taipei, Beijing, Taiwan Strait, U.S, United States, Washington

☆ The world could have its first trillionaire within 10 years, while most of us are getting poorer, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementThe world could mint its first trillionaire within a decade as the majority of us gets poorer, according to a new report. The prediction came in Oxfam's annual inequality report, published on Monday to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The predicted trillionaire would represent an unprecedented high-water mark in levels of global inequality that even now are starker than ever, the report said. Oxfam makes regular headlines with its annual wealth inequality report, which in recent years has made some jarring assessments. The report's calculations are based on Forbes' "Real-Time Billionaires" list and UBS' Global Wealth Report of 2023.

Persons: —, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, Rachel Riddell, Forbes, Charles Kenny Organizations: Oxfam, Service, World Economic, NPR, UBS, Global, Center for Global Development, World Bank Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Saharan Africa

☆ Digital bank robberies key risk for central bank e-money, BIS report warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Digital bank robberies and other cyber hacks will be a key risk for countries launching digital versions of their currencies, a new report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned. The BIS, dubbed the central bankers' central bank, has been overseeing much of the global development work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and its report is its most comprehensive assessment yet of the challenges. A worst case scenario though would be a cyber hack that saw money stolen from what would effectively be a central bank's digital vault. "Cyber security is a key risk for CBDCs," the report published on Wednesday said, adding they would have "far-reaching implications" for the way central banks currently operate. China is trialling a prototype digital yuan with 200 million users, while the European Central Bank has just begun two years of advanced-stage exploratory work.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Marc Jones, Christina Fincher Organizations: Def Con, REUTERS, Bank for International, BIS, CBDCs, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, Bahamas, Nigeria, China

☆ China has a sweeping vision to reshape the world — and countries are listening
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

All this coincides with longstanding calls from countries across the developing world for an international system where they have more say. Beijing, he added, sees the US as merely “paying lip service” to the “liberal order” to hurt other countries. Sergei Savostyanov/Sputnik/ReutersIn recent years, even some countries that have for decades embraced a close partnership with the US have drawn closer to China and its vision. “Is China really trying to promote multipolarity — or does China just want to (become a) substitute (for) US influence over the world?” he asked. They also raise questions about how a more militarily and economically powerful China would behave globally, if left unchecked.

Persons: Xi Jinping, —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, General Antonio Guterres, ” Xi, , Shen Hong, they’d, ”, Yun Sun, liberalize, Sanjit Das, Shen Dingli, ‘, ’ ”, Russia’s Putin, Bashar al, Assad —, Assad’s, Sergei Savostyanov, Ali Sarwar Naqvi, “ We’ve, James Marape, ’, Rubens Duarte, Li Zhiquan, “, Tong Zhao, Zhao, Ted Aljibe, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Zhang Youxia, Beijing’s, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, BRICS, Weeks, Joe Biden, Sergio Lima, ” — Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United Nations, Forum, China, Communist, CNN, Beijing, Washington, Getty, Stimson, Bank, World Trade Organization, . Riot, Bloomberg, Initiative, Asian, Global, Sputnik, Reuters, Center for International Strategic Studies, Papua New Guinea, multipolarity, China News Service, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Global Security Initiative, NATO, Russia, Philippine Defense, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, United, New, Seven, Ministry, Global Security, Group, UN, Communist Party Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Gaza, Russian, Xinhua, Washington, South, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, America, Shanghai, West, Hangzhou, Israel, Pakistan, Pakistani, Islamabad, Papua New, Brazil, Indonesia, Europe, Asia, Scarborough, South China, AFP, Moscow, Russia, “, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, India, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, New Delhi, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, ” Beijing

☆ Sri Lanka, Argentina top list of most vulnerable economies -study
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka and Argentina remain very vulnerable amid a worsening in global financial conditions while China has suffered a sharp deterioration in financial resilience since pre-COVID times, a think-tank study found on Wednesday. The study also showed that debt sustainability has declined over the last four years across emerging market economies. "In 2019, only Tunisia, Pakistan, Argentina, and Sri Lanka had ratios of external financing needs above 100%. The study calculated external financing needs by measuring short-term external debt plus current account deficits as a proportion of international reserves. Bolivia, Egypt, Turkey and El Salvador are also on the list of vulnerable countries, while the study shows that Indonesia, Peru and Bulgaria are the most resilient countries in the group.

