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It will see suspended payments repaid from 2027 to 2029 after a grace period from 2025 to 2026, the Paris Club said in a statement, noting that the deal was reached on Nov. 23. If Ethiopia does not get an IMF staff-level agreement by March 31, the official creditor committee "reserves the right to declare the suspension null and void", the Paris Club said. The Paris Club said 10 of its members were on Ethiopia's official creditor committee, which is co-chaired by France and non-Paris Club member China. Other non-Paris Club committee members are India, Kuwait, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. "We welcome the recent announcement of an interim standstill agreement with official creditors," the IMF spokesperson added.

Persons: Tellimer, Patrick Curran, Rachel Savage, Rodrigo Campos, Alex Richardson, Toby Chopra, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Paris Club, French Treasury, Ethiopian, IMF, Club, OCC, China, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, China, Addis Ababa, Tigray, Ethiopia, France, India, Kuwait, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey

Zambia was the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era, in late 2020, but its restructuring process has been beset by delays. International bondholders also complained they were left out of the process, which started with drawn-out negotiations with bilateral creditors including China. Zambia's three international bonds rose sharply after the announcement, adding as much as 3.9 cents on the dollar, Tradeweb and MarketAxess data showed. The committee of bondholders owns or controls 40% of the outstanding bonds, Zambia's finance ministry added. Earlier this month, Zambia agreed a memorandum of understanding with its official creditors, including China and members of the Paris Club of creditor nations, to restructure about $6.3 billion of debt.

Persons: Situmbeko Musokotwane, Susana Vera, amortization, Rachel Savage, Karin Strohecker, Bhargav Acharya, David Holmes Organizations: Zambia's, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, IMF, Bondholder, Amia, Amundi, RBC BlueBay Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Greylock Capital Management, Paris Club, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, JOHANNESBURG, Zambia, China, Rosario

MARRAKECH, Morocco, Oct 13 (Reuters) - After getting debt relief from China, Ethiopia is requesting similar treatment from other creditors, the International Monetary Fund's deputy director for Africa said on Friday. Ethiopian authorities said in August that China was allowing Ethiopia to suspend debt payments for the fiscal year running until July 7, 2024. "The Chinese authorities have already provided debt relief to Ethiopia and we understand that they're in the process of requesting a similar treatment from other creditors. "There is a debt service suspension with China, which is providing substantial relief," she said, adding that this was the agreement announced in August. Ethiopia regularly suffers from foreign exchange shortages and a wide gap between the official and black market currency exchange rates.

Persons: Africa's, Annalisa Fedelino, Fedelino, Rachel Savage, Dawit Endeshaw, Tannur Anders, Bhargav, Alexander Winning, Susan Fenton Organizations: Monetary, IMF, Boston University, birr, Thomson Locations: MARRAKECH, Morocco, China, Ethiopia, Africa, Marrakech, birr, Addis Ababa

Leslie Maasdorp, Vice President and chief financial officer (CFO) of New Development Bank (NDB), speaks during an interview with Reuters at the bank's headquarters in Shanghai, China July 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The New Development Bank of the BRICS group of nations will not be announcing new members at the BRICS Summit in South Africa this week, its Chief Financial Officer Leslie Maasdorp told Reuters on Wednesday. The bank, which was set up in 2015 to give BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa a greater say in financing infrastructure than in Western-led institutions like the World Bank, is keen to attract new members to boost its capital base after U.S. sanctions on Russia hobbled its lending. "The process of ratifying new countries is happening at the discussion of the (BRICS) leaders, which they are having without us as the bank," Maasdorp told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the summit. ($1 = 94.4650 roubles)Reporting by Rachel Savage; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Leslie Maasdorp, Aly, Maasdorp, Rachel Savage, Bhargav Acharya, Alexander Winning, Emelia Organizations: New Development Bank, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, World Bank, United, United Arab Emirates, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India, Western, Egypt, Bangladesh, United Arab, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina

Delegates walk past the logos of the BRICS summit during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. WHY DOES LULA WANT A BRICS CURRENCY? A BRICS currency "increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities," he told the summit's opening plenary session. In July, India's foreign minister said, "there is no idea of a BRICS currency". WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF SETTING UP A BRICS CURRENCY?

