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OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have signed a US$50 million loan agreement to finance infrastructure development across the continent. Through the 10-year loan, connectivity, transport, logistics, trade, and energy access will be improved across Africa. Following a US$50 million 10-year loan in January 2021, the loan doubles the OPEC Fund’s commitment to AFC and builds on a cooperation agreement signed in 2017. SDG 9 – Innovation and infrastructure – and SDG 17 – Partnerships – of the United Nations are aligned with the loan. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply…

Turkey will receive $1.78 billion in relief and recovery financing from the World Bank. This is as it deals with the aftermath of an earthquake that killed over 20,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Ankara will receive $780 million as a result of the World Bank diverting funds from two existing Turkish loan projects, according to Reuters. There is also another $1 billion in assistance being prepared for Turkey’s recovery and reconstruction. However, it will take more time to arrange than previously predicted, according to a spokesperson for the World Bank. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck southern Turkey…

The death toll from a suicide bombing at a mosque in northwest Pakistan has risen to 88. One of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years occurred at a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility. According to The Associated Press, the bomber set off his explosive vest while more than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque in Peshawar, with more on the way. As a result of the blast, scores of people were killed and injured, as well as a portion of the mosque’s roof being blown off. The roof then collapsed, injuring many more,…

The first U.S. Cabinet member to visit Somalia since 2015 called on distracted donors to help a country facing deadly famine, which she called “the ultimate failure of the international community.” As the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, heard perhaps the starkest warning yet: Somalia’s longest drought will almost certainly result in more deaths than the famine that formally began in 2011, when more than a quarter million people died. Humanitarian officials say the world is looking elsewhere this time. “Many traditional donors have washed their hands and focused on Ukraine,” the UN’s resident coordinator in Somalia,…

Peshawar, a city in northwest Pakistan, was hit by a suicide bomber Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 96 more. According to Reuters, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Pakistani Taliban have been blamed for similar suicide attacks in the past. While some 150 worshippers, including many policemen from nearby police offices, were praying inside, the bomber detonated his suicide vest. According to Zafar Khan, a local police officer, the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many. Meena Gul, 38, a police officer, is a survivor who…

Andrej Babis was defeated by retired NATO general Petr Pavel in the Czech presidential election. State statistics office results showed the 61-year-old took 58.32% of the vote. After the results were announced, Mr Babis conceded defeat in a speech to supporters. He replaces Milos Zeman, who ends his second term in March. Mr Babis and Mr Pavel’s second-round runoff was portrayed as a contest between oligarchy and democracy. A disinformation campaign and alleged death threats marred the campaign. Andrej Babis and Peter Pavel won the first round to replace Mr Zeman. Mr Pavel had to take to Twitter earlier this…

There is a grave economic crisis facing Pakistan, with a possible loan default looming in the future and the IMF prepared to provide financial assistance under tough monetary conditions. There is fierce political rivalry between former prime minister Imran Khan and the current government in Pakistan. This rivalry makes it difficult for the country to resolve its economic and political problems. Islamabad’s top priority is the financing of debt relief for the beleaguered nation, given the state of Pakistan’s economy and the political turmoil in the highly radicalized Islamic Republic. As a result of IMF loan conditions that require Pakistan…

To support Panama’s climate action, adaptation, resilience, and mitigation policies, the OPEC Fund is providing a $120 million loan. “Panama Support Programme for the National Climate Change Policy” aims to mitigate, contain, and reverse the effects of climate change, supporting Panama’s long-term climate change commitments. With an additional US$320 million sovereign loan, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America is supporting the project with the OPEC Fund. Panama is a carbon neutral country that contributes almost no emissions to global warming, but is highly vulnerable to its effects. There have been significant losses caused by natural disasters and extreme weather…

The Coast Guard reported that a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship carrying 22 crew members sank off the southern island of Jeju on Wednesday. Fourteen crew members were rescued, while a search is underway for the others. At 3:07 a.m., fourteen Chinese and eight Myanmarese crew members were on board the Jin Tian, a 6,551-ton wood-carrying vessel, when it broadcast a distress signal in international waters 148.2 kilometers southeast of the city of Seogwipo on Jeju, according to the Coast Guard, Yonhap reported. When Coast Guard personnel arrived at the scene, the ship was completely submerged. It was reported that 14…

As a result of the heavy snowfall that blanketed much of Japan on Wednesday, traffic was snarled, hundreds of flights were cancelled, and train travel was disrupted. A person has been confirmed dead as a result of the heavy snowfall. According to Reuters, an unusually cold front and the presence of extreme low pressure systems have caused snow to fall and strong winds to blow across Japan since Tuesday. There was particularly heavy snowfall on the western side of the nation facing the Sea of Japan, with the city of Maniwa in western Japan receiving a record 93 cm (36…