Persons: Liliana Rojas, Suarez, Rojas, Jorgelina, Karin Strohecker Organizations: Washington -, Global Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, U.S, Thomson Locations: Sri Lanka, Argentina, China, Washington, Ukraine, Lanka, Britain, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bolivia, Egypt, Turkey, El Salvador, Indonesia, Peru, Bulgaria, Rosario, Lincoln

☆ How China Became the World’s Top Development Financier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( James T. Areddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A recent study said Chinese support for the developing world under President Xi Jinping has ‘upended the world of development assistance.’ Photo: Kyodonews/Zuma PressWhen Xi Jinping celebrated a decade of Beijing-funded global development last month, he said the effort has focused on “on enhancing connectivity.” New figures show just how closely China has linked itself to other nations. China is the world’s No. 1 source of international development finance, with some $1.34 trillion in loans and grants disbursed over 22 years for 20,985 projects in 165 low- and middle-income nations, according to a compendium published Monday.

Persons: Xi Jinping Organizations: ’, Zuma Locations: Beijing, China

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants Latin America to trade more with the United States as part of an initiative that so far has failed to disrupt China’s dominance in global manufacturing. The Inter-American Development Bank, which is the biggest multilateral lender to Latin America, would support new projects through grants, lending and new programs. But if you’re not involved, this opens the door for anybody” to invest in Latin America. Latin America will be a region of increased focus in the next year, as Brazil takes the presidency of the Group of 20 international forum. A Treasury official told the AP that Yellen will be traveling frequently to South America and Latin America over the next year, due to Brazil's G-20 presidency.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, ” Yellen, Ilan Goldfajn, you’re, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Inter, American Development Bank, Partnership, Economic Prosperity, ’, White, “, Boston University Global Development, El, Associated Press, Treasury Department, Treasury, AP Locations: America, United States, U.S, Caribbean, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, China, South America, American, Honduras, Taiwan, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Latin America

☆ Africa unlikely to follow East Asia's manufacturing growth path -study
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The study's authors say that China will continue to dominate global manufacturing, moving into higher-value segments. The study projects global growth through the year 2050 and models changes in the economies of 59 countries accounting for about three quarters of the world’s GDP and population. Across all low-income countries, manufacturing jobs are projected to hold steady at below 8% of total employment, the study finds. It projects the share of manufacturing jobs in high-income countries will continue to fall, to 8.3% by 2050 from 11.4% currently. It said that private service sector jobs will make up roughly 37% of global jobs by 2050, and 26% in today’s low-income countries, up from about 12% currently.

Persons: CGD, Charles Kenny, Ranil, that’s, Kenny, David Lawder, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Center for Global Development, Thomson Locations: China, Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Agriculture, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Asia

☆ A biotech firm founded by Vivek Ramaswamy turned $15 million into $5 billion by flipping a bowel-disease treatment that Pfizer gave it for free
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Roche acquired a bowel-disease treatment from Roivant for over $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementRoche's acquisition of a bowel-inflammation treatment delivered a massive windfall for presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's company Roivant, the Wall Street Journal reported. But Roivant's expenses to develop the treatment, which targets an inflammatory protein called TL1A, amounted to just $15 million. And just this month, a $1.5 billion collaboration between Sanofi and Teva Pharmaceuticals was announced for more TL1A treatment. "This is a $15 billion market just in the US, and that's just in [inflammatory bowel disease," Roche chief Teresa Graham told the Journal.