Persons: GIANLUIGI, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, LULA, doesn't, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Lesetja Kganyago, you've, Kganyago, Herbert Poenisch, Putin, Rachel Savage, Ethan Wang, Marcela Ayres, Gabriel Stargardter, Naomi Rovnick, Libby George, Marc Jones, John Stonestreet Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Mercosur, South, Zhejiang University, Federal Reserve, FX, International Monetary Fund, Bank of International, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Russian, videolink, African, Ukraine, Beijing, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, London

A view of logo of New Development Bank (NDB) at its headquarters in Shanghai, China July 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The development bank founded by the so-called BRICS countries is planning to issue its first Indian rupee bond by October, its chief operating officer said on Monday, as the lender comes under pressure to raise and lend more in local currencies. "We're going to tap (the) Indian market - rupees - maybe by October in India," Kazbekov said. "Now we start thinking seriously... to use one member country's currency to finance projects with that currency in another member. Kazbekov declined to give a target size for the Indian rupee bond program, which Reuters had previously reported was in the process of being set up.

Persons: Aly, Vladimir Kazbekov, Kazbekov, Leslie Maasdorp, Rachel Savage, Hugh Lawson Organizations: New Development Bank, REUTERS, Rights, United, Russia, ., Reuters, South, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Johannesburg, India, CNY

A view of logo of New Development Bank (NDB) at its headquarters in Shanghai, China July 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The development bank founded by the so-called BRICS countries closed the auction for its first South African rand bonds on Tuesday, as it comes under pressure to boost its local currency fundraising and lending. The South African bond market has struggled in recent years to attract new issuers to match growing demand from domestic investors looking for quality credit assets. The most recent comparable South African government bonds were a 4.5-year bond priced at Jibar +90 bps and a seven year priced at Jibar +120 bps, said Raphi Rootshtain, a portfolio manager at Sasfin Wealth. The bond sale was arranged by Standard Bank, which declined to comment, and Absa Bank.

Persons: Aly, Leslie Maasdorp, Raphi Rootshtain, Rootshtain, Kumeshen Naidoo, Rachel Savage, Josie Kao Organizations: New Development Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Sasfin, State Owned Companies, Standard Bank, Absa Bank, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Johannesburg, Absa

☆ Are LGBTQ+ rights at stake in Spain's election?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Enrique Anarte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Vox has strongly opposed LGBTQ+ rights. Both Vox and the PP have promised to take action against some pro-LGBTQ+ measures passed by the left-wing government. Spain is fourth in the ranking of European countries' LGBTQ+ rights by advocacy group ILGA-Europe, but LGBTQ+ activists said a PP-Vox government would roll back their rights. A right-wing government could also target LGBTQ+ rights by failing to implement existing laws, said Uge Sangil, head of LGBTQ+ umbrella group, FELGTB. Please credit Openly, the LGBTQ+ news website from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.

Persons: Alberto Nunez Feijoo's, Pedro Sanchez's, Feijoo, Vox, Virginia, Santiago Abascal, Uge Sangil, Sangil, Darko Decimavilla, Enrique Anarte, Jon Hemming Organizations: Thomson Reuters Foundation, People's Party, Pedro Sanchez's Socialists, Vox, Ministry, Thomson Reuters, Thomson Locations: Spain, MADRID, Madrid, Naquera, Europe

But investors, burned by previous reforms that ultimately proved hollow, say it will take time to build trust and listed myriad questions over the final shape of the economy. Tinubu is from the same party as predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, dubbed "Baba Go-slow" for his pottering pace - taking six months to appoint cabinet members. Nigeria's international dollar bonds and the country's stock market have been boosted by the speedy reforms. Reuters GraphicsInvestors also worry about low tax receipts and falling oil output - structural reforms that will take far longer to sort. Meanwhile interest rates, which Tinubu has said he would like to see fall, were hiked by 50 bps last month to 18.5%.