Persons: Roche, Roivant, —, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Pfizer, TL1a, that's, " Roche, Teresa Graham Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Pfizer, Service, Telavant Holdings, Food and Drug Administration, Roivant, Prometheus Biosciences, Merck, Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceuticals, pharma Locations: Roivant, Japan

The Lynas refinery in Malaysia, its first outside China producing minerals that are crucial to high-tech manufacturing, has been operating in central Pahang state since 2012. Lynas's operating license was extended by six months until Dec. 31. To again renew its license, Lynas must move its cracking and leaching processes — which produce the radioactive waste from Australian ore — out of Malaysia. Key variables include include the operating license conditions in Malaysia and the start-up and commissioning process in Kalgoorlie,” it said. It is one of Asia’s largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Persons: Lynas Organizations: Malaysian, Malaysia —, Japan’s Mitsubishi Group, — Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, China, Pahang, Kalgoorlie, Australia, ”, Perak

☆ China's Belt and Road Forum: What to know following Beijing's 'grand gathering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the main takeaways from China’s Belt and Road Forum. No doubt over Putin’s prominenceThe gathering left no question over who was the most important world leader in attendance in the eyes of China’s Xi. In his meeting with Putin, Xi hailed the China-Russia partnership as “a long-term commitment,” stressing “ever-lasting good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation,” and alluding to their shared 4,300-kilometer border and mutual aims. Since then, skepticism about China’s global ambitions has risen in Europe, in particular over Beijing’s economic and diplomatic support for Moscow. “Obviously, competition should not mean working against each other but mutually improving each other,” he said, while touting the quantity of China’s global development projects.

Persons: Beijing CNN —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, –, Putin striding, Putin, ” Putin, Joe Biden’s, ”, Giuseppe Conte, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Kassym, Joko, General António Guterres, ” Guterres, Zhai Jun, Wang Yi, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN, Initiative, of, Italian, Beijing, United Nations, Hamas Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Russia, China’s, East, Gaza, Israel, Europe, US, Greece, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Moscow, Italy, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Egypt

At the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. “China is endeavoring to build itself into a stronger country and rejuvenate the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization. World leaders, representatives and delegations from more than 140 countries – including in the Middle East and the Taliban – are attending the gathering marking one decade since the launch of Xi’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing aims to gloss over these challenges at the gathering to project its power and laud its contributions to global development as a prime example of its superior leadership. “What has been achieved in the past 10 years demonstrates that Belt and Road cooperation is on the right side of history.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin, Xi, “, Joe Biden, Antonio Guterres, “ I’m, ”, ” Xi, Kassym, Joko, laud Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Wednesday, Forum, Initiative, of, Israel, United Nations, CCTV, West, International, Hosting, Beijing –, Communist Party, Beijing Locations: Beijing, China, Russia, Israel, Europe, United States, Ukraine, Russian, Zaporizhzhia

☆ African ambassador criticizes IMF, World Bank for not giving enough loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

John Wessels | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — An ambassador of an African country to China has criticized the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for restrictive lending policies. "The problem is that the ratings we are making for the African [countries] should be different," Ibrahima Sory Sylla, ambassador for the West African country of Senegal, said Thursday at an event at Peking University. The research claimed every 1% increase in Chinese loans resulted in an increase of 0.176% in African economic growth. Allan Joseph Chintedza, ambassador of Malawi to China, said the report should look also at the repayment period for Chinese loans. The East African country needs to provide a "sustainability letter" from the Chinese government in order to borrow more from the IMF, Chintedza added.