Persons: Bola, Temilade, Bola Tinubu's, Tunde Ajileye, Muhammadu Buhari, Godwin Emefiele, Goldman Sachs, Andrew Matheny, John Mumo, Joe Delvaux, Amundi, Delvaux, Tinubu, Patrick Curran, Rachel Savage, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Nick Macfie Organizations: Nigeria's, REUTERS, Central Bank, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Tellimer, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, JOHANNESBURG, LONDON, Lagos, Blakeney, Africa

☆ Fewer people trust traditional media, more turn to TikTok for news, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok is the fastest growing social network in the report, used by 20% of 18- to 24-year-olds for news, up five percentage points from last year. Trust in the news has fallen by 2 percentage points in the last year, reversing gains made in many countries at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. On average, 40% of people say they trust most news most of the time. Across markets, 56% of people say they worry about identifying the difference between real and fake news on the internet – up 2 percentage points from last year. Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rasmus Nielsen, Helen Coster, David Gregorio Our Organizations: YORK, Reuters Institute for, Journalism, Reuters, U.S, Trust, United, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States

LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Beyoncé's fans, collectively known as the "BeyHive," are going savage to catch a glimpse of her during her "Renaissance World Tour". Money and distance are no object when your idol beckons in 57 concerts across 40 cities in North America and 14 across Europe. Jimmy Long of San Francisco flew to Stockholm for the May 10 opening show after finding $370 front-section "Club Renaissance" seats - a bargain compared to similar U.S.-based tickets costing $1,200 or more. England-based Ayo Awokoya was uplifted despite enduring an arduous Manchester-London train ride that lasted six hours instead of 4-1/2 hours. Janny splurged 6,000 reais ($1,199.21) for her first flight, on top of 5,000 reais for Club Renaissance tickets in Frankfurt, Germany.

Persons: Jimmy Long, Beyonce, Janny Nascimento, Sharon Kimathi, Richard Chang Organizations: Club, Thomson Locations: North America, Europe, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sweden, England, Manchester, London, Rio de Janeiro, Frankfurt, Germany

LUSAKA, April 12 (Reuters) - Zambia is planning to finish tests that simulate real-world cryptocurrency usage by the end of June to help it create regulations that balance citizens' safety with innovation, science and technology minister Felix Mutati told Reuters. The southern African country also needs digital infrastructure, including digital identities, before cryptocurrencies can be introduced, Mutati said in an interview on Wednesday. "Our main goal in the area of cryptocurrency is to strike a balance between innovation in terms of digital payments ... against citizens' safety, particularly given that cryptocurrency is very volatile," Mutati said. "What we are seeing is increased appetite to invest in Zambia," Mutati said, when asked whether any investments under his purview had been delayed, suspended or cancelled due to Zambia's long-delayed debt restructuring. Mutati said the way Chinese loans were contracted during his tenure as finance minister between 2016 and 2018 depended on the project.

LUSAKA, April 6 (Reuters) - Zambia is being "punished" for a failure to complete debt restructuring that is not its fault, but its two main creditors, China and international bondholders, both want a resolution, the country's finance minister told Reuters. Zambia was the first African country to default in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic battered the global economy. Many Western officials have blamed delays in agreeing the debt relief on the largest bilateral creditor, China, something it denies. "The Chinese are asking questions, the bondholders are also asking questions ... but constructive questions, so that's no problem," Musokotwane said. Bondholders say they want a resolution to this, the Chinese say they want a resolution to this."

JOHANNESBURG, March 27 (Reuters) - Multilateral development banks (MDBs) reluctant to offer debt relief need to shoulder an "equitable burden" in sovereign debt restructurings, a People's Bank of China official said on Monday. But with countries such as Zambia, Sri Lanka and Ghana having defaulted, China has faced criticism for holding up the debt restructuring processes. Jin also said that removing investments in "productive assets" from debt stock calculations in debt restructuring situations "should be encouraged". He acknowledged diverging opinions within China about debt restructuring, which he attributed partly to a lack of experience. "At most 15 years ago, in the multilateral forums China was always on the side of the borrowing countries," Jin said.

REUTERS/Thomas Suen/File PhotoJOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) - China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building "Belt & Road" infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. People's Bank of China (PBOC) swap lines accounted for $170 billion of the rescue financing, including in Suriname, Sri Lanka and Egypt. China's rescue lending is "opaque and uncoordinated," said Brad Parks, one of the report's authors, and director of AidData, a research lab at William & Mary College in the United States. China is negotiating debt restructurings with countries including Zambia, Ghana and Sri Lanka and has been criticised for holding up the processes. In response, it has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to also offer debt relief.

JOHANNESBURG, March 17 (Reuters) - Debt restructuring programmes in Ghana and Zambia are going in "diverging directions" due to Zambia's larger exposure to Chinese lenders and its weaker ability to cope with a large amount of debt, investment bank Citi said on Friday. Ghana was likely to get an International Monetary Fund (IMF)board sign-off for a $3 billion rescue loan in the next few weeks, while Zambia's restructuring had stalled, Citi's analysts said in a note to clients. Ghana defaulted on its external debts in December and has since sealed a domestic debt swap and requested a restructuring of its bilateral debts via the G20's Common Framework vehicle. "Our more positive view (on Ghana) is supported by a strong commitment by the IMF and Paris Club to achieve a quick breakthrough," the Citi note said. "Assuming a 12.5% exit yield... suggests an average price uptick of 10 cents" on bond prices, the note said.

☆ Iran and Britain's history of strained relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British-Iranian relations, which have been strained for decades, were back in the spotlight after Iranian authorities executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari for spying, charges he had denied. 1988 - Britain restores full diplomatic relations with Iran. 1994 - Britain accuses Iran of contacts with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, a charge Iran denies but relations worsen. 1999 - Iran says relations between Tehran and Britain have been upgraded to ambassadorial level. The same year, Iran accuses Britain of being behind bombings that killed six people in Iran.

☆ Analysis: COP27 loss and damage fund heralds 'new dawn for climate justice'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Yeb Saño, head of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the fund's approval "marks a new dawn for climate justice." While the loss and damage fund would not be enough to deal with growing climate losses, "it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust" between rich and poor nations, he said in a video statement. Their opposition was rooted in fears of being held financially liable for the impacts of their historically high greenhouse gas emissions. FOSSIL FUELS MISSINGPolitical figures had urged countries at COP27 to set aside geopolitical fights in order to keep climate action on track. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, global climate and energy lead for environmental group WWF, who presided over COP20 in Peru, said leaders had missed the chance in Egypt to speed up the rapid and deep emissions cuts essential to limit climate damage.

☆ Analysis: Climate damage fund trumps 1.5C push as COP27 summit nears end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The focus on loss and damage certainly reflects that," said David Waskow, director of the international climate initiative at the U.S.-based World Resources Institute. Since COP26, only about 30 countries have strengthened their national plans to cut fossil fuel emissions. FOSSIL FUEL OMISSION? Progress toward reducing fossil fuel use - and the resulting climate-warming emissions - was less clear in the proposed deal. "Unabated" fuels are those whose emissions are not captured in some way to prevent them entering the atmosphere and adding to climate change.

☆ Analysis: Brazil's Lula hopes to unite rainforest nations, tap funding at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Michael Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

read moreIn the run-up to the COP27 U.N. climate summit, taking place in Egypt from Nov. 6-18, green groups urged Brazil and other forest nations to team up to increase their bargaining power during talks with potential donors over rainforest protection. Brazil was the climate-change success story of the early 2000s when its government - led then by Lula - slashed deforestation rates in the Amazon, she said. But enforcing forest protection laws in remote areas is a problem for all three, conservationists said, while Bolsonaro's allies form the largest bloc in Brazil's Congress, which could hinder Lula's policy push. Other forest nations - like Colombia - could also take part in talks and join any new alliance at COP27 to create a "more robust and effective" coalition, he added. "Done right, collaboration and exchange of experience between rainforest countries can help in tackling deforestation," Jaeger said.

☆ Prima casă din India construită cu o imprimantă 3D oferă ”soluţia” pentru criza locuinţelor la preţuri accesibile
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-28 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +5 min

”O casă accesibilă nu trebuie să fie de calitate inferioară. Imprimarea 3D pe scară largă câştigă teren în întreaga lume, unele proiecte producând o casă în doar 24 de ore de tipărire, la doar câteva mii de dolari. ”Aşadar, nu există doar o amprentă de carbon mai mică în timpul procesului de construcţie, ci şi pe durata de viaţă a casei”, a precizat el. Aproximativ 65 de milioane de persoane trăiesc în mahalalele din India, care au devenit focare de cazuri de coronavirus. Crearea de locuinţe la preţuri accesibile pentru a combate inegalităţile este o modalitate prin care guvernele pot ajuta economiile să îşi revină după criza provocată de noul coronavirus, potrivit economiştilor.

Persons: Tvasta, Narendra Organizations: Thomson Reuters, Terwilliger, Research Locations: India, Chennai, Indiei

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