Persons: John Wessels, Sylla, Poor's, Senegal's Sylla, Fitch, Wu Peng, Jang Ping Thia, Thia, Vladimir Putin, Allan Joseph Chintedza, Chintedza Organizations: Afp, Getty, BEIJING —, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, West, Peking University, Fitch, IMF, Bank, United, Loans, Boston, Global, Policy Center, CNBC, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Initiative, Peking University's Institute, New Locations: Senegal's, Dakar, BEIJING, China, Senegal, West Africa, Africa, Beijing, Malawi

BEIJING (AP) — China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns. Called “One Belt, One Road” in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. China became a major financer of development projects under BRI, on par with the World Bank. Chinese development banks provided money for the BRI projects as loans, and some governments have been unable to pay them back. Now, having learned the hard way through defaults, China development banks are pulling back.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, Xi, “, Alessia Amighini, Kevin Gallagher, Sri Lanka, Christoph Nedopil, Nedopil, Colleen Barry Organizations: BEIJING, Initiative, Silk, Italy, World Bank, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, U.S, Export, Import Bank of, Asia Institute, Griffith University, Associated Press Locations: Beijing, Africa, Asia, Latin America, China, Europe, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, Italy, “ Italy, Sri Lankan, Zambia, Sri, Import Bank of China, Australia, BRI, Hungary, Milan

[1/4] Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 16, 2023. Ten years on, the most senior EU leader expected to attend the third Belt and Road (BRI) Summit this week is Hungary's populist Viktor Orban, who will join guests including Russia's Vladimir Putin and a minister of the Afghan Taliban. Such Western doubts have coincided with Xi's assertive leadership and a deterioration in ties over trade, human rights, COVID-19 and Taiwan. Other analysts say economic slowdown both in China and globally, and rising commodity prices, have also cast a pall over the initiative. "It's not perfect, but it’s a process, and people are gradually realising it's so important: we need to build infrastructure.

Persons: Joko Widodo, Ken Ishii, Putin, Orban, Britain's, Viktor Orban, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Xi, Jinping, Matthew Erie, they've, Raffaello Pantucci, Ruby Osman, Tony Blair, Osman, Wang Huiyao, Wang, Joyce Zhou, Vineet Sachdev, Antoni Slodkowski, Don Durfee, Robert Birsel Organizations: Beijing Capital International Airport, Forum, REUTERS Acquire, Initiative, University of Oxford, Reuters, Washington, American Enterprise Institute, S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Tony, Tony Blair Institute for Global, Global Development Initiative, Monetary Fund, Sri, Center for, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Italy, Xi's, BEIJING, Western Europe, EU, Taiwan, United States, Ukraine, Erie, CHINA, America, Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Congo, Singapore, China's, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Center for China

Hailed by Xi as a “project of the century,” the BRI has emerged as a glaring symbol of China’s rise as a global power. Chinese investment in BRI projects has tapered off as the world’s second-biggest economy slows. The opening ceremony of Cambodia's Morodok Techo National Stadium, funded by China's Belt and Road Initiative, in Phnom Penh on December 18, 2021. Later that year, Xi pledged that China would not build any new coal-fired power projects abroad. The BRI has also spurred other countries to increase their own efforts toward supporting infrastructure projects in the developing world.

Persons: Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Xi, –, Cambodia's, Lon Jadina, William & Mary, Marshall, China, ” Organizations: Beijing CNN, Initiative, China's, Getty, BRI, Boston, Global, Policy, William &, Marshall Plan, Global Development Policy Center, World Bank, Global Development, United Arab, European Union Locations: Beijing, China, Israel, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, United States, Phnom Penh, AFP, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Sri Lanka, West Africa, America, Southeast Asia, Hambantota, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, East

[1/4] Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 16, 2023. Ten years on, the most senior EU leader expected to attend the third Belt and Road (BRI) Summit this week is Hungary's populist Viktor Orban, who will join guests including Russia's Vladimir Putin and a minister of the Afghan Taliban. Other analysts say economic slowdown both in China and globally, and rising commodity prices, have also cast a pall over the initiative. Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization think tank, said the BRI had "greatly pushed forward global awareness about the infrastructure deficit". "It's not perfect, but it’s a process, and people are gradually realising it's so important: we need to build infrastructure.

☆ Belt and Road Forum: Beijing to host global gathering as Xi Jinping lays out China's vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, whose on-going assault on Ukraine is another major point of global instability and division, is expected to attend. The last time he was in Beijing was for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in early 2022. Winning backing for China’s global leadership from a broad swath of developing and emerging economies is key to Xi’s strategy to push back against perceived international threats, analysts say. Overseas development finance from China’s two major development banks has also decreased significantly since a peak in 2016, the report’s data show. Ten years on, Chinese decision makers are becoming “more selective and more calculating” about the benefits of their financing, she said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, laud China’s, –, weren’t, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, ”, Craig Singleton, “, Kenya . Han Xu, Li Mingjiang, ” Jonathan Fulton, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Alet Pretorius, ” It’s, Liang, Yun Sun Organizations: CNN, Global, Initiative, Foundation for Defense, Democracies, Getty, Communist Party, Hamas, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Officials, Atlantic Council, Indian, Russia's, Boston University Global Development, Center, World Bank, Overseas, China’s National, Reform, China Program, Stimson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Washington, Kenya ., Xinhua, Russia, Moscow, China’s, Abu Dhabi, Fulton, Johannesburg, New Delhi, saddling

☆ Down syndrome families' fight for access to Alzheimer’s trials, treatments
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

In an extended portion of Eisai’s main Leqembi trial, CAA was associated with one death. 'THE DIGNITY OF RISK'Hillerstrom said the groups are "very strongly" lobbying Eisai and Lilly to conduct the safety trials in Down syndrome, and said he has been meeting with the companies to push them to design such trials. Lilly declined to comment on whether it is considering either a safety trial or taking part in that study. An Eisai spokeswoman said the company "has no immediate plans" to conduct clinical trials of Leqembi in people with Down syndrome. The company is collaborating with LuMind in a study gathering data on how Alzheimer's manifests in people with Down syndrome.

Persons: Oskar Hillerstrom, Lianor, Hampus, Brian Snyder, Lianor da Cunha, Oskar, de Oeiras, Teresa, Oskar’s, Hampus Hillerstrom, Eli Lilly's, LuMind, Hillerstrom, Lilly, Emily Largent, Beau Ances, Louis, I've, Ances, I'm, Michael Rafii, William Mobley, Mobley, Dawn Brooks, donanemab, Margot Rhondeau, Hannah, Julie Steenhuysen, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, CAA, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Medicare, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Washington University, National Institute, Aging, University of Southern, UC San Diego School of Medicine, LuMind, Syndrome, Thomson Locations: Lexington , Massachusetts, U.S, Santo, Portugal, United States, St, University of Southern California

☆ US faces pushback on plan to bolster IMF funding without shareholding changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. Doing so, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Thursday, would "increase the voice and agency of member countries who are the most vulnerable" at the Fund. Martin Muhleisen, a former IMF strategy chief, said the plan "puts the Chinese on the spot to agree". A delay would be a major disappointment for the IMF after contentious 2019 negotiations left quota resources and shareholding untouched. "The Fund's not tight," said Mark Plant, a former IMF official now with the Center for Global Development.

Persons: Yuri Gripas, Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Alassane Ouattara, Mark Sobel, Martin Muhleisen, Mark Plant, David Lawder, Andrea Shalal, Marcela Ayres, Peter Graff Organizations: Monetary Fund, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary Fund, IMF, World Bank, Reuters, U.S . Congress, U.S, Treasury, U.S . Treasury, Brazilian, Center for Global Development, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, China, India, Brazil, Marrakech, Morocco, Ukraine, Saharan Africa, Coast, Washington, Beijing, Brasilia

A participant stands near a logo of IMF at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said China, the world's largest sovereign creditor, has been a roadblock to debt relief. IMF member countries will discuss the crisis lender's shareholding structure at annual meetings in Morocco next week. The U.S. is pushing instead for IMF member countries to agree to contribute more funds to boost lending firepower, but keeping the U.S.-dominated shareholding structure unchanged. Without naming China, he said this would include doing more on debt relief and providing more exchange rate transparency -- longstanding Treasury criticisms of Beijing.

Persons: Johannes P, Nancy Lee, Janet Yellen, Lee, Jay Shambaugh, Shambaugh, Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, Andrea Ricci Organizations: IMF, International Monetary Fund, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary, U.S, Treasury, Center for Global Development, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, U.S, China, Morocco, India, Brazil, Beijing

☆ China has poured billions into Africa’s infrastructure. Is it now tightening the tap?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The impact of those funds is felt across Africa, where residents in major cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Addis Ababa now transit daily via railways, highways and airports built in recent years with Chinese loans and often by Chinese construction firms. But understanding how much money is flowing out of China into global development is notoriously tricky as Beijing doesn’t share this data openly and a wide range of financial entities play roles. How all this plays out could have a significant impact on developing countries’ access to much-needed infrastructure funding. China is also navigating the second decade of the Belt and Road amid stark economic challenges at home. China in 2017 released guidance on promoting a “green” Belt and Road, which called for sustainable development and strengthening environmental protection.

Persons: laud, Xi, Roberto Matchissa, Oyintarelado Moses, ”, Moses, Ammar A, Malik, “, Austin Strange, Yasuyoshi Chiba, AidData’s Malik, HKU’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Initiative, Boston University Global Development, Center, Getty, CNN, Global China Initiative, Global Development Policy, William, Mary’s Global Research Institute, University of Hong, Global Development Locations: China, Hong Kong, Africa, Beijing, Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Ukraine, Maputo, Katembe, Mozambique, AFP, Kazakhstan, Zambia, Ghana, University of Hong Kong, Kenya, United States, China’s

A few compounds picked by AI are now in development, but those bets will take years to play out. Reuters interviews with more than a dozen pharmaceutical company executives, drug regulators, public health experts and AI firms show, however, that the technology is playing a sizeable and growing role in human drug trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it had received about 300 applications that incorporate AI or machine learning in drug development from 2016 through 2022. Without AI, Bayer said it would have spent millions more, and taken up to nine months longer to recruit volunteers. Finding real-world patients by mining electronic patient data can be done manually, but using AI speeds up the process dramatically.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jeffrey Morgan, Amgen, Badhri Srinivasan, Sameer Pujari, drugmaker Bayer, Bayer, Blythe Adamson, Roche, Richard Pazdur, Gen Li, John Concato, Natalie Grover, Martin Coulter, Julie Steenhuysen, Josephine Mason, David Clarke Organizations: Pharmaceutical Research, REUTERS, Pharmaceutical, Bayer, Novartis, Deloitte, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Reuters, World Health, Flatiron Health, FDA, European Medicines Agency, FDA's Oncology, Excellence, Medical, FDA's Center, Drug, Research, Thomson Locations: U.S, Johannesburg, Texas, Finland, United States, London, Chicago

☆ Notable remarks on Ukraine at UN Security Council
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has his address to the United Nations Security Council laid out on the desk in front of him as he attends a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN:"It's hard to imagine a country demonstrating more contempt for the United Nations and all that it stands for - this from a country with a permanent seat on this council. "The war is having an increasingly devastating toll on the people in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world. "The only pathway for a comprehensive peace ... is one that must be just and based on the charter of the United Nations, and international law." SWISS PRESIDENT ALAIN BERSET:"With Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the (U.N.) Charter has been violated on a massive scale.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Brendan McDermid, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, BLINKEN, Putin, SERGEI LAVROV, GUILLERMO LASSO, NANA AKUFO, ALAIN BERSET, FUMIO, Gabriela Baczynska, Humeyra Pamuk, Don Durfee Organizations: United Nations Security Council, Security, REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, Wednesday, Security Council, Russia, OF STATE, United Nations, UN, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.N, New York, Russia, Soviet Union, .

Search resuls for: "Global Development"

25 mentions found